The High German languages are the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses, across central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and eastern Belgium, plus neighboring parts of France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as diaspora communities in Romania, Russia, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Namibia. Within West Germanic, High German is set apart from Low German and Low Franconian by the High German consonant shift, a sound change around AD 500 that turned consonants such as p into pf, t into ts and k into ch. The branch splits into Central German (Mitteldeutsch) and Upper German (Oberdeutsch) subdivisions.
Facts
RegionCentral and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and eastern Belgium, with neighboring portions of France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Poland, plus diaspora communities in Romania, Russia, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Namibia. 1 Proto-Language StatusNo single Proto-High German has ever been reconstructed. High German is a dialect continuum of adjoining varieties united by the High German consonant shift rather than descent from one identified common ancestor, and linguists dispute whether a strict tree diagram fits West Germanic at all. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: High German languages
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction, paragraph 1
comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses, i.e., in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and eastern Belgium, as well as in neighbouring portions of France (Alsace and northern Lorraine), Italy (South Tyrol), the Czech Republic (Bohemia), and Poland (Upper Silesia).
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there has never been an original "Proto-High German". For this and other reasons, the idea of representing the relationships between West Germanic language forms in a tree diagram at all is controversial among linguists.
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