Average high-German

The average high-German is in the broad sense the name of one of the times of the German language, which gathers the whole of the varieties of High-German spoken between 1050 and 1350 approximately (what corresponds about to the traditional Moyen-âge). In a more restricted direction, the average high-German indicates the language of the courteous Littérature of the time of the Hohenstaufen. At the 19th century, it retrospectively accepted a unified orthography, and it is in this average standardized high-German that are realized since many new editions of the old texts. The discussions on the characteristics of average high-German treat usually this state of language standardized.

An old state of the German language

Average high-German, as an old state of the German language, is not a unit form of language, but includes/understands a multitude of Dialecte S buildings. He represents the continuation of Vieux high German (of 750 until 1050 approximately, period included in the Early middle ages), of which he is characterized in particular by the weakening of the final syllables compared to their neighbors. There is no continuity between the two: with the {{Xe}} and with the {{XIe}} centuries, one almost exclusively wrote in Latin, so that the setting of German to the writing set out again of zero with average high-German. The multiplicity of the C-Ws communication which one finds in particular at the 12th century, at the beginning of the linguistic period, in is a consequence.

For the time of 1350 with 1650 approximately (of the Low the Middle Ages at the beginning of the modern Time), one speaks about early High-German. Division must however be adapted according to the linguistic area, because the old linguistic forms were preserved longer where the characteristics of the modern High-German had not been stabilized in the dialect. For example, in German-speaking Switzerland, the stage of early high-German was not carried out before the end of the 15th century.

The language of the courteous literature of Hohenstaufen

The reign of the Hohenstaufen created between 1150 and 1250 the requirements with emergence in the courteous Littérature of a language suprarégionale, which rested on the dialects Souabe S and francic Eastern, spoken in the areas of origin of Staufen. It disappeared with their decline.

It is of this variety of language that it is usually question when one discusses the characteristic of average high-German. However, it is not starting from this average high-German with the narrow direction that developed of modern high-German, not more than it is not an old form. There existed already at the time of the dialects which presented the phonetics of modern high-German: in documents written in Carinthie, one finds attested as of the 12th centuries the Bavarian Diphtongaison which is a typical characteristic. Contrary, there exist still today dialects which preserve the vocalism average high-German of Staufen, such as many dialects Alémanique S.

A language of common culture

Average high-German of the courteous Poésie of Staufen was a standard Langue with the current direction, in what neither the Orthographe nor the Vocabulaire were not regulated by it, but it had a value suprarégionale, which one recognizes it with the fact that it was also employed by poets originating in other dialectal surfaces, such as for example Heinrich von Veldeke or Albrecht von Halberstadt. During their life, the individual poets always purged their works of a number crescent of regionalisms, so that their origin is often let only identify very roughly, whereas dialectal characteristics would allow a very exact localization of the linguistic origin.

Use and extension

The field of average high-German in this narrow direction was limited to the courteous literature which flowers during the reign of Staufen and was addressed to the nobility. Texts of utility nature (texts of right, texts factual, chronic, religious literature, etc) where the possibility of comprehension suprarégionale imported less than one intelligibility as large as possible, used of regional linguistic varieties. It is only at the 13th century that this kind of texts reaches a broad diffusion; previously, they were especially written in Latin.

Works of the courteous poetry of Staufen make the most known works of average high-German, for example the Chanson of Nibelungen , the Lucidarius , the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach, the Tristan of Gottfried von Straßburg, the poems of Walther von der Vogelweide as of the whole like the Minnesang.

Average standardized high-German

In the editions of the large texts of poetry as average high-German, the dictionaries and grammars, one employs a Normalization language, known as Dichtersprache “language of the poets”, whose design goes up in the whole with Karl Lachmann. It is about a idealized form of the language, which reflects only one fraction of the linguistic reality of antan. It rests on the language of the courteous literature of Staufen in a unified orthography which replaces the variety of the C-Ws communication of origin. Contrary to the modern orthography, the substantives are written there without Majuscule (average high-German uses of the capital letter only for the proper names).

Pronunciation

The tonic Accent relates regularly to the first syllable. The Voyelle S marked of a Circumflex accent are long, those which are deprived by it are short. The bindings æ und œ correspond respectively to the long ä and ö of modern German, and the system of the diphthongs is different. The S has a palatal articulation partially , except in the combinations sch and Sc which is worth ʃ as currently. With initial or after a consonant, Z decides ʦ as in the modern language; in medium or the end of word, Z or the zz decide is as ß of the modern language (the distinction is often underlined by employment in this case of the character ȥ or Ʒ , called S caudé ). The v decides F with the initial one. Lastly, the consonants redoubled in the writing are indeed marked doubles, and are not the simple orthographical sign of the brevity of the preceding vowel as it is the case in the modern language.

Vocalism

The Vowel system of average high-German (standardized) was the following:

short Vowels: has, E, I, O, U, ä, ö, U
long Voyelles: â, E, I, O, U, æ, œ, iu ( long U )
Diphthong S: I.E.(internal excitation), IE, or, öu, uo, üe

To note that I.E.(internal excitation) decided, like the C-Ws communication I.E.(internal excitation) or ij of the Dutch, and not as in modern high-German; and that IE did not represent one I length, but the diphthong.

The distinction between E and ä is ignored in the writing which uses uniformly of E . There existed however a difference in pronunciation: the ä , produced Umlaut of has , was closed more than the E older, and the careful poets avoided doing them rimer.

The most important differences between average high-German and modern high-German relate to vocalism:

long vowels iː , yː and uː average high-German correspond in modern high-German to the diphthongs, and (Diphtongaison Bavarois E). Examples: mîn ~ mein “my”, liut ~ Leute “people”, hûs ~ Haus “house”
the opening diphthongs, and of average high-German corresponds in modern high-German to the long vowels iː , yː and uː (Monophtongaison Francique). Examples: liep ~ lieb “expensive”, müede ~ müde “tired”, bruoder ~ Bruder “brother”
the diphthongs, and opened in, and modern high-German. Examples: bein - Bein “leg”, böume - Bäume “trees”, boom - Baum “tree”
All the short vowels in open syllable accentuated average high-German lengthened in modern high-German. Examples: ligen ~ liegen “to be lying”, sagen ~ sagen “to say”, nemen ~ nehmen “to take”.

Consonant system

The Consonne S of average high-German generally have a value similar to that which they have in modern high-German. They are however likely to be geminated, in which case they are written double. Average high-German practiced already the final Dévoisement consonants, which was translated then in the orthography (average high-German TAC - tage corresponds to modern high-German Tag - Tage “day (S)”). The principal differences of articulation are the following ones.

Average high-German distinguished two types distinct from Whistling S:

on the one hand, S resulting from Second consonant shift from high-German, tonic with T of Germanic and written Z/zz ( ȥ/ȥȥ if one employs the S caudé), for example in ezzen, daz, groz (respectively “to eat, it (neutral), large”); he decided S and preserved itself such as it is today
in addition, the S inherited Germanic, for example in sunne, stein, kuss, kirse, slîchen (respectively “sun, stone, kiss, cherry, to slip”), which decided deaf and slightly chuinté in ɕ ; in modern high-German, it became to some extent Z (which can dévoiser in S ), to some extent ʃ .

The group sch (also written Sc ) had already on the other hand taken its current articulation ʃ .

The letter W did not take its current value of v that as from the 13th century, before it corresponded to the sound W .

The group CH note the Ach-Laut X of modern German in all positions, the ich-Laut C was unknown. This pronunciation always exists in the German dialects of the south. Finally or in front of S or T , this sound could be also noted by simple a H , which is never the sign of a long vowel as in the modern orthography, but is then indeed marked ( pfliht corresponds to modern the Pflicht “to have”).

The R was rolled, as it is it always today for good number of German-speaking.

Grammar

The Grammaire of average high-German is not very different from that of modern high-German. The most important changes are the following:

All the morphological topics in O of average high-German were transferred in other classes
average high-German did not comprise a mixed variation
average high-German comprised antiquated forms of 2nd nobody of the singular to many time.

Nominal variation

Strong substantives:

* alternative Form of genitive/singular dative: kraft

the female ones of the 3rd class are bent like those of the 4th class, but without vowel inflection nor alternative form: zît, zîte, zîte, zît, zîte, zîte, zîten, zîte .

Weak substantives:

Conjugation

Conjugation of a strong verb:

Infinitive: biegen , Requirement: biuc!

Participle present: biegende , Takes part preterite: gebogen

Conjugation of a weak verb:

Infinitive: leben , Requirement: lebe!

Participle present: lebende , Takes part preterite: geleb (E) T

Conjugation of the prétérito-present:

* Form alternatives with inflection: tügen, günnen, künnen, dürfen, türren, süln

** alternative Forms of mugen : mügen, magen, megen

the single participles are: gewist/gewest for wizzen and gegunnen/gegunnet for gunnen .

Conjugation of the irregular verbs:

the forms of gân/gên “to go” and stân/stên “to be upright” correspond to those of tuon .
lân “to leave” follows the conjugation of hân .
forms of the preterite sont
was - waren for sîn ,
wolte/wolde for wellen ,
gie (nc) for gân/gên ,
haste/haste/hæte/hête/hete/het/hiete for hân ,
binds (Z) for lân .
tuon takes forms particular to the preterite:
Indicative preterite: small fireclay cup (E), tæte, small fireclay cup (E), tâten, tâtet, tâten
Subjunctive preterite: tæte, tætest etc

Example of text

Appendices

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