“It is a romantic feature of the unified language to erect beautiful tombstones for the vanquished dialects after victory,” wrote the Viennese language critic Fritz Mauthner even before the First World War.
A book has now been published by Dudenverlag that portrays Low German and another that is dedicated to Hessian.
Do you have to look at the nicely designed ribbons as tombstones, with the inscription "Duden" as the last greeting from the standard German who was left behind?
That would be premature even today.
Although the importance of the dialects has declined further since Mauthner's time - more so in the north and in the middle of the German-speaking area than in the south - there is no reason to issue the death certificate to the dialects.
Many people are still snacking, choosing, calling, babbling or gossiping, and many more still understand what is being said.
Many who cannot do both are interested in spite of this – or because of it – in the native exoticism of these language worlds.
The two volumes provide you all with an insight that is as informative as it is entertaining.
The authors are proven experts on the subject.
Reinhard Goltz, who wrote the Low German volume, has been head of the Institute for Low German in Bremen for many years;
Lars Vorberger explored the Hessian language area at the Marburg Research Center German Language Atlas.
Both authors manage without linguistic jargon, but also avoid the fussy humor that is usually attached to dialects.
The contact history between Low and High German
Each volume is divided into forty-eight individually defined keywords, which serve as hooks for short texts on vocabulary and language history, the structure of the dialect area, grammatical peculiarities, the role of the dialect in people's everyday lives, in regional culture and in the media.
The Low German volume starts with "Altsächsisch", the oldest level of this language, presents the secret anthem of the Low Germans with "Dat du mien Leevsten büst" and explains under "Laut shift" how the Low German "Ik will eten un slapen" is translated into High German "I want to eat and sleep" became.
Under "Moin" the reader gets to know the success story of the crisp, short greeting and under "Wat de Buer nich knows, dat fritt he nich" the culinary delights of the Low Germans.
The volume ends with the keyword "bilingualism", under which the eventful contact history between Low and Standard German is outlined.
Two men, two women and two pen
The Hessen book opens with the "Ahle Worscht", which is not only a salami-like delicacy from northern Hesse, but also offers the opportunity to play through the many phonetic differences between Kassel and Darmstadt, Giessen and Fulda.
The keyword "Goethe" (aka "Geede") gives an opportunity to address the poet's Hessian pronunciation (Ach neiche / Du Painful), while "Kall, mei Trobbe" (Karl, my drops) resemble the immortal Mama Hesselbach from the TV series name – a language that does not come from a rooted dialect, but is a “Media Hessian” that is broadcast throughout Germany.