Deutsche Dialekte or the German dialect is represented by its geographical spread of the shift of the High German consonant along with dialect continua through which the German language is linked with the other neighbouring languages. That is, this phenomenon is further about the phonological developments. 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 3rd and the 5th centuries. The documents originating from this point on provide in considerable detail the earliest written records in the particular High German. The resultant of this process was the Old High German which can be in many ways contrasted with the West Germanic Languages. In the West Germanic regions this shift was not as stark as it was elsewhere, almost to the point where it never really happened here. Furthermore, this can also be understood with the sense that Old English at around this point did not change and remained completely as it were aloof from the other regions.
In General
The many verities within the German language are not that hard to distinguish. Say for instance between Standard German, such as, Swiss Standard German or Austrian German along with the non-standardised Saxon or Kölsch. Among the many German speaking region of Europe and the Americas, there has always been this confusion and issue pertaining to the development of a standardised form of German. Such was the case in Luxembourg, where they settled on to the Central German dialect group, the Swizz, in their contestations resolved to not solely rely the use of one language in written or oral forms. In Germany itself along with Austria, Switzerland – in these regions, German originates from the same standardised language.
Through this mapping one can identify the influence of local dialects form Germany on to the neighbouring locales. Belgium, Luxembourg.. France, Italy – in all of these regions, when travelling from the border towards the centre, you can identify the Deutsch culture and language among other things.
The Dialect
Linguists of the German language have spent a considerable amount of time distinguishing the varied German dialects from the other varieties of Standard German. What they found was:
- That the German dialects traditionally speaking are of local varieties. One can traditionally trace their roots back to the different kinds of Germanic tribes. Also, many of them can hardly be understood by someone who is well versed in the Standard German language. This is because the difference lies in terms of: lexicon, phonology and syntax. However if you use a narrow definition which is entirely based on mutual intelligibility, then in that case these dialects can be considered as separate languages. On the other hand this sort of a point of view is only found in the case of the German linguists.
- The many different kinds of Standard German are used in reference to the multiple local varieties of the centrality of the plurality of language standard German. The only difference arises in terms of the lexicon and phonology. Particularly Northern Germany and other minor regions as well, in these locations Standard German has managed to replace the traditional dialects.
To further understand the many dialects of Germany it is important to first know about them. Following is a list of the six main dialects of the Germanic lands:
- Friesisch or Frisian: It is generally spoken in the northern regions of Germany along with the coasts of the North Sea. Along the borders of Denmark you can find North Frisian, and West Frisian has its extension into the modern day Holland. As far as the East Frisian is concerned, it is limited to the coast which is north of Bremen and East Frisian is thus spoken in the inlands just off the coast.
- Niederdeutsch or Low German/Plattdeutsch: The origin of the language is so because of the region being a geographically low lying. The expanses of the language is from the Dutch border in the east to the German territories of East Pommerania and East Prussia. Among the myriad variations of the language include: Northern Lower Saxon, Westphalian, Eastphalian, Brandenburgian, East Pommeranian, Mecklenburgian, etc. This dialect also is quite close to English.
- Mitteldeutsch or Middle German: The extents of Middle German in-fact goes through the whole of Germany and then it also reaches Poland in the east and also Silesia or Schlesien. In these regions Middle German gets further sub-divided into many different versions.
- Fränkisch or Frankish: Along the river Main you can find the East Frankish dialect being spoken. Among the other versions are Rhine Frankish, and South Frankish which is spoken around the river Moselle.
- Alemannisch or Alemannic: It is spoken mostly along the river Rhine and the north of Switzerland also reaching further in the north from Basel to Freiburg and then the city of Karlsruche in Germany.
- Bairisch-Österreichisch or Bavarian-Austrian: The Bavarian-Austrian region held political unity within its bounds for a considerably longer period than the rest of the regions therefore you will find a greater amount of linguistic unity here than anywhere else.
The mutual intelligibility of the numerous neighbouring dialects is concerned with the German dialects. For instance, for those who are only aware of the Standard German language, for them the dialects of Low German, most Upper German, High Franconian along with some Central German will definitely be unintelligible. There exists a dialectical continuum of High and Low German to which belongs to all the Germanic dialects. It was also realised that until roughly the end of the Second World War there existed a dialectical continuum between all of the West Germanic languages. This was because when they could be paired with nearly all neighbouring dialects and there existed a perfectly mutual intelligibility. In terms of the division between the German dialectical continuums there are two sections which emerge out – the High German and the Low German. This division is symbolic of its geographic characteristic rather the formation of a certain kind of social status which may be accorded to them.
Platt or Plattdeutsch is usually used in reference to the Low German varieties. The Low German dialect is often regarded a singular composite language whereas there exist individuals who regard it as a completely separate and distinct language and they have re-categorised it as Low Saxon. Linguistically speaking, Low German or Ingvaeonic along with Low Franconian or Istvaeonic, these dialects are clubbed together because neither of the two participate in the High German consonant shift. The Low Germanic dialect can further be subdivided into – Dutch Low Saxon, West Low German and East Low German.
When the Hanseatic League existed, their lingua franca was the Middle Low German. Middle Low German was also predominantly spoken in the Northern German regions. You can find numerous versions of the Bible which were printed in Low German. Moreover, this condition changed over time and particularly it veered in the 16th century. The Luther Bible printed in 1534 by Martin Luther himself was also printed in the same dialect and this step is regarded by linguists to of an evolutionary kind of the Early New High German. The main aim of Martin Luther was to spread his version of the Bible wide and across. This was made possible because of the retrofitted printing press and the use of the local dialect of High German. As it happened, Early New High German language received greater prominence over Low Saxon. It also became the language for science and literature. Among the other reasons for this was also Hanseatic League losing its very own importance around the same time frame. Interestingly enough there were politico-administrative influents involved in the same. The most powerful states of the region were located in the Middle and Southern Germanic regions and thus when the new trade routes were established with Asia and the Americas, the language of the more powerful states grew.
By the time the 18th and the 19th centuries arrived, the Standard German language was employed within the schooling curriculums. What happened was that, in the due course of time, Low Saxon only remained in existence within the four walls of the household and also it was spoken by the illiterate or the uneducated. In today’s time, Low Saxon could be divided into two broad groups. That is: Low Saxon which carries varieties with a sizeable Standard German influx and certain varieties which carry influences of Low Saxon. You can still find today the wide spread of Low Saxon. However, this spread does remain in many ways limited amongst the elderly communities particularly in the Northern parts of Germany. The younger lot in this region is largely incapable of understanding or reproducing the language. Local medias have also initiated measures to preserve this dying out language though many radio programs which are mostly conducted by the North German Broadcasting or the Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Northern Germany is the region where Standard Germany is spoken in its purest forms along with being used in the day to day life. One can quite easily spot the phonetic difference while strolling on the street or within largely elderly groups.
As far as the High German dialect is concerned, it can be subdivided into – Central German, High Franconian, and Upper German. Among the dialects spoken in the Central German regions are: Ripuarian, Moselle Franconian, Central Hessian, East Hessian, North Hessian, Thuringian, North Upper Saxon, Rhine Franconian, Lorraine Franconian, Silesian German, High Prussian, Lausitzisch-Neumärkisch and Upper Saxon. You can also find them being spoken in the south-eastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, certain parts of France and specifically between the river Main and the southern corner of the Lowlands in Germany. The Standard German of modern times was in-fact based on the Central and Upper German dialects. Furthermore, interestingly, the German word for the Standard German of modern times, that is – Hochdeutsch, is of High German in origin.
In the case of High Franconian dialects, they are transitional dialects and located in-between two of the High German groups. The High Franconian dialects comprise of the – East Franconian and South Franconian.
The Upper German dialects comprise of – Alsatian, Swabian, Low Alemannic, Central Alemannic, High Alemannic, Highest Alemannic, Southern Austro-Bavarian, Central Austro-Bavarian and Northern Austro-Bavarian. In the region of Alsace in the southern section of Germany along with Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy you can still find people who converse in the Upper German dialects. However, in Poland and also in Romania, the languages: Wymysorys, Sathmarisch and Siebenbürgisch in-fact belong to High German dialects.
If you look at the Ashkenazi Jews, when they migrated to Tsarist Russia, then to the former Soviet Union and Poland, in these times records have shown that they formally engaged by using the High German verities. This is what is considered as Yiddish. This is probably the only language of Germanic origin which does not use the Latin Script as the standard script. Primarily speaking, it was developed around the region of the river Danube hence it also carries similarities and influences form the Central and Upper German dialects.
When the German population migrated to the myriad regions of the world, they carried along with them, their culture, cuisines, and language among other things. When examined today, for instance the German population residing in Pennsylvania, they resemble the Palatinate. The Hutterite German resembles dialects of Carinthia. As far as the Venezuelan Alemán Coloniero is a Low Alemannic variant.
When you go to the Amana Colonies in Iowa, there you will find as the name suggests Amana Germans and their dialect is the one which comes from West Central Germany. The basic derivation of Amana is from Hessain. The language spoken by the Amana community is known as: Kolonie-Deutsch in Standard German.
There is also a considerable amount of German population residing in Brazil. Amongst them, the largest German Brazilian population is rooted in Rio Grande do Sul especially in the areas of Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Espírito Santo, as well as in Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro).
Chile as well is home to a large number of German speaking people. In the community residing here, Lagunen-Deutsch is a variety of High German spoken. You can find most of them residing in the Lake Llanquihue region of Chile. The influence of the Spanish language on Lagunen-Deutsch is rather fascinating.
Now, in Texas, German is the main language used in schools, churches, and businesses. This phenomenon is found in and around the Austin and San Antonio regions.
In addition
Even if you are simply embarking upon learning the language, it becomes important to if not understand but the very least know about all the German dialects. Standard version of German or the Hochdeutsch is what you will be generally using while travelling or conducting business. But, travellers have exclaimed towards a certain kind of trouble. That despite their German being splendid, often what happens is that they would encounter people outside the cities whose spoken Deutsch they would not understand at all. This is precisely the whole madness is about.
For a very long in history, Germanic tribes had dominated the landscape of Europe. Also, there are discrepancies which are associated with the definitions associated with the word dialect itself. However, when the first common language that is Latin was introduced by the Romans, at that point in time there was no common German language and therefore Latin caught on. When we come to the modern times, Germany as a nation came about only after 1871.
Linguistically speaking, researchers have pinpointed the many variations of the German and other languages and categorised them into three broad sections. These are: Dialekt or Mundart, Umgangssprache which comprises of the idiomatic language along with the local usage, and Hochsprache or Hochdeutsch which is used in reference to the Standard German. Linguists have often disagreed with the precise borderline distinctions between each of the categories. Dialects have existed entirely and exclusively in the spoken forms. The German word for dialect is – Mundart. Interestingly, the first half of the word, i.e. Mund means mouth and therefore the emphasis on the oral.
However, the major issues between the research groups are primarily limited to the definitions and classifications. If you wish to understand the difference between the many dialects then in that case you can simply take up a word and look for the different ways in which it changes across the dialects.