Low German: The Basics of the Language
Low German, also known as Plattdeutsch, is a West Germanic language with a long tradition in northern Europe. Is it a language of its own or a variant of German? To answer that, it helps to look at how it is classified, how it sounds and what status it has today.
What Low German Is
Low German belongs to the West Germanic languages. Together with High German, Low Franconian and the Frisian varieties, it forms a West Germanic dialect continuum. Within it the borders between varieties are fluid, and the differences grow gradually with distance. For that reason, the question of whether Low German is a language of its own cannot be settled easily.
There is no single standard written form today. Standard German serves as the roof language, and the spellings of Low German are correspondingly varied.
The Second Sound Shift
The most important difference from High German lies in the history of the language: Low German did not go through the second sound shift. This can already be seen in everyday words.
In Low German the words are Fot and grot, where High German has Fuß and groß. Hus corresponds to Haus. Such word pairs illustrate the independent development of Low German. It is not corrupted German but developed differently, never taking part in the second sound shift.
Where Low German Is Spoken
The historical language area covers the northwest of Germany and the northeast of the Netherlands. Low German is best preserved in everyday family use in East Frisia, in the Elbe-Weser triangle and in Dithmarschen.
Based on data from 2009, the Institute for Low German Language reported that about 2.6 million people speak Low German well or very well. That equals 14 percent of the population of northern Germany. The figure refers to northern Germany and serves as a rough guide; it does not reflect the current situation.
Legal Status
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has strengthened the standing of the language. Its provisions took effect for Germany in 1999. For Low German it applies in eight federal states: Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein.
That makes Low German a recognized regional language, though it still exists beside the dominant Standard German. Anyone who knows basic differences such as Hus and Haus will recognize the language more easily.
Low German as the Language of the Hanseatic League
Long before today's Low German there was Middle Low German. It was widespread in northern Germany from the 13th to the 17th century and served as a trade language across the whole Baltic region, from the Hanseatic offices in London and Bruges to Bergen and Novgorod. Far-reaching trade relations called for a business and written language that worked across regions, and Low German took on that role.
Today the language is met mostly on stage. In 1902 Richard Ohnsorg founded the Dramatic Society in Hamburg, which wanted to perform plays in Low German. The house has carried the name Ohnsorg Theater since 1947, and its productions have been shown on NDR since 1954. So a trade language has become a language you can hear in the living room.