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East Low German is a group of Low German
Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
 dialects spoken in Northeast Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 as well as by minorities in present northern Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
. Together with West Low German, it constitutes Low German
Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
. Prior to 1945 the dialect was spoken along the entire German Baltic Coast, from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
, through Pomerania
Province of Pomerania

The Province of Pomerania was a Provinces of Prussia of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 until 1946. Since then it has been part of Germany and Poland....
, West Prussia
West Prussia

West Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth province of Royal Prussia....
 into certain villages of the East Prussia
East Prussia

East Prussia refers to the main part of the Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Sea from the 13th century to 1945. From 1772?1829 and 1878?1945, the Province of East Prussia was a province of the Germany state of Prussia....
n Memel-Klaipeda Region.

Low German belongs to the dialect continuum
Dialect continuum

A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater....
 of the continental West Germanic languages
West Germanic languages

The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic languages family of languages and include languages such as English language, Dutch language and Afrikaans, German language, the Frisian languages, as well as Yiddish language....
.






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East Low German is a group of Low German
Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
 dialects spoken in Northeast Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 as well as by minorities in present northern Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
. Together with West Low German, it constitutes Low German
Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is any of the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands....
. Prior to 1945 the dialect was spoken along the entire German Baltic Coast, from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, and Neubrandenburg....
, through Pomerania
Province of Pomerania

The Province of Pomerania was a Provinces of Prussia of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 until 1946. Since then it has been part of Germany and Poland....
, West Prussia
West Prussia

West Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth province of Royal Prussia....
 into certain villages of the East Prussia
East Prussia

East Prussia refers to the main part of the Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Sea from the 13th century to 1945. From 1772?1829 and 1878?1945, the Province of East Prussia was a province of the Germany state of Prussia....
n Memel-Klaipeda Region.

Related languages

East Low German belongs to the dialect continuum
Dialect continuum

A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater....
 of the continental West Germanic languages
West Germanic languages

The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic languages family of languages and include languages such as English language, Dutch language and Afrikaans, German language, the Frisian languages, as well as Yiddish language....
. It developed from the older Middle Low German
Middle Low German

Middle Low German is a language that is the descendant of Old Saxon and is the ancestor of modern Low German. It served as the international lingua franca of the Hanseatic League....
.

In the West it fades into West Low German. The distinction is usually made referring to the plural endings of the verbs: East Low German endings are based on the old first/third person ending: -e(n), whereas West Low German endings are based on the old second person ending: -(e)t. The categorization of the Low German dialects into an Eastern and a Western group is not made by all linguists.

In the South, it fades into East Central German
East Central German

East Central German is the non-Franconian languages sub-group of Central German dialects, themselves part of High Germanic languages:*Thuringian...
. The difference is that the East Low German varieties have not been affected by the High German consonant shift
High German consonant shift

In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift was a phonological development which took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum in several phases, probably beginning between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and was almost complete before the earliest written recor...
. The areas affected by the High German consonant shift are still expanding today, especially the Berlinisch
Berlinerisch

Berlinerisch, or Berlinisch, is a dialect of Berlin Brandenburgish dialects spoken in Berlin. It originates from a Mark Brandenburgish dialects variant....
 dialect that is gaining ground on the Brandenburgisch
Brandenburgisch

Brandenburgisch is a dialect spoken in Germany in the area around Berlin.It is classified as an East Low German dialect, but it has been much influenced by the East Central German dialects and by German language....
 dialect by which it is surrounded.

Dialects

East Low German dialects are:
  • In Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    :
    • Brandenburgisch
      Brandenburgisch

      Brandenburgisch is a dialect spoken in Germany in the area around Berlin.It is classified as an East Low German dialect, but it has been much influenced by the East Central German dialects and by German language....
       (in Brandenburg
      Brandenburg

      Brandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany....
      , northern Saxony-Anhalt
      Saxony-Anhalt

      Saxony-Anhalt is one of the sixteen States of Germany that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of , and a population of 2.45 million ....
      )
    • Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch (in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
  • In Poland
    Poland

    Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
    :
    • Low Prussian
      Low Prussian

      Low Prussian , sometimes known simply as Prussian , is a dialect of East Low German that developed in East Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken in East and West Prussia and Danzig up to 1945....
       (spoken by minorities around Gdansk
      Gdansk

      Gdansk is the city at the centre of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Poland. It is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship....
       in northern Poland; nearly extinct since 1945, considered to include Plauttdietsch
      Plautdietsch

      Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch language influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th Century in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory....
       by some observers)
    • East Pomeranian
      East Pomeranian

      East Pomeranian is an East Low German dialect that is or used to be spoken in Northern Poland. It is part of the Pommersch dialect group.East Pomeranian was mostly spoken in the Farther Pomerania region of the Prussian Province of Pomerania and in Pomerelia....
       (spoken by minorities in Pomerania
      Pomerania

      Pomerania is a historical region on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdansk in the East....
       and Brazil
      Brazil

      Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
      ; part of the Pommersch dialect group)


It also includes Plautdietsch
Plautdietsch

Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch language influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th Century in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory....
 (originating from Danzig
Gdansk

Gdansk is the city at the centre of the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Poland. It is Poland's principal seaport as well as the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship....
), which is spoken by Mennonite
Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christianity Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons , though his writings articulated, and thereby, formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders....
s in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and a few other places in the world. Berlinisch
Berlinerisch

Berlinerisch, or Berlinisch, is a dialect of Berlin Brandenburgish dialects spoken in Berlin. It originates from a Mark Brandenburgish dialects variant....
 (in Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
) was a version of Brandenburgisch in medieval times until it split off; it is now seen as an East Central German
East Central German

East Central German is the non-Franconian languages sub-group of Central German dialects, themselves part of High Germanic languages:*Thuringian...
 dialect.

Baltendeutsch is a High German
High German languages

The High German languages are any of the variety of German language, Luxembourgish language and Yiddish language, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France , Italy, and Poland....
 variety influenced by East Low German formerly spoken by Germans in the Baltic states.

The Lord's Prayer in Plautdietsch

Ons Voda em Himmel,
lot dien Nome jeheilicht woare;
lot dien Ritjdom kome;
lot dien Welle jedone woare,
uck hia oppe Ed, soo aus em Himmel;
jeff ons Dach fe Dach daut Broot, daut ons fehlt;
en vejeff ons onse Schult,
soo aus wie den vejewe, dee sich jeajen ons veschuldicht ha;
en brinj ons nich en Vesetjunk nenn,
oba rad ons von Beeset.


Writers

Fritz Reuter
Fritz Reuter

Fritz Reuter was a Germany novelist.Reuter was born at Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a small country town where his father was mayor and sheriff , and in addition to his official duties carried on the work of a farmer....
 and Heinrich Bandlow
Heinrich Bandlow

Heinrich Bandlow was a Pomeranian author, writing in Standard German as well as in Low German. For his Low German works he is known as "Pomeranian Reuter", which is a reference to his Mecklenburgian counterpart, Fritz Reuter....
 are among the most famous East Low German writers.

See also

  • Prussia
    Prussia

    Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....


External links