It is said that the purest Standard German is spoken in the region of Hannover. May it be so. And maybe it's a historical curiosity that the standard language of the German State does not have its source in the language of its capital. But no, Berlin has developed its very own, distinct way to express itself - easily to be recognized in any other part of the Germanic language area. Originally the Berlin district, which long ago was an area with little towns and villages and only slowly grew together during centuries, would belong to a part in which Low German (also named Low Saxon) varieties are spoken. While during times of the Hanseatic League the written language was Latin, after it Berlin adopted Meißnisch as the officialese due to commercial relationships with Meißen, Dresden and Leipzig. In the 17th century when Huguenots and Jews settled in the area of the town they brought their language influence, which was little by little integrated. So the mixture of that all forms the "metrolect" Berlinerisch - nowadays pepped up by some Turkish and other non-germanic influences.
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