West Low German

West Low German
Native to Germany, Netherlands, Denmark
Native speakers
4 million (date missing)
Language codes
ISO 639-2 nds
ISO 639-3 Variously:
wep  Westphalian
nds  (partial)
frs  Eastern Frisian
gos  Gronings
stl  Stellingwerfs
drt  Drents
twd  Twents
act  Achterhoeks
sdz  Sallands
vel  Veluws
Glottolog None

Low Saxon language area

West Low German, also known as Low Saxon (German: Niedersächsisch, Dutch: Nedersaksisch, Low German: Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies, Platduuts, Plat(t)), is a group of dialects spoken in the northwest of Germany and adjacent territories of The Netherlands and Denmark. Together with East Low German it forms the dialect group of Low German language (German: Niederdeutsch or Plattdeutsch, Dutch: Nederduits).

Extent

The language area comprises the North German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia (the Westphalian part), Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt (the northwestern areas around Magdeburg) as well as the northeast of The Netherlands (i.e. Dutch Low Saxon, spoken in Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel and northern Gelderland) and the Schleswigsch dialect spoken by the North Schleswig Germans in the southernmost part of Denmark.

In the south the Benrath line and Uerdingen line isoglosses form the border with the area, where West Central German variants of High German are spoken.

List of dialects

Germany

Low Saxon language area in the Netherlands

The Netherlands

Main article: Dutch Low Saxon

While Dutch is classified as a Low Franconian language, the Dutch Low Saxon varieties, which are also defined as Dutch dialects, form a dialect continuum with the Westphalian language. They consist of:

Denmark

References

  1. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
  2. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
  3. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
  4. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
  5. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
  6. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
  7. Noble, Cecil A. M. (1983). Modern German dialects New York [u.a.], Lang, p. 103-104
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