Sprecher

Forms

Sprecher m (genitive Sprechers, plural Sprecher, feminine Sprecherin)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German sprechære, inherited from Old High German sprehhāri (“speaker, orator, preacher”), an agent noun of the verb sprehhan, the ancestor of sprechen.^[2][3][4][1] It replaced an older formation without the suffix, sprehho, found in ēwōno sprehho (“lawgiver”) and in furisprehho, which lives on in Swiss Fürsprech “lawyer”.^[5][3][6] Related formations are Old English spreca (“adviser”) and Old Frisian forspreka (“advocate”).^[6][5]

The verb comes from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan, also found in Old English sprecan and Old Frisian spreka, with an irregular loss of the /r/ in specan, whence English speak.^[7][2] Its further origin is unclear: Kluge mentions Welsh ffraeth (“witty”) and Albanian shpreh (“to express”), but finds the meanings too far apart, and otherwise explains it as an expressive word related to Old Norse spraka (“to crackle”).^[7] Pfeifer and Duden also think of an imitative word of that kind.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German sprehhāri is recorded three times, from the 11th century, translating Latin locutor, ecclesiastes and concionator (“speaker, preacher, orator”).^[2][4][6] Middle High German sprechære is recorded after 1243, also in the sense of a reciter of spoken verse.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant anyone who speaks.^[9] From Middle High German on it also meant the elected spokesman of a group, as in Schiller's Piccolomini soll unser Sprecher sein (“Piccolomini shall be our spokesman”).^[9] The Grimms note that the simple word was not very frequent and was used mainly in special senses and in compounds.^[6] Since the early 20th century it has been the job title of announcers in radio and later television; the feminine Sprecherin is recorded by Stieler.^[9] Linguistics pairs Sprecher with Hörer, as in Karl Bühler's theory of language.^[9]

Timeline

• 11th century – Old High German sprehhāri is recorded.^[2]
• After 1243 – Middle High German sprechære is recorded.^[8]
• 1691 – Stieler records the feminine Sprecherin.^[9][6]
• Early 20th century – Sprecher becomes the title of radio announcers.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A spokesperson chosen by a group to represent its interests: Sie ist Sprecherin der Elterninitiative.^[10][1]
2. An official who passes on statements for a government or authority: ein Sprecher des Innenministeriums.^[10][1]
3. An announcer or newsreader on radio or television.^[10][1]
4. A speaker of a particular language or dialect: die Sprecher des Sorbischen.^[10][1]
5. Someone who speaks texts for a film, recording or play, such as a narrator or voice actor.^[10][1]
6. The person who made a particular spoken utterance.^[10]
7. (prison slang) A visit to a prisoner.^[10]

Word family

• Sprecherin
• Fürsprecher
• Lautsprecher
• Fernsprecher
• Pressesprecher
• Regierungssprecher
• Nachrichtensprecher
• Synchronsprecher

Related words

• Sprache
• sprechen
• Versprecher
• Spruch
• Sprichwort
• English speaker

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
3. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2007), 4th ed., Duden vol. 7, Mannheim: Dudenverlag
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
5. ^ a b Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 8, 856
6. ^ a b c d e Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 17, 1
7. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 871
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
9. ^ a b c d e f Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
10. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag