Editing German language (section)

===Middle High German===
{{Main|Middle High German}}

While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the [[Middle High German]] (MHG) period, it is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350.{{sfn|Waterman|1976|p=83}} This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the [[Elbe]] and [[Saale]] rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into [[Slavs|Slavic]] territory (known as the ''{{Lang|de|[[Ostsiedlung]]}}''). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature.{{sfn|Waterman|1976|p=83}} <!--The following citation needs to be checked, if this source can be used otherwise. Check me: <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/Ling450ch/reports/german.html|title=A Brief History of the German Language|last=Alder|first=Aaron D.|website=linguistics.byu.edu|access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> --> A clear example of this is the ''{{Lang|de|mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache}}'' employed in the [[Hohenstaufen]] court in [[Swabia]] as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to a greater need for regularity in written conventions.

While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. [[Vowel breaking|diphthongization]] of certain vowel sounds: ''{{Lang|goh|hus}}'' (OHG & MHG "house")''→{{Lang|gmh|haus}} (regionally in later MHG)→{{Lang|de|Haus}}'' (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to [[schwa]] [ə]: ''{{Lang|goh|taga}}'' (OHG "days")→''{{Lang|gmh|tage}}'' (MHG)).{{sfn|Salmons|2012|p=195}}

A great wealth of texts survives from the MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the {{lang|de|[[Nibelungenlied]]}}, an [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] telling the story of the [[dragon]]-slayer [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] ({{circa|thirteenth century}}), and the ''[[Iwein]]'', an [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] verse poem by [[Hartmann von Aue]] ({{Circa|1203}}), [[Lyric poetry|lyric poems]], and courtly romances such as ''[[Parzival]]'' and ''[[Tristan]]''. Also noteworthy is the ''{{Lang|de|[[Sachsenspiegel]]}}'', the first book of laws written in [[Middle Low German|Middle ''Low'' German]] ({{Circa|1220}}). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms.

The Middle High German period is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 [[Black Death]] decimated Europe's population.{{sfn|Scherer|Jankowsky|1995|p=11}}