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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Europe > Germany > German, Standard

German, Standard

A language of Germany

ISO 639-3: deu

Population	75,300,000 in Germany (1990). Population total all countries: 90,294,110.
Region	Also in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation (Europe), Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan.
Alternate names	Deutsch, Tedesco
Dialects	Major related language areas are Bavarian [bar], Schwäbian [swg], Alemannisch [gsw], Mainfränkisch [vmf], Hessisch, Palatinian, Rheinfränkisch, Westfälisch [wep], Saxonian, Thuringian, Brandenburgisch, and Low Saxon [nds]. Many varieties are not mutually inherently intelligible. Our present treatment is incomplete. Standard German is one High German variety, which developed from the chancery of Saxony, gaining acceptance as the written standard in the 16th and 17th centuries. High German refers to dialects and languages in the upper Rhine region. Lexical similarity: 60% with English, 29% with French.
Classification	Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German
Language use	National language. 28,000,000 L2 speakers.
Language development	Taught in primary and secondary schools. Fully developed. Bible: 1466–2004.
Writing system	Latin script. Latin script, Fraktur variant, used until 1940. Runic script, no longer in use.
Comments	Based equally on East Upper German and East Middle German. Christian.

Also spoken in:

Austria

Language name	German, Standard
Population	7,500,000 in Austria (J. A. Hawkins 1987).
Dialects	Kärntnerisch.
Language use	National language.

Belgium

Language name	German, Standard
Population	150,000 in Belgium (Hawkins 1987).
Region	Liège Province, Eupen and Sankt-Vith cantons, municipalities: Eupen, Kelmis, Lontzen, Raeren, Amel, Bnlingen, Bntchenbach, Sankt-Vith, and Burg-Reuland.
Language map	Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands
Language use	In Liège Province.

Czech Republic

Language name	German, Standard
Population	39,100 in Czech Republic (2001 census).
Region	Erzgebirge, a border mountain range.
Language use	Also use Czech [ces].

Denmark

Language name	German, Standard
Population	25,900 in Denmark (2007).
Region	North Slesvig (Sydjylland).
Language map	Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden
Language use	Official regional language.
Comments	There are German schools.

Hungary

Language name	German, Standard
Population	33,800 in Hungary (2001 census). Ethnic population: 88,416.
Comments	Germans in Hungary speak other Germanic varieties than Standard German at home.

Italy

Language name	German, Standard
Population	225,000 in Italy (Vincent 1987).
Region	North, Trentino-Alto Adige, South Tyrol, Bolzano Province.
Alternate names	Tedesco
Language use	Official language in Alto-Adige region.
Language development	Taught in primary and secondary schools.

Kazakhstan

Language name	German, Standard
Population	958,000 in Kazakhstan. Population excludes Plautdietsch [pdt].

Liechtenstein

Language name	German, Standard
Language use	Official language.

Luxembourg

Language name	German, Standard
Population	10,900 in Luxembourg (Johnstone and Mandryk 2001).
Language use	National language. Taught in school as L2.

Paraguay

Language name	German, Standard
Population	166,000 in Paraguay. 19,000 L1 speakers of Plautdietsch.

Poland

Language name	German, Standard
Population	500,000 in Poland (1998).
Region	Silesia and elsewhere.

Romania

Language name	German, Standard
Population	45,100 in Romania (2002 census).
Region	Transylvania.
Dialects	Transylvania.
Comments	Over 70% of the 500,000 1988 population has emigrated to Germany (Johnstone 1993). People known as ‘Saxons’.

Slovakia

Language name	German, Standard
Population	5,410 in Slovakia (2001 census).
Language use	Also use Hungarian [hun] or Slovak [slk].
Comments	Christian.

Switzerland

Language name	German, Standard
Language use	Official language. Not a L1 for many.
Language development	Main language in education in Schwyzerdütsch (German) and Rheto-Romansch-speaking areas.

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

CLIFTON, John M., author. 2001. Review of: The phonology of German, by Richard Wiese.

HALE, Austin, author. 1966. Review of: Arbeitsstelle Strukturelle Grammatik der deutschen Gegenwartssprache, by Wolfgang Motsch, Manfred Bierwisch and Wolfdietrich Hartung.

HALE, Austin, author. 1966. Review of: Grammatik des deutschen Verbs, by Manfred Bierwisch.

HALE, Austin, author. 1966. Review of: Grammatik des deutschen Verbs, by Manfred Bierwisch.

HALE, Austin, author. 1966. Review of: Syntax des deutschen Adjektivs, by Wolfgang Motsch.

HALE, Austin, author. 1969. Review of: Untersuchungen über Akzent und Intonation im Deutschen , by the Akademie der Wissenschaften (Studia Grammatica VII), Berlin. Arbeitsstelle Strukturelle Grammatik.

JOSWIG, Andreas, author. 2005. Review of: The phonology of German.  

PIKE, Kenneth L., author. 1965. "Non-linear order and anti-redundancy in German morphological matrices."

WIESEMANN, Ursula, author. 1970. "Problems in the analysis of the segmental phonemes of Northern Standard German."

ZECHER, Henry, author. 1993. The Bible translation that rocked the world.