James Baquet

    Who hasn’t heard of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales?” The collection of stories by the “Brothers Grimm” — Jacob and Wilhelm — has been popular with children for over 200 years.

    What some may not realize is that the Grimms were not mere “storytellers.” They were also linguists, with a specialty in philology — the structure and historical development of language and lexicography, as well as culture research.

    In order to further their studies, the brothers collected stories from peasants, middle-class people, and the wealthy in various regions of their native Germany. Though collected for scientific purposes, the stories were also a means of raising money for further research.

    The first edition, in 1812, was relatively short, and contained a great deal of sex and violence. Responding to complaints, the brothers removed much of the sex, but some of the violence — especially the violence used in punishing criminals — was increased, for “moral” purposes.

    Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), in addition to the work with his brother, also had an independent career as a scholar. The elder of the two, he studied law, but his first major position was as superintendent of the library of the King of Westphalia. He continued in political appointments and, after the brothers moved to Gottingen, lectured on antiquities in addition to a library post.

    He continued to work in academic fields right up until his death at 78. He said that nearly all of his work had been “devoted ... to the investigation of our earlier language, poetry, and laws.” Though he admitted that the work may have appeared “useless,” he also insisted that it could foster love of “the fatherland.”

    Although his works included the writing of a German grammar, a “History of the German Language,” and other technical works, it seems that his approach was not terribly scientific in the beginning. In time, though, he developed academic rigor, and he is still respected in German historical linguistics. His impact in this narrow field, however, was nothing compared to the sensation caused by his stories.

    Vocabulary:

    Which word above means:

    1. people of the lowest class

    2. something that gets a lot of attention

    3. looking into, research

    4. believed firmly

    5. people who study language

    6. simply, barely enough

    7. study of words, writing of dictionaries

    8. cause, create, nurture

    9. ancient things

    10. something one is very good at