Classification
History
Old High German
The History of German, history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period, which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon. This Sound change, sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both Voice (phonetics), voiced and voiceless stop consonants (''b'', ''d'', ''g'', and ''p'', ''t'', ''k'', respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. * Voiceless stops became long (Gemination, geminated) voiceless fricatives following a vowel; * Voiceless stops became affricates in word-initial position, or following certain consonants; * Voiced stops became voiceless in certain phonetic settings.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. 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 ''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. A clear example of this is the ''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 the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. Vowel breaking, diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: ''hus'' (OHG "house")''→haus'' (MHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: ''taga'' (OHG "days")→''tage'' (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from the MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the ''Nibelungenlied'', an Epic poetry, epic poem telling the story of the dragon-slayer Sigurd, Siegfried ( thirteenth century), and the ''Iwein,'' an King Arthur, Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( 1203), Lyric poetry, lyric poems, and courtly romances such as ''Parzival'' and ''Tristan''. Also noteworthy is the ''Sachsenspiegel'', the first book of laws written in Middle Low German, Middle ''Low'' German ( 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. The Middle High German period is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population.Early New High German
Modern German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which the influential German Philology, philologist Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War. 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 under the control 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 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. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of Chancery (medieval office), chancery German, one being ''gemeine tiutsch,'' used in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, and the other being ''Meißner Deutsch'', used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages (''Druckersprachen'') aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardization in the written form of German.One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in the home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says 'ex abundantia cordis os loquitur,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, ''aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund''. But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No, the mother in the home and the plain man would say, ''Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über''.With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. Furthermore, his Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with the influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century.
Austrian Empire
Standardization
In 1901, the German Orthographic Conference of 1901, Second Orthographic Conference ended with a complete standardization of the Standard German, Standard High German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. The () had established Bühnendeutsch, conventions for German pronunciation in theatres 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 Standard High 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 todayespecially the pronunciation of the ending as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, Standard 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 Standard High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. 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. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard High German which is understood in all areas where German is spoken.Geographical distribution
As a result of the German diaspora, as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language, 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. With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language, 10–25 million speak it as a second language, and 75–100 million as a foreign language. This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide.Europe
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 sole official language of the following countries: * Germany * Austria * 17 cantons of Switzerland * Liechtenstein German is a co-official language of the following countries: * Belgium (as majority language only in the German-speaking Community, which represents 0.7% of the Belgian population) * Luxembourg, along with French and Luxembourgish * Switzerland, co-official at the federal level with French, Italian, and Romansh, and at the local level in four List of cantons of Switzerland, cantons: Canton of Bern, Bern (with French), Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg (with French), Canton of Grisons, Grisons (with Italian and Romansh) and Canton of Valais, Valais (with French) * Italian South Tyrol, Autonomous Province of South Tyrol (also majority language)Outside the Sprachraum
Although Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), expulsions and Persecution of Germans, (forced) assimilation after the two World wars 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: * Czech Republic (see also: Germans in the Czech Republic) * Denmark (see also: North Schleswig Germans) * Hungary (see also: Germans of Hungary) * Poland (see also German minority in Poland; German is an Bilingual communes in Poland, auxiliary and co-official language in 31 communes) * Romania (see also: Germans of Romania) * Russia, (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 languages", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government.Africa
Namibia
South Africa
An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries.Template:German L1 speakers outside Europe, German L1 speakers outside Europe One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Wartburg. The South African constitution identifies German as a "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it.North America
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. In the states of North Dakota and South Dakota, German is the most common language spoken at home after English. 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). A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania German language, Pennsylvania German and Texas German.South America
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. German dialects (namely Hunsrik and East Pomeranian dialect, East Pomeranian) are recognized 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 * Rio Grande do Sul (Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German is a designated cultural language in the state): Santa Maria do Herval, Canguçu * Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina: Antônio Carlos, Santa Catarina, Antônio Carlos, Pomerode (standard German recognized) Small concentrations of German-speakers and their descendants are also found in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Bolivia.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. 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. A German German-based creole languages, creole named was historically spoken in the former German colony of German New Guinea, modern day Papua New Guinea. It is at a high risk of extinction, with only about 100 speakers remaining, and a topic of interest among linguists seeking to revive interest in the language.As a foreign language
Standard German
Varieties
Dialects
Low German or Low Saxon
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. The major cities in the Low German area are Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen and Dortmund. Sometimes, Low Saxon and Low Franconian varieties are grouped together because both are unaffected by the High German consonant shift.Low Franconian
High German
Central German
The Central German dialects are spoken in Central Germany, from Aachen in the west to Görlitz in the east. They consist of Franconian languages, Franconian dialects in the west (West Central German) and non-Franconian dialects in the east (East Central German). Modern Standard German is mostly based on Central German dialects. The Franconian, West Central German dialects are the Central Franconian dialects (Ripuarian language, Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian dialects, Moselle Franconian) and the Rhine Franconian dialects (Hessian dialects, Hessian and Palatine German language, Palatine). These dialects are considered as * German in Germany and Belgium * Luxembourgish language, Luxembourgish in Luxembourg * Lorraine Franconian (spoken in Moselle (department), Moselle) and as a Rhine Franconian variant of Alsatian dialect, Alsatian (spoken in Alsace bossue only) in France * Limburgish language, Limburgish or Kerkrade dialect in the Netherlands. Luxembourgish as well as the Transylvanian Saxon dialect spoken in Transylvania are based on Moselle Franconian dialects. The major cities in the Franconian Central German area are Cologne and Frankfurt. Further east, the non-Franconian, East Central German dialects are spoken (Thuringian dialect, Thuringian, Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon and 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). The major cities in the East Central German area are Berlin and Leipzig.High Franconian
The High Franconian German, High Franconian dialects are transitional dialects between Central and Upper German. They consist of the East Franconian German, East and South Franconian German, South Franconian dialects. The East Franconian dialect branch is one of the most spoken dialect branches in Germany. These dialects are spoken in the region of Franconia and in the central parts of Saxony, Saxon Vogtland. Franconia consists of the Bavarian districts of Upper Franconia, Upper, Middle Franconia, Middle, and Lower Franconia, the region of South Thuringia (Thuringia), and the eastern parts of the region of Heilbronn-Franken (Tauber Franconia and Hohenlohe) in Baden-Württemberg. The major cities in the East Franconian area are Nuremberg and Würzburg. South Franconian is mainly spoken in northern Baden-Württemberg in Germany, but also in the northeasternmost part of the region of Alsace in France. In Baden-Württemberg, they are considered as dialects of German. The major cities in the South Franconian area are Karlsruhe and Heilbronn.Upper German
=Alemannic and Swabian
= Alemannic dialects are spoken in Switzerland (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic in the densely populated Swiss Plateau, in the south also Highest Alemannic German, Highest Alemannic, and Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic in Basel), Baden-Württemberg (Swabian German, Swabian and Low Alemannic, in the southwest also High Alemannic), Swabia (Bavaria), Bavarian Swabia (Swabian, in the southwesternmost part also Low Alemannic), Vorarlberg (Low, High, and Highest Alemannic), Alsace (Low Alemannic, in the southernmost part also High Alemannic), Liechtenstein (High and Highest Alemannic), and in the Tyrol (state), Tyrolean Reutte District, district of Reutte (Swabian). The Alemannic dialects are considered as Alsatian dialect, Alsatian in Alsace. The major cities in the Alemannic area are Stuttgart, Freiburg, Basel, Zürich, Lucerne and Bern.=Bavarian
= Bavarian dialects are spoken in Austria (Vienna, Lower Austria, Lower and Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg (state), Salzburg, Burgenland, and in most parts of Tyrol (state), Tyrol), Bavaria (Upper Bavaria, Upper and Lower Bavaria as well as Upper Palatinate), South Tyrol, southwesternmost Saxony (Southern Vogtlandian, Vogtländisch), and in the Swiss village of Samnaun. The major cities in the Bavarian area are Vienna, Munich, Salzburg, Regensburg, Graz and Bolzano.Regiolects
* Berlin German, Berlinian, the High German regiolect or dialect of Berlin with Low German substrate * Missingsch, a Low-German-coloured variety of High German. * Ruhrdeutsch (Ruhr German), the High German regiolect of the Ruhr area.Grammar
German is a fusional language with a moderate degree of inflection, with three grammatical genders; as such, there can be a large number of words derived from the same root.Noun inflection
German nouns inflect by case, gender, and number: * four grammatical case, cases: nominative, accusative case, accusative, genitive, and dative case, dative. * three grammatical gender, genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Word endings sometimes reveal grammatical gender: for instance, nouns ending in (-ing), (-ship), or (-hood, -ness) are feminine, nouns ending in or (diminutive forms) are neuter and nouns ending in (-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: (agent noun, -er), such as (feminine), celebration, party; (masculine), labourer; and (neuter), thunderstorm. * two numbers: singular and plural. This degree of inflection is considerably less than in Old High German and other old Indo-European languages such as Latin, Ancient Greek, and Sanskrit, and it is also somewhat less than, for instance, Old English, modern Icelandic language, Icelandic, or Russian. The three genders have collapsed in the plural. With four cases and three genders plus plural, there are 16 permutations of case and gender/number of the article (not the nouns), but there are only six forms of the article (grammar), definite article, which together cover all 16 permutations. In nouns, inflection for case is required in the singular for strong masculine and neuter nouns only in the genitive and in the dative (only in fixed or archaic expressions), and even this is losing ground to substitutes in informal speech. Weak masculine nouns share a common case ending for genitive, dative, and accusative in the singular. Feminine nouns are not declined in the singular. The plural has an inflection for the dative. In total, seven inflectional endings (not counting plural markers) exist in German: . Like the other Germanic languages, German forms noun compound (linguistics), compounds in which the first noun modifies the category given by the second: ("dog hut"; specifically: "dog kennel"). Unlike English, whose newer compounds or combinations of longer nouns are often written "open" with separating spaces, German (like some other Germanic languages) nearly always uses the "closed" form without spaces, for example: ("tree house"). Like English, German allows arbitrarily long compounds in theory (see also English compounds). The longest German word verified to be actually in (albeit very limited) use is , which, literally translated, is "beef labelling supervision duties assignment law" [from (cattle), (meat), (labelling), (supervision), (duties), (assignment), (law)]. However, examples like this are perceived by native speakers as excessively bureaucratic, stylistically awkward, or even satirical.Verb inflection
The inflection of standard German verbs includes: * two main Grammatical conjugation, conjugation classes: Germanic weak verb, weak and Germanic strong verb, strong (as in English). Additionally, there is a third class, known as mixed verbs, whose conjugation combines features of both the strong and weak patterns. * three grammatical person, persons: first, second and third. * two grammatical number, numbers: singular and plural. * three grammatical mood, moods: realis mood, indicative, imperative mood, imperative and subjunctive mood, subjunctive (in addition to infinitive). * two voice (grammar), voices: active and passive. The passive voice uses auxiliary verbs and is divisible into static and dynamic. Static forms show a constant state and use the verb ’'to be'’ (sein). Dynamic forms show an action and use the verb "to become'’ (werden). * two grammatical tense, tenses without auxiliary verbs (present tense, present and preterite) and four tenses constructed with auxiliary verbs (perfect (grammar), perfect, pluperfect, future tense, future and future perfect). * the distinction between grammatical aspects is rendered by combined use of the subjunctive or preterite marking so the plain indicative voice uses neither of those two markers; the subjunctive by itself often conveys reported speech; subjunctive plus preterite marks the conditional state; and the preterite alone shows either plain indicative (in the past), or functions as a (literal) alternative for either reported speech or the conditional state of the verb, when necessary for clarity. * the distinction between perfect and continuous and progressive aspects, progressive aspect is and has, at every stage of development, been a productive category of the older language and in nearly all documented dialects, but strangely enough it is now rigorously excluded from written usage in its present normalised form. * disambiguation of completed vs. uncompleted forms is widely observed and regularly generated by common prefixes (' [to look], ' [to see – unrelated form: ]).Verb prefixes
The meaning of basic verbs can be expanded and sometimes radically changed through the use of a number of prefixes. Some prefixes have a specific meaning; the prefix refers to destruction, as in (to tear apart), (to break apart), (to cut apart). Other prefixes have only the vaguest meaning in themselves; is found in a number of verbs with a large variety of meanings, as in (to try) from (to seek), (to interrogate) from (to take), (to distribute) from (to share), (to understand) from (to stand). Other examples include the following: (to stick), (to detain); (to buy), (to sell); (to hear), (to cease); (to drive), (to experience). Many German verbs have a separable prefix, often with an adverbial function. In finite verb forms, it is split off and moved to the end of the clause and is hence considered by some to be a "resultative particle". For example, , meaning "to go along", would be split, giving (Literal: "Go you with?"; Idiomatic: "Are you going along?"). Indeed, several parenthetical referencing, parenthetical clauses may occur between the prefix of a finite verb and its complement (ankommen = to arrive, er kam an = he arrived, er ist angekommen = he has arrived): : A selectively literal translation of this example to illustrate the point might look like this: : He "came" on Friday evening, after a hard day at work and the usual annoyances that had time and again been troubling him for years now at his workplace, with questionable joy, to a meal which, as he hoped, his wife had already put on the table, finally home "to".Word order
German word order is generally with the V2 word order restriction and also with the SOV word order restriction for main clauses. For yes-no questions, exclamations, and wishes, the finite verb always has the first position. In subordinate clauses, the verb occurs at the very end. German requires a verbal element (main verb or auxiliary verb) to appear V2 word order, second in the sentence. The verb is preceded by the topic–comment, topic of the sentence. The element in focus appears at the end of the sentence. For a sentence without an auxiliary, these are several possibilities: : (The old man gave me yesterday the book; normal order) : (The book gave [to] me yesterday the old man) : (The book gave the old man [to] me yesterday) : (The book gave [to] me the old man yesterday) : (Yesterday gave [to] me the old man the book, normal order) : ([To] me gave the old man the book yesterday (entailing: as for someone else, it was another date)) 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: Normal word order: :: :: The manager entered yesterday at 10 o'clock with an umbrella in the hand his office. Object in front: :: :: His office entered the manager yesterday at 10 o'clock with an umbrella in the hand. : The object (his office) is thus highlighted; it could be the topic of the next sentence. Adverb of time in front: :: :: Yesterday entered the manager at 10 o'clock with an umbrella in the hand his office. (but today without umbrella) Both time expressions in front: :: . :: Yesterday at 10 o'clock entered the manager with an umbrella in the hand his office. : The full-time specification is highlighted. Another possibility: :: . :: Yesterday at 10 o'clock entered the manager his office with an umbrella in the hand. : Both the time specification and the fact he carried an umbrella are accentuated. Swapped adverbs: :: :: The manager entered with an umbrella in the hand yesterday at 10 o'clock his office. : The phrase is highlighted. Swapped object: :: :: The manager entered yesterday at 10 o'clock his office with an umbrella in the hand. : The time specification and the object (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.Auxiliary verbs
When an auxiliary verb is present, it appears in second position, and the main verb appears at the end. This occurs notably in the creation of the perfect (grammar), perfect tense. Many word orders are still possible: : (The old man has me today the book given.) : (''The book'' has the old man me today given.) : (''Today'' has the old man me the book given.) The main verb may appear in first position to put stress on the action itself. The auxiliary verb is still in second position. : (''Given'' has me the old man the book today.) The bare fact that the book has been given is emphasized, as well as 'today'.Modal verbs
Sentences using modal verbs place the infinitive at the end. For example, the English sentence "Should he go home?" would be rearranged in German to say "Should he (to) home go?" (). Thus, in sentences with several subordinate or relative clauses, the infinitives are clustered at the end. Compare the similar clustering of prepositions in the following (highly contrived) English sentence: "What did you bring that book that I do not like to be read to out of up for?"Multiple infinitives
German subordinate clauses have all verbs clustered at the end. Given that auxiliaries encode future, passive voice, passive, modality (semiotics), modality, and the perfect (grammar), perfect, very long chains of verbs at the end of the sentence can occur. In these constructions, the past participle formed with is often replaced by the infinitive. : ''V psv perf mod'' : One suspects that the deserter probably shot become be should. : ("It is suspected that the deserter probably had been shot") : : He knew not that the agent a picklock had make let : : He knew not that the agent a picklock make let had : ("He did not know that the agent had had a picklock made") The order at the end of such strings is subject to variation, but the second one in the last example is unusual.Vocabulary
Orthography
Present
Before the German orthography reform of 1996, ''ß'' replaced ''ss'' after vowel length, long vowels and diphthongs 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, (tape measure) became 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 "" instead of ""). Capital ß (ẞ) was ultimately adopted into German orthography in 2017, ending a long orthographic debate (thus " and "). 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'' , ''Coesfeld'' and ''Itzehoe'' , but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than proper nouns.) 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 occurs after but before (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary comes after , but in some dictionaries 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 .Past
Consonant shifts
German does not have any dental fricatives (as English th). The th sound, which the English language still has, disappeared on the continent in German with the consonant shifts between the 8th and 10th centuries.For a history of the German consonants see . It is sometimes possible to find parallels between English and German by replacing the English th with d in German: "Thank" → in German , "this" and "that" → and , "thou" (old 2nd person singular pronoun) → , "think" → , "thirsty" → and many other examples. Likewise, the gh in Germanic languages, Germanic English words, pronounced in several different ways in modern English (as an f or not at all), can often be linked to German ch: "to laugh" → , "through" → , "high" → , "naught" → , "light" → or , "sight" → , "daughter" → , "neighbour" → .Literature
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 , 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 was the first to translate the Bible into German, is widely credited for having set the basis for the modern Standard German, Standard High 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.See also
* Outline of German language * Denglisch * Deutsch (disambiguation) * German family name etymology * German toponymy * Germanism (linguistics) * List of German exonyms * List of German expressions in English * List of German words of French origin * List of pseudo-German words adapted to English * List of terms used for Germans * List of territorial entities where German is an official language * Names for the German language * DDR GermanNotes
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