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Standard High German (SHG), [3] less precisely Standard German or High German [a] (German: Standardhochdeutsch, Standarddeutsch, Hochdeutsch or, in Switzerland, Schriftdeutsch), is the umbrella term for the standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for communication between different dialect areas.
The High German languages (German: hochdeutsche Mundarten, i.e. High German dialects), or simply High German (Hochdeutsch [ˈhoːxˌdɔɪ̯t͡ʃ] ⓘ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein ...
Swiss Standard German [1] [2] [3] (SSG; German: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), [4] or Swiss High German [5] [6] [7] [note 1] (German: Schweizer Hochdeutsch [8] or Schweizerhochdeutsch; [9] Romansh: Svizzers Alt Tudestg), referred to by the Swiss as Schriftdeutsch, or German: Hochdeutsch, is the written form of one of four national languages in Switzerland, besides French, Italian, and Romansh. [10]
Hochdeutsch is a German word which literally translates to "High German" and may refer to: High German languages or High German dialects (hochdeutsche Mundarten), today mostly called Upper German dialects (oberdeutsche Mundarten) Standard German, the standardized variety of the German language, which encompasses:
The German term was originally coined in 1819 by Jacob Grimm for the period from around 1450 to the present day, following on from Middle High German (Mittelhochdeutsch). [2] [3] However, in 1878 Wilhelm Scherer proposed a transitional period, 1350–1650, for which he coined the new term Frühneuhochdeutsch (Early New High German), thus dating New High German from the mid 17th century. [4]
However, when the Republic of Austria was founded in 1918, Hochdeutschland was one of the proposals made for a name for the new country. [1] The adjective hochdeutsch, meaning Southern German, is most commonly used in the context of language: High German refers to all dialects of the German language spoken south of the Benrath line.
Most Middle High German words survive into modern German in some form or other: this passage contains only one word (jehen 'say' 14) which has since disappeared from the language. But many words have changed their meaning substantially. Muot (6) means 'state of mind' (cognates with mood), where modern German Mut means courage.
German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the German language.Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the Benrath line are dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects German to the neighboring varieties of Low Franconian and Frisian.