01
Origins
'High' here means geographically higher: the uplands and Alps of the south, as opposed to the lowlands of the north. High German is the part of West Germanic that went through the second consonant shift. The shift was strongest in the far south, in Alemannic and Bavarian (together Upper German). It weakened northward through the Central German dialects, which shifted some consonants and some words and not others.
Old High German, the stage from about 750 to 1050, is not one language but a set of written dialects, each tied to a monastery or court: Alemannic at St Gall and Reichenau, Bavarian at Freising and Regensburg, East Franconian at Fulda. The oldest book is the Abrogans, a Latin–German glossary of the late 8th century.
02
From Old to New High German
Between the 12th and 16th centuries, a change that began in Bavarian spread north and west: the long vowels iː, uː and yː became diphthongs. Middle High German mīn niuwez hūs became modern mein neues Haus 'my new house'. Most of Alemannic never took part, and Swiss German Huus and Ziit still have the old vowels.
The written standard grew out of the chanceries of the east-central territories and was spread by printing. Martin Luther's Bible (New Testament 1522, complete Bible 1534) followed the Saxon chancery usage and did more than any other book to spread it. Spoken dialects continued to differ widely, and in Switzerland they are still the everyday language of all classes.
03
Yiddish
Yiddish is the language of Ashkenazi Jews. It formed when medieval Jewish communities spoke the German of their Christian neighbours, wrote it in Hebrew script, and mixed in a large Hebrew–Aramaic vocabulary. After the eastward migrations of the late Middle Ages it gained a Slavic layer as well. Where it began is still argued. Max Weinreich placed its origins in the Rhineland communities of about the 10th century, while others point to Bavarian and East Central German features that suggest a more south-eastern base.
Before the Second World War Yiddish had perhaps eleven to thirteen million speakers. The Holocaust destroyed most of its heartland. Today it is spoken mainly in Hasidic communities, where it is growing, and studied and revived as a literary language elsewhere.
In its own words
Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh
- Über
- allen
- Gipfeln
- ist
- Ruh
Sources (1)
Where it’s spoken
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Liechtenstein
- France
Turning points
- Sound lawContested
High German consonant shift
Voiceless stops become affricates or fricatives in the southern dialects: p t k → pf ts x (English pound, ten, make : German Pfund, zehn, machen). Its dating is disputed, and so is how it spread: outward from the Alpine south, or arising in several places at once.
Compare with other consonant shifts across families →
Sources (2)
- Writing
Old High German in the monasteries
Monastic scribes begin writing German in the Latin alphabet, first as glosses on Latin texts. The Abrogans glossary is usually counted as the oldest German book. Spelling varies by monastery, because there is no standard to follow.
Sources (1)
- SplitContested
Yiddish takes shape
The German of Ashkenazi communities develops into a separate language, with a Hebrew–Aramaic component and, after the eastward migrations, a Slavic one. Weinreich's Rhineland origin is disputed by scholars who see a Bavarian or East Central German base.
Sources (2)
- Sound law
New High German diphthongisation
Long iː uː yː become ai au oi: mīn niuwez hūs → mein neues Haus. It starts in Bavarian and spreads north through the written standard. Most Alemannic dialects keep the old vowels (Swiss German Huus).
Compare with other vowel shifts across families →
Sources (1)
- Writing
German in Hebrew script
A rhymed blessing written into the Worms Mahzor, a Hebrew prayer book, is the earliest securely dated sentence in Yiddish. It is German in Hebrew letters, the writing practice that would define Yiddish.
Sources (1)
- Revitalization
Luxembourgish as national language
Luxembourg's language law of 1984 declares Luxembourgish, a Moselle Franconian variety, the national language, alongside French and German as administrative languages. A local dialect becomes a written national language.
Sources (1)