How do you read old German handwriting?
How do you read old German handwriting?
20 Tips for Deciphering Old German Handwriting
- Identify letters by the clues they offer.
- Use your insider information to differentiate between the letters that are agonizingly similar.
- Know your abbreviations.
- Keep your mind in the past.
- Play hangman.
- Forget all you know about writing rules.
- Google, google, google.
What is the old German script called?
Kurrent (German: [kʊˈʁɛnt]) is an old form of German-language handwriting based on late medieval cursive writing, also known as Kurrentschrift (“cursive script”), deutsche Schrift (“German script”) and German cursive.
When did the German script change?
The Sütterlin scripts were introduced in Prussia in 1915, and from the 1920s onwards began to replace the relatively similar old German handwriting (Kurrent) in schools. In 1935 the Sütterlin style officially became the only German script taught in schools.
When was kurrent script discontinued in Germany?
Sütterlin Kurrent is the handwriting remembered by the older German generation. Like all Fraktur and Kurrent types, it mostly disappeared after 1941.
What alphabet did the old Germanic tribes use?
The oldest of these alphabets (for the Germanic tribes) is the runic alphabet. It was created in the II – III centuries AD and was applied till the Late Middle Ages. The runic alphabet is a common Germanic script, it was used by all Germanic tribes, East Germanic, North Germanic, as well as West Germanic tribes.
What alphabet do Germanic languages use?
Like English, German uses a Latin-based alphabet, but with four additional letters, totaling 30 rather than 26 letters. Additionally, some letters in the German alphabet are associated with different sounds than in English, which requires a little reprogramming when sounding out a word.
What is the difference between old and modern German handwriting?
A point of confusion with old German handwriting is that some of its letters don’t look like their modern counterparts. The characters for c, e, n, m, and u, for example, all look very similar, while the h looks more like an f.
How can I work with old Germanic Records?
Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records. A ten-part online German Paleography Seminar is available that focuses on how to decipher simple German-language records by recognizing and writing letters in Kurrent, recognizing key genealogical terms, and recognizing common German names.
What was the old German script called?
Here is a brief description of the common old German scripts. From roughly 1150 to 1500 Western European writing used a script called black letter, also known as Gothic script or Gothic minuscule. Starting in t he 16th century, black letter was printed and written differently in German than in most other European languages.
What is Sütterlin handwriting?
The word “Sütterlin” is nowadays often used, inaccurately, to refer to all varieties of old German handwriting. Few people today can read the old German writing and thus need professional transcription and translation of these old scripts.
