The German language German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers (both as an official language and as a minority language) is spoken in a number of countries and territories in West, Central Central Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West, splitting Central Europe in half and Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and even volatile, as there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region". A related UN paper adds that "every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct& (Deutscher Sprachraum Sprachraum is a linguistic term used to designate a geographical area where a language, dialect, group or family of languages is spoken. The German word Sprachraum literally means "language space"). To cover this speech area they are often referred to as the German speaking countries, the German speaking area, or equivalently German-speaking Europe (the few overseas territories which speak German are not commonly included in the concept).

German is the main language of about 90–95 million people in Europe (as of 2004), or 13.3% of all Europeans, being the second most spoken native language in Europe after Russian Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of three living members of the East Slavic languages. Written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th, above French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in (66.5 million speakers in 2004) and English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of (64.2 million speakers in 2004).

The European countries with German-speaking majorities are Germany The official language of Germany is Standard German, with over 95% of the country speaking Standard German or German dialects as their first language. This figure includes speakers of Northern Low Saxon, a recognized minority or regional language which is not considered separately from Standard German in statistics (95%, 78.3 million), Austria German is the only nationally official language, and the language spoken by the largest proportion of Austrians. A number of dialects are spoken. Austrian German is the catch-all term for German in Austria, which can differ from Standard German to the many local vernaculars (89%, 7.4 million), Switzerland The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Only three of these languages, however, maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation: German, French, and Italian (65%, 4.6 million) ("D-A-CH"), Luxembourg The linguistic situation in Luxembourg is characterized by the practice and the recognition of two official languages: French and German and the national language Luxembourgish established in law in 1984. These three languages are also referred to as the three administrative languages (0.48 million) and Liechtenstein The Principality of Liechtenstein (pronounced /ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ LIK-tən-styen; German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein, [ˈfʏɐstəntuːm ˈliːçtənʃtaɪn] (help·info)) is a doubly landlocked alpine microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 km² (about 61.7 (0.03 million).

Contents

D-A-CH

D-A-CH
Official languages An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a language a legal status, even if that language is not German German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers
Membership

Austria Austria /ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/ (German: Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, Switzerland Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation (Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country codes CH and CHE), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe[note 4] where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to
Website www.d-a-ch.org

D-A-CH or DACH is an acronym Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name. These components may be individual letters or parts of words (as in Benelux). There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms (see nomenclature), nor on written usage (see orthographic styling). While popular used to represent the dominant states of the German language German (Deutsch, [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 120 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers Sprachraum Sprachraum is a linguistic term used to designate a geographical area where a language, dialect, group or family of languages is spoken. The German word Sprachraum literally means "language space". It is based on the official automobile license plate abbreviations for:

"Dach" is also the German word for "roof", and is used in linguistics in the term Dachsprache, which standard German arguably is in relation to some outlying dialects of German, especially in Switzerland and Austria.

The term is sometimes extended to D-A-CH-Li or DACHL to include Liechtenstein The Principality of Liechtenstein (pronounced /ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ LIK-tən-styen; German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein, [ˈfʏɐstəntuːm ˈliːçtənʃtaɪn] (help·info)) is a doubly landlocked alpine microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 km² (about 61.7.

DACH is also the name of an Interreg Interreg is a Community initiative that aims to stimulate interregional cooperation in the European Union. It started in 1989, and is financed under the European Regional Development Fund . The current programme is Interreg IV, covering the period 2007–2013 IIIA project, which focuses on crossborder cooperation in planning.[1]

Official status

Official language Majority language Partially official
Liechtenstein The Principality of Liechtenstein (pronounced /ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ LIK-tən-styen; German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein, [ˈfʏɐstəntuːm ˈliːçtənʃtaɪn] (help·info)) is a doubly landlocked alpine microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 km² (about 61.7 Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, (besides locally Sorbian, Frisian, and Danish) Austria Austria /ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/ (German: Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and (besides locally Slovene, Croatian, and Hungarian) Switzerland Switzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation (Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country codes CH and CHE), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe[note 4] where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to (besides French, Italian and Rumantsch) Luxembourg Luxembourg (pronounced /ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-berg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of over half a (besides French and Luxembourgish, the latter being a standardised High German The High German languages or the High German dialects (Hochdeutsche Mundarten/Dialekte) are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and Yiddish, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighboring portions of Belgium and the Netherlands ( dialect) Denmark Denmark (pronounced /ˈdɛnmɑrk/ ; Danish: Danmark, pronounced [ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊], archaic: [ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊]) is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders - recognized minority language in the former South Jutland County South Jutland County is a former county (Danish: amt) on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol , is an autonomous region in Northern Italy. It consists of two provinces: Trento and Bolzano-Bozen. The region was part of Austria-Hungary (and its predecessor, the Austrian Empire) from 1815 until its annexation by Italy in 1919. Together with the Austrian state of Tyrol it is represented by the Euroregion Tyrol- in Italy Italy (pronounced /ˈɪtəli/ ; Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a country located partly on the European Continent and partly on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine

Czech Republic The Czech Republic (pronounced /ˈtʃɛk/ chek; Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The Czech Republic has been a Hungary Hungary /ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság listen (help·info)), is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a (Danube Swabians The Danube Swabians is a collective term for Germans who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially in the Danube (Donau) River valley. Because of differential development within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people. They include the Germans of Hungary (Ungarndeutsche), Satu Mare Swabians, the Banat) Romania Romania (pronounced /roʊˈmeɪniə/ roe-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Rumania, Roumania; Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta (Transylvania Transylvania (Romanian: Ardeal or Transilvania; Hungarian: Erdély; German: Siebenbürgen , see also other denominations) is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently and Banat Swabians)
German language as the official-auxiliary language in 22 municipality on Polish part of Silesia Silesia (pronounced /saɪˈliːʒə/ or /saɪˈliːʃə/; Polish: Śląsk [ɕlɔ̃sk]; German: Schlesien ; Silesian German: Schläsing; Czech: Slezsko; Silesian: Ślůnsk [ɕlonsk]; Latin: Silesia) is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Communes where German is an official auxiliary language are in orange. whilst those in yellow are permitted to give German that status.

German speaking minorities without official status

Main articles: German as a minority language and German diaspora

Owing to tourism and second-home colonies some areas around the Mediterranean Sea (like the Balearic Islands) have small German-speaking communities.

German as a foreign language

German was once the lingua franca of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe and remains one of the most popular foreign languages in Europe and it is the second most popular after English.[2] Thirty-two percent of citizens of the EU-15 countries say they can converse in German (either as a mother tongue or as a second/foreign language).[3] This is assisted by the widespread availability of German TV by cable or satellite. German competence is highest in the Netherlands, Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina (historical connections, more than 400.000 people in the country speak German, as they were refuges during 1992-1995 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and over 300.000 Bosnians that temporarily work in these countries now) and in Slovenia (historical connections). Relatively high German competence is also found in Sweden, Belgium (historical reasons), the Czech Republic (historical connections), Slovakia (historical connections), Hungary (historical connections), Poland (much of northern, southern, and western Poland had previously been German territory) and Croatia (historical connections). German is the third most taught foreign language worldwide,[dubious – discuss] including the United States;[4] it is the second most known foreign language in the EU.[5] It is one of the official languages of the European Union, and one of the three working languages of the European Commission, along with English and French.

The learning of German as a foreign language is promoted by the Goethe Institute, which works to promote German language and culture worldwide. In association with the Goethe Institute, the German foreign broadcasting service, Deutsche Welle offers a range of online German courses and radio broadcasts produced with non-native German speakers in mind.

Culture

Further information: German language literature

German-speaking people include composers (e.g. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mahler or Schönberg), lyrical poetry and literature (e.g. Walter von der Vogelweide, Goethe, the Brothers Grimm, Schiller, Heine, Brecht or Thomas Mann as well as important works written by authors as the Nibelungenlied or Ludwigslied) and scientific philosophy (e.g. Albertus Magnus, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Wittgenstein or Adorno).

These cultures are quite diverse as a result of the varied history of the German speaking people. The German speaking world has consisted of independent principalities (e.g., Liechtenstein), of larger confederations, (e.g., the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia or the Confederation of the Rhine), of political units (e.g., Bohemia), or of political states (e.g., Germany, Austria, Switzerland; etc.).

See also

References

  1. ^ "DACH+ Raumentwicklung im Grenzraum von Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein" (in German). DACH. http://www.d-a-ch.org/. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  2. ^ Eurobarometer: Europeans and Languages from September 2005 (Languages most commonly used in the EU: 47% English, 30% German, 23% French)
  3. ^ "EUROPA — Redirection". Ec.europa.eu. http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  4. ^ After Spanish and French
  5. ^ After English; "Europeans and Language" (PDF). European Commission. 2005. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-08.

External links

Categories: German-speaking countries | German language | German diaspora | Cultural spheres of influence

 

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