Grimm

Jacob and Wilhelm, German philologists, writers, and university professors. Jacob, the older, lived 1785-1863. Wilhelm lived 1786-1859. Throughout their lives they were inseparable, and are spoken of as the Brothers Grimm. Wilhelm was married. Jacob remained single and lived with his brother. With five other professors they were expelled from the faculty of the university of Gottingen in 1837 for teaching that the elector of Hanover was exceeding his constitutional authority. The brothers united in making a popular collection of fairy tales known as Kinder und Haus Marchen. Wilhelm was a cheery, social man; Jacob was a renowned student of the German language. He left a German grammar and a German dictionary incomplete. The rule relative to consonant changes, known as Grimm's Law, was published by him. According to this law, the t of the Latin becomes th in Low German, including English, and d in high German. In support of this statement we find that the singular pronoun of the second person is tu, thou, and du in Latin, English, and German respectively. P undergoes similar changes. The pater of Latin becomes father in English and vater in German. according to Grimm's Law, which covers other letters as well, one would know from a Latin word what form to expect in English and in German; and conversely, from an English or German word what to expect in the other two languages. The cause for the changes in the consonantal sounds as the word traveled from Italy northward are not understood. They may be due to change in climate, causing people to keep their mouths closed, or to some other reason of that sort.