East Central German or East Middle German (german: Ostmitteldeutsch) is the eastern non-
Franconian Central German language and is part of
High German
The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), or simply High German (); not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called ''High German'', comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and ...
. Present-day
Standard German as a
High German
The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), or simply High German (); not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called ''High German'', comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and ...
variant, has actually developed from a compromise of East Central (especially
Upper Saxon that was promoted by
Johann Christoph Gottsched
Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author and critic of the Enlightenment.
Biography
Early life
He was born at Juditten (Mendeleyevo) near Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Brandenburg-Pr ...
) and
East Franconian German. East Central German dialects are mainly spoken in
Central Germany and parts of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
, and were formerly also spoken in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
and
Bohemia.
Dialects
East Central German is spoken in large parts of what is today known as the cultural area of
Central Germany (''Mitteldeutschland'').
It comprises according to
Glottolog:
* Central East Middle German
**
High Prussian
High Prussian (german: Hochpreußisch) is a group of East Central German dialects in former East Prussia, in present-day Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (Poland) and Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia). High Prussian developed in the 13th–15th centuries, ...
(''Hochpreußisch'') (nearly extinct)
**
Thuringian
Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon sp ...
(''Thüringisch'')
**
Upper Saxon (''Obersächsisch'')
*** ''Anhaltisch''
*** ''Meißnisch''
*** ''Osterländisch''
*** ''Westlausitzisch''
*** ''
Erzgebirgisch
Erzgebirgisch (Standard ; Erzgebirgisch: ''Arzgebirgsch'') is a Central German dialect, spoken mainly in the central Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) in Saxony. It has received relatively little academic attention. Due to the high mobility of the popu ...
''
** ''Nordobersäschisch-Südmärkisch''
***
North Upper Saxon
North Upper Saxon (german: Nordobersächsisch ) is a Central German dialect spoken in Eastern Germany. It borders to Upper Saxon German, Lusatian dialects, South Marchian dialect, Thuringian dialect and Brandenburgisch.
It is spoken in an area ...
(''Nordobersächsisch'')
***
South Marchian (''Südmärkisch'')
* Schlesisch–Wilmesau
**
Silesian (''Schlesisch'') (nearly extinct)
***
Old Zipser (''Altzipserisch'')
**
Wymysorys
*
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
**
Eastern Yiddish
**
Western Yiddish
Another division is:
[Wolfgang Putschke:
* ''Ostmitteldeutsch.'' In: ''Lexikon der Germanistischen Linguistik. Herausgegeben von Hans Peter Althaus, Helmut Henne, Herbert Ernst Wiegand.'' 2nd ed., Max Niemeyer Verlag Tübingen, 1980 (1st ed. 1973), here p. 474–477
* ''Ostmitteldeutsche Dialektologie''. In: Ludwig Erich Schmitt (ed.): ''Germanische Dialektologie. Festschrift für Walther Mitzka zum 80. Geburtstag. I''. (''Zeitschrift für Mundartforschung. Beihefte, Neue Folge 5''.) Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, Wiesbaden 1968, p. 105–154, here p. 132 and 143 ses the terms ''ostmitteldeutscher Dialektraum'' on the 1st level, then on the 2nd level ''(adjective ending in -er) Dialektverband'' and on the 3rd ''(adjective ending in -e) Dialektgruppe''/ref>][C. A. M. Noble: ''Modern German Dialects.'' Peter Lang, New York / Berne / Frankfort on the Main, p. 131]
* (East Middle German, East Central German)
** (Thuringian)
*** (Central Thuringian)
**** (West Thuringian)
**** (East Thuringian)
*** (North Thuringian)
****
****
****
****
** (Upper Saxon)
*** (Erzbergisch)
**** (West Erzbergisch)
**** (East Erzbergisch)
**** (Vorerzbergisch)
*** (South Meißnisch), included in ''Erzgebirgisch''
See also
* West Central German
West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. Its dialects are Franconian and comprise the parts of the Rhinelandic continuum located south of the Benrath line isogloss, including ...
References
{{Authority control
Central German languages
German dialects
Languages of Germany