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However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low German. In the past (roughly until the end of World War II ), there was a dialect continuum of all Continental West Germanic languages , as nearly any pair of contiguous dialects were perfectly mutually intelligible.
They all descend from Proto-Germanic, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European. South Germanic languages , an attempt to classify some of the West Germanic languages into a separate group, is rejected by the overwhelming majority of scholars.
Pages in category "German dialects" The following 122 pages are in this category, out of 122 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...
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 ...
In the 21st century, German dialects are dying out [nb 3] as Standard German gains primacy. [ 15 ] The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic, also known as Common Germanic, which was spoken in about the middle of the 1st millennium BC in Iron Age Scandinavia .
German is the official language of six countries, all of which lie in central and western Europe. These countries (with the addition of South Tyrol of Italy) also form the Council for German Orthography and are referred to as the German Sprachraum (German language area).
In Central Germany (the Middle German area) there is a tendency towards dialect loss. [12] In Southern Germany (the Upper German area) dialects are still in use. [12] Dialects are declining in all regions except for Bavaria. [12] In 2008, 45% of Bavarians claimed to use only Bavarian in everyday communication. [14]
The East Central dialects are the closest to Standard German (chiefly as a written language) among other German dialects. Modern Standard German thus evolved from the vocabulary and spelling of this region, with some pronunciation features from East Franconian German .