Nomenclature
Low German is called Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch by its native speakers in Germany. Native speakers of Low German in the Netherlands refer to their language as plat or dialect, or they call it by the name of their village or town.
Officially, Low German is called Niederdeutsch (Nether/Low German) by the German authorities. In the Netherlands, the Dutch authorities call it Nedersaksisch (Nether/Low Saxon). Plattdeutsch/Niederdeutsch and Platduits/Nedersaksisch are seen in linguistic texts from the German and Dutch linguistic communities respectively.
In Danish it is called Plattysk, Nedertysk or, rarely, Lavtysk.
Mennonite Low German is called "Plautdietsch."
"Low" refers to the flat plains and coastal area of the northern European lowlands, contrasted with the mountainous areas of central and southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, where High German is spoken.
The colloquial term "Platt" denotes both Low German dialects and any non-standard variety of German; this use is chiefly found in northern and western Germany and is considered not to be linguistically correct.
The ISO 639-2 language code for Low German (Low Saxon) has been nds (nedersaksisch) since May 2000.
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