Before the printing press came into being, these sounds were denoted by placing an ‘e’ after the vowel. The former three denote frontalization of back vowels.
There are 26 letters in its alphabet, similar to the ones in English, with the addition of four other letters: ä, ö, ü and ß. It has similarities to Scandinavian languages, much like High German has with English. Not much literature exists in this dialect and its use is relegated to some households in the region now.
Low German was the language of the lowlands of northern Germany. This is the language employed in administration, literature, and education. The language used extensively today has its roots in High German which is used in southern and central highlands of Germany besides Switzerland and Austria. There are two main kinds of that: High German or Hochdeutsch and Low German or Plattdeutsch/Niederdeutsch. As Germany was divided into many states with their own dialects, the language became a connecting force and most writers started using what was later termed High German in order to reach more readers. However, the closest form to the present day High German came about in 6th century AD.
The first record of this language dates back to 1st century BC. Apart from that, another 75-100 million study it as a foreign language. 10-15 million consider it as their second language. There are an estimated 90-95 million native speakers of this language across the world. The language has also spread to other countries such as USA, Canada, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico because of a significant German-speaking diaspora. Some other countries, for example Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, and Belgium, have it as one of their official languages. It is the official language of Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein. It belongs to the Indo-Germanic group of languages.
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