A chance encounter with an 1801 document from Greene County, Pennsylvania got me thinking about early German records in western Pennsylvania

Why does German Capitalize everything? If you look at much German, you start to notice- they use a Lot of Capitalization. Not just for nam

Whether the printed German Gothic (aka Fraktur) or the old German handwriting (Kurrent or Sütterlin), here are a couple free resources to h

Deciphering German church records can be tough. A German translation cheat sheet and a few tips should help you along your way.

By 1700, one-fifth of Berlin was French-speaking, and they remained French-speaking until siding with the rest of Germany against Napoleon.

What challenges of reading an older document, such as a 15th century manuscript, and what can its language tell us? Who, when, where & more!

A 1497 German manuscript stashed in a Boston desk opens a window into German enfeoffments - relationships between feudal lords and vassals.

Why do we dot our i's? Minims! Old English and old German writing and printing added the dot to decipher which letter was which. Read on!

Translating names can be tricky. Look at the name George, Jurgen, Georgios, Jorge and Yuri - all the same. Here's some history.

Tax Time: Plucked Chicken - In English we say the tax office fleeces tax payers, Germans say plucked! Translation is fun, isn't it?

Unlocking the umlaut. History of the two dots.

Unlock Your History launched in 2017! Check out some favorite posts about language history & translating old German, Danish, Swedish.

What language belongs to those accents? From German to Norwegian Hungarian or French, see different accents that some languages use.

You’re tracing your family back, and the spellings sometimes just go crazy.

At various times, there were dozens of imperial cities, from towns of a few thousand people to some of the largest cities.

Are German dialects really more extreme than American dialects? Are they ever! The Old World dialects in general are far, far more extreme t

Here are a couple tricks to help decipher old German handwriting, Kurrent or Suetterlin, especially important with old family letters.

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

1843 letter in old German handwriting from my 3x great grandfather, to his son telling him to hurry from the army before his mother dies.

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