Berg vs. Burg  These two words show up abundantly in family and place names across the Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Dutch, Englis

Some old cemeteries have gravestones written in German. Here are some tips to help translate some key words.

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

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

Old German letters are tough to read but they are mostly the same alphabet we use - just with a few variations.