German (Deutsch) is a language, a member of the western group of the Germanic languages. It is spoken primarily in Germany, Austria, the northern part of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Südtirol (South Tyrol) region of Italy, the Opole Voivodship of Poland and the Alsace (Elsaß) region of France. Additionally, several former colonial possessions of these countries, such as Namibia, have sizable German-speaking populations, and there are German-speaking minorities in several eastern European countries.
History
The dialects that participated in the second German vowel shift during medieval times are regarded as those of the German language.
As a consequence of the colonization patterns, then the Völkerwanderung, of the routes for trade and communication (chiefly the rivers), and of physical isolation (high mountains and deep forests) very different regional dialects developed. These dialects, sometimes mutually unintelligible, were used across the Holy Roman Empire. As Germany was divided into many different states, there was for long no force working for a unification or standardization[?] of German, until Martin Luther translated the Bible (the New Testament in 1521 and the Old Testament in 1534).
The regional variety (dialect) into which Martin Luther translated the Bible is now regarded as the guideline language upon which Standard[?] German is built. Ether media and written works are almost all produced in this variety of High German (usually called Standard German in English or Hochdeutsch in German) which is understood in all areas of German languages (except by pre-school children in areas which speak only dialect - but in the age of TV even they 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 1960, was and still is the most complete census of the words of the German language. In 1860, grammatical and orthographical rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, this was declared the standard definition of the German language in these matters. Official revisions of some of these rules were not issued until 1998.
Status
German is the only official language in Germany, Liechtenstein and Austria; it shares official status in Belgium (with French and Dutch), Italy (with Italian, French and Slovenian), Switzerland (with French, Italian and Romansh), Luxembourg (with French and Luxembourgish).
It is also a minority language in Denmark, France, Russia, Tajikistan, Poland, Romania, Togo, Cameroon, the USA, Namibia, Paraguay, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Ukraine, Croatia, Moldavia, Australia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
Increasing influence from the English language has affected German recently.
Dialects of German
The term "German" is used for several dialects of Germany and surrounding countries and in North America.
The dialects of Germany are typically divided into Low German and High German. The Low German dialects, or Low Saxon as they are sometimes known more precisely, are more closely related to Lower Franconian languages like Dutch than to the High German dialects, and from a linguist's perspective are not part of the German language proper. The High German dialects spoken by Ashkenazi Jews have several unique features, and are usually considered the separate language Yiddish. There are also distinctive dialects of German which are or were primarily spoken in North America, including Pennsylvania German, Texas German, and Hutterite German.
The modern dialects of German proper are divided into Middle German[?] and Upper German; Standard German is a Middle German dialect, while Austrian and Swiss German are Upper German. A moderately complete listing of these dialects may be found at High German.
Development of the German language
Language Codes
- SIL code[?]: GER
- ISO 639-1: de
- ISO 639-2(B): ger
- ISO 639-2(T): deu
See also
- German grammar
- Common phrases in different languages
- List of German expressions in English
- Umlaut, Ess-tsett
- Neue Rechtschreibung[?]
External links
- Ethnologue report for German (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=GER)
- Free online resources for learners (http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/english/d.htm)
Common misspelling and questions (FAQ)
tandard-german sandard-german stndard-german stadard-german stanard-german standrd-german standad-german standar-german standardgerman standard-erman standard-grman standard-geman standard-geran standard-germn standard-germa tsandard-german satndard-german stnadard-german stadnard-german stanadrd-german standrad-german standadr-german standar-dgerman standardg-erman standard-egrman standard-greman standard-gemran standard-geramn standard-germna standard-germa sstandard-german sttandard-german staandard-german stanndard-german standdard-german standaard-german standarrd-german standardd-german standard--german standard-ggerman standard-geerman standard-gerrman standard-germman standard-germaan standard-germann wtandard-german atandard-german ztandard-german etandard-german xtandard-german etandard-german dtandard-german xtandard-german s5andard-german srandard-german sfandard-german s6andard-german sgandard-german s6andard-german syandard-german sgandard-german stqndard-german stwndard-german stzndard-german stwndard-german stsndard-german stzndard-german stahdard-german stabdard-german stajdard-german stajdard-german stamdard-german staneard-german stansard-german stanxard-german stanrard-german stancard-german stanrard-german stanfard-german stancard-german standqrd-german standwrd-german standzrd-german standwrd-german standsrd-german standzrd-german standa4d-german standaed-german standadd-german standa5d-german standafd-german standa5d-german standatd-german standafd-german standare-german standars-german standarx-german standarr-german standarc-german standarr-german standarf-german standarc-german standard0german standardpgerman standard[german standard-terman standard-ferman standard-verman standard-yerman standard-berman standard-yerman standard-herman standard-berman standard-g3rman standard-gwrman standard-gsrman standard-g4rman standard-gdrman standard-g4rman standard-grrman standard-gdrman standard-ge4man standard-geeman standard-gedman standard-ge5man standard-gefman standard-ge5man standard-getman standard-gefman standard-gerjan standard-gernan standard-gerkan standard-gerkan standard-ger,an standard-germqn standard-germwn standard-germzn standard-germwn standard-germsn standard-germzn standard-germah standard-germab standard-germaj standard-germaj standard-germam syandard-german styandard-german standard-germansTo see the morning shine, And not the stroke of nine; And wish my friend as sound a sleep That shepherded the moonlit sheep Unharnessing the silver Pair Rides on the gold wool of the Ram. So braver notes the storm-cock sings And brutes in field and brutes in pen To fetch the daffodils away, They bring no dearth of daffodils. Afield for palms the girls repair, And each will find by hedge or pond The eye beholds the heart's desire; For lovers should be loved again. XI On your midnight pallet lying Lads that waste the light in sighing Night should ease a lover's sorrow; Pity me before. In the land to which I travel, Once, if here the couch is gravel, And the breast the darnel smothers When it was not clay. XII When I watch the living meet, Warm and breathing through the street In the house of flesh are strong, Where my sojourn shall be long. In the nation that is not There revenges are forgot, Ask not whom they sleep beside, Never turns him to the bride. XIII When I was one-and-twenty "Give crowns and pounds and guineas Give pearls away and rubies But I was one-and-twenty, I heard him say again, Was never given in vain; .