The German language is fascinating, not only because around 130 million people speak German – no, there are also countless dialects in this language and thus it can happen that a dialect sounds so unusual that another person does not even understand what is meant. There are also regional differences and words that only exist in a specific area. But what does that have to do with NFT?
The German language with its dialects is something special. THAT was also the reason to put this language at the center of the first NFT project by Alexander Nastasi, whose stage name is Nastel.
Dialect – definition and differentiation from the accent
Dialectical language can be spoken in any language. The word „dialect“ was first introduced in Greek. It means speaking to groups in Greek. It is sometimes a case of referring to the „vernacular“ or dialectical expression. The idea of the NFT series was born. Symbolic signs – greetings in different dialects. A dialect is a language whose characteristics differ from the standard language. Think of dialects as subcategories of the typical English language. German Standard, also known as High German, is the German language taught in school, often represented through books or news. The language in which German is taught is spoken and written using Standard German.
Important links:
To the collection: https://opensea.io/collection/nastel-collection
Discord: https://discord.gg/nRKHtYEGrz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nastel_orginal
Start: 21.06.2022
What is an NFT?
NFT is a non-fungible token, i.e. an electronic object that can be clearly assigned. In the field of art in particular, this solves a widespread problem – who owns the art? With an NFT that you purchase, you are entered as the owner in the blockchain, so you are the clear owner of the work. In this case you are the owner of a dialect NFT, of which there will be 10 pieces in the first series. The first series is in Swabian and looks like this:
The special thing about it is that there is the word in the dialect, the word in what it means when pronounced in High German and the whole art is stored as an audio file. So it is an active NFT. You can see how the German language and dialect NFT will continue in the roadmap.
What is a dialect?
The words in a dialect are derived from local and dialectical variations. That sounds pretty complicated. In terms of language, however, it is like a company that works with technical terms in its area. If you talk about Metaverse, Web3.0 and NFT every day, then these are no longer foreign words or dialect for you, but everyday use of the words. Basically, the word dialect represents an interpretation of a specific language spoken in a specific region of a country. Dialect was originally referred to as „vernacular“. Its definition is easier to understand from this word, since a dialect represents an expression of a specific language. It is important that dialect is written, it is the everyday spoken language in certain regions. Think of English. The expressions of the same language vary from place to place. These different language perceptions in different regions form dialects.
Accent, dialect or vernacular?
An accent describes the pronunciation patterns that occur within a language. For example, you can hear a „das“ from a native German speaker and you don’t know whether it’s the „das“ with one or the „dass“ with two s’s. A native speaker may be from Bavaria and speak in a regional dialect that includes German words common to Standard German. Accent pronunciation means not only pronunciation, but dialect includes grammar or lexicography.
Should you start learning Standard German or dialect?
We recommend learning High German first. Because then you have a good basis for understanding all the other language variants. Of course, only standard language is used in official documents, and High German is also required in schools and universities.
Important links:
To the collection: https://opensea.io/collection/nastel-collection
Discord: https://discord.gg/nRKHtYEGrz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nastel_orginal
Start: 21.06.2022
Dialect – characteristics and function
It is possible to establish a solid communication in dialect. However, for most people it is difficult to pinpoint whether dialects are idiomatic or not. Dialect is not officially recognized as a linguistics. It is still possible to understand the dialect with certain criteria. An idiom, on the other hand, is a specific combination of words. It also includes language behavior. Dialects can deviate from standard languages. But they also have a regional border. Many people speak dialects, especially in small villages. In larger cities, the written language is more likely to be used.
Words
They have an unspeakable power – a love poem, a letter, a whispered word: whether it is in High German or in one of the German dialects is a matter of taste. Proposing to your loved one in High German in Bavaria may be just as wrong as reciting the wedding formula in dialect in the registry office (then the wedding would not be binding either, because the official German also prescribes the form). The topic of dialects is therefore an everlasting one in Germany. Some get upset about the many dialects, others only want to talk in dialect and not in High German (or as they like to say in dialect areas, swollen German).
It is important that words, whether in dialect or dialect, whether in Swabia in Alemannic or in Bavarian, have value and we should not always try to express everything in English. Of course it’s the world language, but if you have a closer look, it’s a very impersonal language. For example, our German language knows gradations of trust from different types of „You“ – there is a formal and an informal variation of these words and they can be differentiated simply by the word not only by how you understand it.
Examples of dialect
Let us start with the personal pronoun „I“. In German, the personal pronouns are basically pronounced similarly. This word is also pronounced „isch“ in Middle Germany. It is pronounced as „Ik“ in big parts of Eastern Germany.
Let us go on with greetings. In northern Germany, people greet each other in the morning with „Moin“ or „Hello“. In the south it is „Grüß Gott“, „Servus“ or „Grüezi“. If you address someone in the south with Moin or in the north with Servus, people will of course pay attention because it is unusual for them.
First German dialect NFT
Dialects of the mother tongue of the Germans – this should in no way throw a strange light on our German language. Rather, we simply enjoy working with the German language, but we also love playing with it.
The dialect differs from High German and creates its own rules. For example, Saxon is a different type of German language with different sounds and different words. Dialects differ from the standard language. Dialects can mostly be geographically restricted.
What are the characteristics of dialects?
Dialects come in a wide variety. Their phonetics in particular are different from the standard language. The word is often pronounced differently in the dialect. Sometimes one or more vowels are replaced with another one. Sometimes the final consonants are omitted. For example, think of the word „und“ – in Southern German it is often pronounced as „un“.
Dialect – problems
Dialect can sometimes be confusing. It is possible that a person in German cannot understand you. There can also be a small difficulty in understanding the Bavarian language. The Bavarians are divided into, among other things, Lower Bavaria and Central Bavaria. But this situation also affects other people: regional areas have been separated into dialects and create language barriers. Especially for people who don’t speak German, it can be difficult to communicate everywhere.
Important links:
To the collection: https://opensea.io/collection/nastel-collection
Discord: https://discord.gg/nRKHtYEGrz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nastel_orginal
Start: 21.06.2022
Since when have there been dialects in Germany?
A standard dialect has been developed. The German language had many different dialects before the standard language arose. The German dialect has evolved throughout Germany’s history and has been spoken among specific groups of people. Centuries ago, the German language was not widely spoken. There are enormous differences between the dialects that make it difficult for people from the north and south to understand each other. In 1890, a standard was established for all German regions to communicate with one another.
Dialects vs. standard language
Germany has exactly one standard language called „Hochdeutsch“. This language is taught in schools and universities. The article you are reading right now has also been written in what we call default language. This language is free of dialects. That helps the Germans to understand everyone in Germany. If all German people spoke dialect, it would be impossible to communicate in German. High German makes it possible for there to be no misunderstandings in conversations. That’s not a good thing.
German dialects
What is German dialect in Germany? German is spoken in Low German, Middle German or Upper German. It is an unequal division that has regional implications. The German language is mainly spoken in the north. Middle German is spoken in central Germany and southern Germany. All three categories occur in different language areas in which people speak: Low German is divided into East and West Low German.
Dialects in Germany
Dialects exist in every part of the world. But it’s not the same as in Germany. There is a long story behind every dialect. If you look at the history of German, you will understand how and why different German dialects emerged in different parts of Germany.
The German language
Germany is a country characterized by many dialect groups, the topics are very often also adapted to the region – for example in the Palatinate there are many terms that have to do with viticulture and agriculture, in Swabian there is a lot talking around industry and the most important thing the German owns, his „Heilig Blächle“. What is meant here is a car or in Stuttgart usually even explicitly his Mercedes Benz – because these vehicles with the star, which are considered to be indestructible, come from Stuttgart. In the north, other dialect terms are common that are hardly known in the south, an example: In Hamburg, „Knallköm“ means sparkling wine.
As a native of a certain region, it is also fun to have a conversation in dialect and a dialect atlas for the different pronunciations with translations is also quite useful.
Important links:
To the collection: https://opensea.io/collection/nastel-collection
Discord: https://discord.gg/nRKHtYEGrz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nastel_orginal
Start: 21.06.2022
The aim of the campaign is to keep the German language alive and to promote it. A portion of the proceeds will go to language associated projects. More details here in the discord, which is supposed to represent a lively communication with the artist. It should be clear that communication will be German here.
What happens next will be announced on this website and on the discord. The nice thing about NFT is that constant change is part of the process – the artist’s declared goal is to emphasize the German language more with all its special features. Ideas for this are webinars to increase the language variety in the language areas. Or to help people who are not yet among the 130 million German speakers to learn the language. It is also conceivable to make the north-south divide in dialects in Germany a little more exciting with native speakers. We (the artist and his wife) don’t yet know exactly where the journey will take us. What is certain is that we live, love and earn our living with the German language, but more about that in a moment. So we think it’s important to value them.
Who is this artist called Nastel?
The artist name hides Alexander Nastasi, born in Heidelberg, son of a Romanian father and a Swabian mother.
Today Nastel lives with his own family in Schwetzingen. That is a few kilometers from Heidelberg, in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, which is Germany’s most populous district and the fifth-largest in Germany in terms of area. In the immediate catchment area are Frankfurt am Main (approx. 80 km) with the Hessian dialect, Ludwigshafen (Palatinate, approx. 20 km) with the Palatinate dialect, Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg approx. 15 km away) with the Mannheim dialect (e.g. „üwwer die Brück“) and Stuttgart (approx. 80 km), the Swabian state capital, as it is often called.
His wife Julia comes from a completely different part of Germany – almost abroad – Hanover, the high German metropolis. If there’s a city where High German is normal, it’s Hanover. Together they run an SEO / text company as freelancers and have been earning their money as self-employed for many years with the use of the German language.
Therefore, the idea of bringing out the German language as the first NFT project was also obvious – both are cosmopolitan and open to ideas (Discord) as far as projects with the German language and dialects are concerned.
Important links:
To the collection: https://opensea.io/collection/nastel-collection
Discord: https://discord.gg/nRKHtYEGrz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nastel_orginal
Start: 21.06.2022