> > Until the mid 19th century half the population of
> > Copenhagen spoke
> > German; that changed with Schleswig wars.
>
> Low German from the Hansa days? Or High German as a prestige
> language?
I came across a book 'Low German and High German in Denmark' vel sim.
some years back. Seems the German-speaking population in Copenhagen
switched high-status language at appr. the same time the cities of the
collapsing Hanse switched from Low German to High German in official
documents, within a few decades in the 17th century. Artisans from
Denmark participated in the German system of migrant apprenticeship,
apprentices spent some years on the road in Germany, seeking
apprenticeships with artisans in Germany. The Copenhagen
administration was divided into a Danish part dealing with Denmark and
Norway, and a German part dealing with the duchies Slesvig-Holstein
and the abroad. The domain of the Danish language included the navy,
that of the German language the army, and there were constant
administrative squabbles between. This kept the dividing line between
the two languages distinct, as opposed to eg. Sweden, which had
numerous 'overseas' possessions (Finland, Estonia, Livonia,
Pommerania) from which the administration was drawn.
Torsten