Editing German language (section)

{{Short description|West Germanic language}}
{{Distinguish|Germanic languages|High German languages|Standard German|}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = German
| nativename       = {{lang|de|Deutsch}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|de|dɔʏtʃ||De-Deutsch.ogg}}
| states           = [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Belgium]], [[Namibia]]
| speakers         = <!-- Do not edit this section before consulting the talk page! Round to the nearest 5M -->[[First language|L1]]: 95 million
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| ref              = <ref>Thomas Marten, Fritz Joachim Sauer (Hrsg.): Länderkunde Deutschland, Österreich und Schweiz (mit Liechtenstein) im Querschnitt. Inform-Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-9805843-1-3, S. 7.</ref>
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2]]: 80–85&nbsp;million (2014)<ref name=eurobarometer />
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[West Germanic]]
| fam4             = [[High German]]
| stand1           = [[Standard German]] ([[German Standard German|German]], [[Swiss Standard German|Swiss]], [[Austrian Standard German|Austrian]])
| script           = {{plainlist|
* Since Old High German: [[Latin script]] ([[German alphabet]])
* [[German Braille]]
* Until the mid-20th century: [[Hebrew alphabet]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/moses-mendelssohns-beur-translating-the-torah-in-the-age-of-enlightenment |title=Moses Mendelssohn's Be'ur: Translating the Torah in the Age of Enlightenment – TheTorah.com |website=www.thetorah.com |access-date=10 August 2023 |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129190136/https://www.thetorah.com/article/moses-mendelssohns-beur-translating-the-torah-in-the-age-of-enlightenment |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://digipres.cjh.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE3471465 |title=Sefer Netivot ha-shalom: ṿe-hu ḥibur kolel ḥamishat ḥumshe ha-torah ʻim tiḳun sofrim ṿe-targum ashkenazi u-veʾur. - 1783. Translated from the Hebrew into German by Moses Mendelssohn. Berlin : Gedruckt bey George Friedrich Starcke |website=digipres.cjh.org |access-date=10 August 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230148/https://digipres.cjh.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE3471465 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://digipres.cjh.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE3777308 |title=''המאסף ha-Me'asef''. 6644-5571 &#91;1783-1811&#93; &#91;Newspaper in German printed in Hebrew characters&#93;. Königsberg, Prussia. |access-date=10 August 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810231813/https://digipres.cjh.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE3777308 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Dostrzegacz_Nadwislanski |title=YIVO &#124; Dostrzegacz Nadwiślański - / Der Beobakhter an der Vayksel. 1823–1824. Warsaw. |website=yivoencyclopedia.org |access-date=10 August 2023 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828095519/https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Dostrzegacz_Nadwislanski |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://duepublico2.uni-due.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/duepublico_derivate_00005400/kleindiss.pdf |title=Birgit Klein. 1998. ''Levi von Bonn alias Löb Kraus und die Juden im Alten Reich. Auf den Spuren eines Verrats mit weitreichenden Folgen'', p. 200. |access-date=10 August 2023 |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230150/https://duepublico2.uni-due.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/duepublico_derivate_00005400/kleindiss.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| sign             = [[Signed German]]
| nation           = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left; | title = [[List of countries and territories where German is an official language|6 countries]]|
|[[Austria]]
|[[Belgium]]
|[[Germany]]
|[[Liechtenstein]]
|[[Luxembourg]]
|[[Switzerland]]
}}
<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries and territories where German is an official language|1 subdivision]]|
| [[South Tyrol]] ([[Italy]])
}}

|{{Collapsible list|titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries and territories where German is an official language#International institutions|Various international institutions]]
}}

| minority         = {{Collapsible list<!-- Do not add countries or dependencies without consulting the talk page and citing definite sources! -->| titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left; | title = [[List of countries and territories where German is an official language#Other legal statuses|9 countries]]
|[[Brazil]] [[Brazilian German|(6 municipalities)]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lista de línguas cooficiais em municípios brasileiros |url=http://ipol.org.br/lista-de-linguas-cooficiais-em-municipios-brasileiros/ |access-date=2023-10-28 |website=ipol.org.br |publisher=IPOL |archive-date=12 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212052326/http://ipol.org.br/lista-de-linguas-cooficiais-em-municipios-brasileiros/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|[[Czech Republic]] <small>(select localities)</small>
|[[Denmark]] <small>([[Syddanmark]])</small>
|[[Hungary]] <small>([[Sopron]])</small>
|[[Namibia]]
|[[Poland]] <small>([[Bilingual communes in Poland|Upper Silesia]])</small>
|[[Romania]] <small>(select localities)</small>
|[[Russia]] <small>([[Azovo German National District]])</small>
|[[Slovakia]] <small>([[Krahule]])</small>}}
| 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 German]]
| lc5              = bar
| ld5              = [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]]
| lc6              = cim
| ld6              = [[Cimbrian]]
| lc7              = geh
| ld7              = [[Hutterite German]]
| lc8              = ksh
| ld8              = [[Colognian dialect|Kölsch]]
| lc9              = nds
| ld9              = [[Low German]]{{refn|group=note|The status of Low German as a German variety or separate language is subject to discussion.{{sfn|Goossens|1983|p=27}}}}
| lc10             = sli
| ld10             = [[Silesian German|Lower Silesian]]
| lc11             = ltz
| ld11             = [[Luxembourgish]]{{refn|group=note|The status of Luxembourgish as a German variety or separate language is subject to discussion.}}
| lc12             = vmf
| ld12             = [[Mainfränkisch]]
| lc13             = mhn
| ld13             = [[Mòcheno]]
| lc14             = pfl
| ld14             = [[Palatine German language|Palatinate German]]
| lc15             = pdc
| ld15             = [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]]
| lc16             = pdt
| ld16             = [[Plautdietsch]]{{refn|group=note|The status of Plautdietsch as a German variety or separate language is subject to discussion.{{sfn|Goossens|1983|p=27}}}}
| lc17             = swg
| ld17             = [[Swabian German]]
| lc18             = gsw
| ld18             = [[Swiss German]]
| lc19             = uln
| ld19             = [[Unserdeutsch]]
| lc20             = sxu
| ld20             = [[Upper Saxon]]
| lc21             = wae
| ld21             = [[Walser German]]
| lc22             = wep
| ld22             = [[Westphalian language|Westphalian]]
| lc23             = hrx
| ld23             = [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]]
| lc24             = yec
| ld24             = [[Yenish language|Yenish]]
| lc25             = yid
| ld25             = [[Yiddish]]
| lingua           = {{blist
 | 52-ACB–dl ([[Standard German]])
 |  52-AC (Continental West Germanic)
 |  52-ACB (Deutsch & Dutch)
 |  52-ACB-d ([[Central German]])
 |  52-ACB-e & -f ([[Upper German|Upper]] and [[Swiss German]])
 |  52-ACB-h ([[German diaspora|Émigré German]] varieties, including 52-ACB-hc ([[Hutterite German]]) & 52-ACB-he ([[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]]))
 |  52-ACB-i ([[Yeniche language|Yenish]])
 | Totalling 285 varieties: 52-ACB-daa to 52-ACB-i
}}
| glotto           = stan1295
| map             = Legal status of German in the world.svg
| notice           = IPA
| mapcaption      = {{legend|#ffcc00|Sole official language}}
{{legend|#d98575|Co-official language}}
{{legend|#7373d9|National or recognized minority language}}
{{legend|#30efe3|Minority language}}
| ancestor         = [[Old High German]]
| ancestor2        = [[Middle High German]]
| ancestor3        = [[Early New High German]]
}}

'''German''' ({{lang|de|Deutsch}}, {{IPA|de|dɔʏtʃ|pron|De-Deutsch.ogg}})<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dwds.de/wb/Deutsch |title=Deutsch |website=Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache |date=31 October 2022 |language=de |access-date=March 27, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124115017/https://www.dwds.de/wb/Deutsch |archive-date=November 24, 2023}}</ref> is a [[West Germanic language]] in the [[Indo-European language family]], mainly spoken in [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]]. It is the majority and [[Official language|official]] (or co-official) language in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Switzerland]], and [[Liechtenstein]]. It is also an official language of [[Luxembourg]], [[German-speaking Community of Belgium|Belgium]] and the Italian autonomous province of [[South Tyrol]], as well as a recognized [[national language]] in [[Namibia]]. There are also notable German-speaking communities in other parts of Europe, including: [[Poland]] ([[Upper Silesia]]), the [[Czech Republic]] ([[North Bohemia]]), [[Denmark]] ([[South Jutland County|North Schleswig]]), [[Slovakia]] ([[Krahule]]), [[Germans of Romania|Romania]], [[Hungary]] ([[Sopron]]), and [[France]] ([[European Collectivity of Alsace|Alsace]]). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in the Americas.

German is one of the [[global language system|major languages of the world]], with nearly 80 million native speakers and over 130 million total speakers as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025 |title=What are the top 200 most spoken languages? |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/ |access-date=8 March 2025 |website=Ethnologue}}</ref> It is the most spoken native language within the [[European Union]]. German is the second-most widely spoken [[Germanic language]], after English, both as a [[First language|first]] and as a [[second language]]. German is also widely taught as a [[foreign language]], especially in [[continental Europe]] (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French) and in the United States (where it is the third [[List of most commonly learned second languages in the United States|most commonly learned second language]] in K-12 education and among the most studied foreign languages in higher education after Spanish and French).<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=February 2011 |title=Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools |url=http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817144116/http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |archive-date=August 17, 2014 |access-date=October 17, 2015 |publisher=American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)}}</ref> Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language globally.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-15 |title=German is world's fourth most popular language |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20150415/german-is-fourth-most-learnt-language-globally |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=[[The Local]]}}</ref> The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used [[Languages of science|language in science]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Abdumannonovna |first=Akhmedova Dilnoza |date=2022-02-13 |title=GERMAN AS THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES |url=https://scholarexpress.net/index.php/wbss/article/view/522 |access-date=2024-09-02 |journal=World Bulletin of Social Sciences |volume=7 |pages=22–24}}</ref> and the [[Languages used on the Internet|third most widely used language on websites]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-03 |title=Usage statistics of content languages for websites |url=https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=w3techs.com}}</ref> The [[List of countries and territories where German is an official language|German-speaking countries]] are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in the world being published in German.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lobachev |first1=Sergey |title=Top languages in global information production |journal=Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research |date=17 December 2008 |volume=3 |issue=2 |doi=10.21083/partnership.v3i2.826}}</ref>

German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely [[Afrikaans]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[English language|English]], the [[Frisian languages]], and [[Scots language|Scots]]. It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic group]], such as [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]. Modern German gradually developed from [[Old High German]], which in turn developed from [[Proto-Germanic]] during the [[Early Middle Ages]].

German is an [[inflected language]], with four [[grammatical case|cases]] for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three [[grammatical gender|genders]] (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two [[number (grammar)|numbers]] (singular, plural). It has [[Germanic strong verb|strong and weak verbs]]. The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share is partly derived from [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]], along with fewer words borrowed from [[French language|French]] and [[Modern English]]. English, however, is the main source of more recent [[loanword]]s.

German is a [[pluricentric language]]; the three standardized variants are [[German Standard German|German]], [[Austrian German|Austrian]], and [[Swiss Standard German]]. [[Standard German]] is sometimes called ''[[High German]]'', which refers to its regional origin. German is also notable for [[German dialects|its broad spectrum of dialects]], with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chase |first=Jefferson |date=2016-09-25 |title=Preserving endangered German dialects |url=https://www.dw.com/en/linguists-seek-to-preserve-endangered-regional-german-dialects/a-35885772 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=en}}</ref>

Since 2004, [[Meeting of the heads of state of German-speaking countries|heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met]] every year,<ref name="land.lu">{{Cite web |url=https://www.land.lu/page/article/379/9379/DEU/index.html |title=Beim Deutschen Bund in Eupen |first=Lëtzebuerger |last=Land |date=2 September 2016 |website=Lëtzebuerger Land |access-date=11 December 2023 |archive-date=21 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221224824/https://www.land.lu/page/article/379/9379/DEU/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Council for German Orthography]] has been the main international body regulating [[German orthography]].