Dictionary of Transylvanian Saxon Dialects

This dictionary is a far-reaching undertaking of Transylvanian-Saxon dialect research and at the same time the oldest and most important project of our institute.

The Transylvanian-Saxon dialect can be assigned to the Franconian dialects of the Middle Rhine. In addition, after the settlement in Transylvania, East-Central German and Upper German elements, as well as loan words from Romanian, Hungarian and other languages ​​were added. The aim of the research project is to document this declining dialect. The general vocabulary of Transylvanian-Saxon in all rural areas of life, in everyday life and on festive occasions is recorded, taking into account the dialect folk and art poetry. There is evidence of idioms, proverbs, comparisons, magic spells, salvation blessings, puzzles and children's games. There are also plant names, often associated with superstition, and from proper names all toponomastic designations in the broadest sense, but no personal names, except for those given names that have numerous phonetic variants or occur in the sense of generic names. The centuries-long "togetherness" of the Saxons, Romanians and Hungarians in the same homeland has found a not insignificant expression in the vocabulary of the volumes published so far.

The processing of the vocabulary takes place according to established scientific principles. The work is mainly aimed at meaning analysis, phonetic-grammatical questions, word formation and synonymy. The word approaches are in alphabetical order. A word article basically consists of several sections: the sound head with the vowel and consonant variants, the semantic structure, the compositions and derivatives, and the synonym centers. In the case of borrowings from other languages, especially from Romanian or Hungarian, the origin is indicated at the end of the article.

A special feature of the dictionary is the inclusion of documents from the Transylvanian-German document language from the 13th to the middle of the 19th century. These documents are presented from the point of view of their importance for the dialectic influence on the standard Transylvanian-German language as well as for research into the history of the German language.

Source material

The dictionary archive, which has been compiled over a period of more than a hundred years, comprises over a million items with evidence of the Transylvanian-Saxon local vernacular, as well as evidence from the Transylvanian-German documents written between the 13th century and the middle of the 19th century.

Editorial explanations

The publication of the volumes up to - and including - the 5th volume K (1975) was possible though a cooperation between the publishing house of the Romanian Academy in Bucharest and Walter de Gruyter & Co in Berlin. Beginning with Volume 6 L (1993), the dictionary appears on the basis of a cooperation between the Romanian Academy Publishing House in Bucharest and the Böhlau Publishing House in Cologne, Weimar and Vienna. The Romanian editors are responsible for the distribution of the dictionary in Romania and Southeastern Europe, while Böhlau-Verlag distributes it in Western Europe.

Importance

The Dictionary of Transylvanian Saxon Dialects, which documents a dialect in the process of disappearing, is essential for the study of dialects in German-speaking countries. The Transylvanian dialect retain numerous old word forms (relic words) that have disappeared elsewhere. The work published by the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities in Sibiu is aimed equally at linguists, folklorists, sociologists, historians and anyone interested in the Transylvanian Saxon language island.

Volume 1 (A–C, 851 + LXXII p., Ed. A. Schullerus); Walter De Gruyter & CO. Berlin, Leipzig 1924;

Volume 2 (D–F, 548 + VII p., Ed. G. Keintzel, A. Schullerus, Fr. Hofstädter); Walter De Gruyter & CO. Berlin, Leipzig 1926;

Volume 5 (R–Salarist [old count] 320 p., Ed. J. Roth, G. Göckler, Fr. Krauss); Walter de Gruyter & CO. Berlin, Leipzig 1929–1931;

Volume 3 (G, 355 + L  p., Ed.: A. Biesselt-Müller, B. Capesius, A. Pancratz, G. Richter, A. Thudt); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Walter de Gruyter & Co Berlin 1971;

Volume 4 (H–J, 413 p., Ed.: R. Braun-Santa, B. Capesius, G. Richter, A. Thudt; 413 S); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Walter de Gruyter & Co Berlin 1972;

Volume 5 (K, 420 p., Ed.: R. Braun-Santa, S. Haldenwang, G. Richter, A. Thudt); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Walter de Gruyter & Co Berlin 1975;

Volume 6 (L, 201 + XVIII p., Ed. S. Haldenwang, U. Maurer, A. Thudt); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Böhlau Verlag: Köln, Weimar, Wien 1993;

Volume 7 (M, 317 + LXXXII p., Ed. S. Haldenwang, U. Maurer, A. Thudt; contributions by M. Dengel, I. Huber); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Böhlau Verlag: Köln, Weimar, Wien 1998;

Volume 8 (N–P, 475 + LXXXII p., Ed. S. Haldenwang, U. Maurer, S. Sienerth, A. Thudt; contributions by M. Dengel); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Bölau Verlag: Köln, Weimar Wien 2002;

Volume 9 (Qu–R, 407 + XX p., Ed. S. Haldenwang, M. Dengel, I. Huber, U. Maurer, St. Sienerth);Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Böhlau Verlag: Köln, Weimar, Wien 2006.

Volume 10 (S–Sche 317 + LXXXVIII p., Ed. M. Dengel, S. Haldenwang); Romanian Academy Publishing House Bucharest and Böhlau Verlag: Köln, Weimar, Wien 2014.