phonetischen Namenkarte (pNK) / Phonetic variants of German surnames and village names Name as found in present day (Source(s): ) Goal: De-evolve a “Master variant” diagram surname or village name from the present to its original forms & variants Step-by-step Listing of variants (use back of sheet for more): Review phonetic hints and samples below Create the “Master Variant Diagram” Write out the list of spelling variants Phonetic hints and samples Consonant Combinations / Translations Interchanges Syllables Look up the name Initial Vowel shifts ( e.g., now = orig.) (or its syllables) to Many German “short” vowels are interchangeably re- letters Letters than can see if it’s a spelled. “Long” vowels include shifts such as: S or Sh = Sch H may have dropped interchange are: translation of a -back or baugh = Y names may originally German word ei or ey or ai or ay • e or ee or ä • ü or y bach have been with J b or v or f (e.g. English = ie or i or ü äu or eu -man = mann V names may have • German) d or t or th -tz or -z or -ts originally been with a f or pf or ff • Examples: W Notes: Any umlauted (two dots) vowel can shift into -berk or berck = Little = Klein; just about any other vowel in English records! k or c or g See consonant -berg, -burg Baker = Bäcker, The 2nd letter in German vowel combinations is s or z interchanges and vowel -ly or -ley = -le Shoemaker = usually the one that “speaks” – e.g., ie = long e; ei = shifts for other ideas. Schuhmacher long i; eu = “oy” Surname example: Snyder Village name example: Zeifenbeck “Master Variant” diagram: (Sn or Shn or Schn) (y or ei or “Master Variant” diagram: (Z or S) (ei or ie or e or i or ü) i) (d or t or th) (-er or-ur) • List of variants: Snider, (f or pf or ff) (en or in) (-beck or baugh or –bach) Sniter, Snytur, Sneider, Sneiter, Sneither, Schnyder, Schnyter, List of variants: Ziefenbach, Zeifenbaugh, Sieffenbach, Sieffenbaugh, Schnyther, Schneiter, Schneither, Shniter, Shneider, Shneiter Siephenbeck, Züffenbach, Süphenbach, Seifenbeck Books with more details: Roger P. Minert, Spelling Variations in German Name (GRT Publications, third printing, 2008) and Kenneth L. Smith, German Names: A Practical Guide (Masthof Press, 2007) pNK © James M. Beidler, 2014 .