German language
{{Infobox Language
|name=German
|nativename={{lang|de|''Deutsch''}}
|familycolor=Indo-European
|pronunciation=[dɔʏ̯tʃ]
|states=Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and in some border areas, Belgium, Italy and Russia as a minority language and Alsace in the form of a dialect.
|region=[[Central Europe]], [[Western Europe]]
|speakers=Native speakers: ca. 105 million [SIL Ethnologue (2006). 95 million speakers of [[Standard German]]; 95 million including Middle and Upper [[German dialects]]; 120 million including [[Low Saxon]] and [[Yiddish]].]
Non-native speakers: ca. 80 million[{{cite book
| authorlink = National Geographic
| title = National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World
| publisher = R.R Donnelley & Sons Company
| date = 2006
| month = April
| location = Willard, Ohio
| pages = 257–270
| isbn = Regular:0-7922-3662-9, 978-0-7922-3662-7. Deluxe:0-7922-7976-X, 978-0-7922-7976-1 }}]
|rank=10
|fam1=[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
|fam2=[[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|fam3=[[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
|fam4=[[High German languages|High German]]
|script=[[Latin alphabet]] ([[German alphabet|German variant]])
|nation=
[[Austria]]
[[Belgium]]
[[Province of Bolzano-Bozen]], [[Italy]]
[[Germany]]
[[Liechtenstein]]
[[Luxembourg]]
[[Switzerland]]
[[European Union]] (official and working language)
----
'''Further official standings in:'''
[[Krahule|Krahule/Blaufuß]], [[Slovakia]] (Official municipal language)[[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/langmin/euromosaic/slok1_de.html EUROPA - Allgemeine & berufliche Bildung - Regional- und Minderheitensprachen der Europäischen Union - Euromosaik-Studie]]
[[Namibia]] (National language; official language 1984–90) [{{cite web|url=http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf|title=Deutsch in Namibia|publisher=Supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung|date=2007-08-18|accessdate=2008-06-23|format=PDF|language=German}}]
[[Poland]](Auxiliary language in several municipalities) [[http://www.wochenblatt.pl/de/index.php3?id_art=279 SCHLESISCHES WOCHENBLATT - Die größte deutsch-polnische Zeitung der deutschen Minderheit in Polen. Information, Kultur, Politik, Service]]
[[Vatican City]] (Administrative and commanding language of the [[Swiss Guard]]) [[http://www.vds-ev.de/verein/aha/aha.php Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V. - Prominente Mitglieder und Ehrenmitglieder]]
----
'''Recognised minority language in:'''
[[Czech Republic]] [[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/langmin/euromosaic/cz1_de.html EUROPA - Allgemeine & berufliche Bildung - Regional- und Minderheitensprachen der Europäischen Union - Euromosaik-Studie]]
[[Denmark]] [[http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/langmin/euromosaic/da1_en.html EUROPA - Education and Training - Europa - Regional and minority languages - Euromosaïc study]]
[[Hungary]] [http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/langmin/euromosaic/hu_de.pdf]
[[Romania]] [[http://www.siebenbuerger.de/zeitung/artikel/alteartikel/223-deutsche-minderheit-in-rumaenien.html SbZ - Deutsche Minderheit in Rumänien: „Zimmerpflanze oder Betreuungs-Objekt“ - Informationen zu Siebenbürgen und Rumänien]]
[[Slovakia]]
Major German-speaking communities
}}
The '''German language''' ({{lang|de|''Deutsch''}}, {{Audio-IPA|de-Deutsch.ogg|[dɔʏ̯tʃ]}}) is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language]] and one of the world's [[world language|major languages]]. German is closely related to and classified alongside [[English language|English]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 100 million [[First language|native speakers]] and also about 80 million non-native speakers, and [[Standard German]] is widely taught in schools, universities, and [[Goethe Institute]]s worldwide.
==Geographic distribution==
===Europe===
{{main|German-speaking Europe}}
{{see|German as a minority language}}
German is spoken primarily in [[Languages of Germany|Germany]] (95%), [[Languages of Austria|Austria]] (89%) and [[Linguistic geography of Switzerland|Switzerland]] (64%) together with [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]] ([[D-A-CH-Li-Lux]]) constituting the countries where German is the majority language.
Other European German-speaking communities are found in [[Italy]] ([[Province of Bolzano-Bozen|Bolzano-Bozen]]), in the [[German speaking community in Belgium|East Cantons]] of [[Belgium]], in the [[France|french]] area [[Alsace]] which often was traded between Germany and France in history and in some border villages of the former [[South Jutland County]] (in German, ''Nordschleswig'', in Danish, ''Sønderjylland'') of [[Denmark]].
Some German-speaking communities still survive in parts of [[Romania]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Poland]], [[Hungary]], and above all [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]], although forced expulsions after World War II and massive emigration to Germany in the 1980s and 1990s have depopulated most of these communities. It is also spoken by German-speaking foreign populations and some of their descendants in [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], Italy, [[Morocco]], [[Egypt]], [[Israel]], [[Cyprus]], [[Turkey]], [[Greece]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Netherlands]], [[Scandinavia]], [[Siberia]] in Russia, Hungary, Romania, [[Bulgaria]], and the former [[Yugoslavia]] ([[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]], [[Serbia]], [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]], [[Croatia]] and [[Slovenia]]).
In Luxembourg and the surrounding areas, big parts of the native population speak German dialects, and some people also master standard German (especially in Luxembourg), although in the [[France|French]] regions of [[Alsace]] (German: ''Elsass'') and [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]] (German: ''Lothringen'') [[French language|French]] has replaced the local German dialects as the official language, even though it has not been fully replaced on the street.
===Overseas===
{{main|German diaspora}}
[[Image:NamibiaDeutscheSprache.jpg|thumb|left|Examples of German language in [[Namibia]]n everyday life.]]
Outside of Europe and the former [[Soviet Union]], the largest German-speaking communities are to be found in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Brazil]] and in [[Argentina]] where millions of Germans migrated in the last 200 years; but the vast majority of their descendants no longer speak German. Additionally, German-speaking communities can be found in the former [[List of former German colonies|German colony]] of [[Namibia]] independent from [[South Africa]] since 1990, as well as in the other countries of German emigration such as [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Paraguay]], [[Uruguay]], [[Chile]], [[Peru]], [[Venezuela]] (where [[Alemán Coloniero]] developed), South Africa and [[Australia]].
====South America====
In Brazil the largest concentrations of German speakers are in [[Rio Grande do Sul]] (where [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]] was developed), [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]], and [[Espírito Santo]], and large German-speaking descendant communities in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. In the 20th century, over 100,000 German [[Refugee|political refugees]] and invited entrepreneurs settled in [[Latin America]], such as [[Costa Rica]], [[Panama]], Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to establish German-speaking enclaves, and there is a reportedly small [[German immigration to Puerto Rico]].
====North America====
{{Unreferencedsection|date=May 2008}}
The United States has the largest concentration of German speakers outside of Europe; an indication of this presence can be found in the names of such villages and towns as [[New Leipzig, North Dakota|New Leipzig]], [[Munich, North Dakota|Munich]], [[Karlsruhe, North Dakota|Karlsruhe]], and [[Strasburg, North Dakota|Strasburg]], [[North Dakota]], and [[New Braunfels]], Texas. Though over the course of the 20th century many of the descendants of 18th and 19th-century immigrants ceased speaking German at home, small populations of elderly (as well as some younger) speakers can be found in [[Pennsylvania]] ([[Amish]], [[Hutterites]], [[Dunkards]] and some [[Mennonites]] historically spoke [[Pennsylvania German language|Pennsylvania Dutch]] (a [[West Central German]] variety) and [[Hutterite German]]), [[Kansas]] (Mennonites and [[Volga German]]s), North Dakota (Hutterite Germans, Mennonites, [[History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union|Russian German]]s, Volga Germans, and [[Baltic Germans]]), [[South Dakota]], [[Montana]], [[Texas]] ([[Texas German]]), [[Wisconsin]], [[Indiana]], [[Louisiana]] and [[Oklahoma]]. Early twentieth century immigration was often to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Chicago]], [[New York]], [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Cincinnati]]. Most of the post–[[World War II]] wave are in the New York, [[Philadelphia]], [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]] and Chicago [[urban area]]s, and in [[Florida]], [[Arizona]] and [[California]] where large communities of retired German, Swiss and Austrian expatriates live. The [[German Americans|American population of German ancestry]] is above 60 million. {{Fact|date=May 2008}} The German language is the third largest language in the U.S. after [[Spanish language|Spanish]].{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
In Canada there are people of German ancestry throughout the country and especially in the western cities such as [[Kelowna]]. German is also spoken in [[Ontario]] and southern [[Nova Scotia]]. There is a large and vibrant community in the city of [[Kitchener, Ontario]]. German immigrants were instrumental in the country's three largest urban areas: [[Montreal]], [[Toronto]] and [[Vancouver]], but post-WWII immigrants managed to preserve a fluency in the German language in their respective neighborhoods and sections. In the first half of the 20th century, over a million [[German-Canadian]]s made the language one of Canada's most spoken after [[French language|French]].
In Mexico there are also large populations of German ancestry, mainly in the cities of: [[Mexico City]], [[Puebla]], [[Mazatlán]], [[Tapachula]], and larger populations scattered in the states of [[Chihuahua]], [[Durango]], and [[Zacatecas]]. German ancestry is also said to be found in neighboring towns around [[Guadalajara, Jalisco]] and much of Northern Mexico, where German influence was immersed into the Mexican culture. Standard German is spoken by the affluent German communities in Puebla, Mexico City, [[Nuevo Leon]], [[San Luis Potosi]] and [[Quintana Roo]]. German immigration in the twentieth century was small, but produced German-speaking communities in Central America (i.e. [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]] and [[Nicaragua]]) and the Caribbean Islands like the [[Dominican Republic]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}.
'''Dialects in North America:'''
The dialects of German which are or were primarily spoken in colonies or communities founded by German speaking people resemble the dialects of the regions the founders came from. For example, Pennsylvania German resembles dialects of the [[Rhenish Palatinate|Palatinate]], and Hutterite German resembles dialects of [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]]. [[Texas German]] is a dialect spoken in the areas of Texas settled by the [[Adelsverein]], such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. In the [[Amana Colonies]] in the state of Iowa [[Amana German]] is spoken. [[Plautdietsch]] is a large [[minority language]] spoken in Northern Mexico by the [[Mennonite]] communities, and is spoken by more than 200,000 people in Mexico.
[[Hutterite German]] is an Upper German dialect of the [[Austro-Bavarian]] variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. Hutterite is spoken in the U.S. states of [[Washington]], Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, and [[Minnesota]]; and in the Canadian provinces of [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]] and [[Manitoba]]. Its speakers belong to some Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and Dariusleit Hutterite groups, but there are also speakers among the older generations of Prairieleit (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn and speak first Hutterite German before learning English in the public school, the standard language of the surrounding areas. Many colonies though continue with German Grammar School, separate from the public school, throughout a student's elementary education.
====Creoles====
There is an important German creole being studied and recovered, named [[Unserdeutsch]], spoken in the former German colony of [[Papua New Guinea]], across [[Micronesia]] and in northern Australia (i.e. coastal parts of [[Queensland]] and [[Western Australia]]), by few elderly people. The risk of its extinction is serious and efforts to revive interest in the language are being implemented by scholars.
====Internet====
According to [[Global Reach]] (2004), 6.9% of the Internet population is German.[[http://global-reach.biz/globstats/index.php3 Global Statistics], [http://global-reach.biz./ Global Reach].][[http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/internetLanguages.htm Internet Languages], [http://www.nvtc.gov/ NVTC].] According to [[Netz-tipp]] (2002), 7.7% of webpages are written in German,[[http://www.netz-tipp.de/languages.html "Distribution of languages on the Internet"].] making it second only to English in the European language group. They also report that 12% of Google's users use its German interface.[[http://alis.isoc.org/palmares.en.html Palmares], [http://isoc.org./ Internet Society].] FUNREDES[[http://funredes.org/lc2005/english/L3.html Funredes].] (1998) and Vilaweb[[http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/demographics/article.php/408521 Vilaweb].] (2000) both found that German is the third most popular language used by websites, after English and Japanese.
==History==
{{main|History of German}}
{{POV|date=December 2007}}
[[Image:AlthochdeutscheSprachräume962 Box.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The German-speaking area of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] around 962.]]
The history of the language begins with the [[High German consonant shift]] during the [[migration period]], separating [[High German]] dialects from common [[West Germanic]]. The earliest testimonies of [[Old High German]] are from scattered [[Elder Futhark]] inscriptions, especially in [[Alemannic]], from the 6th century, the earliest glosses (''[[Abrogans]]'') date to the 8th and the oldest coherent texts (the ''[[Hildebrandslied]]'', the ''[[Muspilli]]'' and the [[Merseburg Incantations]]) to the 9th century. [[Old Saxon]] at this time belongs to the [[Ingvaeonic|North Sea Germanic]] cultural sphere, and [[Low Saxon]] should fall under German rather than [[Anglo-Frisian]] influence during the [[Holy Roman Empire]].
As Germany was divided into many different [[state]]s, the only force working for a unification or [[standard language|standardization]] of German during a period of several hundred years was the general preference of writers trying to write in a way that could be understood in the largest possible area.
When [[Martin Luther]] translated the [[Bible]] (the [[New Testament]] in 1522 and the [[Old Testament]], published in parts and completed in 1534) he based his translation mainly on the bureaucratic standard language used in Saxony (''sächsische Kanzleisprache'') also known as ''Meißner-Deutsch'' (Meißner-German), which was the most widely understood language at this time, because the region it was spoken in was quite influential amongst the German states.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} This language was based on Eastern Upper and Eastern Central German dialects and preserved much of the grammatical system of Middle High German (unlike the spoken German dialects in Central and Upper Germany that already at that time began to lose the [[genitive case]] and the preterite tense). In the beginning, copies of the Bible had a long list for each region, which translated words unknown in the region into the regional dialect. [[Roman Catholics]] rejected Luther's translation in the beginning and tried to create their own Catholic standard (''gemeines Deutsch'') — which, however, only differed from 'Protestant German' in some minor details. It took until the middle of the 18th century to create a standard that was widely accepted, thus ending the period of [[Early New High German]]. In 1901 the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a complete standardization of German language in written form while the ''Deutsche Bühnensprache'' (literally: ''German stage-language'') had already established spelling-rules for German three years earlier which were later to become obligatory for general German pronunciation.
German used to be the language of commerce and government in the [[Habsburg Empire]], which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire. It indicated that the speaker was a [[merchant]], an urbanite, not their nationality. Some cities, such as [[Prague]] (German: ''Prag'') and [[Budapest]] ([[Buda]], German: ''Ofen''), were gradually [[Germanization|Germanized]] in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain. Others, such as [[Bratislava]](German: ''Pressburg''), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. A few cities such as [[Milan]] (German: ''Mailand'') remained primarily non-German. However, most cities were primarily German during this time, such as Prague, Budapest, Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg''), [[Zagreb]] (German: ''Agram''), and [[Ljubljana]] (German: ''Laibach''), though they were surrounded by territory that spoke other languages.
Until about 1800, standard German was almost only a written language. At this time, people in urban [[northern Germany]], who spoke dialects very different from Standard German, learned it almost like a foreign language and tried to pronounce it as close to the spelling as possible. Prescriptive pronunciation guides used to consider northern [[German phonology|German pronunciation]] to be the standard. However, the actual pronunciation of standard German varies from region to region.
Media and written works are almost all produced in standard German (often called ''Hochdeutsch'' in German) which is understood in all areas where German is spoken, except by [[Nursery school|pre-school]] children in areas which speak only dialect, for example [[Switzerland]] and [[Austria]]. However, in this age of television, even they now usually learn to understand Standard German before school age.
The first dictionary of the [[Brothers Grimm]], the 16 parts of which were issued between 1852 and 1860, remains the most comprehensive guide to the words of the German language. In 1860, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the ''[[Duden Handbook]]''. In 1901, this was declared the standard definition of the German language. Official revisions of some of these rules were not issued until 1998, when the [[German spelling reform of 1996]] was officially promulgated by governmental representatives of all German-speaking countries. Since the reform, German spelling has been in an eight-year transitional period where the reformed spelling is taught in most schools, while traditional and reformed spellings co-exist in the media. See [[German spelling reform of 1996]] for an overview of the public debate concerning the reform with some major newspapers and magazines and several known writers refusing to adopt it.
The German spelling reform of 1996 led to public controversy indeed to considerable dispute. Some state parliaments (Bundesländer) would not accept it ([[North Rhine-Westphalia|North Rhine Westphalia]] and Bavaria). The dispute landed at one point in the highest court which made a short issue of it, claiming that the states had to decide for themselves and that only in schools could the reform be made the official rule - everybody else could continue writing as they had learned it. After 10 years, without any intervention by the federal parliament, a major yet incomplete revision was installed in 2006, just in time for the new school year of 2006. In 2007, some venerable spellings will be finally invalidated even though they caused little or no trouble. The only sure and easily recognizable symptom of a text's being in compliance with the reform is the -ss at the end of words, like in ''dass'' and ''muss''. Classic spelling forbade this ending, instead using ''daß'' and ''muß''.
The cause of the controversy evolved around the question whether a language is part of the culture which must be preserved or a means of communicating information which has to allow for growth. (The reformers seemed to be unimpressed by the fact that a considerable part of that culture - namely the entire German literature of the 20th century - is in the old spelling.)
The increasing use of English in Germany's higher education system, as well as in business and in popular culture, has led various German academics to state, not necessarily from an entirely negative perspective, that German is a language in decline in its native country. For example, Ursula Kimpel, of the [[University of Tübingen]], said in 2005 that “German universities are offering more courses in English because of the large number of students coming from abroad. German is unfortunately a language in decline. We need and want our professors to be able to teach effectively in English.”[{{cite web|url=http://www.international.umd.edu/sparkplug/common/images/oip/2005_Fall_v2.pdf|title=German Professors Visit Maryland English Institute to Refine Their English for the Classroom|publisher=[[University of Maryland, College Park]]|year=2005|accessdate=2008-01-29}}]
==Standard German==
{{main|Standard German}}
Standard German originated not as a traditional dialect of a specific region, but as a [[written language]]. However, there are places where the traditional regional dialects have been replaced by standard German; this is the case in vast stretches of Northern Germany, but also in major cities in other parts of the country.
Standard German differs regionally, between German-speaking countries, in [[vocabulary]] and some instances of [[pronunciation]], and even [[grammar]] and [[orthography]]. This variation must not be confused with the variation of local dialects. Even though the regional varieties of standard German are only to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. German is thus considered a pluricentric language.
In most regions, the speakers use a continuum of mixtures from more dialectal varieties to more standard varieties according to situation.
In the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, mixtures of dialect and standard are very seldom used, and the use of standard German is largely restricted to the written language. Therefore, this situation has been called a ''medial [[diglossia]]''. [[Swiss Standard German]] is used in the Swiss education system.
===Official status===
[[Image:D-A-CH Flag.svg|thumb|left|230px|[[German-speaking Europe|D-A-CH]]-flag, an unofficial flag comprising flags of the three dominant states in the German ''[[Sprachraum]]''.]]
Standard German is the only [[official language]] in Liechtenstein and Austria; it shares official status in [[Germany]] (with [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Frisian languages|Frisian]] and [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] as minority languages), Switzerland (with [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Romansh language|Romansh]]), Belgium (with [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and French) and Luxembourg (with French and [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]). It is used as a local official language in Italy ([[Province of Bolzano-Bozen]]), as well as in the cities of [[Sopron]] (Hungary), Krahule ([[Slovakia]]) and several cities in Romania. It is the official language (with Italian) of the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] [[Swiss Guard]].
German has an officially recognized status as regional or auxiliary language in Denmark ([[South Jutland]] region), France (Alsace and [[Moselle]] regions), Italy (Gressoney valley), Namibia, [[Poland]] ([[Bilingual communes in Poland|Opole]] region), and Russia (Asowo and Halbstadt).
German is one of the 23 official [[languages of the European Union]]. It is the language with the largest number of native speakers in the [[European Union]], and, shortly after English and long before French, the second-most spoken language in Europe.
===German as a foreign language===
{{main|German as a foreign language}}
[[Image:Knowledge German EU map.png|left|thumb|290px|Knowledge of German in the European Union, Switzerland, Croatia and Turkey]]
German is the third most taught [[foreign language]] in the English speaking world after French and Spanish.
German is the main language of about 90–95 million people in Europe (as of 2004), or 13.3% of all Europeans, being the second most spoken native language in Europe after [[Russian language|Russian]], above French (66.5 million speakers in 2004) and English (64.2 million speakers in 2004). It is therefore the most spoken first language in the EU. It is the second most known foreign language in the EU.[After English; {{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf|title=Europeans and Language|publisher=[[European Commission]]|year=2005|accessdate=2007-12-08}}] It is one of the official languages of the European Union, and one of the three [[working language]]s of [[European Commission|the European Commission]], along with English and French. Thirty-two percent of citizens of the EU-15 countries say they can converse in German (either as a mother tongue or as a second or foreign language).[{{cite web|url= http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html|title=Languages in Europe|publisher=[[European Commission]]|year=2007|accessdate=2008-02-12}}] This is assisted by the widespread availability of German TV by cable or satellite.
German was once, and still remains to some extent, a [[lingua franca]] in Central, Eastern and [[Northern Europe]].
==Dialects==
{{main|German dialects}}
[[Image:German dialectal map.PNG|right|thumb|350px|By the [[High German consonant shift]], the map of German [[dialect]]s is divided into [[Upper German]] (green), [[Central German]] (blue), and the [[Low German]] (yellow). The main isoglosses and the [[Benrath line|Benrath]] and [[Speyer line]]s are marked black.]]
German is a member of the [[West Germanic language|western branch]] of the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] [[Language family|family of languages]], which in turn is part of the [[Indo-European language family]]. The German dialect continuum is traditionally divided most broadly into [[High German languages|High German]] and Low German.
[[Image:Continental West Germanic languages.png|300px|right|thumb|Distribution of the native speakers of major continental West-Germanic dialectal varieties.]]
The variation among the German dialects is considerable, with only the neighbouring dialects being mutually intelligible. Some dialects are not intelligible to people who only know standard German. However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low Saxon languages. Until roughly the end of the Second World War, there was a dialect continuum of all the continental West Germanic languages because nearly any pair of neighbouring dialects were perfectly mutually intelligible{{Fact|date=April 2008}}.
=== Low German ===
{{main|Low German}}
Low Saxon varieties (spoken on German territory) are considered linguistically a language separate from the German language by some, but just a dialect by others{{Who|date=May 2008}}. Sometimes, Low Saxon and [[Low Franconian]] are grouped together because both are unaffected by the High German consonant shift. However, the part of the population capable of speaking and responding to it, or of understanding it has decreased continuously since WWII. Currently the effort to maintain a residual presence in cultural life is negligible{{Fact|date=May 2008}}.
[[Middle Low German]] was the [[lingua franca]] of the [[Hanseatic League]]. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany. This changed in the 16th century. In 1534 the [[Luther Bible]] by Martin Luther was printed. This translation is considered to be an important step towards the evolution of the Early New High German. It aimed to be understandable to an ample audience and was based mainly on Central and [[Upper German]] varieties. The Early New High German language gained more prestige than Low Saxon and became the language of science and literature. Other factors were that around the same time, the Hanseatic league lost its importance as new trade routes to [[Asia]] and the [[Americas]] were established, and that the most powerful German states of that period were located in Middle and Southern Germany.
The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass [[education]], the language of the schools being standard German. Slowly Low Saxon was pushed back and back until it was nothing but a language spoken by the uneducated and at home. Today Low Saxon can be divided in two groups: Low Saxon varieties with a reasonable standard German influx and varieties of Standard German with a Low Saxon influence known as [[Missingsch]].
=== High German ===
{{main|High German languages}}
High German is divided into [[Central German]] and [[Upper German language|Upper German]]. Central German dialects include [[Ripuarian]], [[Moselle Franconian]], [[Hessian language|Hessian]], [[Thuringian]], [[South Franconian]], [[Lorraine Franconian]] and [[Upper Saxon dialect|Upper Saxon]]. It is spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of France, and in Germany approximately between the River [[Main]] and the southern edge of the Lowlands. Modern Standard German is mostly based on Central German, but it should be noted that the common (but not linguistically correct) German term for modern Standard German is ''Hochdeutsch'', that is, ''High German''.
The Moselle Franconian varieties spoken in Luxembourg have been officially standardised and institutionalised and are therefore usually considered a separate language known as [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]].
Upper German dialects include [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] (for instance [[Swiss German (linguistics)|Swiss German]]), [[Swabian German|Swabian]], [[East Franconian German|East Franconian]], [[Alsatian]] and [[Austro-Bavarian]]. They are spoken in parts of the Alsace, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
[[Wymysorys]], [[Sathmarisch]] and [[Siebenbürgisch]] are High German dialects of Poland and Romania respectively. The High German varieties spoken by [[Ashkenazi Jew]]s (mostly in the former [[Soviet Union]]) have several unique features, and are usually considered as a separate language, [[Yiddish]]. It is the only Germanic language that does not use the [[Latin alphabet]] as its [[official script|standard script]].
===German dialects versus varieties of standard German===
In German [[linguistics]], German [[dialect]]s are distinguished from [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of [[standard German]].
*The ''German dialects'' are the traditional local varieties. They are traditionally traced back to the different German tribes. Many of them are hardly understandable to someone who knows only standard German, since they often differ from standard German in [[lexicon]], [[phonology]] and [[syntax]]. If a narrow definition of [[language]] based on [[mutual intelligibility]] is used, many German dialects are considered to be separate languages (for instance in the [[Ethnologue]]). However, such a point of view is unusual in German linguistics.
*The ''varieties of standard German'' refer to the different local varieties of the [[pluricentric language|pluricentric]] standard German. They only differ slightly in lexicon and phonology. In certain regions, they have replaced the traditional German dialects, especially in Northern Germany.
==Grammar==
{{Main|German grammar}}
{{German grammar}}
German is an [[Fusional language|inflected language]].
===Noun inflection===
[[German nouns]] inflect into:
* one of four [[Grammatical case|case]]s: [[nominative]], [[genitive]], [[dative case|dative]], and [[accusative case|accusative]].
* one of three [[grammatical gender|genders]]: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Word endings sometimes reveal grammatical gender; for instance, nouns ending in '''...ung'''([[-ing]]), '''...e''','''...schaft'''([[-ship]]), '''...keit''' or '''...heit'''([[-hood]]) are feminine, while nouns ending in '''...chen''' or '''...lein''' ([[diminutive]] forms) are neuter and nouns ending in '''...ismus ([[-ism]])''' are masculine. Others are controversial, sometimes depending on the region in which it is spoken. Additionally, ambiguous endings exist, such as '''...er''' ([[-er]]), e.g. ''Feier (feminine)'', engl. ''celebration, party'', and ''Arbeiter (masculine)'', engl. ''labourer''. Sentences can usually be reorganized to avoid a misunderstanding.
* two numbers: singular and plural
Although German is usually cited as an outstanding example of a highly inflected language, the degree of inflection is considerably less than in [[Old German]], or in other old [[Indo-European languages]] such as [[Latin]], [[Ancient Greek]], or [[Sanskrit]]. The three genders have collapsed in the plural, which now behaves, grammatically, somewhat as a fourth gender. With four cases and three genders plus plural there are 16 distinct possible combinations of case and gender/number, but presently there are only six forms of the [[Article (grammar)|definite article]] used for the 16 possibilities. Inflection for case on the noun itself is required in the singular for strong masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive and sometimes in the dative. Both of these cases are losing way to substitutes in [[Natural language|informal speech]]. The dative ending is considered somewhat old-fashioned in many contexts and often dropped, but it is still used in sayings and in formal speech or in written language. Weak masculine nouns share a common case ending for genitive, dative and accusative in the singular. Feminines are not declined in the singular. The plural does have an inflection for the dative. In total, seven inflectional endings (not counting plural markers) exist in German: ''-s, -es, -n, -ns, -en, -ens, -e''.
In the German orthography, nouns and most words with the syntactical function of nouns are capitalised, which is supposed to make it easier for readers to find out what function a word has within the sentence (''Am Freitag bin ich einkaufen gegangen.'' — "On Friday I went shopping."; ''Eines Tages war er endlich da.'' — "One day he finally showed up".) This spelling convention is almost unique to German today (shared perhaps only by the closely related [[Luxemburgish language]]), although it was historically common in other languages (e.g., Danish and English), too.
Like most Germanic languages, German forms left-branching noun [[compound (linguistics)|compound]]s, where the first noun modifies the category given by the second, for example: ''Hundehütte'' (eng. ''dog hut''; specifically: ''doghouse''). Unlike English, where newer compounds or combinations of longer nouns are often written in ''open'' form with separating spaces, German (like the other German languages) nearly always uses the ''closed'' form without spaces, for example: Baumhaus (eng. ''tree house''). Like English, German allows arbitrarily long compounds, but these are rare. (''See also'' [[English compounds]].)
The longest German word verified to be actually in (albeit very limited) use is [[Rinderkennzeichnungs- und Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz|Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz]].
[which, literally translated, breaks up into: Rind (cattle) - Fleisch (meat) - Etikettierung(s) (labelling) - Überwachung(s) (supervision) - Aufgaben (duties) - Übertragung(s) (assignment) - Gesetz (law), so "Beef labelling supervision duty assignment law".]
===Verb inflection===
Standard German verbs inflect into:
* one of two conjugation classes, [[weak verb|weak]] and [[strong verb|strong]] (like English).
(There is actually a third class, known as mixed verbs, which exhibit inflections combining features of both the strong and weak patterns.)
* three persons: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
* two numbers: singular and plural
* three [[Grammatical mood|mood]]s: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative
* two [[Grammatical voice|genera verbi]]: active and passive; the passive being composed and dividable into static and dynamic.
* two non-composed tenses ([[present tense|present]], [[preterite]]) and four composed tenses ([[perfect tense|perfect]], [[pluperfect]], [[Future tense|future]] and [[Future perfect tense|future perfect]])
* distinction between [[grammatical aspect]]s is rendered by combined use of subjunctive and/or preterite marking; thus: neither of both is plain indicative voice, sole subjunctive conveys second-hand information, subjunctive plus Preterite marking forms the conditional state, and sole preterite is either plain indicative (in the past), or functions as a (literal) alternative for either second-hand-information or for the conditional state of the verb, when one of them may seem indistinguishable otherwise.
* distinction between perfect and [[Continuous and progressive aspects|progressive aspect]] is and has at every stage of development been at hand as a productive category of the older language and in nearly all documented dialects, but, strangely enough, is nowadays rigorously excluded from written usage in its present normalised form.
* disambiguation of completed vs. uncompleted forms is widely observed and regularly generated by common prefixes (blicken - to look, erblicken - to see [unrelated form: sehen - to see]).
====Verb prefixes====
There are also many ways to expand, and sometimes radically change, the meaning of a base verb through a relatively small number of prefixes. Some of those prefixes have a meaning themselves (Example: zer- refers to the destruction of things, as in zerreißen = to tear apart, zerbrechen = to break apart, zerschneiden = to cut apart), others do not have more than the vaguest meaning in and of themselves (Example: ver- , as in versuchen = to try, vernehmen = to interrogate, verteilen = to distribute, verstehen = to understand). More examples: haften = to stick, verhaften = to imprison; kaufen = to buy, verkaufen = to sell; hören = to hear, aufhören = to cease; fahren = to drive, erfahren = to get to know, to hear about something.
=====Separable prefixes=====
Many [[German verbs]] have a separable prefix, often with an adverbial function. In [[finite verb]] forms this is split off and moved to the end of the clause, and is hence considered by some to be a "resultative particle". For example, ''mitgehen'' meaning "to go with" would be split giving ''Gehen Sie mit?'' (Literal: "Go you with?" ; Formal: "Are you going along"?).
Indeed, several [[parenthetic]]al clauses may occur between the prefix of a finite verb and its complement; e.g.
:''Er '''kam''' am Freitagabend nach einem harten Arbeitstag und dem üblichen Ärger, der ihn schon seit Jahren immer wieder an seinem Arbeitsplatz plagt, mit fraglicher Freude auf ein Mahl, das seine Frau ihm, wie er hoffte, bereits aufgetischt hatte, endlich zu Hause '''an''' ''.
A literal translation of this example might look like this:
:He '''arr-''' on a Friday evening after a hard day at work and the usual disagreements that had been troubling him repeatedly, looking forward to a questionable meal which, as he hoped, his wife had already fixed for him, '''-ived''' at home.
===Word order===
German requires that a verbal element (main verb or [[auxiliary verb]]) appear second in the sentence, preceded by the most important topical phrase. The second most important phrase appears at the end of the sentence. For a sentence without an auxiliary, this gives several options:
: ''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann gibt mir das Buch heute.}}'' (The old man gives me the book today)
: ''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann gibt mir heute das Buch.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt mir der alte Mann heute.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt der alte Mann heute mir.}}'' ([[stress (linguistics)|stress]] on ''mir'')
: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt heute der alte Mann mir.}}'' (as well)
: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt der alte Mann mir heute.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt heute mir der alte Mann.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt mir heute der alte Mann.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Heute gibt mir der alte Mann das Buch.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Heute gibt mir das Buch der alte Mann.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Heute gibt der alte Mann mir das Buch.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Mir gibt der alte Mann das Buch heute.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Mir gibt heute der alte Mann das Buch.}}''
: ''{{lang|de|Mir gibt der alte Mann heute das Buch.}}''
The position of a noun as a subject or object in a German sentence doesn't affect the meaning of the sentence as it would in English. In a [[Sentence (linguistics)|declarative sentence]] in English if the subject does not occur before the predicate the sentence could well be misunderstood.
For example, in the sentence "Man bites dog" it is clear who did what to whom. To exchange the place of the subject with that of the object — "Dog bites man" — changes the meaning completely. In other words the word order in a sentence conveys significant information. In German, nouns and articles are declined as in Latin thus indicating whether it is the [[subject (linguistics)|subject]] or [[object (linguistics)|object]] of the verb's action. The above example in German would be ''{{lang|de|Ein Mann beißt den Hund}}'' or ''{{lang|de|Den Hund beißt ein Mann}}'' with both having exactly the same meaning. If the articles are omitted, which is sometimes done in headlines (''{{lang|de|Mann beißt Hund}}''), the syntax applies as in English — the first noun is the subject and the noun following the predicate is the object.
Except for emphasis, adverbs of time have to appear in the third place in the sentence, just after the predicate. Otherwise the speaker would be recognised as non-German. For instance the German word order (in Modern English) is: We're going tomorrow to town. (''{{lang|de|Wir gehen morgen in die Stadt.}}'')
====Auxiliary verbs====
When an [[auxiliary verb]] is present, the auxiliary appears in second position, and the main verb appears at the end. This occurs notably in the creation of the [[perfect tense]]. Many word orders are still possible, e.g.:
:''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann hat mir das Buch gestern gegeben.}}'' (The old man gave me the book yesterday.)
:''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann hat mir gestern das Buch gegeben.}}''
:''{{lang|de|Das Buch hat mir der alte Mann gestern gegeben.}}''
:''{{lang|de|Das Buch hat mir gestern der alte Mann gegeben.}}''
:''{{lang|de|Gestern hat mir der alte Mann das Buch gegeben.}}''
:''{{lang|de|Gestern hat mir das Buch der alte Mann gegeben.}}''
The word order is generally less rigid than in Modern English except for nouns (see below). There are two common [[word order]]s; one is for main [[clause]]s and another for [[subordinate clause]]s. In normal positive sentences the ''inflected'' verb always has position 2; in questions, exclamations and wishes it always has position 1. In subordinate clauses the verb is supposed to occur at the very end, but in speech this rule is often disregarded. For example in a [[Dependent clause|subordinate clause]] introduced by "weil" ("because") the verb quite often occupies the same order as in a [[Independent clause|main clause]]. The correct way of saying "because I'm broke" is ''"{{lang|de|…weil ich pleite bin.}}"''. In the vernacular you may hear instead ''"{{lang|de|…weil ich bin pleite.}}"'' This phenomenon may be caused by mixing the word-order pattern used for the word ''{{lang|de|weil}}'' with the pattern used for an alternative word for "because", ''{{lang|de|denn}}'', which is used with the main clause order (''"{{lang|de|…denn ich bin pleite.}}"'').
====Modal verbs====
Sentences using modal verbs place the infinitive at the end. For example, the sentence in Modern English "Should he go home?" would be rearranged in German to say "Should he (to) home go?" (''{{lang|de|Soll er nach Hause gehen?}}''). Thus in sentences with several subordinate or relative clauses the infinitives are clustered at the end. Compare the similar clustering of prepositions in the following English sentence: "What did you bring that book that I don't like to be read to out of up for?"
====Multiple infinitives====
The number of infinitives at the end is usually restricted to two, causing the third infinitive or auxiliary verb that would have gone at the very end to be placed instead at the beginning of the chain of verbs. For example in the sentence "Should he move into the house that he just has had renovated?" would be rearranged to "Should he into the house move, that he just renovated had?". (''{{lang|de|Soll er in das Haus einziehen, das er gerade hat renovieren lassen?}}''). The older form would have been (''{{lang|de|Soll er in das Haus, das er gerade hat renovieren lassen, einziehen?}}'').
If there are more than three infinitives, all except the first two are relocated to the beginning of the chain. Needless to say the rule is not rigorously applied.
==Vocabulary==
Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, although there are significant minorities of words derived from Latin, and [[Greek language|Greek]], and a smaller amount from French [some of which might be reborrowings from Germanic [[Frankish]]] and most recently English [a phenomenon known in German as [[Denglisch]] or in English as [[Germish]] or Denglisch ]. At the same time, the effectiveness of the German language in forming equivalents for foreign words from its inherited Germanic stem repertory is great. Thus, [[Notker Labeo]] was able to translate Aristotelian treatises in pure (Old High) German in the decades after the year 1000. Overall, German has fewer Romance-language loanwords than does English.
The coining of new, autochthonous words gave German a vocabulary of an estimated 40,000 words as early as the ninth century. In comparison, Latin, with a written tradition of nearly 2,500 years in an empire which ruled the Mediterranean, has grown to no more than 45,000 words today.
Even today, many low-key scholarly movements try to promote the ''[[Ersatz]]'' (substitution) of virtually all foreign words with ancient, dialectal, or [[neologism|neologous]] German alternatives[http://vds-ev.de/anglizismenindex]. It is claimed that this would also help in spreading modern or scientific notions among the less educated, and thus democratise public life, too. Jurisprudence in Germany, for example, uses perhaps the "purest" tongue in terms of "Germanness", but also the most cumbersome, to be found today.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}.
In the modern scientific German vocabulary data base in Leipzig (as of July 2003) [http://wortschatz.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/html/inhalt_next.html] there are nine million words and word groups in 35 million sentences (out of a corpus of 500 million words).
==Writing system==
{{Main|German alphabet}}
=== Present ===
German is written using the Latin alphabet. In addition to the 26 standard letters, German has three vowels with [[Umlaut (diacritic)|Umlaut]], namely ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'', as well as the Eszett or ''[[scharfes s]]'' (sharp s), ''[[ß]]''.
Before the German spelling reform of 1996, ''ß'' replaced ''ss'' after [[Vowel length|long vowels]] and diphthongs and before consonants, word-, or partial-word-endings. In reformed spelling, ''ß'' replaces ''ss'' only after long vowels and diphthongs. Since there is no [[capital ß]], it is always written as SS when capitalization is required. For example, ''Maßband'' (tape measure) is capitalized ''MASSBAND''. An exception is the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalizing names. To avoid confusion with similar names, a "ß" is to be used instead of "SS". (So: "KREßLEIN" instead of "KRESSLEIN".) A capital ß has been proposed and included in [[Unicode]], but it is not yet recognized as standard German. In [[Switzerland]], ß is not used at all.
Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly circumscribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard used. In the same manner ß can be circumscribed as ss. German readers understand those circumscriptions (although they look unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available because they are considered a makeshift, not proper spelling. (In Westphalia, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g. ''Raesfeld'' [ˈraːsfɛlt] and ''Coesfeld'' [ˈkoːsfɛlt], but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than [[proper noun]]s.)
Unfortunately there is still no general agreement exactly where these umlauts occur in the sorting sequence. Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e, whereas dictionaries use just the base vowel. As an example in a [[Telephone directory|telephone book]] ''Ärzte'' occurs after ''Adressenverlage'' but before ''Anlagenbauer'' (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary ''Ärzte'' occurs after ''Arzt'' but before ''Asbest'' (because Ä is treated as A). In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial ''Sch'' and ''St'' are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after ''S''.
=== Past ===
{{Main|Antiqua-Fraktur dispute}}
Until the early 20th century, German was mostly printed in [[blackletter]] [[typefaces]] (mostly in [[fraktur (typeface)|Fraktur]], but also in [[Schwabacher]]) and written in corresponding [[Penmanship|handwriting]] (for example [[Kurrent]] and [[Sütterlin]]). These variants of the Latin alphabet are very different from the serif or [[Sans-serif|sans serif]] [[Antiqua]] typefaces used today, and particularly the handwritten forms are difficult for the untrained to read. The printed forms however were claimed by some to be actually more readable when used for printing [[Germanic language]]s [Adolf Reinecke, ''Die deutsche Buchstabenschrift: ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung, ihre Zweckmäßigkeit und völkische Bedeutung'', Leipzig, Hasert, 1910]. The [[Nazis]] initially promoted Fraktur and Schwabacher since they were considered [[Aryan]], although they later abolished them in 1941 by claiming that these letters were Jewish. The latter fact is not widely known anymore; today the letters are often associated with the Nazis{{Fact|date=March 2008}} and are no longer commonly used {{Fact|date=February 2007}}. The Fraktur script remains present in everyday life through road signs, pub signs, beer brands and other forms of advertisement, where it is used to convey a certain rusticality and oldness.
A proper use of the [[long s]], (''langes s''), [[Long s|ſ]], is essential to write German text in [[Fraktur (script)|Fraktur]] typefaces. Many [[Antiqua script|Antiqua]] typefaces include the [[long s]], also. A specific set of rules applies for the use of long s in German text, but it is rarely used in Antiqua typesetting, recently. Any lower case "s" at the beginning of a syllable would be a long s, as opposed to a terminal s or short s (the more common variation of the letter s), which marks the end of a syllable; for example, in differentiating between the words ''Wachſtube'' (=guard-house) and ''Wachstube'' (=tube of floor polish). One can decide which "s" to use by appropriate hyphenation, easily ("Wach-ſtube" vs. "Wachs-tube"). The long s only appears in [[lower case]].
The widespread ignorance {{Fact|date=July 2008}} of the correct use of the Fraktur scripts shows however in the many mistakes made— such as the frequent erroneous use of the round s instead of the [[long s]] at the beginning of a syllable, the failure to employ the mandatory [[Typographical ligature|ligature]]s of Fraktur, or the use of letter-forms more alike to the Antiqua for certain especially hard-to-read Fraktur letters{{Fact|date=July 2008}}.
==Phonology==
{{Main|German phonology}}
===Vowels===
German vowels (excluding diphthongs; see below) come in ''short'' and ''long'' varieties, as detailed in the following table:
{| class=wikitable
! !! A !! Ä !! E !! I !! O !! Ö !! U !! Ü
|-
! short
| /a/ || {{IPA|/ɛ/}} || {{IPA|/ɛ/, /ǝ/}} || {{IPA|/ɪ/}} || {{IPA|/ɔ/}} || {{IPA|/œ/}} || {{IPA|/ʊ/}} || {{IPA|/ʏ/}}
|-
! long
| {{IPA|/aː/}} || {{IPA|/ɛː/}} || {{IPA|/eː/}} || {{IPA|/iː/}} || {{IPA|/oː/}} || {{IPA|/øː/}} || {{IPA|/uː/}} || {{IPA|/yː/}}
|}
Short {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} in stressed syllables (including [[secondary stress]]), but as {{IPA|[ǝ]}} in unstressed syllables. Note that stressed short {{IPA|/ɛ/}} can be spelled either with ''e'' or with ''ä'' (''hätte'' 'would have' and ''Kette'' 'chain', for instance, rhyme). In general, the short vowels are open and the long vowels are closed. The one exception is the open {{IPA|/ɛː/}} sound of long Ä; in some varieties of standard German, {{IPA|/ɛː/}} and {{IPA|/eː/}} have merged into {{IPA|[eː]}}, removing this anomaly. In that case, pairs like ''Bären/Beeren'' 'bears/berries' or ''Ähre/Ehre'' 'spike/honour' become homophonous).
In many varieties of standard German, an unstressed {{IPA|/ɛr/}} is not pronounced as {{IPA|[ər]}}, but vocalised to {{IPA|[ɐ]}}.
Whether any particular vowel letter represents the long or short phoneme is not completely predictable, although the following regularities exist:
* If a vowel (other than ''i'') is at the end of a syllable or followed by a single consonant, it is usually pronounced long (e.g. ''Hof'' [hoːf]).
* If the vowel is followed by a double consonant (e.g. ''ff'', ''ss'' or ''tt''), ''ck'', ''tz'' or a [[consonant cluster]] (e.g. ''st'' or ''nd''), it is nearly always short (e.g. ''hoffen'' [ˈhɔfǝn]). Double consonants are used only for this function of marking preciding vowels as short; the consonant itself is never pronounced lengthened or doubled.
Both of these rules have exceptions (e.g. ''hat'' [hat] 'has' is short despite the first rule; ''Kloster'' {{IPA|[kloːstər]}}, '[[cloister]]'; ''Mond'' {{IPA|[moːnt]}}, '[[moon]]' are long despite the second rule). For an ''i'' that is neither in the combination ''ie'' (making it long) nor followed by a double consonant or cluster (making it short), there is no general rule. In some cases, there are regional differences: In central Germany (Hessen), the ''o'' in the [[Noun#Proper nouns and common nouns|proper name]] "Hoffmann" is pronounced long while most other Germans would pronounce it short; the same applies to the ''e'' in the geographical name "Mecklenburg" for people in that region. The word ''Städte'' 'cities', is pronounced with a short vowel {{IPA|[ˈʃtɛtə]}} by some (Jan Hofer, ARD Television) and with a long vowel {{IPA|[ˈʃtɛːtə]}} by others (Marietta Slomka, ZDF Television). Finally, a vowel followed by ''ch'' can be short (''Fach'' {{IPA|[fax]}} 'compartment', ''Küche'' {{IPA|[ˈkʏçe]}} 'kitchen') or long (''Suche'' {{IPA|[ˈzuːxǝ]}} 'search', ''Bücher'' {{IPA|[ˈbyːçər]}} 'books') almost at random. Thus, ''Lache'' is homographous: {{IPA|[la:xe]}} 'puddle' and {{IPA|[laxe]}} 'manner of laughing' (coll.), 'laugh!' (Imp.).
German vowels can form the following digraphs (in writing) and diphthongs (in pronunciation); note that the pronunciation of some of them (ei, äu, eu) is very different from what one would expect when considering the component letters:
{| class=wikitable
! spelling
| ai, ei, ay, ey || au || äu, eu
|-
! pronunciation
| {{IPA|/aɪ̯/}} || {{IPA|/aʊ̯/}} || {{IPA|/ɔʏ̯/}}
|}
Additionally, the digraph ''ie'' generally represents the phoneme {{IPA|/iː/}}, which is not a diphthong. In many varieties, a /r/ at the end of a syllable is vocalised. However, a sequence of a vowel followed by such a vocalised /r/ is not considered a diphthong: Bär {{IPA|[bɛːɐ̯]}} 'bear', er {{IPA|[eːɐ̯]}} 'he', wir {{IPA|[viːɐ̯]}} 'we', Tor {{IPA|[toːɐ̯]}} 'gate', kurz {{IPA|[kʊɐ̯ts]}} 'short', Wörter {{IPA|[vœɐ̯tɐ]}} 'words'.
In most varieties of standard German, word stems that begin with a vowel are preceded by a [[glottal stop]] [ʔ].
===Consonants===
* '''c''' standing by itself is not a German letter. In borrowed words, it is usually pronounced [ʦ] (before ä, äu, e, i, ö, ü, y) or [k] (before a, o, u, or before consonants). The combination '''ck''' is, as in English, used to indicate that the preceding vowel is short.
* '''ch''' occurs most often and is pronounced either [ç] (after ä, ai, äu, e, ei, eu, i, ö, ü and after consonants) or [x] (after a, au, o, u). Ch never occurs at the beginning of an originally German word. In borrowed words with initial Ch there is no single agreement on the pronunciation. For example, the word ''"Chemie"'' (chemistry) can be pronounced [keːˈmiː], [çeːˈmiː] or [ʃeːˈmiː] depending on dialect.
* '''dsch''' is pronounced ʤ (like ''j'' in ''Jungle'') but appears in a few [[loanwords]] only.
* '''f''' is pronounced [f] as in "''f''ather".
* '''h''' is pronounced [h] like in "''h''ome" at the beginning of a syllable. After a vowel it is silent and only lengthens the vowel (e.g. ''"Reh"'' = [[roe deer]]).
* '''j''' is pronounced [j] in Germanic words (''"Jahr"'' [jaːɐ]). In younger loanwords, it follows more or less the respective languages' pronunciations.
* '''l''' is always pronounced [l], never [ɫ] (the English "[[Dark L]]").
* '''q''' only exists in combination with '''u''' and appears both in Germanic and Latin words (''"quer"''; ''"Qualität"''). It is pronounced [kv].
* '''r''' is pronounced as a [[Guttural R|guttural sound]] (an [[uvular trill]], [ʀ]) in front of a vowel or consonant (''"Rasen"'' [ʀaːzən]; ''"Burg"'' like [buʀg]). In spoken German however, it is commonly vocalised after a vowel (''"er"'' being pronounced rather like ['ɛɐ] - ''"Burg"'' [buɐg]). In some southern non-standard varieties, the '''r''' is pronounced as a tongue-tip r (the [[alveolar trill]]).
* '''s''' in Germany, is pronounced [z] (as in "''Z''ebra") if it forms the [[syllable onset]] (e.g. Sohn [zoːn]), otherwise [s] (e.g. Bus [bʊs]). In Austria, always pronounced [s]. A '''ss''' [s] indicates that the preceding vowel is short. '''st''' and '''sp''' at the beginning of words of German origin are pronounced [ʃt] and [ʃp], respectively.
* '''ß''' (a letter unique to German called "Esszet") was a ligature of a double '''s''' ''and'' of a '''sz''' and is always pronounced [s]. Originating in [[Blackletter]] typeface, it traditionally replaced '''ss''' at the end of a syllable (e.g. ''"ich muss"'' → ''"ich muß"''; ''"ich müsste"'' → ''"ich müßte"''); within a word it contrasts with '''ss''' [s] in indicating that the preceding vowel is long (compare ''"in Maßen"'' [in 'maːsən] "with moderation" and ''"in Massen"'' [in 'masən] "in loads"). The use of '''ß''' has recently been limited by the latest German spelling reform and is no longer used for '''ss''' at the end of a syllable; Switzerland and Liechtenstein already abolished it in 1934.[[http://www.mittelschulvorbereitung.ch/index.php?SUBJECT=&actualid=5 Mittelschulvorbereitung Deutsch]]
* '''sch''' is pronounced [ʃ] (like "sh" in "Shine").
* '''v''' is pronounced [f] in words of Germanic origin (e.g. ''"Vater"'' [ˈfaːtɐ]) and [v] in most other words (e.g. ''"Vase"'' [ˈvaːzǝ]).
* '''w''' is pronounced [v] like in "''v''acation" (e.g. ''"was"'' [vas]).
* '''y''' only appears in loanwords and is traditionally considered a vowel.
* '''z''' is always pronounced [ʦ] (e.g. ''"zog"'' [ʦoːk]). A '''tz''' indicates that the preceding vowel is short.
====Consonant shifts====
{{details|High German consonant shift}}
German does not have any [[dental fricative]]s (as English '''th'''). The '''th''' sounds, which the English language has inherited from [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo Saxon]], survived on the continent up to Old High German and then disappeared in German with the consonant shifts between the 8th and the 10th century. It is sometimes possible to find parallels between German by replacing the English '''th''' with '''d''' in German: "Thank" → in German "Dank", "this" and "that" → "dies" and "das", "[[thou]]" (old 2nd person singular pronoun) → "du", "think" → "denken", "thirsty" → "durstig" and many other examples.
Likewise, the '''gh''' in [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] English words, pronounced in several different ways in modern English (as an '''f''', or not at all), can often be linked to German '''ch''': "to laugh" → "lachen", "through" and "thorough" → "durch", "high" → "hoch", "naught" → "nichts", etc.
==Cognates with English==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=April 2008}}
{{splitsection}}
There are many thousands of German words that are [[cognate]] to English words (in fact a sizeable fraction of native German and English vocabulary, although for various reasons much of it is not immediately obvious). Most of the words in the following table have almost the same meaning as in English.
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#FFDEAD
! '''German'''
! Meaning of German word
! English cognate
|-
|Abend || eve/evening || eve from Old E.æfen
|-
|an|| on/above || on
|-
|auf || up / on || up
|-
|aus || out (of) || out
|-
|beginnen, begann, begonnen || to begin, began, begun || to begin, began, begun
|-
|bester, beste, bestes || best || best
|-
|Bett || bed || bed
|-
|Bier || beer || beer
|-
|Blut || blood || blood
|-
|bringen, brachte, gebracht || to bring, brought, brought || bring, brought
|-
|Butter || butter || butter
|-
|Erde || Earth || Earth
|-
|das || that || dat
|-
|essen || to eat || to eat
|-
|fallen, fiel, gefallen || to fall, fell, fallen || to fall, fell, fallen
|-
|Faust || fist || fist
|-
|fechten, focht, gefochten || to fence || fight, fought, fought
|-
|Finger || finger || finger
|-
|Fisch || fish || fish
|-
|Freund(e) || friend || friend
|-
|Fuß || foot || foot
|-
|Gott || God || God
|-
|haben || to have || to have
|-
|Hand || hand || hand
|-
| -heit (suffix) || -ity, -ness, -hood || -hood
|-
|Haus || house || house
|-
|Hilfe, helfen || help (noun), to help || help, to help
|-
|heißen || to be called || hight (''archaic'')
|-
|hören || to hear || hear
|-
|Hund || dog || hound
|-
|ist, war || is, was || is, was
|-
|kalt || cold || cold
|-
|Katze || cat || cat
|-
|Knie || knee || knee
|-
|kommen, kam, gekommen || to come, came, come || to come, came, come
|-
|König || King || King
|-
|Laus, Läuse || louse, lice || louse, lice
|-
|lachen || to laugh || to laugh
|-
|Mann || man || man
|-
|Maus, Mäuse || mouse, mice || mouse, mice
|-
|Milch || milk || milk
|-
|Mond || moon || moon
|-
|müssen || to have to || must
|-
|Mutter || mother || mother
|-
|Nacht || night || night
|-
|Nachbar || neighbor || neighbor
|-
|Polen || Poland || Poland
|-
|Regen || rain || rain
|-
|scheinen || to shine || to shine
|-
|Schiff || ship || ship
|-
|Schuh || shoe || shoe
|-
|Schnee || snow || snow
|-
|schwimmen || to swim || to swim
|-
|singen, sang, gesungen || to sing, sang, sung || to sing, sang, sung
|-
|sinken, sank, gesunken || to sink, sank, sunk || to sink, sank, sunk
|-
|Schwert || sword || sword
|-
|Sohn || son || son
|-
|Sommer || summer || summer
|-
|springen, sprang, gesprungen || to jump, jumped, jumped || to spring, sprang, sprung
|-
|stehlen || to steal || to steal
|-
|Tag || day || day
|-
|Tisch || table || dish (both eating surfaces)
|-
|Tochter || daughter || daughter
|-
|Vater || father || father
|-
|Wasser || water || water
|-
|Waffe || weapon || weapon
|-
|warm || warm || warm
|-
|Weib || woman || wife
|-
|Wetter || weather || weather
|-
|Wille || will (''noun'')|| will
|-
|wir, uns || we, us || we, us
|-
|Winter || winter || winter
|}
Compound word cognates
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#FFDEAD
! '''German'''
! Cognate word parts
! Meaning
|-
|Fingernagel || finger + nail || fingernail
|-
|Hochland || high + land || highland
|-
|Ringfinger || ring + finger || ring finger
|-
|Schneemann || snow + man || snowman
|-
|Schwertfisch || sword + fish || swordfish
|-
|Vollmond || full + moon || full moon
|-
|Vorsicht || fore + sight || foresight (/caution)
|-
|Wasserfall || water + fall || waterfall
|}
When these cognates have slightly different consonants, this is often due to the High German consonant shift.
Hence the affinity of English words with those of German dialects is more evidently:
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#FFDEAD
! '''German'''
! English
! German dialects
|-
|allein || alone || allon, alloan
|-
|aus || out || ut
|-
|blasen || blow || blosa
|-
|breit || broad || broad, brad
|-
|dünn || thin || dinn
|-
|das || that || dat
|-
|ein grüner Apfel || a green apple || a griener Appl
|-
|eine Katze || a cat || en Katt
|-
|Freund || friend || Freind
|-
|fühlen || to feel || fihla
|-
|Füllung || filling || Fillung
|-
|geben || to give || geva
|-
|gehört || heard || ghärt
|-
|gesehen || seen || gsihn
|-
|grün || green || grien
|-
|haben || to have || hava
|-
|heben || to heave || heva
|-
|heim || home || hom, hoam
|-
|küssen || to kiss || kissa
|-
|Läuse || lice || Leis
|-
|leben || to live || levve
|-
|Leber || liver || Lever
|-
|Lunge || lung || Lung
|-
|Mäuse || mice || Meis
|-
|mein Kamm || my comb || mei Kambl
|-
|meine Mutter || my mother || mei Modder
|-
|nein || no || no, nee
|-
|neun || nine || nein
|-
|nicht || not || net
|-
|offen || open || open
|-
|Silber || silver || Silver
|-
|Regen || rain || Reen
|-
|Stein || stone || Ston, Stoan
|-
|sie ist allein || she is alone || sie is allon
|-
|sieben || seven || seven
|-
|sieben || to sieve || sieva
|-
|streben || to strive || streva
|-
|Sommer || summer || Summer
|-
|Tage || days || Dage
|-
|treiben || to drive || driven
|-
|Wann || when || Wenn
|-
|Wasser || water || Water
|-
|zehn || ten || tien
|}
There are cognates whose meanings in either language have changed through the centuries. It is sometimes difficult for both English and German speakers to discern the relationship. On the other hand, once the definitions are made clear, then the logical relation becomes obvious. Sometimes the generality or specificity of word pairs may be opposite in the two languages.
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#FFDEAD
! '''German'''
! Meaning of German word
! English cognate
! Comment
|-
|-
|antworten || to answer || an-word || the cognate prefix Ger.'ant' is equal to Old E.'and-'〈"against"〉(→an).'wort'=word,'swer'=swear, so the suffix isn't cognate.
|-
|Baum || tree || beam || Both derive from West Germanic ''*baumoz'' meaning "tree". It is the English one which, in Anglo-Saxon and Old English, has radically changed its meaning several times. (The original meaning is retained in the English terms for some trees, such as [[hornbeam]].)
|-
|bekommen || to get || to become ||
|-
|Dogge || mastiff || dog ||
|-
|drehen || to turn || to throw || cf. to throw (make) a pot by turning it on a wheel
|-
|ernten || to harvest || to earn ||
|-
|fahren || to drive || to fare ||O.E. faran "to journey, to make one's way," from P.Gmc. *faranan (cf. Goth. faran, Ger. fahren), from PIE *por- "going, passage"
|-
|fechten || to fence (''sport'') || to fight ||
|-
|Gift || poison || gift || the original meaning of ''Gift'' in German can still be seen in the German deflection ''Mitgift'' "dowry"
|-
|kaufen || to buy || cheap, [[chapman]] ||
|-
|Knabe (''formal'')|| boy || [[knave]] ||
|-
|Knecht || servant || knight ||
|-
|nehmen || to take || numb || sensation has been taken away; cf. German ''benommen'', 'dazed'
|-
|raten || to guess, to advise || to read || cf. ''riddle'', akin to German ''Rätsel''
|-
|ritzen || to scratch || to write ||
|-
|Schmerz || pain || smart || The verb ''smart'' retains this meaning
|-
|schlecht || bad || slight ||Sense of Ger. cognate schlecht developed from "smooth, plain, simple" to "bad," and as it did it was replaced in the original senses by schlicht, a back-formation from schlichten "to smooth, to plane," a derivative of schlecht in the old sense.
|-
|sich rächen || to take revenge || to wreak (havoc) ||
|-
|Tisch || table || dish, desk || Latin ''discus''
|-
|Vieh || cattle || fee || from O.E. 'feoh' money, property, cattle
|-
|Wald || forest || wold || cf. English placename "Cotswold(s)"
|-
|werden || to become || weird || see [[wyrd]]
|-
|wer || who || where || see below
|-
|wo || where || who || see above
|-
|Zeit || time || tide || the root is re-used in German ''Gezeiten'' as ''Tiden'' ('tides')
|}
German and English also share many borrowings from other languages, especially Latin, French and Greek. Most of these words have the same meaning, while a few have subtle differences in meaning. As many of these words have been borrowed by numerous languages, not only German and English, they are called ''[[internationalism (linguistics)|internationalisms]]'' in German linguistics. For reference, a good number of these borrowed words are of the neuter gender.
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#FFDEAD
! '''German'''
! Meaning of German word
! language of origin
|-
|Armee || army || French
|-
|Arrangement || arrangement || French
|-
|Chance || opportunity || French
|-
|Courage || courage || French
|-
|Disposition || disposition || Latin
|-
|Feuilleton || feuilleton || French
|-
|Futur || future tense || Latin
|-
|Boje ||buoy || Dutch
|-
|Genre || genre || French
|-
|Mikroskop || microscope || Greek
|-
|Partei || political party || French
|-
|Position || position || Latin
|-
|positiv || positive || Latin
|-
|Prestige || prestige || French
|-
|Psychologie || psychology || Greek
|-
|Religion || religion || Latin
|-
|Restaurant || restaurant || French
|-
|Tabu || taboo || Tongan
|-
|Zigarre || cigar || Spanish
|-
|Zucker || sugar || Sanskrit, via Arabic
|}
==Words borrowed by English==
:''For a list of German loanwords in English, see [[:Category:German loanwords]]''
In the English language, there are also many words taken from German without any letter change, e.g.:
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#FFDEAD
! German word
! English cognate
! Meaning of German word
|-
|Abseilen|| [[abseiling]] || to abseil
|-
|Angst || [[angst]] || fear / angst
|-
|Anschluss || [[anschluss]] || connection / access
|-
|Automat || [[automat]] || automation / machine / automat
|-
|Bildungsroman || [[bildungsroman]] || novel of personal development
|-
|Blitz || blitz || flash / lightning
|-
|Delikatessen || [[delikatessen]]/delicatessen || delicate, resp. delicious food items
|-
|Doppelgänger || [[doppelgänger]] || spectral look-alike of somebody
|-
|Edelweiß || [[edelweiss]] || edelweiss
|-
|Gedankenexperiment || [[Gedankenexperiment]] || Thought experiment
|-
|Gesundheit! || Gesundheit! (Amer.) || health / bless you!
|-
|Hinterland || [[hinterland]] || interior / backwoods
|-
|Kindergarten || [[kindergarten]] || literally "Children's Garden" - nursery or preschool
|-
|Kraut || [[kraut]] || cabbage
|-
|Poltergeist || [[poltergeist]] || poltergeist
|-
|Realpolitik || [[realpolitik]] || diplomacy based on practical objectives rather than ideals
|-
|Rucksack || [[rucksack]] || backpack
|-
|Schadenfreude || [[schadenfreude]] || taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune
|-
| Waldsterben || [[waldsterben]] || floral dying environment
|-
|Wanderlust || [[wanderlust]] || desire, pleasure, or inclination to travel, or walk
|-
|Weltanschauung || [[weltanschauung]] || worldview
|-
|Zeitgeist || [[zeitgeist]] || the spirit of the age/decade; the trend at that time
|}
==Names for German in other languages==
:''See also: [[Deutsch]], [[Names for the Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Deitsch]], [[Dietsch]], [[Teuton]], [[Teutonic]], [[Allemanic]], [[Alleman]], [[Theodisca]]''
The names that countries have for the language differ from region to region.
In Italian the sole name for German is still ''tedesco'', from the Latin ''[[theodiscus]]'', meaning "vernacular".
A possible explanation for the use of words meaning "mute" (e.g., ''nemoj'' in Russian, ''němý'' in Czech, ''nem'' in [[Serbian language|Serbian]]) to refer to German (and also to Germans) in Slavic languages is that Germans were the first people [[Slavic peoples|Slavic tribes]] encountered with whom they could not communicate.
[[Romanian language|Romanian]] used to use the Slavonic term "nemţeşte", but "germană" is now widely used. Hungarian "német" is also of Slavonic origin. The [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name for Austria, النمسا ("an-namsa"), is derived from the Slavonic term.
Note also that though the Russian term for the language is ''немецкий'' ''(nemetskij)'', the country is ''Германия'' ''(Germania)''. However, in certain other [[Slavic languages]], such as Czech, the country name (''Německo'') is similar to the name of the language, ''německý'' (jazyk).
[[Finns]] and [[Estonians]] use the term ''saksa'', originally from the [[Saxon people|Saxon]] tribe.
[[Scandinavians]] use derivatives of the word ''Tyskland/Þýskaland'' (from Theodisca) for the country and ''tysk(a)/þýska'' for the language.
[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] traditionally (nowadays this is not the case) used the Biblical term אַשְׁכֲּנָז ([[Ashkenaz]]) (Genesis 10:3) to refer to Germany, or to certain parts of it, and the [[Ashkenazi]] Jews are those who originate from Germany and [[Eastern Europe]] and formerly spoke Yiddish as their native language, derived from [[Middle High German]]. Modern Hebrew uses גֶּרְמָנִי ''germaní'' (Or גֶּרְמָנִית ''germanít'' for the language).
The French term is ''allemand'', the Spanish term is ''alemán'', the [[Catalan language|Catalan]] term is ''alemany'', and the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] term is ''alemão''; all derive from the ancient [[Alamanni]] tribal alliance, meaning literally "''All Men''".
The [[Latvian language|Latvian]] term ''vācu'' means "tinny" and refers disparagingly to the iron-clad [[Teutonic Knights]] that colonized the Baltic in the Middle Ages.
The [[Scottish Gaelic]] term for the German language, ''Gearmailtis'', is formed in the standard way of adding ''-(a)is'' to the end of the country name.
See [[Names for Germany]] for further details on the origins of these and other terms.
==See also==
* [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]], [[Ashkenazi]], [[Manisch]]
* [[Dutch influence on the German language]]
* [[Missingsch]]
* [[Deutsch]], [[Dutch (disambiguation)|Dutch]], [[Dietsch]], [[Duits]], [[Diets]]
* [[Ethnic German]]
* [[German loan words]]
* [[German name]]
* [[German family name etymology]]
* [[German placename etymology]]
* [[German exonyms]]
* [[German as a Minority Language]]
* [[German in the United States]]
* [[German spelling reform of 1996]]
* [[Germanic peoples]], [[Germanic mysticism|mysticism]], [[Germanic mythology|mythology]], [[Germanic name|naming]], [[Theodism]]
* [[Germanism]]
* [[Germish]], [[Denglish]], [[Pseudo-Anglicism]]
* [[Loanword]]
* [[Loan translation]]
* [[List of English words of German origin]]
* [[List of English words of Yiddish origin]]
* [[List of pseudo-German words adapted to English]]
* [[Names for Germany]]
* [[Thou]]
* [[Umlaut (diacritic)|Umlaut]], [[ß]]
* [[Various terms used for Germans]]
* [[:Category:German loanwords]]
* [[Wiktionary:Transwiki:List of German words and phrases]]
* [[Austro-Bavarian]]
* [[Alemannic German]]
* [[Swiss German (linguistics)|Swiss German]]
* [[Luxembourgish language]]
* [[Pennsylvania Dutch]]
* [[Hutterite German]]
==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
===General references===
* [[Michael Clyne]], ''The German Language in a Changing Europe'' (1995) ISBN 0521499704
* [[George Oliver Curme|George O. Curme]], ''A Grammar of the German Language'' (1904, 1922) — the most complete and authoritative work in English
* Anthony Fox, ''The Structure of German'' (2005) ISBN 0199273995
* W.B. Lockwood, ''German Today: The Advanced Learner's Guide'' (1987) ISBN 0198158505
* Edmund Remys, ''Comprehensive Review of Modern German'' (2007).
*{{de icon}} {{PDF|[http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/germanistik/spr/suf/baydat-udi/pdf/Grob%FCbersicht%20Dialekte.pdf Dialect map of the German language area]|36.8 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]}}
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{{Link FA|he}}
[[af:Duits]]
[[als:Deutsche Sprache]]
[[am:ጀርመንኛ]]
[[ang:Þēodisc sprǣc]]
[[ar:لغة ألمانية]]
[[an:Idioma alemán]]
[[arc:ܠܫܢܐ ܓܪܡܢܝܐ]]
[[frp:Alemand]]
[[ast:Alemán]]
[[ay:Aliman aru]]
[[az:Alman dili]]
[[bn:জার্মান ভাষা]]
[[zh-min-nan:Tek-gí]]
[[ba:Герман теле]]
[[be:Нямецкая мова]]
[[be-x-old:Нямецкая мова]]
[[bcl:Aleman]]
[[bar:Deitsche Sprach]]
[[bs:Njemački jezik]]
[[br:Alamaneg]]
[[bg:Немски език]]
[[ca:Alemany]]
[[cv:Нимĕç чĕлхи]]
[[ceb:Inaleman]]
[[cs:Němčina]]
[[co:Lingua tedesca]]
[[cy:Almaeneg]]
[[da:Tysk (sprog)]]
[[pdc:Modern Hochdeitsch]]
[[de:Deutsche Sprache]]
[[dv:އަލްމާނީ]]
[[nv:Bééshbich’ahí bizaad]]
[[dsb:Nimšćina]]
[[et:Saksa keel]]
[[el:Γερμανική γλώσσα]]
[[eml:Tedèsch]]
[[es:Idioma alemán]]
[[eo:Germana lingvo]]
[[eu:Aleman]]
[[fa:زبان آلمانی]]
[[fo:Týskt (mál)]]
[[fr:Allemand]]
[[fy:Dútsk]]
[[fur:Lenghe todescje]]
[[ga:Gearmáinis]]
[[gv:Germaanish]]
[[gd:Gearmailtis]]
[[gl:Lingua alemá]]
[[zh-classical:德語]]
[[ko:독일어]]
[[hy:Գերմաներեն]]
[[hi:जर्मन भाषा]]
[[hsb:Němska rěč]]
[[hr:Njemački jezik]]
[[io:Germaniana linguo]]
[[ilo:Pagsasao nga Aleman]]
[[bpy:জার্মান ঠার]]
[[id:Bahasa Jerman]]
[[ia:Lingua german]]
[[ie:German]]
[[xh:IsiJamani]]
[[zu:IsiJalimani]]
[[is:Þýska]]
[[it:Lingua tedesca]]
[[he:גרמנית]]
[[jv:Basa Jerman]]
[[kl:Tyskisut]]
[[ka:გერმანული ენა]]
[[kw:Almaynek]]
[[sw:Kijerumani]]
[[kg:Kidoitce]]
[[ht:Alman]]
[[lad:Idioma aleman]]
[[la:Lingua Theodisca]]
[[lv:Vācu valoda]]
[[lb:Däitsch]]
[[lt:Vokiečių kalba]]
[[lij:Lengua tedesca]]
[[li:Duits]]
[[ln:Lialémani]]
[[jbo:dotybau]]
[[lmo:Lengua Tudesca]]
[[hu:Német nyelv]]
[[mk:Германски јазик]]
[[mg:Fiteny alemainai]]
[[ml:ജര്മന് ഭാഷ]]
[[mi:Reo Tiamana]]
[[mr:जर्मन भाषा]]
[[ms:Bahasa Jerman]]
[[cdo:Dáik-ngṳ̄]]
[[nah:Teutontlahtōlli]]
[[nl:Duits]]
[[nds-nl:Duuts]]
[[ja:ドイツ語]]
[[nap:Lengua germanese]]
[[no:Tysk]]
[[nn:Tysk språk]]
[[nrm:Allemaund]]
[[oc:Alemand]]
[[ps:الماني]]
[[pms:Lenga tedësca]]
[[nds:Düütsche Spraak]]
[[pl:Język niemiecki]]
[[pt:Língua alemã]]
[[crh:Alman tili]]
[[ksh:Deutsche Shprooch]]
[[ro:Limba germană]]
[[rm:Lingua tudestga]]
[[qu:Aliman simi]]
[[ru:Немецкий язык]]
[[se:Duiskkagiella]]
[[sm:Fa'asiamani]]
[[sco:German leid]]
[[st:Se-jeremane]]
[[sq:Gjuha gjermane]]
[[scn:Lingua tudisca]]
[[simple:German language]]
[[ss:SíJalimáne]]
[[sk:Nemčina]]
[[cu:Нѣмьчьскъ ѩзыкъ]]
[[sl:Nemščina]]
[[szl:Ńymjecko godka]]
[[sr:Немачки језик]]
[[sh:Nemački jezik]]
[[fi:Saksan kieli]]
[[sv:Tyska]]
[[tl:Wikang Aleman]]
[[ta:ஜெர்மன் மொழி]]
[[tt:Alman tele]]
[[tet:Lia-alemaun]]
[[th:ภาษาเยอรมัน]]
[[vi:Tiếng Đức]]
[[tg:Забони олмонӣ]]
[[tpi:Tok Siamani]]
[[tr:Almanca]]
[[tk:Nemesçe]]
[[uk:Німецька мова]]
[[ur:جرمن زبان]]
[[vec:Łéngoa todésca]]
[[wa:Almand]]
[[yi:דייטשיש]]
[[zh-yue:德文]]
[[diq:Almanki]]
[[zea:Duuts]]
[[bat-smg:Vuokėitiu kalba]]
[[zh:德语]]