Low-German

Low German
Low Saxon
Plattdütsch, Plattdüütsch German: Plattdeutsch, Niederdeutsch, Dutch: Nederduits
Native to	Northern Germany Western Germany Eastern Netherlands Southern Denmark
Ethnicity	Dutch, Frisians and Germans; Historically Saxons (Germanic peoples and modern regional subgroup of Germans)
Native speakers	Up to 10 million second-language speakers (1996)
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Ingvaeonic Low German
Early forms	Old Saxon Middle Low German
Dialects	West Low German East Low German
Official status
Official language in	Germany Schleswig-Holstein Hamburg Lower Saxony Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Netherlands
Recognised minority language in	Mexico (100,000) Bolivia (70,000) Paraguay (30,000)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	`nds`
ISO 639-3	(Dutch varieties and Westphalian have separate codes)
Glottolog	`lowg1239` Low German
Linguasphere	`52-ACB`
Approximate area in which Low German/Low Saxon dialects are spoken in Europe.
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Plattdütsch, Plattdüütsch

Bolivia (70,000)

Low German or Low Saxon (Low German Plattdütsch, Plattdüütsch, Plattdütsk, Nedderdüütsch; Platduuts, Nedderduuts; German: Plattdeutsch, Niederdeutsch; Dutch: Nedersaksisch or Nederduits) is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is also spoken to a lesser extent in the German diaspora worldwide (called the Plautdietsch), by ethnic Frisians wherever Friso-Saxon dialects are spoken, and in Southern Denmark.

As an Ingvaeonic language, Low German is quite distinct from the Irminonic (High German) languages like Standard German, and closely related to Dutch, Frisian and English. This difference resulted from the High German consonant shift, with the Uerdingen and Benrath lines being two notable linguistic borders.