Langenesis

Indo-European family

Low German

1600 CE – today Living

Low German (1600 CE – today) is a living Indo-European language. Lineage: Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Proto-West-Germanic → Old Saxon → Middle Low German → Low German.

See Low German on the interactive map
Speakers
2M (2,000,000)
ISO 639-3
nds

Also Low Saxon (Plattdeutsch), spoken in northern Germany and the eastern Netherlands. Speaker estimates vary widely.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4,500 BCE – 2,500 BCE
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE – 500 CE
  3. Proto-West-Germanic200 CE – 700 CE
  4. Old Saxonc. 800 CE – 1150 CE
  5. Middle Low German1150 CE – 1600 CE
  6. Low German1600 CE – today

Sources