Slovakia Genealogy Research Strategies

Language / Terminology

Language

These references are by no means comprehensive.  They reference sites which I have found particularly useful.  Please drop me a note if you have other recommendations.

    General

• Wikipedia List of Online Dictionaries
• The Linguist - Directory of Language Dictionaries
• yourDictionary - General

    Hungarian/Magyar

• MTA SZTAKI - One of the better online Hungarian-English dictionaries
• Hungarian Genealogical Word List - from the Family History Library
• Magyar Census Buildings
• Magyar Census - People
• Magyar Census - Livestock
• Abbreviations - Church
• Magyar Census (cross-reference)
• Hungarian-English Dictionary - GenealogyRO Group

    Slovak

• Czech and Slovak Letter-Writing Guide - from the Family History Library
• Slovak-English-Slovak Dictionary - From the makers of "PC Translator"

    Polish

• Polish Genealogical Word List - from the Family History Library

    Latin

• “Select Word-List from Manorial Records”, Keele University, School of History, Staffordshire, Great Britain (pdf)

• Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid, University of Notre Dame

• William Whitaker's Words, University of Notre Dame

• Latin Genealogical Word List, Family History Library

• Latin Given Names

• Latin-English Dictionary - GenealogyRO Group

• Latin Words Mailing List

Cyrillic Alphabet

• Cyrillic Type - Colby College

• Cyrillic Script - by James Carroll

• British Museum and Library of Congress Transliteration Tables

• Ukrainian Transliteration Table - Princeton University

• Cursive Resource - Azbuka

Terminology

Church Records

• Common Foreign Language Terms, Latin, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian terminology

• Church Slavonic - Typically written in Cyrillic

• Church Record Translations - in Latin, Magyar, English, Slovak by John Jaso

• Abbreviations - Church

Magyar/Hungary Census Records

• Magyar-English Building Word List

• Magyar-English People Word List

• Magyar-English Livestock Word List

• Magyar Words (Cross-reference)

Given Names

• English, Magyar, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Slovak & others
• Latin

Common Place-Name Terminology

• Common Place-Name Terminology - English, Magyar, Slovak, Polish, German

Feudal Terminology - often found in Land, Tax and Census Records

• INQUILINUS / ZSELLER / JELERI - GenealogyRO Group - a dictionary of terminology

• Pre-1848 Social Status in the Villages of Present-day Slovakia, Vladimir Bohinc - Terminology and description.  Very good.

• Hungary's Ethnic German Farmers around 1800 Part Two: Their Economy - Felix Game - A "sleeper" of a title, includes robust descriptions of feudal social roles: colonus, cotter, zseller, subinquilinus, inquilinus as well as other less-discussed positions: priest, teacher, nightwatchman.  Includes measurements and their conversions and acreage measurments.  Very good.

   

Translation Services

• e-transcriptum claims to provide free genealogy translation services in over 70 languages.  I have sent them some material in Russian and will advise on the outcome (March, 2005).  Outcome: They never responded, even after numerous Inquiries (December, 2005).  May 2007 - website seems dead (BT).

Language Tools

• Surname to SOUNDEX Converter

• Shtetl Seeker - Find European villages which sound similar

• Foreign Language Characters for Microsoft Windows

Thanks to Delphi Forum members Adam ("Red Prince")

 and Michal Sura for their feminine surname contributions.

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Last Update: 27 April 2013                                                    Copyright © 2003-2013, Bill Tarkulich