View source for German language

{{Infobox language
| name             = German
| nativename       = {{lang|de|Deutsch}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA-de|dɔʏtʃ|}}
| states           = Primarily [[German-speaking Europe]], also in the worldwide [[German as a minority language|German-speaking diaspora]]
| speakers         = <!-- PLEASE, DO NOT EDIT THIS SECTION BEFORE CONSULTING THE TALK PAGE! --><!--to nearest 5M-->{{sigfig|89|1}} million (2010)<ref>Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2010" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2010), in ''[[Nationalencyklopedin]]''</ref> to 95 million
| date             = 2014
| ref              = <ref name="Ammon, 2014">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPvmBQAAQBAJ |author=Ammon, Ulrich |title=Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt |language=German |edition=1st |date=November 2014 |publisher=de Gruyter |location=Berlin, Germany |isbn=978-3-11-019298-8 |accessdate=24 July 2015}}{{Page needed|date=December 2015}}</ref>
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2 speakers]]: 10–15 million (2014)<ref name="Ammon, 2014" />
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
| fam4             = [[High German languages|High German]]
| ancestor         = [[Old High German]]
| ancestor2        = [[Middle High German]]
| stand1           = [[German Standard German]]
| stand2           = [[Swiss Standard German]]
| stand3           = [[Austrian German|Austrian Standard German]]
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[German alphabet]])<br />[[German Braille]]
| sign             = [[Signed German]], LBG<br />''({{lang|de|Lautsprachbegleitende}} / {{lang|de|Lautbegleitende Gebärden}})''
| nation           = {{Collapsible list
                  | titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
                  | title=[[List of territorial entities where German is an official language|6 countries]]
                  |{{flag|Austria}}
                  |{{flag|Belgium}}
                  |{{flag|Germany}}
                  |{{flag|Liechtenstein}}
                  |{{flag|Luxembourg}}
                  |{{flag|Switzerland}}
                 }}<br /><!--SOURCES FOR EACH COUNTRY ARE REFERENCED IN THE LINKED SUB-ARTICLE-->
                 {{Collapsible list
                  | titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
                  | title=[[List of territorial entities where German is an official language|3 dependencies]]
                  |[[File:Flag of South Tyrol.svg|24px]] [[South Tyrol]] ([[Italy]])
                  |{{flagicon|Poland}} [[Bilingual communes in Poland#Polish/German|31 communes]] in [[Poland]]
                  |{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Brazilian German|9 municipalities]] in [[Brazil]]
                 }}
<br />[[List of territorial entities where German is an official language#International institutions|Several international institutions]]
| minority         = <!--DO NOT ADD COUNTRIES/DEPENDENCIES BEFORE CONSULTING THE TALK PAGE AND CITING DEFINITE SOURCES!-->{{Collapsible list
                  | titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
                  | title=[[List of territorial entities where German is an official language#Other legal statuses|13 countries<br /><small>(minority/cultural/national language)</small>]]
                  |{{flag|Brazil}}<small> ([[Espírito Santo]], [[Rio Grande do Sul]] & [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]])</small><br />{{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}<br />{{flag|Czech Republic}}<br />{{flag|Denmark}} <small>([[Region of Southern Denmark|Syddanmark]])</small><br />{{flag|Hungary}}<br />{{flag|Italy}} <small>([[Trentino]])</small><br />{{Flag|Kazakhstan}}<br />{{flag|Namibia}}<br />{{flag|Poland}}<br />{{flag|Romania}}<br />{{flag|Russia}} <small>([[Azovo German National District]])</small><br />{{flag|Slovakia}}<br />{{flag|Ukraine}}
                 }}
| agency           = ''No official regulation'' <br />
(German orthography regulated by the [[Council for German Orthography]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rechtschreibrat.ids-mannheim.de/rat/ |title=Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung – Über den Rat |publisher=Rechtschreibrat.ids-mannheim.de |accessdate=11 October 2010 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226064918/http://www.rechtschreibrat.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>).
| iso1             = de
| iso2b            = ger
| iso2t            = deu
| lc1              = deu
| ld1              = [[Standard German|German]]
| lc2              = gmh
| ld2              = [[Middle High German]]
| lc3              = goh
| ld3              = [[Old High German]]
| lc4              = gct
| ld4              = [[Colonia Tovar dialect|Colonia Tovar German]]
| lc5              = bar
| ld5              = [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]]
| lc6              = cim
| ld6              = [[Cimbrian language|Cimbrian]]
| lc7              = geh
| ld7              = [[Hutterite German]]
| lc8              = ksh
| ld8              = [[Colognian dialect|Kölsch]]
| lc9              = nds
| ld9              = [[Low German]]{{efn|The status of Low German as a German variety or separate language is subject to discussion.|group=efn}}
| lc10             = sli
| ld10             = [[Silesian German|Lower Silesian]]
| lc11             = ltz
| ld11             = [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]{{efn|The status of Luxembourgish as a German variety or separate language is subject to discussion.<ref name="Ammon, 2014" />|group=efn}}
| lc12             = vmf
| ld12             = [[Main-Franconian dialects|Mainfränkisch]]
| lc13             = mhn
| ld13             = [[Mòcheno language|Mócheno]]
| lc14             = pfl
| ld14             = [[Palatine German language|Palatinate German]]
| lc15             = pdc
| ld15             = [[Pennsylvania German language|Pennsylvania German]]
| lc16             = pdt
| ld16             = [[Plautdietsch language|Plautdietsch]]{{efn|The status of Plautdietsch as a German variety or separate language is subject to discussion.|group=efn}}
| lc17             = swg
| ld17             = [[Swabian German]]
| lc18             = gsw
| ld18             = [[Swiss German]]
| lc19             = uln
| ld19             = [[Unserdeutsch language|Unserdeutsch]]
| lc20             = sxu
| ld20             = [[Upper Saxon German|Upper Saxon]]
| lc21             = wae
| ld21             = [[Walser German]]
| lc22             = wep
| ld22             = [[Westphalian language|Westphalian]]
| lc23             = hrx
| ld23             = [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German|Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]]
| lc24             = yec
| ld24             = [[Yenish language|Yenish]]
| glotto           = high1287
| glottoname       = High Franconian
| glotto2          = uppe1397
| glottoname2      = Upper German
| lingua           = {{hidden begin|toggle=left|title=further information}}52-AC (Continental West Germanic)<br />&gt; 52-ACB (Deutsch & Dutch)<br />&gt; 52-ACB-d ([[Central German]] incl. 52-ACB–dl & -dm [[Standard German|Standard/Generalised High German]])<br />+ 52-ACB-e & -f ([[Upper German]] & [[Swiss German]])<br />+ 52-ACB-h ([[German diaspora|émigré German]] varieties incl. 52-ACB-hc [[Hutterite German]] & 52-ACB-he [[Pennsylvania German language|Pennsylvania German]] etc.)<br />+ 52-ACB-i ([[Yeniche language|Yenish]]);<br />Totalling 285 varieties: 52-ACB-daa to 52-ACB-i
{{hidden end}}
| map              = Legal statuses of German in the world.svg
| mapcaption       = [[File:Legal status of German in Europe.svg|frameless|center]]
{{legend|#ffcc00|(Co-)Official and majority language}}
{{legend|#d98575|Co-official, but not majority language}}
{{legend|#7373d9|Statutory minority/cultural language}}
{{legend|#30efe3|Non-statutory minority language}}
| notice           = IPA
| ethnicity        = Germans
}}
'''German''' (German: ''Deutsch'') is a [[West Germanic language]]. It is spoken in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Switzerland]], [[Liechtenstein]] and [[Luxembourg]]; natively by around 100 million people. It is the most widely spoken [[mother tongue]] in the [[first language]]. There are some people who speak German in [[Belgium]], the [[Netherlands]], [[France]] and Northern [[Italy]]. There are people who speak German in many countries, including the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], where many people emigrated from Germany. It is also spoken in [[Eastern Europe]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], and [[Russia]]. 

German is a part of the [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] [[language family]] and is much like [[English language|English]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. Much of the [[vocabulary]] in German is related to English, but the [[grammar]] is more complicated.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Up|first=Topics|date=|title=Japanese vs German|url=https://www.uptopics.com/japanese-vs-german/|access-date=|website=|language=|archive-date=2023-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531201139/https://www.uptopics.com/japanese-vs-german/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

German has a system of [[case (grammar)|cases]], and when helping verbs are used, the main part of the verb must be moved to the end of the sentence. For example, "Someone has stolen my car" is ''Jemand hat mein Auto gestohlen'' ("Someone has my car stolen"), and "Someone called me last night" is ''Jemand hat mich letzte Nacht angerufen'' ("Someone has me last night called").

In writing, every [[noun]] must start with a [[capital letter]]. German is the only language that still has that rule, but Danish and English did so a long time ago.

Standard German is an official language in Switzerland, but the Swiss dialect of German is difficult to understand for native speakers from Germany and even for Swiss who are not native to speaking German.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-01|title=German Numbers: Learn To Count From 0 To 1,000+|url=https://www.languagethrone.com/german-numbers/|access-date=2021-09-09|website=Language Throne|language=en-US}}</ref> One reason that the dialects are still so different today is that even if Switzerland adopted Standard German, mostly as a written standard, German Swiss in [[World War II]] wanted to separate themselves from the [[Nazis]] by choosing to speak dialect over the Standard German.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p8GgX_hWyA|title = Languages of Switzerland|first = |last = |website = YouTube|publisher = |accessdate = |archive-date = 2016-09-09|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160909162420/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p8GgX_hWyA&gl=US&hl=en|url-status = live}}</ref>

[[Swiss German]] also has some differences in [[orthography|spelling]], for example, the letter ''[[ß]]'', which is used only in German, is replaced by ''ss''.
[[File:Standardvarietäten des Deutschen.png|thumb]]
== Dialects ==
* [[Alsatian language|Alsatian]]
* [[Austro-Bavarian language|Bavarian dialect]]
* [[Franconian Dialect]]
* [[Kölsch language|Kölsch]]
* [[West Low German|Low Saxon]]
* [[Swiss German|Swiss dialect]]
* Mannheimerisch dialect
* [[Palatine German language|Palatinate German]]
* Russian (Siberian) dialect

== German numbers ==
German numbers are similar to their English counterparts. Like most languages, the German number system is based mainly on the first 10 numbers. They will pop up over and over throughout all the higher numbers.
{| class="wikitable"
!English
!German
|-
|1
|Eins
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |2
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Zwei
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |3
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Drei
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |4
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Vier
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |5
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Fünf
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |6
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Sechs
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |7
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Sieben
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |8
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Acht
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |9
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Neun
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |10
| colspan="1" rowspan="1" |Zehn
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

'''Notes'''
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== Other websites ==
{{InterWiki|code=de}}
*[http://www.Deutsched.com Online German Language Course] An online German language course that includes lessons covering pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.
*[http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/German_phrasebook German phrasebook at Wikivoyage]
*[http://www.learntospeakgerman.net Learn to Speak German] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608044636/http://learntospeakgerman.net/ |date=2013-06-08 }} Student Resource
*[http://www.populearn.com/german/ Free German Language Course] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217004814/http://www.populearn.com/german/ |date=2013-02-17 }}
*[http://www.visuellesynonyme.com/ German Thesaurus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331185311/http://visuellesynonyme.com/ |date=2018-03-31 }}

{{Germanic languages}}

[[Category:German language| ]]