science

Pan-Germanic language

Pan-Germanic language is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pan-Germanic language rather than just read about it. In short: A pan-Germanic language is a zonal auxiliary language designed for communication amongst speakers of Germanic languages. Many of them are very similar and overlap in their approach but they are mutually inconsistent in their orthography, phonology, and vocabulary.

Key takeaways

Pan-Germanic language belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pan-Germanic language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pan-Germanic language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A pan-Germanic language is a zonal auxiliary language designed for communication amongst speakers of Germanic languages. Many of them are very similar and overlap in their approach but they are mutually inconsistent in their orthography, phonology, and vocabulary.

Background The intention behind a zonal auxiliary language is to create a means of mutual communication among speakers of related languages. Due to the diversity and variation among Germanic dialects, the most-spoken languages—English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian—are usually given precedence over others. Some of the pan-languages focus on unifying subgroups of the Germanic languages, such as the North or West Germanic languages. The development of each language is similar to the process for developing other auxiliary languages. To create a word or a grammatical form, samples are taken from all of the Germanic languages and the form common to most of the languages is selected. Reference is also made to previously existing and parallel Germanic zonal auxiliary languages.

Overview The first known active and concise effort to unite the Germanic languages is Tutonish. It was developed by Elias Molee in 1901, and reformed in 1906 and 1915. It was extremely simplistic. The orthography, while straightforward, was not related to any of the existing natural Germanic languages. However, despite its shortcomings, Molee established Four Principles that provided a framework for future works. Later in the 20th and 21st centuries, other projects have been launched as well, none of which has ever been successful, though:

In 2000, a new project was presented on the Internet by Aaron Chapman, Folksstem ("De Nue Germane Kunstsprak"). Later, it was renamed Nordien and Nordienisk. Folkspraak, a collaborative project or projects, was initiated on the internet in 1995. Since its inception, the project has not advanced much, and rifts in the Folkspraak community have given rise to various variants, including Middelsprake (by Ingmar Roerdinkholder, 2004), Sprak (by Stephan Schneider, 2006) and Frenkisch (by David Parke, 2008). Tcathan/Chathan (tcatamsck) began being made in 2007. It has influences from Dutch/Afrikaans, German, North Germanic, Modern English, Frisian, Old English, and Proto-Germanic (and to a lesser extent Scots, Low German and East Germanic).

See also Interlingua Pan-Germanism Scandinavism

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pan-Germanic language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pan-Germanic language claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pan-Germanic language before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pan-Germanic language ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pan-Germanic language

In research: Pan-Germanic language appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pan-Germanic language in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pan-Germanic language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Germanic languages, Interlinguistics, Pan-Germanism, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pan-Germanic language outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pan-Germanic language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pan-Germanic language means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pan-Germanic language out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pan-Germanic language in simple terms?

Why does Pan-Germanic language matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pan-Germanic language?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pan-Germanic language.