View source for Old High German

{{Short description|Earliest stage of the German language}}
{{Redirect|Old German}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Old High German
| image            = Erste Seite des Abrogans (Codex Sangallensis 911) (cropped).jpg
| imagecaption     = First page of the St. Gall Codex Abrogans (Stiftsbibliothek, cod. 911), the earliest text in Old High German
| region           = [[Central Europe]]
| era              = [[Early Middle Ages]] ({{circa|AD 500–1050}})
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
| script           = [[Runes|Runic]], [[Latin script|Latin]]
| ancestor         =[[Proto-West Germanic]]
| iso2             = goh
| iso3             = goh
| glotto           = oldh1241
| glottorefname    = Old High German
| notice           = IPA
| nativename       = diutisk
| ethnicity        = [[Franks]], [[Lombards]]
}}
'''Old High German''' ('''OHG'''; {{langx|de|Althochdeutsch (Ahdt., Ahd.)}}) is the earliest stage of the [[German language]], conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic dialects]] that had undergone the set of [[sound change|consonantal changes]] called the [[High German consonant shift|Second Sound Shift]].

At the start of this period, dialect areas reflected the territories of largely independent tribal kingdoms, but by 788 the conquests of [[Charlemagne]] had brought all OHG dialect areas into a single [[polity]]. The period also saw the development of a stable linguistic border between German and [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]], later [[French language|French]].

Old High German largely preserved the [[synthetic language|synthetic]] [[inflection]]al system inherited from its ancestral Germanic forms. The eventual disruption of these patterns, which led to the more [[analytic language|analytic]] grammar, are generally considered to mark the transition to [[Middle High German]].

Surviving Old High German texts were all composed in monastic [[scriptoria]], so the overwhelming majority of them are religious in nature or, when secular, belong to the [[Latin]]ate literary culture of [[Christianity]]. The earliest instances, which date to the latter half of the 8th century, are [[Gloss (annotation)|glosses]]—notes added to margins or between lines that provide translation of the (Latin) text or other aid to the reader.

==Periodisation==
Old High German is generally dated from around 750 to around 1050.{{sfn|Scherer|1878|p=12}}{{sfn|Penzl|1986|p=15}} The beginning of this period marks the emergence of the Old High German (OHG) written tradition initially limited to glosses, but by the 9th century, it included substantial translations and original compositions.{{sfn|Penzl|1986|p=15}} However, the fact that the defining feature of Old High German, the Second Sound Shift (generally called the High German Consonant Shift in English), may have started as early as the 6th century and is complete by 750, means that some take the 6th century to be the start of the period.{{efn|for example {{harv|Hutterer|1999|p=307}}}} Alternatively, terms such as {{lang|de|Voralthochdeutsch}} ("pre-OHG"){{sfn|Penzl|1986|pp=15–16}} or {{lang|de|vorliterarisches Althochdeutsch}} ("pre-literary OHG"){{sfn|Schmidt|2013|pp=65–66}} are sometimes used for the period before 750.{{efn|with tables showing the position taken in most of the standard works before 2000. {{harv|Roelcke|1998}}}} Regardless of terminology, all recognize a distinction between a pre-literary period and the start of a continuous tradition of written texts around the middle of the 8th century.{{sfn|Wells|1987|p=33}}

The end of the period is less controversial. The sound changes reflected in spelling during the 11th century led to the remodelling of the entire system of noun and adjective [[declension]]s.{{sfn|Wells|1987|pp=34–35}} There is also a hundred-year "dearth of continuous texts" after the death of [[Notker Labeo]] in 1022.{{sfn|Wells|1987|p=33}} The mid-11th century is widely accepted as marking the transition to [[Middle High German]].{{sfn|Roelcke|1998|pp=804–811}}

==Territory==
{{Further|Francia|Carolingian Empire|Frankish language}}
[[File:Historical West Germanic language area.png|right|upright=1.2|thumb|The Old High German–speaking area (in green) during the Early Medieval Period]]

Old High German encompasses the dialects that had undergone the [[High German consonant shift|Second Sound Shift]] during the 6th century—namely all of the Upper and Central German dialects.

The Franks in the western part of [[Francia]] ([[Neustria]] and western [[Austrasia]]) gradually adopted [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]] by the beginning of the OHG period, with the linguistic boundary later stabilised approximately along the course of the [[Meuse]] and [[Moselle]] in the east, and the northern boundary probably a little further south than the current boundary between [[French language|French]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]].{{sfn|Wells|1987|p=49}} North of this line, the Franks retained their language, but it was not affected by the Second Sound Shift, which thus separated the [[Old Dutch|Low Franconian or Old Dutch varieties]] from the more easterly Franconian dialects which formed part of Old High German.{{sfn|Wells|1987|p=43|ps=. Fn. 26}}

In the south, the [[Lombards]], who had settled in [[Northern Italy]], maintained their dialect until their conquest by [[Charlemagne]] in 774. After this the Germanic-speaking population, who were by then almost certainly bilingual, gradually switched to the [[Gallo-Italic languages|Romance language of the native population]], so that Langobardic had died out by the end of the OHG period.{{sfn|Hutterer|1999|p=338}}

At the beginning of the period, no Germanic language was spoken east of a line from [[Kieler Förde]] to the rivers [[Elbe]] and [[Saale]], earlier Germanic speakers in the Northern part of the area having been displaced by the [[Slavs]]. This area did not become German-speaking until the [[Ostsiedlung|German eastward expansion]] ("Ostkolonisation", "Ostsiedlung") of the early 12th century, though there was some attempt at conquest and missionary work under the [[Ottonian dynasty|Ottonians]].{{sfn|Peters|1985|p=1211}}

The Alemannic polity was conquered by [[Clovis I]] in 496, and in the last twenty years of the 8th century Charlemagne subdued the Saxons, the Frisians, the Bavarians, and the Lombards, bringing all continental [[Germanic languages|Germanic-speaking peoples]] under Frankish rule. While this led to some degree of [[Frankish language|Frankish linguistic influence]], the language of both the administration and the Church was Latin, and this unification did not therefore lead to any development of a supra-regional variety of Frankish nor a standardized Old High German; the individual dialects retained their identity.

==Dialects==
{{further|Proto-Germanic language|Germanic languages}}
[[File:The Old High German monastery dialects and their main scriptoria.jpg|thumb|Map showing the main Old High German [[scriptorium|scriptoria]] and the areas of the Old High German "monastery dialects"]]
There was no standard or supra-regional variety of Old High German—every text is written in a particular dialect, or in some cases a mixture of dialects. Broadly speaking, the main dialect divisions of Old High German seem to have been similar to those of later periods—they are based on established territorial groupings and the effects of the Second Sound Shift, which have remained influential until the present day. But because the direct evidence for Old High German consists solely of [[manuscript]]s produced in a few major ecclesiastical centres, there is no [[isogloss]] information of the sort on which modern dialect maps are based. For this reason the dialects may be termed "monastery dialects" (German ''Klosterdialekte'').{{sfn|Wells|1987|pp=44,50–53}}

The main dialects, with their [[Diocese|bishoprics]] and [[monasteries]]:{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|pp=6-12}}

* [[Central German]] (referred to as "[[Franconian (linguistics)|Franconian]]" by some authors){{sfn|Sonderegger|1980|p=571}}
** [[Middle Franconian]]: [[Trier]], [[Echternach]], [[Cologne]]
** [[Rhine Franconian]]: [[Lorsch]], [[Speyer]], [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], [[Mainz]], [[Frankfurt]]
** [[South Rhine Franconian]]: [[Wissembourg]]
* [[Upper German]]
** [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]]: [[Murbach Abbey|Murbach]], [[Reichenau Island|Reichenau]], [[Abbey of St. Gall|Sankt Gallen]], [[Strasbourg]]
** [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]]: [[Freising]], [[Passau]], [[Regensburg]], [[Augsburg]], [[Ebersberg]], [[Wessobrunn Abbey|Wessobrunn]], [[Benediktbeuern Abbey|Benediktbeuern]], [[Tegernsee Abbey|Tegernsee]], [[Salzburg]], [[Mondsee Abbey|Mondsee]]
*Transitional between Central and Upper German:
** [[East Franconian]]: [[Fulda]], [[Bamberg]], [[Würzburg]]

In addition, there are two poorly attested dialects:
* [[Old Thuringian dialect|Thuringian]], a Central German dialect, is attested only in four runic inscriptions and some possible glosses.{{sfn|Wells|1987|p=432}}
* [[Langobardic]] was the dialect of the [[Lombards]] who invaded [[Northern Italy]] in the 6th century, and little evidence of it remains apart from names and individual words in [[Latin]] texts, and a few runic inscriptions. It declined after the conquest of the [[Lombard Kingdom]] by the Franks in 774. It is classified as Upper German on the basis of evidence of the Second Sound Shift.{{sfn|Hutterer|1999|pp=336–341}} Some scholars exclude Langobardic from Old High German because of its poor state of preservation.{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|p=7}}

The continued existence of a [[West Frankish]] dialect in the Western, Romanized part of Francia is uncertain. Claims that this might have been the language of the Carolingian court or that it is attested in the [[Ludwigslied]], whose presence in a French manuscript suggests [[bilingualism]], are controversial.{{sfn|Sonderegger|1980|p=571}}{{sfn|Wells|1987|p=432}}

==Literacy==
{{Further|Oaths of Strasbourg|Germanic Christianity|Anglo-Saxon mission}}

Old High German literacy is a product of the monasteries, notably at [[St. Gallen]], [[Reichenau Island]] and [[Fulda]]. Its origins lie in the establishment of the German church by [[Saint Boniface]] in the mid-8th century, and it was further encouraged during the [[Carolingian Renaissance]] in the 9th.
The dedication to the preservation of Old High German epic poetry among the scholars of the Carolingian Renaissance was significantly greater than could be suspected from the meagre survivals we have today (less than 200 lines in total between the ''[[Hildebrandslied]]'' and the ''[[Muspilli]]''). [[Einhard]] tells how Charlemagne himself ordered that the epic lays should be collected for posterity.<ref>''[[Vita Karoli Magni]]'', 29: "He also had the old rude songs that celebrate the deeds and wars of the ancient kings written out for transmission to posterity."</ref> It was the neglect or religious zeal of later generations that led to the loss of these records. Thus, it was Charlemagne's weak successor, [[Louis the Pious]], who destroyed his father's collection of epic poetry on account of its pagan content.{{sfn|Parra Membrives|2002|p=43}}

[[Rabanus Maurus]], a student of [[Alcuin]] and later an abbot at Fulda, was an important advocate of the cultivation of German literacy. Among his students were [[Walafrid Strabo]] and [[Otfrid of Weissenburg]].

Towards the end of the Old High German period, [[Notker Labeo]] was among the greatest stylists in the language, and developed a systematic orthography.{{sfn|von Raumer|1851|pp=194–272}}

==Writing system==
Old High German marked the culmination of a shift away from [[Runes|runic writing]] of the pre-OHG period{{sfn|Sonderegger|2003|p=245}} to the [[Latin alphabet]]. This shift led to considerable variations in spelling conventions, as individual scribes and scriptoria had to develop their own [[transliteration]] of sounds not native to [[Latin script]].{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|p=23}} [[Otfrid von Weissenburg]], in one of the prefaces to his ''Evangelienbuch'', offers comments on and examples of some of the issues which arise in adapting the Latin alphabet for German: "{{lang|la|...sic etiam in multis dictis scriptio est propter litterarum aut congeriem aut incognitam sonoritatem difficilis.}}" ("...so also, in many expressions, spelling is difficult because of the piling up of letters or their unfamiliar sound."){{sfn|Marchand|1992}} The careful orthographies of the OHG ''[[Etymologiae|Isidor]]'' or Notker show a similar awareness.{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|p=23}}

==Phonology==
{{Listen
 |filename=2024-04 Zweiter Merseburger Zauberspruch Ziko van Dijk.ogg
 |title=Second Merseburg Charm
 |description=Example of Old High German: Second [[Merseburg charms|Merseburg Charm]]<ref>{{citation|last1=Eichnar|first1=Heiner|last2=Nedoma|first2=Robert|year=2014|title=Die Merseburger Zaubersprüche: Philologische und sprachwissenschaftliche Probleme aus heutiger Sicht|trans-title=The Merseburg charms: Philological and linguistic problems from a contemporary standpoint|language=German|p=3|URL=https://an.univie.ac.at/publ/publ3044zf.pdf}}</ref>
}}
The charts show the vowel and consonant systems of the East Franconian dialect in the 9th century. This is the dialect of the monastery of [[Fulda]], and specifically of the Old High German [[Old High German Tatian|''Tatian'']]. Dictionaries and grammars of OHG often use the spellings of the Tatian as a substitute for genuine standardised spellings, and these have the advantage of being recognizably close to the [[Middle High German]] forms of words, particularly with respect to the consonants.{{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=179}}

===Vowels===
Old High German had six phonemic short vowels and five phonemic long vowels. Both occurred in stressed and unstressed syllables. In addition, there were six diphthongs.{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|p=41}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! rowspan="2" | &nbsp;
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]<small>{{ref|back|1}}</small>
|-
! [[Short vowel|Short]]<small>{{ref|short|2}}</small>
! [[Long vowel|Long]]<small>{{ref|length|3}}</small>
! Short<small>{{ref|short|2}}</small>
! Long<small>{{ref|length|3}}</small>
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|iː}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
| {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|eː}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
| {{IPA link|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| ({{IPA link|ɛ}})<small>{{ref|ä|4}}</small>
| &nbsp;
| {{IPA link|ɑ|a}}
| {{IPA link|ɑː|aː}}
|-
! colspan="1" rowspan="4" | &nbsp;
! colspan="6" | [[Diphthongs]]<small>{{ref|diphthongs|5}}</small>
|-
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ie̯}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|uo̯}}
|-
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|iu̯}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|io̯}}
|-
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ei̯}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ou̯}}
|}

Notes:
: {{note label|back|1}} All back vowels likely had front-vowel [[allophones]] as a result of [[Germanic umlaut|umlaut]].<ref>But see {{citation|last=Cercignani|first=Fausto|year=2022|title=The development of the Old High German umlauted vowels and the reflex of New High German /ɛ:/ in Present Standard German|journal=Linguistik Online|volume=113|issue=1|pages=45–57|url=https://bop.unibe.ch/linguistik-online/article/view/8317/11309|doi=10.13092/lo.113.8317|doi-access=free}}</ref> The front-vowel allophones likely became full phonemes in Middle High German.
: {{note label|short|2}} The closed short and mid vowels may have been articulated lower than their long counterparts as in Modern German. This cannot be established from written sources.
: {{note label|length|3}} Vowel length was indicated in the manuscripts inconsistently (though modern handbooks are consistent). Vowel letter doubling, a [[circumflex]], or an [[acute accent]] was generally used to indicate a long vowel.{{sfn|Wright|1906|p=2}}
: {{note label|ä|4}} In the Old High German period, there existed {{IPA|[e]}} (possibly a mid-close vowel) from the umlaut of {{IPA|/a/}} and an the inherited {{IPA|[ɛ]}}. The former probably was not phonemicized until the end of the period. Manuscripts occasionally distinguish two {{IPA|/e/}} sounds. Generally, modern grammars and dictionaries use {{angle bracket|ë}} for the mid vowel /ɛ/ and {{angle bracket|e}} for the mid-close vowel /e/.
: {{note label|diphthong|5}} On the diphthongs’ origins:
# OHG {{angbr|ie}} came from PWGmc ''*ē''. It passed from ''*ē'' to {{angbr|ea}} to {{angbr|ia}} to {{angbr|ie}}.
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|hēr}} > ''hia(r)''
# OHG {{angbr|iu}} came from PWGmc ''*iu''. This OHG diphthong {{IPA|/iu̯/}} was one of the sources for the Middle High German monophthong {{IPA|/yː/}}.
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|þiudisk}} > ''diutisk''
# OHG {{angbr|ei}} came from PWGmc ''*ai''. PWGmc ''*ai'' monophthongized to OHG {{angbr|ê}} before certain consonants: {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, and {{IPA|/x/}} from PWGmc ''*h''.
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|stain}} > ''stein''
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|raihō}} > ''rēho''
# OHG {{angbr|uo}} came from PWGmc ''*ō''. It passed from ''*ō'' to {{angbr|oa}} to {{angbr|ua}} to {{angbr|uo}}.
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|mōd}} > ''muot''
# OHG {{angbr|io}} came from PWGmc ''*eu''. It passed from ''*eu'' to {{angbr|eo}} to {{angbr|io}}.
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|leuþ}} > ''liod''
# OHG {{angbr|ou}} came from PWGmc ''*au''. PWGmc ''*au'' monophthongized to OHG {{angbr|ô}} before certain consonants: {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/s̠/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, and {{IPA|/x/}} from PWGmc ''*h''.
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|baum}} > ''boum''
## *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|dauþu}} > ''tōd''

====Reduction of unstressed vowels====
By the mid 11th century the many different vowels found in unstressed syllables had almost all been [[vowel reduction|reduced]] to {{angle bracket|e}} {{IPAblink|ə}}.{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|pp=87–93}}

Examples:
{| style="margin-left: 1em"
! style="text-align: left; padding-right: 1em" | Old High German
! style="text-align: left; padding-right: 1em" | Middle High German
! style="text-align: left; padding-right: 1em" | New High German
! style="text-align: left; padding-right: 1em" | English
|-
| {{wikt-lang|goh|mahhōn}} || {{lang|gmh|machen}} || {{lang|de|machen}} || ''to make, do''
|-
| {{wikt-lang|goh|tag|taga}} || {{lang|gmh|tage}} || {{lang|de|Tage}} || ''days''
|-
| {{wikt-lang|goh|dër|dëmu}} || {{lang|gmh|dëm(e)}} || {{lang|de|dem}} || ''to the''
|}
(The New High German forms of these words are broadly the same as in Middle High German.)

===Consonants===
{{Main|High German consonant shift}}
The main difference between Old High German and the [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic dialects]] from which it developed is that the former underwent the [[High German consonant shift|Second Sound Shift]]. The result of the sound change has been that the [[consonant]]al system of [[German language|German]] is different from all other West Germanic languages, including [[English language|English]] and [[Low German]]. The shift applied to different extents onto various dialects, added to other interdialectal variations, this makes a single "High German" system and precise articulations details thereabout difficult to reconstruct.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! colspan='2' | &nbsp;
! [[labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[dorsal consonant|Dorsal]]
! [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan='2' | [[plosive consonant|Plosive]]<small>{{ref|fortis-lenis|6}}</small>
! <small>[[Fortis and lenis|Lenis]]</small>
| b
| d
| &nbsp;
|  ɡ
| rowspan='2' | &nbsp;
|-
! <small>[[Fortis and lenis|Fortis]]</small>
| p
| &nbsp;
| t
| {{IPAslink|k}} {{angbr|c, k}} 
|-
! [[affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[Fortis and lenis|Fortis]]</small>
| {{IPAslink|p͡f}} {{angbr|ph, pf}}
| rowspan='2' | {{IPAslink|θ}} {{angbr|th}}{{ref|th|7}}
| {{IPAslink|t͡s}} {{angbr|tz, z}}
| ({{IPAslink|k͡x}} {{angbr|ch}}){{ref|ch|8}}
| &nbsp;
|-
! rowspan='2' | [[fricative consonant|Fricative]]<small>{{ref|fortis-lenis|6}}</small>
! <small>[[Fortis and lenis|Fortis]]</small>
| f 
| {{IPAslink|s}} {{angbr|ȥ}}{{ref|curly-z|9}}
| {{IPAslink|x}}{{ref|Ich-laut|10}} {{angbr|ch, h}}
| &nbsp;
|-
! <small>[[Fortis and lenis|Lenis]]</small>
| v
| &nbsp;
| {{angbr|s}} {{IPAslink|s̠}}{{ref|lenis s|11}}
| &nbsp;
| h
|-
! rowspan='3' | [[Sonorant]]
! Modal
| {{IPAslink|w}} {{angbr|w, uu}}
| &nbsp;
| r
| {{IPAslink|j}} {{angbr|j, i}}
| rowspan='3' | &nbsp;
|-
! [[lateral consonant|Lateral]]
| &nbsp;
| style="border-right:none;" | &nbsp;
| style="border-left:none;" | l
| &nbsp;
|-
! [[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| m
| style="border-right:none;" | &nbsp;
| style="border-left:none;border-right:none;" | n
| style="border-left:none;" |{{IPAblink|ŋ}} {{angbr|ng}}
|}
Notes:
: {{note label|fortis-lenis|6}} [[obstruent consonant|Obstruents]] appeared in [[Fortis and lenis|fortis/lenis]] pairs. The realisation of this contrast probably varied across dialect.
: {{note label|th|7}} {{IPA|/θ/}} changes to {{IPA|/d/}} in all dialects during the 9th century. The status in the Old High German ''Tatian'' ({{Circa|830}}), as is reflected in modern Old High German dictionaries and glossaries, is that {{angbr|th}} is found in initial position and {{angbr|d}} in other positions.
: {{note label|ch|8}} {{IPA|/k͡x/}} was confined to Upper Alemanic and Bavarian varieties.
: {{note label|curly-z|9}} A [[geschwänztes Z|curly-tailed ''z'']] {{angbr|''[[ȥ]]''}} is sometimes used in modern grammars and dictionaries to indicate the alveolar fricative that arose from [[Common Germanic]] ''t'' in the [[High German consonant shift]]. That distinguishes it from the alveolar affricate, which represented as ''z''. The distinction has no counterpart in the original manuscripts, except in the Old High German ''Isidor'', which uses ''tz'' for the affricate.
: {{note label|Ich-laut|10}} It is not clear whether Old High German {{IPA|/x/}} had acquired a palatalized allophone {{IPA|[ç]}} after front vowels, as is the case in Modern German.
: {{note label|lenis s|11}} The original Germanic fricative ''s'' was in writing usually clearly distinguished from the younger fricative ''z'' that evolved from the High German consonant shift. The sounds of both letters seem not to have merged before the 13th century. Since ''s'' later came to be pronounced {{IPA|/ʃ/}} before other consonants (as in ''Stein'' {{IPA|/ʃtaɪn/}}, ''Speer'' {{IPA|/ʃpeːɐ/}}, ''Schmerz'' {{IPA|/ʃmɛrts/}} (original ''smerz'') or the southwestern pronunciation of words like ''Ast'' {{IPA|/aʃt/}}), it seems safe to assume that the actual pronunciation of Germanic ''s'' was somewhere between {{IPA|[s]}} and {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, most likely about {{IPAblink|s̠}}, in all Old High German until late Middle High German. A word like ''swaz'' {{IPA|gloss}}, would thus never have been {{IPA|[swas]}} but rather {{IPA|[s̠was]}}, later (13th century) {{IPA|[ʃwas]}}, {{IPA|[ʃvas]}}.

Old High German distinguished long and short consonants. Double-consonant spellings indicate not a preceding short vowel, as they do in Modern German, but true consonant [[gemination]]. Double consonants found in Old High German include ''pp, bb, tt, dd, ck'' (for {{IPA|/kː/}}), ''gg, ff, ss, zz, hh, mm, nn, ll, rr.''

===Phonological developments===
This list has the sound changes that transformed [[West Germanic languages|Common West Germanic]] into Old High German but not the Late OHG changes that affected [[Middle High German]]:
* {{IPA|/ɣ/}}, {{IPA|/β/}} > {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/b/}} in all positions ({{IPA|/ð/}} > {{IPA|/d/}} already took place in West Germanic. Most but not all High German areas are subject to the change.)
** PwGmc *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|sibi}} > OHG ''sib'' (cf. {{langx|ang|sife}}), PwGmc *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|gestran}} > OHG ''gestaron'' (cf. OE ''ġeostran'', {{angbr|ġ}} representing a fricative {{IPA|/ʝ/}} )
* [[High German consonant shift]]: Inherited voiceless plosives are [[lenition|lenited]] into fricatives and affricates, and voiced fricatives are hardened into plosives and in some cases devoiced.
** Ungeminated post-vocalic {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, {{IPA|/k/}} spirantize intervocalically to {{IPA|/ff/}}, {{IPA|/ss/}}, {{IPA|/xx/}} and elsewhere to {{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/x/}}. Cluster {{IPA|/tr/}} is exempt. Compare OE ''slǣpan'' to OHG {{wikt-lang|goh|slafan|slāfan}}.
** Word-initially, after a resonant and when geminated, the same consonants affricatized to {{IPA|/pf/}}, {{IPA|/ts/}} and {{IPA|/kx/}}, OE ''tam'': OHG {{wikt-lang|goh|zam}}.
*** Spread of {{IPA|/k/}} > {{IPA|/k͡x/}} is geographically very limited and is not reflected in Modern Standard German.
** {{IPA|/b/}}, {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} are devoiced.
*** In what ultimately gave rise to Standard German, this applies to {{IPA|/d/}} in all positions but to {{IPA|/b/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} only when they are geminated. PwGmc *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|bruggju}} > ''brucca'' > ''Brücke'', but *{{wikt-lang|gmw-x-proto|leugan}} > ''liogan'' > ''lügen''.
* *''ē{{sub|2}}'' and *''ō'' are diphthongized into {{IPA|/ie/}} and {{IPA|/uo/}}, respectively.
* Proto-Germanic *''ai'' became ''ei'' except before {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/w/}} and word-finally, when it monophthongizes into ''ē'', which is also the reflex of unstressed *''ai''.
** Similarly, *''au'' > ''ō'' before {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/h/}} and all dentals; otherwise, *''au'' > ''ou''. PwGmc *''dauþu'' > OHG ''{{wikt-lang|goh|tōd}}'', but *''haubud'' > ''{{wikt-lang|goh|houbit}}''.
*** {{IPA|/h/}} refers there only to inherited {{IPA|/h/}} from PIE *''k'', not to the result of the consonant shift {{IPA|/x/}}, which is sometimes written as {{angbr|h}}.
* {{IPA|/eu/}} merges with {{IPA|/iu/}} under ''i''-umlaut and ''u''-umlaut but elsewhere is {{IPA|/io/}} (earlier {{IPA|/eo/}}). In [[Upper German]] varieties, it also becomes {{IPA|/iu/}} before labials and velars.
* {{IPA|/θ/}} fortifies to {{IPA|/d/}} in all German dialects.
* Initial {{IPA|/w/}} and {{IPA|/h/}} before another consonant are dropped.

==Morphology==
===Nouns===
{{Main|Old High German declension}}

===Verbs===
====Tense====
Germanic had a simple two-tense system, with forms for a [[present tense|present]] and [[preterite]]. These were inherited by Old High German, but in addition OHG developed three [[periphrasis|periphrastic tenses]]: the [[perfect tense|perfect]], [[pluperfect]] and [[future tense|future]].

The periphrastic past tenses were formed by combining the present or preterite of an [[auxiliary verb]] (''wësan'', ''habēn'') with the past participle. Initially the past participle retained its original function as an adjective and showed case and gender endings - for intransitive verbs the nominative, for transitive verbs the accusative.{{sfn|Schrodt|2004|pp=9–18}} For example:

<blockquote>
''After thie thö argangana warun ahtu taga'' ([[Tatian]], 7,1)<br />
"When eight days had passed", literally "After that then gone-by were eight days"<br />
Latin: ''Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo'' (Luke 2:21){{sfn|Kuroda|1999|p=90}}
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
''phīgboum habeta sum giflanzotan'' (Tatian 102,2)<br />
"There was a fig tree that some man had planted", literally "Fig-tree had certain (''or'' someone) planted"<br />
Latin: ''arborem fici habebat quidam plantatam'' (Luke 13:6){{sfn|Kuroda|1999|p=52}}{{sfn|Wright|1888}}
</blockquote>

In time, however, these endings fell out of use and the participle came to be seen no longer as an adjective but as part of the verb, as in Modern German. This development is taken to be arising from a need to render [[Medieval Latin]] forms,{{sfn|Sonderegger|1979|p=269}} but parallels in other Germanic languages (particularly Gothic, where the Biblical texts were translated from Greek, not Latin) raise the possibility that it was an independent development.{{sfn|Moser|Wellmann|Wolf|1981|pp=82–84}}{{sfn|Morris|1991|pp=161–167}}

Germanic also had no future tense, but again OHG created periphrastic forms, using an auxiliary verb ''skulan'' (Modern German ''sollen'') and the infinitive, or ''werden'' and the present participle:
<blockquote>
''Thu scalt beran einan alawaltenden'' (Otfrid's Evangelienbuch I, 5,23)<br />
"You shall bear an almighty one"
<br />
''Inti nu uuirdist thu suigenti''' (Tatian 2,9)<br />
"And now you will start to fall silent"<br />
Latin: ''Et ecce eris tacens'' (Luke 1:20){{sfn|Sonderegger|1979|p=271}}
</blockquote>

The present tense continued to be used alongside these new forms to indicate future time (as it still is in Modern German).

====Conjugation====
The following is a sample [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugation]] of a strong verb, ''nëman'' "to take".

{| class="wikitable"
|+''nëman''
! colspan="2" |
! Indicative
! Subjunctive
! Imperative
|-
! rowspan="6" | Present
! 1st sg
| nimu || nëme || —
|-
! 2nd sg
| nimis (-ist) || nëmēs (-ēst) || nim
|-
! 3rd sg
| nimit || nëme || —
|-
! 1st pl
| nëmemēs (-ēn) || nëmemēs (-ēn) || nëmamēs, -emēs (-ēn)
|-
! 2nd pl
| nëmet || nëmēt || nëmet
|-
! 3rd pl
| nëmant || nëmēn || —
|-
! rowspan="6" | Past
! 1st sg
| nam || nāmi || —
|-
! 2nd sg
| nāmi || nāmīs (-īst) || —
|-
! 3rd sg
| nam || nāmi || —
|-
! 1st pl
| nāmumēs (-un) || nāmīmēs (-īn) || —
|-
! 2nd pl
| nāmut || nāmīt || —
|-
! 3rd pl
| nāmun || nāmīn || —
|-
! rowspan="2" | Gerund
! Genitive
| colspan="3" | nëmannes
|-
! Dative
| colspan="3" | nëmanne
|-
! rowspan="2" | Participle
! Present
| colspan="3" | nëmanti (-enti)
|-
!Past
| colspan="3" | ginoman
|}

===Personal pronouns{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|pp=331–336}}===
{| class="wikitable"
! width="80" align="center" | [[Number]]
! width="50" align="center" | [[Grammatical person|Person]]
! width="80" align="center" | [[Gender]]
! width="80" align="center" | [[Nominative]]
! width="80" align="center" | [[Genitive]]
! width="80" align="center" | [[Dative]]
! width="80" align="center" | [[Accusative]]
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[Grammatical number|Singular]]
| 1.
| &nbsp; || ih || mīn || mir || mih
|-
| 2.
| &nbsp; || dū || dīn || dir || dih
|-
| rowspan="3" | 3.
| Masculine || (h)er || (sīn) || imu, imo || inan, in
|-
| Feminine ||siu; sī, si || ira, iru || iro || sia
|-
| Neuter|| iz || es, is || imu, imo || iz
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[Plural]]
| 1.
| &nbsp; ||wir ||unsēr ||uns|| unsih
|-
| 2.
| &nbsp; || ir || iuwēr || iu || iuwih
|-
| rowspan="3" | 3.
| Masculine|| sie || iro || im, in || sie
|-
| Feminine || sio || iro || im, in || sio
|-
| Neuter || siu || iro || im, in || siu
|}

==Syntax==
Any description of OHG syntax faces a fundamental problem: texts translated from or based on a Latin original will be syntactically influenced by their source,{{sfn|Fleischer|Schallert|2011|p=35}} while the verse works may show patterns that are determined by the needs of rhyme and metre, or that represent literary archaisms.{{sfn|Fleischer|Schallert|2011|pp=49–50}} Nonetheless, the basic word order rules are broadly those of Modern [[Standard German]].{{sfn|Schmidt|2013|p=276}}

Two differences from the modern language are the possibility of [[pro-drop language|omitting a subject pronoun]] and lack of definite and indefinite [[article (grammar)|articles]]. Both features are exemplified in the start of the 8th century Alemannic [[Credo|creed]] from [[St Gall]]:{{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=12}} {{lang|de|kilaubu in got vater almahticun}} (Modern German, {{lang|de|'''Ich''' glaube an Gott '''den''' allmächtigen Vater}}; English "I believe in God the almighty father").{{sfn|Salmons|2012|p=161}}

By the end of the OHG period, however, use of a subject pronoun has become obligatory, while the definite article has developed from the original [[demonstrative pronoun]] ({{lang|de|der, diu, daz}}){{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|pp=338–339}} and the numeral {{lang|de|ein}} ("one") has come into use as an indefinite article.{{sfn|Braune|Heidermanns|2018|p=322}} These developments are generally seen as mechanisms to compensate for the loss of morphological distinctions which resulted from the weakening of unstressed vowels in the endings of nouns and verbs (see above).{{efn|who discusses the problems with this view. {{harv|Salmons|2012|p=162}}}}{{efn|"but more indirectly that previously assumed." {{harv|Fleischer|Schallert|2011|pp=206–211}}}}

==Texts==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2025}}{{Further|Old High German literature}}
The early part of the period saw considerable missionary activity, and by 800 the whole of the [[Frankish Empire]] had, in principle, been Christianized. All the manuscripts which contain Old High German texts were written in ecclesiastical [[scriptorium|scriptoria]] by [[scribe]]s whose main task was writing in Latin rather than German. Consequently, the majority of Old High German texts are religious in nature and show strong influence of [[ecclesiastical Latin]] on the vocabulary. In fact, most surviving prose texts are translations of Latin originals. Even secular works such as the {{lang|de|[[Hildebrandslied]]}} are often preserved only because they were written on spare sheets in religious [[codex|codices]].

The earliest Old High German text is generally taken to be the [[Abrogans]], a Latin–Old High German glossary variously dated between 750 and 780, probably from [[Vulgar Latin#Vocabulary|Reichenau]]. The 8th century [[Merseburg Incantations]] are the only remnant of [[Germanic paganism|pre-Christian]] German literature. The earliest texts not dependent on Latin originals would seem to be the {{lang|de|Hildebrandslied}} and the [[Wessobrunn Prayer]], both recorded in manuscripts of the early 9th century, though the texts are assumed to derive from earlier copies.

The Bavarian ''[[Muspilli]]'' is the sole survivor of what must have been a vast oral tradition. Other important works are the {{lang|de|Evangelienbuch}} ([[Diatessaron|Gospel harmony]]) of [[Otfrid of Weissenburg|Otfrid von Weissenburg]], the {{lang|de|[[Ludwigslied]]}} and the 9th century {{lang|de|[[Georgslied]]}}. The boundary to Early Middle High German (from {{circa|1050}}) is not clear-cut.

An example of Early Middle High German literature is the {{lang|de|[[Annolied]]}}.

==Example texts==
The [[Lord's Prayer]] is given in four Old High German dialects below. Because these are translations of a liturgical text, they are best not regarded as examples of idiomatic language, but they do show dialect variation very clearly.

{| cellpadding="5"
|+ '''Lord's Prayer'''
|- style="vertical-align: top"
! Latin version<br />(From ''Tatian''){{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=56}}

! Alemannic,<br />8th century<br />''The St Gall Paternoster''{{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=11}}
! South Rhine Franconian,<br />9th century<br />''Weissenburg Catechism''{{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=34}}
! East Franconian, {{circa|830}}<br />Old High German ''Tatian''{{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=56}}
! Bavarian,<br />early 9th century<br />Freisinger Paternoster{{sfn|Braune|Helm|Ebbinghaus|1994|p=34}}
|- style="vertical-align: top"
| |

<!-- Please do not "correct" the Latin - this is the version found in the OHG Tatian -->
{{Poetically break lines|margin=0|
Pater noster, qui in caelis es,
sanctificetur nomen tuum,
adveniat regnum tuum,
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in caelo, et in terra,
panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris,
et ne inducas nos in temptationem,
sed libera nos a malo.}}
|
{{Poetically break lines|margin=0|
Fat''er'' unseer, thu pist in himile,
uuihi namun dinan,
qhueme rihhi di<sup>i</sup>n,
uuerde uuillo di<sup>i</sup>n,
so in himile sosa in erdu.
prooth unseer emezzihic kip uns hiutu,
oblaz uns sculdi unsero,
so uuir oblazem uns skuldikem,
enti ni unsih firleiti in khorunka,
uzzer losi unsih fona ubile.}}
|
{{Poetically break lines|margin=0|
Fater unsēr, thu in himilom bist,
giuuīhit sī namo thīn.
quaeme rīchi thīn.
uuerdhe uuilleo thīn,
sama sō in himile endi in erthu.
Brooth unseraz emezzīgaz gib uns hiutu.
endi farlāz uns sculdhi unsero,
sama sō uuir farlāzzēm scolōm unserēm.
endi ni gileidi unsih in costunga.
auh arlōsi unsih fona ubile.}}
|
{{Poetically break lines|margin=0|
Fater unser, thū thār bist in himile,
sī geheilagōt thīn namo,
queme thīn rīhhi,
sī thīn uuillo,
sō her in himile ist, sō sī her in erdu,
unsar brōt tagalīhhaz gib uns hiutu,
inti furlāz uns unsara sculdi
sō uuir furlāzemēs unsarēn sculdīgōn,
inti ni gileitēst unsih in costunga,
ūzouh arlōsi unsih fon ubile.}}
|
{{Poetically break lines|margin=0|
Fater unser, du pist in himilum.
Kauuihit si namo din.
Piqhueme rihhi din,
Uuesa din uuillo,
sama so in himile est, sama in erdu.
Pilipi unsraz emizzigaz kip uns eogauuanna.
Enti flaz uns unsro sculdi,
sama so uuir flazzames unsrem scolom.
Enti ni princ unsih in chorunka.
Uzzan kaneri unsih fona allem sunton.}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Old High German literature]]
* [[Middle High German]]
* [[Old High German declension]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|22em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book| title = Lexikon der Germanistischen Linguistik | edition = 2nd rev.
 | editor1-last = Althaus | editor1-first = Hans Peter
 | editor2-last = Henne | editor2-first = Helmut
 | editor3-last = Weigand | editor3-first = Herbert Ernst
 | location = Tübingen
 | language = de
 | date = 1980
 | isbn = 3-484-10396-5
|publisher=Niemeyer
}}
*{{cite book| title = A Handbook on Old High German Literature | edition = 2nd
 | last = Bostock | first = J. Knight
 | editor1-last = King | editor1-first = K. C.
 | editor2-last = McLintock | editor2-first = D. R.
 | location = Oxford
 | url = https://archive.org/details/handbookonoldhig00bost | url-access = registration
 | date = 1976
 | isbn = 0-19-815392-9
|publisher=Clarendon Press
}}
*{{cite book| title = Althochdeutsches Lesebuch | edition = 17th
 | editor1-last = Braune | editor1-first = W.
 | editor2-last = Helm | editor2-first = K.
 | editor3-last = Ebbinghaus | editor3-first = E. A.
 | location = Tübingen
 | language = de
 | date = 1994
 | isbn = 3-484-10707-3
|publisher=M. Niemeyer
}}
*{{cite book| title = Historische Syntax des Deutschen: eine Einführung
 | last1 = Fleischer | first1 = Jürg
 | last2 = Schallert | first2 = Oliver
 | publisher = Narr | location = Tübingen
 | language = de
 | date = 2011
 | isbn = 978-3-8233-6568-6
}}
*{{cite book| title = Die germanischen Sprachen. Ihre Geschichte in Grundzügen
 | last = Hutterer | first = Claus Jürgen
 | publisher = Albus | location = Wiesbaden
 | language = de
 | date = 1999 | pages = 336–341
 | isbn = 3-928127-57-8
}}
*{{cite book| title = The German Language
 | last = Keller | first = Rudolf Ernst
 | publisher = Faber & Faber
 | location = London
 | date = 1978
 | isbn = 0-571-11159-9
}}
*{{cite book| title = Die historische Entwicklung der Perfektkonstruktionen im Deutschen
 | last = Kuroda | first = Susumu
 | publisher = Helmut Buske | location = Hamburg
 | language = de
 | date = 1999
 | isbn = 3-87548-189-5
}}
*{{cite web| title = OHTFRID'S LETTER TO LIUDBERT
 | last = Marchand | first = James | year = 1992
 | publisher = The Saint Pachomius Library
 | url = http://www.harbornet.com/folks/theedrich/hive/Medieval/Otfrid.htm
 | access-date = 9 April 2019
}}
*{{cite book| title = Einführung in das Althochdeutsche
 | last1 = Meineke | first1 = Eckhard
 | last2 = Schwerdt | first2 = Judith
 | publisher = Schöningh | location = Paderborn
 | language = de
 | series = UTB 2167
 | date = 2001
 | isbn = 3-8252-2167-9
}}
*{{cite conference| title = The Rise of Periphrastic Tenses in German: The Case Against Latin Influence
 | last = Morris | first = RL
 | veditors = Antonsen EH, Hock HH
 | publisher = John Benjamins | location = Amsterdam, Philadelphia
 | book-title = Stæfcraft. Studies in Germanic Linguistics
 | date = 1991
 | isbn = 90-272-3576-7
}}
*{{cite book| title = Geschichte der deutschen Sprache. 1: Althochdeutsch — Mittelhochdeutsch
 | last1 = Moser | first1 = Hans
 | last2 = Wellmann | first2 = Hans
 | last3 = Wolf | first3 = Norbert Richard
 | publisher = Quelle & Meyer | location = Heidelberg
 | language = de
 | date = 1981
 | isbn = 3-494-02133-3
}}
*{{cite book| title = Literatura medieval alemana
 | last = Parra Membrives | first = Eva
 | publisher = Síntesis | location = Madrid
 | language = es
 | date = 2002
 | isbn = 978-847738997-2
}}
*{{cite book| title = Lautsystem und Lautwandel in den althochdeutschen Dialekten
 | last = Penzl | first = Herbert
 | publisher = Hueber | location = Munich
 | language = de
 | date = 1971
}}
*{{cite book| title = Althochdeutsch: Eine Einführung in Dialekte und Vorgeschichte
 | last = Penzl | first = Herbert
 | publisher = Peter Lang | location = Bern
 | language = de
 | date = 1986
 | isbn = 3-261-04058-0
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia| title = Soziokulturelle Voraussetzungen und Sprachraum des Mittleniederdeutschen
 | last = Peters | first = Robert | year = 1985
 | encyclopedia = Sprachgeschichte. Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und ihrer Erforschung
 | veditors = Besch W, Reichmann O, Sonderegger S
 | publisher = Walter De Gruyter | location = Berlin, New York
 | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 1211–1220
 | language = de
 | isbn = 3-11-009590-4
}}
*{{cite book| title = Einwirkung des Christenthums auf die Althochdeutsche Sprache
 | last = von Raumer | first = Rudolf
 | location = Berlin
 | language = de
 | url = https://archive.org/details/dieeinwirkungde01raumgoog
 | date = 1851
| publisher = S.G.Liesching }}
*{{cite encyclopedia| title = Die Periodisierung der deutschen Sprachgeschichte
 | edition = 2nd
 | last = Roelcke | first = Thorsten | year = 1998
 | encyclopedia = Sprachgeschichte
 | veditors = Besch W, Betten A, Reichmann O, Sonderegger S
 | publisher = Walter De Gruyter | location = Berlin, New York
 | volume = 2 | issue = 1
 | pages = 798–815
 | language = de
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cq_SX4b_e9kC&pg=PA798
 | isbn = 3-11-011257-4
}}
*{{cite book| title = A History of German
 | last = Salmons | first = Joseph
 | publisher = Oxford University
 | date = 2012
 | isbn = 978-0-19-969794-6
}}
*{{cite book| title = Zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache | edition = 2nd
 | last = Scherer | first = Wilhelm | year = 1878
 | author-link = Wilhelm Scherer
 | publisher = Weidmann | location = Berlin
 | language = de
 | url = https://archive.org/details/zurgeschichtede02schegoog
}}
*{{cite book| title = Geschichte der deutschen Sprache | edition = 11th
 | last = Schmidt | first = Wilhelm
 | publisher = Hirzel | location = Stuttgart
 | language = de
 | date = 2013
 | isbn = 978-3-7776-2272-9
}}
*{{cite book| title = Althochdeutsche Sprache und Literatur | edition = 3rd
 | last = Sonderegger | first = S.
 | publisher = de Gruyter
 | language = de
 | date = 2003
 | isbn = 3-11-004559-1
}}
*{{cite book| title = Grundzüge deutscher Sprachgeschichte
 | last = Sonderegger | first = Stefan
 | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | location = Berlin, New York
 | volume = I
 | language = de
 | date = 1979
 | isbn = 3-11-017288-7
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia| title = Althochdeutsch
 | edition = 2nd
 | last = Sonderegger | first = Stefan | year = 1980
 | encyclopedia = Lexikon der Germanistischen Linguistik
 | veditors = Althaus HP, Henne H, Weigand HE
 | publisher = Niemeyer | location = Tübingen
 | volume = III | page = 571
 | language = de
 | isbn = 3-484-10391-4
}}
*{{cite book| title = German: A Linguistic History to 1945
 | last = Wells | first = C. J.
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | date = 1987
 | isbn = 0-19-815809-2
}}
*{{cite book| title = An Old High-German Primer
 | last = Wright | first = Joseph
 | publisher = Clarendon Press | location = Oxford
 | url = https://archive.org/details/anoldhighgerman01wriggoog
 | date = 1888
}}
{{refend}}

===Grammars===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book| title = Althochdeutsche Grammatik I: Laut- und Formenlehre | edition = 16th
 | last1 = Braune | first1 = Wilhelm
 | last2 = Heidermanns | first2 = Frank
 | publisher = De Gruyter | location = Berlin, Boston
 | language = de
 | series = Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte. A: Hauptreihe 5/1
 | date = 2018
 | isbn = 978-3-11-051510-7
}}
*{{cite book| title = Althochdeutsche Grammatik II: Syntax | edition = 15th
 | last = Schrodt | first = Richard
 | publisher = Niemeyer | location = Tübingen
 | language = de
 | date = 2004
 | isbn = 978-3-484-10862-2
}}
*{{cite book| title = An Old High German Primer | edition = 2nd
 | last = Wright | first = Joseph | year = 1906
 | publisher = Clarendon Press | location = Oxford
 | url = https://archive.org/details/oldhighgermanpri00wrigiala
}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20080924064956/http://www.alexmidd.co.uk/Marmaria/ohg/ohg_primer_contents.htm Online version]
{{refend}}

====Dialects====
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book| title = Altfränkische Grammatik
 | last = Franck | first = Johannes
 | publisher = Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht | location = Göttingen
 | language = de
 | url = https://archive.org/details/altfrnkischegram00fran
 | date = 1909
}}
*{{cite book| title = Altbairische Grammatik
 | last = Schatz | first = Josef
 | publisher = Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht | location = Göttingen
 | language = de
 | url = https://archive.org/details/altbairischegram00scha
 | date = 1907
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{wiktionary category}}
* [https://www.deutschdiachrondigital.de/ Referenzkorpus Altdeutsch] – Reference corpus of OHG texts
* Old High German texts (Bibliotheca Augustana)
** [https://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/d_saec08.html 8th century]
** [https://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/d_saec09.html 9th century]
** [https://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/d_saec10.html 10th century]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606014517/http://texte.mediaevum.de/ahd.htm Althochdeutsche Texte im Internet (8.–10. Jahrhundert)] – links to a range of online texts
* [http://paderborner-repertorium.de/ Paderborner Repertorium] Descriptions of all German MSS, 8th–12th century.
* [https://glossen.germ-ling.uni-bamberg.de BStK Online] – Database of OHG and Old Saxon Gloss Manuscripts
* [http://www.koeblergerhard.de/germanistischewoerterbuecher/althochdeutscheswoerterbuch/neuenglisch-ahd.pdf Modern English-Old High German dictionary]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pFUtlbCG3Q&list=PLRrn3JNG7gxIu2fC7kAIR-HvruPtVjVpj What is Old High German?] – [[YouTube]]

{{Germanic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Old High German| ]]
[[Category:German dialects]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 8th century]]
[[Category:Languages of Germany]]