Unconfigured Ad Widget

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

European language experts??

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • European language experts??

    Can anyone suggest what language (s) uses 2 dots (. .) over a Y

    Have a friend's ancestor who had a birth registered in England 1883 and a Y in the surname has these two dots over it in both the register and on the certificate

    Sorry - at the moment she doesn't want the very unusual surname that she still uses out in the public domain - but I have done all the usual searches and have found virtually nothing before this birth registration - so I'm seriously clutching at straws for inspiration

    Thanks

    Sue

  • #2
    Latin, Greek, French?
    Wendy



    PLEASE SCAN AT 300-600 DPI FOR RESTORATION PURPOSES. THANK YOU!

    Comment


    • #3
      Dutch?

      Jay
      Janet in Yorkshire



      Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

      Comment


      • #4
        I've googled and the suggestion is that it is old German (but I don't remember being told that at school when I did German?). It is also very widely used as a spacer for microsoft, um, spaces in text, where that space doesn't appear as a small empty box. Phew.

        OC

        Comment


        • #5
          In Dutch it is very common for them to use ij together, which is written as y with 2 dots over it, one variant of my maiden name has this.
          Linda


          My avatar is my Grandmother Carolina Meulenhoff 1896 - 1955

          Comment


          • #6
            Here's a wikipedia explanation of the punctuation mark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaeresis_(diacritic)

            Margaret

            Comment


            • #7
              Oooh, I knew it was called an umlaut, but not the other thing, lol, you clever clogs Margaret!

              OC

              Comment


              • #8
                Well I thought umlaut but it's interesting to find the other thing!!
                Margaret

                Comment


                • #9
                  Umm - thanks for all the suggestions folks - you're not making it any easier are you

                  I've also had one of the Scandinavian languages suggested - but not narrowed down to which one

                  I knew about the German umlaut - but I think I need to read the Wiki article with a very clear head - and no distractions!!

                  To be honest - I'm inclined to believe there may have been an elaborate plot involved with this registration to 'hide' an apparent illegitimacy - person involved wasn't baptised until a teenager (no father shown) and the marriage registration for him gives a different first name for his father to that on the birth cert - so I think I may be chasing some red herrings but want to at least consider all possible options

                  Cheers
                  Sue

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    But I think ozgirl is right and it's Dutch.

                    The other possibility is that it is an error, lol, and two random blobs have been earnestly reproduced.

                    OC

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Some more info for you to confuse you even more :D

                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_alphabet
                      Linda


                      My avatar is my Grandmother Carolina Meulenhoff 1896 - 1955

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The Dutch ij sounds the most likely. It isn't Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or German, and I don't think it's Greek or any of the Scandinavian languages. I thought it might be Turkish or Finnish, but the alphabets on Wikipedia seems to rule them out.
                        Last edited by Mary from Italy; 27-11-11, 21:57.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          wouldn't be jewish would it? sue would your friend mind if you pm'd the surname to the ladies here? that way it's not on the internet, and maybe a definitive answer for your question can be found.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
                            But I think ozgirl is right and it's Dutch.

                            The other possibility is that it is an error, lol, and two random blobs have been earnestly reproduced.

                            OC
                            Probably tending towards it being a Dutch name - but there is so much obfuscation around this family I'm not sure if we'll ever truly get to the bottom of it without maybe exhumations and DNA testing!!!

                            Almost wish they were random blobs OC - as I might not be wandering down this likely dead end in search of them if they were - but they appear 3 times on the birth cert and are really neat and precise

                            Will check with my friend and follow up on an offer I've already had to pursue this privately

                            Thanks again all
                            Sue

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Is there any indication, in the believed pedigree, of overseas connections? e.g South Africa, East Indies had links with Dutch speakers.

                              Jay
                              Janet in Yorkshire



                              Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                kyle

                                Definitely not Hebrew - they do not use the umlaut and their script is markedly different from roman script.

                                OC

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by Janet in Yorkshire View Post
                                  Is there any indication, in the believed pedigree, of overseas connections? e.g South Africa, East Indies had links with Dutch speakers.

                                  Jay
                                  None whatsoever I'm afraid - waiting for a couple of wills that might shed a little light and hopefully at some point a WW1 Service Record at the NA - but still digging around the edges looking for possible clues

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Sounds intriguing and just the sort of thing we love to get our teeth into - do let us know if we can help in a 'non-public way'.

                                    The Sensitive Board on here does not get picked up on search engines so could be a way forward if your friend would like to use the combined expertise of the forum.

                                    Margaret

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      Long shot, but the German Wikipedia entry speaks of Hungarian being one that uses it.

                                      I have never seen it in German, French or Latin. Apparently it was used in German for Frühneuhochdeutsch, but unless your document stemms ffrom 1350 to 1650, there is no chance that it is German what you have in your hands there.

                                      Apparently the same letter occurs in some rare place names and surnames of people in French (so it is not in great use anymore).

                                      Written Dutch could be.

                                      You can always send it to me, as Dutch is my mother tongue (pm me if you like, I can translate it free of charge as well ;)).

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        Thanks for the offer kiki, but I have no need of translation thanks - it's a bog standard birth certificate issued in Surrey in 1883.

                                        If you look back at my posts 9 and 14 - you'll see that my gut feeling is that some reasonably extensive skullduggery went on with this registration to probably hide a likely illegitimacy - though the descendents have used an 'anglicised' version of the 'married' surname since then.

                                        I'm reasonably sure from some later connections that the mother (who we believe is from an identified local family) is using a fictitious maiden name (though with her own initials) on this certificate and the 'father' named is probably a figment of imagination - but it's an unusual name - so why choose it??

                                        As mentioned before though - I am doing my best to investigate all possibilities - however much they seem like a waste of time !

                                        I had forgotten about the Sensitive Board and might consider that - but I am stubborn and would really like to work it out for myself if I can though

                                        In the meantime my friend is out of contact for a few days so I can't see how she feels about passing on the name - even in a PM - and there are still ordered wills to come that might be of some help

                                        Thanks again though for all the suggestions and offers to help

                                        Cheers
                                        Sue

                                        Comment

                                        Working...
                                        X