German is one of the largest groups of indogermanic languages. The standard form of german is called hochdeutsch, or high german, referring to the southern. It is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the european union. We roasted french last month, so now its time for deutsch to have its turn. Browse our storacles of prophecy in the german language. German language facts fun facts and information about germany and the german language. Theres even a push on to make german one of the working languages of the eu its not surprising that its so common, given that its the only official language in three countries germany, austria and. Reading is a german obsession, and has deep roots in german culture.
If youre thinking about learning german its always good to know a little about the origins and history of the language you are learning. German language history today translations london, uk. So sit back, take a breather and relax with these interesting german language fun facts. Nowadays, over 100 million people speak german deutsch as their native language. This means, the german language contains eight times as many words as the english language. Standard german did not develop out of one regional dialect but was artificially created by poets, philosophers and scholars. Amazing facts 247 television station featuring the best in bible study streamed lived and ondemand. German is the most widely spoken mother language in the european. German language, official language of both germany and austria and one of the three official languages of switzerland. These materials can be read online for free and even printed off for sharing and study.
Storacles of prophecy in the german language amazing facts. German speaking countries list lingoda online german. Japan comes fourth after english, russian and german. Over 95% of the residents of germany speak the german language, whether it is the standard german or any of its dialects. Unsurprisingly, the official language of the country is german. The most widely spoken germanic language, english, is the worlds most. Germany, however, is more interesting than you probably think. Fun facts and information about germany and the german language. Amazingly it borders nine countries denmark, austria, france and many others more than any other european country. East middle german formed the basis of the modern standard language we know today. We roasted french last month, so now its time for german language to have its turn people around the world learning on how to speak german have long struggled with germans fearsome grammar, in which multiple funny words are stuck together to make more. But before you do, here are some interesting facts about the japanese language image. German is the official language of germany and austria and is a coofficial language in switzerland.
Germany, switzerland, austria, luxembourg and liechtenstein. Surprising and revealing facts about the german language, key phrases to get started, details on the german. Interesting characteristics to help support german language learning. West germanic, including english, german, and netherlandic dutch. Here, cactus language offers up our most interesting german language facts 1. It is the official language in germany, austria and liechtenstein and one of the official languages in switzerland and luxembourg. Its the most widely spoken language in the eu and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world 10th. Why there are more german words than most people might think. Fast access to all of amazing facts english and foreignlanguage biblebased websites. Bbc languages learn german in your own time and have fun with a guide to languages. During the 18th century, german was very close to becoming the official language of the united states. Cryptophasia is a language phenomenon that only twins, identical or fraternal, can understand.
Weve collected some of our favorite german fun facts to spark your curiosity in the language. Germany facts facts for kids geography travel attractions. Globally, german is the 11th mostspoken language, with about 90 million native speakers. Scholars often divide the germanic languages into three groups. If youre thinking about learning german its always good to know a little about the origins and history of the language you. September 14th is german language day so weve put together some fun. There are some people who speak german in belgium and in the netherlands, as well. Due to its feudal history, unification and standardization of german language was not brought about till the 18th century when many outstanding writers goethe, schiller, took great pains to form the language. German is the most widely spoken language in the european union ahead of spanish, french and even english. It is the most widely spoken and official or coofficial language in germany, austria, switzerland, south tyrol in italy, the germanspeaking community of belgium, and liechtenstein. German is the official language of germany, austria, and liechtenstein and one of the four national languages of switzerland.
But there are many other important differences between austria and germany, including the fact that the german you hear in austria does not sound like the german spoken in germany except maybe for the german heard in bavaria. Its capital is berlin and the official language is german. Germany is renowned for its famous scholars and musicians. All germanic languages are derived from protogermanic, spoken in iron. This occured in 1916 in the midst of wwi and was put in place to conserve energy. About one third of those words was added in the last 100 years. German language quick facts globalization partners. Mandarin chinese is the most spoken language in the world. However, they do not speak standard german but rather various alemmanic dialects that are collectively known as schweizerdeutsch swiss german. Japan is known to have one of the highest literacy rates amongst all countries and the fact that about 10% of the internet users are actually japanese. It is used as the official language of germany, austria and liechtenstein, and is a coofficial language in switzerland, belgium, luxembourg, and the european union the history of the language begins in the early middle ages with the high german consonant shift. Sabbath school study hour helping you get the most out of your sabbath school quarterly every week. Germany is a diverse, exciting, constantly surprising country, and theres always something new to discover, even for people who have lived there for decades.
Anyhow, with history out of the way, lets look at some other german facts that shed a bit of light on how the nation works. German language facts your germany city travel guide. Test yourself with these top 30 german facts on how well you know the germans. German is the most common native language in the european union eu with more than 100 million native speakers, german is the most common native language spoken in the eu. Since my father lived in switzerland for nearly three years before i was born, i can always remember him using certain german phrases when he spoke to me. German may be the most widely spoken language in the european union, but lets be honest its just downright funny sometimes.
In the 16th century martin luther translated the the holy bible into a german language as devoid. The germanic languages are a branch of the indoeuropean language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in europe, north america, oceania and southern africa. Bbc languages learn german in your own time and have fun with languages of the world. German is the main language of around 63% of the population.
The most widely spoken germanic language, english, is the worlds most widely spoken language with an estimated 2 billion speakers. Germany means genuine, of the same parents and is called deutschland in german. Standard german is the pure, dialectfree pronunciation of german brockhaus. Weve put together this long list of the most interesting germany facts that you probably never heard of before. In todays business, a positive answer to this question is getting vital. German is part of the west germanic languages, along with english and dutch. Here are some fascinating facts about the language you didnt know, but definitely should. Pick up essential phrases and learn some fascinating facts about the german. It is not uncommon to find words that have 40 or even 60 letters. It is the most widely spoken and official or coofficial language in germany, austria, switzerland, south tyrol in italy, the german speaking community of belgium, and liechtenstein. North germanic, including danish, swedish, icelandic, norwegian, and faroese.
If you speak it, you can speak to % of the worlds population. Books and sermons in the german language amazing facts. Germanic languages, branch of the indoeuropean language family. German is part of the west germanic group of languages within the indoeuropean language family and is a close relative of english, frisian and dutch. It covers 4,838 square miles 349,223 square kilometres. German language facts learn characteristics of german. It is one of the three official languages of luxembourg and a coofficial language in the opole voivodeship in poland. More than 95 percent of the population speaks german as their first language, according to angelo state universitys center for. Bbc languages german a guide to german 10 facts about. Some facts and numbers german is spoken by about 100 million native speakers plus another 100 millions second language speakers. The german language is the language spoke in countries other than germany, such as. But before you do, here are some interesting facts about the japanese languageimage. The german alphabet has one more consonant than english german and english use the same script roman, but germans, in an effort to be more precise, have an extra consonant, the sharp s or.
Doin oakenhelm stock around million people speak german as their mother language or as a second language. What are some interesting facts about the german language. In the everyday conversation, we use much less words. However, the german state has recognized four minority languages, which are the upper and lower sorbian, romani, danish as well as north and saterland frisian. Dutch and english are the closest languages to german. Every 10th book published worldwide is in german language. Bbc languages german a guide to german 10 facts, 20.
Spanish is the mother tongue of an estimated 400450 million people, making it the worlds second most spoken language. German is known for having a large number of extremely long words. German belongs to the west germanic group of the indoeuropean language family, along with english, frisian, and dutch netherlandic, flemish. If your looking for some facts about the german language, maybe for a school project or assignment, this page could have what you need. Sigmund freud transformed the study of psychology, albert einstein revolutionized our understanding of science, and johann sebastian bach changed the.
Did these fascinating language facts leave you feeling inspired to. From sports and history to language, music, food, culture and technology, theres so much to find out. German ranks 11th in the list of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Here are eight fascinating facts about the german language. The german language has always been important to me. German deutsch, pronounced is a west germanic language that is mainly spoken in central europe.
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