[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Double letters

[T M Schoenky]

These responses are correct.   I might also add that back then, paper and ink were scarce and very expensive, so saving the space and ink and paper to write two letters in the space of one was common.  I see it as a bit like shorthand and a frugal trait of the Germans.  And the Germans were big on abbreviations - still are!
And the guys sitting in a very cold little stone room in the back of an unheated church or rathaus and maybe with arthritis weren't all that fond of having to write all this stuff down.   Only the rich and famous were well recorded then - probably gave lots and lots to the churches.

Maureen in California USA, awaiting El Nino
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Sigrid Pohl Perry <perry1121 at aol.com>
To: ger-poland-volhynia <ger-poland-volhynia at sggee.org>
Sent: Wed, Jan 13, 2016 6:09 am
Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Double letters

Dear Eduardo,

Do you mean the custom of the dash over the "m" or "n"? That practice 
probably goes back to medieval manuscripts in which abbreviations for 
common letter combinations or even prefixes and suffixes like "per" and 
"pro" and "quibus" were written in Latin. Some of those were most likely 
kept and used because of the savings in space and time in writing. 
German also used the special "Schluß s" for "ss."

Best,
Sigrid Pohl Perry


On 1/13/2016 7:34 AM, Eduardo Kommers wrote:
> Dear friends,
>
>   
>
> The name KOMMERS was written sometimes with one "M" with a dash over the
> letter, meaning a double "M". I see this happening with the letter N as
> well.
>
> Some years ago I made this question here but I think I lost these messages.
>
> Is anyone here aware of this grammatical situation involving German-Russian
> family names? Where did it come from?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Eduardo Kommers
>
>   
>
>   
>
>   
>
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