Historical studies on Old and Middle High German and the corresponding stages in the development of Low German represent a fairly well-defined field of inquiry. The period between the 16th century and the present, by contrast, confronts historical language research with a considerable dilemma in that the language system can be regarded in many respects as not having undergone major changes so much as a process of extension and differentiation. The papers delivered at the Heidelberg colloquium and published here in book form discuss possible areas of inquiry for historical language research into the evolution of the German language since the early Modern Age, approaches to the problems this field presents and methods of describing the phenomena encountered. Particular emphasis is placed throughout on the history of reflection on language, the institutional concern with language and the manifold interpenetration between forms of language usage employed in society in general, in the history of ideas, the history of literature and across the various cultural areas of the German-speaking world.