New High German

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New High German (NHG) is the term used for the most recent period in the history of the German language. It is a translation of the German Neuhochdeutsch (Nhd). It can be used as a synonym of standard German or of High German languages.

The German term was originally coined in 1848 by Jakob Grimm for the period from 1500 to the present day, following on from Middle High German (Mittelhochdeutsch). However, Wilhelm Scherer redefined it as the period from 1650, introducing a new term Frühneuhochdeutsch (Early New High German) for the period 1350-1650, and this is the most widely adopted periodisation of German.

The New High German period is characterised by the codification of German grammar and the development of a standard language in both writing and speech. Unlike earlier periods, there have been few major changes in phonology or morphology. Rather, the standard language has selected particular features and these choices have then exerted an influence on individual German dialects.