Synopsis of the Changes Which the German Spelling Has Undergone Through the Government Regulations of 1880
1. Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis für die deutsche Rechtschreibung zum Gebrauch in den preußischen Schulen. Berlin, Weidmansche Buchhandlung. 2. Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis für die deutsche Rechtschreibung zum Gebrauch in den bayerischen Schulen. München, Expedition des Kgl. Zentral-Schulbücher-Verlags.
A. Vokale. (Vowels.)
| Write. | |
| Ä, Ö, Ü | (instead of Ae, Oe, Ue) in: die Äpfel (apples); die Öfen (ovens, stoves); der Überrock (overcoat), etc. In foreign words ä, ü (for Greek and French ai and French u) in: der Pädagog (pedagogue); der Kapitän (captain); die Lektüre (reading), etc. |
| ay | (instead of ai) in: Bayern (Bavaria); der Bayer (the Bavarian); bayerisch, adj. (Bavarian), and derivatives. |
| ei | (instead of ai) in: der Heide (heathen); die Heide (heath); das Getreide (grain); der Weizen (wheat), etc.—But: die Bai (bay); der Hai (shark); der Hain (grove); der Kaiser (emperor); der Laib (loaf); der Laich (spawn [of fish]); das Laichen (spawning); die Laichzeit (spawning-time); der Laie (layman); der Mai (May); die Maid (maid, maiden); der Mais (maize); maischen (to mash [in brewing]); die Saite (string); der Waid (dyer’s woad); der or die Waise (orphan [boy or girl]), and derivatives. Nouns terminating in -ee and -ie— take in the plural en, which inflection forms a separate syllable, as: die Armee´ (army), pl. die Armee´en (armies); der or die See´ (lake or sea), pl. die See´en (lakes or seas); die Melodie´ (melody), pl. die Melodie´en (melodies); die Theorie´ (theory), pl. die Theorie´en (theories), etc. But: das Komitee´ (committee), pl. die Komitee´s (committees); das Knie´ (knee), pl. die Knie´e. |
| eu | 1. (instead of äu) in: deuchten (to appear, to seem); mir deucht (it seems to me, methinks); ihm deuchte (he thought); (durch)-bleuen (to give [one] a hearty drubbing, to beat [one] black and blue); [but: (durch)-bläuen (to make or dye blue)]; der Greuel (horror); leugnen (to deny); verleumden (to slander), etc. 2. in the termination eur (sounded as in French), in: der Commandeur (commander); der Redacteur (editor), etc. |
| i | (instead of y) in: der Gips (plaster of Paris); die Silbe (syllable); der Sirup (syrup); der Vampir (vampire), etc. [Comp. ay.] |
| ie | (instead of i) in the verbal termination ie´ren, as in: studie´ren (to study); spazie´ren (to go for a walk); marschie´ren (to march); probie´ren (to try, to test); hantie´ren (to handle, to manage), etc.—and in their derivatives, as in: die Hantie´rung (management, business, profession), etc.; also in: gieb (give), and derivatives. |
| ou | (pronounced as in French, instead of u) in words coming from the French, as die Fourage (forage); der Fourier (quarter master); der Fournier (veneer), etc. Only one Vowel (instead of two)— in: bar (bare, destitute of; [of money]: in cash); die Barschaft (ready money, cash in hand); das Maß (measure); das Schaf (sheep); die Schar (troop, herd); der Star (starling; [in medicine]: cataract); die Wage (scales); die Ware (goods); der Herd (hearth); die Herde (herd, flock); das Kamel (camel); das Los (lot, fate); losen (to cast lots); die Losung (the casting or drawing of lots); der Schoß (lap, middle; [of dress]: skirt, or tail); etc. |
B. Konsonanten. (Consonants.) d
(instead of dt) in: der Tod (death); todkrank (sick unto death); todmüde (tired to death); die Todsünde (deadly or mortal sin); tödlich (deadly, mortal, fatal), etc.—Comp. letter t (instead of dt).
f
(instead of ph) in: Adolf (Adolphus); der Elefant (elephant); der Fasan (pheasant); Rudolf (Ralph); Westfalen (Westphalia), etc.—But: der Epheu (ivy) from the old German word Ebheu.
h
1. h remains as a sign of lengthening a syllable:—
(a) In syllables beginning with a t-sound and containing a long vowel, but not a diphthong or a double vowel, as in: die That (deed); die Thräne (tear); der Thron (throne); der Thor (fool); das Thor (gate); thun (to do); that (did); gethan (done), etc. [Comp. h, 2 (a).]
(b) before l, m, n, and r, as in: allmählich (gradually); befehlen (to command); nehmen (to take); wohnen (to live, to reside); lehren (to teach), etc. Exceptions: die Feme (an old secret criminal court in Westphalia) and derivatives, as: der Femrichter (a judge of that court), and derivatives.
(c) in: die Fehde (feud, quarrel); die Mahd (mowing), from mähen (to mow); der Draht (wire) from drehen (to turn); die Naht (seam), from nähen (to sew), and other words derived from verbs containing an aspirated h.
(d) in a few proper names, as in: Bertha, Günther, Martha, Mathilde, Theobald, Theodor, etc.
(e) in many nouns originally Greek, as: die Kathedra´le (cathedral); das Thema (theme); die Theologie´; die Theorie´; das Thermome´ter; der Pa´nther, etc.
2. h is not retained after t:—
(a) in syllables beginning with a t-sound and containing a diphthong or a double vowel, as in: der Tau (dew); das Tau (rope); der Teer (tar); teeren (to tar); der or das Teil (part, or share); teuer (dear); das Tier (animal); verteidigen (to defend), etc., and derivatives.—Exception: der Thee (tea), and derivatives.
(b) in the suffixes tum and tüm (formerly thum and thüm), as in: das Eigentum (property); das Königtum (kingdom); das Ungetüm (monster), etc.
(c) at the end of syllables, and at the beginning of syllables before a short vowel, as in:—die Armut (poverty); der Atem (breath); atmen (to breathe); die Blüte (blossom); die Flut (flood); das Gerät (tools); die Glut (glow); der Kot (dirt); das Lot (a weight of half an ounce, now obsolete); der Met (mead); die Miete (rent; a corn or hay-stack; mite); der Mut (courage); die Not (need); nötigen (to urge; to invite; to compel); der or die Pate (god-father or god-mother); der Rat (advice); raten (to advise; to guess); das Rätsel (riddle); rot (red); die Röte (redness); die Rute (rod); der Turm (tower); der Wert (value); wert (worth, dear); der Wirt (host, landlord); die Wut (rage), and derivatives, as: ratlos (without advice or means: helpless); wertvoll (valuable, precious); das Wirtshaus (inn), etc.
Mark well: hurra! (hurra!).
1. (instead of c) in many words originally Greek, as in: die Akademie´, (academy); pra´ktisch (practical); die Arithmeti´k (arithmetic); die Physi´k (natural philosophy), etc.—But: der Chara´kter; die Melancholie´.
2. (instead of c and qu) in many words originally Latin or French, but which have become quite germanised, and are now looked upon as altogether German words, as: der Advoka´t (lawyer); das Boske´tt (thicket) from the French: le bosquet; das Loka´l (locality); das Pu´blikum (public); vaka´nt (vacant); der Vulka´n (volcano), etc.—More especially in words terminating in ...kel, as in: der Arti´kel; die Parti´kel; die Flo´skel (flourish), pl. die Flo´skeln (fine words, frequently made use of with a deceptive purpose).
3. (instead of c) in words with the prefixes Ko-, Kol-, Kom-, Kon-, Kor-, and also in syllables containing a k-sound followed by t (...kt), as in: die Kopie´ (copy); die Kolonie´ (colony); der Kommanda´nt (commander); der Ko´nstabler (constable); das Konze´rt (concert); die Korresponde´nz (correspondence), etc.; die Didakti´k (didactics); das Edi´kt (edict), etc.—But: das Di´ctum, because not germanised, etc.—
Mark well: der Kaffee´ (coffee), but: das Café (a fine restaurant where mostly coffee is served).
NOTE. In foreign words which have preserved a foreign pronunciation, or certain foreign forms of spelling or inflection, do not use k, but c, as in: die Campagne (campaign); der Commi´s (clerk); das Flaco´n (smelling-bottle); der Redakteu´r (editor); die Adjecti´va (adjectives), etc.
Doubtful Orthography. We find: Konze´rt and Conce´rt, n.; Ka´rzer (prison in schools and universities) and Ca´rcer, m.; Komitee´ and Comite´, n.; Kompanie´ and Compagnie´, f.; conze´ntrisch (concentric) and conce´ntrisch; Konzessio´n and Concessio´n, f.; Konzi´l (council) and Conci´l, n.; klassifizie´ren (to classify) and classificie´ren; Ku´rsus (course of study) and Cu´rsus, m.; korre´kt and corre´ct; Konjunktio´n and Conjunctio´n, etc., etc.
From these examples it will be seen that the mode of spelling is fluctuating between k and c, and c and z, in many words which originally contained the letter c. The first way is to be preferred, and strongly recommended, in all the words given above, and many others in common use that contain a k or a z-sound and are quite germanised in spelling and inflection. (Comp. C. 3.)
Use also k instead of c in words of Greek origin which have preserved the k-sound, as:—Anekdo´te, katho´lisch, Komö´die, Diale´kt, etc.—[Comp. B, letter k, 1.]—And write c and cq, as before, in: A´cce´nt, A´ccusati´v, A´cquisitio´n, etc.—
-nis
(instead of niß) as a suffix of nouns, as in: das Ereignis (event); das Begräbnis (burial); das Verhältnis (relation); das Vermä´chtnis (bequest), etc.—
The prefix miß..., however, remains unchanged, as in: das Mi´ßverständnis (misunderstanding), pl. die Mi´ßverständnisse.
s
(instead of ß) in deshalb (therefore); deswegen (therefore, for this reason); indes (meanwhile, whilst; however); unterdes (meanwhile, whilst); weshalb (why); weswegen (why), etc.—
sſ
(instead of ſſ) in: dasſelbe (the same); desſelben (of the same); diesſeits (on this side), etc.
st
(instead of ſt) in: Dienstag (Tuesday); Geburtstag (birthday); Frühlingstag (spring-day), and other compound nouns in which s occurs as a sign of the Genitive and is followed by a t.
ſſ
between two vowels, the first one of which is short, as in laſſen (to let, to leave); die Taſſe (cup); trotz deſſen (in spite of that); weſſen (whose), etc.—
ß
1. between two vowels, the first one of which is long, as in: bü´ßen (to atone for); schießen (to shoot), etc.
2. before t, and at the end of words, as in: er läßt (he leaves); ihr laßt (you leave); gebüßt (atoned for); laß (let); der Kuß (kiss), etc.—
t
(instead of dt) in: der Tote (a dead man or person); tot (dead); töten (to kill); der Totschlag (manslaughter); der Totengräber (gravedigger), etc.—Comp. letter d (instead of dt.)
t
(instead of d) in: das Brot (bread).
t
(and never z) in the accented and original Latin combinations:—tia´, tie´, tio´, as in martia´lisch, Patie´nt, m., Natio´n, f., Traditio´n, f., Motio´n, etc.
But write: Gra´zie, Ingredie´nzien, etc., e being unaccented.
z
1. (instead of tz) after a long vowel, as in: die Bre´zel (biscuit in the shape of a twisted ring, cracknel); du´zen (to call a person thou), etc.
2. (instead of Cz and Sc) in: der Zar (czar); das Zepter (sceptre), etc.
3. (instead of ce) regularly at the end of foreign words with German pronunciation and terminating in French in ce, and in Latin in tia, tius, tium, cius, cium, as in: das Benefi´z, die Justi´z, das Hospi´z, die Mili´z, die Noti´z; die Differe´nz, die Sente´nz, die Vaka´nz; die Fina´nzen, die Novi´ze, die Allia´nz, die Dista´nz, etc.—(But with foreign pronunciation: Alliance, Distance, etc.)
4. also in words quite germanised, as: der Bezi´rk (district, circuit); die La´nze (lance); die Polizei´ (police); der Polizi´st (policeman); das Terzero´l (pocket-pistol); das Terze´tt (trio), etc.—But write: Cä´sar, die Cäsu´r (cesure, cesura); die Ce´der, die Celebritä´t, die Censu´r (censorship), censie´ren (to censure, to review), der Ce´ntime´ter, die Cerea´lien (cereals), das Cöliba´t, der Ci´rkumfle´x, das Lyce´um, etc.
5. (instead of c) in verbs terminating in ...ie´ren, as: fabrizie´ren (to manufacture); musizie´ren (to make music); publizie´ren (to publish), etc.
Note. In many words which originally contained the letter c, the mode of spelling is unsettled and fluctuating between c and z, as in: Medizi´n and Medici´n, f.; das Rezept and Recept, n. (prescription, recipe); Prinzi´p and Princi´p, n. (principle); Proze´nt and Proce´nt, n. (per cent.); Proze´ß and Proce´ß, m., etc.—[Read carefully B, Note to letter k, also letter t of B, and General Observations on the Spelling of Foreign Words, where additional examples are given.]
C. Allgemeine Bemerkungen Über die Schreibung der Fremdwörter
(General Observations on the Spelling of Foreign Words.)
1. With foreign words containing sounds and combinations of sounds not originally German, THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE regarding their orthography is that, their foreign pronunciation being preserved, also the foreign garb of their orthography is retained.
So, for example, we use:—
oi (sounded as in French) in: die Memoi´ren (memoirs); die Toile´tte (toilet).
g and j (sounded as in French) in: die Baga´ge (luggage); das Logi´s (lodgings); der Genda´rm (a police-officer on horseback); das Genie´ (genius; a man of great talent); der Ingenieu´r (engineer); das Journa´l (journal, magazine); rangie´ren (to arrange), etc.—But with German pronunciation: der Genera´l (general); genia´l (highly gifted); die Genialitä´t (geniality, originality), etc.—
gn (sounded as in French) in: der Champa´gner (champaign); die Lorgne´tte (lorgnette, eye-glass), etc.
ll (sounded like English l followed by y) in: das Bataillo´n (battalion); das Bi´llard (billiards); das Bille´t (ticket; note); der Postillo´n (postillion), etc.
n (sounded as in French, but not quite so nasal) in: die Nua´nce (gradation of colours); das Bassi´n (reservoir); der Refrai´n (refrain); der Rayo´n (ray of light; [of a fortification]: radius); das Violonce´ll (violoncello), etc.
2. Many foreign words, on the other hand, composed of German sounds, which might be indicated by German letters, have as yet preserved their original orthography. So we find:—
ai (for the sound of ä) in: die Chai´se (chaise), from the French;
au and eau (for the sound of o) in: die Sau´ce (sauce); das Bureau (office), from the French;
ch (for the sound of sch) in: die Chaussee´ (turnpike-road), from the French;
ch (for the Greek k-sound) in: der or das Chor (choir or chorus), from the Greek;
ph (for the sound of f) in: der Philoso´ph (philosopher), from the Greek;
th (for the sound of t) in: der Thron (throne), from the Greek; and
v (for the German w-sound) in: viole´tt (violet-blue, adj.), from the French.
3. Again we find foreign words which, being in common use and composed of German sounds, have become entirely germanised, and wear a German garb; as: die Tru´ppe (troop, company), French: la troupe; die Gru´ppe (group), French: la groupe; der Disku´rs (discourse), French: le discours; der Sekretä´r (secretary), French: le secrétaire.
It follows from the three preceding paragraphs:—that it is impossible to reduce the spelling of foreign words to any fixed principles, and that there exists at present much uncertainty and inconsistency respecting the spelling of such words. [Comp. B, Consonants, Note to letter k, also B, letter z, where additional examples are given.]
D. Kleinschreibung und Zusammenziehung
(Small Initials [instead of Capitals] and Contractions.)
USE SMALL INITIALS:—
1. With Nouns used as Prepositions, Conjunctions, Indefinite Numerals, and Adverbs, as in: angesichts (in the face of); infolge (in consequence of); behufs (on behalf of);—falls (in case of);—ein bißchen (a bit, a little); ein paar (a few, some, some few);—anfangs (in the beginning); teils (partly); einesteils (on the one part or hand); andernteils (on the other part or hand); meinerseits (on my part); morgens (in the morning); abends (in the evening); vormittags (in the fore-noon) [but: des Morgens, des Abends, heute Nachmittag, etc., Sonntags, Montags, etc.]; überhaupt (in general, altogether, moreover); unterwegs (on the way); heutzutage (now-a-days); beizeiten (in time, betimes); bisweilen (at times); einmal (once); zweimal (twice); bergauf (uphill); kopfüber (head over heels), etc.
2. With Nouns used in Verbal-Combinations, in which, by the by, they are strongly accented, and treated as separable particles, i.e. are separated from the verb and placed at the end of the clause when used in a principal sentence and in a simple tense. Such Verbal-Combinations are:—re´cht haben (to be right); u´nrecht haben (to be wrong); lei´d thun (to be sorry); we´h thun (to hurt);—schu´ld haben or sein (to be in fault);—fei´nd sein (to be hostile); mir ist a´ngst, wo´hl (I am afraid, well); mir ist no´t (it is necessary to me, I require); mir ist we´he (I am grieved); das ist scha´de (that is a pity); ich bin wi´llens (I have a mind, I intend);—sta´ttfinden, sta´tthaben (to take place); wa´hrnehmen (to perceive); tei´lnehmen (to take part in, to sympathise with); ü´berhandnehmen (to increase); hau´shalten (to keep house, to manage); a´chtgeben (to pay attention); prei´sgeben (to abandon, to expose); bra´chliegen (to lie fallow); zusta´tten kommen (to be of use, to come in usefully); insta´nd setzen (to repair, to restore); zusta´nde kommen (to accomplish); imsti´ch lassen (to leave in the lurch), etc.—Er hält haus; es ist mir zustatten gekommen; es hat überhandgenommen; es ist mir zuteil geworden. But: Er hat keinen Teil an mir, etc.
3. With Pronouns and Numerals, as:—jemand, niemand, jeder, keiner, einer, der eine, der andere, man;—etliche (some), einige, einzelne, manche, viele, alle, alles, etwas, nichts, beide;—die (alle) andern, das (alles) andre, die (alle) übrigen, das (alles) übrige, das meiste, der (das) nämliche, der erste, der letzte, der zweite, der nächste, der erste beste, ein jeglicher, etc.
But:—Use Capital Initials (as before):—
(a) with Ordinal Numerals and Adjectives preceded by the definite article and used in apposition to a proper noun, as: Friedrich der Zweite; Karl der Große, etc.
(b) With Pronouns and Adjectives in titles, as:—Se. Majestät der König; das Kaiserliche Zollamt (the Imperial Custom-House); der Wirkliche Geheimrat von Humboldt (the Privy Councillor von Humboldt).
(c) With Pronouns used in addressing persons, more especially in letters, as:—Sie genießen mein volles Vertrauen; wir glauben Ihnen alles; das Haus Ihrer Eltern war mir stets geöffnet; ich will Dir bald mehr davon erzählen; stets bleibe ich Dein Dich liebender Sohn Heinrich, etc.
4. In Adjectival and Adverbial Clauses, as:—groß und klein (grown up people and children); arm und reich (poor and rich people); alt und jung, durch dick und dünn;—am besten, fürs erste, bei weitem (by far); aufs deutlichste, im allgemeinen, im ganzen, im folgenden, im wesentlichen (essentially, in all essential points); von neuem, vor kurzem, im voraus (beforehand); von vorne, ohne weiteres, um ein beträchtliches, etc.—and also in idiomatic phrases, such as:—Er zieht den kürzern dabei (he is the loser by it); ich will Ihnen Ihre Unarten zugute halten (I will bear with your rudeness; I will excuse your incivilities); der Junge hat Sie zum besten (the boy amuses himself at your expense); ich will es Ihnen zuliebe thun (I will do it to please you), etc.
E. Zerlegung der Wörter in Silben
(Division of Words into Syllables.)
1. When part of a German word has to be separated from the rest in order to be carried on to the next line, the division into Syllables is made as we would naturally deliver them whilst pronouncing the word very slowly and distinctly. The compound letters: ch, ck, dt, pf, ph, sch, sp, st, ß, th, and tz, should, as a rule, not be separated. [For exceptions see § 2 of this chapter.] Examples:—ru-hen, die-ser, Son-ne, Mut-ter, Mit-tag, den-noch, Flüs-se, Wet-ter-glas, fünf-te, An-ker, Wech-sel, Hoff-nung, Hoff-nun-gen, Fin-ger, Lang-sam-keit,—Brü-che, ha-cken, Stä-dte, klo-pfen, Or-tho-gra-phie, lö-schen, aus-spre-chen, lä-stig, schie-ßen, Lo-thar, kra-tzen, He-xe.
2. The syllables forming the constituent parts of Compound Words should not be broken up, and the principal rule, as expressed above, cannot always be applied to them. Examples: hin-ein, hier-auf, her-ein, dar-um, war-um, vor-aus, voll-en-den, In-ter-es-se, Mi-kro-skop, At-mo-sphä-re, Schiff-fahrt, Schwimmm-mei-ster, ge-müt-lich, Dis-pens, dis-pu-tie-ren, Dis-po-si-ti-on, be-ob-ach-ten, auf-er-ste-hen, Ge-burts-tag, Früh-lings-tag. But write ‘Schiffahrt’ and ‘Schwimmeister’ when no separation takes place.
F. der Apostroph. (The Apostrophe.)
1. The Apostrophe is more especially used for indicating the suppression of certain letters in poetry and in the language of every-day life, as in English. Examples: Ich lieb’ dich; Steh’ auf! Wie geht’s? So ist’s recht; Geld hab’ ich nicht.
2. Contractions of prepositions and articles are used without the Apostrophe, as: am, beim, unterm, ans, ins, zum.
3. The Apostrophe is abolished before the inflections indicating the Genitive relation of proper names, as: Ciceros Briefe; Schillers Gedichte; Homers Ilias; Fritzens Geburtstag; Hamburgs Handel; Sophiens Mutter; die Einwohner Breslaus.
4. Family names, however, terminating in s or z, the genitive of which cannot be formed by adding s, require an Apostrophe to be placed after them for indicating the Genitive relation, as: Demosthenes’ Reden; Voß’ Luise.