A History of the German Language

by John T. Waterman

Book Overview

This text's scope is broad enough to provide an introduction to the more specialized philology courses & a comprehensive account of the historical development of the modern standard German language.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0295955104
• ISBN13: 9780295955100
• Release Date: December 1976
• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Age Range: 22 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Best consumed by Advanced Students of German or Linguistics

Everything the other reviewer has said completely applies, however, I'd like to add a couple of caveats for those who might want to check out this book. Altho it's in english, the large sections of German lyrics, mideavel mysticism, poetry, german bible translations, or simply german words transformed from ancient to modern forms, are not at all translated. I would not suggest buying this book, unless you are fluent, or nearly so, in German. Also, if you have never studied linguistics, or an ancient indo European language (ie, Ancient Greek, Latin or Sanskrit), I think you'll be frustrated with the book. I've studied Latin, I'm nearly fluent in German, and I'm familier with Anglo Saxon. I've looked into Russian, and even have a linguistics course under my belt. So I didnt find the book to be over my head, but rather, totally fascinating. Besides the German cultural history, you get a HUGE dose of Ancient European and near Eastern history, especially early Indo-European tribal migrations. Germanic tribes invading the Roman empire spread Germanic vocabulary influence from Spain to The Black Sea (where the East German, ie GOTHIC, language lived.) German cognates exist all over Europe. The constant back and forth between ancient germanic and romance languages, explains the derivation of our modern western European languages. The long transistional vocabulary lists from old germanic, Old High German, and middle High german, into the modern forms, helps in reconstructing the changing meanings of modern German words, as well as picking up more german vocabulary. I still had many limits in my ability to get all I could from the book. Had I read more ancient Latin and Greek historians, and had a better understanding of German dialects, (as a native German might have), I would have ingested much more information from the book. Still many questions were answered, not only about the history of Germanic languages, but also how sound and grammer changes occured to other Indo European languages, such as modern Russian. In conclussion, if you're an advanced student of German, or historical Linguistics, you'll enjoy the book. However, a casual student of word origins, or someone who had a couple years of german in high school, or someone gathering info about ancient european tribal movements, I'd stay clear of this book. There are tons of beginner's books on linguistics, and ancient northern European history, which would be better suited for your needs.

thorough for beginners, not inaccessable

This book covers all of the main concepts you will need to know when studying history of the German language. It's very organized and was great help to me as I was getting my German degree. It was also the only book I could find on the subject in English at the time (this was 2 years ago) and had to special order it. Also- if you are using "Geschichte der deutschen Sprache" by Peter von Polenz in a class and are struggling with translation you REALLY need the Waterman! It will clarify much of the von Polenz. If you are looking into getting this book, you're probably interested in specific content, so here is a list of the chapters: Ch. 1 Indo-European (pg.3-18)Ch. 2 Germanic (pg. 20-49)Ch. 3 Old High German Period from Beginnings to 1050 (pg 52- 81)Ch. 4 Middle High German Period 1050-1350 (pg 83-97)Ch. 5 Early New High German Period, 1350-1600 (pg 102-135)Ch. 6 New High German Period 1600-1800 (pg 137-147)Ch. 7 New High German Period from 1800 (pg 163- 193)Ch. 8 A Brief Description of the Sounds of German (pg 201-208)Appendix 1: PlatesAppendix 2: MapsBibliography (pg 233-275)IndexIf you are a German studies student this is a must have, buteven if you don't have a background in linguistics and are interested in european history, you are likely to find the Waterman fascinating.