Hello everybody in this discussion,
yes, there is much more to it. High German (= hochdeutsch) is the common written
language, which children learn at school all over Germany as well as Austria. In
addition there are a lot of different dialects spoken in Germany, many of which
are considered "low" German or Plattdeutsch (flat German). But these dialects
are not at all only those of the northern German flat country but also those of
quite hilly parts like the areas of the Eifel (Eifeler Platt), the Westerwald
(Westerwaelder Platt), Bergisches Land (Bergisches Platt), the cities of Aachen
(Aachener Platt) and of Cologne (Koelsch Platt) etc. which are all quite
different from each other, but have all the same roots. Koelsch Platt for
instance includes many expressions which origin from the times of occupation by
foreign troops throughout centuries, particularly the French occupation
under Napoleon after the French Revolution. In other parts of Germany Swedish
and other troops left their marks during the 30 year war from 1618 - 1648. Often
the dialects are even different from one parish to another. An example:
Hochdeutsch "i" changes to "e" in Cologne, to "oe" in the parish of Much, 20
miles east of Cologne, to "o" in the parish of Ruppicheroth, less than 10 miles
east of Much. Is = ist (hochdeutsch) = ess (Koelsch) = oess (Much) = oss
(Ruppichteroth). Another example is the word for go changes from gehen to jonn
to johen to choen within a distance fo about 30 miles.
Thus also names have frequently changed in spelling and pronunciation depending
on location and dialect. In addition pastors very often translated the names
into Latin, when they wrote down births, christenings, marriages and deaths.
Plattdeutsch dialects in addition are not static. They have changed over the
years due to all kinds of influences. The language still spoken in certain areas
of th US probably have preserved more from the language the particular immigrant
families spoke in the time they arrived 150 to 200 years ago. But they also have
assimmilated many American words.
This can also be observed particularly well in the Amish country.
Karlheinz Steimel
says Hi from sunny Cologne on the Rhine where we are just now celebrating the
fifth season = Karneval (in high German "Fastnacht" for Koelsch "Fastelovend").
Neil and Marilyn Heimsoth schrieb:
?Bob,
Forgive me for jumping in here, I know your question was directed to Jane.
Regarding the difference between Low and High German, it is much more than
the example you have suggested. The word Platt means flat or low and
describes the country where the language is spoken, North Germany. There
are several dialects in the Low German or Plattdeutsch language, but it is
not a dialect of High German.
We still speak Low German here in Cole Camp, Missouri and annually present a
2 hour theater production entirely in Low German. Often times we have
visitors who were born in Germany. If they are from southern Germany they
do not understand Low German.
Low German is more closely related to Dutch than to High German, and is
also a root language of English. Example, the word for school in High
German is Schule. pronounced, shoe-la). In Low German the word is the same
as in English; School (pronounced, shoal). There are many other examples of
the similarities between English and Low German.
In Koelsch the word is Schull, pronounced schooll.