First comprehensive grammar of Middle Low German is being created
Middle Low German textual culture plays a central role in the cultural heritage of Northern Europe. Middle Low German was widely spoken in Northern Germany from the 13th to the 17th century. It also served as a trade language in the Baltic region and in the Hanseatic settlements from London to Bruges and Bergen to Novgorod. Middle Low German texts thus form the linguistic foundation of the diverse Hanseatic city culture. A solid knowledge of Middle Low German is essential for researching Northern European urban history (e.g. in the areas of municipal law and social structures), economic history (trade, seafaring, guilds and craft associations) and religious history. The intellectual and cultural development is reflected in the linguistic variation and change of Middle Low German. The long-term research project "Middle Low German Grammar" provides in-depth knowledge of the linguistic structures of Middle Low German.
Goals
• to develop a multidimensional, web-based Middle Low German grammar for research and teaching
• to present grammatical variation (e.g. due to language area or text type) and linguistic change in Middle Low German and to investigate possible influencing factors
• to develop an interactive web interface that displays the grammatical information required by different users
Project Description
The planned Middle Low German grammar primarily serves to make historical texts accessible. At the same time, it provides the necessary in-depth knowledge of the linguistic structures of Middle Low German that German studies and general linguistics require for comparative and typological research in Europe. Structurally, Middle Low German can be classified between High German on the one hand and Dutch and English on the other. It has also had a strong influence on the Scandinavian languages.
There is no comprehensive scientific grammar of Middle Low German that reflects the current state of research. In order to adequately describe Middle Low German in its structure, the planned grammar implements the current requirements of modern grammar writing and will thus close a significant gap in research.
The target audience for the Middle Low German Grammar includes both researchers and students, whose specific needs the grammar aims to meet. For academic teaching, it must be usable as a compact practical grammar for teaching and analysing the Middle Low German language. For research purposes, it should serve as a scientific grammar that comprehensively documents the linguistic structure and describes it in great detail.
An interactive web interface is being developed for these very different usage scenarios, which can display the desired grammatical information to users in a targeted manner. The web interface also allows access to the research corpus itself and its quantitative evaluations, as well as to other resources – for example, selected historical language databases (including Wortfamilien diachron) or the Middle Low German dictionary. The Middle Low German grammar will be interfaced with the NFDI consortium's Text+ portal, which is currently under development. In addition to the digital publication, a print edition will also be produced.
Funding "Middle Low German Grammar"
The long-term project "Middle Low German Grammar" is funded as part of the Academies' Programme, which is coordinated by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities and financed equally by the Federal Government and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
The long-term project "Middle Low German Grammar" is conducted by the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg in cooperation with the University of Hamburg. Prof Dr Ingrid Schröder, Prof Dr Sarah Ihden and Prof Dr Chris Biemann successfully submitted the application for the research project together: they are cooperatively managing the project.