dialects of this speeeh ;in "general are reiHarkabte for substi-
tuting a soft :aspirato ft® the bard guttural* a d te ttf a for? the
sibilants a? or s, a simple $;f©rthe hissing sch> p
jf,a s piper for pfeifer^fakm o r i e r i fwx e k en . Adesluog; observes
that ,tee Lower German languages are rich in expressions
connected withmatigation^ traffic, and maritime affah?%
but poor in abstract te rm s.. The characteristics of the. Lower
German ars recogmsed i» the dialects of all the Belgians an#
the borderers' on the Lower Rhine, in the English and Low-*-
land Scottish»*
Adelung considered, the Scandinavian dialeotfp in which
are included the Icelandic, the Danish and Swedish,'.as intermediate
between his twa principal German languages, and
Supposed: them to havei resulted from .an intermixtnre of trihOs
belonging: to the two great divisions of the German race in the
Scandinavian peninsula, Later writer® hh the Matery-tfcth©
German languages have been led.by farther research to, adopt
a very different eondu^oh onthis subject. Professor Rask hag
maintained that the German and the Scandinavian, „ordhd-GW
Northern speech, may,rather be termed gistejr. languages«»than
hognate d ialecti., He ohserveSdhat “ the-dialects ofithnSean?-
dinavians and those of the: Germans have respectively many
traits by which the members of each are connected .apjQRg
themselves, and distinguished^ from .those ofi. thet.npposite
division.” Even the-classical High German and the language
of Holland resemble'each other in many .particular^in which
both differ from the. Swedish and. Danish. + Rask therefore
considered the old Norse and the German as two sister lan-
guagesyand this opinion coincides with that of Professor Jacob
Grimm, the most celebrated philologer who had devoted himself
to the history and etymology, .of the German langn^e.
Grimm dividesrfche dialects ©f the German language into four
Classes-: first, therGothie, known to us by the extant parts of
the version-of the Scriptures, made by .Ulphilas into the idiom
of the.Mceso-Goths; secondly, the Old High German, or the
• These remarks were published by Hofrath Adelufig-in'hi? history o{ %e d e r,
man language, and.afterwards appeared in the second volume of the-Mithridatys.
+ Bask," iiher 'das Alter iind die Echtheit der 2endsprache, &&, iibeisetzt'von
F. H. votj-der Bfagen, “Beilin, 18S$6. -
Frphoicrç exempli fiediih^thèîsifemain s of Otfried, the glosses of
Keron, ahd-other,relids-of the, language prevalent in Franconia,
^wabiai^and Switzerland during Vfehe mi-ddla" âgés; thirdly,
the.Low- German dialects'j fourtM^.thö Norther»’ language,
fhe N orse-S can d inavian.1 Ho observes that 'these four-great
stems-of dialers-display varksuaxelatfons to each other. The
first, and second are nearly’.related*j ,fby Adèlung, they- arê
a?eckôiîéd^ias we have > sseeaj under one- division, "that -of the
Tapper German, but&thef mutual affinity oP Äfe^tefed-German
languâges-isi .mUeh closer than the gelation which they alhbeàr
te# thé OM^N'Orse^-c,':
A learned and accurate writer,: whose, main object‘-has r.beea
history and ‘ethnography* M;. "Zeussj ha®’ availed - himself ©f
the'se results t)£:philological research in.elucidating the distm
hutiomof^German tribès.loft by Pliny and-Tacite». oMisattempt
appears to- be more successful1 thah any former. endeavours,
* Professor Grimm’s data are„de,velqped.m his Herculean. work.toiÆe Gçrniau
languages, which b eark the inadequate tijle of “ f|qutselle.(«amin atiik. ’ ! HL» general
chncluaW^ére'^codéètfiî iro^^a{ïerM'sqqjes5and Râpera'rä .penoaiSar wo'tks
fey-Mv Zeüss,’ in- a work erititled’LOBrè'Beutséheri und’die MdchhàrstâhSadféj^p.Y^
seqq.,
„ I must .here obseme*Ahat some remarks' have fogmmade.on, t|i,e philological
system o f Professor Grimm hy*à‘writer whose'opinions iun suMetts ot thi- nature
are ’entttîècr UrtheTOghCst regard. M. ihW h nW h ’im We appendix to*Ms leânrea
v. Commentaire sur le. Yaçna,’* maintains Aâç. >ît is adykätble* inmdmpaTÎng' fhe
Germanie languages with (the. Zend and Sans^ jit, to. qompjuqson ,-to the
Gothic and Anglo-Saxon,, and to pass over the Francic, termed hy Grimm the Old
High German. “ Je ’j e homme Francique a "bon droit d’apn s l’exemple d’Otfrid,”
Hê adds bis reason, for this: advice : V Bans, le Germàniqué eéPAnglo-Saxon bnvoit
un type général ; tandisqua dans le Francique, l ’esn voit beaucoup de nuances diverses
qui .me semblent êtré.iplutôt locales que chronologiques. $j Grimm a-' pris
pour hase Ja. prononciation la plus rude, comme, la mieux caracîé®isée ; mais, à mon
avis, elle n’a jamais été générale. Allez”-à. Zurich ou-à'St^GaU, vousy ' trô‘uverez
encore, aujourd’hui les gloses, de Kéron toutes Vivantes." Grimm a mêrbé été jüsqiYâ
prendre qudques miOnosyll»hes: G(Mhiqufâ .jrotn: 'dek T®m*teaetions, quand l ’otfho-*
graphe de -l’ancien Haut-Allemand présentait- en apparence .deux syllabes, par
amples iawgs ss'purah. Mais -cda n?est que l’oedurcissemmt des organes qui ne savent
pas prononçât une consonne aprèsiun r, sansl’interventioB d’uné voyèlle parasite.
La. forme Gothique s’est-maintenue dans téutes lês langues romaries i borgo, Burgos^
hourgi. , Les gloses donnent home, (homme) r “Ot&id écrit gomOj et dest ainsi qu’ont
padé..les-Francs de la cour le nom de la 'reine Gometrude le prouve.' • Ainsi d<mo
l ’ancien Haut-Allemand ne ferait que compliquer la doctrine des permutations, qui
.est simple et belle entre le Sanscrit, le Grec et le Latin d’une part, et le Gothique da
ï ’autré.” (MfBarnöüf* Gämm^surtlb Yaçnâî AddiJ* èfe-CjàiyvScljeÔK^i* - ■