Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, Genealogical Society for Ostfriesen, Germany

The language spoken by our ancestors, was Low German. Do you have other stories to share with us?
Hopefully, this page will help you better understand this dialect. Of course, some of these stories are very old and you have to view them in the context of a former time.

OGSA will be publishing a book of Low German stories written by Dr. Gerhard Cantzler of Norden. The translation is the work of the late George Heikes. Hopefully, this will be available at the 2010 OGSA Conference in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Languages - All in the Family: Plattdeutsch, Deutsch, and English

Those of us English speakers who have occasion to hear or read Plattdeutsch and Hochdeutsch from time to time have certainly noticed how many words in one language seem to relate closely to words in the other languages. Especially Plattdeutsch and English words seem similar, sometimes having the exact same spelling. So let’s examine this unique relationship to see why this is so.

And rather than undertaking a complex study of language history, let’s view just one common example to see how Platt, English, and Hochdeutsch interact. A common word that illustrates this is STOVE. We all know that the current English usage describes a heating devise used either to warm the room or to cook a meal in the kitchen. And we May not realize it at first, but STOVE in English is historically the same word as STUBE in German. Once you know that, you can almost guess the Platt word is going to be STUUV. But why and how does this relationship exist?

To answer this we go back to the Middle Low German word STOVE. Interestingly, it seems that the original meaning of the word referred to the thing used to heat the room, basically like the word still does in English today. Over time, however, the Platt and Hochdeutsch usage began referring to the area being heated rather than to the thing used to heat that area.

And that remains the current Platt and Hochdeutsch usage today, while English retains the most original meaning, the device used to provide heat. And even with these changes, Hochdeutsch still has the less common STÖVCHEN or STOVCHEN, referring to a “little stove,“ often with a very small candle, used to keep a pot of tea or coffee warm. (That reminds me. It is time to heat some water on the STOVE for that next pot of Ostfriesen Tee!)

Therefore, we can see that a strong relationship exists, and the major difference in spelling and pronunciation concerns the vowel O having changed to U in Hochdeutsch and the older V having changed to a B in Hochdeutsch. As is often the case, both the vowel and the consonant have remained the same in both Platt and English. If we start to look for other similar words where V’s came from B’s and U’s came from O’s, I wonder how many we could find.

Well, my tea is ready, so I will leave you to the search.

SOURCE: Wendell Kurr, German Instructor, Highland Community College, Freeport, Illinois

Saw Corner (Low German with English Translation)

“Bi uns deit elk wat,” sä de Jung. “Mien Vader haut mien Moeder, mien Moeder haut mi, un ick hau de Birgen.” (At our house everyone is doing something,” said the boy. “My father beats my mother, my mother beats me, and I beat the piglets.”)

“Dat rukt hier na Minsken,” sä de Voss as he in dat Kackhuske raakt was. (“It smells here of people,” said the fox as he had wandered into the outdoor biffy.)

“De Wust is mi to krumm,” sä de Voss, do hung se hum to hooch. (The sausage is too crooked for me,” said the fox when it was hanging too high for him.)

“Dat word leper mit mien Ogen,” sä de Knecht. “Vanmörgens kunn ick de Botter up ‘t Brod neet sehn, un nu seh ick kien Schinke in de Bohnensopp.” (My eyes are getting worse,” said the hired hand. “This morning I couldn’t see the butter on the bread and now I don’t see any ham in the bean soup.”)

Enjoy the following Poems: (Low German)	(English Translation
In ‘t Moor Still liggt dat Moor, van nahrends her een Lut, Blot Immen summen in dat Heidekrut. Un in de Middagssünne liggt so warm De Heide, as een Kind in Moders Arm. Dat is de stillste Stünne van de Dag, Wo alles drömt un nicks sück rögen mag. Man ut de Rüsken glitt dat geel un bunt, De Adder sünnt sück up de warme Grund. Do geit dat as een Bewern dör de Lücht, Keen Tiekje kruppt, keen Bottervögel flüggt. Keen Vögel singt, dat is so swöl un still, As wenn up all’s een Bann sück leggen will. De Mus, de ewkes noch hör grise Rock Hett putzt, de kruppt verbiestert in hör Lock. Still liggt de Heid, van nahrends her een Lut, Blot Immen summen in dat Heidekrut. (by Toni Wübbens)	In the Peat Bog (Translation) Still lies the moor, from nowhere comes a sound, Just bees are buzzing in the heather shrub. And in the midday sun there lies so warm The heath just as a child in mother’s arms. It is the quiet hour of the day, When all is dreaming, caring not to move. But from the reeds it glistens yellow, bright: The adder suns itself upon the heat-soaked ground. Then there’s a tremor in the air. No insect crawls, no butterfly weighs flight, No songbird sings, it is so sultry, still, As if the moor is stifled by a spell. The mouse quits grooming its fine, grayish coat, And startled, seeks the safety of its hole. Still lies the moor, from nowhere comes a sound, Just bees are buzzing in the heather shrub. (Transl. R.Wiemann)
Wenn ick Plattdütsk hör Wenn ick Plattdütsk hör - us ole Kath seh ick wedder stahn, den Rok ut Dör un Ulenlock gahn, den Rok so blau; de Wittkopp steiht dar, den wi harrn, min Moder seh ick melken un karrn vör Dag un Dau - wenn ick Plattdütsk hör. Wenn ick Plattdütsk hör - de Swengel geiht dal so deep in’n Sot, in’n Kruthoff gleiht den Mahn so rod, un de Lauerk singt. De Wind, de strickt, de Roggen bleiht, min Vader steiht in de Wisk un meiht, un sin Seiß de klingt - wenn ick Plattdütsk hör. Wenn ick Plattdütsk hör, ward’t Abend, un de Maand, de stiggt, de Fleddermus un de Kattul flüggt, un ick buten allen. Dat Feld so still, de Welt so wiet un ick so jung - o Kinnertied! - Ick stah un ween, wenn ick Plattdütsk hör. (by Georg Ruseler)	When Platt Speech I Hear... (Translation) When Platt speech I hear - I see our old shack standing there once more, smoke coming through the door and the owl hole, the smoke so blue; the kid stands there with his light blond head, which we all had, I see my mother milking and pushing the wheelbarrow before the dawn of day - when Platt speech I hear When Platt speech I hear - the pump handle goes down so deep in the well, in the greens garden glows the poppy so red, and the meadow lark sings. The wind, it streaks, the rye, it blooms, my father stands in the meadow and mows, and the scythe, it rings - when Platt speech I hear. When Platt speech I hear, the evening nears, and the moon appears, the bat and the barn owl fly, and I out there alone. The field is so still, the world so wide And I so young - o childhood time! - I stand and cry, when Platt speech I hear. Transl. by R. Wiemann
As de Deern von’n Danz keem Moder, Moder! - Deern, lat mi slapen! - Moder, Moder, luster is sacht: So hell de Steerns un so lau de Nacht - - Moder, Moder! - Deern, lat mi slapen! - Och föhl is min Backen, wo heet, so heet, Un wenn Moder wüßd’, wat ick nu weet - -” Deern, lat mi slapen! Moder, Moder! - Deern, lat mi slapen! - Moder, hew danzt un‘n Brögam rakt, Un tokum Harwst ward Hochtid makt - - Un nu kannst’e slapen.” Rupps, de Moder, dar seet se: Wat is’e? Wat hett’e? Wo heet’e? (by Georg Ruseler) Ruseler was born in 1866 near Varel/Oldenburg.	When the Girl came back from the Dance Mother, Mother! - Girl, let me sleep! - Mother, Mother, it softly whispers: So bright the stars and so mild the night - - Mother, Mother! - Girl, let me sleep! - O feel once my cheeks, how hot, so hot, And if mother knew what I now know - - Girl, let me sleep! Mother, Mother! - Girl, let me sleep! - Mother, I’ve danced and got me a groom, And next fall there will be a wedding - - And now you can sleep. Zoom, the mother, there sat she: What is he? What has he? Who is he? (Transl. by RW)
Mien Heimatland (By Rudolf Elster, Marienhafe; Translated by Rudy Wiemann) Fraggt mi een na mien Heimatland, segg ik van Harten free: dat is doch elk un een bekannt, up Eer de beste Stee. Wor Gras un Veeh un satte Korn, wor Dieken langs de Strand, wor Wilgen stahn un Hageldoorn, dat is ‘t Oostfresenland. Wor Noorseewellen komen, gahn, dor föhl ik mi to Huus. Wor overall de Möhlen stahn, Stack up in d' Störmgebruus, wor Minsken wohnen stark un free in d' Marsch, in d' Heid, up d' Sandun drinken daags hör Koppke Tee, dat is ‘t Oostfresenland. Wor Sönndags man de Kloot noch schütt woll hunnert Meter wiet, wor d' Sünn schient, of ‘t van d' Himmel gütt, de Minsken alltied blied,wor bi ‘n Geschäft ‘n Woord noch gellt, noch immer hett Bestand, ‘n Handslag nett as schreven tellt, dat is ‘t Oostfresenland. Fraggt mi een na mien Heimatland, wenn ‘t mutt van Starven gahn, denn segg ik hum - bi vull Verstand -: Up d' Eer gifft ‘t keen Bestahn. De wahre Heimat is noch feern, liggt in mien Herrgotts Hand; doch nehm de lesde Sücht ik geern free in ‘t Oostfresenland.	My Homeland If someone asks me about my homeland, I say free from the heart: It surely is known to one and all,on earth the best of places. Where grass and cattle and heavy grain, where levees along the strand, where willows grow and hawthorn, that is the land of the Ostfriesen. Where North Sea waves come and retreat, that's where I feel at home. Where everywhere the windmills stand. Erect in the howling storm, where people live strong and free on fertile land, on heath, on sand and drink their daily cup of tea, that is the land of the Ostfriesen. Where Sundays one still throws the "Kloot" for sure three hundred feet, where in sunshine or in pouring rain. The people are always happy, where in business a word still counts and still has a lasting value, a handshake counts as much as writing, that is the land of the Ostfriesen. If someone asks me about my homeland when it'll be my time to die, I'll say to him - my mind still sound - : There is no permanent place on earth. The true homeland still is far away, lies in my Lord's hand; but I'll take my last look around free in the land of the Ostfriesen.
Here are “Ostfreeske Spreekwoorden um Eeten un Drinken”. (East Frisian Sayings About Eating and Drinking) ¨ Ostfreesland is as ‘n Pankauk, de Rand is’t beste. ¨ Ostfriesland is like a pancake, the edge is the best part. ¨ Wenn de Muus satt is, is ‘t Mehl bitter. ¨ When the mouse is full, the flour is bitter. ¨ Is keen Pott so scheef off passt ‘n Decksel up. ¨ No pot is so out of shape that there isn’t a lid that fits it. ¨ Dummste Buuren hemm ‘n dickste Tuffels. ¨ The dumbest farmers have the biggest potatoes. ¨ Wat is d’ Korn van ‘t Jahr hart, se Müller - dau beet he up ‘n Muusködel. ¨ How hard the grain is this year, said the miller - that’s when he bit down on a mouse dropping. ¨ Elker Ding hatt ’n Enne, man de Wurst hett twee. ¨ Everything has an end, but the sausage has two. ¨ Arm Mann Pankauk un riek Mann Krankheit ruken wiet. ¨ Poor man’s pancake and rich man’s sickness reek a ways. ¨ De sück neet satt ett, slickt sück ok neet satt. ¨ He who doesn’t eat his fill, doesn’t lick his fill either. ¨ Up un satt - noch mal watt mucht, man nix mehr hat. ¨ Up and full - would have liked more, but had no more. ¨ ‘N halv Ei is beeter as ’n leege Dopp. ¨ Better half an egg than an empty shell. ¨ ‘N gaude Schwien frett all. ¨ A good pig eats everything. ¨ Speck un Kohl is gaud för ’t Fieber - wall för d’ Schmitt man neet för d’ Schnieder. ¨ Bacon and cabbage are good for the fever - true for the blacksmith but not for the tailor. ¨ Köst ’n Daler, schmeckt denaa. ¨ Cost a taler, tastes accordingly. (i.e., very good) ¨ Gar off neet gar, twalm is Middag. ¨ Done or not done, twelve (o’clock) is noon (meal time). ¨ Word nix so heet eeten as ’t kokt word. ¨ Nothing is eaten as hot as it is cooked. ¨ He hett beeter Bohnen up d’ Böhn as schgimmelg grau Arften. ¨ He has better beans on the attic than moldy gray peas.	LOW GERMAN TERMS COLORS / FARBE English Platt High German Black swart Schwarz Blue blau Blau Brown bruun Braun Green gron, gruun Grun Grey grau Grau Orange orange Orange Pink rosa Rosa Purple vigelett Violet Red rood, rot Rot White witt Wei ß Yellow gael Gelb DAYS OF THE WEEK / TAGEN VON WOCHE Sunday Sundaag Sonntag Monday Maandag Montag Tuesday Dingsdaag Dienstag Wednesday Middavake Mittwoch Thursday Dunnersdaag Donnerstag Friday Fredaag Freitag Saturday Sunnavend/Saterdaag Sonnabend/ Samstag
WIR SIND OSTFRIESENKINDER Wir sind Ostfriesenkinder und haben frohen Mut, We are Ostfriesland’s children, good cheer is our own trait, Wir wohnen an den Deichen wo Ebbe ist und Flut, We live along the levees where tides are never late, Wir haben keinen Bubikopf und keinen Lippenstift; We do eschew the pageboy style, the lipstick we forgo; Das ist nichts für Ostfriesen, ach nein, ach nein, ach nein. Those are not for Ostfriesens, oh no, oh no, oh no. Goldblondes Haar, treublaue Augen, Golden her hair, eyes blue and faithful, So soll mein Madel sein: Ostfriesischer Art. That’s how my girl must be: East Friesian design. Kam einst ein fremder Jüngling wohl an des Meeres Strand, Once trod a foreign youngster upon the North Sea strand, Der wollte gleich behaupten, hier sei das schönste Land: He would at once proclaim this to be the finest land: Hier möcht ich ewig bleiben, hier möcht ich ewig sein, Here I will always linger, from here I’ll never go, Dort wo die weissen Möven schrein, ach nein, ach nein, ach nein. Where scads of snow-white sea gulls shriek, oh no, oh no, oh no. Goldblondes Haar, treublaue Augen, Golden her hair, eyes blue and faithful, So soll mein Madel sein: Ostfriesischer Art. That’s how my girl must be: East Frisian design. Wir Sind Ostfriesenkinder We are Ostfriesland’s Children Wir sind Ostfriesenkinder und haben frohen Mut, We are Ostfriesland’s children, good cheer is our own trait	OSTFRIESEN JOKES Submitted by George Heikes Ostfriesen are famous for their jokes! There are many volumes of them found in most bookstores. First the original version: DAT MELKJAHR "Ik loov, du wennst de dat Supen ok neet mehr of!" "Dat segg neet! Ik hebb malen Jahr lang nix anners as Melk drunken!” "So, dat kann 'k mi gar neet vorstellen!" "Man wahr is' t doch: Dat is in mein eerst Levenjahr west!" "Man! I believe you are still on the sauce." "Don't say that! Once I went a whole year drinking nothing but milk!" "Gosh! I can't hardly believe that." "It's true! That was the first year of my life!" VERLOBUNG Papa, Mama, Peter un Anni fohren na 'n Verlobung. Peter sitt achtern be Papa up de Rad un Anni bi Mama. Peter fraagt: "Papa, wat is dat overhoopt: 'n Verlobung?" Papa denkt 'n heel Sett na, un dann seggt he: "Ja, Peter, dat is haast so, as wenn du to Wiehnachten 'n neei Rad kriggt un erst Ostern darup fahren durst." "So", seggt Peter, "abers durt man dann al mal klingeln?" Papa, Mama, Peter and Anni were en route to announce their engagement. Peter sat in the back seat by his Dad while Anni and Mama rode in front. Peter asked his Dad, "What exactly is an engagement for anyway?" Dad thought about this for quite a while before he answered: “Well, Peter, it’s like getting a new car for Christmas but not being able to drive it until Easter." "So”, said Peter, “but I guess its okay to try it out a little bit first, isn't it?"

COLORS / FARBE English Platt High German Black swart Schwarz Blue blau Blau Brown bruun Braun Green gron, gruun Grun Grey grau Grau Orange orange Orange Pink rosa Rosa Purple vigelett Violet Red rood, rot Rot White witt Wei ß Yellow gael Gelb

COLORS / FARBE
English Platt High German
Black swart Schwarz
Blue blau Blau
Brown bruun Braun
Green gron, gruun Grun
Grey grau Grau
Orange orange Orange
Pink rosa Rosa
Purple vigelett Violet
Red rood, rot Rot
White witt Wei ß
Yellow gael Gelb