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Dutch and Deutsch: so similar, so dissimilar
We’d talked about how much the German dialects vary, looking at dialect forms of the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s compare High German and Dutch.
Stefan Israel
Feb 10, 20202 min read
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AUGH! From German to English
AUGH! It’s not just a cry of distress, it’s an anglicization. Why do we see lots of names ending in -augh? Baugh, Grumbaugh, Brumbaugh?
Stefan Israel
Jan 29, 20202 min read
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Mozart and the Founding Fathers
In honor of Mozart's birthday on January 27th, we look to a curious Mozart connection or two crossing the Atlantic.
Stefan Israel
Jan 27, 20201 min read
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Milestones Unlocked
I noticed that our next published blog would be #60. We've accomplished so much. Translations. Genealogy. Blogs. Presentations.
Pamela Israel
Jan 21, 20202 min read
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German Dialects, Names & More
German has developed a lot of dialects. How different are they? Platt and Schwyzerdütsch differ from the standard High German the most.
Stefan Israel
Jan 10, 20203 min read
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Little Christmas spirits with the Christmas spirit
How to express Yule-tide greetings in German and the Scandinavian countries - inspired by 1960s postcards. Plus examples of some Scandinavia
Pamela Israel
Dec 23, 20192 min read
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1960 Christmas Card Mystery
Why were there piles of Christmas cards from 1960 sent from around the world to a young girl in Virginia?
Pamela Israel
Dec 12, 20193 min read
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Ancestors in the Internet
A Google search finds a family letter in an overseas archive showing Alois in San Francisco and corresponding with a well-known anarchist.
Stefan Israel
Nov 6, 20197 min read
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Low German, High German, Upper German- what is all that?
Are German dialects really more extreme than American dialects?
Are they ever! The Old World dialects in general are far, far more extreme t
Stefan Israel
Oct 16, 20193 min read
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German in English I
Gesundheit! Bless you? In the American melting pot, you hear bits of the various ingredients still in the mix. Here are a few examples of Ge
Stefan Israel
Oct 7, 20192 min read
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Washing & Sewing: A Diary & Tins
Sewing, in addition to laundry, used to be a responsibility that almost every woman had. And yet it can be tough to get insights into this p
Pamela Israel
Sep 19, 20193 min read
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Chicago. German Painter. White City.
It’s 1893. Chicago. Full of ambitious people eager to make their mark. Twenty-five year old Alois, trained in decorative carpentry and paint
Pamela Israel
Aug 31, 20192 min read
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Dutchland? Germany?
The tribes that coalesced into Germans spoke 'the people’s/ popular language’ as opposed to Latin
Stefan Israel
Aug 4, 20193 min read
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Why Do We Say Germany (& Not Deutschland)?
Not long ago, a friend asked me why we say Germany when the Germans use the word Deutschland. The words aren't even related! Good quest
Pamela Israel
Jul 26, 20192 min read
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The Siegfried Idyll gift
In honor of his son's third birthday, Wagner wrote an Idyll. Learn the story behind its first performance.
Stefan Israel
Jun 24, 20192 min read
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The Mystery of the Old "S" Explained
What on earth is going on with those letters? The s looks like an f !It sure does. I hope you never need those last couple of sentences. Old
Stefan Israel
Jun 5, 20194 min read
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Old German Writing Tips
Here are a couple tricks to help decipher old German handwriting, Kurrent or Suetterlin, especially important with old family letters.
Pamela Israel
May 22, 20193 min read
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H- huh? Making Sense of German
German and English both mostly use h the same, as that puff of air at the start of a word:
hello/hallo, here/hier, horn
But what’s that h do
Stefan Israel
May 8, 20193 min read
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Tips for Finding the Day of the Week
Figuring out the day of the week that something happened can be important in genealogy. Here are a couple approaches.
Pamela Israel
May 1, 20192 min read
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O du lieber Augustin
This simple song is said to date back to 1679 in Vienna, Austria - Marx Augustin was a cheery, popular balladeer and bag-piper of the time
Stefan Israel
Apr 22, 20193 min read
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