Editing German language

{{Short description|West Germanic language}}

'''German''' (German: ''Deutsch'') is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language]] of the [[Indo-European language family]]. It is the official language of [[Germany]] and [[Austria]]. German is also the official language of [[Liechtenstein]] and one of the official languages of [[Belgium]]. In [[Switzerland]], it is a national language and one of the principal federal official languages.

German is written with the [[Latin alphabet]]. Its [[ICR 300]] short code is ''DE''. Its canonical ICR code is ''DEU'', with ''GER'' retained as a deprecated compatibility alias.

== History ==
German developed from the West Germanic dialects spoken in central Europe during the early medieval period. The High German consonant shift separated the High German dialects from Low German and other western Germanic varieties.

Old High German was used from about the eighth century until the eleventh century. Much of its surviving record consists of religious writing. Glosses and legal documents also preserve the language, while poetry forms another part of the surviving corpus.

Middle High German developed during the eleventh century. It was used in court literature and religious writing. Administrative documents and regional records also used Middle High German, although written forms differed because the German-speaking territories remained politically divided between secular rulers, ecclesiastical states and self-governing cities.

Early New High German developed from the fourteenth century onward. Printing increased the circulation of written material between regions, while territorial administrations produced more records in German. Martin Luther's German translation of the New Testament was published in 1522, followed by a complete Bible in 1534. Its wide circulation influenced spelling and vocabulary, although regional written forms remained common.

Schools and publishing later encouraged a more uniform standard. Government administration reinforced common written practices, while dictionaries recorded accepted spelling. The first edition of the ''Duden'' spelling dictionary was published in 1880. Standard German subsequently developed separate national forms in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which remain mutually intelligible.

== Geographic distribution ==
German is the official language of Germany and Austria. It is used by government institutions and courts. Schools, publishers and broadcasters also use Standard German for formal communication.

In Switzerland, German is one of four national languages. It is used across much of northern, central and eastern Switzerland. Swiss Standard German is used in formal writing and public administration, while Swiss German dialects are common in daily speech.

German is one of the three official languages of Belgium. Its use is concentrated in the German-speaking area of eastern Belgium near the German border. German is also the official language of Liechtenstein.

In [[Luxembourg]], German is used in education and public administration. It also appears in publishing and the media. In northern [[Italy]], German has official status in South Tyrol alongside Italian.

German-speaking communities are present in eastern France and southern Denmark. Historical communities also remain in parts of Poland and the Czech Republic. Hungary and Romania contain further German-speaking communities. German is also spoken by communities outside Europe.

== Writing system ==
German uses the Latin script. The modern alphabet contains 26 basic letters. Written German also uses the letters ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü''. The letter ''ß'', known as the ''Eszett'' or sharp S, represents a voiceless S sound after certain long vowels and diphthongs.

Swiss Standard German normally uses ''ss'' instead of ''ß''. German spelling distinguishes between environments containing long and short vowels. All nouns begin with a capital letter.

Compound words are normally written as single words. Hyphens may be used when a compound contains an abbreviation or when separation improves readability. They may also appear in particularly long constructions.

== Grammar ==
German nouns belong to masculine, feminine or neuter gender. The language has four grammatical cases. The nominative generally marks the subject, while the accusative commonly marks the direct object. The dative is used for indirect objects and after certain prepositions. The genitive commonly expresses possession or association.

Articles, adjectives and pronouns change according to gender, number and case. German verbs change according to person and number. Their forms also indicate tense and mood.

Main clauses normally place the finite verb in second position. In subordinate clauses, the finite verb is usually placed near the end. German distinguishes between strong, weak and mixed verbs. Strong verbs often form the past tense by changing the stem vowel, while weak verbs normally use a dental ending.

German forms new words through prefixes and suffixes. Compound nouns combine existing words into a single term. This process is common in legal and administrative writing, and it is also widely used in scientific and technical terminology.

== See also ==
* [[Germany]]
* [[Austria]]
* [[Switzerland]]
* [[Belgium]]
* [[Liechtenstein]]
* [[Dutch language]]
* [[French language]]
* [[Language]]
* [[List of ICR language codes]]
* [[West Germanic languages]]

[[Category:Languages]]
[[Category:West Germanic languages]]
[[Category:Germany]]
[[Category:Austria]]
[[Category:Switzerland]]
[[Category:Belgium]]
[[Category:Liechtenstein]]
[[Category:Language codes]]