German language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
German
Deutsch, Deutsche Sprache
Pronunciation [ˈdɔʏtʃ]
Native to Primarily in German-speaking Europe, as a minority language and amongst the German diaspora worldwide
Native speakers Standard German: 95–100 million (2005–2010)
all German: 120 million (1990–2005)
L2 speakers: 80 million (2006)
Language family
Early forms:
Writing system Latin (German alphabet)
German Braille
Official status
Official language in
Belgium (German-speaking Community of Belgium)
Recognised minority language in
Namibia (National language; official language 1984–90)
Poland (Auxiliary language)
Romania
Russia
Slovakia (Official municipal language of Krahule/Blaufuß)
Brazil (Co-official municipal language in Pomerode and other municipalities)
South Africa
Vatican City (Administrative and commanding language of the Swiss Guard)
Venezuela (Colonia Tovar)
Regulated by
Language codes
ISO 639-1 de
ISO 639-2 ger (B)
deu (T)
ISO 639-3 Variously:
deu – New High German
gmh – Middle High German
goh – Old High German
gct – Alemán Coloniero
bar – Austro-Bavarian
cim – Cimbrian
geh – Hutterite German
ksh – Kölsch
nds – Low German
sli – Lower Silesian
ltz – Luxembourgish
vmf – Main-Franconian
mhn – Mócheno
pfl – Palatinate German
pdc – Pennsylvania German
pdt – Plautdietsch
swg – Swabian German
gsw – Swiss German
uln – Unserdeutsch
sxu – Upper Saxon
wae – Walser German
wep – Westphalian
Linguasphere 52-AC (Continental West Germanic) > 52-ACB (Deutsch & Dutch) >
52-ACB-d (Central German incl. 52-ACB–dl & -dm Standard/Generalised High German) + 52-ACB-e & -f (Upper German & Swiss German) + 52-ACB-g (Yiddish) + 52-ACB-h (émigré German varieties incl.
52-ACB-hc Hutterite German & 52-ACB-he Pennsylvania German etc.) + 52-ACB-i (Yenish); totalling 285 varieties: 52-ACB-daa to 52-ACB-i
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.
Deutsch, Deutsche Sprache
Pronunciation [ˈdɔʏtʃ]
Native to Primarily in German-speaking Europe, as a minority language and amongst the German diaspora worldwide
Native speakers Standard German: 95–100 million (2005–2010)
all German: 120 million (1990–2005)
L2 speakers: 80 million (2006)
Language family
Early forms:
Writing system Latin (German alphabet)
German Braille
Official status
Official language in
European Union
(official and working language)
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
South Tyrol (Italy)
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Belgium (German-speaking Community of Belgium)
Recognised minority language in
Czech Republic
Denmark
Hungary
Kazakhstan
Italy (Trentino)
Namibia (National language; official language 1984–90)
Poland (Auxiliary language)
Romania
Russia
Slovakia (Official municipal language of Krahule/Blaufuß)
Brazil (Co-official municipal language in Pomerode and other municipalities)
South Africa
Vatican City (Administrative and commanding language of the Swiss Guard)
Venezuela (Colonia Tovar)
Regulated by
No official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1 de
ISO 639-2 ger (B)
deu (T)
ISO 639-3 Variously:
deu – New High German
gmh – Middle High German
goh – Old High German
gct – Alemán Coloniero
bar – Austro-Bavarian
cim – Cimbrian
geh – Hutterite German
ksh – Kölsch
nds – Low German
sli – Lower Silesian
ltz – Luxembourgish
vmf – Main-Franconian
mhn – Mócheno
pfl – Palatinate German
pdc – Pennsylvania German
pdt – Plautdietsch
swg – Swabian German
gsw – Swiss German
uln – Unserdeutsch
sxu – Upper Saxon
wae – Walser German
wep – Westphalian
Linguasphere 52-AC (Continental West Germanic) > 52-ACB (Deutsch & Dutch) >
52-ACB-d (Central German incl. 52-ACB–dl & -dm Standard/Generalised High German) + 52-ACB-e & -f (Upper German & Swiss German) + 52-ACB-g (Yiddish) + 52-ACB-h (émigré German varieties incl.
52-ACB-hc Hutterite German & 52-ACB-he Pennsylvania German etc.) + 52-ACB-i (Yenish); totalling 285 varieties: 52-ACB-daa to 52-ACB-i
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.
German (Deutsch [ˈdɔʏtʃ] (
listen)) is a West Germanic language related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 95–100 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.