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Benrath line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In German linguistics, the Benrath line (German: Benrather Linie) is the maken-machen isogloss. It is traditionally used to distinguish the High German varieties from the other West Germanic languages. The Line runs from Benrath (part of Düsseldorf) and Aachen to eastern Germany near Frankfurt an der Oder in the area of Berlin and Magdeburg.
In the course of the High German consonant shift (3rd to 9th centuries AD), in the first three phases of which the Low German dialects did not participate, the Southern varieties of the West Germanic dialect continuum were affected. The impact of the High German consonant shift increases gradually to the South. In the northernmost High German varieties, only some words are affected.
The Benrath line does not mark the northernmost effect of the High German consonant shift, since the Uerdingen line, the ik-ich isogloss, expands even further north.
In the second half of the 20th century, the eastern end of the Benrath line has moved northwards, since parts of Brandenburg state have adopted Berlin dialect or variants influenced by it.