them to the fountain of Christian truth, translated for them, between A.D. 360 and 380, the Bible into the Gothic language. This language is, in fact, the pure German of that period, which the Goths had carried into Mosia. This is the earliest German dialect now in existence. The most famous of the remaining fragments of this translation is the Codex Argenteus, or Silver Book, so called from being transmitted to us in letters of a silver hue. The words appear to be formed on vellum by metallic characters heated, and then impressed on silver foil; some of the capital letters are of gold. It is now in the royal library at Upsal. This language is rich in grammatical forms, and exhibits the common bond which unites all the German dialects with each other, and their connection with the Sanscrit, the Zend, and the Classical stock. The suggestion has been made, that it may be regarded as the parent of the Anglo-Saxon, in some such sense as the latter is the parent of the English. 1. Atta unsar thu in Himinam. Veihnai namo thein. 2. Quimai thuidinassus theins. 3. Vairthai vilja theins, sue in Himina, jah ana airthai. 4. Hlaif unsorana thana sinteinan gif uns himmadaga. 5. Jah affet uns thatei sculans sijarma sua sue jah veis ofletam thaim skulem unsaraim. 6. Jah ni bringais uns in fraistubnjai. Ak lausei uns of thamma ubilin. Amen. — ULPHILAS, Version of the Lord's Prayer. § 50. The High Germanic, to which the current German belongs, is spoken in the south part of Germany, and is bounded on the east by the Lithuanic, Slavonic, and Hungarian languages; while on the south it touches the Italian and French, and on the north it joins the Low Germanic divisions. The translation of the Scriptures, by Luther, in the sixteenth century, and his other writings, gave a prominence to this dialect, which it retains. In this dialect there are writers distinguished in every branch of literature and science. * The The origin of the term German is not well ascertained. word has, by some, been supposed to be connected with the Latin word germani=brothers, tribes in brotherly alliance with the Romans. Others derive it from gara dart, and man-dart-man. 1. Unser Vater in dem himmel. Dein nahme werde geheiliget. 2. Dein Reiche komme. 3. Dein wille gescheche auf erden wie im himmel. 4. Unser taeglich brodt gib as heute. 5. Und vergib uns unsere schulden, wie wir unsern schuldigern vergeben. 6. Und fuehre uns nicht in versuchung. 7. Sondern erloese uns von dem übel. Amen.-LORD'S PRAYER. THE LOW GERMANIC. $51. The Low Germanic comprises, 1. The Anglo-Saxon and the Modern English. 2. The Old and the Modern Frisian. 3. The Modern Dutch. 4. The Old Saxon and the Platt Deutsch. Specimens of the Anglo-Saxon and of the Modern English will be given hereafter. THE FRISIAN. 52. The Frisians occupied a territory immediately south and west of the country of the Anglo-Saxons, and probably spoke nearly the same dialect. Encompassed on one side by the sea, and on the other by the Saxons, they have retained their ancient dialect to a remarkable degree; so that in the opinion of that distinguished scholar, Francis Junius, who spent two years in those parts of Frisia noted for their tenacity of old manners and language, none of the German tongues approach so closely to the Anglo-Saxon as the Frisian. A careful comparison of the two languages, whether in the grammar or the lexicon, will lead us to the same conclusion. They still live in Friesland, and, as their language formerly resembled that of the Anglo-Saxons, so it now bears a close resemblance to the English. § 53. The Dutch language is spoken in Holland. The dis tinguishing characteristic of this language is descriptive energy. It is not soft and musical; it is dignified, sonorous, and emphatic. It has great compositive power; all technical terms, which the English borrow from exotic names, from the Greek and Latin, are composed, by the Dutch, from their own indigenous roots. Almost every polysyllabic word is descriptive of the object which it designates. Astronomy is, in Dutch, sternkunde, from ster, a star, and kunde, science. Grammar is taalkunde, from taal, language, kunde, science. In this respect, the Dutch is much superior to the English. There, is, however, a striking affinity between our language and the Dutch. 1. In den beginne was het woord, en het woord was bij God, en het woord was God. 2. Dit was in den beginne bij God. 3. Alle dingen zijn door hetzelve gemaakt, en zonder hetzelve is geen ding gemaakt, dat gemaakt is. 4. In hetzelve was het leven, en het leven was het licht der menschen. 5. En het licht schijnt in de duisternis, en de duisternis heeft het niet begrepen. 6. Daar was een mensch van God gezonden, wiens naam was Johannes. 7. Deze kwam tot een getuigenis, om van het licht te getuigen, opdat zij allen door hem gelooven zouden.-ST. JOHN, chap. i., v. 1–7. OLD SAXON AND THE PLATT DEUTSCH. $54. The Platt Deutsch is spoken by those whose ancestors spoke the Old Saxon, in Northern Germany, in Holstein, in Sleswick, and Brunswick. The most flourishing period of this language was just before the Reformation. The Old Saxons, chiefly remaining in their ancient localities, retained their low, soft dialect in great purity. The Anglo-Saxons, a branch of the Old Saxons, wrote and matured their language in England; hence it differs both from the Old Saxon, and also from the Platt Deutsch. THE SCANDINAVIAN BRANCH. § 55. The Scandinavian branch of the Gothic stock comprehends, 1. The language of Iceland. 2. The language of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, with their dialectical differences. 3. The language of the Faroe Islands. These languages all sprang from the Old Danish (Danska Tunga). This Old Danish, sometimes called the Old Norse, was, in its present state, carried into Iceland by the first Norwegian refugees in the ninth century, and embalmed there. among the snow and ice. There is so little difference between the present writing and the most ancient records, that modern Icelandic scholars can read the oldest documents with the greatest facility. The present Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish dialects all differ so much from the Icelandic, that they would each of them be unintelligible to an Icelander. |