German

Also known as: German, Deutsch

German (Deutsch) is a West Germanic language with ~95M L1 speakers and the most-widely-spoken native language in the European Union. It is official in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and the Italian region of South Tyrol, plus regional/minority status in Belgium (East Cantons), Namibia, and many historical diaspora communities. Sister language to Dutch, English, and the Scandinavian languages within Germanic. Written in the Latin alphabet (Fraktur typeface dominated until 1941 when the Nazi regime mandated Antiqua); the Eszett ß and umlauted vowels ä/ö/ü are distinctive. The 1996 spelling reform (Rechtschreibreform), revised 2004/2006, standardized punctuation, ß/ss usage, and capitalization across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Grammatically conservative: 4 cases (nominative-accusative-dative-genitive), 3 grammatical genders (masculine/feminine/neuter), strong/weak verb classes, and verb-second word order in main clauses with verb-final order in subordinate clauses. Hundreds of years of literary tradition from the Nibelungenlied (~1200) through Goethe, Schiller, Kafka, Mann, and Grass (Nobel 1999); a foundational language of philosophy (Kant, Hegel, Heidegger), music (Bach, Beethoven), and 19th-20th c. natural sciences.