Modern Low German
Language Information
Modern Low German (Plattdeutsch) is spoken in northern Germany, from Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein to Mecklenburg, and in the northeastern Netherlands. Related varieties are spoken by Mennonite communities in the Americas.
Low German descends from Old Saxon and was the language of the Hanseatic League, the great trading network of the Baltic and North Sea in the Middle Ages. It was gradually displaced by Standard (High) German for writing and official use. Today it has a few million speakers, mostly older people, and it is recognized as a regional language in Germany and the Netherlands.
Low German descends from Old Saxon and was the language of the Hanseatic League, the great trading network of the Baltic and North Sea in the Middle Ages. It was gradually displaced by Standard (High) German for writing and official use. Today it has a few million speakers, mostly older people, and it is recognized as a regional language in Germany and the Netherlands.
- Language Family
- Indo-European
- Subgroup
- Germanic
- Branch
- West Germanic
Modern Low German Language Sample
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1
Saxon, Low
All de Minschen sünd frie un gliek an Wüürd un Rechten baren. Se hebbt Vernunft un een Geweten un se schüllt sik Bröder sien.English translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Source: OHCHR translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights