Low Saxon

English

Alternative forms

  • Lower Saxon

Proper noun

Low Saxon

  1. Synonym of Low German (strict sense: a certain West Germanic language)
    Holonym: Low German
    • 1961, R. E. Keller, German Dialects: Phonology and Morphology with selected Texts, page 339:
      The Low Saxon dialect area is usually divided into West Low Saxon and East Low Saxon.
  2. A group of related dialects of Low German, spoken in northern Germany and parts of the Netherlands, formerly also in Denmark.
    Synonyms: West Low Saxon, West Low German
    Coordinate term: East Low German
    • 1990, Stephen Barbour, Patrick Stevenson, Variation in German: A critical approach to German sociolinguistics, Cambridge University Press, page 86f:
      There is general agreement that, to the east, Low Saxon should be divided from East Low German (Ostniederdeutsch) approximately though quite coincidentally, along the modern border between the Federal Republic and the GDR, although there is no general agreement as to precisely where the dialect boundary should lie, or as to which isogloss should be crucial to its delineation. [...] The Low Saxon dialects are sometimes referred to collectively as West Low German (Westniederdeutsch) [...]

Usage notes

In English texts, including Wiktionary, "Low Saxon" is often used as a synonym for Low German. This can, however, be offensive to speakers of non-Low Saxon dialects of Low German, and Low German-speakers themselves differentiate strictly between the Low Saxon group of dialects and the Low German language. The Low Saxon area classically only includes the northeastern Netherlands, Lower Saxony and most parts of Schleswig-Holstein.

Translations

See also

Further reading

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