出典:Wiktionary
Because northern Germany (Low Germany), where it is spoken, is lower in elevation than southern Germany.
(West Germanic language, descended from Old Saxon):
(West Germanic languages that are not High German):
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/07/27 17:17 UTC 版)
Low German or Low Saxon (Plattdüütsch, Nedderdüütsch, Standard German Plattdeutsch, Niederdeutsch; Dutch Nedersaksisch in the wider sense—see ) is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands. The historical sprachraum also includes contemporary northern Poland, the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia and a part of southern Lithuania, the German speakers of which were expelled or murdered after the post-World War II boundary changes. The former German communities in the Baltic states (see Baltic Germans) also spoke Low German. Moreover, Middle Low German was the Lingua Franca of the Hanseatic League and it has thus had an important influence on the Scandinavian languages.