Old Cologne

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As historic colognian is city language Cologne designated in time from about the 12th century to the 18th century. This classification is mainly due to the Cologne linguist Adam Wrede (1875-1960), who carried out extensive research on the development of the language in the city of Cologne and the surrounding area as well as its relation to other major German dialects , including a dictionary of Old Cologne as well of the modern Kölschen .

history

Since the middle of the 5th century , the city of Cologne was under Frankish rule, which replaced the almost five hundred year old Roman one . The Old Cologne niche developed in the 12th century at the latest on the basis of the Ripuarian - Old Franconian and Old Lower Franconian languages ​​of the region and the late Old High German . The Cologne language was influenced by High German as early as the Middle Ages.

The Old Cologne language was not a pure dialect, but rather the written language of the ecclesiastical and secular authorities in the city and its citizens to the extent that was common at the time. The rich tradition from its early days shows a diverse linguistic stratification. From the first half of the 16th century , literary writings are also documented.

With the increase in the influence of New High German that began in the 16th century, the written language in the offices and in printing works changed significantly, while the spoken Old Cologne niche remained far less affected. This can be seen from written evidence from the 18th century, which shows how today's Kölsch developed from the language spoken at the time.

At the end of the 16th century, Cologne's own written language, influenced by Lower Franconia, was given up and converted to the written language of New High German. Since then, the spoken and written language have gone their own way. Correspondingly, written evidence of the Old Cologne language is now few and far between.

spelling, orthography

Characteristic for the spelling of Old Cologne was the identification of the long vowels [aː], [oː] and [uː] by adding an "i" to the letter for this vowel. So one wrote z. B. [ʔuːs] as “uis” (“off”). In addition, [iː] was represented by a “y”, which can be proven with “syn” [siːn]. Furthermore, the y stood for a [ɪ] in diphthongs, as was also common in the surrounding written languages.

Sources and literature

  1. ^ Prof. Adam Wrede: Old Cologne vocabulary. A first 1st and 2nd delivery appeared in Bonn in 1928. The remaining manuscript sheets and supplements have remained unpublished to this day. Their whereabouts have not been clarified since the collapse of Cologne's historical city archive .
    See also these notes on preparation ( memento of January 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) for a publication
  2. ^ Prof. Adam Wrede: New Cologne vocabulary. Greven Verlag Cologne. 12th edition, 1999. Three volumes. ISBN 3-7743-0243-X
  3. ^ Prof. Adam Wrede: New Cologne vocabulary. Greven Verlag Cologne. 12th edition, 1999. ISBN 3-7743-0243-X , Volume 2, page 74 above
  4. ^ A b Prof. Adam Wrede: New Cologne vocabulary. Greven Verlag Cologne. 12th edition, 1999. ISBN 3-7743-0243-X , Volume 3, page 332 above
  5. ↑ For example from the 16th century the diary-like records from the life of the Cologne patrician Hermann von Weinsberg , which became known towards the end of the 19th century under the title " Buch Weinsberg " , which range from his youth to old age. They are unique in that this is the first time written in the first person, and at the same time a citizen of a city records his life story, which expresses a tremendous sense of self-worth for the time.