Benrath line

Benrath line

In German linguistics, the Benrath line (German: "Benrather Linie") is the "maken-machen" isogloss. It is traditionally used to distinguish the High German varieties from the other West Germanic languages. The Line runs from Benrath (part of Düsseldorf) and Aachen to eastern Germany near Frankfurt an der Oder in the area of Berlin and Dessau.

The High German consonant shift (3rd to 9th centuries AD), in the first three phases of which the Low German dialects did not participate, affected the Southern varieties of the West Germanic dialect continuum; the Low German dialects did not participate in the first three phases (core group) of this shift. The impact of the High German consonant shift increases gradually to the South.

The Benrath line does not mark the northernmost effect of the High German consonant shift, since the Uerdingen line, the "ik-ich" isogloss, lies slightly further north; and some of the peripheral changes associated with the shift did affect Low German.

External links

* [http://www.deutsch-lernen.com/learn-german-online/german_language.htm Varieties of German]
* [http://www.ned.univie.ac.at/publicaties/taalgeschiedenis/dt/benrath.htm Maps of the Benrath line]


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