Transylvanian Saxon dialect

Spoken in

• Indo-European Germanic West - Germanic high German Central German West Middle German Central Franconian Moselle Franconian Transylvanian - Saxon

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Acc ( other Germanic languages)

Transylvanian - Saxon (proper name: Siweberjesch Såksesch or simply Såksesch, Romanian: săseşte, Hungarian: Erdélyi Szasz Landlerisch: Soksisch ) is the language of the Transylvanian Saxons. Transylvanian Saxon dialect is spoken by about 200,000 speakers, in Germany, Austria and in the initial region of origin Transylvania.

Definition

The Transylvanian Saxon is a predominantly Moselle Franconian dialect relic embossed, in part, on the level of development of the Middle High German. It is one of the oldest surviving German settlers languages ​​that originated as compensation dialect different dialects from the 12th century and has preserved many medieval forms and idioms, the West Central German elements outweigh significantly. Thus, the most closely related dialects are the Ripuarian and Luxembourgish.

Contact with Hungary ( Székelys ) and Romanians mediated through the centuries, influences from these languages ​​. Had stronger embossing but from the 16th century, the Reformation and the language of Luther's Bible, which the New High German written language of the Saxons was. In spoken language, in the private sector, then, on the other hand always dominated the Transylvanian Saxon dialect, both in the villages of Transylvania as well as in urban centers such as Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara and Bistrita.

By escape from Transylvania during the Second World War and the wave of emigration after the end of communism in 1989, live from the once 250,000 (1910 ) today only to the 17,000 Transylvanian Saxons in Romania, the language in its various local dialects still as a mother tongue speak. In Germany, Austria, Canada and the United States, the Saxon is still partially spoken by the emigrants at home or at meetings of Transylvanian Saxon cultural associations, but rarely passed on to the second and third generations, thus it is quite to be among the endangered languages.

Transylvanian - Saxon is not to be confused with the languages ​​of other German minorities in Romania, such as the Sathmar and Banat Swabians, the Banat Mountains Germans, the country learning, the Zipsers and the Bukovina Germans, who each have a different story and a different dialect or language.

Origin and Name

Transylvanian - Saxon language has emerged in the High Middle Ages as a balancing of different dialect groups of settlers. Earlier it was suggested in the research that the Saxons have come from a certain German speaking region in a closed immigration, but this was disproved. Nevertheless, a group of settlers from Lower Lorraine played the decisive role in the shaping of language. This came in Transylvania earlier immigrant and fewer Bavarian and Lower German settlers. It is believed that the process of speech alignment took several generations. Here, the smaller groups of settlers adapted largely to the Moselle Franconian language forms, whereby the Transylvanian - Saxon clearly dominate the West Central German forms. However, precise statements on this Angle ego process are only possible with as few non-Latin texts have survived.

The oldest text in a Transylvanian - Saxon today related form has survived until the 17th century. Including a certificate from John Comforter description of Transylvania under the title The Old and New Teutsche Dacia ( 1666), which contains examples of text on Transylvanian - Saxon. From this time Transylvanian - Saxon is well documented, although it was later, especially since the 19th century, largely displaced in the writing of the NHG.

With the historical people of Saxony Transylvanian - Saxon has therefore no direct contact points, also not with the current state of Saxony, as the core group of the Frankish -speaking Lower Lorraine was born, so from a historical region now divided between Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands is. The name derives from the Latin rather Saxones in old Hungarian documents from, which in the Middle Ages all German settlers were meant (see also Transylvanian Saxons ).

The proper name is Saksesch also emerged only recently. In the old peasant dialects own language was referred to simply as Detsch ( German ), while in contrast to this, the German the country foreign, mostly Austrian soldiers and officers in the time when Transylvania was under Habsburg rule, was moëseresch ( military ) called.

Characteristics

Due to the historical settlement structure Transylvanian - Saxon divided into about 250 different local dialects. The Transylvanian Saxons namely not lived continuously in a closed settlement area, but their Saxon settlements were in Hungarian and Romanian varieties and the next Saxony village was often a few kilometers away. Partial passed the villages even of two districts, a Saxon and a Hungarian or a Saxon and a Romanian. Thus were formed typical local dialects, but in spite of the sometimes considerable differences in pronunciation and vocabulary among themselves were largely understandable ( Mutual intelligibility ).

The following example illustrates the different pronunciation in different südsiebenbürgischen villages on the phrase " A crow sitting on a post." While it is in Mosna as "En Kroh sätzt ÅF em Pohl " ( in Medias ) pronounced, it is the only 3 km away Nimesch "En Kröëh sätzt ÅF em Pöëhl " while it is in Großalisch ( in Sighisoara ) "En Kreëh sätzt ÅF em Peëhl ". The example can be continued in a variety of versions. The people still have each other, understood down to the individual very vernacular idioms, without major difficulties. It happened that the pronunciation of the new village was adopted on moving to a different location to avoid teasing. Especially when moving to the city, the force as a fine urban debate was gladly accepted. In moments of excitement but then was occasionally switches back to his native tone.

Major regional differences existed only between the northern settlement area in Nösnerland (around Bistrita ) and the Reener Ländchen (by Saxon rain) on the one hand and the southern area around Sibiu and Medias, the Burzenland ( around Kronstadt ) and the undergrowth on the other hand, the southern varieties the speaker richer were and are. For this reason it is also next to the commonly held Transylvanian - Saxon Dictionary also the Nordsiebenbürgisch - Saxon Dictionary.

Characteristic for all flavors However, the following features:

• Contrary to the High German consonant shift in Lautungen the Second Transylvanian Saxon is only partially realized. While it is similar to the High German varieties, "water" (Dutch: water ), " wet" (Dutch: nat) and " Zekt " (time, Dutch:. Tijd ) is, have other words on the non-shifted forms, about: " det " (that ), "dat " ( that ) and " Wat " (what), " genet " ( that), "en gadet " ( a good one) and " Carriers " ( between; Dutch: tussen. ).
• " Aser " (our ) " foot ", " gas " ( goose), ( Fox), " Uëßelt " ( armpit): In all dialects the n and ch before a s gone.
• Contrary to the Middle High German primary umlaut rule a / is continuous e / spoken in the Transylvanian - Saxon: " mät ( with ), " grasses ( grass), " Däsch " ( table ), " Fäsch " (fish), " mäschen ( mix ).
• As the Moselle Franconian forms the Transylvanian - Saxon diphthongs, where the standard German short vowels has: Wieschen " Iësch ( ash), " " ( wash ), " it smells (right)

City ​​dialects

While the rural local dialects for those who only a standard German language skills, are largely incomprehensible to moderate forms of the Transylvanian - Saxon who in the 19th and 20th centuries in the larger cities formed, the standard German both in pronunciation and in vocabulary elements was added. Especially the Sibiu and Brasov Saxon were here as exemplary and were therefore used for poetry, literature and song lyrics. These forms enjoyed a high reputation and were in contrast to Germany also spoken by the middle classes and the educated class, comparable to the linguistic situation in Alsace, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Nevertheless, these city dialects have had a considerable distance to the linguistic standard German and it was sharp distinction between Transylvanian - Saxon and the standard German. An interview was conducted either in one variety or the other, but not on a Varietätenkontinuum back and ongoing alternation, as in Austria and Bavaria is often the case. The mother tongue was there for almost all of the Saxony dialect, while the children had to learn as a foreign language High German in school only. By the end of the 19th century, it was therefore also in the Protestant Church, which belong to the Saxons by a large majority, as usual, to preach Transylvanian - Saxon and sing. It was not until the early 20th century was introduced as a " proclamation language" high German.

Multilingualism

In addition to this diglossic situation existing between Transylvanian - Saxon and High German, had and still have many Transylvanian Saxons also expertise in Romanian and often also in Hungarian. This multilingualism was not limited to educated circles because almost every Saxon had direct dealings with Romanian or Hungarian-speaking neighbors, work colleagues, artisans, farmers and traders. While, clearly was the Hungarian language with the higher prestige until 1918, when Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, it was then more and more the Romanian. Today, almost all living in Romania Transylvanian Saxons speak fluent Romanian, while the Hungarian competence is now greatly diminished, and it can be seen almost exclusively in elderly or very elderly people. However, sometimes a clear gradient in the Romanian expertise between people who have learned before the end of World War II Romanian and those who later learned, or between people in villages with a high proportion of the Transylvanian Saxons and those from villages with a small proportion of German people recognizable.

Codification

Unlike most German regional languages ​​has Transylvanian - Saxon a standardized codification, so your own spelling, which is specified by the then published in Strasbourg Transylvanian - Saxon Dictionary since 1907. This Verschriftlichungsform is very similar to the Luxembourg spelling, especially with regard to the conventions actually for the different vowels and diphthongs. It is a non-binding recommendation to the writer who can still adapt to their local dialect their personal style. For easier readability, however, most publications depend on Transylvanian - Saxon after this spelling.

Since in Luxembourg and textbooks for learning the language will be issued is due to the great similarity of the two languages ​​persons who are interested in Transylvanian - Saxon, often recommended to purchase the first knowledge of this Luxembourg books, because there are such teaching materials for are not the Transylvanian - Saxon.

The examples listed in the dictionary articles from the deed language and the document sentences in the dialect are language and cultural history of high interest. Some of them are also considered as documentation of a nascent in the downfall dialect.

Literature on Transylvanian - Saxon

The beginnings:

• Valentin Frank von Frankenstein (1643-1697), Count of Saxony from Sibiu, the oldest preserved rhymes wrote on Transylvanian - saxon (translations of verses of Ovid )
• Johann Seivert (1735-1785), priest from the village of hammer, representative of the Enlightenment in Transylvania of the 18th century
• Simon Gottlieb Brandsch (1773-1852), rector and parish priest from Medias
• Joseph Filtsch (1782-1860), pastor in Broos, Urwegen and Mühlbach
• Susanna Löprich, pastor's wife of small chafing
• Marlin Josef (1824-1849), writer and journalist from Mühlbach
• Viktor Kästner (1826-1857), from Kerz

Later dialect authors:

• Helene place ( Saksesch Wält s uch host Beld, 1912)
• Georg Meyndt (1852-1903), folk poets from Reichersdorf
• Otto Piringer (1874-1950), from Broos
• Dutz Schuster (1885-1968), from Medias
• Karl Gustav Empire (1905-1997), from Sibiu
• Maria Haydl (1910-1969), from Arbegen
• Paul Rampelt (1921-1996), from Medias
• Oskar Pastior (1927-2006), from Sibiu

In a 1988 published anthology Horst Schuller Anger takes many contemporary authors: Erhard Antoni ( 1898-1985 ), Georg Baku ( b. 1928 ), Michael Barner ( 1881-1985 ), Anni Barthelmie (* 1924), Daniel Bayer ( 1901 - 1983), Maria Beckert (* 1935), Frieda binder ( 1908-1986 ), Anni Böhm ( born 1929 ), Henry E. Bretz ( 1891-1987 ), Adelheid Elst (born 1965 ), Maria Gierlich - Graef (* 1930), Ernst Gyöngyösi ( b. 1946 ), Doris Hutter ( b. 1957 ), Hedwig waiter (* 1920), Elizabeth Kessler ( born 1951 ), Oswald Kessler ( born 1948 ), Hermann Klein ( b. 1928 ), Hermione Kloos ( 1903-1987 ) Gerhardt Hermann Klöss (* 1960 ), Georg Kraus ( * 1914), Rosa Kraus ( 1896-1984 ), Christian Lang ( born 1926 ), Rudolf Martini ( 1904-1986 ), Wilhelm Meitert ( b. 1956 ), Richard Mildt (* 1923), Walter Plajer ( * 1920 ), Michael travel Auer ( born 1929 ), Michael Risch (* 1914), Katharina Schmidt ( born 1919 ), Friedrich Schuster ( born 1950 ), Walter Gottfried Seidner ( b. 1938 ), Catherine Thudt (* 1923), Grete Welther (* 1911), Peter Windt (* 1900).

Samples

The following example returns voice again an old ballad on Transylvanian - Saxon and High German. It should be emphasized that the individual words almost one correspond to one, but differ considerably and thus the spelling pronunciation is.

De Rach ( Siweberjesch Ballad )

HIE rode berjuëf, HIE rode berjåff, BAES e se un em Brannen met.

Geaden roof, roof geaden, ir Laef Härrn, nea wäll I met ech Riede gärn!

Wat Huët ech menj Fra uch Känjd gedon, DAT ir mer se Huët nedergeschlon?

Wat Huët ech Danish jang Easchuld gedon, Dat sa nea stiindiut äm ming lån?

The enes upset HIE vum Ruess eruëf Diem Andren schleach e det Hiift em UEF.

Tue drätten gap e laundry en Fäsch, the fourth lef CHANGE the gränen Bäsch.

Net energy wul do bläiwe Stohn, net energy wul to Åntwert son.

HIE rode dohänne mät fräschem Meat, esi bezuëlt em en found geat.

Revenge ( Transylvanian ballad )

He rode downhill, he rode up the hill, until he met at a fountain.

Good day, good day, dear Lord, now I will like to talk with you!

What did you my ' wife and child, that ye have me niedergeschlag'n?

What did you done the young innocence, that they now steintod Lahn on the ground?

The third he split like a fish, the fourth was in the green bush.

No einz'ger want to ' stay there stand, No einz'ger wanted geb'n answer.

He rode thither with fresh courage, so you pay for his enemies well.