science

Wörter und Sachen

Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen rather than just read about it. In short: Wörter und Sachen (German for words and things) was a philological movement of the early and the middle of the 20th century that was based largely in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. History The term "wörter und sachen" was first used in 1848 by German linguist Jacob Grimm.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Wörter und Sachen (German for words and things) was a philological movement of the early and the middle of the 20th century that was based largely in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

History The term "wörter und sachen" was first used in 1848 by German linguist Jacob Grimm. It developed into a descriptive research field for linguistic and factual research, which was first presented by Indo-Europeanist R. Meininger in "Wörter und Sachen" in Indogermanische Forschungen 17 (1904/1905). Further results were presented in the cultural-historical journal of the same name (Heidelberg 1909 ff.). Research was later published in English in Th. Bynon, Historical Linguistics. Cambridge 1977.

Arguments Its proponents argued that the etymology of words should be studied in close association or in parallel with the study of the artefacts and cultural concepts which the words had denoted. The process would, it was argued, enable researchers to study linguistic data more effectively. For example, a "lamb" in an Arab shepherd's world may be very different from a "lamb" in another context. The shepherd may care about it being "weaned" or "fat" and, as a result, have two different names. Another example is the concept of qibla; it refers simply to the direction Muslims turn while praying, and as a result can be "south" or "north" depending on one's geographical position.

Impact Many of the principles and the theories of the Wörter und Sachen movement have since been incorporated into modern historical linguistics such as the practice of cross-referencing with archaeological data. Later research has argued for taking into account the context of the cultural heritage of words when building linguistic models.

See also Pragmatic mapping Dialect geography

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wörter und Sachen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen

In research: Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen 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: Wörter und Sachen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th century in Germany, Cultural history of Austria, Cultural history of Germany, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wörter und Sachen in simple terms?

Wörter und Sachen (German for words and things) was a philological movement of the early and the middle of the 20th century that was based largely in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. History The term "wörter und sachen" was first used in 1848 by German linguist Jacob Grimm.

Why does Wörter und Sachen 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 Wörter und Sachen?

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 Wörter und Sachen.