Low German

Low German is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide.

Low German is most closely related to Frisian and English, with which it forms the North Sea Germanic group of the West Germanic languages. Like Dutch, it has historically been spoken north of the Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses, while forms of High German (of which Standard German is a standardized example) have historically been spoken south of those lines. Like Frisian, English, Dutch and the North Germanic languages, Low German has not undergone the High German consonant shift, as opposed to Standard High German, which is based on High German dialects. Low German evolved from Old Saxon (Old Low German), which is most closely related to Old Frisian and Old English (Anglo-Saxon).

The Low German dialects spoken in the Netherlands are mostly referred to as Low Saxon, those spoken in northwestern Germany (Lower Saxony, Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, and Saxony-Anhalt west of the Elbe) as either Low German or Low Saxon, and those spoken in northeastern Germany (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt east of the Elbe) mostly as Low German, not being part of Low Saxon. This is because northwestern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands were the area of settlement of the Saxons (Old Saxony), while Low German spread to northeastern Germany through eastward migration of Low German speakers into areas with an originally Slavic-speaking population. This area is known as Germania Slavica, where the former Slavic influence is still visible in the names of settlements and physiogeographical features.

It has been estimated that Low German has approximately 2–5 million speakers in Germany, primarily Northern Germany (ranging from well to very well), and 2.15 million in the Netherlands (ranging from reasonable to very well).

Germany


It has been estimated that Low German has approximately two to five million speakers (depending on the definition of 'native speaker') in Germany, primarily in Northern Germany.

Variants of Low German are spoken in most parts of Northern Germany, for instance in the states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg. Small portions of northern Hesse and northern Thuringia are traditionally Low Saxon-speaking too. Historically, Low German was also spoken in formerly German parts of Poland (e.g., Pomerania and Silesia), as well as in East Prussia and the Baltic provinces (modern Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic Germans spoke a distinct Low German dialect, which has influenced the vocabulary and phonetics of both Estonian and Latvian. The historical sprachraum of Low German also included contemporary northern Poland, East Prussia (the modern Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia), a part of western Lithuania, and the German communities in Estonia and Latvia, most notably their Hanseatic cities. German speakers in this area fled the Red Army or were forcibly expelled after the border changes at the end of World War II.

The language was also formerly spoken in the outer areas of what is now the city-state of Berlin, but in the course of urbanisation and national centralisation in that city, the language has vanished (the Berlin dialect itself is a northern outpost of High German, though it has some Low German features).

Today, there are still speakers outside Germany to be found in the coastal areas of present-day Poland (minority of ethnic German East Pomeranian speakers who were not expelled from Pomerania, as well as the regions around Braniewo). In the Southern Jutland region of Denmark there may still be some Low German speakers in some German minority communities, but the Low German dialects of Denmark can be considered moribund at this time.

The Netherlands
Dialects of Low German are spoken in the northeastern area of the Netherlands (Dutch Low Saxon) and are written there with an unstandardized orthography based on Standard Dutch orthography. The position of the language is, according to UNESCO, vulnerable. Between 1995 and 2011 the numbers of parent speakers dropped from 34% in 1995 to 15% in 2011. Numbers of child speakers dropped from 8% to 2% in the same period. According to a 2005 study 53% speak Low Saxon or Low Saxon and Dutch at home and 71% could speak it in the researched area. The total number of speakers is estimated at 1.7 million speakers. There are speakers in the Dutch north and eastern provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, Stellingwerf (part of Friesland), Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht and Flevoland, in several dialect groups per province.

Outside Europe and the Mennonites
There are also immigrant communities where Low German is spoken in the Western hemisphere, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Belize, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In some of these countries, the language is part of the Mennonite religion and culture. There are Mennonite communities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Kansas and Minnesota which use Low German in their religious services and communities. These Mennonites are descended from primarily Dutch settlers that had initially settled in the Vistula delta region of Prussia in the 16th and 17th centuries before moving to newly acquired Russian territories in Ukraine in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and then to the Americas in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The types of Low German spoken in these communities and in the Midwest region of the United States have diverged since emigration. The survival of the language is tenuous in many places, and has died out in many places where assimilation has occurred. Members and friends of the Historical Society of North German Settlements in western New York (Bergholz, New York), a community of Lutherans who trace their immigration from Pomerania in the 1840s, hold quarterly "Plattdeutsch lunch" events, where remaining speakers of the language gather to share and preserve the dialect. Mennonite colonies in Paraguay, Belize, and Chihuahua, Mexico, have made Low German a "co-official language" of the community. East Pomeranian is also spoken in parts of southern and southeastern Brazil, in the latter especially in the state of Espírito Santo, being official in five municipalities, and spoken among its ethnically European migrants elsewhere, primarily in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Rondônia. East Pomeranian-speaking regions of Southern Brazil are often assimilated into the general German Brazilian population and culture, for example celebrating the Oktoberfest, and there can even be a language shift from it to Riograndenser Hunsrückisch in some areas. In Espírito Santo, nevertheless, Pomeranian Brazilians are more often proud of their language, and particular religious traditions and culture, and not uncommonly inheriting the nationalism of their ancestors, being more likely to accept marriages of its members with Brazilians of origins other than a Germanic Central European one than to assimilate with Brazilians of Swiss, Austrian, Czech, and non-East Pomeranian-speaking German and Prussian heritage – that were much more numerous immigrants to both Brazilian regions (and whose language almost faded out in the latter, due to assimilation and internal migration), by themselves less numerous than the Italian ones (with only Venetian communities in areas of highly Venetian presence conserving Talian, and other Italian languages and dialects fading out elsewhere).

Nomenclature
The language grouping of Low German is referred to, in the language itself as well as in its umbrella languages of German and Dutch, in several different ways, ranging from official names such as Niederdeutsche and Nederduits to more general characterisations such as "dialect". The proliferation of names or characterisations is due in part to the grouping stretching mainly across two different countries and to it being a collection of varieties rather than a standardised language.

There are different uses of the term "Low German":


 * A specific name of any West Germanic varieties that neither have taken part in the High German consonant shift nor classify as Low Franconian or Anglo-Frisian; this is the scope discussed in this article.
 * A broader term for the closely related, continental West Germanic languages unaffected by the High German consonant shift, nor classifying as Anglo-Frisian, and thus including Low Franconian varieties.

In Germany, native speakers of Low German call their language Platt, Plattdütsch, Plattdüütsch, Plattdütsk, Plattdüütsk, Plattduitsk (South-Westphalian), Plattduitsch (Eastphalian), Plattdietsch (Low Prussian), or Nedderdüütsch. In the Netherlands, native speakers refer to their language as dialect, plat, Nedersaksisch, or the name of their village, town or district.

Officially, Low German is called niederdeutsche Sprache or plattdeutsche Sprache (Nether or Low German language), Niederdeutsch or Plattdeutsch (Nether or Low German) in High German by the German authorities, nedderdüütsche Spraak (Nether or Low German language), Nedderdüütsch or Plattdüütsch (Nether or Low German) in Low German by the German authorities and Nedersaksisch (Nether or Low Saxon) by the Dutch authorities. Plattdeutsch, Niederdeutsch and Platduits, Nedersaksisch are seen in linguistic texts from the German and Dutch linguistic communities respectively.

In Danish it is called Plattysk, Nedertysk or, rarely, Lavtysk. Mennonite Low German is called Plautdietsch.

"Low" refers to the flat plains and coastal area of the northern European lowlands, contrasted with the mountainous areas of central and southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, where High German (Highland German) is spoken.

The colloquial term Platt denotes both Low German dialects and any non-standard Western variety of German; this use is chiefly found in northern and Western Germany and is not considered to be linguistically correct.

The ISO 639-2 language code for Low German has been nds (niedersächsisch or nedersaksisch, neddersassisch) since May 2000.

Classification
Low German is a part of the continental West Germanic dialect continuum. To the West, it blends into the Low Franconian languages, including Dutch. A distinguishing feature between the Low Franconian varieties and Low German varieties is the plural of the verbs. Low German varieties have a common verbal plural ending, whereas Low Franconian varieties have a different form for the second person plural. This is complicated in that in most Low Franconian varieties, including standard Dutch, the original second-person plural form has replaced the singular. Some dialects, including again standard Dutch, innovated a new second-person plural form in the last few centuries, using the other plural forms as the source.

To the South, Low German blends into the High German dialects of Central German that have been affected by the High German consonant shift. The division is usually drawn at the Benrath line that traces the maken – machen isogloss.

To the East, it abuts the Kashubian language (the only remnant of the Pomeranian language) and, since the expulsion of nearly all Germans from the Polish part of Pomerania following the Second World War, also by the Polish language. East Pomeranian and Central Pomeranian are dialects of Low German.

To the North and Northwest, it abuts the Danish and the Frisian languages. In Germany, Low German has replaced the Danish and Frisian languages in many regions. Saterland Frisian is the only remnant of East Frisian language and is surrounded by Low German, as are the few remaining North Frisian varieties, and the Low German dialects of those regions have influences from Frisian substrates.

Most linguists classify the dialects of Low German together with English and Frisian as the North Sea Germanic or Ingvaeonic languages. However, most exclude Low German from the group often called Anglo-Frisian languages because some distinctive features of that group of languages are only partially preserved in Low German, for instance the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law (some dialects have us, os for "us" whereas others have uns, ons), and because other distinctive features almost do not occur in Low German at all, for instance the palatalization and assibilation of (compare palatalized forms such as English cheese, Frisian tsiis to non-palatalized forms such as Low German Kees or Kaise, Dutch kaas, German Käse but Low German Sever/Sebber while German Käfer ) However, since Anglo-Frisian features occur in Low German and especially in its older language stages, there is a tendency to prefer the Ingvaeonic classification instead of the Anglo-Frisian one, which also takes Low German into account. Because Old Saxon came under strong Old High German and Old Low Franconian influence early on and therefore lost many Ingvaeonic features that were to be found much more extensively in earlier language states.

Language or dialect
The question of whether today's Low German should be considered a separate language or a dialect of German or even Dutch has been a point of contention. Although Low German is mostly regarded as an independent language linguistics offers no simple, generally accepted criterion to decide the question.

Scholarly arguments have been put forward for classifying Low German as a German dialect. As stated above, the arguments are not linguistic but rather sociopolitical and revolve mainly around the fact that Low German has no official standard form or use in sophisticated media. The situation of Low German may thus be considered a "pseudo-dialectized abstand language" ("scheindialektisierte Abstandsprache"). In contrast, Old Saxon and Middle Low German are generally considered separate languages in their own right. Since Low German has strongly declined since the 18th century, the perceived similarities with High German or Dutch may often be direct adaptations from the dominating standard language, resulting in a growing inability by speakers to speak correctly what was once Low German proper.

Others have argued for the independence of today's Low German dialects, taken as continuous outflow of the Old Saxon and Middle Low German tradition. Glottolog classifies six varieties of Low German as distinct languages based on a low degree of mutual intelligibility. Eastern Low German and Plautdietsch are classified as part of Greater East Low German, while Eastphalian, Westphalic, and the North Low Saxon languages, German Northern Low Saxon and Gronings, are classified as part of West Low German.

Legal status
Low German has been recognized by the Netherlands and by Germany (since 1999) as a regional language according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Within the official terminology defined in the charter, this status would not be available to a dialect of an official language (as per article 1a), and hence not to Low German in Germany if it were considered a dialect of German. Advocates of the promotion of Low German have expressed considerable hope that this political development will at once lend legitimacy to their claim that Low German is a separate language, and help mitigate the functional limits of the language that may still be cited as objective criteria for a mere dialect (such as the virtually complete absence from legal and administrative contexts, schools, the media, etc.).

At the request of Schleswig-Holstein, the German government has declared Low German as a regional language. German offices in Schleswig-Holstein are obliged to accept and handle applications in Low German on the same footing as Standard High German applications. The Bundesgerichtshof ruled in a case that this was even to be done at the patent office in Munich, in a non–Low German region, when the applicant then had to pay the charge for a translator, because applications in Low German are considered not to be written in the German language.

Varieties of Low German

 * Low Saxon or West Low German
 * East Frisian Low Saxon
 * Northern Low Saxon
 * Holsteinian (Holsteinisch)
 * Schleswigian (Schleswigsch)
 * Dithmarsch (Dithmarsisch)
 * North Hanoverian (Nordhannoversch)
 * Emslandish (Emsländisch)
 * Oldenburgish (Oldenburgisch)
 * Gronings and Noord-Drents
 * Hogelandsters
 * Oldambtsters
 * Stadsgronings
 * Veenkoloniaals
 * Westerkwartiers
 * Kollumerpompsters
 * Kollumerlands
 * Middaglands
 * Midden-Westerkwartiers
 * Zuid-Westerkwartiers
 * Westerwolds
 * Westphalian (Westfälisch)
 * Westmünsterländisch
 * Münsterländisch
 * South Westphalian (Südwestfälisch)
 * East Westphalian (Ostwestfälisch)
 * Stellingwerfs
 * Drents
 * Midden-Drents
 * Zuid-Drents
 * Twents
 * Twents-Graafschaps
 * Twents
 * Gelders-Overijssels
 * Achterhoeks
 * Sallands
 * Oost-Veluws (partly classified as Veluws)
 * Urkers
 * Veluws
 * Oost-Veluws (partly classified as Gelders-Overijssels)
 * West-Veluws
 * Eastphalian (Ostfälisch)
 * East Low German
 * Brandenburgisch
 * Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch
 * Central Pomeranian (Mittelpommersch)
 * East Pomeranian (Ostpommersch)
 * Low Prussian (Niederpreußisch)
 * Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German, used also in many other countries)

Old Saxon
Old Saxon (Altsächsisch), also known as Old Low German (Altniederdeutsch), is a West Germanic language. It is documented from the 9th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany by Saxon peoples. It is closely related to Old Anglo-Frisian (Old Frisian, Old English), partially participating in the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law.

Only a few texts survive, predominantly in baptismal vows the Saxons were required to perform at the behest of Charlemagne. The only literary texts preserved are Heliand and the Old Saxon Genesis.

Middle Low German
The Middle Low German language (Mittelniederdeutsch) is an ancestor of modern Low German. It was spoken from about 1100 to 1600. The neighbouring languages within the dialect continuum of the West Germanic languages were Middle Dutch in the West and Middle High German in the South, later substituted by Early New High German. Middle Low German was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League, spoken all around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It had a significant influence on the Scandinavian languages and other languages around the Baltic Sea. Based on the language of Lübeck, a standardized written language was developing, though it was never codified.

Contemporary
There is a distinction between the German and the Dutch Low Saxon/Low German situation.

Germany
After mass education in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries, the slow decline which Low German had been experiencing since the end of the Hanseatic League turned into a free fall. The decision to exclude Low German in formal education was not without controversy, however. On one hand, proponents of Low German advocated that since it had a strong cultural and historical value and was the native language of students in northern Germany, it had a place in the classroom. On the other hand, High German was considered the language of education, science, and national unity, and since schools promoted these values, High German was seen as the best candidate for the language of instruction.

Initially, regional languages and dialects were thought to limit the intellectual ability of their speakers. When historical linguists illustrated the archaic character of certain features and constructions of Low German, this was seen as a sign of its "backwardness". It was not until the efforts of proponents such as Klaus Groth that this impression changed. Groth's publications demonstrated that Low German was a valuable language in its own right, and he was able to convince others that Low German was suitable for literary arts and was a national treasure worth keeping.

Through the works of advocates like Groth, both proponents and opponents of Low German in formal education saw the language's innate value as the cultural and historical language of northern Germany. Nevertheless, opponents claimed that it should simply remain a spoken and informal language to be used on the street and in the home, but not in formal schooling. In their opinion, it simply did not match the nationally unifying power of High German. As a result, while Low German literature was deemed worthy of being taught in school, High German was chosen as the language of scholarly instruction. With High German the language of education and Low German the language of the home and daily life, a stable diglossia developed in Northern Germany. Various Low German dialects are understood by 10 million people, but many fewer are native speakers. Total users of Low German (nds) are approximately 2.5 million, with 300,000 native speakers in Brazil and 1,000 in Germany as of 2016.

The KDE project supports Low German (nds) as a language for its computer desktop environment, as does the GNOME Desktop Project. Open-source software has been translated into Low German; this used to be coordinated via a page on SourceForge, but as of 2015, the most active project is that of KDE.

Netherlands
In the early 20th century, scholars in the Netherlands argued that speaking dialects hindered language acquisition, and it was therefore strongly discouraged. As education improved, and mass communication became more widespread, the Low Saxon dialects further declined, although decline has been greater in urban centres of the Low Saxon regions. When in 1975 dialect folk and rock bands such as Normaal and Boh Foi Toch became successful with their overt disapproval of what they experienced as "misplaced Dutch snobbery" and the Western Dutch contempt for (speakers of) Low Saxon dialects, they gained a following among the more rurally oriented inhabitants, launching Low Saxon as a sub-culture. They inspired contemporary dialect artists and rock bands, such as Daniël Lohues, Mooi Wark, Jovink en de Voederbietels, Hádiejan Nonetheless, the position of the language is vulnerable according to UNESCO. Low Saxon is still spoken more widely than in Northern Germany. Efforts are made in Germany and in the Netherlands to protect Low German as a regional language.

High German consonant shift
As with the Anglo-Frisian and North Germanic languages, Low German has not been influenced by the High German consonant shift except for old having shifted to. Therefore, a lot of Low German words sound similar to their English counterparts. One feature that does distinguish Low German from English generally is final devoicing of obstruents, as exemplified by the words 'good' and 'wind' below. This is a characteristic of Dutch and German as well and involves positional neutralization of voicing contrast in the coda position for obstruents (i.e. t = d at the end of a syllable.) This is not used in English except in the Yorkshire dialect, where there is a process known as Yorkshire assimilation.

For instance: water, later , bit , dish , ship , pull , good , clock , sail , he , storm , wind , grass , hold , old. The table below shows the relationship between Low German consonants which were unaffected by this chain shift and their equivalents in other West Germanic languages. Contemporary Swedish and Icelandic shown for comparison; Eastern and Western North Germanic languages, respectively.

The table below shows the relationship between Low German consonants which were unaffected by this chain shift and their equivalents in other West Germanic languages. Contemporary Swedish and Icelandic shown for comparison; Eastern and Western North Germanic languages, respectively.

Notes:
 * * High German Kerl is a loanword from Low German.
 * ** The series Wief–wijf, etc. are cognates, not semantic equivalents. The meanings of some of these words have shifted over time. For example, the correct equivalent term for "wife" in modern Dutch, German and Swedish is vrouw, Frau and fru respectively; using wijf, Weib or viv for a human is considered archaic in Swedish and nowadays derogatory in Dutch and German, comparable to "wicked girl". No cognate to Frau / vrouw / fru has survived in English (compare Old English frōwe "lady"; the English word frow "woman, lady" rather being a borrowing of the Middle Dutch word).
 * *** Pronounced shepp since the 17th century

Ingvaeonisms
Like English and Frisian, Low German is part of the North Sea Germanic languages and therefore has so-called Ingvaonisms. However, these are not distributed equally regionally everywhere. Some dialects have more and others fewer of these features, while some only occur in older forms of language and only leave relics in modern Low German.

Other changes
In addition, there are of course numerous other changes that are not related to Ingwaonic phenomena, but that arose in exchange with other languages or something else. The table below reflects some of these developments insofar as they affect several dialects and are therefore not exceptional phenomena.

Grammar
Generally speaking, Low German grammar shows similarities with the grammars of Dutch, Frisian, English, and Scots, but the dialects of Northern Germany share some features (especially lexical and syntactic features) with German dialects.

Personal pronouns
The following table tries to reflect the linguistic situation of the individual dialects as diverse as possible and to name as many case forms of the respective pronouns, but it is not able to do justice to every dialect. So the pronoun of the third person singular feminine can be pronounced as follows: se(e), sey, soi, etc. Only one of these variants can be found in the table. This also applies to all other pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns

While Old Saxon has lost the Germanic reflexive pronouns such as Old English and Old Frisian and instead resorts to the relevant third-person personal pronoun, modern Low German borrows reflexive pronouns from German. In Sauerland, it is conjugated as in Proto-Germanic and Icelandic. In addition, a distinction is made between the individual genders as well as individual and multiple people.

Examples:

The respective translations consist only of cognates of the same origins. The sentences do not necessarily have to correspond semantically.

Verbs
In Low German verbs are conjugated for person, number, and tense. There are five tenses in Low German: present tense, preterite, perfect, and pluperfect, and in Mennonite Low German the present perfect which signifies a remaining effect from a past finished action. For example, "Ekj sie jekomen", "I am come", means that the speaker came and he is still at the place to which he came as a result of his completed action.

Unlike Dutch, High German, and southern Low German, the northern dialects form the past participle without the prefix ge-, like the Scandinavian languages, Frisian and English. Compare northern Low German slapen to the German past participle geschlafen. This past participle is used with the auxiliary verbs hewwen/hebben "to have" and wesen/sin/sien "to be". When the past participle ends with -en or in a few oft-used words like west (been).

The conjugation patterns can vary greatly depending on the dialect. The more northern dialects are strongly influenced by German, while East Westphalian and especially Vjens have retained many ancient features.

Similar to English and Dutch, the subjunctive has been lost in most Low German dialects. Instead, it is formed byusing the indicative forms of the past tense and the pluperfect tense. Whether a tense or a mode form is present can only be determined from the factual context of a sentence. However, compared to most other dialects, the Westphalian dialect has preserved an extremely complex conjugation of strong verbs with subjunctive: There is also a progressive form of verbs in present, corresponding to the same in the Dutch language. It is formed with wesen (to be), the preposition an (at) and dat (the/it).


 * 1 Instead of wesen, sien (to be) Saxon uses doon (to do) to make to present continuous.
 * 2 Many see the 'n as an old dative ending of dat which only occurs when being shortened after prepositions. This is actually the most frequently-used form in colloquial Low German.
 * 3 This form is archaic and mostly unknown to Low German speakers. It is the same pattern as in the English example "I am making." The present participle has the same form as the infinitive: maken is either "to make" or "making".

In the very south of the East Westphalian language area, the original gerund of the West Germanic languages has been preserved:

Adjectives
The forms of Low German's adjectives are distinct from other closely related languages such as German and English. These forms fall somewhere in between these two languages. As in German, the adjectives in Low German may make a distinction between singular and plural to agree with the nouns that they modify, as well as between the three genders, between the nominative and oblique cases and between indefinite (weak) and definite (strong) forms. However, there is a lot of variation in that respect and some or all of these distinctions may also be absent, so that a single undeclined form of the adjective can occur in all cases, as in English. This is especially common in the neuter. If the adjective is declined, the pattern tends to be as follows:

As mentioned above, alternative undeclined forms such as dat lütt Land, de lütt Lannen, en stark Kerl, de stark Kerl, stark Kerls, de stark Kerls etc. can occur.

Nouns

The Westphalian and Eastphalian dialects have also preserved the so-called dative -e. In Middle Low German times, nouns whose genitive form ended in (e)s were formed in the dative case, in which an additional -e was added to the end of the word. Although the genitive has died out and is only preserved in fixed idioms, the dative -e has been preserved.

Consonants

 * A common feature of the Low German speaking dialects, is the retraction of / / to.
 * The sound [] can occur as an allophone of // among dialects.
 * // and // can have allophones as [] and [].
 * // can be articulated as uvular [] among Northern dialects and younger speakers.
 * The sound // can also be realized as fricative or affricate sounds [~~], [], in word-initial position.

Vowels

 * [] and [] can occur as allophones of // and //.
 * Vowel backness of // to [] may also occur among dialects.


 * [] can be heard as an allophone of // within diphthongs.
 * Long phonemes //, //, //, occur mostly in the Geest dialects, while in other dialects, they may be realized as diphthongs.

Writing system
Low German is written using the Latin alphabet. There is no official standard orthography, though there are several locally more or less accepted orthographic guidelines. Those in the Netherlands are mostly based on Dutch orthography and may vary per dialect region, and those in Germany mostly follow German orthography. To the latter group belongs the orthography devised by Johannes Sass. It is mostly used by modern official publications and internet sites, especially the Low German Wikipedia. This diversity, a result of centuries of official neglect and suppression, has a very fragmenting and thus weakening effect on the language as a whole, since it has created barriers that do not exist on the spoken level. Interregional and international communication is severely hampered by this. Most of these systems aim at representing the phonetic (allophonic) output rather than underlying (phonemic) representations.

East-Westphalian
(German spelling; from Bornholte, part of the city Verl, district Gütersloh)

Häi, hault maol!" reip de Schaiper den beiden Naowerjunges taou, de just nan Faile förn, "ick mott ju eiys wat votelln". "Brr! Wat gifft denn nijes?" fraogen de beiden. "Jä, voschrecket ju män nich!" fenk de Schaiper an, "out jun House kümp baule en Lêik. Ick hä vüörge Nacht seiyen, at de Mester in jun Backs en Sark maouk" "Hässe sieker in Babylon singen haot", lachen en de beiden out.

Kuotte Têit dorup waord de Var van de beiden krank un starv. De Mester quam ton Sark maken. Hüwelbank un Brä stün'n uppe Diäl: De Schaiper söll doch nich sin'n Willn häm'm. Auk waord'n Mester na ansägt, den Sark up kenne annern Stêie aose uppe Diäl färrig to maken. – Uppe Diäl aower wast döüster un binauet, un de Mester männ baule: " Wat de dauern Junges wull daobêi hätt, at ik den Sark hêier maken sall, in'n Backs geiht't doch viel biätter." He packe sick de gansen Saken uppe Kaorn, schauf daomet nan Backse un arbêije hêier wüdder.

Wo dao de beidn Junges, de na Kaounitz wän wörn, uppn Hoff quaim, trum'm se ährn eigen Augen nich: Aolles, wat de Schaiper seiyen ha, was indruopen.

South Westphalian
(German spelling; from Attendorn)

Wamme' ter waterporten rut'r geet, üewwer baie brüggen, tem Feer'l rop'r, as wamme no Walmerich wöll, bi den Hospitöler—böümen owwer siek links häld un den biarg gerade rop stieget, do op" dann dian wiagg inschled, dai no Bremge fö'erd: so süht me in ener ecke en steenhoup, dai noch en wennig 'ner müre glieket. Düesse steenhoup was fiar tien' en sloatt', un op diam sloatte wu'nde de Beer'Ikhus, diamme no" sloatt un üemmegie ggend Beer Ikhusen" hedden. Domols gong hiehiar en haupwiagg, fiell befo'ert, berien' un ren, noch mehr bi nachd. Dann lachdel Beer'lIkhus op der luer, strofte wat kam, lüe te bego'n. So siekker amme dage dai wiagg was, so unsiekker wor hai, wann 't owend woll faute', fo'er-unkoup-lüe". Unger den wiaggen harre dai droot" li'en. Kam 'ne kare oder en piard ferbi, so toug dai droot 'ne schelle, dai op'm sloatte hong: dann Beer'lkhus foord op un futt". Wollen se ne packen, sou verlousen se balle si'n spuar, dann hai harre si' nen piarren de isern verkaard unger den beenen; wann se mainden, hai wör op sinem sloatte, so was hai ganz wo anders, un wann sai ian ganz wo anders glowwten, was hai ter hemen. Et kamen klagen üewwer klagen no Attendor'n, – un diam üewwel mochte afholpen weren. Lange tiet woll 't nit gero'n, bit in der kristnachd. Me harre utspickeleerd, dat Beer'Ikhus nachd no Hellen" in de kiarke wöll. Indiamme nu ene afdeelunge no Beer'lkhusen toug, det sloatt in brand staak un plünderde, warde dai andere afdeelunge op'm biarge op den Beer lkhus. Do küemmet'e van Hellen terrügge, si'ne fraue süht Beer'lkhusen in hellen flammen, sloatt ies verewiged se brannte woren, ,o elend, o elend!" Do slott kugein sai un Beer Ikhus doud. Dai bit innen grund af. De ghüdder follen an Attendor'n. dann noch zunders hed dat stücke, wo düet geschog,„et elend". Et sloatt brannte bit innen grund af. De ghüdder follen an Attendor'n.

Westphalian dialect of the County of Bentheim
(German spelling)

Round üm mij to blööiden Houndeblomen, Botterblomen, Suurblaa en anner Gewas. Üm mij to summden en brummden de Iemen en als röök soa heärlik mooi. Up 't Water van 'n Kolk höarde ik of en to 'n paar Äinten snadern en in 't Löis söink 'ne Reetmüsche17. Anners was 't heelmoals still üm mij to. - Dann höarde ik up 't Moal een sacht Gerüsche in 't Gröss. 'ne Eweldasse18 kwamm up mij an. Ik bleef heel still sitten üm dat Deärken nich to verschrikken. Up 'ne schiere Sândstee höll 't up an, misschien üm sik to sünnen. Joa, hier bleef et en röarde sik nich meär. Dat köämp mij good topasse. Nuw kunn ik mij dat Kruupdeär ääm good bekieken. Siene Huud was gröön-bruun met witte Stippen drup. De Bene wassen soa raa ofknickd en se schienden mij at of se wall slimm kott wassen, want et Lief raakde up de Ground. Wall hoast een half Üür heb ik et gedüllig bij dat Deärken uthollen.

(transferred into "West Overiessel Spelling")

Round um mij to bleuiden houndeblomen, botterblomen, zoerblaa en anner gewas. Um mij to zoemden en broemden de iemen en als reuk zoa hearlijk mooi. Up 't water van 'n kolk heurde ik of en to 'n paar einten snadern en in 't leuis [riet] zeuink 'ne reetmusse. Anners was 't heelmoals stil um mij to. Dan heurde ik up 't moal een zacht gerusse in 't grös. 'ne Eweldasse kwam up mij an. Ik bleef heel stil zitten um dat dearken nich to verschrikken. Up 'ne schiere zaundstee höl 't up an, misschien um zik to zunnen. Joa, hier bleef et en reurde zik nich mear. Dat keump mij good topasse. Noew kun ik mij dat kroepdear eem good bekieken. Ziene hoed was greun-broen met witte stippen drup. De bene wassen zoa raa ofknikt en ze schienden mij at of ze wal slim kot wassen, want et lief raakte up de ground. Wal hoast een half uur heb ik et gedullig bij dat dearken oethollen.

Eastphalian
(Spelling of "Ostfälische Bibliothek")

Harwest

Dä Bööme pustert sick wat tau: „Sömmer wörr lang, bettchen Rauh', bettchen Rauh'.Greun hät wi lange nauch ehat, bunt sall't nu weern". „Ja geiht denn dat?" Sau fröcht sau'n junken Berekenbusch. „Nich oppen mal, nich oppen Rusch," – daropp dä groote oole Eike –„sachte, sachte, dat't Greun denn ook weike.Wi will't vorrdieln, wer fänget anne? Ook dä lüttje Bereke is dranne."Dä Bööme under sick maakt uut –wer sick nu wat un wieveel druut.Jähl will dä Läreke weern, licht un helle,un ook dä Eller meld'sick glieks tau Stelle.Öhr Anlijjen: „Mott Gries, Sülwer un Swarrt mang sien, un witte Plecke sünd ook noch mien." Dä Vojjelbeere kiekt un will't nu wetten: „Ro'e Döne döört jie nich vorrjetten. Sauveel un sau rare, wie't davon jiwwt, dä blinkert un lücht - kein öbber bliwwt."„Dat seih ick ook," föllt de Ahoorn in,„ick un miene veeln Jeswisterkin!"Dä Beukenboom, düsse lanke slanke, sien Stamm is ümmer sau glatt un blanke, will sei alle, dä bunten Döne – un lacht: „Bruun datau, hät jie da anne dacht?" „Sluute mick an," hört'en en Eikenboom sejjen, „ick kann ook veel bunt Loof anlejjen. Jähl, un bruun, sülwern, ro'un mengeleert, nu wieset ju Farm'– unvorrfehrt. Von wieten sall'n uns lüchten seihn – wär't süht, sall sick von Harzen freun!"

Schleswigsch
("Sass-ergänzende Schreibweise"; from Dithmarschen)

Wi gungen dool no de Stöörwischen, Jehann-Ōhm un ik. Mien Vedder Hans hârr dor ėn hâlf Dutz Jitten lōpen dėn Summer över, un hē hârr sō veel mit de Oorn tō dōōn, datt hē sik um de lütten Bēēster ni kümmern kunn. Dat wēēr dat rechte Oornwedder. Hier un dor drēēv ėn witte Wulk, de Westwind broch ėn lütte Kȫhlen mit un wēēǧ de Ellern an Grȫȫv un Beek liesen hėn un her. Op de Wischen grosen Jungvēēh, Melkkȫh un Töten mit süm Fohlen. Ėn Hârder wēēr dor ni bi, brēde, blanke Grȫḃen hegen süm in, datt süm ni wieken kunnen. De Ōl’ lēēp as ėn Tüüt, ėn gōden Gang dä ėm nix, un sien grōten, klōken Ōgen worrn dor âllns bi wies. "Kiek, lütt’ Dōris", sä hē opmool un wies no ėn Slupplock. "Loot uns hėngohn, de Dēērn muttst du di mool ansēhn."

East Frisian Low German
(an East Frisian spelling)

Däi lütje Hēvelman – Theodor Storm – Onno Dirk Feldmann

D'r was insent 'n lütje jung un däi hēt fan Hēvelman. 'S nachts slēp häi in sīn 'n grôt rullenbäer un ōk 's nóómiddóóğs, dō häi möej was. Man dō häi näit möej was, mus sīn mauder hum in 't rullenbäer altīd in d' wōnkóómer hen un wēr foren. D'r kun häi rājn nōjt nauğ fan krīgen.

Dō lağ däi lütje Hēvelman up äin nacht in sīn rullenbäer un kun näit inslóópen, man mauder slēp al lâng tēgen hum, in höör grôt hēmelbäer.

"Mauder", rēp däi lütje Hēvelman, "ik wil foren!" Un däi mauder langde in d' slóóp mit höör ārm tau 't bäer ūt un rulde däi lütje berstē up un dóól. Altīd up un dóól un dō höör ārm möej wur, rēp däi lütje Hēvelman: "Mēr, mēr!" Un dō gung dat rullen wēr fan näjs tau. Man up 't läest slēp säi häilundal in un sō fööl Hēvelman ōk gilpen muğ, säi höörde niks. 'T was sğier dóón.

Dō dürs dat näit lâng, dō kēk däi móón tau d' rūden in. Däi gâud oel móón. Un wat häi dō sağ was sō drullerğ, dat häi sük ērst insent mit sīn pelsmāuen ōver 't gesiecht strīken mus, sük sīn ōgen tau wiskern. Sō wat hār däi oel móón no nōjt näit säin.

From South America
(unknown spelling)

De fest

Ik kün min fruch im béa ni fina, zái láich ni fóa, zái láich ni hína. Ik náim a béssam un rakt álas dóa dun láibs mi tíscha báina dóa.

Ik nêicht min fruch tam nam fest hen móka, zái zéa ni nêi, zái vu bits schlópa. Ik zéia ta é kumas mit schên fruch, véia tus bliva ik ni in ruch. Un vi móka lôus na dem grôuda fest Vôua féel vila zínha un dái muskandas schpéla zêia un min fruch dáu ik véra nich fina.

Vili, Víli Lindeman, drink ma nich zôu fel, zíza, zíza krist schacht mit áin béssam schtel. Vili, Vili Lindeman, trek din hôuza schtram, zíza vets vat di passira kan. Ha! Ha! Ha!

(Transcription in Tressmann's spelling)

The letter combination “ij“ is not realized as a diphthong as in Dutch, but corresponds to a simple [iː], like the English “e” in “evening”.

Mij häwa 's forteld dat fel fon ous lüür dai saitung ni leesa. Un dat schal dår an leiga, dat fel dai pomersch språk ni eindig forståa. Wek haara al meint, då müüst wat up pomersch språk sreewa waara. Åwer wat lount uk dat hochdüütsch? Dat sin jå uk ni meir fel wat dat no koina. Ik häw mij oiwerlegt un frågt: wouwegen ni up pomersch srijwa? Dat jå, dat is ous språk, dat forståa wij ala. Wen dat ous språk is, wouweega schoila's wij ni benutsa? Natürlich, dat srijwen is går ni sou einfach, weegen wij häwa kain gramatik. Wekmål wet man ni wek wöir srijwa schal. Åwer dat wichtigst is, mein ik, dat wij ous forståa, wen 't ouk wekmålmeir krum ruuter kümt. Am forståen, dår schal 't ni an leiga. Ik wait dat vel lüür sich up platdüütsch braiws srijwa, tüscha hijr um Rondonia. Ik häw al sou går souna braiw lest un dat wäir gaud taum forståen. Dat is air saichen dat dai lüür sich dreigen forståa. Sou as dat haita däit: wer kaine hund hät, jacht mit ein kat. Åwer loowa jij mij: wen man sich richtig oiwerlegt, is dat går ni richtig dat wij ous språk as "quebra-galo" forståa! Ik waar ma's sega wouweegen: ous språk hät grår sou aina weird ås irgends ain anerd språk. Jera folk hät sijn språk. Un wij, pomersch folk häwa dat recht taum ous språk behulen. Dår is kair, wat ous dat forbaira kan. Dår is ouk kair wat dat recht hät, ous utlachen un utspoten, wen wij ous språk reera un srijwa. Wen ous pråk ni eird waart, dat is grår sou fel as wen dat folk ni eird waart. Dår is dai häka. Dat pomersch folk, sou as ouk fel andra klain folker, is ümer meir ina ek schoowa wuura. Fijna jij dat richtig? Wår mag dat an leiga? Anerd mål mäka wij ous dår wijrer gedanken oiwer. går ni, wijrer srijwen. Segt juugem preister of dit taum forståen west is. Un forsuikt jij ouk ma's Åwer bet anerd mål mücht ik ais geern waita of jij dit uk forståa häwa. Süsta loont jå un srijft wat am Semeador.

[Four different rhymes/songs]

Plautdietsch
("Plautdietsch Spelling")

Wäa wieren Jesus siene Väavodasch?

Dit es daut Rejista von de Väavodasch von Jesus Christus.a Jesus wia een Nokomenda von Kjennich David, un Kjennich David wia Abraham sien Nokomenda. Abraham wia Isaak sien Voda, un Isaak wia Jakob sien Voda, un Jakob wia Juda, un siene Breeda äa Voda. Juda wia Perez un Serach äa Voda, dee hee met Tamar toop jehaut haud, un Perez wia Hezron sien Voda, un Hezron wia Ram sien Voda. Ram wia Amminadab sien Voda, un Amminadab wia Nahesson sien Voda, un Nahesson wia Salma sien Voda. Salma wia Boas sien Voda, dän hee met Rahab toop jehaut haud, un Boas wia Obed sien Voda, dän hee met Ruth toop jehaut haud, un Obed wia Jesse sien Voda. Jesse wia Kjennich David sien Voda, un Kjennich David wia Kjennich Salomo sien Voda, dän hee met Uria siene Wätfru toop jehaut haud. Kjennich Salomo wia Rehabeam sien Voda, un Rehabeam wia Abia sien Voda, un Abia wia Asa sien Voda. Asa wia Josaphat sien Voda, un Josaphat wia Joram sien Voda, un Joram wia Usia sien Voda. Usia wia Jotham sien Voda, un Jotham wia Ahas sien Voda, un Ahas wia Hiskia sien Voda. Hiskia wia Manasse sien Voda, un Manasse wia Amon sien Voda, un Amon wia Josia sien Voda. Un too de Tiet von de babielonische Jefangenschoft, wia Josia de Voda von Jechonja, un von Jechonja siene Breeda. Un no de babielonische Jefangenschoft, wia Jechonja de Voda von Sealtiel, un Sealthiel wia Serubabel sien Voda. Serubabel wia Abiud sien Voda, un Abiud wia Eliakim sien Voda, un Eliakim wia Asor sien Voda. Asor wia Zadok sien Voda, un Zadok wia Achim sien Voda, un Achim wia Eliud sien Voda. Eliud wia Eleazar sien Voda, un Eleazar wia Matthan sien Voda, un Matthan wia Jakob sien Voda. Jakob wia Josef sien Voda, un Josef wia Maria äa Maun. Maria wia Jesus siene Mutta, un Jesus wort dän Christus jenant.

Un soo see wie dan daut Jesus Christus, haud vieetieen Väavodasch, dee von ons Väavoda Abraham bat Kjennich David jeläft hauden; un hee haud vieetieen aundre Väavodasch, dee von Kjennich David bat de babielonische Jefangenschoft jeläft hauden; un dan haud Jesus noch eemol vieetieen Väavodasch, dee von de babielonische Jefangenschoft bat siene Jeburt jeläft hauden. Dit es de Jeschicht von de Jeburt von Jesus Christus Jesus Christus siene Jeburt wia soo aus dit passieet. Aus Jesus siene Mutta Maria, sikj Josef aunvetrut haud, dan wia see vom Heiljen Jeist schwanga jeworden, ea see un Josef sikj befriet hauden.Josef wia een gottesferchtja Mensch, un wiel Maria schwanga wia, dan wull hee sikj aul nich met äa befrieen. Un soo entschloot Josef sikj de Kjast bloos plietsch auftosajen, wiel hee Maria nich effentlich too Schaunden moaken wull. Un seet junt, aus Josef sikj äwa aul dit besonnen haud, dan kjeem een Enjel vom Harn no am en een Droom, un säd, "Josef, Nokomenda von Kjennich David, fercht die nich Maria aus diene Fru too nämen, wiel daut Kjint wuamet see schwanga es, es vom Heiljen Jeist. Maria woat een Sän han, un du saust am Jesus nanen. Jesus meent, 'de Har es Rada'. Un doawäajen saust du am Jesus nanen, wiel hee es deejanja, dee sien Volkj von äare Sinden friemoaken woat." Aul dit wia dan uk soo passieet aus de Har sien Profeet, daut aul sea lang trigj jesajcht haud, "Seet junt," säd de Profeet, "ne reine Junkfru woat schwanga woaren, un see woat een Sän han. Un äa Sän woaren see Immanuel nanen.", säd de Profeet.

Immanuel meent, "Gott es mank ons".

Aus Josef vom Schlop oppwuak, dan jehorcht hee dän Enjel vom Harn, un hee befried sikj met Maria. Un Josef un Maria hauden kjeene Jeschlajchtsvekjia, bat Maria äa ieeschten Sän haud. Un Josef nand am Jesus.

Notable Low German writers and performers

 * Heinrich Bandlow
 * Hans-Friedrich Blunck
 * John Brinckman
 * De fofftig Penns
 * Gorch Fock
 * Friedrich Wilhelm Grimme (Westphalian: Sauerländisch)
 * Klaus Groth (Dithmarsisch)
 * August Hermann
 * Joachim Mähl
 * Johann Meyer (Dithmarsisch)
 * Martha Müller-Grählert
 * Fritz Reuter (Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch)
 * Willem Schröder
 * Julius Stinde
 * Rudolf Tarnow
 * Augustin Wibbelt (Westphalian: Münsterländisch)
 * Wilhelm Wieben
 * Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi
 * Normaal
 * Daniël Lohues

Middle Low German authors:
 * Eggerik Beninga
 * Balthasar Russow
 * Albert Suho

Plautdietsch authors:
 * Arnold Dyck
 * Reuben Epp
 * Jack Thiessen

Low German culture
As an important identity-forming element, the Low German language has been taught in schools in northern Germany for several years. In 2023, for example, the first class in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania graduated in the subject Low German. The social position of Low German has improved significantly in recent years and enjoys a high level of prestige, especially in modern cities such as Hamburg and Bremen.

Numerous formats in Low German are also offered on Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

The television moderator Yared Dibaba has been campaigning for the preservation of Low German languages for years.

Online dictionaries

 * Plattmakers dictionary with more than 20,000 word entries, with translations and interface available in several languages (English too)
 * Dictionary of the Drents dialect (Dutch)
 * Mennonite Low German-English Dictionary
 * Dictionary in the Sass Orthography (German)

Information

 * Nu is de Welt platt! International resources in and about Low German
 * Building Blocks of Low Saxon (Low German), an introductory grammar in English and German
 * Niederdeutsch/Plattdeutsch in Westfalen, by Olaf Bordasch
 * Mönsterlänner Plat, by Klaus-Werner Kahl
 * Plattdeutsch heute

Organisations

 * IJsselacademie (Overijssel and Veluwe, the Netherlands)
 * Staring Instituut (Achterhoek, the Netherlands)
 * Stichting Stellingwarver Schrieversronte (Friesland, the Netherlands)
 * SONT (General, the Netherlands)
 * Oostfreeske Taal (Eastern Friesland, Germany)
 * Diesel – dat oostfreeske Bladdje (Eastern Friesland, Germany)
 * Institut für niederdeutsche Sprache e.V. (General, Germany)