Translation: the lowlands of Germany, which are in the north, spoke
Niederdeutsch, the southern part of Germany with the hills and mountains spoke
"high" German.Dave Flee
Not at all, these regions were "Oberdeutsch". In the Southern parts of
Germany different Bavarian and Alemannian dialects were/are spoken.
The Hochdeutsch like it is spoken today, has it's origins in the bible
transcriptions of Martin Luther. Somehow it was an artificial language, created
because all Germans should have a common understanding of religion. But it also
became a language of administration and justice.
If Luther had written his Bible transcription in Plattdeutsch, there would
have been need of one more translation to Bavarian etc.
Luther had his cultural origins just in the centre of Germany
(Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen), so the Hochdeutsch has many elements of the language which was
spoken there.
But everywhere existed a local dialect besides of Hochdeutsch.
In former times it was said, that the "best" Hochdeutsch was spoken in the
area around the town of Hannover.
Brigitte Jahnke