What is High and Low German?

Question

I was reading this article on the Hutterites, and they kept mentioning High and Low German... what are they and what are the differences?

Answer 1

The difference is usage. High German is the proper German that is taught in schools and expected at formal occasions. Low German is where local slang and regional dialects creep in. Like people in and around Berlin speak it differently than in most other places.

Answer 2

Alpine Alli is right on the money. High German and Low German are two different languages. High German refers to the standard dialect (which is from roughly the middle of the country) and all dialects to the south (that is, up, high in the mountains). Low German refers to the language spoken along the northern coast of Germany. Old Low German evolved into English, Frisian, Dutch, and Modern Low German. Old High German evolved into Modern Standard German, Swiss German, and Austrian German. The Hutterites spoke a Low German dialect.

Answer 3

The terms "High" and "Low" actually refer to elevation, and have nothing to do with "status". High German (Hochdeutsch) is spoken in the southern alpine areas of Germany and Austria. Low German (Plattdeutsch, which literally means "Flat German") is spoken on the northern plains. High German became the "official" literary version of German because it was the dialect that Martin Luther translated the Latin bible into.

Answer 4

It originally referred to the language spoken in "high" (upstream) places (Switzerland, Austria, Germany) versus "low" (downstream) places. High German is usually just called German, and Low German is called Dutch. English developed from Low German as well.

Where I live now (Switzerland), the expression High German most often refers to standard German (as opposed to the German spoken in Switzerland). But for the Hutterite article it's likely the other distinction.

Answer 5

Simple. GERMANS speak high German. Low German is spoken only by those Germans who migrated to Pennsylvania, specifically Berks County, and slowly changed their dialect to one that can be understood by pure Germans, but not easily so. I was raised in the PA. Dutch country of PA (NOT the Amish who are in Lancaster County). My Father spoke Pa. Dutch (low German) whenever friends his age visited us in the 1950's and 1960's.

Answer 6

it certainly relies upon on the component of Germany that maximum hobbies you. the two are dialects of the comparable language, very like somebody from Ohio might think of that somebody from Texas speaks in a diverse way. intense German refers back to the extra mountainous factors of Germany, at the same time as Low german refers back to the decrease factors. the two way, take exhilaration in discovering the language.

Answer 7

Instead of me trying to expain it I've quoted Wikipedia:

"High German;
High German is divided into Central German and Upper German. Central German dialects include Ripuarian, Moselle Franconian, Hessian, Thuringian, South Franconian, Lorraine Franconian and Upper Saxon. It is spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of France, and in Germany approximately between the River Main and the southern edge of the Lowlands. Modern Standard German is mostly based on Central German, but it should be noted that the usual German term for modern Standard German is Hochdeutsch, that is, High German.

The Moselle Franconian varieties spoken in Luxembourg have been officially standardized and institutionalized and are therefore usually considered a separate language known as Luxembourgish.

Upper German dialects include Alemannic (for instance Swiss German), Swabian, East Franconian, Alsatian and Austro-Bavarian. They are spoken in parts of the Alsace, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.

Wymysojer, Sathmarisch and Siebenbürgisch are High German dialects of Poland and Romania respectively. The High German varieties spoken by Ashkenazi Jews (mostly in the former Soviet Union) have several unique features, and are usually considered as a separate language, Yiddish. It is the only Germanic language that does not use the Latin alphabet as its standard script.

The dialects of German which are or were primarily spoken in colonies or communities founded by German speaking people resemble the dialects of the regions the founders came from. For example, Pennsylvania German resembles dialects of the Palatinate, and Hutterite German resembles dialects of Carinthia, while Venezuelan Alemán Coloniero is a Low Alemannic variant.

In Brazil the largest concentrations of German speakers (German Brazilians) are in Rio Grande do Sul, where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch was developed, especially in the areas of Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Espírito Santo.

In the United States, the teaching of the German language to latter-age students has given rise to a pidgin variant which combines the German language with the grammar and spelling rules of the English language. It is often understandable by either party. The speakers of this language often refer to it as Amerikanisch or Amerikanischdeutsch, although it is known in English as American German. However, this is a pidgin, not a dialect. In the USA, in the Amana Colonies in the state of Iowa Amana German is spoken."

"Low German
Low German (also called Plattdeutsch, Plattdüütsch or Low Saxon) is a name for the regional language varieties of the Low Saxon-Low Franconian languages spoken mainly in Northern Germany where it is officially called Niederdeutsch ('Low German'), and in Eastern Netherlands where it is officially called Nedersaksisch ('Low Saxon'). Also, there are some speakers in the coastal areas of Poland, and immigrant communities in several places of the world, for instance in Canada. In the Southern Jutland region of Denmark there may still be some Low German speakers in some German minority communities, but the Low German and North Frisian dialects of Denmark ought to be considered moribund, if not extinct, at this time."

"Low Saxon
Main article: Low German
Low Saxon varieties (spoken on German territory) are considered dialects of the German language by some, but a separate language by others. Sometimes, Low Saxon and Low Franconian are grouped together to the Low Saxon-Low Franconian languages because both are unaffected by the High German consonant shift.

Middle Saxon was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany. This changed in the 16th century. In 1534, the Luther Bible, by Martin Luther was printed. This translation is considered to be an important step towards the evolution of the Early New High German. It aimed to be understandable to an ample audience and was based mainly on Central and Upper German varieties. The Early New High German language gained more prestige than Low Saxon and became the language of science and literature. Other factors were that around the same time, the Hanseatic league lost its importance as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established, and that the most powerful German states of that period were located in Middle and Southern Germany.

The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education, the language of the schools being standard German. Slowly Low Saxon was pushed back and back until it was nothing but a language spoken by the uneducated and at home. Today, Low Saxon could be divided in two groups: Low Saxon varieties with a (reasonable/large/huge) standard German influx, and varieties of standard German with a Low Saxon influence (Missingsch)."

Answer 8

High german is a dialect that everybody in germany recognizes as the national language. Low german is different dialects according to different areas in Germany, much like the difference between some in the U.S. who is from the north and someone who is from the south. They both speak english but it sounds different because of the way it is pronounced. Berliners is a form a low german spoken only in Berlin, while there is also a form of low german spoken in South germany that is different from the german spoken in North germany.

Answer 9

when i was stationed in Germany i was in an area where low German was spoken, people who live where the high German is spoken can not understand the people where i lived. it is like a bad southern accent in the states.

Answer 10

nothing really ones for girls ones for guys.....i think