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 {{Short description|West Germanic language}}
 {{Distinguish|Germanic languages|High German languages|Standard German|}}
-{{pp|small=yes}}
 {{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
+{{refimprove|date=August 2025}}
 {{Infobox language
 | name             = German
 | nativename       = {{lang|de|Deutsch}}
-| pronunciation    = {{IPA|de|dɔʏtʃ||De-Deutsch.ogg}}
+| pronunciation    = {{IPA|de|dɔɪ̯tʃ||De-Deutsch.ogg}}
 | states           = [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Belgium]], [[Italy]]
 | speakers         = <!-- Do not edit this section before consulting the talk page! Round to the nearest 5M -->[[First language|L1]]: 95 million
@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
 | mapcaption       = {{legend|#ffcc00|Sole official language}}
 {{legend|#d98575|Co-official language}}
-{{legend|#7373d9|National or recognized minority language}}
+{{legend|#7373d9|National or recognised minority language}}
 {{legend|#30efe3|Minority language}}
 | ancestor         = [[Old High German]]
@@ Line 118: / Line 118: @@
 }}
-'''German''' ({{lang|de|Deutsch}}, {{IPA|de|dɔɪ̯t͡ʃ|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''' ({{lang|de|Deutsch}}, {{IPA|de|dɔɪ̯tʃ|pron|De-Deutsch.ogg}})<ref>{{Citation |title=Deutsch |date=2026-01-10 |work=Wiktionary, the free dictionary |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Deutsch&oldid=89137764 |access-date=2026-02-08 |language=en}}</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 recognised [[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|doi-access=free }}</ref>
+German is one of the [[global language system|major languages of the world]], with nearly 100 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|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307215256/https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/|archive-date=7 March 2025}}</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: Are Students Prepared for a Global Society? |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 }}</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 |first1=Matty |last1=Edwards |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=[[The Local]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919072121/https://www.thelocal.de/20150415/german-is-fourth-most-learnt-language-globally |archive-date=     19 Sep 2016 }}</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 name="w3techs">{{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|doi-access=free }}</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 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 is derived 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>
+German is a [[pluricentric language]]; the three standardised 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 recognised 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]].
@@ Line 150: / Line 150: @@
 [[File:Germanic Languages Map Europe.png|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Germanic languages]] in contemporary Europe]]
-German is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] that belongs to the [[West Germanic]] group of the [[Germanic languages]]. The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]], [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]], and [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]. The first of these branches survives in modern [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]], and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], all of which are descended from [[Old Norse]]. The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and [[Gothic language|Gothic]] is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Yiddish]], [[Afrikaans]], and others.{{sfn|Robinson|1992|p=16}}
+German is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] that belongs to the [[West Germanic]] group of the [[Germanic languages]]. The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]], [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]], and [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]. The first of these branches survives in modern [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]], and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], all of which are descended from [[Old Norse]]. The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and [[Gothic language|Gothic]] is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as [[English language|English]], German, [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Yiddish]], [[Afrikaans]], and others.{{sfn|Robinson|1992|p=16}}
 Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the [[Benrath line|Benrath]] and [[Uerdingen line|Uerdingen]] lines (running through [[Düsseldorf]]-[[Düsseldorf-Benrath|Benrath]] and [[Krefeld]]-[[Uerdingen]], respectively) serve to distinguish the Germanic dialects that were affected by the [[High German consonant shift]] (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as [[High German languages|High German]] dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the [[Low German]] and [[Low Franconian languages|Low Franconian]] dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as [[Irminones|Irminonic]], [[Ingvaeonic languages|Ingvaeonic]], and [[Istvaeones|Istvaeonic]], respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by the Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group).{{sfn|Robinson|1992|p=16}}
@@ Line 202: / Line 202: @@
 {{Main|Middle High German}}
-While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the [[Middle High German]] (MHG) period, it is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350.{{sfn|Waterman|1976|p=83}} This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the [[Elbe]] and [[Saale]] rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into [[Slavs|Slavic]] territory (known as the ''{{Lang|de|[[Ostsiedlung]]}}''). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature.{{sfn|Waterman|1976|p=83}} <!--The following citation needs to be checked, if this source can be used otherwise. Check me: <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/Ling450ch/reports/german.html|title=A Brief History of the German Language|last=Alder|first=Aaron D.|website=linguistics.byu.edu|access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> --> A clear example of this is the ''{{Lang|de|mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache}}'' employed in the [[Hohenstaufen]] court in [[Swabia]] as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to a greater need for regularity in written conventions.
+While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the [[Middle High German]] (MHG) period, it is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350.{{sfn|Waterman|1976|p=83}} This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the [[Elbe]] and [[Saale]] rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into [[Slavs|Slavic]] territory (known as the ''{{Lang|de|[[Ostsiedlung]]}}''). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature.{{sfn|Waterman|1976|p=83}} <!--The following citation needs to be checked, if this source can be used otherwise. Check me: <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/Ling450ch/reports/german.html|title=A Brief History of the German Language|last=Alder|first=Aaron D.|website=linguistics.byu.edu|access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> --> A clear example of this is the ''{{Lang|de|mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache}}'' employed in the [[Hohenstaufen]] court in [[Swabia]] as a standardised supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to a greater need for regularity in written conventions.
-While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. [[Vowel breaking|diphthongization]] of certain vowel sounds: ''{{Lang|goh|hus}}'' (OHG & MHG "house")''→{{Lang|gmh|haus}} (regionally in later MHG)→{{Lang|de|Haus}}'' (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to [[schwa]] [ə]: ''{{Lang|goh|taga}}'' (OHG "days")→''{{Lang|gmh|tage}}'' (MHG)).{{sfn|Salmons|2012|p=195}}
+While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g., [[Vowel breaking|diphthongisation]] of certain vowel sounds: ''{{Lang|goh|hus}}'' (OHG & MHG "house")''→{{Lang|gmh|haus}} (regionally in later MHG)→{{Lang|de|Haus}}'' (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to [[schwa]] [ə]: ''{{Lang|goh|taga}}'' (OHG "days")→''{{Lang|gmh|tage}}'' (MHG)).{{sfn|Salmons|2012|p=195}}
-A great wealth of texts survives from the MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the {{lang|de|[[Nibelungenlied]]}}, an [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] telling the story of the [[dragon]]-slayer [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] ({{circa|thirteenth century}}), and the ''[[Iwein]]'', an [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] verse poem by [[Hartmann von Aue]] ({{Circa|1203}}), [[Lyric poetry|lyric poems]], and courtly romances such as ''[[Parzival]]'' and ''[[Tristan]]''. Also noteworthy is the ''{{Lang|de|[[Sachsenspiegel]]}}'', the first book of laws written in [[Middle Low German|Middle ''Low'' German]] ({{Circa|1220}}). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms.
+A great wealth of texts survives from the MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the {{lang|de|[[Nibelungenlied]]}}, an [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] telling the story of the [[dragon]]-slayer [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] ({{circa|thirteenth century}}), and the ''[[Iwein]]'', an [[King Arthur|Arthurian]] verse poem by [[Hartmann von Aue]] ({{Circa|1203}}), [[Lyric poetry|lyric poems]], and courtly romances such as ''[[Parzival]]'' and ''[[Tristan]]''. Also noteworthy is the ''{{Lang|de|[[Sachsenspiegel]]}}'', the first book of laws written in [[Middle Low German|Middle ''Low'' German]] ({{Circa|1220}}). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardised written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms.
 The Middle High German period is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 [[Black Death]] decimated Europe's population.{{sfn|Scherer|Jankowsky|1995|p=11}}
@@ Line 212: / Line 212: @@
 ===Early New High German===
 {{Main|Early New High German}}
 [[File:German dialect continuum in 1900 (according to Wiesinger & König).png|thumb|upright=1.36|left|German language area and major dialectal divisions around [[1900]]<ref>{{harvnb|Goossens|1977|p=48}}, {{harvnb|Wiesinger|1982|pp=807–900}}, {{harvnb|Heeringa|2004|pp=232–34}}, {{harvnb|Giesbers|2008|p=233}}, {{harvnb|König|Paul|2019|p=230}}</ref>]]
-Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which [[Wilhelm Scherer]] dates 1350{{ndash}}1650, terminating with the end of the [[Thirty Years' War]].{{sfn|Scherer|Jankowsky|1995|p=11}} This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in the [[List of states in the Holy Roman Empire|German states]]. While these states were still part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking [[Principality|principalities]] and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible [[German dialects|regional dialects]] being spoken throughout the German states; the invention of the [[printing press]] {{circa|1440}} and the publication of [[Luther Bible|Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible]] in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language.
+Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which [[Wilhelm Scherer]] dates 1350{{ndash}}1650, terminating with the end of the [[Thirty Years' War]].{{sfn|Scherer|Jankowsky|1995|p=11}} This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in the [[List of states in the Holy Roman Empire|German states]]. While these states were still part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking [[Principality|principalities]] and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible [[German dialects|regional dialects]] being spoken throughout the German states; the invention of the [[printing press]] {{circa|1440}} and the publication of [[Luther Bible|Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible]] in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardising German as a supra-dialectal written language.
 The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancery]] German, one being ''{{Lang|de|gemeine tiutsch}}'', used in the court of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], and the other being ''{{Lang|de|Meißner Deutsch}}'', used in the [[Electorate of Saxony]] in the [[Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg]].{{sfn|Keller|1978|pp=365–68}}
@@ Line 229: / Line 230: @@
 German was the language of commerce and government in the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]], which encompassed a large area of [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]]. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality.
-[[Prague]] ({{langx|de|Prag|links=no}}) and [[Budapest]] ([[Buda]], {{langx|de|Ofen|links=no}}), to name two examples, were gradually [[Germanization|Germanized]] in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain. However, Prague had a large German-speaking population since the Middle Ages, as had Pressburg (Pozsony, now Bratislava), which was settled by Germans in the 10th century. Significant portions of Bohemia and Moravia, now part of the [[Czech Republic]], had become German-speaking during [[Ostsiedlung]]. During the Habsburg time, Budapest and cities like [[Zagreb]] ({{langx|de|Agram|links=no}}) or [[Ljubljana]] ({{langx|de|Laibach|links=no}}), contained significant German minorities.
+[[Prague]] ({{langx|de|Prag|links=no}}) and [[Budapest]] ([[Buda]], {{langx|de|Ofen|links=no}}), to name two examples, were gradually [[Germanization|Germanised]] in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain. However, Prague had a large German-speaking population since the Middle Ages, as had Pressburg (Pozsony, now Bratislava), which was settled by Germans in the 10th century. Significant portions of Bohemia and Moravia, now part of the [[Czech Republic]], had become German-speaking during [[Ostsiedlung]]. During the Habsburg time, Budapest and cities like [[Zagreb]] ({{langx|de|Agram|links=no}}) or [[Ljubljana]] ({{langx|de|Laibach|links=no}}), contained significant German minorities.
 In the eastern provinces of [[Banat]], [[Bukovina]], and [[Transylvania]] ({{langx|de|Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen|links=no}}), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like {{lang|de|Temeschburg}} ([[Timișoara]]), {{lang|de|Hermannstadt}} ([[Sibiu]]), and {{lang|de|Kronstadt}} ([[Brașov]])—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas.{{sfn|Rothaug|1910|p=}}
-=== Standardization ===
+=== Standardisation ===
-In 1901, the [[German Orthographic Conference of 1901|Second Orthographic Conference]] ended with a (nearly) complete [[standardization]] of the [[Standard German]] language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition.{{sfn|Nerius|2000|pp=30–54}} Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process.
+In 1901, the [[German Orthographic Conference of 1901|Second Orthographic Conference]] ended with a (nearly) complete [[standardization|standardisation]] of the [[Standard German]] language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition.{{sfn|Nerius|2000|pp=30–54}} Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardised in the process.
 [[File:Meetings of German-speaking countries, participants.png|thumb|Participants of Meetings of German-speaking countries (2004–present)]]
-The {{lang|de|Deutsche Bühnensprache}} ({{lit|German stage language}}) by [[Theodor Siebs]] had established [[Bühnendeutsch|conventions for German pronunciation in theatres]],{{sfn|Siebs|2000|p=20}} three years earlier; however, this was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today{{snd}}especially the pronunciation of the ending {{lang|de|-ig}} as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider [[Standard German phonology|standardization of pronunciation]] was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries.
+The {{lang|de|Deutsche Bühnensprache}} ({{lit|German stage language}}) by [[Theodor Siebs]] had established [[Bühnendeutsch|conventions for German pronunciation in theatres]],{{sfn|Siebs|2000|p=20}} three years earlier; however, this was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today{{snd}}especially the pronunciation of the ending {{lang|de|-ig}} as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider [[Standard German phonology|standardisation of pronunciation]] was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries.
 Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial [[German orthography reform of 1996]] was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries.{{sfn|Upward|1997|pp=22–24, 36}} Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which is understood in all areas where German is spoken.
@@ Line 245: / Line 246: @@
 [[File:Map of the German Diaspora in the World.svg|thumb|left|[[German diaspora]]]]
 {{See also|List of countries and territories where German is an official language|German-speaking world}}
 {{Pie chart
 |caption = Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide:
 |value1=78.3
@@ Line 267: / Line 268: @@
 }}
-As a result of the [[German diaspora]], as well as the popularity of German taught as a [[foreign language]],<ref name="MLA-2015" /><ref name="eurostat-2024">{{cite web |url = https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_learning_statistics|title = Foreign language learning statistics – Statistics Explained |date = September 2024 |website = ec.europa.eu |access-date = 29 April 2025 }}</ref> the [[geographical distribution of German speakers]] (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents.
+As a result of the [[German diaspora]], as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language,<ref name="MLA-2015" /><ref name="eurostat-2024">{{cite web |url = https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_learning_statistics|title = Foreign language learning statistics – Statistics Explained |date = September 2024 |website = ec.europa.eu |access-date = 29 April 2025 }}</ref> the [[geographical distribution of German speakers]] (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents.
-However, an exact, global number of native German speakers is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] and [[Low German]].{{sfn|Goossens|1983|p=27}} With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90{{ndash}}95 million people speak German as a [[first language]],{{sfn|Lewis|Simons|Fennig|2015|p=}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}}{{sfn|Marten|Sauer|2005|p=7}} 10{{ndash}}25{{nbsp}}million speak it as a [[second language]],{{sfn|Lewis|Simons|Fennig|2015|p=}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}} and 75{{ndash}}100{{nbsp}}million as a [[foreign language]].<ref name="eurobarometer">{{cite web |url = http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf |title=Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages |type=report |date=June 2012 |publisher= [[European Commission]] |access-date=24 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2016 }}</ref> This would imply the existence of approximately 175{{ndash}}220{{nbsp}}million German speakers worldwide.<ref name="Statista">{{cite web |url = http://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/ |title = The most spoken languages worldwide (speakers and native speaker in millions) |publisher = Statista, The Statistics Portal |location = New York City |quote = Native speakers=105, total speakers=185 |access-date = 11 July 2015 |archive-date = 28 June 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150628162716/http://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/ |url-status = live }}</ref>
+However, establishing an exact, global number of native German speakers is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] and [[Low German]].{{sfn|Goossens|1983|p=27}} With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90{{ndash}}95 million people speak German as a [[first language]],{{sfn|Lewis|Simons|Fennig|2015|p=}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}}{{sfn|Marten|Sauer|2005|p=7}} 10{{ndash}}25{{nbsp}}million speak it as a [[second language]],{{sfn|Lewis|Simons|Fennig|2015|p=}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}} and 75{{ndash}}100{{nbsp}}million as a foreign language.<ref name="eurobarometer">{{cite web |url = http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf |title=Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages |type=report |date=June 2012 |publisher= [[European Commission]] |access-date=24 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf |archive-date=6 January 2016 }}</ref> This would imply the existence of approximately 175{{ndash}}220{{nbsp}}million German speakers worldwide.<ref name="Statista">{{cite web |url = http://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/ |title = The most spoken languages worldwide (speakers and native speaker in millions) |publisher = Statista, The Statistics Portal |location = New York City |quote = Native speakers=105, total speakers=185 |access-date = 11 July 2015 |archive-date = 28 June 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150628162716/http://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/ |url-status = live }}</ref>
 German sociolinguist [[Ulrich Ammon]] estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-20 |title=We speak German |url=https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/culture/the-german-language-surprising-facts-and-figures |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=deutschland.de |language=en |archive-date=2 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002203206/https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/culture/the-german-language-surprising-facts-and-figures |url-status=live }}</ref>
@@ Line 278: / Line 279: @@
 <small>{{legend|#ffcc00|'''German ''[[Sprachraum]]''''': German is the official language (''de jure'' or ''de facto'') and first language of the majority of the population}}
 {{legend|#d98575|German is a co-official language but not the first language of the majority of the population}}
-{{legend|#7373d9|German (or a German dialect) is a legally recognized minority language (squares: geographic distribution too dispersed/small for map scale)}}
+{{legend|#7373d9|German (or a German dialect) is a legally recognised minority language (squares: geographic distribution too dispersed/small for map scale)}}
 {{legend|#30efe3|German (or a variety of German) is spoken by a sizeable minority but has no legal recognition}}</small>]]
 [[File:Languages Austria.svg|thumb|{{legend|#FFD700|Most of [[Austria]] lies in the [[Bavarian dialects|Bavarian]] dialect area; only the very west of the country is}}{{legend|#FF4500|[[Alemannic dialects|Alemannic]]-speaking.}}''Map shows Austria and [[South Tyrol]], Italy.'']]
-[[File:Karte Schweizer Sprachgebiete 2017.png|thumb|{{legend|#F7C7B5|([[Swiss German|Swiss]]) German is one of the four national languages of [[Switzerland]].}}]]
+[[File:Karte Schweizer Sprachgebiete 2026.png|thumb|{{legend|#F7C7B5|([[Swiss German|Swiss]]) German is one of the four national languages of [[Switzerland]].}}]]
 [[File:Moselfrankisch.png|thumb|{{legend|#9999FF|[[Luxembourg]] lies in the [[Moselle Franconian]] dialect area.}}]]
 [[File:BelgieGemeenschappenkaart.svg|thumb|{{legend|#0000FF|In [[Belgium]], German is spoken in the country's [[German-speaking Community]], in the very east of the country.}}]]
@@ Line 289: / Line 290: @@
 ====German Sprachraum====
 The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language is called the "German ''[[German Sprachraum|Sprachraum]]''". German is the official language of the following countries:
 * [[Germany]]
 * [[Austria]]
 * [[German-speaking Switzerland|17 cantons]] of [[Switzerland]]
 * [[Liechtenstein]]
-As a result of implemenation of the [[Oder–Neisse line]] and ensuing expusion and ethnic cleansing in post-war Poland, the German Sprachraum significantly shrank, as well as by dissolution of the large German-speaking areas in Bohemia and Moravia. Former German-speaking exclaves of [[East Prussia]], the [[Free City of Danzig]] an the [[Memelland]] ceased to exist, while [[Francization]] in Alsace and Lorraine removed use of German in these areas.
+As a result of implementation of the [[Oder–Neisse line]] and ensuing expulsion and ethnic cleansing in post-war Poland, the German Sprachraum significantly shrank, as well as by dissolution of the large German-speaking areas in Bohemia and Moravia. Former German-speaking exclaves of [[East Prussia]], the [[Free City of Danzig]] and the [[Memelland]] ceased to exist, while [[Francization]] in Alsace and Lorraine removed use of German in these areas.
 German is a co-official language of the following countries:
@@ Line 305: / Line 306: @@
 Although [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|expulsions]] and [[Persecution of Germans|(forced) assimilation]] after the two [[World war]]s greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum.
-Within Europe, German is a recognized minority language in the following countries:<ref name="charter-ratifications">{{cite web |author=Bureau des Traités |url=http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1 |title=Recherches sur les traités |website=Conventions.coe.int |access-date=18 July 2016 |archive-date=18 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918164438/http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
+Within Europe, German is a recognised minority language in the following countries:<ref name="charter-ratifications">{{cite web |author=Bureau des Traités |url=http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1 |title=Recherches sur les traités |website=Conventions.coe.int |access-date=18 July 2016 |archive-date=18 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918164438/http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=1&DF=&CL=ENG&VL=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 * [[Czech Republic]] (see also: [[Germans in the Czech Republic]])
 * [[Denmark]] (see also: [[North Schleswig Germans]])
@@ Line 311: / Line 312: @@
 * [[Poland]] (see also [[German minority in Poland]]; German is an [[Bilingual communes in Poland|auxiliary and co-official language in 31 communes]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ksng.gugik.gov.pl/english/files/list_of_minority_names.pdf |title=Map on page of Polish Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501024600/http://ksng.gugik.gov.pl/english/files/list_of_minority_names.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 * [[Romania]] (see also: [[Germans of Romania]])
-* [[Russia]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://russia.bestpravo.com/omsk/data04/tex17941.htm |script-title=ru:Устав азовского районного совета от 21 May 2002 N 5-09 устав муниципального |trans-title=Charter of the Azov District Council of 05.21.2002 N 5-09 Charter of the municipal |website=russia.bestpravo.com |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808205416/http://russia.bestpravo.com/omsk/data04/tex17941.htm |archive-date=8 August 2016 |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> (see also: [[History of Germans in Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union|Germans in Russia]])
+* [[Russia]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://russia.bestpravo.com/omsk/data04/tex17941.htm |script-title=ru:Устав азовского районного совета от 21 May 2002 N 5-09 устав муниципального |trans-title=Charter of the Azov District Council of 05.21.2002 N 5-09 Charter of the municipal |website=russia.bestpravo.com |language=ru |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808205416/http://russia.bestpravo.com/omsk/data04/tex17941.htm |archive-date=8 August 2016 |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> (see also: [[History of Germans in Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union|Germans in Russia]])
 * [[Slovakia]] (see also: [[Carpathian Germans]])
 In France, the [[High German]] varieties of [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]] and [[Moselle Franconian]] are identified as "[[regional language]]s", but the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/2015/06/05/31003-20150605ARTFIG00157-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales-hollande-nourrit-la-guerre-contre-le-francais.php |title=Charte européenne des langues régionales : Hollande nourrit la guerre contre le français |trans-title=European Charter for Regional Languages: Hollande fuels the war against French |website=lefigaro.fr |date=5 June 2015 |access-date=18 July 2016 |archive-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109035907/http://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/societe/2015/06/05/31003-20150605ARTFIG00157-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales-hollande-nourrit-la-guerre-contre-le-francais.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
-In the [[Baltic states]] of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], and [[Lithuania]], there are still around 8,000 members of the German minority ([[Baltic Germans]], East Prussians, and [[Russian Germans]]) who speak Standard German and, to some extent, Low German. For Estonia, the number is estimated quite precisely at under 2,000 (in 2000: 1,870), for Latvia at just over 3,000 (in 2004: 3,311), and also for Lithuania at just over 3,000.<ref>gemäß {{Webarchive |url=http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/pages/view/?id=1763&PHPSESSID=756a5976f2c9cff73b1a04144e501d58 |text=stat.gov.lt |archive-is=20120924}} – zur regionalen Verteilung 2001.</ref>
+In the [[Baltic states]] of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], and [[Lithuania]], there are still around 8,000 members of the German minority ([[Baltic Germans]], East Prussians, and [[Russian Germans]]) who speak Standard German and, to some extent, Low German. For Estonia, the number is estimated quite precisely at under 2,000 (in 2000: 1,870), for Latvia at just over 3,000 (in 2004: 3,311), and also for Lithuania at just over 3,000.<ref>gemäß {{Webarchive |url=http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/pages/view/?id=1763&PHPSESSID=756a5976f2c9cff73b1a04144e501d58 |text=stat.gov.lt |archive-is=2012-09-24}} – zur regionalen Verteilung 2001.</ref>
 In 2010, 394,000 Germans lived in [[Russia]], some of whom spoke German. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Russian Germans immigrated to Germany.
@@ Line 323: / Line 324: @@
 ====Namibia====
 {{Main|German language in Namibia}}
 [[File:WindhoekBaeckereiCarstensen.jpg|thumb|Bilingual German-English sign at a bakery in [[Namibia]], where German is a national language]]
 Namibia also was a [[German South-West Africa|colony]] of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as a native tongue today, mostly [[German Namibians|descendants of German colonial settlers]].<ref name="nmh-2007">{{Cite news |last=Fischer |first=Stefan |date=18 August 2007 |title=Deutsch in Namibia |url=http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf |language=de |trans-title=German in Namibia |work=Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung |publisher=[[Namibia Media Holdings]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624233949/http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf |archive-date=24 June 2008}}</ref> The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based [[pidgin]] language called "[[Namibian Black German]]", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it.{{sfn|Deumert|2003|pp=561–613}}
@@ Line 337: / Line 339: @@
 ===North America===
 {{Main|German language in the United States|Pennsylvania Dutch language|Plautdietsch|Hutterite German}}
 In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish]], [[French language in the United States|French]], and [[Chinese language in the United States|Chinese]] (with figures for [[Cantonese]] and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] combined), with over 1 million total speakers.<ref name="US Census">{{cite web |title=Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over by State: 2000 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117052130/https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2010 |archive-format=pdf |access-date=15 March 2010 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> In the states of [[North Dakota]] and [[South Dakota]], German is the most common language spoken at home after English.<ref name=Blatt>{{Cite web |title=Tagalog in California, Cherokee in Arkansas: What language does your state speak? |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/05/language_map_what_s_the_most_popular_language_in_your_state.html |website=Slate | author = Blatt, Ben |date=13 May 2014 |access-date=2014-05-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513115444/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/05/language_map_what_s_the_most_popular_language_in_your_state.html |archive-date=2014-05-13 }}</ref> As a legacy of significant [[German American|German immigration to the country]], German geographical names can be found throughout the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest region]], such as [[New Ulm, Minnesota|New Ulm]] and [[Bismarck, North Dakota|Bismarck]] (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions.<ref>{{cite web |work=Germans from Russia Heritage Collection |title=Strasburg Centennial Book: 1902 - 2002 |url=https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/order/nd_sd/strasburg.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619230113/https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/order/nd_sd/strasburg.html |archive-date=19 June 2010 |access-date=18 July 2016 |publisher=NDSU Libraries }}</ref>
@@ Line 343: / Line 346: @@
 ===South America===
 {{Main|Brazilian German|Colonia Tovar dialect}}
-In Brazil, the largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of [[Rio Grande do Sul]] (where [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]] developed), [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], and [[Espírito Santo]].<ref name="ipol">{{cite web |title=IPOL realizará formação de recenseadores para o censo linguístico do município de Antônio Carlos-SC |trans-title=IPOL will carry out training of enumerators for the linguistic census of the municipality of Antônio Carlos-SC |url=http://e-ipol.org/ipol-realizara-formacao-de-recenseadores-para-o-censo-linguistico-do-municipio-de-antonio-carlos-sc/ |date=2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626140033/http://e-ipol.org/ipol-realizara-formacao-de-recenseadores-para-o-censo-linguistico-do-municipio-de-antonio-carlos-sc/ |archive-date=26 June 2015 |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=IPOL }}</ref>
-Standard German is a recognized language in the Brazilian municipalities of [[Pomerode]] and [[São João do Oeste]].<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>
+In Brazil, the largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of [[Rio Grande do Sul]] (where [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]] developed), [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], and [[Espírito Santo]].<ref name="ipol">{{cite web |title=IPOL realizará formação de recenseadores para o censo linguístico do município de Antônio Carlos-SC |trans-title=IPOL will carry out training of enumerators for the linguistic census of the municipality of Antônio Carlos-SC |url=http://e-ipol.org/ipol-realizara-formacao-de-recenseadores-para-o-censo-linguistico-do-municipio-de-antonio-carlos-sc/ |date=2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626140033/http://e-ipol.org/ipol-realizara-formacao-de-recenseadores-para-o-censo-linguistico-do-municipio-de-antonio-carlos-sc/ |archive-date=26 June 2015 |access-date=18 July 2016 |website=IPOL }}</ref>
+Standard German is a recognised language in the Brazilian municipalities of [[Pomerode]] and [[São João do Oeste]].<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>
-Meanwhile, German dialects (namely [[Hunsrik]] and [[East Pomeranian dialect|East Pomeranian]]) are recognized languages in the following municipalities in Brazil:
+Meanwhile, German dialects (namely [[Hunsrik]] and [[East Pomeranian dialect|East Pomeranian]]) are recognised languages in the following municipalities in Brazil:
 * [[Espírito Santo]] (statewide cultural language): [[Domingos Martins]], [[Laranja da Terra]], [[Pancas, Espírito Santo|Pancas]], [[Santa Maria de Jetibá]], [[Vila Pavão]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Szczocarz |first=Roma |year=2017 |title=Pommern in Brasilien |trans-title=Pomerania in Brazil |url=https://lerncafe.de/lerncafe68/pommern-in-brasilien/ |access-date=27 July 2017 |website=LernCafe |publisher=ViLE-Netzwerk |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201172411/https://lerncafe.de/lerncafe68/pommern-in-brasilien/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 * [[Rio Grande do Sul]] ([[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German]] is a designated cultural language in the state): [[Santa Maria do Herval]], [[Canguçu]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al.rs.gov.br/legis/M010/M0100099.ASP?Hid_Tipo=TEXTO&Hid_TodasNormas=58094&hTexto=&Hid_IDNorma=58094 |website=al.rs.gov.br |title=Lei N.º 14.061, de 23 de julho de 2012 |access-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330024221/http://www.al.rs.gov.br/legis/M010/M0100099.ASP?Hid_Tipo=TEXTO&Hid_TodasNormas=58094&hTexto=&Hid_IDNorma=58094 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
@@ Line 359: / Line 363: @@
 | title = The Wilds of Patagonia: A Narrative of the Swedish Expedition to Patagonia Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Island in 1907– 1909
 | publisher = [[Edward Arnold (publisher)|Edward Arnold]]
 | location = London, England
 | volume  =
 | edition =
 | year    = 1911
-}}</ref> Currently, German and its dialects are spoken in many cities, towns and rural areas of southern Chile, such as [[Valdivia]], [[Osorno, Chile|Osorno]], [[Puerto Montt]], [[Puerto Varas]], [[Frutillar]], [[Nueva Braunau]], [[Castro, Chile|Castro]], [[Ancud]], among many others.
+}}</ref> Currently, German and its dialects are spoken in many cities, towns and rural areas of southern Chile, such as Valdivia, [[Osorno, Chile|Osorno]], [[Puerto Montt]], [[Puerto Varas]], [[Frutillar]], [[Nueva Braunau]], [[Castro, Chile|Castro]], [[Ancud]], among many others.
 Small concentrations of German-speakers and their descendants are also found in [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], [[Paraguay]], [[Venezuela]], and [[Bolivia]].<ref name="L1eur" />
 ===Oceania===
-In Australia, the state of [[South Australia]] experienced a pronounced wave of Prussian immigration in the 1840s (particularly from [[Silesia]] region). With the prolonged isolation from other German speakers and contact with [[Australian English]], a unique dialect known as [[Barossa German]] developed, spoken predominantly in the [[Barossa Valley]] near [[Adelaide]]. Usage of German sharply declined with the advent of [[World War I]], due to the prevailing anti-German sentiment in the population and related government action. It continued to be used as a first language into the 20th century, but its use is now limited to a few older speakers.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-26/keeping-south-australias-barossa-deutsch-alive/8375988 |title=Keeping SA's Barossa Deutsch alive over kaffee und kuchen |date=26 March 2017 |work=ABC News |access-date=23 February 2020 |language=en-AU |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040531/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-26/keeping-south-australias-barossa-deutsch-alive/8375988 |url-status=live }}</ref>
+In Australia, the state of [[South Australia]] experienced a pronounced wave of Prussian immigration in the 1840s (particularly from [[Silesia]] region). With the prolonged isolation from other German speakers and contact with [[Australian English]], a unique dialect known as [[Barossa German]] developed, spoken predominantly in the [[Barossa Valley]] near [[Adelaide]]. Usage of German sharply declined with the advent of [[World War I]], due to the prevailing anti-German sentiment in the population and related government action. It continued to be used as a first language into the 20th century, but its use is now limited to a few older speakers.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-26/keeping-south-australias-barossa-deutsch-alive/8375988 |title=Keeping SA's Barossa Deutsch alive over kaffee und kuchen |date=26 March 2017 |work=ABC News |access-date=23 February 2020 |language=en-AU |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109040531/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-26/keeping-south-australias-barossa-deutsch-alive/8375988 |url-status=live |last=Royal|first=Simon}}</ref>
 As of the 2013 census, 36,642 people in [[New Zealand]] spoke German, mostly descendants of a small wave of 19th century German immigrants, making it the third most spoken European language after English and French and overall the ninth most spoken language.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethniccommunities.govt.nz/resources-2/our-languages-o-tatou-reo/new-registry-page/|title=Top 25 Languages in New Zealand|website=ethniccommunities.govt.nz|access-date=21 September 2022|archive-date=21 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921024207/https://www.ethniccommunities.govt.nz/resources-2/our-languages-o-tatou-reo/new-registry-page/|url-status=live}}</ref>
@@ Line 375: / Line 379: @@
 ===As a foreign language===
-[[File:German foreign language EU.jpg|thumb|Self-reported knowledge of German as a [[foreign language]] in the EU member states (+[[Turkey]] and [[UK]]), in per cent of the adult population (+15), 2005]]
+[[File:German foreign language EU.jpg|thumb|Self-reported knowledge of German as a foreign language in the EU member states (+[[Turkey]] and [[UK]]), in per cent of the adult population (+15), 2005]]
 Like English, French, and Spanish, German has become a standard foreign language throughout the world, especially in the Western World.<ref name="eurobarometer" /><ref name="goethe-institut">{{cite web|url=https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623213857/https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf |archive-date=2015-06-23 |url-status=live|title= Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit. Datenerhebung 2015 – Worldwide survey of people learning German; conducted by the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Goethe Institute|website=Goethe.de|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> German ranks second on par with French among the best known foreign languages in the [[European Union]] (EU) after English,<ref name="eurobarometer"/> as well as in [[Russia]],<ref name="Levada2008">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Знание иностранных языков в России |trans-title=Knowledge of foreign languages in Russia |language=ru |url=http://www.levada.ru/16-09-2008/znanie-inostrannykh-yazykov-v-rossii |publisher=Levada Centre |access-date=10 May 2015 |date=16 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510133101/http://www.levada.ru/16-09-2008/znanie-inostrannykh-yazykov-v-rossii |archive-date=10 May 2015}}</ref> and [[Turkey]].<ref name="eurobarometer" /> In terms of student numbers across all levels of education, German ranks third in the EU (after English and French)<ref name="eurostat-2024" /> and in the United States (after Spanish and French).<ref name="MLA-2015"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |title=Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools: Are Students Prepared for a Global Society? |date=February 2011 |publisher=American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=8 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408184754/http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In British schools, where learning a foreign language is not mandatory, a dramatic decline in entries for German A-Level has been observed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Aine |date=2023-06-01 |title=Exam entries: German continues decline in popularity but computing soars |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/gcse-alevel-spanish-german-alevels-b1085006.html |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=Evening Standard |language=en |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826091215/https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/gcse-alevel-spanish-german-alevels-b1085006.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, approximately 15.4{{nbsp}}million people were enrolled in learning German across all levels of education worldwide. This number has decreased from a peak of 20.1{{nbsp}}million in 2000.<ref name="DW survey">{{Cite web |last=Hamann |first=Greta |title=15.4 million people are learning German as a foreign language |date=2020-06-04 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/154-million-people-are-learning-german-as-a-foreign-language/a-53685365 |website=DW |language=en-GB |access-date=31 January 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207051223/https://www.dw.com/en/154-million-people-are-learning-german-as-a-foreign-language/a-53685365 |url-status=live }}</ref> Within the EU, not counting countries where it is an official language, German as a foreign language is most popular in [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Northern Europe]], namely the [[Czech Republic]], [[Croatia]], [[Denmark]], [[Greece]], [[Hungary]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Norway]], [[Poland]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and [[Serbia]].<ref name=eurobarometer /><ref name=eurostat /> German was once, and to some extent still is, a [[lingua franca]] in those parts of Europe.{{sfn|Von Polenz|1999|pp=192–94, 96}}
 ===German-language media worldwide===
 A visible sign of the geographical extension of the German language is the German-language media outside the German-speaking countries.
-German is the second most commonly used scientific language<ref name="goethe1">{{cite web |title=Why Learn German? |url=https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/wdl.html |publisher=Goethe Institute |access-date=28 September 2014 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2024}} as well as the third most widely used language on websites after English and Spanish.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language |title=Usage of content languages for websites|access-date=29 May 2025|publisher= W3Techs: Web Technology Surveys}}</ref>
+German is the second most commonly used scientific language<ref name="goethe1">{{cite web |title=Why Learn German? |url=https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/wdl.html |publisher=Goethe Institute |access-date=28 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906165214/https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/wdl.html|archive-date=6 September 2014}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2024}} as well as the third most widely used language on websites after English and Spanish.<ref name="w3techs"/>
 [[Deutsche Welle]] (German pronunciation: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈvɛlə]; "''German Wave''" in German), or '''DW''', is Germany's public international broadcaster. The service is available in 30 languages. DW's satellite television service consists of channels in German, English, Spanish, and Arabic.
@@ Line 386: / Line 390: @@
 See also:
 * [[List of newspapers in Germany]] and [[List of German-language newspapers published in the United States]]
 * [[List of magazines in Germany]]
 * [[List of television stations in Germany]] and [[List of German-language television channels]]
 * [[List of radio stations in Germany]] and [[List of German-language radio stations]]
@@ Line 393: / Line 397: @@
 ==Standard German==
 {{Main|Standard German}}
 [[File:Knowledge of German EU map.svg|thumb|right|Self-reported knowledge of German within the nations of the European Union]]
-The basis of Standard German developed with the [[Luther Bible]] and the chancery language spoken by the [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxon court]], part of the regional High German group.{{sfn|Swadesh|1971|p=53}} However, there are places where the traditional regional dialects have been replaced by new vernaculars based on Standard German; that is the case in large stretches of [[Northern Germany]] but also in major cities in other parts of the country. It is important to note, however, that the colloquial Standard German differs from the formal written language, especially in grammar and syntax, in which it has been influenced by dialectal speech.
+The basis of Standard German developed with the [[Luther Bible]] and the chancery language spoken by the [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxon court]], part of the regional High German group.{{sfn|Swadesh|1971|p=53}} However, there are places where the traditional regional dialects have been replaced by new vernaculars based on Standard German, which is the case in large stretches of [[Northern Germany]] but also in major cities in other parts of the country. However, the remains that the colloquial Standard German differs from the formal written language, especially in grammar and syntax, in which it has been influenced by dialectal speech.
-Standard German differs regionally among German-speaking countries in [[vocabulary]] and some instances of [[pronunciation]] and even [[grammar]] and [[orthography]]. This variation must not be confused with the variation of local [[dialects]]. Even though the national varieties of Standard German are only somewhat influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. German is thus considered a [[pluricentric language]], with currently three national standard varieties of German: [[German Standard German]], [[Austrian Standard German]] and [[Swiss Standard German]]. In comparison to other European languages (e.g. Portuguese, English), the multi-standard character of German is still not widely acknowledged.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dollinger |first=Stefan |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360951765 |chapter=Who is afraid of pluricentric perspectives? |title=Pluricentric languages and language education: Pedagogical Implications and Innovative Approaches to Language Teaching |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |editor1-last=Callies|editor2-last=Hehner |editor1-first=Marcus|editor2-first= Stefanie |pages=219–220 |language=EN}}</ref> However, 90% of Austrian secondary school teachers of German consider German as having "more than one" standard variety.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=De Cillia|last2=Ransmayr |first1=Rudolf|first2= Jutta |title=Österreichisches Deutsch macht Schule |publisher=Böhlau |year=2019 |location=Vienna |pages=Abbildung 36 |language=DE}}</ref> In this context, some scholars speak of a [[One Standard German Axiom]] that has been maintained as a core assumption of German dialectology.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dollinger |first=Stefan |title=The Pluricentricity Debate |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |location=New York |page=14 |language=EN}}</ref>
+Standard German differs regionally among German-speaking countries in [[vocabulary]] and some instances of [[pronunciation]] and even [[grammar]] and [[orthography]]. This variation must not be confused with the variation of local [[dialects]]. Even though the national varieties of Standard German are only somewhat influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. German is thus considered a [[pluricentric language]], with currently three national standard varieties of German: [[German Standard German]], [[Austrian Standard German]] and [[Swiss Standard German]]. In comparison to other European languages (e.g., Portuguese, English), the multi-standard character of German is still not widely acknowledged.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dollinger |first=Stefan |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360951765 |chapter=Who is afraid of pluricentric perspectives? |title=Pluricentric languages and language education: Pedagogical Implications and Innovative Approaches to Language Teaching |publisher=Routledge |year=2023 |editor1-last=Callies|editor2-last=Hehner |editor1-first=Marcus|editor2-first= Stefanie |pages=219–220 |language=EN}}</ref> However, 90% of Austrian secondary school teachers of German consider German as having "more than one" standard variety.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=De Cillia|last2=Ransmayr |first1=Rudolf|first2= Jutta |title=Österreichisches Deutsch macht Schule |publisher=Böhlau |year=2019 |location=Vienna |pages=Abbildung 36 |language=DE}}</ref> In this context, some scholars speak of a [[One Standard German Axiom]] that has been maintained as a core assumption of German dialectology.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dollinger |first=Stefan |title=The Pluricentricity Debate |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |location=New York |page=14 |language=EN}}</ref>
-In most regions, the speakers use a continuum, e.g. "Umgangssprache" (colloquial standards) from more dialectal varieties to more standard varieties depending on the circumstances.
+In most regions, the speakers use a continuum, e.g., "Umgangssprache" (colloquial standards) from more dialectal varieties to more standard varieties depending on the circumstances.
 ===Varieties===
@@ Line 410: / Line 415: @@
 * [[Swiss Standard German]]
-In the German-speaking parts of [[Switzerland]], mixtures of dialect and standard are very seldom used, and the use of Standard German is largely restricted to the written language. About 11% of the Swiss residents speak Standard German at home, but this is mainly due to German immigrants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.assetdetail.4842942.html |title=Die am häufigsten üblicherweise zu Hause gesprochenen Sprachen der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren – 2012–2014, 2013–2015, 2014–2016 |type=official site |date=28 March 2018 |format=XLS |publisher=Federal Statistical Office FSO |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland |language=de, fr, it |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119010803/https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.assetdetail.4842942.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This situation has been called a ''medial [[diglossia]]''. [[Swiss Standard German]] is used in the Swiss education system, while [[Austrian German]] is officially used in the Austrian education system.
+In the German-speaking parts of [[Switzerland]], mixtures of dialect and standard are very seldom used, and the use of Standard German is largely restricted to the written language. About 11% of Swiss residents speak Standard German at home, but this is mainly due to German immigrants.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.assetdetail.4842942.html |title=Die am häufigsten üblicherweise zu Hause gesprochenen Sprachen der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung ab 15 Jahren – 2012–2014, 2013–2015, 2014–2016 |type=official site |date=28 March 2018 |format=XLS |publisher=Federal Statistical Office FSO |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland |language=de, fr, it |access-date=1 December 2018 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119010803/https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/bevoelkerung/sprachen-religionen/sprachen.assetdetail.4842942.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This situation has been called a ''medial [[diglossia]]''. [[Swiss Standard German]] is used in the Swiss education system, while [[Austrian German]] is officially used in the Austrian education system.
 ==Dialects==
@@ Line 423: / Line 428: @@
 ===Low German===
 {{Main|Low German}}
 [[File:Verbreitungsgebiet der heutigen niederdeutschen Mundarten-2.PNG|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Low German]] dialects]]
 [[Middle Low German]] was the [[lingua franca]] of the [[Hanseatic League]]. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany until the 16th century. In 1534, the [[Luther Bible]] was published. It aimed to be understandable to a broad audience and was based mainly on [[Central German|Central]] and [[Upper German]] varieties. The Early New High German language gained more prestige than [[Low German]] and became the language of science and literature. Around the same time, the Hanseatic League, a confederation of northern ports, lost its importance as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established, and the most powerful German states of that period were located in Middle and Southern Germany.
 The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education in [[Standard German]] in schools. Gradually, Low German came to be politically viewed as a mere dialect spoken by the uneducated. The proportion of the population who can understand and speak it has decreased continuously since [[World War II]].
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: most of the [[Ruhr]] ([[Dortmund]], [[Essen]], [[Bochum]], [[Gelsenkirchen]], [[Hagen]], [[Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia|Herne]], [[Bottrop]], [[Recklinghausen]]), [[Hamburg]], [[Bremen]], [[Hanover]], [[Bielefeld]], [[Münster]], [[Braunschweig]], [[Kiel]], [[Groningen]], [[Lübeck]], [[Rostock]], [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]], [[Oldenburg (city)|Oldenburg]], [[Osnabrück]], [[Enschede]], [[Paderborn]], [[Wolfsburg]], [[Göttingen]], [[Bremerhaven]], [[Salzgitter]], [[Gütersloh]], [[Hildesheim]], and historically also [[Berlin]], [[Halle (Saale)]], [[Magdeburg]] and [[Potsdam]].
 ===Low Franconian===
@@ Line 434: / Line 438: @@
 The [[Low Franconian languages|Low Franconian]] dialects fall within a linguistic category used to classify a number of historical and contemporary West Germanic varieties most closely related to, and including, the [[Dutch language]]. Consequently, the vast majority of the Low Franconian dialects are spoken outside of the German language area. Low Franconian dialects are spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Namibia, and Suriname, and along the [[Lower Rhine]] in Germany, in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. The region in Germany encompasses parts of the [[Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region]].
-The Low Franconian dialects have three different standard varieties: In the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, it is Dutch, which is itself a Low Franconian language. In South Africa, it is [[Afrikaans]], which is also categorized as Low Franconian. During the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Early Modern Period]], the Low Franconian dialects now spoken in Germany, used [[Middle Dutch]] or Early Modern Dutch as their [[literary language]] and [[Dachsprache]]. Following a 19th-century change in Prussian language policy, use of Dutch as an official and public language was forbidden; resulting in [[Standard German]] taking its place as the region's official language.<ref>Heinz Eickmans, ''Aspekte einer niederrheinischen Sprachgeschichte'', in: Werner Besch, Anne Betten, Oskar Reichmann, Stefan Sonderegger (eds.), ''Sprachgeschichte: Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache'', 2nd ed., 3. Teilband, (series: HSK 2.3), Walter de Gruyter, 2003, here p. 2636.</ref><ref>Georg Cornelissen: Das Niederländische im preußischen Gelderland und seine Ablösung durch das Deutsche, Rohrscheid, 1986, p. 93.</ref> As a result, these dialects are now considered German dialects from a socio-linguistic point of view.<ref>Jan Goossens: Niederdeutsche Sprache – Versuch einer Definition. In: Jan Goossens (Hrsg.): Niederdeutsch – Sprache und Literatur. Karl Wachholtz, Neumünster, 1973, p. 9–27.</ref>
+The Low Franconian dialects have three different standard varieties: In the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, it is Dutch, which is itself a Low Franconian language. In South Africa, it is [[Afrikaans]], which is also categorised as Low Franconian. During the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Early Modern Period]], the Low Franconian dialects now spoken in Germany, used [[Middle Dutch]] or Early Modern Dutch as their [[literary language]] and [[Dachsprache]]. Following a 19th-century change in Prussian language policy, use of Dutch as an official and public language was forbidden; resulting in [[Standard German]] taking its place as the region's official language.<ref>Heinz Eickmans, ''Aspekte einer niederrheinischen Sprachgeschichte'', in: Werner Besch, Anne Betten, Oskar Reichmann, Stefan Sonderegger (eds.), ''Sprachgeschichte: Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache'', 2nd ed., 3. Teilband, (series: HSK 2.3), Walter de Gruyter, 2003, here p. 2636.</ref><ref>Georg Cornelissen: Das Niederländische im preußischen Gelderland und seine Ablösung durch das Deutsche, Rohrscheid, 1986, p. 93.</ref> As a result, these dialects are now considered German dialects from a socio-linguistic point of view.<ref>Jan Goossens: Niederdeutsche Sprache – Versuch einer Definition. In: Jan Goossens (Hrsg.): Niederdeutsch – Sprache und Literatur. Karl Wachholtz, Neumünster, 1973, p. 9–27.</ref>
 The Low Franconian dialects in Germany are divided by the [[Uerdingen line]] (north of which the word for "I" is pronounced as "ik" and south of which as "ich") into northern and southern Low Franconian. The northern variants comprise [[Kleverlandish]], which is most similar to Standard Dutch. The other ones are transitional between Low Franconian and [[Ripuarian language|Ripuarian]], but closer to Low Franconian.
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Cape Town]], [[Pretoria]], [[Brussels]],{{efn|in danger of extinction due to the [[Francization of Brussels]]}} [[Gqeberha]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Düsseldorf]]*, [[Rotterdam]], [[The Hague]], [[Antwerp]], [[Duisburg]]*, [[Utrecht]], [[Wuppertal]]*, [[Mönchengladbach]]*, [[Ghent]], [[Bloemfontein]], [[Eindhoven]], [[Paramaribo]], [[Krefeld]]*, [[Almere]], [[Oberhausen]]*, [[Tilburg]], [[Nijmegen]], [[Mülheim an der Ruhr]]*, [[Arnhem]], [[Haarlem]], [[Amersfoort]], [[Solingen]]*, [[Neuss]]*, [[Breda]], [[Apeldoorn]], [[Zwolle]], [[Zoetermeer]], [[Leiden]], [[Maastricht]], [[Dordrecht]], [[Bruges]], [[Remscheid]]*, [['s-Hertogenbosch]], [[Delft]], [[Moers]]*, [[Leuven]], [[Willemstad]], and the south of [[Essen]]*.
-<nowiki>*</nowiki> <small>city with German as standard language</small>
 ===High German===
 {{Main|High German languages}}
 [[File:Mitteldeutsche Mundarten.png|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Central German]] dialects]]
 [[File:Fränkisches Sprachgebiet.png|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Franconian (linguistics)|Franconian]] dialects<br>(The [[Rhenish fan]])<br>
@@ Line 477: / Line 480: @@
 * [[Banat Swabian dialect|Banat Swabian]] in [[Banat]], Romania (considered a variant of German)
 Luxembourgish as well as Transylvanian Saxon and Banat Swabian are based on [[Moselle Franconian]] dialects.
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Cologne]], [[Frankfurt am Main]], [[Bonn]], [[Mannheim]], [[Wiesbaden]], [[Aachen]], [[Mainz]], [[Kassel]], [[Saarbrücken]], [[Ludwigshafen am Rhein]], [[Leverkusen]], [[Heidelberg]], [[Darmstadt]], [[Offenbach am Main]], [[Luxembourg City]], [[Koblenz]], [[Bergisch Gladbach]], [[Trier]], [[Siegen]], [[Hanau]], [[Kaiserslautern]], the south of [[Düsseldorf]], and in Romania: [[Cluj-Napoca]] (German: Klausenburg),{{efn|moribund}} [[Timișoara]] (Temeschburg),{{efn|moribund}} [[Brașov]] (Kronstadt),{{efn|moribund}} [[Oradea]] (Großwardein),{{efn|moribund}} [[Arad, Romania|Arad]],{{efn|moribund}} [[Sibiu]] (Hermannstadt){{efn|moribund}} and [[Târgu Mureș]] (Neumarkt am Mieresch).{{efn|moribund}}
 =====East Central German=====
 Further east, the non-[[Franconian (linguistics)|Franconian]], East Central German dialects are spoken ([[Thuringian dialect|Thuringian]], [[Upper Saxon German|Upper Saxon]], [[Erzgebirgisch]] (dialect of the [[Ore Mountains]]) and [[East Central German#Nordobersächsisch-Südmärkisch|North Upper Saxon–South Markish]], and earlier, in the then German-speaking parts of [[Silesia]] also [[Silesian German|Silesian]], and in then German southern [[East Prussia]] also [[High Prussian dialect|High Prussian]]).
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Berlin]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Leipzig]], [[Dresden]], [[Halle (Saale)]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Magdeburg]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Erfurt]], [[Potsdam]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Chemnitz]] and [[Jena]].
 ====High Franconian====
@@ Line 490: / Line 489: @@
 =====East Franconian=====
-The [[East Franconian]] dialects are spoken in the region of [[Franconia]]. Franconia consists of the [[Bavaria]]n districts of [[Upper Franconia|Upper]], [[Middle Franconia|Middle]], and [[Lower Franconia]], the region of [[South Thuringia]] (those parts of [[Thuringia]] south of the [[Thuringian Forest]]), and the eastern parts of the region of [[Heilbronn-Franken]] ([[Tauber Franconia]] and Hohenlohe) in northeastern [[Baden-Württemberg]]. East Franconian is also spoken in most parts of [[Saxony|Saxon]] [[Vogtland]] (in the [[Vogtland District]] around [[Plauen]], [[Reichenbach im Vogtland]], [[Auerbach/Vogtl.]], [[Oelsnitz/Vogtl.]] and [[Klingenthal]]). East Franconian is colloquially referred to as "Fränkisch" ([[East Franconian|Franconian]]) in Franconia (including Bavarian Vogtland), and as "Vogtländisch" ([[Vogtlandian]]) in Saxon Vogtland.
+The [[East Franconian]] dialects are spoken in the region of [[Franconia]]. Franconia consists of the [[Bavaria]]n districts of [[Upper Franconia|Upper]], [[Middle Franconia|Middle]], and [[Lower Franconia]], the region of [[South Thuringia]] (those parts of [[Thuringia]] south of the [[Thuringian Forest]]), and the eastern parts of the region of [[Heilbronn-Franken]] ([[Tauber Franconia]] and Hohenlohe) in northeastern [[Baden-Württemberg]]. East Franconian is also spoken in most parts of [[Saxony|Saxon]] [[Vogtland]] (in the [[Vogtland District]] around [[Plauen]], [[Reichenbach im Vogtland]], [[Auerbach/Vogtl.]], [[Oelsnitz/Vogtl.]] and [[Klingenthal]]). East Franconian is colloquially referred to as "Fränkisch" (Franconian) in Franconia (including Bavarian Vogtland), and as "Vogtländisch" ([[Vogtlandian]]) in Saxon Vogtland.
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Nuremberg]], [[Fürth]], [[Würzburg]] and [[Erlangen]].
 =====South Franconian=====
 [[South Franconian]] is spoken in northern [[Baden-Württemberg]] and in the northeasternmost tip of [[Alsace]] (around [[Wissembourg]]) in France. In Baden-Württemberg, they are considered dialects of German, and in Alsace a South Franconian variant of [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]].
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Karlsruhe]] and [[Heilbronn]].
 ====Upper German====
@@ Line 512: / Line 507: @@
 The southernmost German-speaking municipality is in the Alemannic region: [[Zermatt]] in the [[Canton of Valais]], Switzerland, as is the capital of [[Liechtenstein]]: [[Vaduz]].
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Stuttgart]], [[Zürich]], [[Augsburg]], [[Strasbourg]] ([[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]]: Strossburi),{{efn|in danger of extinction due to the Francization of Alsace}} [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], [[Basel]], [[Bern]], [[Ulm]], [[Pforzheim]], [[Reutlingen]], [[Winterthur]] and [[Mulhouse]] (Alsatian: Mìlhüsa).{{efn|in danger of extinction due to the Francization of Alsace}}
 =====Austro-Bavarian=====
@@ Line 519: / Line 513: @@
 The northernmost Austro-Bavarian village is Breitenfeld (municipality of [[Markneukirchen]], Saxony), the southernmost village is [[Salorno sulla Strada del Vino]] (German: Salurn an der Weinstraße), South Tyrol.
-* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Vienna]], [[Munich]], [[Graz]], [[Linz]], [[Regensburg]], [[Salzburg]], [[Ingolstadt]], [[Innsbruck]], [[Bolzano]] (German: Bozen) and [[Klagenfurt am Wörthersee]].
 ==Regiolects==
@@ Line 525: / Line 518: @@
 * [[Missingsch]], a Low-German-coloured variety of High German.
 * [[Ruhrdeutsch]] (Ruhr German), the High German regiolect of the [[Ruhr area]].
+== Orthography ==
+{{Main|German orthography|German braille}}
+[[File:Oesterreichische Schulschrift 1995, 2 - Schraegschrift.jpg|right|thumb|Austria's standardised [[cursive]]]]
+[[File:Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift.png|thumb|Germany's standardised cursive]]
+Written texts in German are easily recognisable as such by distinguishing features such as [[umlaut (diacritic)|umlauts]] and certain [[German orthography|orthographical]] features, such as the capitalisation of all nouns, and the frequent occurrence of long compounds. Because legibility and convenience set certain boundaries, compounds consisting of more than three or four nouns are almost exclusively found in humorous contexts. (English also can string nouns together, though it usually separates the nouns with spaces: as, for example, "toilet bowl cleaner".)
+In German orthography, nouns are capitalised, which makes it easier for readers to determine the function of a word within a sentence. This convention is almost unique to German today (shared perhaps only by the closely related [[Luxembourgish]] language and several insular dialects of the [[North Frisian language]]), but it was historically common in Northern Europe in the early modern era, including in languages such as Danish which abolished the capitalisation of nouns in 1948, and English for a while, into the 1700s.
+===Present===
+Before the [[German orthography reform of 1996]], ''ß'' replaced ''ss'' after [[vowel length|long vowels]] and [[diphthong]]s and before consonants, word-, or partial-word endings. In reformed spelling, ''ß'' replaces ''ss'' only after long vowels and diphthongs.
+Since there is no traditional capital form of ''ß'', it was replaced by ''SS'' (or ''SZ'') when capitalisation was required. For example, {{lang|de|Maßband}} (tape measure) became {{lang|de|MASSBAND}} in capitals. An exception was the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalising names. To avoid confusion with similar names, lower case ''ß'' was sometimes maintained (thus "{{lang|de|KREßLEIN}}" instead of "{{lang|de|KRESSLEIN}}"). [[Capital ß]] (ẞ) was ultimately adopted into German orthography in 2017, ending a long orthographic debate (thus "{{lang|de|KREẞLEIN}} and {{lang|de|KRESSLEIN}}").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet |website=Quartz |title=Germany has ended a century-long debate over a missing letter in its alphabet|last=Ha|first=Thu-Huong|date=20 July 2017|language=en|access-date=5 December 2017|quote=According to the council's 2017 spelling manual: When writing the uppercase [of ß], write SS. It's also possible to use the uppercase ẞ. Example: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.|archive-date=22 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122004645/https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet/|url-status=live}}</ref>
+Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly transcribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard or other medium used. In the same manner, ß can be transcribed as ss. Some [[operating systems]] use key sequences to extend the set of possible characters to include, amongst other things, umlauts; in [[Microsoft Windows]] this is done using [[Alt codes]]. German readers understand these transcriptions (although they appear unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available, because they are a makeshift and not proper spelling. (In Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g., ''Raesfeld'' {{IPA|de|ˈraːsfɛlt|}}, ''Coesfeld'' {{IPA|[ˈkoːsfɛlt]}} and ''Itzehoe'' {{IPA|[ɪtsəˈhoː]}}, but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than [[proper noun]]s.)
+{{Listen
+| filename     = German alphabet-2.ogg
+| title        = German alphabet
+| description  = (Listen to a German speaker recite the alphabet in German)
+}}
+There is no general agreement on where letters with umlauts occur in the sorting sequence. Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e. Some dictionaries sort each umlauted vowel as a separate letter after the base vowel, but more commonly words with umlauts are ordered immediately after the same word without umlauts. As an example in a [[telephone directory|telephone book]] {{lang|de|Ärzte}} occurs after {{lang|de|Adressenverlage}} but before {{lang|de|Anlagenbauer}} (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary {{lang|de|Ärzte}} comes after {{lang|de|Arzt}}, but in some dictionaries {{lang|de|Ärzte}} and all other words starting with ''Ä'' may occur after all words starting with ''A''. In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial ''Sch'' and ''St'' are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after ''S'', but they are usually treated as S+C+H and S+T.
+Written German also typically uses an alternative opening inverted comma ([[quotation mark]]) as in {{lang|de|„Guten Morgen!“}}.<ref name="m855">{{cite book | last=Stark | first=Susanne | title="Behind inverted commas": translation and Anglo-German cultural relations in the nineteenth century | publisher=Multilingual Matters | publication-place=Clevedon | date=1999 | isbn=978-1-85359-376-5}}</ref>
+===Past===
+[[File:Fraktur-ru.jpg|thumb|A Russian dictionary from 1931, showing the "German alphabet"&nbsp;– the 3rd and 4th columns of each half are [[Fraktur]] and [[Kurrent]] respectively, with the footnote explaining [[typographic ligature|ligatures]] used in Fraktur]]
+{{Further|2nd Orthographic Conference (German)|Antiqua–Fraktur dispute|German orthography reform of 1944}}
+Until the early 20th century, German was printed in [[blackletter]] [[typeface]]s (in [[Fraktur]], and in [[Schwabacher]]), and written in corresponding [[penmanship|handwriting]] (for example [[Kurrent]] and [[Sütterlin]]). These variants of the Latin alphabet are very different from the serif or [[sans-serif]] [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]] typefaces used today, and the handwritten forms in particular are difficult for the untrained to read. The printed forms, however, were claimed by some to be more readable when used for [[Germanic languages]].{{sfn|Reinecke|1910|p=55}} The [[Nazism|Nazis]] initially promoted Fraktur and Schwabacher because they were considered [[Aryan]], but abolished them in 1941, claiming the letters were Jewish.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bormann |first=Martin |date=8 January 1941 |title=Der Bormann-Brief im Original |trans-title=The original Bormann letter |url=http://ligaturix.de/bormann.htm |access-date=20 November 2020 |publisher=[[Nazi Party|NSDAP]] |language=de |quote=Facsimile of Bormann's Memorandum<br /> The memorandum itself is typed in Antiqua, but the NSDAP [[letterhead]] is printed in Fraktur.<br />"For general attention, on behalf of the Führer, I make the following announcement:<br />It is wrong to regard or to describe the so-called Gothic script as a German script. In reality, the so-called Gothic script consists of Schwabach Jew letters. Just as they later took control of the newspapers, upon the introduction of printing the Jews residing in Germany took control of the printing presses and thus in Germany the Schwabach Jew letters were forcefully introduced.<br />Today the Führer, talking with Herr Reichsleiter Amann and Herr Book Publisher Adolf Müller, has decided that in the future the Antiqua script is to be described as normal script. All printed materials are to be gradually converted to this normal script. As soon as is feasible in terms of textbooks, only the normal script will be taught in village and state schools.<br />The use of the Schwabach Jew letters by officials will in future cease; appointment certifications for functionaries, street signs, and so forth will in future be produced only in normal script.<br />On behalf of the Führer, Herr Reichsleiter Amann will in future convert those newspapers and periodicals that already have foreign distribution, or whose foreign distribution is desired, to normal script. |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185607/http://ligaturix.de/bormann.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also believed this script was banned, as the German government understood Fraktur would inhibit communication in the territories occupied during World War II.{{sfn|Kapr|1993|p=81}}
+The Fraktur script however remains present in everyday life in pub signs, beer brands and other forms of advertisement, where it is used to convey a certain rusticality and antiquity.<ref name="e815">{{cite web | title=The Fascinating History Behind the Fraktur Typeface | website=Stephanie Huesler | date=2025-04-10 | url=https://stephaniehuesler.com/2025/04/10/the-fascinating-history-behind-the-fraktur-typeface/ | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref>
+A proper use of the long s ({{lang|de|langes s}}), [[long s|ſ]], is essential for writing German text in [[Fraktur]] typefaces. Many [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]] typefaces also include the long s. A specific set of rules applies for the use of long s in German text, but nowadays it is rarely used in Antiqua typesetting. Any lower case "s" at the beginning of a syllable would be a long s, as opposed to a terminal s or short s (the more common variation of the letter s), which marks the end of a syllable; for example, in differentiating between the words {{lang|de|Wachſtube}} (guard-house) and {{lang|de|Wachstube}} (tube of polish/wax). One can easily decide which "s" to use by appropriate hyphenation, ({{lang|de|Wach-ſtube}} vs. {{lang|de|Wachs-tube}}). The long s only appears in [[lower case]].
 ==Grammar==
@@ Line 532: / Line 562: @@
 ===Noun inflection===
+{{further|Grammatical gender in German}}
 {| class = "wikitable" style = "float: right; text-align: center"
 |+ Declension of the [[Standard German]] definite article
@@ Line 545: / Line 576: @@
 | style = "background-color: coral; border-style: solid none none solid" | {{lang|de|die}}
 | style = "background-color: coral; border-style: solid solid none none" | {{lang|de|die}}
+|-
+! scope = "row" | [[Accusative]]
+| style = "background-color: silver" | {{lang|de|den}}
+| style = "background-color: paleGreen; border-style: none solid solid solid" | {{lang|de|das}}
+| style = "background-color: coral; border-style: none none solid solid" | {{lang|de|die}}
+| style = "background-color: coral; border-style: none solid solid none" | {{lang|de|die}}
 |-
 ! scope = "row" | [[Dative]]
@@ Line 557: / Line 594: @@
 | style = "background-color: lavender; border-style: none none solid solid" | {{lang|de|der}}
 | style = "background-color: lavender; border-style: solid solid solid none" | {{lang|de|der}}
-|-
-! scope = "row" | [[Accusative]]
-| style = "background-color: silver" | {{lang|de|den}}
-| style = "background-color: paleGreen; border-style: none solid solid solid" | {{lang|de|das}}
-| style = "background-color: coral; border-style: none none solid solid" | {{lang|de|die}}
-| style = "background-color: coral; border-style: none solid solid none" | {{lang|de|die}}
 |}
-{{further|Grammatical gender in German}}
+{{clear}}
 [[German nouns]] inflect by case, gender, and number:
 * four [[grammatical case|cases]]: [[nominative case|nominative]], [[accusative case|accusative]], [[genitive case|genitive]], and [[dative case|dative]].
-* three [[grammatical gender|genders]]: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Word endings sometimes reveal grammatical gender: for instance, nouns ending in {{lang|de|-ung}} (-ing), {{lang|de|-schaft}} (-ship), {{lang|de|-keit}} or {{lang|de|heit}} (-hood, -ness) are feminine, nouns ending in {{lang|de|-chen}} or {{lang|de|-lein}} ([[diminutive]] forms) are neuter and nouns ending in {{lang|de|-ismus}} ([[-ism]]) are masculine. Others are more variable, sometimes depending on the region in which the language is spoken. And some endings are not restricted to one gender, for example: {{lang|de|-er}} ([[agent noun|-er]]), such as {{lang|de|Feier}} (feminine), celebration, party; {{lang|de|Arbeiter}} (masculine), labourer; and {{lang|de|Gewitter}} (neuter), thunderstorm.
+* three [[grammatical gender|genders]]: masculine, feminine, and neuter. For the majority of nouns (especially masculine and neuter ones), the gender is not predictable from the word's shape. [[Affix|Affixes]] sometimes reveal grammatical gender: for instance, nouns ending in {{lang|de|-ung}} (-ing), {{lang|de|-schaft}} (-ship), {{lang|de|-keit}} or {{lang|de|heit}} (-hood, -ness) are feminine, nouns ending in {{lang|de|-chen}} or {{lang|de|-lein}} ([[diminutive]] forms) are neuter and nouns ending in {{lang|de|-ismus}} ([[-ism]]) are masculine. However, most words do not have strictly gendered affixes.
 * two numbers: singular and plural.
@@ Line 615: / Line 646: @@
 : {{lang|de|Mir gab der alte Mann das Buch gestern.}} ([To] me gave the old man the book yesterday (entailing: as for someone else, it was another date))
-While the subject typically preceeds the object, the position of a noun in a German sentence has no bearing on its being a subject, an object or another argument. In a [[sentence (linguistics)|declarative sentence]] in English, if the subject does not occur before the predicate, the sentence could well be misunderstood.
+While the subject typically precedes the object, the position of a noun in a German sentence has no bearing on its being a subject, an object or another argument. In a [[sentence (linguistics)|declarative sentence]] in English, if the subject does not occur before the predicate, the sentence could well be misunderstood.
 However, German's flexible word order allows one to emphasise specific words:
@@ Line 657: / Line 688: @@
 : The time specification and the object {{lang|de|sein Büro}} (his office) are lightly accentuated.
-The flexible word order also allows one to use language "tools" (such as [[poetic meter]] and [[figures of speech]]) more freely.
+The flexible word order also allows one to use language "tools" (such as [[poetic meter|poetic metre]] and [[figures of speech]]) more freely.
 ====Auxiliary verbs====
@@ Line 668: / Line 699: @@
 The main verb may appear in first position to put stress on the action itself. The [[auxiliary verb]] is still in second position.
-:{{lang|de|Gegeben hat mir der alte Mann das Buch heute.}} ('''''Given''''' has me the old man the book '''today'''.) The bare fact that the book has been given is emphasized, as well as 'today'.
+:{{lang|de|Gegeben hat mir der alte Mann das Buch heute.}} ('''''Given''''' has me the old man the book '''today'''.) The bare fact that the book has been given is emphasised, as well as 'today'.
 ====Modal verbs====
@@ Line 690: / Line 721: @@
 Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.{{sfn|Leao|2011|p=25}} However, there is a significant number of loanwords from other languages, in particular [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[French language|French]], and most recently [[English language|English]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/Wortbildung/Fremdwoerter.html |title=Foreign Words (Fremdwörter) |website=dartmouth.edu |access-date=23 February 2020 |archive-date=23 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223221137/https://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/Wortbildung/Fremdwoerter.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the early 19th century, [[Joachim Heinrich Campe]] estimated that one fifth of the total German vocabulary was of French or Latin origin.<ref>Uwe Pörksen, German Academy for Language and Literature's Jahrbuch [Yearbook] 2007 (Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2008, pp. 121–130)</ref>
-Latin words were already imported into the predecessor of the German language during the [[Roman Empire]] and underwent all the characteristic phonetic changes in German. Their origin is thus no longer recognizable for most speakers (e.g. {{lang|de|Pforte}}, {{lang|de|Tafel}}, {{lang|de|Mauer}}, {{lang|de|Käse}}, {{lang|de|Köln}} from Latin {{lang|la|porta}}, {{lang|la|tabula}}, {{lang|la|murus}}, {{lang|la|caseus}}, {{lang|la|Colonia}}). Borrowing from Latin continued after the fall of the Roman Empire during [[Christianisation]], mediated by the church and monasteries. Another important influx of Latin words can be observed during [[Renaissance humanism]]. In a scholarly context, the borrowings from Latin have continued until today, in the last few decades often indirectly through borrowings from English. During the 15th to 17th centuries, the influence of Italian was great, leading to many Italian loanwords in the fields of architecture, finance and music. The influence of the French language in the 17th to 19th centuries resulted in an even greater import of French words. The English influence was already present in the 19th century, but it did not become dominant until the second half of the 20th century.
+Latin words were already imported into the predecessor of the German language during the [[Roman Empire]] and underwent all the characteristic phonetic changes in German. Their origin is thus no longer recognisable for most speakers (e.g., {{lang|de|Pforte}}, {{lang|de|Tafel}}, {{lang|de|Mauer}}, {{lang|de|Käse}}, {{lang|de|Köln}} from Latin {{lang|la|porta}}, {{lang|la|tabula}}, {{lang|la|murus}}, {{lang|la|caseus}}, {{lang|la|Colonia}}). Borrowing from Latin continued after the fall of the Roman Empire during [[Christianisation]], mediated by the church and monasteries. Another important influx of Latin words can be observed during [[Renaissance humanism]]. In a scholarly context, the borrowings from Latin have continued until today, in the last few decades often indirectly through borrowings from English. During the 15th to 17th centuries, the influence of Italian was great, leading to many Italian loanwords in the fields of architecture, finance and music. The influence of the French language in the 17th to 19th centuries resulted in an even greater import of French words. The English influence was already present in the 19th century, but it did not become dominant until the second half of the 20th century.
-Thus, [[Notker Labeo]] translated the Aristotelian treatises into pure (Old High) German in the decades after the year 1000.{{sfn|Hattemer|1849|p=5}} The tradition of loan translation revitalized in the 17th and 18th century with poets like [[Philipp von Zesen]] or linguists like [[Joachim Heinrich Campe]], who introduced close to 300 words, which are still used in modern German. Even today, there are movements that promote the substitution of foreign words that are deemed unnecessary with German alternatives.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://vds-ev.de/anglizismenindex |title = Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V. – Der Anglizismen-Index |publisher = Walter Krämer |website=vds-ev.de |access-date = 15 March 2010 |archive-date = 10 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100310142212/http://vds-ev.de/anglizismenindex/ |url-status = dead }}</ref>
+Thus, [[Notker Labeo]] translated the Aristotelian treatises into pure (Old High) German in the decades after the year 1000.{{sfn|Hattemer|1849|p=5}} The tradition of loan translation revitalised in the 17th and 18th century with poets like [[Philipp von Zesen]] or linguists like [[Joachim Heinrich Campe]], who introduced close to 300 words, which are still used in modern German. Even today, there are movements that promote the substitution of foreign words that are deemed unnecessary with German alternatives.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://vds-ev.de/anglizismenindex |title = Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V. – Der Anglizismen-Index |publisher = Walter Krämer |website=vds-ev.de |access-date = 15 March 2010 |archive-date = 10 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100310142212/http://vds-ev.de/anglizismenindex/ |url-status = dead }}</ref>
-As in other Germanic languages, there are many pairs of [[synonym]]s due to the enrichment of the Germanic vocabulary with [[loanword]]s from Latin and Latinized Greek. These words often have different connotations from their Germanic counterparts and are usually perceived as more scholarly.
+As in other Germanic languages, there are many pairs of [[synonym]]s due to the enrichment of the Germanic vocabulary with [[loanword]]s from Latin and Latinised Greek. These words often have different connotations from their Germanic counterparts and are usually perceived as more scholarly.
 * {{lang|de|Historie, historisch}}&nbsp;– "history, historical", ({{lang|de|Geschichte, geschichtlich}})
 * {{lang|de|Humanität, human}}&nbsp;– "humaneness, humane", ({{lang|de|Menschlichkeit, menschlich}}){{efn|{{lang|de|menschlich}}, and occasionally {{lang|de|human}}, may also mean "human, pertaining to humans", whereas {{lang|de|Menschlichkeit}} and {{lang|de|Humanität}} never mean "humanity, human race", which translates to {{lang|de|Menschheit}}.}}
@@ Line 707: / Line 738: @@
 The size of the vocabulary of German is difficult to estimate. The {{lang|de|[[Deutsches Wörterbuch]]}} (''German Dictionary''), initiated by the [[Brothers Grimm]] ([[Jacob Grimm|Jacob]] and [[Wilhelm Grimm]]) and the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language, already contained over 330,000 headwords in its first edition. The modern German scientific vocabulary is estimated at nine million words and word groups (based on the analysis of 35 million sentences of a [[Text corpus|corpus]] in Leipzig, which as of July 2003 included 500{{nbsp}}million words in total).<ref>{{cite web |url = http://wortschatz.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/html/inhalt_next.html |title = Ein Hinweis in eigener Sache |website = wortschatz.informatik.uni-leipzig.de |date = 7 January 2003 |access-date = 15 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110515064508/http://wortschatz.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/html/inhalt_next.html |archive-date = 15 May 2011 }}</ref>
-==Orthography==
-{{Main|German orthography|German braille}}
-[[File:Oesterreichische Schulschrift 1995, 2 - Schraegschrift.jpg|right|thumb|Austria's standardized [[cursive]]]]
-[[File:Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift.png|thumb|Germany's standardized cursive]]
-Written texts in German are easily recognisable as such by distinguishing features such as [[Germanic umlaut|umlauts]] and certain [[German orthography|orthographical]] features, such as the capitalization of all nouns, and the frequent occurrence of long compounds. Because legibility and convenience set certain boundaries, compounds consisting of more than three or four nouns are almost exclusively found in humorous contexts. (English also can string nouns together, though it usually separates the nouns with spaces: as, for example, "toilet bowl cleaner".)
-In German orthography, nouns are capitalized, which makes it easier for readers to determine the function of a word within a sentence. This convention is almost unique to German today (shared perhaps only by the closely related [[Luxembourgish]] language and several insular dialects of the [[North Frisian language]]), but it was historically common in Northern Europe in the early modern era, including in languages such as Danish which abolished the capitalization of nouns in 1948, and English for a while, into the 1700s.
-===Present===
-Before the [[German orthography reform of 1996]], ''ß'' replaced ''ss'' after [[vowel length|long vowels]] and [[diphthong]]s and before consonants, word-, or partial-word endings. In reformed spelling, ''ß'' replaces ''ss'' only after long vowels and diphthongs.
-Since there is no traditional capital form of ''ß'', it was replaced by ''SS'' (or ''SZ'') when capitalization was required. For example, {{lang|de|Maßband}} (tape measure) became {{lang|de|MASSBAND}} in capitals. An exception was the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalizing names. To avoid confusion with similar names, lower case ''ß'' was sometimes maintained (thus "{{lang|de|KREßLEIN}}" instead of "{{lang|de|KRESSLEIN}}"). [[Capital ß]] (ẞ) was ultimately adopted into German orthography in 2017, ending a long orthographic debate (thus "{{lang|de|KREẞLEIN}} and {{lang|de|KRESSLEIN}}").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet |website=Quartz |title=Germany has ended a century-long debate over a missing letter in its alphabet|last=Ha|first=Thu-Huong|date=20 July 2017|language=en|access-date=5 December 2017|quote=According to the council's 2017 spelling manual: When writing the uppercase [of ß], write SS. It's also possible to use the uppercase ẞ. Example: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.|archive-date=22 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122004645/https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet/|url-status=live}}</ref>
-Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly transcribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard or other medium used. In the same manner, ß can be transcribed as ss. Some [[operating systems]] use key sequences to extend the set of possible characters to include, amongst other things, umlauts; in [[Microsoft Windows]] this is done using [[Alt codes]]. German readers understand these transcriptions (although they appear unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available, because they are a makeshift and not proper spelling. (In Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g. ''Raesfeld'' {{IPA|de|ˈraːsfɛlt|}}, ''Coesfeld'' {{IPA|[ˈkoːsfɛlt]}} and ''Itzehoe'' {{IPA|[ɪtsəˈhoː]}}, but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than [[proper noun]]s.)
-{{Listen
-|filename = German alphabet-2.ogg
-|title = German alphabet
-|description = (Listen to a German speaker recite the alphabet in German)
-}}
-There is no general agreement on where letters with umlauts occur in the sorting sequence. Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e. Some dictionaries sort each umlauted vowel as a separate letter after the base vowel, but more commonly words with umlauts are ordered immediately after the same word without umlauts. As an example in a [[telephone directory|telephone book]] {{lang|de|Ärzte}} occurs after {{lang|de|Adressenverlage}} but before {{lang|de|Anlagenbauer}} (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary {{lang|de|Ärzte}} comes after {{lang|de|Arzt}}, but in some dictionaries {{lang|de|Ärzte}} and all other words starting with ''Ä'' may occur after all words starting with ''A''. In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial ''Sch'' and ''St'' are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after ''S'', but they are usually treated as S+C+H and S+T.
-Written German also typically uses an alternative opening inverted comma ([[quotation mark]]) as in {{lang|de|„Guten Morgen!“}}.
-===Past===
-[[File:Fraktur-ru.jpg|thumb|A Russian dictionary from 1931, showing the "German alphabet"&nbsp;– the 3rd and 4th columns of each half are [[Fraktur]] and [[Kurrent]] respectively, with the footnote explaining [[typographic ligature|ligatures]] used in Fraktur]]
-{{Further|2nd Orthographic Conference (German)|Antiqua–Fraktur dispute|German orthography reform of 1944}}
-Until the early 20th century, German was printed in [[blackletter]] [[typeface]]s (in [[Fraktur]], and in [[Schwabacher]]), and written in corresponding [[penmanship|handwriting]] (for example [[Kurrent]] and [[Sütterlin]]). These variants of the Latin alphabet are very different from the serif or [[sans-serif]] [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]] typefaces used today, and the handwritten forms in particular are difficult for the untrained to read. The printed forms, however, were claimed by some to be more readable when used for [[Germanic languages]].{{sfn|Reinecke|1910|p=55}} The [[Nazism|Nazis]] initially promoted Fraktur and Schwabacher because they were considered [[Aryan]], but abolished them in 1941, claiming the letters were Jewish.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bormann |first=Martin |date=8 January 1941 |title=Der Bormann-Brief im Original |trans-title=The original Bormann letter |url=http://ligaturix.de/bormann.htm |access-date=20 November 2020 |publisher=[[Nazi Party|NSDAP]] |language=de |quote=Facsimile of Bormann's Memorandum<br /> The memorandum itself is typed in Antiqua, but the NSDAP [[letterhead]] is printed in Fraktur.<br />"For general attention, on behalf of the Führer, I make the following announcement:<br />It is wrong to regard or to describe the so-called Gothic script as a German script. In reality, the so-called Gothic script consists of Schwabach Jew letters. Just as they later took control of the newspapers, upon the introduction of printing the Jews residing in Germany took control of the printing presses and thus in Germany the Schwabach Jew letters were forcefully introduced.<br />Today the Führer, talking with Herr Reichsleiter Amann and Herr Book Publisher Adolf Müller, has decided that in the future the Antiqua script is to be described as normal script. All printed materials are to be gradually converted to this normal script. As soon as is feasible in terms of textbooks, only the normal script will be taught in village and state schools.<br />The use of the Schwabach Jew letters by officials will in future cease; appointment certifications for functionaries, street signs, and so forth will in future be produced only in normal script.<br />On behalf of the Führer, Herr Reichsleiter Amann will in future convert those newspapers and periodicals that already have foreign distribution, or whose foreign distribution is desired, to normal script. |archive-date=11 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185607/http://ligaturix.de/bormann.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also believed this script was banned, as the German government understood Fraktur would inhibit communication in the territories occupied during World War II.{{sfn|Kapr|1993|p=81}}
-The Fraktur script however remains present in everyday life in pub signs, beer brands and other forms of advertisement, where it is used to convey a certain rusticality and antiquity.
-A proper use of the [[long s]] ({{lang|de|langes s}}), [[long s|ſ]], is essential for writing German text in [[Fraktur]] typefaces. Many [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]] typefaces also include the long s. A specific set of rules applies for the use of long s in German text, but nowadays it is rarely used in Antiqua typesetting. Any lower case "s" at the beginning of a syllable would be a long s, as opposed to a terminal s or short s (the more common variation of the letter s), which marks the end of a syllable; for example, in differentiating between the words {{lang|de|Wachſtube}} (guard-house) and {{lang|de|Wachstube}} (tube of polish/wax). One can easily decide which "s" to use by appropriate hyphenation, ({{lang|de|Wach-ſtube}} vs. {{lang|de|Wachs-tube}}). The long s only appears in [[lower case]].
-==Consonant shifts==
-{{further|High German consonant shift}}
-German does not have any [[dental fricative]]s (the category containing English {{vr|th}}). All of the {{vr|th}} sounds, which the English language still has, disappeared on the continent in German with the consonant shifts between the 8th and 10th centuries.<ref>For a history of the changes in German consonants see {{harvp|Cercignani|1979}}.</ref> It is sometimes possible to find parallels between English and German by replacing the English {{vr|th}} with {{vr|d}} in German, e.g. "thank" → {{lang|de|Dank}}, "this" and "that" → {{lang|de|dies}} and {{lang|de|das}}, "[[thou]]" (old 2nd person singular pronoun) → {{lang|de|du}}, "think" → {{lang|de|denken}}, "thirsty" → {{lang|de|durstig}}, etc.
-Likewise, the {{vr|gh}} in [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] English words, pronounced in several different ways in modern English (as an {{vr|f}} or not at all), can often be linked to German {{vr|ch}}, e.g. "to laugh" → {{lang|de|lachen}}, "through" → {{lang|de|durch}}, "high" → {{lang|de|hoch}}, "naught" → {{lang|de|nichts}}, "light" → {{lang|de|leicht}} or {{lang|de|Licht}}, "sight" → {{lang|de|Sicht}}, "daughter" → {{lang|de|Tochter}}, "neighbour" → {{lang|de|Nachbar}}. This is due to the fact that English {{vr|gh}} was historically pronounced in the same way as German {{vr|ch}} (as {{IPA|/x/}} and {{IPA|/ç/}} in an allophonic relationship, or potentially as {{IPA|/x/}} in all circumstances as in modern Dutch) with these word pairs originally (up until around the mid to late 16th century) sounding far more similar than they do today.
 ==Literature==
 {{Main|German literature}}
-{{Culture of Germany}}
+The German language is used in German literature and can be traced back to the [[Romans]] and [[Germania]].<ref name="y607">{{cite web | title=Germanic Literature | website=CAE | date=2024-09-24 | url=https://www.cae.edu.au/news/germanic-literature/ | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref> German literature developed extensively during [[Middle Ages]], with the most notable authors of the period being [[Walther von der Vogelweide]] and [[Wolfram von Eschenbach]].<ref name="j719">{{cite journal | last=Robeck | first=Nesta de | title=Walther von der Vogelweide | journal=The Irish Review (Dublin) | volume=3 | issue=30 | date=1913 | doi=10.2307/30062960 | page=308 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/30062960?origin=crossref | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref><ref name="u604">{{cite web | last=Eschenbach | first=Wolfram | title=Wolfram Eschenbach | website=Penguin Books UK | date=2025-11-05 | url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/20652/wolfram-eschenbach | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref><ref name="c325">{{cite web | title=German Poetry And Literature I Oxford Open Learning | website=Oxford Open Learning  | date=2024-08-30 | url=https://www.ool.co.uk/blog/german-poetry-and-literature/ | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref> The {{lang|de|[[Nibelungenlied]]}}, whose author remains unknown, is also an important work of the epoch. The fairy tales collected and published by [[Brothers Grimm|Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm]] in the 19th century became famous throughout the world.
-The German language is used in German literature and can be traced back to the [[Middle Ages]], with the most notable authors of the period being [[Walther von der Vogelweide]] and [[Wolfram von Eschenbach]].
-The {{lang|de|[[Nibelungenlied]]}}, whose author remains unknown, is also an important work of the epoch. The fairy tales collected and published by [[Brothers Grimm|Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm]] in the 19th century became famous throughout the world.
-Reformer and theologian [[Martin Luther]], who translated the Bible into High German (a regional group or German varieties at southern and therefore ''higher'' regions), is widely credited for attributed to the basis for the modern [[Standard German]] language. Among the best-known poets and authors in German are [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]], [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]], [[Friedrich Schiller|Schiller]], [[Heinrich von Kleist|Kleist]], [[E.T.A. Hoffmann|Hoffmann]], [[Bertolt Brecht|Brecht]], [[Heinrich Heine|Heine]] and [[Franz Kafka|Kafka]]. Fourteen German-speaking people have won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]: [[Theodor Mommsen]], [[Rudolf Christoph Eucken]], [[Paul von Heyse]], [[Gerhart Hauptmann]], [[Carl Spitteler]], [[Thomas Mann]], [[Nelly Sachs]], [[Hermann Hesse]], [[Heinrich Böll]], [[Elias Canetti]], [[Günter Grass]], [[Elfriede Jelinek]], [[Herta Müller]] and [[Peter Handke]], making it the second most awarded linguistic region (together with French) after English.
+Reformer and theologian [[Martin Luther]], who translated the Bible into High German (a regional group of German varieties at southern and therefore ''higher'' regions), is widely credited for attributed to the basis for the modern [[Standard German]] language.<ref name="c372">{{cite book | last=Lobenstein-Reichmann | first=Anja | title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion | chapter=Martin Luther, Bible Translation, and the German Language | publisher=Oxford University PressNew York, NY | date=2017-03-29 | isbn=978-0-19-785152-4 | doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.382 | url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/62249/chapter/551397678 | access-date=2026-05-11 | page=}}</ref> Among the best-known poets and authors in German are [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]], [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]],<ref name="c325"/> [[Friedrich Schiller|Schiller]],<ref name="c325"/> [[Heinrich von Kleist|Kleist]], [[E.T.A. Hoffmann|Hoffmann]], [[Bertolt Brecht|Brecht]], [[Heinrich Heine|Heine]] and [[Franz Kafka|Kafka]]. Fourteen German-speaking people have won the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]: [[Theodor Mommsen]], [[Rudolf Christoph Eucken]], [[Paul von Heyse]], [[Gerhart Hauptmann]], [[Carl Spitteler]], [[Thomas Mann]], [[Nelly Sachs]], [[Hermann Hesse]], [[Heinrich Böll]], [[Elias Canetti]], [[Günter Grass]], [[Elfriede Jelinek]], [[Herta Müller]] and in 2019 [[Peter Handke]], making it the second most awarded linguistic region (together with French) after English.<ref name="i573">{{cite web | last=Abel | first=Katharina | title=German-language winners of the Nobel Literature Prize | website=dw.com | date=2017-10-05 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-language-winners-of-the-nobel-literature-prize/a-40813431 | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref><ref name="m553">{{cite web | last=Handke | first=Peter | title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 awarded to Peter Handke. News on suhrkamp.de | website=Suhrkamp Verlag | date=2017-11-01 | url=https://www.suhrkamp.de/rights/nachricht/the-nobel-prize-in-literature-2019-awarded-to-peter-handke-b-2787 | language=de | access-date=2026-05-11}}</ref>
 {| class="wikitable" style="align:center;"
@@ Line 777: / Line 762: @@
 ==See also==
 {{Portal|Language|Switzerland|Austria|Luxembourg}}
 * [[Outline of German language]]
 * [[Denglisch]]
 * [[Deutsch (disambiguation)]]
@@ Line 797: / Line 782: @@
 ==References==
 {{Reflist|refs=
 <ref name="eurostat">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/7008563/3-24092015-AP-EN.pdf/bf8be07c-ff9d-406b-88f9-f98f5199fe5a |title=More than 80% of primary school pupils in the EU were studying a foreign language in 2013 |date=24 September 2015 |publisher=Eurostat |access-date=3 May 2016 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411083259/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/7008563/3-24092015-AP-EN.pdf/bf8be07c-ff9d-406b-88f9-f98f5199fe5a |url-status=live }}</ref>
 <ref name="MLA-2015">{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/pdf/2013_enrollment_survey.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227234416/http://www.mla.org/pdf/2013_enrollment_survey.pdf |archive-date=2015-02-27 |url-status=live |title=Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2013 |last1=Goldberg |first1=David |last2=Looney |first2=Dennis |date=1 February 2015 |website=www.mla.org |location=New York City |last3=Lusin |first3=Natalia |access-date=7 July 2015}}</ref>
 }}
@@ Line 831: / Line 816: @@
 * {{cite book |editor1-first=Thomas |editor1-last=Marten |editor2-first=Fritz Joachim |editor2-last=Sauer |title=Länderkunde&nbsp;– Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein im Querschnitt |trans-title=Regional Geography&nbsp;– An Overview of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein |year=2005 |publisher=Inform-Verlag |location=Berlin |language=de |isbn=978-3-9805843-1-9}}
 * {{cite journal |last1=Nerius |first1=Dieter |title=Die Rolle der II. Orthographischen Konferenz (1901) in der Geschichte der Deutschen Rechtschreibung |journal=Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie |date=January 2000 |issue=1 |article-number=3 |doi=10.37307/j.1868-7806.2000.01.03 |issn=0044-2496}}
 * {{cite book |last=Reinecke |first=Adolf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CH0xAQAAMAAJ |title=Die deutsche Buchstabenschrift: Ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung, ihre Zweckmäßigkeit und völkische Bedeutung |trans-title=The German letter font: Its origin and development, its advisability and folkish meaning |date=1910 |publisher=A. Hasert und C. |language=de |access-date=10 January 2021 |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129190638/https://books.google.com/books?id=CH0xAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}
 * {{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Orrin W. |author-link=Orrin W. Robinson (philologist) |title=Old English and its closest relatives : a survey of the earliest Germanic languages |date=1992 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-2221-6 |location=Stanford, Calif.}}
 * {{cite book |last=Rothaug |first=Rudolf |title=Geographischer Atlas zur Vaterlandskunde an den österreichischen Mittelschulen |date=1910 |publisher=G. Freytag & Berndt |location=Vienna |language=de |trans-title=Geographical atlas on the homeland lore at the Austrian secondary schools}}
@@ Line 841: / Line 826: @@
 * {{cite book |last=Skottsberg |first=Carl |title=The Wilds of Patagonia: A Narrative of the Swedish Expedition to Patagonia Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Island in 1907– 1909 |publisher=[[Edward Arnold (publisher)|Edward Arnold]] |year=1911 |location=London, England |author-link=Carl Skottsberg}}
 * {{cite book |last=Siebs |first=Theodor |title=Deutsche Aussprache. Hochsprache Bühnensprache – Alltagssprache. |date=2000 |isbn=3-928127-66-7 |edition=19., umgearbeitete Auflage |location=Wiesbaden |language=de |trans-title=German pronunciation: Pure and moderate high accent with pronunciation dictionary}}
 * {{cite journal |last1=Steinicke |first1=Ernst |last2=Walder |first2=Judith |last3=Löffler |first3=Roland |last4=Beismann |first4=Michael |title=Autochthonous Linguistic Minorities in the Italian Alps |journal=Revue de Géographie Alpine |issue=99–2 |date=20 December 1999 |doi=10.4000/rga.1454 |s2cid=85526804 |doi-access=free}}
 * {{cite book |last=Stellmacher |first=Dieter |title=Niederdeutsche Sprache |publisher=Weidler |date=2000 |isbn=978-3-89693-326-3 |edition=2nd |location=Berlin |language=de |trans-title=Low German language}}
 * {{cite book |last=Super |first=Charles W. |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgermanl00supeiala |title=A history of the German language |date=1893 |publisher=Columbus, Ohio: Hann & Adair |others=University of California Libraries}}
@@ Line 855: / Line 840: @@
 ==External links==
-{{sister project links|collapsible=true|commons=Category:German language|b=Subject:German language|v=Topic:German Language|n=no|s=y|species=no|voy=German phrasebook|d=Q188|wikt=Category:German language}}
+{{sister project links|collapsible=true|commons=Category:German language|b=Subject:German language|v=Topic:German Language|n=no|s=y|species=no|voy=German phrasebook|iw=yes|d=Q188|wikt=Category:German language}}
-* {{Wikisource-inline|list=
+=== Dictionaries ===
+* [https://www.dwds.de/ DWDS]
+* [https://www.lexilogos.com/english/german_dictionary.htm German]
+* [https://www.duden.de/ Duden]
+* [https://en.langenscheidt.com/chinese-german/ Langenscheidt]
+=== Texts ===
+{{Wikisource-inline|list=
 ** {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=German Language |short=x |noicon=x}}
 ** [[Mark Twain]], [[s:The Awful German Language|The Awful German Language]], 1880
 ** [[Carl Schurz]], [[s:The German Mothertongue|The German Mothertongue]], 1897
 ** {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Germany, Language and Literature of |short=x |noicon=x}}}}
-* [https://archive.org/details/VerbreitungDerDeutschenSprache Dissemination of the German language in Europe around 1913 (map, 300 dpi)]
+* [[iarchive:VerbreitungDerDeutschenSprache|Dissemination of the German language in Europe around 1913 (map, 300 dpi)]]
 {{Description of German}}

German language: Difference between revisions

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