Upper German (german: Oberdeutsch ) is a family of
High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern
German-speaking area ().
History
In the
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
time, only
Alemannic and
Bairisch
Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian.
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...
are grouped as Upper German. In the
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
time,
East Franconian and sometimes
South Franconian are added to this.
Swabian splits off from Alemannic due to the New High German diphthongisation ().
[Frank Janle, Hubert Klausmann: ''Dialekt und Standardsprache in der Deutschdidaktik: Eine Einführung.'' Narr Francke Attempto Verlag, Tübingen, 2020, p. 30f. (chapter ''3.1.2 Die Gliederung der Dialekte'')]
Family tree
Upper German proper comprises the
Alemannic and
Bavarian dialect groups. Furthermore, the
High Franconian dialects, spoken up to the
Speyer line isogloss in the north, are often also included in the Upper German dialect group.
Whether they should be included as part of Upper German or instead classified as
Central German is an open question, as they have traits of both Upper and Central German and are frequently described as a transitional zone. Hence, either scheme can be encountered.
Erzgebirgisch, usually lumped in with
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 m ...
on geographical grounds, is closer to East Franconian linguistically, especially the western dialects of Erzgebirgisch.
Roughly
Upper German is divided roughly in multiple different ways, for example in:
[''Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch. Herausgegeben von Robert R. Anderson, Ulrich Goebel, Oskar Reichmann. Band 1. Bearbeitet von Oskar Reichmann.'' Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, 1989, p. 118f., noting that the dialect borders in the Early New High German and later New High German times have not changed much and giving:
* „Nordoberdeutsch“: „Südfränkisch“, „Ostfränkisch“ (including „Nürnbergisch“)
* „Westoberdeutsch“: „Alemannisch“ („Niederalemannisch“, including „Elsässisch“ and „östliches Niederalemannisch“; „Hochalemannisch“, including „Westhochalemannisch“ and „Osthochalemannisch“), „Schwäbisch“
* „Ostoberdeutsch“: „nördliches Ostoberdeutsch, Nordbairisch“, „mittleres Ostoberdeutsch, Mittelbairisch“ (including „Südmittelbairisch“), „südliches Ostoberdeutsch, Südbairisch“ (including „Tirolisch“)
Similar in:
''Oskar Reichmann, Klaus-Peter Wegera (Hrsg.): Frühneuhochdeutsche Grammatik von Robert Peter Ebert, Oskar Reichmann, Hans-Joachim Solms und Klaus-Peter Wegera.'' Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen, 1993, p. 5f.
]
* North Upper German (): East Franconian and South Franconian
* West Upper German (): Swabian and Alemannic
* East Upper German (): Bavarian (North, Middle and South Bavarian)
or:
* West Upper German: Alemannic (Low and Highest Alemannic, Swabian), East Franconian
* East Upper German: Bavarian (North, Middle and South Bavarian)
or:
* West Upper German: Alemannic in the broad sense (i.e. Alemannic in the strict sense, including Alsatian, and Swabian), South Franconian, East Franconian
* East Upper German: Bavarian (North, Middle and South Bavarian)
or writing dialects (, ) in the Early New High German times:
* West Upper German: South Franconian, Swabian, Alemannic
* East Upper German: Bavarian, East Franconian
In English there is also a grouping into:
* South Upper German: South and Middle Alemannic, South Bavarian, South Middle Bavarian "on the east bank of the Lech" – where the "state of initial consonants is largely that of Old High German"
* North Upper German: North Alemannic, North Bavarian, Middle Bavarian – which "have allegedly weaking many initial fortes"
Attempts to group East Franconian and North Bavarian together as ''North Upper German'' are not justified and were not sustainable.
Detailed
*
High Franconian or Upper Franconian (German: , sometimes ), spoken in the Bavarian
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
region, as well as in the adjacent regions of northern
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 ...
and southern
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
**
East Franconian (German: , , colloquially just ')
***
Main-Franconian, mainly spoken in Bavarian
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...
, in the adjacent
Main-Tauber-Kreis of
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 ...
, as well as in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
south of the
Rennsteig ridge in the
Thuringian Forest
The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side ...
****
Itzgründish (), spoken in the
Itz Valley
***
Vogtlandish (), spoken in
Vogtland,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
''
ometimes; sometimes classified as East Central German separated from Upper Franconian">East_Central_German.html" ;"title="ometimes; sometimes classified as East Central German">ometimes; sometimes classified as
separated from Upper Franconian'
**
South Franconian (), spoken in the Heilbronn-Franken">East Central German separated from Upper Franconian'
** South Franconian German">South Franconian (), spoken in the Heilbronn-Franken region of northern
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 ...
down to the Karlsruhe (district)">Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...
district
* Alemannic in the broad sense (German: , , or also
[Peter Auer: ''Phonologie der Alltagssprache: Eine Untersuchung zur Standard/Dialekt-Variation am Beispiel der Konstanzer Stadtsprache.'' Vol. 8 of ''Studia Linguistica Germanica''. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, p. 89f.]), spoken in the German state of
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 ...
, in the
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
n region of Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, in
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n state of Vorarlberg and in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
**
Swabian (German: ), spoken mostly in
Swabia,
and further separated by the sounds in the equivalents of German 'broad', 'great', 'snow'
*** West Swabian ():
*** Central Swabian ():
*** East Swabian ():
*** South Swabian ():
**
Alemannic in the strict sense (German: )
***
Low Alemannic ()
****
Alsatian (), spoken in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...
, now
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
****
Colonia Tovar German or Alemán Coloniero, 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 ...
****
Basel German Basel German or Baseldytsch (Standard German: ''Baseldeutsch'') is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), ...
(German: , Basel German: )
***
High Alemannic
High Alemannic is a dialect of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Language area
The High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Liechtenstein and in most of German-speakin ...
()
****
Bernese German
Bernese German (Standard German: ''Berndeutsch'', gsw, Bärndütsch) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. A form of Bernese German is sp ...
(German: , Bernese: )
****
Zurich German (German: , Zurich German: or )
***
Highest Alemannic ()
****
Walser German () or Walliser German (), spoken in the
Wallis Canton of
Switzerland
*
Bavarian (or ''Bavarian-Austrian'', ''Bavarian–Austrian''
[Stephen Barbour, Patrick Stevenson: ''Variation in German: A Critical Approach to German Sociolinguistics.'' Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 88f. (in the chapter ''Divisions within Upper German'')]) (German: , ), spoken in the German state of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
, in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and in
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
**
Northern Bavarian or North Bavarian (), spoken mainly in the Bavarian
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...
region
**
Central Bavarian (; also , literally ''Danube Bavarian''
), spoken mainly in
Upper
Upper may refer to:
* Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot
* Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both
* ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
and
Lower Bavaria
Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state.
Geography
Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...
, in
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
,
Upper
Upper may refer to:
* Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot
* Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both
* ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...
and
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt ...
***
Viennese German (), spoken in Vienna and parts of Lower Austria
**
Southern Bavarian or South Bavarian (; sometimes also , literally ''Alpine Bavarian''
[E.g.
* Gabriele Lunte: ''The Catholic Bohemian German of Ellis County, Kansas: A Unique Bavarian Dialect.'' Vol. 316 of ''European University Studies / Europäische Hochschulschriften / Publications Universitaires Européennes''. Peter Lang, 2007, p. 70 & p. 75 lso with translations* Maria Prexl: ''Wortgeographie des mittleren Böhmerwaldes.'' Nr. 7 of ''Arbeiten zur sprachlichen Volksforschung in den Sudetenländern''. Rudolf M. Rohrer Verlag, Brünn/Leipzig, 1939, p. 3: „ ..gehören dem bairischen Dialekte an. Dieser zerfällt in das Süd- oder Alpenbairische, das Mittel- oder Donaubairische und das Nordbairische (Nordgauische, Oberpfälzische).“
]), spoken mainly in the Austrian states of
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
,
Carinthia and
Styria, as well as in
South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
, Italy
***
Gottscheerish
Gottscheerish (''Göttscheabarisch'',Maridi Tscherne: Wörterbuch Gottscheerisch-Slowenisch. Einrichtung für die Erhaltung des Kulturerbes Nesseltal, Koprivnik/Nesseltal 2010. german: Gottscheerisch, sl, kočevarščina) is an Upper German ...
or Granish (German: , Gottscheerish: ''Göttscheabarisch'', sl, kočevarščina), spoken in
Gottschee
Gottschee (, sl, Kočevsko) refers to a former German-speaking region in Carniola, a crownland of the Habsburg Empire, part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola, now in Slovenia. The region has been a county, duchy, district ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
, nearly extinct
**
Cimbrian
Cimbrian ( cim, zimbar, links=no, ; german: Zimbrisch; it, cimbro) refers to any of several local Upper German varieties spoken in northeastern Italy. The speakers of the language are known as ''Zimbern'' in German.
Cimbrian is a German ...
(German: , Cimbrian: ''Zimbar'', Italian: it, lingua cimbra), spoken in the
Seven Communities (formerly also in the
Thirteen Communities) in
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 = ...
, and around
Luserna (''Lusern''),
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous regio ...
, Italy
**
Mòcheno language (German: , Mòcheno: ''Bersntoler sproch'', Italian: ), spoken in the
Mocheni Valley,
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous regio ...
in Italy
**
Hutterite German (German: ), spoken in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
Other ways to group Alemannic include:
* Alemannic in the strict sense besides Swabian:
** Upper-Rhine Alemannic
[Javier Caro Reina: ''Central Catalan and Swabian: A study in the framework of the typology of syllable and word languages.'' Vol. 422 of ''Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie'', edited by Claudia Polzin-Haumann and Wolfgang Schweickard. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2019, p. 245] or Upper Rhine Alemannic
[Ann-Marie Moser, in: ''Morphological Variation: Theoretical and empirical perspectives'', edited by Antje Dammel and Oliver Schallert. Vol. 207 of ''Studies in Language Companion Series'', edited by Claudia Polzin-Haumann and Wolfgang Schweickard. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2019, p. 246] ( or ): having shifted ''-b-'' between vowels to ''-w-'' and ''-g-'' between vowels to ''-ch-''
** Lake Constance Alemannic
( or ): having soundings like ''broat'' (), ''Goaß'' (), ''Soal'' ()
** South or High Alemannic ( or )
* Alemannic in the strict sense:
**
*:
''separated by the ''
**
***
**:
''separated by the ''
***
* Alemannic in the strict sense (in the early New High German time):
**
***
***
**
***
***
* Alemannic in the broad sense including Swabian (in the Middle High German time):
** or (between Schwarzwald and Lech; since the 13th century)
** or (Elsaß, southern Württemberg, Voralberg)
** or (Südbaden and Swiss)
* Alemannic in the broad sense:
**
***
***
** =
**
***
***
* Alemannic in the broad sense:
**
**
** : having shifted ''k'' to ''kχ''
***
*** : also having shifted ''k'' after ''n'' to ''kχ''
* Alemannic in the broad sense (with some exemplary differentiations):
**
***
**:
''differentiated by the Early New High German diphthongisation (), and also the verbal uniform plural or Einheitsplural () -et/-e and the lexemes ''Wiese/Matte'' ()''
***
***
*:
''differentiated by shift of ''k'' (k''-Verschiebung'')''
**
*:
''differentiated by nasal loss before fricative (), and also the inflection of predicative adjectives''
**
Sometimes the ''dialect of the Western Lake'' (, literally ''Lake Alemannic'') (northern of the Bodensee) is differentiated.
Langobardic (Lombardic)
Based on the fact that
Langobardic (German: ), extinct around 1000, has undergone 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 probably ...
, it is also often classified as Upper German. A competing view is that it is an open question where to place Langobardic inside of Old High German and if it is Old High German at all.
[''Sprachgeschichte: Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und ihrer Erforschung. Herausgegeben von Werner Besch, Anne Betten, Oskar Reichmann, Stefan Sonderegger. 2. Teilband.'' 2nd ed. Volume 2.2 of ''Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science / Manuels de linguistique et des sciences de communication)'' (HSK). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, 2000, p. 1151]
References
{{Authority control
Upper German languages
German dialects