4/11/2023 0 Comments Two dots above a letterIn German handwriting that emerged after the Middle Ages, the tiny “e” over the vowel was composed of two short vertical lines very close together, and the superscript “e” looked like two little strokes. Here, we find the umlaut represented as a tiny “e” above the affected vowel or in regular size right after it. Alexander the Great most certainly used umlauts!įast forward 1,300 years or so to Middle High German. ![]() The umlaut also showed that a particular vowel formed its own syllable. This was because there were not yet spaces in between words. As early as 323 B.C., the umlaut-called a trema-was used primarily at the beginning of a vowel, separating it from a preceding vowel, in order to show the next word. Before hearing the sounds these little dots make, let’s look at the origins of the humble umlaut. ![]() ![]() Umlauts do, indeed, change a word’s pronunciation. Have you ever seen German words with two dots over some of the letters? Are they really necessary or do they just make a heavy-metal band name look cool, like Mötley Crüe and Motörhead? It’s doubtful these bäd böys actually knew whät they were döing when ädding ümläüts tö their bänd nämes.
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