1) English and German are closely related languages that originated from the same West Germanic language branch. 2) However, between the 3rd-5th centuries CE, German underwent a consonant shift that changed p sounds to f, t sounds to s, and d sounds to t. 3) This consonant shift is why some similar English and German words like "ship/Schiff" and "door/Tür" look more different, while others like "hand/Hand" remain nearly identical. Understanding this shift can help in learning German vocabulary.

1. English and German vocabulary
We are family

2. Learning a language isn't only about learning
vocabulary and grammar.
It's also about understanding where it comes
from, because languages are organic and
always on the move.

3. Language exists within a
national,
political
and cultural context.
It is spoken by people, after all!

4. So in these slide shows you'll be discovering enticing
titbits of information ranging from
interesting facts about language,
to who is who in the German-speaking VIP world,
to the all-important little traffic-light man,
right over to the meaning of life.
Well, maybe not of life, but the meaning of so many
things it's going to feel like it.

5. So what about German?
Ok, lets do the easiest thing and start by
comparing it to what we know: English.

6. English and German are both part of the
“West Germanic Languages” branch.
This might all be Greek to you, but what it
means is that these two languages are actually
pretty closely related.
A bit like Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert, if you like...

7. If English and German are closely related, we
should be looking out for similarities...

8. For example:
- Hand -
Any guesses what this could be....?

9. Yes.
Hand is ...hand.
Pretty easy...

10. What about:
- Schule -
???

11. Ok, not too difficult:
Schule is....school.

12. School Schule
hand Hand

13. But what about:
- Schiff -
???

14. Schiff is … ship.

15. And what is:
- Tür -
???

16. It's...
...door

17. ship Schiff
door Tür
Not so similar anymore...

18. So what's happened here?
How come some words
are nearly identical and
others only vaguely similar?

19. The
- High German consonant shift -
or
- Second Germanic consonant shift -
is what happened. Get it?

20. No?!?
Doesn't it mean anything to you?

21. Don't worry, that's not surprising.
This is pretty specialised linguistic stuff and
many sophisticated brains racked themselves
for some time before they came up with it in
the 19th century.

22. Nevertheless, if we have a quick look at what
this “consonant shift” is about, it will help you
keep an eye open for German words you might
be able to understand on your own.

23. So, to make a mole hill out of a mountain,
this is what this “consonant shift” is about*:
*please keep in mind that this a very simplified
explanation and that some stages of this shift will have
been left to one side for the moment. There's no point in
leaving you traumatised...

24. As mentioned previously, German and English
are part of one language branch.
So that means that at some point the
ancestors of the German and English we now
speak must have been more like brothers and
sisters than cousins.

25. At some point between the 3rd and 5th century,
the consonants in some words of the German
language “shifted”, that is to say, changed into
other consonants.
These shifts didn't take place in the English
language.
So this “consonant shift” is one of the major
stages where English and German branched off
from each other.

26. Here are a few examples of the consonants
which shifted in German:

27. p turned into, or “shifted” to f
In English however, the p felt perfectly happy
as it was, so stayed as p.
That's why we now have:
ship and Schiff

28. And then there was the t who felt it needed a
walk on the wild side, so it became an s.
Whereas in English, the t didn't care much for
change.
what
was

29. Finally, there was the d which felt bored and
became a t.
And yes, the English d just decided to stay
put.
door Tür
red rot

30. P→f ship Schiff
d→t red rot
door Tür
t→s what was

31. This shift doesn't apply to all German and
English words, but knowing about it will help
you spot similarities.

32. So think of yourself as a detective, keeping
your deduction powers alert and aware at all
times to not miss a f which might have been a
p at some point...