High GermanHigh German
- the group of West Germanic dialects spoken in central and S Germany
- the official and literary form of the German language, technically called New High German
Origin of High Germancalque of German hochdeutsch (see high and amp; Deutschland): so named because origin, originally spoken chiefly in the German highlands
- German as indigenously spoken and written in Austria, Switzerland, and central and southern Germany.
- The standard variety of German used as the official language in Germany and Austria and as one of the official languages in Switzerland.
Origin of High GermanTranslation of German Hochdeutsch : hoch, high (from the mountainous terrain of the area in which it originated) + Deutsch, German.
- any of a group of West Germanic languages or dialects spoken in Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany, which is divided into the Central German group (including standard German as well as Luxembourgish, Pennsylvania German, and others) and the Upper German group (including Alemannic, Bavarian, and others)
- the standard variety of the German language spoken and written in Germany, Austria and part of Switzerland, where it is also an official language.
The use of High German to refer to standard German is avoided in scholarly discourse but common colloquially.