Fiefdom in a Desk
What challenges of reading an older document, such as a 15th century manuscript, and what can its language tell us? Who, when, where & more!
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Stefan Israel
- Mar 30, 2023
- 2 min
Two Dots and an Umlaut
Unlocking the umlaut. History of the two dots.
419 views
Stefan Israel
- May 8, 2019
- 3 min
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
611 views
Stefan Israel
- Sep 21, 2018
- 4 min
Clues Hidden in "von" and "van"?
People's surnames often provide clues into their way back family history. Learn what Von and Van mean for the Dutch and Germans.
21,142 views
Stefan Israel
- Nov 15, 2017
- 2 min
The Curious History of the German 'Doubled S' - ß
Ä, Ö and Ü are simple variations of familiar letters, but the ​​fourth letter that German has that we don’t is the real kicker:  ß Eszett
5,585 views
Stefan Israel
- Oct 2, 2017
- 2 min
Are those even the same letters in old German?
Old German letters are tough to read but they are mostly the same alphabet we use - just with a few variations.
559 views
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