This single-volume standard work on the history of the German language has now been revised and updated. It provides a profound overview using the latest research on language change in German from its Indo-European antecedents up to the present day. As language history, social history and political history are closely intertwined, this textbook is designed for students of all language disciplines, for students of German as a foreign language, and also for historians, social scientists, teachers and interested non-specialists.