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High German is marked by the High German consonant shift, separating it from Low German (Low Saxon) and Low Franconian (including Dutch) within the continental West Germanic dialect continuum.
An insightful exploration into High German (Hochdeutsch), covering its origins, dialects, and role as the standardized form of the German language in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Jun 20, 2024 · The continental West Germanic dialect continuum roughly encompasses the territory of modern-day Germany, Austria, the German-speaking part of Switzerland, the Netherlands, the northern half of Belgium (Flanders), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and South Tyrol, in northern Italy.
The name "high" doesn't imply any kind of superiority – it simply refers to the area where the languages were spoken, the highlands in southern Germany. Over time, the Old High German dialects gradually overtook the Low German varieties and became the basis for the development of today's Standard German.
High German consonant shift originated from the southern region of the West Germanic dialect continuum across multiple phases. As far as the point of linear origin goes phonologists have been able to locate this development between the 3 rd and the 5 th centuries.
Three striking vowel changes are characteristic of this period. In the southeast, as early as the 12th century, the long vowels ī, ū, and ṻ (IPA y) came to be diphthongized to ei, ou, and öü (IPA øy ); this feature is known as the New High German diphthongization.
Jun 4, 2024 · German dialects can be divided into Low German dialects (Niederdeutsch) used in the north and High German dialects (Hochdeutsch) used in the middle and in the south of the geographic area where German is naturally spoken (the so-called German Sprachraum).
