The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20050403174439/http://www.ethnologue.com:80/show_language.asp?code=GER

GERMAN, STANDARD: a language of Germany

SIL code:  GER
ISO 639-1: de
ISO 639-2(B):  ger
ISO 639-2(T): deu
 
Population 75,300,000 in Germany (1990). Population total all countries 100,000,000 first language speakers (1999 WA); 128,000,000 including second language speakers (1999 WA).
Region Also spoken in 40 other countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan.
Alternate names   DEUTSCH, HOCHDEUTSCH, HIGH GERMAN
Dialects ERZGEBIRGISCH.
Classification Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German.
Comments Major related language areas are Bavarian, Schwäbisch, Allemannisch, Mainfränkisch, Hessisch, Palatinian, Rheinfränkisch, Westfälisch, Saxonian, Thuringian, Brandenburgisch, and Low Saxon. Many varieties are not inherently intelligible with each other. Our present treatment in this edition is incomplete. Standard German is one High German variety, which developed from the chancery of Saxony, gaining acceptance as the written standard in the 16th and 17th centuries. High German refers to dialects and languages in the upper Rhine region. 60% lexical similarity with English, 29% with French. National language. Dictionary. Grammar. Poetry, newspapers, radio programs, films, TV, videos. Christian. Bible 1466-1982.

Also spoken in:

Austria   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 7,500,000 in Austria (J.A. Hawkins in B. Comrie 1987), 98% of the population (1990 WA).
Comments National language. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Belgium   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 150,000 in Belgium (J.A. Hawkins in B. Comrie 1988), 1.5% of the population.
Comments Official language. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Czech Republic   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 50,000 in Czech Republic (1998).
Dialects ERZGEBIRGISCH.
Comments Bilingualism in Czech. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Denmark   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 23,000 first language speakers (1976 Stephens).
Comments There are German schools. Official language. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Hungary   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 250,000 in Hungary (J.A. Hawkins in B. Comrie 1988) .5% of the population.
Comments Germans in Hungary speak other Germanic varieties than Standard German at home. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Italy   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 225,000 in Italy (N. Vincent in B. Comrie 1987).
Comments German used in schools. Official language. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Kazakhstan   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 958,000 in Kazakhstan excluding Plautdietsch. 57% of ethnic Germans speak it as mother tongue.
Comments Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Liechtenstein   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Comments German dialects vary. National language. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Luxembourg   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 9,200 or more (1993 Johnstone).
Comments Used as a second language by industrial workers and rural people. Taught in school as a second language. National language. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Paraguay   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 166,000 in Paraguay including 19,000 who are also mother tongue speakers of Plautdietsch.
Comments Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Poland   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 500,000 in Poland (1998).
Comments Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Romania   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 150,000 in Romania (1993).
Dialects TRANSYLVANIA.
Comments Over 70% of the 500,000 1988 population has emigrated to Germany since 1988 (1993 Johnstone). The people are known as 'Saxons.' Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Slovakia   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Population 5,900 in Czech Republic (1991 census) to 15,000 (1999).
Comments Bilingualism in Slovakian, Hungarian. Christian. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 
Switzerland   
Language name   GERMAN, STANDARD
Comments Not used as mother tongue by many. Official language. Main language used in education in Schwyzerdütsch- (German) and Rheto-Romansch-speaking areas. Bible 1466-1982. See main entry under Germany.
 

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Clifton, John M. 2001. Review of The phonology of German, by Wiese, Richard.

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

Hale, Austin. 1966. Review of Grammatik des deutschen Verbs, by Bierwisch, Manfred.

Hale, Austin. 1966. Review of Grammatik des deutschen Verbs, by Bierwisch, Manfred.

Hale, Austin. 1966. Review of Syntax des deutschen Adjektivs, by Motsch, Wolfgang.

Hale, Austin. 1969. Review of Untersuchungen über Akzent und Intonation im Deutschen (Studia Grammatica VII) in Arbeitsstelle Strukturelle Grammatik, by Anonymous.

Malone, Terry. 2000. Review of A grammar writer’s cookbook, by Butt, Miriam, Tracy Holloway King, María-Eugenia Niño, and Frédérique Segond.

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

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

Zecher, Henry. 1993. "The Bible translation that rocked the world."

  Ethnologue: Web  |  Ethnologue: Print  |  Bibliography  |  Publications Catalog  |  LinguaLinks  |  Tools  
  Who we are  |  Shopping cart  |  Site search  |  Site map  |  Home  

Bibliography database last modified: November-2003
Publications catalog database last modified: December-2004
Ethnologue data from Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 14th Edition
Copyright © 2001�2005 SIL International
Contact us