All alone

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All alone

" Mutterseelenallein " is the term used in the German language for the greatest possible solitude , i.e. that is, that someone is "alone in relation to all men". The term is used in German as a form of "alone" and expresses the state of complete abandonment and despair. In the 19th century it experienced such a high emotional charge that the development of the word was mythically hidden. In today's colloquial usage the word is largely de-emotionalized, so it no longer necessarily expresses a state of abandonment and despair. Example: "He stood all alone at the bus stop" for "He stood all alone at the bus stop."

Example: "There I stood in the quiet place under God's open sky, all alone, like I arrived yesterday." ( Joseph von Eichendorff : From the life of a good-for-nothing .)

etymology

The origin of the word was long disputed between Romanists and Germanists , but could be clarified by the Romanist Kurt Baldinger in 1956. "More emotional" or mythic explanations of the origin of the word, however, hold up to this day.

Germanistic explanation

In 1854 the Brothers Grimm listed the possibilities of increasing “one”: lonely, alone, all alone, all alone, all alone.

The term mother's soul can be divided into an older colloquial and a more recent, upscale term development:

  • The older term mother's soul (after Albertsen "mother's soul I") is a colloquial, reinforcing metaphor for human or human soul (analogous to the expression: no human soul ).
  • The younger term mother soul (after Albertsen "mother soul II") is a seldom used word development of the elevated language, which describes a mother herself or the soul of a mother.

In the course of the emotional loading of the German vocabulary in the 19th century, the "depths of the German people's mind" were increasingly emphasized and the myth was promoted.

There are numerous other examples of this charging of the German language via family metaphors, which were broadly understandable and had a simplifying, meaningful and emotionalizing effect: mother tongue (= first language), mother Germania (= nation body), nation family (= nation ), father state (= Head of the nation).

Romance declaration

Romanists explained the term as Gallicism . The French “moi tout seul” - “I all alone” - was used by Huguenot religious refugees in Berlin to express their uprooting. This “moi tout seul” initially resulted in “mutterseel” in the phonetic Germanization. In order to preserve the original meaning of the word, it was expanded to include alone (French seul).

supporting documents

  1. ^ Leif Ludwig Albertsen: Mutterseele, mutterseelenallein , in: Zeitschrift für Deutsche Sprache, Vol. 24/1967, p. 121.
  2. ↑ Joseph von Eichendorff: From the life of a good-for-nothing . Eighth chapter at zeno.org, accessed on September 7, 2009
  3. ^ Kurt Baldinger: Mother (souls) alone, mother naked - mere-seul, mere-nu. An example of Germanic-Romanic word relationships , in: Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, Vol. 72/1956, Issue 1–2, pp. 88–107
  4. ^ Leif Ludwig Albertsen: Mutterseele, mutterseelenallein , in: Zeitschrift für Deutsche Sprache, Vol. 24/1967, p. 121.
  5. ↑ Grimm, Jacob / Grimm, Wilhelm: German dictionary. Leipzig 1854, p. 211.
  6. ^ Leif Ludwig Albertsen: Mutterseele, mutterseelenallein , in: Zeitschrift für Deutsche Sprache, Vol. 24/1967, pp. 118–121.
  7. ↑ Désirée Waterstradt (2015): Process Sociology of Parenthood. Nation-building, figurative ideals and generative power architecture in Germany. Muenster. ISBN 978-3-95645-530-8
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at Arte, accessed September 8, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.arte.tv
  9. ↑ http://www.arte-tv.com/de/wissen-entammlung/karambolage/Diese_20Woche/1146152.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. arte-tv.com: "All alone"@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.arte-tv.com  

literature

  • Kurt Baldinger: Mother (souls) alone, mother naked - mere-seul, mere-nu. An example of Germanic-Romanic word relationships , in: Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie, Vol. 72/1956, Issue 1–2, pp. 88–107.
  • Leif Ludwig Albertsen: Mutterseele, mutterseelenallein , in: Zeitschrift für Deutsche Sprache, Vol. 24/1967, pp. 118–121.

Web links

Wiktionary: all alone  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations