Sachsprache

Sachsprache is a term used in historical Germanic linguistics to designate the branch of the West Germanic language family associated with the Saxons, a Germanic people who inhabited areas of present-day northern Germany and parts of the Low Countries. The label reflects a traditional grouping rather than a single modern language and is mainly encountered in older scholarly works.

The most clearly attested language in the Sachsprache is Old Saxon, also called Old Low German, spoken roughly from the 8th to the 12th centuries in regions such as Saxony, Westphalia, and nearby areas. In various classifications, scholars have debated whether other Low Franconian varieties (such as Old Dutch) belong to the Sachsprache or to a separate Low Franconian branch. As a result, the exact composition of Sachsprache varies across sources and eras.

In its historical usage, Sachsprache served as a convenient label for describing common linguistic developments observed among Saxon-speaking varieties and their neighbors, particularly in contrast to other West Germanic groups like the Anglian (Old English) and Frisian traditions. Modern descriptive linguistics tends to favor identifying specific languages—Old Saxon, Old Dutch, and related dialects—rather than grouping them under a single Sachsprache umbrella. Nevertheless, the term remains part of the historical narrative about West Germanic language diversification and the linguistic profile of early medieval Saxon-speaking communities.

See also: West Germanic languages, Old Saxon, Old Dutch, Old English, Frisian.