German Linguistics
German linguistics is traditionally called philology in Germany, as there is something of a difference between philologists and linguists. It is roughly divided as follows:
- Old High German (Althochdeutsch) 8th - 11th centuries
- Middle High German (Mittelhochdeutsch) 11th - 14th centuries
- Early New High German (Frühneuhochdeutsch) 14th - 17th centuries
- Modern German (Standard German, German dialectology) 18th - 21st centuries
In addition, the discipline examines German under various aspects: the way it is spoken and written, i.e., spelling; declination; vocabulary; sentence structure; texts; etc. It compares the various manifestations such as social groupings (slang, written texts, etc.) and geographical groupings (dialects, etc.).
Read more about this topic: German Studies
Famous quotes containing the word german:
“If my theory of relativity is proven correct, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955)