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Outline of German language

{{Short description|1=Overview of and topical guide to German language}}

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to German language:

One of the major languages of the world, German is the first language of almost 100 million people worldwide and the most widely spoken native language in the European Union.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10128380/German-should-be-a-working-language-of-EU-says-Merkels-party.html |title=German 'should be a working language of EU', says Merkel's party |date=18 June 2013 |work=The Daily Telegraph }} Together with French, German is the second most commonly spoken foreign language in the EU after English, making it the second biggest language in the EU in terms of overall speakers.[http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf Europeans and their Languages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf |date= 6 January 2016 }}, [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_anx_en.pdf Data for EU27], published in 2012.

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Scope

German language can be described as having two branches, High German and Low German, as depicted in their family trees below:

What constitutes a language and what a dialect of a language is a social question into which linguistic factors may, but don't have to, play.{{Cite book |last=Chambers1, Trudgill2 |first=J.K.1, Peter2 |title=Dialectology |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge |pages=4-5 |language=EN}} For instance, Luxembourgish was in the mid-late 20th century reclassified from originally dialects of German as representing its own language. Austrian and Swiss Standard German may be conceived as their own standards that differ from German Standard German, which makes present-day German a pluricentric language. Attitudes that continue to see German as a monocentric variety, with only one standard, remain strong and lead some scholars to talk of a One Standard German Axiom as a field-defining characteristic.

Dialects of German language

Distribution of German language

History of German language

General German language concepts

German grammar

German phonology

German orthography

German language dictionaries

German-language encyclopedias

German words and phrases

People influential in German language

= Linguists =

For foreigners:

German-language schools

See also

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References

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External links

  • [https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/guide/facts.shtml A Guide to German - 10 facts about the German language]
  • [https://www.britannica.com/topic/German-language Britannica: German-language]

{{Sister project links|German language}}

[https://adityasirgermanclass.com/live-class/level-a1 Online German Class]

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German language

German language

Category:German language