AUGH! From German to English
AUGH! It’s not just a cry of distress, it’s an anglicization. Why do we see lots of names ending in -augh? Baugh, Grumbaugh, Brumbaugh?
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Stefan Israel
Oct 7, 20192 min read
German in English I
Gesundheit! Bless you? In the American melting pot, you hear bits of the various ingredients still in the mix. Here are a few examples of Ge
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Pamela Israel
May 22, 20193 min read
Old German Writing Tips
Here are a couple tricks to help decipher old German handwriting, Kurrent or Suetterlin, especially important with old family letters.
2,161 views
Stefan Israel
May 8, 20193 min read
H- huh? Making Sense of German
German and English both mostly use h the same, as that puff of air at the start of a word:
hello/hallo, here/hier, horn
But what’s that h do
627 views
Stefan Israel
Jan 31, 20193 min read
Ack! Pronouncing German ei vs. ie
English can be all over the map in how you’re supposed to pronounce any given set of letters: you polish the Polish silverware, you wait for
824 views
Pamela Israel
Oct 23, 20182 min read
German in the Cemetery
Some old cemeteries have gravestones written in German. Here are some tips to help translate some key words.
5,342 views
Stefan Israel
Sep 21, 20184 min read
Clues Hidden in "von" and "van"?
People's surnames often provide clues into their way back family history. Learn what Von and Van mean for the Dutch and Germans.
21,702 views
Stefan Israel
Mar 31, 20182 min read
Frohen Geburtstag, Bach! Happy birthday, Bach!
It’s the old master’s birthday, and we’ll take that as a happy excuse to talk about names like Bach.
111 views
Stefan Israel
Mar 14, 20184 min read
the FEMININE of FAMILY NAMES
The history behind some of those last names - many had a feminine meaning. In some languages, the end of names still changes!
1,806 views
Stefan Israel
Jan 18, 20182 min read
What’s with the -ch- in German?
German has two variants for ch, depending on whether the surrounding letters are ‘bright’ or ‘dark’. If you say “ee, ey” versus “o, oo, a
717 views
Pamela Israel
Dec 16, 20171 min read
O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree) & More!
Houses are adorned with festive lights, decorations and trees. We've some German translations to get you even more in the holiday spirit
101 views
Stefan Israel
Dec 5, 20172 min read
St. Nicholas - Bringer of Gifts
Martin Luther, who grew up with the tradition of gifts on Nikolaustag, shifted gift-giving to Christmas, since saints were no longer a focus
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Stefan Israel
Nov 15, 20172 min read
The Curious History of the German 'Doubled S' - ß
Ä, Ö and Ü are simple variations of familiar letters, but the fourth letter that German has that we don’t is the real kicker: ß Eszett
5,690 views
Pamela Israel
Oct 31, 20171 min read
Black Cat (schwarze Katze) Boo!
German words inspired by US Halloween
254 views
Stefan Israel
Oct 2, 20172 min read
Are those even the same letters in old German?
Old German letters are tough to read but they are mostly the same alphabet we use - just with a few variations.
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