Low German

Low German
Low Saxon
Low German: Plattdüütsch, German: Niederdeutsch
Native to	Germany, Denmark, Netherlands
Ethnicity	Saxons
Native speakers	Unknown number of 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 Low German
Dialects	West Low German East Low German
Official status
Official language in	Germany  Schleswig-Holstein  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Recognised minority language in	Mexico (100,000) Bolivia (70,000) Paraguay (30,000)
Language codes
ISO 639-2
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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 Germany

Bolivia (70,000)

Low German or Low Saxon (Low German: Plattdüütsch, Nedderdüütsch, Platduuts, Nedderduuts; German: Plattdeutsch, Niederdeutsche Dialekte; Dutch: Nedersaksisch, or Nederduits in the wider sense) is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is descended from Old Saxon in its earliest form.

As an Ingvaeonic language, Low German is quite distinct from the Irminonic (High German) languages like Standard German. It is 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.

Dialects of Low German are widely spoken in the northeastern area of the Netherlands (Dutch Low Saxon) and are written there with an orthography based on Standard Dutch orthography.