translation for last-century German and Hungarian documents

[bchaplin]

Hi,

I have a lot of Hungarian documents, some of which appear to be written (inexplicably to me) in German. Others are in Hungarian, with some Hebrew. The words are pretty simple, probably meaning such things as "mother's name", "father's name", "place of birth", etc. Is there any place to get a list of commonly used genealogy words from the past century, in German, Hungarian and Hebrew?

I've uploaded one example...

Much appreciated!

Beth

[Sharon Lunde]

Most family history centers, if you have one near you, sell for a nominal fee pamphlets with common genealogy words and phrases, numbers, months, etc. I would call first to see if they have them. They are quite helpful.

[SVass]

Hi,

I have a lot of Hungarian documents, some of which appear to be written (inexplicably to me) in German. Others are in Hungarian, with some Hebrew. The words are pretty simple, probably meaning such things as "mother's name", "father's name", "place of birth", etc. Is there any place to get a list of commonly used genealogy words from the past century, in German, Hungarian and Hebrew?

Beth

I've emailed you the Family History Library word list for Hungary. It contains most words used by genealogists. If you have any specific questions, then ask me directly.
Sam Vass
and FTDNA JewishGen Hungarian SIG dna administrator & one JewishGen volunteer translator/transcriber of Trencsen Megye (county) records.

The German is common as is Polish and early on they also used Latin and a Hungarian version of "church" Latin.

[bchaplin]

Thanks very much! That Family History packet is very helpful; it even manages to give an intro into Hungarian grammar. Sam, it's nice to know someone from the Hungarian SIG. That is a terrific group and I've already found one very valuable family record in the database you guys posted.

[martha]

Hi,

I have a lot of Hungarian documents, some of which appear to be written (inexplicably to me) in German. Others are in Hungarian, with some Hebrew. The words are pretty simple, probably meaning such things as "mother's name", "father's name", "place of birth", etc. Is there any place to get a list of commonly used genealogy words from the past century, in German, Hungarian and Hebrew?

I've uploaded one example...

Much appreciated!

Beth

Beth, I would be happy to help you out with the Hebrew. As to why the Hungarian records are also in German, it is because this was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and German was the lingua franca at that time.

Martha Lev-Zion, usually in Israel but temporarily in the USA for an international conference.

[Wayne Till]

Hi,

I have a lot of Hungarian documents, some of which appear to be written (inexplicably to me) in German. Others are in Hungarian, with some Hebrew. The words are pretty simple, probably meaning such things as "mother's name", "father's name", "place of birth", etc. Is there any place to get a list of commonly used genealogy words from the past century, in German, Hungarian and Hebrew?

Beth

The FamilySearch.org site has several documents and research guides that may help:

German: http://tinyurl.com/5n6fzu
Jewish: http://tinyurl.com/2v66f2m
Hungarian: http://tinyurl.com/2v8obbt

[bchaplin]

Thanks again!
My Hebrew is much better than my Hungarian (though that's not saying much). It's great to know how many talented people frequent these boards. I will follow up if I have questions after working through these FH guides.
Martha, hope you're enjoying your stay in the U.S.!
Beth

[Judd Stiff]

Most (if not all) of the Family History Library Word Lists are now free and available on-line at wiki.familysearch.org. Do a search on XXXX Genealogical Word List, where XXXX is the language you are interested in.

[Brett Rawlins]

Beth,

I know German and would be happy to help you with translations if these word lists don't suffice. The script styles of the time (Fraktur and Suetterlin) can also give you trouble if you're not familiar with them. Just let me know.

-Brett

[bchaplin]

Beth,

I know German and would be happy to help you with translations if these word lists don't suffice. The script styles of the time (Fraktur and Suetterlin) can also give you trouble if you're not familiar with them. Just let me know.

-BrettThanks, Brett! And everyone else. I am still going through the documents. I do have at least one that might be German; I will send it to you next week or post it here for your opinion.