History of German
The appearance of the German language begins in the Early Middle Ages with the High German consonant shift. Old High German, Middle High German, and Early New High German span the duration of the Holy Roman Empire. The 19th and 20th centuries saw the rise of Standard German and a decrease of dialectal variety.
This article is about the history and evolution of the German language. For the history of the German people, see Germans. For the history of the German culture, see culture of Germany.