The words
Dutch and
Deutsch are, of course, related. Today you can call them, however, "false friends", because they have distinctly different meanings.
Dutch first of all means
1. The main language of Netherlands and Flanders (i.e., the northern part of Belgium)
2. The people of the Netherlands
Etymology
From
Middle English Duch (
“German, Low Countryman”), from
Middle Dutch dūtsch,
duutsc (modern
Duits (
“German”)), northern variant of
dietsc (compare modern
Diets (
“Dutch language”)), from
Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (compare German
Deutsch (
“German”), Old English
þēodisc (
“of the people”)), from
Proto-Germanic *þeudō ‘people’, from
Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic.
Middle Dutch
duutsc is the result of i-mutation (umlaut) typical of central dialects (Brabantine) while
dietsc shows the merger of
iu with
io and weakening to [iə] typical of coastal dialects (Flemish). This led to doublets which split in meaning during the Renaissance. (Source:
Wikipedia)
So today
Dutch usually doesn't mean
Deutsch at all. But there's one exception:
The
Pennsylvania Dutch
They are a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania
and their descendants. This early wave of settlers, which would
eventually coalesce to form the Pennsylvania Dutch, began in the late
17th century and concluded in the late 18th century. The majority of
these immigrants originated in what is today southwestern Germany, i.e. Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg; other prominent groups were Alsatians, Swiss, and French Protestants. Historically they have spoken the dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch.
In this context, the word "Dutch" does not refer to the Dutch people or their descendants. (Source:
Wikipedia )
Deutsch
The name
Deutschland is derived from the Old High German
diutisc, or similar variants from Proto-Germanic
*Þeudiskaz, which originally meant "of the people". This in turn comes from a Germanic word meaning "folk" (leading to Old High German
diot, Middle High German
diet), and was used to differentiate between the speakers of Germanic languages and those who spoke Celtic or Romance languages. These words come from *
teuta, the Proto-Indo-European word for "people" (Lithuanian
tauta, Old Irish
tuath, Old English
þeod).
Also the Italian for "German",
tedesco (local or archaic variants:
todesco,
tudesco,
todisco) comes from the same Old High German root, although not the name for "Germany" (
Germania). (Source:
Wikipedia)
See also:
Other terms for Germans
Siehe auch ...
