Re: Reinventing NATLANGs

Some of the confusion results from very similar
expression used for very different things. E.g.
the term "Hochdeutsch" (High German) can mean
Standard German as it is spoken today or as a
distinction between "Niederdeutsch" (Lower
German) in Northern Germany, and all the Middle
and Upper German dialects in Southern Germany and
the Alps that share many common features.

>Mittelhochdeutsch was the language I was taught in High School. 
Mittelhochdeutsch is an expression for Middle and
Upper German dialects in the Middle Ages. There
also exists "Mittelniederdeutsch", the form of
Low German during the Middle Ages.

IIRC, there are the following distinctions

Low German - Niederdeutsch
German dialects that did not participate in the
Second Sound Shift; Dutch is a descendant of this
group. (see the resemblance "Dutch" -> "Deutsch";
and, as a tidbit, the Dutch anthem starts with
"Wilhelmus van Nassoew ben ick van Duytschen
bloet" or, in modern orthography, "Wilhelmus van
Nassouwe ben ik van Duitsen bloed")

High German - Hochdeutsch
  with the subgroups
	Middle or Central German (Mitteldeutsch)
- dialects in the Palatinate, Thuringia etc.
	Upper German (Oberdeutsch) - dialects like Bavarian, Alemannic etc.

For Low and High German, three stages are
discerned: Old, Middle and New High/Low German.

There is a reason, however, why Standard German
is called High German, because its features
derive mainly from the High German dialects.

Hope that helps.

Christian

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