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Why did the word deutsch in the title Deutsche Grammatik refer to more than the German language?
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Brothers Grimm
Jacob (right) and Wilhelm Grimm, oil portrait by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann, 1855; in the National-Galerie, Berlin.
In the title Deutsche Grammatik, the word deutsch does not strictly refer to the modern German language. Instead, Jacob Grimm used the term in its etymological sense of "common" to encompass the entire family of Germanic languages.1
By using this broader definition, Grimm was able to trace the historical development of the various languages within the Germanic branch for the first time. His work established a scientific basis for etymology and historical linguistics by demonstrating the regularity of sound correspondences—a principle that became known as Grimm’s law.12