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Language

German

DOYCH
Also Known As Deutsch
Germanic Languages

German is a West Germanic language, the official language of Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein and one of the official languages of Switzerland and Belgium. It is written in the Latin alphabet, distinguished among major European languages by its retained grammatical case system, its practice of capitalizing all nouns, and its capacity for long compound words. Standard German descends from a chancery variety codified in the early modern period, and it remains one of the most widely studied second languages in Europe.

Facts
ISO 639-3 Code
deu 6
Speaker Count
135,000,000 6
Status
Living 6
Attested From (Year)
from 765 3
The Old High German period is conventionally dated from the Abrogans, a Latin-German glossary written c. 765-775, though isolated Elder Futhark runic evidence is older still.
Region
Majority and official language of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein; mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe 3
Browse and compare
Word Order
Other 3
Tone
Not Tonal 4
Difficulty for an English Speaker
Category II 5
Classification
Language Kind
Safe 1
Official Status
Official Language 2
German
Filter Results1 entry

Georg von der Gabelentz

German
Connections

Ancestor Of

Austrian German, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Austrian German
Bavarian German, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Bavarian German
Swabian German, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Swabian German
Swiss German, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Swiss German
Upper Saxon German, Dialects and Varieties
Source Wikipedia: Upper Saxon German

Associated With

Edward Sapir, Linguists

This source names German directly: "Edward Sapir was a German-born American linguist and anthropologist, trained under Franz Boas, who became one of the most influential figures in early American structural linguistics."

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Georg von der Gabelentz, Linguists

Wrote Die Sprachwissenschaft (1891), a foundational general-linguistics text composed in German that anticipated later structuralist ideas.

Jacob Grimm, Linguists
Source Deutsche GrammatikJacob Grimm
Karl Verner, Linguists

Verner's Law explains exceptions to Grimm's Law in the Germanic consonant shift ancestral to German and the other Germanic languages.

Source Wikipedia: Karl Verner
Wilhelm Grimm, Linguists
Source Deutsches WorterbuchJacob Grimm And Wilhelm Grimm

In Family

Germanic, Language Families
Source Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
Indo-European, Language Families
Source Ethnologue: Languages of the World

Written In

Latin Script, Scripts
In the Other Atlases

Cases Where Used

Central Europe

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Mit Brennender Sorge

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Rhineland

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

The Reichskonkordat

Also in Divinity Atlas: used in this subject.

Anti-Comintern Pact

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Anti-Comintern Pact - WikipediaArticle text
Quote, Article text
The full text was considered in its original form in both the German and Japanese versions, and the date was specified in both countries' versions as 25 November 1936 as well as 25 November in the 11th year of the Shōwa period.
Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
(German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany
Frankfurt Constitution

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Wikipedia: Frankfurt ConstitutionLead
Quote, Lead
The Frankfurt Constitution (German: Frankfurter Reichsverfassung)
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Prussian Constitution of 1848

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Wikipedia: Constitution of Prussia (1848)Lead
Quote, Lead
Text of the Constitution (in German)
Reichskonkordat

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Wikipedia: ReichskonkordatArticle text
Quote, Article text
Article 34 This Concordat, whose German and Italian texts shall have equal binding force, shall be ratified and the certificates of ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible.
The Communist Manifesto

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Treaty of Utrecht

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Weimar Constitution

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Source Weimar Constitution (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
The Constitution of the German Reich (German: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs)
Zimmermann Telegram

Also in History Atlas: used in this subject.

Amish

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Hutterites

Also in Society and Culture Atlas: used in this subject.

Original Language Of

Variety

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Veronika Voss

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Waxworks (1924 film)

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Wings of Desire

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Yellow Letters

Also in Film and Media Atlas: a work originally in this language.

A Hunger Artist

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Andreas Steinhöfel

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Arthur Schnitzler

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Arthur Schnitzler (Wikipedia)Literary works, Lieutenant Gustl, original language
Quote, Literary works, Lieutenant Gustl, original language
he was the first to write German fiction in stream-of-consciousness narration
Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Bertha von Suttner

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Bertha von Suttner (Wikipedia)Early writing section
Quote, Early writing section
Shortly afterwards, Bertha wrote her first published work, the novella Erdenträume im Monde, which appeared in Die Deutsche Frau.
Bertolt Brecht

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Boris Pasternak

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Buch der Lieder

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Death and the Penguin

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Death in Venice

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Delusion and Dream in Jensen's Gradiva

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Duino Elegies

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

E. T. A. Hoffmann

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source E. T. A. Hoffmann (Wikipedia)Infobox: language
Quote, Infobox: language
German
Elfriede Jelinek

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Faust

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

France Prešeren

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source France Prešeren (Wikipedia)Infobox: language
Quote, Infobox: language
Primarily Slovene, some works in German.
Frank Schätzing

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Franz Kafka

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Friedrich Schiller

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Gedichte

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Georg Büchner

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Georg Trakl

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Gottfried Benn

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Gottfried Benn (Wikipedia)Books list
Quote, Books list
Morgue und andere Gedichte [Morgue and other Poems] (Berlin, 1912)
Grimm's Fairy Tales

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Günter Grass

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Heinrich Heine

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Heinrich Mann

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Heinrich Mann (Wikipedia)Lead section [original-language]
Quote, Lead section [original-language]
was a German-American writer known for his sociopolitical novels
Hermann Hesse

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Herta Müller

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

In the Penal Colony

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Ivan Turgenev

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Jacob Grimm

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Jaroslav Hašek

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Jorge Luis Borges

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Lu Xun

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Luigi Pirandello

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Mark Twain

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Metropolis (novel)

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Mother Courage and Her Children

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Nibelungenlied

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Oscar Wilde

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Peter Handke

Also in Literature Atlas: a work originally in this language.

Source Peter Handke (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph, sentence naming the language
Quote, Lead paragraph, sentence naming the language
He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience." Handke is considered to be one of the most influential and original German-language writers in the second half of the 20th century.

Showing 51 to 100 of 126 in Original Language Of, page 2 of 3.

Found In

Central Europe

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikipedia: German LanguageLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
German (Deutsch, pronounced [dɔɪ̯tʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe.
Europe

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikipedia: German LanguageLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
German (Deutsch, pronounced [dɔɪ̯tʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe.
Sources
1. Glottolog: German (Glottolog languoid stan1295)
GlottologEndangerment, AES status
Quote, Endangerment, AES status
AES status: not endangered
View the Source
2. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
David Crystal (editor), Cambridge University Press, 2010Official status, German entity page
Quote, Official status, German entity page
German is a West Germanic language, the official language of Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein and one of the official languages of Switzerland and Belgium.
3. Wikipedia: German Language
Wikimedia Foundation
  • infobox
    Deutsch
  • lead section
    mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe
  • Category: Verb-second languages
    The Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765-775)
View the Source
4. WALS Online (World Atlas of Language Structures): WALS Online feature 13A: Tone
WALS Online (World Atlas of Language Structures)Feature 13A: Tone
Quote, Feature 13A: Tone
"value_name": "No tones" ... "ascii_name": "german"
View the Source
5. Effective Language Learning: Language Difficulty Ranking
Effective Language LearningForeign Service Institute categories list
Quote, Foreign Service Institute categories list
Category II: 30 weeks (750 hours) Languages similar to English German
View the Source
6. Ethnologue: Languages of the World
SIL International, 2024
  • ISO 639-3 Code: deu
  • Speaker Count: 135,000,000
  • Status: Living
View the Source
Deutsche Grammatik
Jacob Grimm, 1822Associated With: Jacob Grimm
Deutsches Worterbuch
Jacob Grimm And Wilhelm Grimm, 1838Associated With: Wilhelm Grimm
Wikipedia: Karl Verner
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Karl Verner, IntroductionView the Source
Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
Wikimedia FoundationIn Family: Germanic, Major branches sectionView the Source
Wikipedia: Swiss German
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Swiss German, Use section
Quote, Ancestor Of: Swiss German, Use section
Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the everyday spoken language for the majority of the population, in all social strata, from urban centres to the countryside.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Bavarian German
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Bavarian German, Opening section, speaker demographics paragraph
Quote, Ancestor Of: Bavarian German, Opening section, speaker demographics paragraph
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million people in an area of around 125,000 square kilometres (48,000 sq mi), making it the largest of all German dialects.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Austrian German
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Austrian German, Lead section
Quote, Ancestor Of: Austrian German, Lead section
Austrian German (German: Österreichisches Deutsch), Austrian Standard German (ASG), Standard Austrian German (Österreichisches Standarddeutsch), Austrian High German (Österreichisches Hochdeutsch), or simply just Austrian (Österreichisch), is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria and South Tyrol.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Swabian German
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Swabian German, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Swabian German, Lead sentence
an: Schwäbisch [ˈʃvɛːbɪʃ] ) is one of the dialect groups of Upper German, sometimes one of the dialect grou
View the Source
Wikipedia: Upper Saxon German
Wikimedia FoundationAncestor Of: Upper Saxon German, Lead sentence
Quote, Ancestor Of: Upper Saxon German, Lead sentence
an East Central German dialect spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent pa
View the Source
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