Old High German (OHG, German: Althochdeutsch, German abbr. Ahd.

) is the earliest
stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 70
0 to 1050 AD. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the
8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as "prehistoric" and date the
start of Old High German proper to 750 for this reason. There are, however, a nu
mber of Elder Futhark inscriptions dating to the 6th century (notably the Pforze
n buckle), as well as single words and many names found in Latin texts predating
the 8th century.