Theodiscus

The term is derived from the Old High German diutisc ( West Frankish * Þeodisk ), which originally meant " belonging to the people " meant ( Germanic Þeudā, Old High German diot [ a], people ). With this word, especially the vernacular of all speakers of a Germanic idiom was called in contrast to the Italians the Roman neighboring peoples, French or Italian and also in contrast to the Latin of the Christian priests in their own area of the Germanic peoples.

Linguistic and historical roots

The inferred Indo-European root word * teuta carried the meaning " people people." This is also supported by eg Celtic Tuatha Dé Danann terms like ( cf. thiuda ).

The first important evidence is a passage from the 4th century, a passage in the Gothic Bible translation of Bishop Ulfilas ( Gal. 2:14 ). In its Greek original he found as a counter-concept to the Jewish concept ἐθνικός, " the Gentile people belonging ". Ulfilas translated it into Gothic with the word þiudisko. The non -Jewish peoples that were to be converted Christian, were summarized. Wulfila wrote for his Gothic fellow tribesmen, he had to use a term they understand and could relate at: þiudisko than the ( own ) people related.

While the individual languages ​​and dialects of the Germanic peoples made their own name - " Frankish ", " Gothic ", etc. - was the Old High German word diutisc successful as overall term for these dialects because you saw a common contrast to other languages. This Opposite formed the Romance languages ​​in the countries in which they had come through the migration of peoples, and in Romanesque over " France " and the Latin of the clergy. The language of his own people ( Theut ) or the group of nations within which they could communicate, therefore, was the theudische language, the German language. Was mentioned for the first time the German language as the national language in a letter from the papal nuncio Gregory of Ostria to Pope Hadrian I about two synods, which had taken place in England 786. In the letter it said literally that the decisions of the Council were tam latine quam theo Disce communicated ( " in Latin and in the vernacular "), " so that all could understand it " ( quo omnes intel casual potuissent ). In his ( Old High ) German form diutsch or tiutsch it can be first program in the writings of Notker the German. Another early reference is the Annolied, probably from the pen of a Siegburger monk from the 11th century, where country of Diutischemi, Diutsche lant, Diutischimo lante ( German land ) and Diutischin sprecchin ( German speaking ) and Diutschi you ( Germans, for the first time as collective term for the tribes of Saxony, Franconia and Bavaria ) is mentioned.

Historical development in the East Franks

In the East Franks, German - developed country from which = German -speaking country, the dialect of the tribe had a greater significance since there was the distinction between the various Germanic tribes. Otfrid of White Castle 865 used in his Gospel book theo Disce the Latin word and clarified it with frenkisg.

The function of the summary is in the poetry of the Middle Ages clearly, but also in the Sachsenspiegel of 1369, which states: " Iewelk düdesch lant hevet sinen palenzgreven: sat, Beieren, Vranken unde svaven " ( " Any German -speaking (or German ) country has his Palatine: Saxony, Bavaria, Franconia and Swabia ").

Impact in modern times

Also the part that has developed its own Dutch (or Flemish ) identity later, initially belonged to this category (see Dutch ( name) ). However, the boundaries between " nederduits " or " nederlands " and " engels " were far from fluent, eg when the refugees who fled to West Prussia Mennonites who speak a Low German - Dutch compensation dialect and after the world wars due to the pressure against all German sought to redefine in the United States partly as a Dutchman. Today, they see themselves as far as they do not consider themselves as a separate people, again as German. In contrast, the Alsace and Lorraine see in the majority today as either French Alsatian ( Alemannic ) or Moselle-Franconian language or as something of their own, in a minority but as a German.

Exonyms

In other languages ​​the name for the German be derived from a variety of other basic words next to the Old High German diutisc. Primarily, these are the Latin root for the German Germanic peoples (eg in English, Greek, Indonesian ) and the name of the tribe of the Alemanni (eg French, Spanish, Arabic). There is also a Slavic root word nemet or niemc. Furthermore, derivatives from the word for the people of Saxony (eg in Finnish, Estonian ) or the Bavarians (eg in Sorbian ) are nonexistent.