Itzgründisch dialect

Itzgründisch is a Main Franconian dialect, which is spoken in the eponymous Itz Valley (German: Itzgrund) and its tributaries of Grümpen, Effelder, Röthen/Röden, Lauter, Füllbach and Rodach, the valleys of the Neubrunn, Biber and the upper Werra and in the valley of Steinach. In the small language area, which extends from the Itzgrund in Upper Franconia to the southern side of the Thuringian Highlands, “Fränkische” (specifically East Franconian) still exists in the original form. Because of the remoteness of the area, this isolated by the end of the 19th Century and later during the division of Germany, this language has kept many linguistic features to this day. Scientific study of the Itzgründisch dialect was made for the first time, in the middle of the 19th Century, by the linguist August Schleicher.

Itzgründisch
Native to Germany
Region Northern Bavaria,
Southern Thuringia
Native speakers
230,000 (2010)
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog None
Distribution of the Itzgründisch dialect (dark blue) in Thuringia

Geographical Distribution

The zone of the Itzgründisch dialect includes south of the Rennsteig ridge in the district of Sonneberg, the eastern part of the district of Hildburghausen, the city and district of Coburg (the “Coburger Land”) and the northwestern part of the district of Lichtenfels.

In the west side of the dialect zone, the “Südhennebergische Staffelung” [South Henneberger Gradation, a linguistic term], which runs through the district of Hildburghausen, separates Itzgründisch from Hennebergisch. It extends south of the city of Hildburghausen and continues along the zone's borders to Grabfeldisch (East Franconian) or further south to Lower Franconian, which is also spoken in Seßlach in the western part of the district of Coburg. South of the district of Coburg, Itzgründisch is mixed with the dialect of Bamberg. East of the Sonneberger (except Heinersdorf, which is already in the zone of the Upper Franconian dialect) and Coburger lands and east of Michelau in the district of Lichtenfels, the Itzgründisch-speaking area is bordered by its Upper Franconian counterpart. Upper Franconian lies beyond the “Bamberger Schranke” [Bamberg Barrier, another linguistic term] so it does not belong to the Main Franconian dialects.

Directly in the course of the Rennsteig over the crest of the Thuringian Highlands, there exists a narrow transition zone to the Thuringian dialect, which consists the more modern dialects, largely influenced by East Franconian, of the places around Sachsenbrunn and Lauscha, which use the Itzgründisch vocabulary.

The zone of the Itzgründisch dialect area was originally the territories of the historic rulers, the Pflege Coburg and the Benedictine Banz Abbey.

Speakers

On 31 December 2010, in the dialect zone of Itzgründisch, 41,076 speakers were living in the town of Coburg while 84,129 were residing in the district of Coburg, with 40,745 more in the district of Hildburghausen; 22,791 in the district of Lichtenfels; and (minus the estimated number of non-Itzgründisch-speakers) about 50,000 inhabitants in the district of Sonneberg. In the town of Lichtenfels, which lies on the south bank of the Main River, where its dialect has historically been mixed with the dialects of Bamberg and the Itz Valley, 20,555 residents were counted. While respective variants of Itzgründisch are spoken in the rural villages throughout the area, the proportion of non-Itzgründisch-speaking residents is much greater in the cities. A conservative estimate puts the number of the native speakers of Itzgründisch at about 225,000 speakers.

The local dialects dominate in the transitional zone at the Rennsteig, where they are spoken by most of the approximately 13,000 inhabitants in everyday life, except in the town of Neuhaus am Rennweg.

Features

The grammar of Itzgründisch basically follows the rules of the East Franconian dialect. The uniqueness of Itzgründisch compared with other German dialects is in increasingly obsolete forms and diphthongs of Middle High German that are common in everyday speech.

(Note: Because Itzgründisch does not have the standard written form, the text is different in approximately "normal" letters with each different author. For this reason, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is waived for the exact wording of the Itzgründisch words and phrases in this article.

Numbers in the Sonneberger Dialect

  • Eins (one) = Eas
  • Zwei (two) = Zwej
  • Drei (three) = Dreij
  • Vier (four) = Vier
  • Fünf (five) = Fümf
  • Sechs (six) = Segs
  • Sieben (seven) = Siem
  • Acht (eight) = Achd
  • Neun (nine) = Neun
  • Zehn (ten) = Zea
  • Elf (eleven) = Elf
  • Zwölf (twelve) = Zwölf
  • Dreizehn (thirteen) = Dräza
  • Vierzehn (fourteen) = Vierza
  • Fünfzehn (fifteen) = Fuchza
  • Sechzehn (sixteen) = Sachza
  • Siebzehn (seventeen) = Siebza
  • Achtzehn (eighteen) = Achza
  • Neunzehn (nineteen) = Nänza
  • Zwanzig (twenty) = Zwanzich
  • Einundzwanzig (twenty-one) = Eanazwanzich
  • Zweiundzwanzig (twenty-two) = Zwejiazwanzich
  • Dreiundzwanzig (twenty-three) = Dreijazwanzich
  • Vierundzwanzig (twenty-four) = Vierazwanzich
  • Fünfundzwanzig (twenty-five) = Fümfazwanzich
  • Sechsundzwanzig (twenty-six) = Segsazwanzich
  • Siebenundzwanzig (twenty-seven) = Siemazwanzich
  • Achtundzwanzig (twenty-eight) = Achdazwanzich
  • Neunundzwanzig (twenty-nine) = Neunazwanzich
  • Dreißig (thirty) = Dreißich

But the numbers are different in time (in the mornings as well as the afternoons), as follows:

  • Ein Uhr (one o’clock) = Easa
  • Zwei Uhr (two o’clock) = Zweja
  • Drei Uhr (three o’clock) = Dreija
  • Vier Uhr (four o’clock) = Viera
  • Fünf Uhr (five o’clock) = Fümfa
  • Sechs Uhr (six o’clock) = Segsa
  • Sieben Uhr (seven o’clock) = Siema
  • Acht Uhr (eight o’clock) = Achda
  • Neun Uhr (nine o’clock) = Neuna
  • Zehn Uhr (ten o’clock) = Zeana
  • Elf Uhr (eleven o’clock) = Elfa
  • Zwölf Uhr (twelve o’clock) = Zwölfa

Example: Es ist um Ein Uhr. (It is one o’clock) = Es is in Easa. (The “i” is “swallowed” so much that it is only partially audible.)

Weekdays in the Sonneberger Dialect

  • Montag (Monday) = Maadich
  • Dienstag (Tuesday) = Diensdich
  • Mittwoch (Wednesday) = Middwoch
  • Donnerstag (Thursday) = Dunnerschdich
  • Freitag (Friday) = Freidich
  • Samstag (Saturday) = Sunamd
  • Sonntag (Sunday) = Sundich

Variations Between Itzgründisch and Upper Franconian

Itzgründisch has a diversity of local variations. For example, while a girl would be called Mädchen in proper German, she would be called Mädle in Haselbach, "Mädla" in the neighboring Steinach and "Meadla" in Sonneberg. The differences are even more pronounced in Upper Franconian, which is also spoken in Heinersdorf in the district of Sonneberg.

German Itzgründisch Upper Franconia English
Mädchen Meadla (Mädla) Madla maiden
Heinersdorf Heaneschdaff Haaneschdaff Heinersdorf
zwei Zwetschgen zweji Gwadschge zwa Zwetschgä two plums
Sperling Schperk Schbootz sparrow
angekommen akumma akumma arrived
hinüber geholt nübe ghuald nübe ghold brought over
hinunter nou, nunde nunde down
Gras Grous Grous grass
Hase, Hasen Hous, Housn Hos, Hosn (Has, Hasn) hare
Nase, Nasen Nous, Nousn Nos, Nosn (Nas, Nasn) nose
Hose, Hosen Huas, Huasn Hos, Hosn trousers
rot, Not, Brot ruad, Nuad, Bruad rod, Nod, Brod red, need, bread
eins; heiß eas (ääs); heas (hääs) ans (ääs); haas (hääs) one, hot
nicht niä (niät, net) net (niät) not
Salzstreuer (auf dem Tisch) Soulznapfla (Salznäpfla) Salzbüchsle (Salznäpfle) Salt shaker
Tasse Kabbla Dässla cup
Kloß, Klöße Klueß, Klüeß Kloß, Klöß/Kließ dumpling, dumplings
daheim deheam (dehämm), hämma daham at home
Gräten Graadn Gräidn fishbones
Ich kann dir helfen. Ich kaa de ghalf (gehelf). Ich kaa de (dich) helf. I can help you.
Geh (komm) doch mal her. Gih amo haa. Geh amol hää. Just go (come) over here.
ein breites Brett a breads Braad a braads Breet a wide board

Words Unique to Itzgründisch

A selection of some terms:

Linguistic Map

The Dialect Atlas shows the distribution of parts of speech and the corresponding sound shifts.

Literature

External links

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