The German language
The development of the German language is largely down to Martin Luther. This defiant clergyman fought against the wrongdoings in the church and translated the Latin and Greek Bible into German for the first time. This meant God's word became accessible to the people.
Around 1517, there was not yet a national language in Germany. Everyone spoke a different German dialect in the various different German counties, principalities and dioceses. Luther used the language from his surroundings, central Thuringen and the Central Eastern variant of the German language.
The extraordinary thing was that he tried to translate texts in such a way that the ordinary people would be able to understand it. He "schaute den Leuten aufs Maul" or "watched how people said things", which has been a permanent expression in German ever since.
Instant quotation
The German that Luther used for his translation became the national written German as a result of the Bible's major influence and typography, which wasn't invented until that point in time. Not in Switzerland though. The various different dialects remained more or less intact over there.
Dialects of the German language
The German language still has various different dialects: Sächsisch, Bayrisch, Westfalisch, Berlinerisch, Schwäbisch, Hessisch, Plattdeutsch, Friesisch, etc.
Instant quotationCountries where German is spoken: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland and Romania.
Official Language: German is the official language of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium and Liechtenstein.
Number of mother tongue speakers: Approximately 100 000 000
German name: Deutsch
Classification: Indo-European ---> Germanic ---> West-Germanic
German is strongly related to: English, Dutch, Dutch Low Saxon, Frisian, Limburgish, Scottish, Yiddish and Afrikaans. To a lesser extent, German is also related to: Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian and Gothic.
| Ireland | Information regarding the German language |
| United Kingdom | The German language |
| Россия | Подробнее о немецком языке |