[Language Tree] [Dialects: High German] [Dialects: Low German]
GERMANIC LANGUAGES
What is commonly refered to as the German language today did not, in fact, evolve from a single origin. Many territorial shifts throughout the history of the region now known as Germany and its surrounding countries have produced a language with many distinct dialects, some of which are nearly different enough from each other to be considered separate languages. German is often divided into two large families: High German and Low German. The terms High German and Low German used here are often used much more specifically in a linguistic sense than they are used commonly. High German or Hochdeutsch is the official language of Germany as promulgated in the schools, the press, and the broadcast media. Low German or Plattdeutsch describes any dialect that differs from High German.2
The German language is a reconstructed language of Proto-Indo European. Commonly called Germanic, this language has existed since at least 350 AD. The Germanic language is believed to have Southern Scandinavia, Denmark and Northern Germany as its roots or homeland. Simple things as infertility of the land, and pressure from other tribes like the Slavs, helped the distribution of this language flourish.
German is the official tongue of Germany, but there are 27 other languages that are also spoken. Of these 27 languages, 25 are still active.3, 4 Major related language areas to the Germanic language are as follows: Bavarian, Schwabisch, Allemannisch, Mainfrankisch, Hessisch, Palatinian, Rheinfrankisch, Westfalisch, Saxonian, Thuringian, Brandenburgisch, and Low Saxon.
Standard German belongs to the Proto-Indo European family. It is of the West Germanic branch & is a sub branch of High German, like Austrian, Swiss German, & Yiddish. The content of the Germanic language is closely related to others as well. Nearly 50% of all Germans are fluent in English, as compared to only 3% in French. German is 60% lexically similar to English & only 29% to that of French.3, 4 Other names for German are Deutsch, Hochdeutsch or High German.
East Germanic: Germanic peoples of the Ostrogoth tribe who journeyed from the Fatherland to the regions around the Danube & Black Sea during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries CE spoke East Germanic languages. Although none of the East Germanic languages are spoken any longer, they are all believed to be similar to one another.
Burgundian - the language of those settling in southeastern France, western Switzerland
& northwestern Italy in 5th century CEGothic - the language of those who moved from southern parts of Sweden to the Ukraine.
The term "Gothic" originated from the Ostrogoths tribe and the Gothic language is one of the first written examples of the Germanic language. Records of the Gothic language (specifically West Gothic) are found in sections of the bible translated in 350 CELombardic - the language of those who invaded, then settled parts of Italy 6th century CE
Vandalic - the language of those who invaded Gaul, Iberia & Africa, & established an
African kingdom in 5th century CEWest Germanic: West Germanic languages are spoken by Germanic peoples of the Vandals tribe who inhabited the southwestern part of the Fatherland (from the North Sea deep into Central Europe). The division of West Germanic into High and Low German was primarily based on its location. The language was split up into two dialects, one up in the hills, and the other down in the flat lands.
Frankish - mutated to French
Ingaevonic - Old English ~ the language of the Angle, Saxon & Jute tribes that invaded &
occupied Britain in 5th century CE;Middle English & New English - the descendents of Old English after significant changes had been made by 1100
CE & the 15th century CE respectively;Frisian - one of the official languages still spoken in the Netherlands, & the contemporary Germanic language most
closely related to English;Low German -originating from Old Saxon & Old Franconian, New Low German (Plattdeutsch) is still spoken in the Netherlands
& on the North German plainHigh German - the official language for Austrians, Germans and the Swiss. The name, "High
German", refers to the dialect and language in the Upper Rhine region.North Germanic: North Germanic languages are spoken by Germanic peoples who occupied the northern parts of the Fatherland.
Danish - the official language of Denmark
Swedish - the official language of Sweden; also spoken in Finland
Gutnish - a Swedish dialect, Gutnish is spoken on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea
Faroese - the language spoken in the Faroe Islands
Icelandic - the language spoken in Iceland
Norwegian - the official language of Norway with 2 major dialects (Nynorsk & Bokmal)
Norn - now extinct, Norn was a mixture of Old Norse & Irish, spoken in the Shetland Islands
(Much of the above infomation was found on the site listed here (5))
For sources on the above chart, click here.
The list below is a more detailed list of German dialects, some of which are used in small geographic regions or used by very small population bases. This list uses definitions used by linguists when describing German dialects:
High German dialects are composed of Swabian-Alemannic (Schwäbisch-Alemannisch), Bavarian (Bairisch), East Franconian (Ostfränkisch) and South (Rhine) Franconian (Süd(rhein)fränkische).
Swabian-Alemannic (Schwäbisch-Alemannisch) - Includes Wuerttemberg (Württemberg), Baden, German-speaking Alsace (Elsaß), Bavaria (Bayern), and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland (Schweiz) and Vorarlberg. Swabian-Alemannic the dialects Swabian, Low Alemannic, High Alemannic, and Highest Alemannic.
Alsatian (Elsässisch) - A very ancient dialect, whose northern forms belong to Upper Rhenish, and whose southern forms belong to South Badensian and to the Swiss German.
Bavarian (Bairisch) - Bavarian is divided into South, Middle, and North or High Bavarian, where the plains of the Isar and Danube rivers connect Upper and Lower Bavaria with the main parts of Upper and Lower Austria to the central territories of the largest German dialectal region. Along this north-south axis the broad West-East Bavarian dialectal boundary extends through Upper Austria, Salzburg, and Upper Carinthia. This boundary goes back to the time of the first Bavarian land acquisition and roughly follows the outer boundary of the former Duchy of Austria.
East Franconian (Ostfränkisch, Main- or Oberfränkisch) - This dialectal area, also called Main Franconian (after the river Main) or Upper Franconian, extends as a well-defined area around Würzburg, Bamberg, Bayreuth, to southern and western Thuringia and out to the Vogtland. Nuremburg and its vicinity are also included.
South Franconian (Südfränkisch or Südrheinfränkisch) - This is a linguistic region that lies as a border swath between the Swabian-Alemannic, North Bavarian, East Franconian, and Rhine Franconian regions.
Middle German (Mitteldeutsch) - Middle German divides into West Middle German, with Rhine Franconian, Hessian , East Middle German, Thuringian, and Upper Saxon. The so-called Middle German also includes:
Ripuarian (Ripuarisch) - This dialect is primarliy spoken in Cologne.
Thuringian (Thüringisch) - Used in the Arnstadt-Erfurt-Gotha triangle.
Upper Saxon (Obersächsisch or Meißnisch) - Also called Meissenish, it is marked by Thuringian and Hessian characteristics. Low German, even Middle and Low Franconian (Flemish) elements have influence in the north, while characteristics of Main and East Franconianin appear in the south.
North Meissenish (Nordmeißnisch) - The region of Grimma-Döbeln-Riesa.
Northeast Meissenish (Nordostmeißnisch) - A small region around Lommatzsch-Großenhain.
West Meissenish (Westmeißnisch) - West Meissenish is spoken on both sides of the lower Zwickauer Mulde around Röchlitz.
South Meissenish (Südmeißnisch) - This dialect lies in the region Öderan-Frankenberg-Hainichen-Freiberg.
Southeast Meissenish (Südostmeißnisch) - Southeast Meissenish, spoken in the region Dippoldswalde-Meißen-Radeburg-Bad Schandau, was influenced extensively by Dresden.
Low German is more uniform than High or Middle German. There are three large dialect regions: Low Franconian, Low Saxon (also known as West Low German) with Westphalian and Eastphalian dialects included, and East Low German, including Mark-Brandenburg (with Middle Pomeranian) and Mecklenburgish dialects.
Low Franconian (Niederfränkisch) - Often confused with Dutch, it is spoken on the northern German Lower Rhine.
Lower Saxon (Niedersächsich) - Lower Saxon belongs to the dialect regions of North Lower Saxon, Westphalian, and Eastphalian. A sharp boundary from the Rothaar mountains divides Lower Saxon from Franconian and Hessian.
Westphalian (Westfälisch) - Spoken in the region of Soest-Gütersloh-Paderborn.
Eastphalian (Ostfälisch) - Spoken in the southeast part of Eastphalia.
Plattdeutsch - Mainly spoken in the regions of East Frisia, Oldenburg, Bremen, Northern Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and in some parts of Mecklenburg.
Middle Markish (Mittelmärkisch) - A dialect that has characterstics of Dutch influence.
Berlinish (Berlinisch) - Berlinish differs from Mark-Brandenburgish phonetically and in the style of speaking.
Mecklenburgish (Mecklenburgisch) - Mecklenburgish is well delineated in the west and south. In the east it has extended to the regions of Anterior Pomerania and Rügen. Sometimes called Mecklenburgish-Anterior Pomeranian.
Frisian (Friesisch) - It is not a dialect, but rather its own language, which is nearly as much English as German.
City Frisian (Stadtfriesisch) - Since the 16th century, a mixed dialect of Frisian and Dutch has been spoken in some regions. This is sometimes called City Frisian, and is often associated with Leeuwarden, the central point of the Dutch province of Friesland.
Saterlandish (Saterländisch) - Spoken in Ramsloh, Stücklingen, Scharrel, and the interior of northern Lower Saxony, Saterlandish has been able to continue to exist in the midst of the much more common Middle Low German.
North Frisian (Nordfriesisch) - North Frisian is spoken on the Hallig islands and on the western coast of southern Jutland and Schleswig, it is a curious mix of Danish and Low German.
We have tried to cover as many of the major German dialects as possible. But this list is by no means exhaustive. There are many other identifiable German dialects. Hopefully, if you can identify which dialect your student speaks, you can use this as a jumping off point for further research.1
