Hochdeutsch
Encyclopedia
Hochdeutsch is a German
word which literally translates to "high German".
It is commonly used with two meanings:
In the first usage, hoch refers to "high" in a strictly geographic sense, as "situated far above sealevel", thus in the mountainous regions surrounding the Alps.
In the second meaning, hoch came to mean "educated" or "cult" in an academic or social context, as opposed to the local dialects which are used in informal situations.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word which literally translates to "high German".
It is commonly used with two meanings:
- Linguistically and historically, it refers to the High German languagesHigh German languagesThe High German languages or the High German dialects are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and Yiddish, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighboring portions of Belgium and the...
(Hochdeutsche Sprachen), or dialectsGerman dialectsGerman dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
(Hochdeutsche Mundarten/Dialekte), which developed in the Southern uplands and the AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, for example, modern central and southern GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(SaxonySaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, etc.), AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, LiechtensteinLiechtensteinThe Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, and SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. This is opposed to Low GermanLow GermanLow German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
dialects (Plattdeutsch, Niederdeutsch), which developed on the lowlands and along the flat sea coasts of modern northern Germany (Lower SaxonyLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, etc.).
- It is also used to refer to Standard GermanStandard GermanStandard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
, a standardized form of the German languageGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(Standarddeutsch), used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas, which everybody in the German-speaking regions is supposed to understand, and which is taught to foreigners. This use is somewhat misleading since it collides with the linguistic term for the High German languages, but in fact, Standard German, is composed mostly from these High German dialects.
In the first usage, hoch refers to "high" in a strictly geographic sense, as "situated far above sealevel", thus in the mountainous regions surrounding the Alps.
In the second meaning, hoch came to mean "educated" or "cult" in an academic or social context, as opposed to the local dialects which are used in informal situations.