Reginheim

Example texts:

To give you an impression of the spelling, grammar, and other features of old and modern Germanic languages I have decided to include this page on which I will give some information and examples of Germanic languages.
Unfortunately I have not (yet) been able to include sound files to give accurate examples but most of the pronounciations of old languages can be compared to their modern successors.
Furthermore, most written examples are Paternosters (the "our father" prayer), this is not because I'm such a devoted Christian but because many old Germanic languages have been preserved in religious texts, the similarities between the texts also allow comparison.
The verb I have used in the various grammar examples is "to be", the example "you are" appears twice, the first "you" refers to one person and the second "you" refers to multiple persons.

Proto-Germanic:
No written accounts remain of this language, Proto-Germanic is a reconstructed language that is believed to have been the root language that was spoken before the separation into north, east, and west.
Just like Proto-Indo-European and other reconstructed languages Proto-Germanic words are often written with an * preceding the actual word, which is a symbol that points to a reconstructed word.
Some people do not acknowledge Proto-Germanic as a real language because theoretically it can not be proven that it was actually spoken in this form, personally I think that the linguisticians who reconstructed Proto-Germanic did a mighty fine job and that their reconstruction very closely approaches the authentical root language that must have been spoken, therefor I will not hesitate to use Proto-Germanic example words on this site.
Most of their research was based on comparing modern Germanic languages to eachother and even more on the older known languages, we do have some written accounts of languages that are very closely related to the root language like Gothic and Runic Swedish and since many of the oldest Germanic languages almost used the same words it is safe to assume that the proto-language must have had those words too in some form or another, if one simply uses some morphology rules the original root word can easily be reconstructed, it's like the ruin of a castle; you don't see the castle anymore but when there are foundations of its walls and some collapsed towers you can still know it was a castle, some linguisticians even told me that Proto-Germanic is the most easy language to reconstruct compared to other languages like Proto-Indo-European.
I have written down a sentence in Proto-Germanic to show what it would have looked like:

Segufriþuz nemiþi sinaz swerdam andi slahiþi sa drako.
Siegfried takes his sword and slays the dragon.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are	Present: ek im þu is iz ist wiz ezum iuz ezuþ si sind

At the moment I am still studying Proto-Germanic so I hope to write some more detailed information in the future.

Eastern Germanic:
One of the oldest known written sources of Germanic languages is the Wulfila bible from the 4th century AD, which gives an interesting example of the eastern Germanic languages, especially Gothic.
The Eastern Germanic languages were (among other changes) characterized by a change of the -az endings into -s endings (for example; "stainaz" became "stains" = stone)
There are no modern descendants of Eastern Germanic.

Northern Germanic:
The Northern Germanic languages were characterized by the loss of the -z endings behind words, for instance the assumed proto-Germanic word "dagaz" (day) became "daga", later the entire -az ending was lost and replaced by an -r in Old Norse ("daga" became "dagr" for instance)
The initial W- before a word was also left out in most Northern Germanic dialects (wunjo > unja, wurdiz > urd, wulfaz > ulfr, Wodan > Odin).
Northern Germanic is the ancestor of modern Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Färöese, as well as various dialects, after some time the northern Germanic language broke up into several dialects, eventually Old Norse became the most important and was later divided into east (Danish and Swedish) and west (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Färöese), Norwegian is divided into Bokmål, which is older and originates from a Danish dialect, and Nynorsk ("new Norwegian"), which is a more modern form that originates from Norwegian dialects.

The oldest Germanic language of which we have written examples is believed to be an early dialect of northern Germanic, in Scandinavia this language is called "Urnordiska" (Ancient Nordic), it was still very close to the original Proto-Germanic language and has been very useful in linguistical studies.

An example of ancient Nordic is the runic inscription of Stenmagle, Denmark:

"Hagiradaz tawide", which means: Hagiradaz (a personal name) made this.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ek æm þu æst han ær vir ærum ir ærin þæir æru Past: ek was þu wast han was vir warum ir warin þæir waru

Western Germanic:
This dialect was eventually separated into Low German and High German which I have already described here.
Many modern languages originate from western Germanic as well as many dialects, the colonial times have also caused Germanic languages to spread to far-away areas where native languages were replaced by the language of the colonists, this resulted in new dialects like Pennsylvanian German, American English, Black English, and Australian English.
The oldest form of the western Germanic language can be found in runic writings that have mainly been found along the Northsea coast and in southern Germany, Just like Northern Germanic the early Western Germanic language is characterized by the loss of the -z ending, eventually the entire -az ending was lost. (dagaz > daga > dag)

Eastern Germanic languages:

Gothic:
Gothic was spoken by the Goths, it was an eastern Germanic dialect that was formed in eastern Europe by migrating Goths who settled in the area east of the river Vistula (eastern Prussia), which they called "Gothiskandza" (Gothic Scandinavia), from there they travelled further into Europe, which caused their language to spread to the new areas they settled in.
The Gothic language is nowadays extinct but much of it has survived in the Gothic bible translation of Wulfila from the 4th century AD (Codex Argenteus or "Silver Bible") just like the Goths the Gothic language has been divided into an eastern and western form during the Great Migrations, a dialect of eastern Gothic has managed to stay alive for centuries on the Crimean Peninsula in modern Ukraine where it has been spoken until the 16th century AD by descendants of the Goths.

Example text: (The "our father" prayer in Gothic)
Atta unsar þu in himinam,
weihnai namo þein.
qimai þiudinassus þeins.
wairþai wilja þeins,
swe in himina jah ana airþai.
hlaif unsarana þana sinteinan
gif uns himma daga.
jah aflet uns þatei skulans sijaima,
swaswe jah weis afletam
þaim skulam unsaraim.
jah ni briggais uns
in fraistubnjai,
ak lausei uns af þamma ubilin.
unte þeina ist þiudangardi
jah mahts jah wulþus in aiwins amen.

Literal translation:
Father our you in (the) heavens,
hallowed (be) name your.
come kingdom yours.
become will yours,
like in (the) heaven also on (the) earth.
bread us the daily
give us this day.
and forgive us that debtors we are,
like also we forgive
the debtors ours.
and not may you bringing us
in temptation,
but release us from the evil.
and yours is (the) empire
and might and glory in eternity amen.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ik wisa þu wisis is wisiþ weis wisam jus wisiþ eis wisand Present perfect: ik wisau þu wisais is wisai weis wisaima jus wisaiþ eis wisaina Past: ik was þu wast is was weis wêsum jus wêsuþ eis wêsun

Langobardic:
Langobardic (or Lombardic) was an eastern Germanic language that was spoken by the Langobardians who settled in northern Italy in the 6th century AD.
Some linguisticians believe that Langobardic was influenced by the High German sound shift, which only happened to certain western Germanic dialects, it is possible that the Langobardians in northern Italy had contacts with western Germanic tribes in southern Germany (via trade for example), after some time the Langobardic language became extinct.

Northern Germanic languages:

Old Norse:
Old Norse is the language that was spoken by the Vikings, most modern northern Germanic languages originate from Old Norse in one way or the other and since most of the Eddas and sagas have been written in Old Norse it is one of the most studied extinct Germanic languages.
The modern languages Icelandic and Färöese are still very close to Old Norse and most Icelanders can even read Old Norse without much difficulties.

Example of Old Norse (Poetic Edda; Völuspá)
3. Ár var alda, þat er Ymir bygði, vara sandr né sær né svalar unnir; jörð fannsk æva né upphiminn, gap var ginnunga, enn gras hvergi.	3. Old was the age when Ymir lived; Sea nor cool waves nor sand there were; Earth had not been, nor heaven above, But a yawning gap, and grass nowhere

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ek em þú ert hann er vér erum þér eruð þeir eru Past: ek var þú vart hann var vér várum þér váruð þeir váru

Danish:
Danish is spoken by an estimated 5.500.000 people and is the official language of Denmark.
Example of the paternoster in Danish:

Vor Fader, du som er i Himlene
Helliget vorde dit navn;
komme dit rige;
ske din vilje
på jorden, som den sker i Himmelen;
giv os i dag vort daglige brød;
og forlad os vor skyld,
som også vi forlader vore skyldnere;
og led os ikke ind i fristelse;
men fri os fra det onde;

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: jeg er du er han er vi er I er de er Present Perfect: jeg har været du har været han har været vi har været I har været de har været Past: jeg var du var han var vi var I var de var

Färöese:
Färöese is spoken by an estimated 50.000 people; most of them are inhabitants of the Färöer islands.
The language is related to Old Norse and Danish and is the official language on the islands.
Example of the paternoster in Färöese:

Faðir okkara,
Tú, sum ert í Himli
Heilagt verði navn Títt
Komi ríki Títt
Verði vilji Tín,
sum í Himli, so á jørðini við
Gev okkum í dag dagliga breyð okkara
Fyrigev okkum skuldir okkara,
sum eisini vit fyrigeva skuldarum okkara.
Leið okkum ikki í freistingar,
men frels okkum frá illum
Tí Títt er ríkið og valdið, Tín er heiðurin, í allar ævir, amen.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: eg eri tú ert hann er vit eru tit eru teir eru Past: eg var tú varst hann var vit vóru tit vóru teir vóru

Gutnish:
Gutnish is a dialect that is spoken by an estimated 50.000 people on the island of Gotland, it is sometimes incorrectly considered to be a Swedish dialect but actually it is a separate dialect that descends from much older languages.
Unfortunately I have not been able to find a written example of this language yet.

Icelandic:
Icelandic is spoken by an estimated 250.000 people, it is related to Old Norse and has known so little change over the centuries that it can easily be called a modernized version of Old Norse.
Example of the paternoster in Icelandic:

Faðir vor, þú sem er á himnum.
Helgist þitt nafn, til komi þitt ríki,
verði þinn vilji, svo á jörðu sem á himni.
Gef oss í dag vort daglegt brauð.
Fyrirgef oss vorar skuldir,
svo sem vér og fyrirgefum
vorum skuldunautum.
Og eigi leið þú oss í freistni,
heldur frelsa oss frá illu.
Því að þitt er ríkið, mátturinn og dýrðin
að eilífu amen.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ég er þú ert hann er við erum þið eruð þeir eru Present perfect: ég hef verið þú hefur verið hann hefur verið við höfum verið þið hafið verið þeir hafa verið Past: ég var þú varst hann var við vorum þið voruð þeir voru

Norwegian:
Norwegian is being spoken by an estimated 5.500.000 people, it is divided into Bokmål and Nynorsk.
Roughly said; Bokmål, also known as Riksmål is a Danish dialect while Nynorsk is based on the original Norwegian dialects.
Example of the paternoster in Norwegian Bokmål:

Fader vår, du som er i himmelen
La ditt navn holdes hellig.
La ditt rike komme.
La din vilje skje på jorden
som i himmelen.
Gi oss i dag vårt daglige brød.
Forlat oss vår skyld,
som vi òg forlater våre skyldnere.
Led oss ikke inn i fristelse,
men frels oss fra det onde.
For riket er ditt, og makten og æren i evighet. Amen.

Example of the paternoster in Norwegian Nynorsk:

Fader vår, du som er i himmelen
Lat namnet ditt helgast.
Lat riket ditt koma.
Lat viljen råda på jorda
så som i himmelen.
Gje oss i dag vårt daglege brød.
Forlat oss vår skuld
som me òg forlet våre skuldmenn.
Før oss ikkje inn i freisting,
men frels oss frå det onde.
For riket er ditt og makta i all æve. Amen.

Grammar: (Norwegian Bokmål )
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: jeg er du er han er vi er dere er de er Present perfect: jeg har vært du har vært han har vært vi har vært dere har vært de har vært Past: jeg var du var han var vi var dere var de var

Swedish:
Swedish is spoken by an estimated 10.000.000 people and is the official language of Sweden.
It is also spoken in the coastal regions of Finland that once belonged to Sweden as the province of Finnmark.
Example of the paternoster in Swedish:

Vår fader, du som är i himlen.
Låt ditt namn bli helgat.
Låt ditt rike komma.
Låt din vilja ske,
på jorden så som i himlen.
Ge oss i dag vårt bröd för dagen som kommer.
Och förlåt oss våra skulder,
liksom vi har förlåtit dem som står i skuld till oss.
Och utsätt oss inte för prövning,
utan rädda oss från det onda.
Ditt är riket. Din är makten och äran i evighet. amen.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: jag är du är han är vi är ni är de är Present perfect: jag har varit du har varit han har varit vi har varit ni har varit de har varit Past: jag var du var han var vi var ni var de var

Western Germanic languages:

Old Saxon:
Old Saxon was spoken in western Germany and eastern Netherlands, it is very representative for the early western Germanic language and has not been changed by the High German sound, the English language has also been derived from Old Saxon.BR> (As a sidenote; the "w" was written as a "uu" in most western Germanic languages)
Example of the paternoster in Old Saxon:

Fadar ûsa firiho barno,
thu bist an them hôhon himila rîkea,
geuuîhid sî thîn namo uuordo gehuuilico.
Cuma thîn craftag rîki.
Uuerða thîn uuilleo obar thesa uuerold alla,
sô sama an erðo, sô thar uppa ist
an them hôhon himilo rîkea.
Gef ûs dago gehuuilikes râd, drohtin the gôdo,
thîna hêlaga helpa, endi alât ûs, hebenes uuard,
managoro mênsculdio, al sô uue ôðrum mannum dôan.
Ne lât ûs farlêdean lêða uuihti
sô forð an iro uuilleon, sô uui uuirðige sind,
ac help ûs uuiðar allun ubilon dâdiun.

Translation:

Father ours, the sons of men,
You are in the high heavenly kingdom,
Blessed be Your name in every word.
May Your mighty kingdom come.
May Your will be done over all this world
just the same on earth as it is up there
in the high heavenly kingdom.
Give us support each day, good Chieftain,
Your holy help, and pardon us, Protector of Heaven,
our many crimes, just as we do to other human beings.
Do not let evil little creatures lead us off
to do their will, as we deserve,
but help us against all evil deeds.

East Franconian:
This language was spoken near the river Main in Germany, nowadays only some dialects of it remain.
Example of the paternoster in east Franconian:

Fater unser thû thâr bist in himile
sî geheilagôt thîn namo
queme thîn rîhhi
sî thîn willo sô her in himile ist sô sî her in erdu
unsar brôt tagalîhhaz gib uns hiutu
inti furlâz uns unsara sculdi
sô wir furlâzemês unsarên sculdîgôn
inti ni gileitêst unsih in costunga
ûzouh arlôsi unsih fon ubile

Rhine Franconian:
This language was spoken (oh surprise) in the Rhineland.
Just like east Franconian only some dialects of it remain today.
Example of the paternoster in Rhine Franconian:

fater unsêr thû in himilom bist
giwîhit sî namo thîn
quaeme rîchi thîn
werdhe willeo thîn sama sô in himile endi in erthu
broot unseraz emezzîgaz gib uns hiutu
endi farlâz uns sculdhi unsero sama
sô wir farlâzzêm scolôm unserêm
endi ni geleidi unsih in constunga
auh arlôsi unsih fona ubile

Dutch:
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands, the northern part of Belgium (Flanders), in a small part of France (near Calais), and in some former Dutch colonies.
I estimate that it is spoken by somewhere around 22.500.000 people, Dutch is called "Flemish" in Belgium after the area of Flanders, the English word "Dutch" is derived from "Dietsch", which means "German" (Deutsch) in Low German, both Dietsch and Deutsch are derived from Proto-Germanic "Þeudo" (folk, tribe).
Dutch has evolved from a western Germanic dialect (Low Franconian), unlike German and Frisian which have directly evolved from the western Germanic language; most of the Dutch language has descended from the Low Franconian dialects that were spoken in the economically and culturally dominant provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland though it also has traces of western Germanic languages like Saxon and Frisian.
Originally Dutch had so much in common with German that it was considered to be a Low German dialect but eventually it changed in such a way that it can now be considered an individual language, though the Dutch and the Germans can still understand eachothers language without much difficulties.
I have seen several versions of the Dutch paternoster, this is the one I once learned at school, it is in modern Dutch but there are some old Dutch words mixed through it.
Example of the paternoster in Dutch:

Onze Vader die in de hemelen zijt,
uw naam worde geheiligd,
uw koninkrijk kome,
uw wil geschiede,
gelijk op aarde als zo ook in de hemel.
Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood,
en vergeef ons onze schulden,
zoals ook wij vergeven onze schuldenaren.
En leid ons niet in verzoeking,
maar verlos ons van de boze.
Want van u is het koninkrijk,
de kracht, en de heerlijkheid, tot den eeuwigheid. amen.

Translation:

Our Father who in the heavens is,
your name will be holied,
your kingdom come,
your will happens,
equal on earth as so too in the heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
like too we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not in temptation,
but redeem us from the evil one.
Because from you is the kingdom,
the strength, and the bliss, till the eternity. Amen.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ik ben jij bent hij is wij zijn jullie zijn zij zijn Present perfect: ik ben geweest jij bent geweest hij is geweest wij zijn geweest jullie zijn geweest zij zijn geweest Past: ik was jij was hij was wij waren jullie waren zij waren

Example of old Dutch:
This is the oldest known text that was written in Dutch, it's a poem that was found on the cover of a book;
(Translation © Ansuharijaz 2003)

Old Dutch:
Hebban olla uogala
nestas hagunnan
hinsae hic enda thu
wat unbidan we nu

Literal translation in modern Dutch: Hebben alle vogels nesten begonnen behalve ik en jij wat weerhoud we nu	Normal translation in modern Dutch: Alle vogels zijn begonnen aan hun nesten. Behalve jij en ik, Wat weerhoud ons nog?
Literal translation in modern English: Have all birds nests begun except I and you what keeps we now	Normal translation in modern English: All birds have begun nesting. Except you and me, what is keeping us?

Afrikaans:
Afrikaans is a language that is mainly spoken by descendants of European colonists in South Africa, it originates from 17th century Dutch mixed with English, Malayan, and native African languages.
Dutch speaking people can understand big parts of this language because most of it is old-fashioned Dutch.
Example of the paternoster in Afrikaans:

Ons Vader wat in die hemel is,
laat u Naam geheilig word;
laat u koninkryk kom;
laat u wil ook op die aarde geskied,
net soos in die hemel.
Gee ons vandag
ons daaglikse brood;
en vergeef ons ons oortredings
soos ons ook dié vergewe
wat teen ons oortree;
en laat ons nie in die versoeking kom nie
maar verlos ons van die Bose.

Translation:

Our Father what in that heaven is,
let you name holied be,
let you kingdom come,
let you will too on that earth happened,
just so-as in that heaven.
Give us today,
our daily bread;
and forgive us us infringements
so-as us too those forgive
what that-one us infringed;
and let us not in the temptation come not,
but redeem us from that evil one.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ek is jy is hy is ons is julle is hulle is Present perfect: ek is gewees jy is gewees hy is gewees ons is gewees julle is gewees hulle is gewees Past: ek was jy was hy was ons was julle was hulle was

Frisian:
Frisian (Frysk) is spoken by around 452.000 people, mainly in the Dutch province of Friesland (Frisia), in some parts of northern Germany, and on some Danish islands.
There are several Frisian dialect groups of which western Frisian and eastern Frisian are the most important, eastern Frisian is mainly spoken in the German province of Ostfriesland but it has been heavily influenced by Low Saxon dialects there, western Frisian is spoken in the Dutch province of Friesland where it is the official language together with Dutch, Northern Frisian is spoken on some Danish islands and on the German island of Helgoland.
The strongest position of the Frisian language is in the Dutch province of Friesland, which is called Fryslân by the Frisians, the province has 640.000 inhabitants of whom around 440.000 speak Frisian, in the Netherlands the Frisian language has received the status of an official language, the placenames in Friesland are in both Dutch and Frisian and Frisian municipalities are even allowed to write their official documents in Frisian.
Frisian is related to English but has also undergone much influence from Dutch and Low German.
Example of the paternoster in West Frisian:

Us Heit yn 'e himel,
lit jo namme hillige wurde,
lit jo keninkryk komme,
Lit jo wil dien wurde
op ierde likegoed as yn 'e himel.
Jou ús hjoed ús deistich brea
en ferjou ús ús skulden
sa't wy ús skuldners ek ferjûn hawwe;
en lit ús net yn fersiking komme,
mar ferlos ús fan 'e kweade;
want jowes is it keninkryk
en de krêft en de hearlikheid oant yn ivichheid. Amen.

Translation:

Our Father in the heaven,
let your name holied be,
let your kingdome come,
let your will yours become
On earth like-good as in the heaven.
You us give our daily bread
and forgive us us debts
so-as we us debtors also forgiven have;
and let us not in temptation come,
but release us from the evil;
because yours is it kingdom
and the power and the bliss until in eternity. Amen.

Example of the paternoster in North Frisian from Helgoland:

Heeregot, ii Foor,
dear Di bes uun'e Hemmel!
Haili skel wees Diin Neem.
Diin Rik lat keem,
Diin Wel skel djülle uun'e Hemmel en iip'e lir.
Li doagelik Brooad du is dollung, en ferdjiuw is ii Skül,
as wi ferdjiuw wel din'n uun ii Skül stun.
En feere is ni wech fan Diin Wai.
Foor moake is frai fan Büsterkens!
Amen.

Translation (beware of errors):

Lord-god, you First,
there You be in-the Heaven!
Holy shall be Your Name.
Your Empire let come,
Your will shall happen in-the Heaven and on-the earth.
Your daily Bread you is given, en forgive us our Guilds,
as we forgive all those-who in our Guilds stand.
And fare us not away from Your Way.
For we are free from Evil-One!
Amen.

Anglo-Saxon:
Anglo-Saxon (which is also called Old English) was spoken by the Germanic settlers on the British isles, it is the ancestor of modern English and closely related to Frisian, Old Saxon, and other western Germanic languages.
Example of the paternoster in Anglo-Saxon:

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice.

English
With an estimated 450.000.000 speakers English is one of the most spoken languages in the world, it originates from Anglo-Saxon but has undergone much influence from French and various other languages.
It is a bit unnecessary to give an example since this entire website is in English but because I'm a stubborn person I will do it anyway.
Example of the paternoster in English:

Our Father in Heaven,
let your holy name be known,
let your kingdom come,
and your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today the bread that we need,
and forgive us our wrongs,
as we forgive those
who have done wrong to us.
Do not lead us into trial,
but save us from evil.

Scots:
Scots was spoken in (guess?) Scotland, it developed from a northern Anglo-Saxon dialect and eventually became incomprehensible to other English speakers, nowadays a modernized dialect of Scots is still being spoken in some parts of Scotland.
Example of the paternoster in Scots:

Our Faither in heiven,
hallowt be thy name;
thy K'ngdom come;
thy will be dune
on the yird, as in heiven.
G'e us our breid for this incomin day;
forg'e us the wrangs we hae wrocht,
as we hae forg'en the wrangs we hae dree'd;
an sey-us-na sairlie, but sauf us
frae the Ill Ane.

Low German:
Modern Low German, also known as Dietsch, Duuts, Plat, or Platt Düütsch (Flat-German), can be divided into Low Saxon (Nether-Saxon) and Low Franconian (Nether-Franconian) and is nowadays spoken by an estimated 12.000.000 people in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands, though this is only the amount of the people who speak it in a pure form since there are many more people who combine the official language (Dutch or German) with Low German words and pronounciations.
Officially Dutch and its descendant languages are also a part of the Low German language group but I have decided to limit my description of Low German to the Low Saxon group and create separate descriptions for Dutch and other Low Franconian dialects.
There are many variations of Low German, the example I use here is a Low German dialect from Nethersaxony (also known as Nedersaksen or Niedersachsen) in Germany.
Example of the paternoster in Low German (Niedersächsisch):

Unse Vader in'n Himmel
Mak din Nam herrli un hillig ock bi uns
Help du uns ock dorto, dat du gans unse Herr warst
Din Will schall dörchstahn bi uns up de Eer
grad so as bi di in'n Himmel
Giff uns vundag dat Brod, dat wi hüt nödi hebbt
Un denn vergiff uns unse Schulden,
grad so as wi vergewen hebbt de Minschen,
de uns wat schülli sünd.
Un help dorto, dat wi nich to Fall kamt
Ja, mak uns frie un redd uns vun dat Böse

Translation:

Our Father in the Heaven
Make your Name blissfull and holy also by us
Help you us also there, that you everywhere our Lord were
Your Will shall persevere by us on the Earth
just so as by you in the Heaven
Give us today that Bread, that we now need have
And then forgive us our Debts,
just so as we forgiven have the Humans,
who us what debt are.
And help there, that we not to Fall come
Yes, make us free and save us from that Evil

I shall now write down a translation of the Dutch paternoster into Achterhoeks, the dialect spoken the area where I live, keep in mind that I have no idea how the words are spelled or whether this is official Achterhoeks or just a local (corrupted) variation of it.
By the way; the oa is pronounced as an å (like in Swedish Århus) and the oe is pronounced as German u or English oo (like in English zoo).
Example of the paternoster in Low Saxon (Achterhoeks):

Ûnse foader die in d'n hèmmel'n sied,
Oew noam wûrde gehielligd,
oew kôninkriek kûmme,
oew wil geskiedde,
geliek op oard as ok in d'n hèmmel.
Gèf ûns hèd'n ûns doageliks broad,
en fergèf ûns ûnse skuld'n,
so as ok wie fergèf'm ûnze skuldenoaren.
En lied ûns nie in fersôking,
moar ferlos ûns fan d'n bôse.
Want fan oe is 't kôninkriek,
de kracht, en d'n hèrliekheid, tot d'n ewigheid. amen.

Translation:

Our Father who in the heavens is,
your name will_be holied,
your kingdom come,
your will happens,
equal on earth as so too in the heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
like too also we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not in temptation,
but redeem us from the evil one.
Because from you is the kingdom,
the strength, and the bliss, till the eternity. Amen.

Grammar:
English translation Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Nether-Saxon (northwestern Germany) Present: ik bün du büst he is wi sünd ji sünd se sünd Past: ik weer du weerst he weer wi weern ji weern se weern	Nether-Saxon (eastern Netherlands) Present: ik bûn oe bûst/ie bûnt hie is wie sien jie sien sie sien Past: ik weer oe weerst hie weer wie weer'n jie weer'n sie weer'n

Some additional information; I live in an area where Low Saxon dialects are also spoken and I have noticed that there can be many variations of the same dialect, there are for instance differences between Dutch Low Saxon and German Low Saxon and in almost every city and village the dialect is pronounced in another way, for instance in my city alone the sentence "look at that" is pronounced in at least three different ways; "kiek es", "kuuk es", and "kiek is", this sometimes even depends on the person pronouncing it since everyone has learned his or her dialect from different persons and in different areas.
The form of Low Saxon that is spoken in the Netherlands has much more in common with German than with Dutch, for instance the word "slim" means "bad" (as in German "schlimm") while "slim" in common Dutch means "clever", because of the many similarities Low Saxon speakers can even communicate with German speakers without much difficulties.

Some of the changes that occur when switching from Dutch to Achterhoeks Nethersaxon:
á/aa - oa (klaar - kloar = "ready") à remains unchanged
ie/é/ee - è (alstublieft - astublèfe = "please")(beleven - belèf'm = "to experience") this morphology mostly occurs in the case of an é/ee sound, though it often depends on the word
ú/uu - oe (uur - oer = "hour") this morphology only occurs in some words, in most cases the sound remains the same, ù remains unchanged
ò/ô - û(ö) (hond - hûnd = "dog") the ò often remains unchanged except in some cases
ó - ô (rover - rôfer = "robber")
oo - eu/ø/ù(ö) (hoofd - heufd = "head")(leuk - løk = "nice")(lopen - lùp'm/lôp'm = "to walk")
ei/ij - ie (rijbewijs - riebewies = "driving license")(drijven - drief'n = "to float")
ou/au - ol (oud - old = "old")
ui - uu(ú) (huis - huus = "house")
oe - ô/ø (moeder - môder = "mother")(moe - mø = "tired") morphology depends on the word but is in most cases ô
sch - sk (schrijven - skrief'n = "to write")

At the end of a word:
je - jen (hondje - hûndjen = "doggie/little dog")
en - 'n/'m (vallen - fall'n = "to fall")(schapen - skaap'm = "sheep")

Another thing I'm observing in my local Low Saxon dialect is that the people sometimes combine words for a faster pronounciation, they do this with both dialect words and common Dutch words, some examples:

English:
Can you
Must you
Have you
Had you
Has he

Dutch:
Kun je
Moet je
Heb je
Had je
Heeft hij

Combination word:
Kuj
Moj
Hej
Haj
Heffe

Some examples of the Low Saxon dialect in my area:

English:
He comes on his bicycle.
He rides his tractor into the barn.
I walk to the pub.
The stork stands near the water.
Shut up.
If you don't look out you will drive off the road.
I can not see you well.
It is already 5 oclock.
How are you doing?

Dutch:
Hij komt op zijn fiets.
Hij rijdt zijn tractor de schuur in.
Ik loop naar de kroeg.
De ooievaar staat bij het water.
Houd je kop.
Als je niet uitkijkt rijdt je van de weg.
Ik kan je niet goed zien.
Het is al vijf uur.
Hoe gaat het met je?

Low Saxon dialect from the Achterhoek:
Hie kùmt ùp sien fietse.
Hie ried sien trekker de skuur in.
Ik lùp noar de kroegge.
De stork steht bie 't woater.
Hold de kùppe.
Aj nie uutkiekt ried oe fan de wegge.
Ik kan oe nie god sehn.
'tis al fief oer.
Hoe geht 't med oe?

Literal translation in English:
He comes on his bicycle.
He rides his tractor the barn in.
I walk to the pub.
The stork stands near the water.
Hold your head.
If_you not outlook ride you from the road.
I can you not good see.
It is already five hour.
Hoe goes it with you?

The amount of people who still speak dialect depends on the area, in the more secluded villages there are more dialect speakers than in the bigger cities for instance, and there are more old people speaking Low Saxon than young people, though fortunately many young people also speak dialect, during my secondary education the entire class and even the teacher spoke Low Saxon so for the entire year many of the lessons were given to us in dialect, though that ended the next year when we also had non-dialect speaking students in the class.
Some interesting information about the Low Saxon (Low German) dialects in the Netherlands was published in the following newsarticle from the "Gelders Dagblad" on February 26, 2003:

" Few Nether-Saxon sounds at home
Research in the east and the north: local dialect known well but spoken little

From one of our reporters
Zwolle - Many people who still know the Nether-Saxon dialect, do not speak it at home. This is concluded from the first large-scale research to local dialects in the eastern and northern part of the Netherlands by the university of Groningen (RuG). Nether-Saxon dialects (in the Netherlands) are Gronings, Drents, Stellingwerfs, West-Overijssels, Sallands, Twents, Achterhoeks, and Veluws. 2500 people have been questioned for this research.

The research has indicated that there is a big difference between the use and knowledge of Nether-Saxon. The group that has knowledge of this dialect is the biggest in Groningen and Drenthe. Although over three-quarters (3/4) of the people questioned in this provinces has knowledge of Nether-Saxon, only half of them actually speak the dialect.

No explanation:
Exceptional professor Gronings prof. dr. Siemon Reker, who analyses the data of the reasearch with linguistician dr. H. Bloemhoff, says that he has no explanation yet for the differences in use and knowledge. He thinks it likely that Nether-Saxon is mostly spoken by people without developing children. 'But to be able to say that with certainty, the data needs further analysation', he proclaims. In the areas that are nearest to the Randstad (the area in the Netherlands where the biggest cities are located), like West- and East-Stellingwerf and especially the Veluwe, the knowledge of Nether-Saxon is the smallest. Less than half of the inhabitants has knowledge of Veluws, just over one third (1/3) speaks it at home. Reker suspects that the reason for this is that in this areas relatively many people work in the Randstad. Another reason is that many 'immigrants' live in East-Stellingwerf.

Not comparable
Because this is the first big and uniform research of Nether-Saxon, the results can not be compared to preceding years. But it is a country-wide trend that every time less people know or speak a local dialect, says the researcher. Though local dialects are still not lost according to Philomene Bloemhoff, who is projectleader dialects at the IJsselacademy in Kampen. 'Overijssel is not that bad at all in the research. Threequarters (3/4) of the people can still speak it and twothird (2/3) of the Overijsselians also use it. In Overijssel the dialect is still alive', concludes Bloemhoff, who has been chairman of the Federation SONT (Local organizations in the Nether-Saxon language area) for years.

Veluwe
She is not surprised that the knowledge of the dialect is the smallest on the Veluwe. 'In comparison with Overijssel the Veluwe is very westernized. There is much more import from the western part of the country there. So that could be a cause', says Bloemhoff. She says not to believe that dialect is especially used by people without developing children. 'In our family that is not the case and neither in our circle of acquaintances'.

Less streetlanguage
Bloemhoff does acknowledge that dialect has become less the streetlanguage. 'We should do something about that. There is a trend that children after their 20st year start to value dialect more and begin to speak it again. There is where the possibilities are'. Bloemhoff says that the attitude of people towards dialect is positive. 'This was indicated by streetinterviews done in Kampen a short time ago where a dialectweek will soon be held. Not even one gave a negative reaction. The attitude of people is much more positive than for instance twenty years ago.'"

German:
Modern High German is spoken by an estimated 120.000.000 people and is the official language of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, it is also spoken in eastern Belgium, northern Italy, Alsace-Lorraine, and some other places in Europe.
Example of the paternoster in High German:

Vater unser im Himmel,
Geheiligt werde dein Name.
Dein Reich komme.
Dein Wille geschehe, wie im Himmel so auf Erden.
Unser tägliches Brot gib uns heute.
Und vergib uns unsere Schuld,
wie auch wir vergeben unsern Schuldigern.
Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung,
sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen.

Translation:

Father ours in-the Heaven,
Holied becomes your Name.
Your Empire comes.
Your Will happens, like in Heaven so on Earth.
Our daily Bread give us today.
And forgive us our Debt,
Like too we forgive our Debtors.
And lead us not in Temptation,
But redeem us from the Evil One.

Grammar:
Present: I am you are he is we are you are they are Present perfect: I have been you have been he has been we have been you have been they have been Past: I was you were he was we were you were they were	Present: ich bin du bist er ist wir sind ihr seid sie sind Present perfect: ich bin gewesen du bist gewesen er ist gewesen wir sind gewesen ihr seid gewesen sie sind gewesen Past: ich war du warst er war wir waren ihr wart sie waren

Yiddish:
Yiddish originates from High German but has many influences from Hebrew and the Slavonic languages, it was mainly spoken in Jewish communities in the Slavonic countries east of Germany.
Example of the paternoster in Yiddish:

Unzer foter, vos bist in himl,
Geheylikt zol vern dayn nomen.
Zol kumen dayn malkhus.
Zol dayn rotsoyn getun vern,
Vi in himl, azoy oyf der erd.
Gib unz haynt unzer teglekh broyt.
Un zay unz moykhl unzere shuldikaytn,
Vi mir zenen oykh moykhl unzere shuldike.
Un breng unz nisht in a nesoyoyn,
Nayert zay unz matsil fun dem shlekhtn.
Vorum dir gehert di melukhe, un di gvure,
Un der koved, oyf eybik, omeyn.

In the Netherlands there used to be a language that was derived from Yiddish, it was called Bargoens and was originally used by thieves and other criminals as a secret language that the police couldn't understand, eventually it became a street language that was also adopted by the average people.
Nowadays Bargoens is hardly spoken anymore but traces of it can still be found in the Dutch language, both in street language and common Dutch.
Some examples of Bargoens in the Dutch language:

Afgepeigerd = dead, nowadays used for "being very tired"
Attenoje! = expression of amazement, derived from Hebrew "adonai eloheinu" (my lord and my god)
Beknibbelen = earn, save (as in money)
Gabber = friend, when I was young there used to be a Dutch subculture called "gabbers" in which people shaved their heads and listened to a particular type of house music called "Gabbermuziek".
Gein = pleasure, fun
Geinponem = someone who makes jokes, a funny person
Gok = large nose, derived from Yiddish "gokkel" (large nose)
Gozer = man
Heibel = conflict
Jakkes = expensive, nowadays used as an expression of disgust.
Jatten = hands, to steal
Joekel = dog, nowadays used as an expression for greatness ("wat een joekel!" = what a great one!)
Jofel = good, nice, derived from Hebrew "jopheh" (pleasant, useful)
Knar = head
Kneis = clever, in my local Low Saxon dialect "kneis" means "crazy", a funny example of how the meaning of a word can change.
Kokkert = nose
Koosjer = kosher, healthy, good ("dat is niet koosjer" = that is not kosher / there's something wrong with that)
Lef = courage, bravery
Link = clever, dangerous ("hij word link" = he gets angry)
Linkmiegel = dangerous person
Louloene = denial: no result, nothing done, derived from Hebrew "lou lonoe" (not ours)
Mazzel = luck, derived from Hebrew "mazal" (star)
Mesjokke = crazy
Mokkel = chick, (street word for a girl or a woman)
Mollen = to kill, to destroy
Noppes = nothing
Pleite = gone ("ik ga pleite" = I go away)
Rauzen = being rough
Schorem = criminals, dangerous people
Sjacheren = to trade
Sjacheraar = trader (often meant in a negative way, i.e. a dishonest businessman)
Sjoege = notice ("geen sjoege geven" = take no notice, give no reaction)
Sjoemelen = to cheat
Smeris = police officer, derived from Hebrew "sjemiera" (supervision)
Temeier = prostitute, derived from Hebrew "temea" (unclean)
Wout = policeman

Bavarian:
Bavarian is a High German dialect that is spoken in the German province of Bavaria (Bayern).
Example of the paternoster in Bavarian:

Insa vådar im himö,
ghàiligt soi werdn dài' nåm.
Dài' ràich soi kema,
dài' wuin soi gschegn,
wia-r-im himö, aso àf dar eadn.
Gib ins hàind insa täglis broud,
und vargib ins insar schuid,
wia-r-à mia dene vagebm,
dé an ins schuidig wordn sàn.
Und fiar ins nét in d vasuachung,
sundan darles ins vom ibö.

Translation:

Our father in-the heaven,
holied shall become your name.
Your empire shall come,
your will shall happen,
like-is-in heaven, also on the earth.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debt,
like-is-ever we those forgive,
who on us guilty become be.
And bring us not in the temptation,
but release us from evil.

Alemannic:
Alemannic was a western Germanic language that is now extinct, though a High German dialect of it still survives to this day in Germany.
Example of the paternoster in Alemannic:

fater unseer thu pist in himile
uuihi namun dinan qhueme
rihhi din uuerde uuillo din
so in himile sosa in erdu
prooth unseer emezzihic
kip uns hiutu
oblaz uns sculdi unseero
so uuir oblazem uns sculdikem
enti ni unsih firleiti in khorunka
uzzer losi unsih fona ubile

Alsatian:
Alsatian is a High German dialect that is spoken in the French Alsache (Elzas) and Lorraine (Lotharingen).
Example of the paternoster in Alsatian:

Unser Vàdder wo im Himmel isch
Heilig sei dinner Nàmme
Din Reich soll komme
Dinner Wille soll geschehn
Wie im Himmel au uf de Ard
unser däjlich Brot gib uns hit
un vergib uns unseri Schulde
wie mir au denne vergebe wo uns schuldig sinn
un loss uns nitt in Versuchung komme
àwwer màch uns frei von àllem wàs schlecht isch. Amen.

Translation:

Our Father who in-the Heaven is
Holy be your Name
Your Empire shall come
Your Will shall happen
Like in Heaven also on the Earth
our daily Bread give us today
and forgive us our Debts
like we also those forgive who us guilty are
and let us not in Temptation come
but make us free from all what evil is. Amen.

Pennsylvanian German:
Pennsylvanian German is spoken in the United States by an estimated 84.000 people, most of them are descendants of German immigrants in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvanian German is also known as Pennsylvanian Dutch.
Example of the paternoster in Pennsylvanian German:

Unsah Faddah im Himmel,
dei nohma loss heilich sei.
Dei Reich loss kumma.
Dei villa loss gedu sei,
uf di eaht vi im Himmel.
Unsah tayklich broht gebb uns heit.
Un fagebb unsah shulda,
vi miah dee fagevva vo uns shuldich sinn.
Un fiah uns naett in di fasuchung,
avvah hald uns fu'm eevila.
Fa dei is es Reich, di graft, un di hallichkeit in ayvichkeit. Amen.

Translation:

Our Father in-the Heaven,
your name shall holy be
Your Empire shall come.
Your will shall done be,
On the earth like in-the Heaven.
Our daily bread give us today
And forgive our debts,
like we those forgive who us guilty are.
And bring us not in the temptation,
but hold us from-the evil.
From you is the Empire, the power, and the bliss in eternity. Amen.