The Entire History of German language in 6 Minutes

German today feels like one settled language, but it was assembled slowly, and mostly on paper before it was ever in anyone's mouth. This documentary follows the strange path from regional dialects divided by an ancient sound change, through monastery word-lists and the writing offices of rulers, to Martin Luther's Bible, the printing press, a committee of linguists and actors in 1898, and the spelling conference of 1901. Along the way we look at where scholars agree, where they still argue (how the sound shift spread, and how much credit Luther really deserves), and why Low German slipped out of daily prestige in the north. It closes in the present, with Standard German in Germany, Austria and Switzerland living alongside the dialects people still speak at home. What does it cost a language, or a person, to speak two Germans? If you grew up with a dialect, tell us which German you call your own.