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Low Saxon (Dutch: Nedersaksisch), also known as West Low German (German: Westniederdeutsch[2]) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two dialect groups, the other being East Low German.
| West Low German | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Germany, Netherlands, Southern Denmark |
| Speakers | Native: 300,000 (2016)[1] L2: 2.2 million[1] |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | nds for Low German |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:nds – (partial)wep – Westphalianfrs – Eastern Frisiangos – Groningsstl – Stellingwerfsdrt – Drentstwd – Twentsact – Achterhoekssdz – Sallandsvel – Veluws |
| Glottolog | west2357 |
 West Low German area in yellow. | |
The language area comprises the North German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia (the Westphalian part), Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt (the northwestern areas around Magdeburg) as well as the northeast of the Netherlands (i.e. Dutch Low Saxon, spoken in Groningen, Drenthe, Overijssel and northern Gelderland) and the Schleswigsch dialect spoken by the North Schleswig Germans in the southernmost part of Denmark.[3]
In the south the Benrath line and Uerdingen line isoglosses form the border with the area, where West Central German variants of High German are spoken.
While Dutch is a Low Franconian language, the Dutch Low Saxon varieties form a dialect continuum with Westphalian. They consist of:
A 2005 study found that there were approximately 1.8 million "daily speakers" of Low Saxon in the Netherlands. 53% spoke Low Saxon or Low Saxon and Dutch at home and 71% could speak it.[6][page needed] According to another study the percentage of speakers among parents dropped from 34% in 1995 to 15% in 2011. The percentage of speakers among their children dropped from 8% to 2% in the same period.[7]
