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German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
. Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the
Benrath line In German linguistics, the Benrath line (german: Benrather Linie) is the ''maken–machen'' isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in ''maken'' (to make), while those to the south have the innovative (''machen''). The Line runs f ...
are dominated by the geographical spread of the
High German consonant shift In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development ( sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases. It probabl ...
, and the
dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
that connects German to the neighboring varieties of Low Franconian ( Dutch) and Frisian. The varieties of German are conventionally grouped into Upper German,
Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German d ...
and Low German; Upper and Central German form the High German subgroup.
Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
is a standardized form of High German, developed in the early modern period based on a combination of Central German and Upper German varieties.


Etymology and nomenclature

Traditionally, all of the major dialect groupings of German dialects are typically named after so-called " stem duchies" or "tribal duchies" (German: ''Stammesherzogtümer'') by early German linguists, among whom the
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...
were especially influential. These tribal duchies came into existence at the end of the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
within the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
and were thought to have been continuations of earlier tribal lands which were subjugated by the Franks and incorporated into their realm at the close of the Migration Period. For example, the Germanic tribe of the
Bavarii The Baiuvarii or Bavarians (german: Bajuwaren) were a Germanic people. The Baiuvarii had settled modern-day Bavaria (which is named after them), Austria, and South Tyrol by the 6th century AD, and are considered the ancestors of modern-day Bavar ...
(subjugated by the Franks during the 6th century) gave their name to the later stem duchy of Bavaria (817–1180), which itself would lend its name to the traditional Bavarian dialect grouping described in the early 19th century. As their understanding of the Second Germanic consonant shift progressed, linguists (when applicable) further divided these dialects into groupings based on their degree of participation of this consonant shift, with "Lower" (German: ''nieder-'') signifying little to no participation, "Middle" (German: ''mittel-'') meaning medium to high participation and Upper (German: ''ober-'') conveying high to full participation. Because the 19th-century classification nomenclature was based primarily on historical territories rather than linguistic clusters, the traditional system can imply greater similarities between dialects than is linguistically warranted. The best-known example of this phenomenon is found within the Franconian cluster, which is divided into Low Franconian, Middle Franconian and Upper Franconian even though the Low Franconian (i.e. Dutch) dialects are not most closely related to Middle and Upper Franconian dialects within the larger continuum. In fact, of all German dialects, the
Low Rhenish Meuse-Rhenish (German: ''Rheinmaasländisch'', Dutch: ''Maas-Rijnlands'', and French: ''francique rhéno-mosan'') is the modern term for literature written in the Middle Ages in the greater Meuse-Rhine area, in a literary language that is eff ...
-dialect (the only Low Franconian dialect spoken in Germany itself) is the most divergent when compared to Standard German, whereas the Middle and Upper Franconian dialects are fairly similar in their overal structure and phonology to the German standard language. As a result, the second half of the 20th century saw a shift in academic customs, with many linguists instead describing dialect clusters based on the geographical area in which they are spoken (i.e. Meuse-Rhenish or Westphalian) and their degree of participation with the Second Germanic consonant shift, or, such as in the case of the influential linguists Friedrich Maurer and
Theodor Frings Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueger, ...
, creating a new framework of dialect classification altogether. Nevertheless, in common parlance it is common for speakers of German dialects to use the traditional/older nomenclature when referring to their particular dialect, stating, for example, that they speak Saxon, Bavarian, Allemanic (Swabian), Thuringian or Franconian.


Dialects


In relation to varieties of Standard German

In
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
of German, German
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...
s are distinguished from varieties of
Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
. *The German dialects are the traditional local varieties. They are traced back to the different Germanic tribes. Many of them are hardly understandable to someone who knows only Standard German, since they often differ from Standard German in
lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word (), neuter of () meaning 'of or fo ...
,
phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
and
syntax In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituenc ...
. If a narrow definition of
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
based on
mutual intelligibility In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as ...
is used, many German dialects are considered to be separate languages (for example, in the view of
Ethnologue ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensi ...
). *The varieties of Standard German refer to the different local varieties of the pluricentric language Standard German. They differ only slightly in lexicon and phonology. In certain regions, they have replaced the traditional German dialects, especially the Low German of Northern Germany.


Dialects in Germany

The variation among German dialects ranges. In regions with dialects are being in the same dialectal region, pronunciation, syntax and words particular to specific towns even only a few miles apart can create even more variation. In the Black Forest region alone, there was a newspaper request for people to report what word they used for the term "Dragonfly." Sixty words were collected as reported from responders for the term. When spoken in their purest form, Low German, most Upper German, High Franconian dialects and even some Central German dialects are unintelligible to those versed only in Standard German. However, all German dialects belong to the
dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
of High German and Low German. In the past (roughly until the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
), there was a
dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
of all Continental
West Germanic languages The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into ...
, as nearly any pair of contiguous dialects were perfectly mutually intelligible. The German dialect continuum is typically divided into High German and Low German. The terms derive from the geographic characteristics of the terrain in which each is found rather than depicting social status.


Dialects in Central Europe

As the result of
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
, particularly in present-day
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
in 1945-48, the German language area considerably shrank. Large dialects such as the East Pomeranian dialect, most varieties of Silesian German, Prussian dialects and
Bohemian German German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...
dialects disappeared by integration of the refugees in their new homeland west. Also the Danube Swabians from Hungary and former Yugoslavia, had several German dialects.


Low German

Low German varieties (in Germany usually referred to as "Platt" or "Plattdeutsch") are considered dialects of the German language by some but a separate language by others (then often termed "Low Saxon"). Linguistically Low German (that is, Ingvaeonic ("North Sea Germanic") and Low Franconian (that is,
Istvaeonic Weser-Rhine Germanic is a proposed group of prehistoric West Germanic dialects which would have been both directly ancestral to Dutch, as well as being a notable substratum influencing West Central German dialects. The term was introduced by the G ...
) dialects are grouped together because both did not participate in the
High German consonant shift In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development ( sound change) that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases. It probabl ...
. Low German is further divided into Dutch Low Saxon,
West Low German Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts o ...
and East Low German.
Middle Low German Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...
was the lingua franca of the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany, and several translations of the Bible were printed in Low German. That predominance changed in the 16th century. In 1534, the Luther Bible was printed by
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
, and that 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 High German varieties. Early New High German gained more prestige than Low Saxon and became the language of science and literature. Other factors included the Hanseatic League losing its importance around the same time (as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established) and the most powerful German states then being located in Middle and Southern Germany. The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education, with the language of the schools being Standard German. Today, Low Saxon dialects are still widespread, especially among the elderly in the Northern parts of Germany, many of them being able to understand and speak the language, but younger people in Northern Germany are at least able to understand these dialects but not to speak them. The local media take care not to let the Low Saxon language die out, so there are several newspapers that have recurring articles in Low Saxon. The North German Broadcasting (
Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommer ...
) also offers television programs, such as "Talk op Platt" and radio programs in Low Saxon. On the other hand, Northern Germany is considered to be the region that speaks the purest Standard German, and in everyday life, little influence of dialect is heard. Still, there are notable differences in pronunciation, even among North German speakers such as the lengthening of vowels and differences in accentuation. There are also some North German expressions that are in use even in Standard High German but are seldom heard in Southern Germany, such as "plietsch" for "intelligent".


High German

High German is divided into
Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German d ...
,
High Franconian High Franconian or Upper Franconian (german: Oberfränkisch) is a part of High German consisting of East Franconian and South Franconian.Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). ''Modern German Dialects.'' New York / Berne / Frankfort on the Main, Peter Lang, ...
and Upper German. Central German dialects include Ripuarian, Moselle Franconian,
Central Hessian The Central Hessian dialect is a German dialect subgroup of the Hessian branch of Central German. It has only partly undergone the High German (HG) consonant shift but has had a different vowel development than most other German dialects. Locati ...
,
East Hessian East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
,
North Hessian North Hesse (german: Nordhessen) describes the northern part and historical heart of the German federated state of Hesse. The region is – unlike the name Lower Hesse – not a historical territory and also has no established, standard and off ...
, Rhine Franconian, Lorraine Franconian, Thuringian, Silesian, High Prussian,
Lusatian dialects The Lusatian dialects (German: ''Lausitzisch'') are East Central German (High German) dialects spoken in southern Brandenburg and eastern Saxony. The name "Lusatian" derives from the term Lusatia, meaning the dialects of Lusatia. They are mos ...
,
Upper Saxon Upper Saxon (german: Obersächsisch, ; ) is an East Central German language spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it's mo ...
, North Upper Saxon and
New Marchian New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. They are spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of northeastern France and in Germany approximately between the River Main and the southern edge of the Lowlands. High Franconian dialects are transitional dialects in between the two greater High German groups. High Franconian dialects include East Franconian and
South Franconian South Franconian (german: Südfränkisch) or South Rhine Franconian (german: Südrheinfränkisch) is an Upper German dialect which is spoken in the northernmost part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, around Karlsruhe, Mosbach and Heilbronn. Lik ...
. Upper German dialects include Alsatian,
Swabian Swabian or Schwabian, or ''variation'', may refer to: * the German region of Swabia (German: "''Schwaben''") * Swabian German, a dialect spoken in Baden-Württemberg in south-west Germany and adjoining areas (German:"''Schwäbisch''") * Danube S ...
, Low Alemannic,
Central Alemannic Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, High Alemannic, Highest Alemannic, Southern Bavarian, Central Bavarian and Northern Bavarian and are spoken in parts of northeastern France, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
Standard High German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
is based on Central and Upper German. The Moselle Franconian varieties spoken in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
have been officially standardized and institutionalized and so are usually considered a separate language, known as
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
. Halcnovian,
Wymysorys Wymysorys (, or ), also known as Vilamovian or Wilamowicean, is a West Germanic language spoken by the ethnic Vilamovian minority in the small town of Wilamowice, Poland ( in Wymysorys, ), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland, near ...
,
Sathmarisch Sathmar Swabian is an Upper Swabian dialect of High German spoken in Romania in Satu Mare (german: Sathmar) by the Sathmar Swabians,Helmut Berner, Die Mundart der Sathmarer Schwaben nebst einigen ihrer Besonderheiten'' who are among the few Da ...
and
Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...
are High German dialects of Poland and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. The High German varieties spoken by Ashkenazi Jews (mostly in Czarist Russia, then the former
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and Poland) have several unique features and are usually considered as a separate language. Known as Yiddish, it is the only Germanic language that does not (only) use the
Latin script The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern ...
as its standard script. Since it developed in the Danube area, there are some similarities with the Central and Upper German dialects of that region. File:Ik-ich-Isogloss - Uerdinger Lien.svg, Map showing the
Uerdingen line The Uerdingen Line (german: Ürdinger Linie, Uerdinger Linie, nl, Uerdinger linie; named after Uerdingen by Georg Wenker) is the isogloss within West Germanic languages that separates dialects which preserve the ''-k'' sound in the first perso ...
, which divides Low German from High German. File:Benrather und Speyerer Linie.png, The Speyer line, dividing the
Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German d ...
dialects from the
High Franconian High Franconian or Upper Franconian (german: Oberfränkisch) is a part of High German consisting of East Franconian and South Franconian.Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). ''Modern German Dialects.'' New York / Berne / Frankfort on the Main, Peter Lang, ...
dialects. File:Uerdinger und Karlsruher Linie.png, The Uerdingen and the
Karlsruhe line Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants ...
. The Karlsruhe line divides the
High Franconian High Franconian or Upper Franconian (german: Oberfränkisch) is a part of High German consisting of East Franconian and South Franconian.Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). ''Modern German Dialects.'' New York / Berne / Frankfort on the Main, Peter Lang, ...
dialects from the Upper German dialects.


Overseas dialects

The dialects of German that are or were spoken primarily in colonies or communities founded by German-speakers resemble the dialects of the regions of the founders. For example,
Pennsylvania German The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
and
Volga German The Volga Germans (german: Wolgadeutsche, ), russian: поволжские немцы, povolzhskiye nemtsy) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Sarato ...
resemble dialects of the
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, Hutterite German resembles dialects of
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
and Venezuelan '' Alemán Coloniero'' is a Low Alemannic variant.


Amana German

Amana German is a dialect of West Central German. It is spoken in the
Amana Colonies The Amana Colonies are seven villages on located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana (or Main Amana, German: ''Haupt-Amana''), East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villa ...
in
Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
, which were founded by
Inspirationalists The Community of True Inspiration, also known as the True Inspiration Congregations, Inspirationalists, and the Amana Church Society) is a Radical Pietist group of Christians descending from settlers of German, Swiss, and Austrian descent who sett ...
of German origin. Amana is derived from Hessian, another West Central German dialect. Amana German is called ''Kolonie-Deutsch'' in Standard German.


Brazilian German

In Brazil, the largest concentrations of German speakers, German Brazilians, are in Rio Grande do Sul, where
Riograndenser Hunsrückisch Hunsrik (natively and Portuguese ''Hunsrik'' or ''Hunsrückisch''), also called ''Riograndenser Hunsrückisch'' or ''Katharinensisch'', is a Moselle Franconian language derived primarily from the Hunsrückisch dialect of West Central German. ...
, and Brazilian Pomeranian were developed, especially in the areas of Santa Catarina, Paraná, Rondônia, and Espírito Santo, as well as in Petrópolis (
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
).


Chilean German

Lagunen-Deutsch is a variety of High German spoken in Chile. Most speakers of Lagunen-Deutsch live around Lake Llanquihue. Lagunen-Deutsch has integrated elements of Spanish. This includes the integration of false cognates with the Spanish language, transferring the Spanish meanings into Lagunen-Deutsch. The geographical origin of most or all speakers of Lagunen-Deutsch is Chile, to where the ancestors of the speakers immigrated from German-speaking areas of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The impact of nineteenth century German immigration to southern Chile was such that
Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Ca ...
was for a while a Spanish-German bilingual city with ''"German signboards and placards alongside the Spanish"''. The prestige the German language had made it acquire qualities of a superstratum in southern Chile.


Venezuelan German

The Colonia Tovar dialect, or Alemán Coloniero, is a dialect spoken in Colonia Tovar,
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, that belongs to the Low Alemannic branch of German. The dialect, like other Alemannic dialects, is not mutually intelligible with
Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
. It is spoken by descendants of Germans from the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
region of southern
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
, who emigrated to Venezuela in 1843. The dialect has also acquired some Spanish
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...
s.


Standard American German

Currently 1.1 million American citizens speak German, with the most being in the
Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...
. German was at one time the lingua franca in many American regions, with high density in the Midwest, but St. Louis,
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
,
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
, New York City and a great many others cities had a very high German-speaking population. By 1900, over 554 Standard German-language newspapers were in circulation. The rise in American ethnic nativist pride, especially during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, led to a zealous push for the Americanization of hyphenated Americans to reclaim the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant hegemonic influence once again, as the surges of immigration had forever changed the dynamic nation. All things and individuals with ties to Germany were thus subjected to public harassment, distrust, or even death, such as in the lynching of
Robert Prager Robert Paul Prager (February 28, 1888 – April 5, 1918) was a German immigrant who was lynched in the United States during World War I as a result of anti-German sentiment. He had worked as a baker in southern Illinois and then as a laborer in ...
, a German seeking to become naturalized in St. Louis.


See also

* History of the German language *
German as a minority language This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe ...
*
Ethnic Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
*
Petuh Petuh (Petu) is a mixed language of Flensburg, a mixture of German, Low German, Danish, and Southern Jutish spoken in Flensburg on the German–Danish border. It is High German in vocabulary (with some Danish concepts and loan translations), ...
, German vocabulary on a Danish base *
Wisconsin German The term Wisconsin German refers to both Wisconsin High German and to heritage dialects of German spoken in Wisconsin. By 1853, a third of Wisconsin's population was coming from German-speaking lands; by the end of the 19th century, Wisconsin's l ...


References


Further reading

* Friedrich Maurer (1942), ''Nordgermanen und Alemannen: Studien zur germanischen und frühdeutschen Sprachgeschichte, Stammes- und Volkskunde'', Bern: Francke Verlag. * "German Dialects, Teenagers' Argot: Purists May Disapprove, but Multi-ethnic Dialects Are Spreading", ''The Economist'', no. 8771 (11 Feb 2012), p. 56. ''N.B''.: Unsigned article, concerning the German urban dialect called "Kiezdeutsh". *


External links


Datenbank fuer Gesprochenes Deutsch (DGD2)
– a database with several dialect corpora covering German and overseas (North American, Australian) varieties of German

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080405043245/http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/dialects/ German Dialects – Links Paul Joyce, University of Portsmouth (extensive collection of links on each dialect)
Atlas zur deutschen Alltagssprache
(University of Augsburg, German) with recent research and maps on everyday language in the German-speaking countries {{Language varieties Dialects by language