German language - Revision history

DavidB4-bot: /* History */"supercede" spelling correction, replaced: supercede → supersede

2017-12-29T18:35:14Z

History: "supercede" spelling correction, replaced: supercede → supersede

Gentenaar at 16:50, January 7, 2017

2017-01-07T16:50:46Z

DavidB4-bot: /* History */Replacing supersed with superced, as requested

2016-12-09T21:01:20Z

History: Replacing supersed with superced, as requested

DavidB4-bot: /* German Dialects */Spelling/Grammar Check, typos fixed: germanic → Germanic, slavic → Slavic

2016-07-19T13:14:57Z

German Dialects: Spelling/Grammar Check, typos fixed: germanic → Germanic, slavic → Slavic

DavidB4-bot: /* References */clean up

2016-06-23T16:18:40Z

References: clean up

Baobab: /* German Alphabet */ sentence didn't run properly

2012-08-27T12:05:02Z

German Alphabet: sentence didn't run properly

Baobab: minor corrections

2012-08-27T11:59:50Z

minor corrections

Baobab: typos

2012-08-27T11:56:09Z

typos

Karajou: Reverted edits by MagnusO (talk) to last revision by Baobab

2012-06-05T03:12:52Z

Reverted edits by MagnusO (talk) to last revision by Baobab

MagnusO: /* Word order */

2012-06-05T03:10:24Z

Word order

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 Generally, the later development of the West Germanic language can be divided in two distinct lines of descent: Upper German, spoken in Central and Southern Germany, and Low German, spoken in Northern Germany. "Low" and "Upper" are geographic terms, referring to the lowlands of Northern Germany and the more mountainous areas of Southern Germany, respectively.
-The term "High German" refers to the standardized version of German that derives mostly from Upper and Central German dialects. It evolved through Old High German (c. 200-1000 AD), Middle High German (c. 1000-1500 AD), Early New High German (c. 1500-1700) and finally to the present New High German, which is the standard modern German language. Low German went through a similar development, starting with Old Saxon and similar languages, through Middle Low German into the modern Low German, which is in linguistics often referred to a Low Saxon. It was the standard language of the Hanseatic league, but was superceded as standard language in North Germany when High German was accepted as official language in Prussia. Due to the influence of Prussia as political power, and later Hamburg as media center, a more Northern German pronunciation has been adopted as standard pronunciation in television and radio. It is said that the best High German is spoken in Hanover, while the traditional dialect of the Hanover area is a dialect of Low German.
+The term "High German" refers to the standardized version of German that derives mostly from Upper and Central German dialects. It evolved through Old High German (c. 200-1000 AD), Middle High German (c. 1000-1500 AD), Early New High German (c. 1500-1700) and finally to the present New High German, which is the standard modern German language. Low German went through a similar development, starting with Old Saxon and similar languages, through Middle Low German into the modern Low German, which is in linguistics often referred to a Low Saxon. It was the standard language of the Hanseatic league, but was superseded as standard language in North Germany when High German was accepted as official language in Prussia. Due to the influence of Prussia as political power, and later Hamburg as media center, a more Northern German pronunciation has been adopted as standard pronunciation in television and radio. It is said that the best High German is spoken in Hanover, while the traditional dialect of the Hanover area is a dialect of Low German.
 == German Dialects ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:50, January 7, 2017
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−	'''German''' (''Deutsch'') is a major world language, spoken by some 120 million people worldwide. The German vocabulary is closely related to [[English]] and [[Dutch]], and all three use the [[Latin alphabet]] in writing. German is widely spoken in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], and [[Switzerland]].<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=deu Ethnologue:German]</ref> Liechtenstein is the only state that has German as its only official language.	+	'''German''' (''Deutsch'') is a major world language, spoken by some 120 million people worldwide. The German vocabulary is closely related to [[English]] and [[Dutch]], and all three use the [[Latin alphabet]] in writing. German is widely spoken in [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]], and [[Switzerland]]<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=deu Ethnologue:German]</ref> and is an official language of [[Belgium]]. Liechtenstein is the only state that has German as its only official language.

	==German Alphabet==		==German Alphabet==

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 Generally, the later development of the West Germanic language can be divided in two distinct lines of descent: Upper German, spoken in Central and Southern Germany, and Low German, spoken in Northern Germany. "Low" and "Upper" are geographic terms, referring to the lowlands of Northern Germany and the more mountainous areas of Southern Germany, respectively.
-The term "High German" refers to the standardized version of German that derives mostly from Upper and Central German dialects. It evolved through Old High German (c. 200-1000 AD), Middle High German (c. 1000-1500 AD), Early New High German (c. 1500-1700) and finally to the present New High German, which is the standard modern German language. Low German went through a similar development, starting with Old Saxon and similar languages, through Middle Low German into the modern Low German, which is in linguistics often referred to a Low Saxon. It was the standard language of the Hanseatic league, but was superseded as standard language in North Germany when High German was accepted as official language in Prussia. Due to the influence of Prussia as political power, and later Hamburg as media center, a more Northern German pronunciation has been adopted as standard pronunciation in television and radio. It is said that the best High German is spoken in Hanover, while the traditional dialect of the Hanover area is a dialect of Low German.
+The term "High German" refers to the standardized version of German that derives mostly from Upper and Central German dialects. It evolved through Old High German (c. 200-1000 AD), Middle High German (c. 1000-1500 AD), Early New High German (c. 1500-1700) and finally to the present New High German, which is the standard modern German language. Low German went through a similar development, starting with Old Saxon and similar languages, through Middle Low German into the modern Low German, which is in linguistics often referred to a Low Saxon. It was the standard language of the Hanseatic league, but was superceded as standard language in North Germany when High German was accepted as official language in Prussia. Due to the influence of Prussia as political power, and later Hamburg as media center, a more Northern German pronunciation has been adopted as standard pronunciation in television and radio. It is said that the best High German is spoken in Hanover, while the traditional dialect of the Hanover area is a dialect of Low German.
 == German Dialects ==

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 The dialects of German are classified as central and upper German. Central German dialects are Ripuarian, Central Franconian, Rhine Francoinian, Hessian, Thurinigian, Saxonian, and Berlinerish. Luxemburgish is often included as a Moselle Franconian dialect. Upper German dialects spoken in the South of the German speaking area, which includes Bavaria, Austria, Liechtenstein and northern areas of Italy, the northern part of Switzerland,  and eastern parts of France are Bavarian, East and South Franconian, Swabian, Allemanic, and Alsatian.
-Official Minority languages in Germany are [[Frisian]], a west germanic language, [[Sorbian]], a slavic language, and [[Danish]].
+Official Minority languages in Germany are [[Frisian]], a west Germanic language, [[Sorbian]], a Slavic language, and [[Danish]].
 ==Grammar==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:18, June 23, 2016
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	<references/>		<references/>

−	[[Category:Germanic ~~languages~~]]	+	[[Category:Germanic Languages]]

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 ==German Alphabet==
-The German alphabet consists of every letter in the English alphabet, with additional letters. German makes use of the letter ß, called the ''scharfes S'' ("sharp s"), which is a ligature of the letter "s" and "z" from cursive scripts. It is used for occurrences of the ''voiceless alveolar fricative'', the sound of the "s" in the English word "sea",  after long vowels and diphthongs, for which German otherwise uses "s" or "ss". This to avoid confusion with  the ''voiced alveolar fricative'', the sound of "z" in the English word "zoo", for which German always uses the letter "s". It is sometimes called the by the German pronunciation of "sz," however, if the letter is not available it has to be replaced by the letters "ss", and not by "sz". In Switzerland and Liechtenstein this letter is generally omitted in favor of "ss". The other additional letter are the three vowels  ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'', also known in English as Umlauts. If not present on a keyboard they customarily are substituted by ''ae'', ''oe'', and ''ue''.
+The German alphabet consists of every letter in the English alphabet, with additional letters. German makes use of the letter ß, called the ''scharfes S'' ("sharp s"), which is a ligature of the letter "s" and "z" from cursive scripts. It is used for occurrences of the ''voiceless alveolar fricative'', the sound of the "s" in the English word "sea",  after long vowels and diphthongs, for which German otherwise uses "s" or "ss". This to avoid confusion with  the ''voiced alveolar fricative'', the sound of "z" in the English word "zoo", for which German always uses the letter "s". It is sometimes called "sz," however, if the letter is not available it has to be replaced by the letters "ss", and not by "sz". In Switzerland and Liechtenstein this letter is generally omitted in favor of "ss". The other additional letter are the three vowels  ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'', also known in English as Umlauts. If not present on a keyboard they customarily are substituted by ''ae'', ''oe'', and ''ue''.
 ==History==

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 |-
 ! Masculine
-| '''Der''' Hund
+| '''der''' Hund
-| '''Den''' Hund
+| '''den''' Hund
-| '''Dem''' Hund
+| '''dem''' Hund
-| '''Des''' Hund'''es'''*
+| '''des''' Hund'''es'''*
 |-
 ! Feminine
-| '''Die''' Ente
+| '''die''' Ente
-| '''Die''' Ente
+| '''die''' Ente
-| '''Der''' Ente
+| '''der''' Ente
-| '''Der''' Ente
+| '''der''' Ente
 |-
 ! Neutral
-| '''Das''' Schwein
+| '''das''' Schwein
-| '''Das''' Schwein
+| '''das''' Schwein
-| '''Dem''' Schwein
+| '''dem''' Schwein
-| '''Des''' Schwein'''s'''*
+| '''des''' Schwein'''s'''*
 |-
 ! Plural
-| '''Die''' Schweine
+| '''die''' Schweine
-| '''Die''' Schweine
+| '''die''' Schweine
-| '''Den''' Schweine'''n'''*
+| '''den''' Schweine'''n'''*
-| '''Der''' Schweine
+| '''der''' Schweine
 |}
@@ Line 88: / Line 88: @@
 |-
 ! Masculine
-| Ein Hund
+| ein Hund
-| Ein'''en''' Hund
+| ein'''en''' Hund
-| Ein'''em''' Hund
+| ein'''em''' Hund
-| Ein'''es''' Hund'''es'''*
+| ein'''es''' Hund'''es'''*
 |-
 ! Feminine
-| Ein'''e''' Ente
+| ein'''e''' Ente
-| Ein'''e''' Ente
+| ein'''e''' Ente
-| Ein'''er''' Ente
+| ein'''er''' Ente
-| Ein'''er''' Ente
+| ein'''er''' Ente
 |-
 ! Neutral
-| Ein Schwein
+| ein Schwein
-| Ein Schwein
+| ein Schwein
-| Ein'''em''' Schwein
+| ein'''em''' Schwein
-| Ein'''es''' Schwein'''s'''*
+| ein'''es''' Schwein'''s'''*
 |}
 <nowiki>*With the genitive case, masculine and neutral nouns take the "s" or "es" ending, while the plural form of masculine and neutral nouns take the "n" ending in dative.</nowiki>
@@ Line 123: / Line 123: @@
 |-
 ! Masculine
-| Der schwarz'''e''' Hund
+| der schwarz'''e''' Hund
-| Den schwarz'''en''' Hund
+| den schwarz'''en''' Hund
-| Dem schwarz'''en''' Hund
+| dem schwarz'''en''' Hund
-| Des schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
+| des schwarz'''en''' Hund'''es'''
 |-
 ! Feminine
-| Die gelb'''e''' Ente
+| die gelb'''e''' Ente
-| Die gelb'''e''' Ente
+| die gelb'''e''' Ente
-| Der gelb'''en''' Ente
+| der gelb'''en''' Ente
-| Der gelb'''en''' Ente
+| der gelb'''en''' Ente
 |-
 ! Neutral
-| Das schlau'''e''' Schwein
+| das schlau'''e''' Schwein
-| Das schlau'''e''' Schwein
+| das schlau'''e''' Schwein
-| Dem schlau'''en''' Schwein
+| dem schlau'''en''' Schwein
-| Des schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
+| des schlau'''en''' Schwein'''s'''
 |-
 ! Plural
-| Die schlau'''en''' Schweine
+| die schlau'''en''' Schweine
-| Die schlau'''en''' Schweine
+| die schlau'''en''' Schweine
-| Den schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
+| den schlau'''en''' Schweine'''n'''
-| Der schlau'''en''' Schweine
+| der schlau'''en''' Schweine
 |}
 (schwarz = black, gelb = yellow, schlau = clever)

@@ Line 272: / Line 272: @@
 Notice that however the constituent parts are arranged, the main verb always is placed in the second position, and the remaining verbs are placed at the end.
-This structure also holds true for the so-called "seperable verbs." An example of this is the verb ''abgeben'', which means to "give up." When it is the only verb appearing in the sentence, the prefix "ab" is separated from the rest of the verb, which is conjugated and placed in the second position, and the prefix is placed at the end of the sentence:
+This structure also holds true for the so-called "separable verbs." An example of this is the verb ''abgeben'', which means to "give up." When it is the only verb appearing in the sentence, the prefix "ab" is separated from the rest of the verb, which is conjugated and placed in the second position, and the prefix is placed at the end of the sentence:
 ''Ich <u>gebe</u> jetzt <u>ab</u>.'' (I'm giving up now.)
-German has many such verbs, which are always constructed from a definable preposition and a main verb. However, when using the past tense, future tense, or a modal verb, these sepearable verbs appear at the end of the sentence in the appropriate form:
+German has many such verbs, which are always constructed from a definable preposition and a main verb. However, when using the past tense, future tense, or a modal verb, these separable verbs appear at the end of the sentence in the appropriate form:
 ''Er <u>wird</u> irgendwann <u>abgeben</u> <u>müssen.</u>'' (He'll have to give up sometime.)

@@ Line 256: / Line 256: @@
 German word order in complex sentences is based on a so-called "bracket construction," with the most important parts being close to the beginning and at the end. In sentences with more than one verb, the remaining verb or verbs go at the very end:
-''Ich <u>habe</u> ihr das Buch in der Schule <u>gegeben</u>.'' (Lit: I have her the book in the school given.)
+''Ich <u>habe</u> ihr das Buch in der Schule <u>gegeben</u>.'' (I gave her the book at school.)
 In the example above, the verb ''haben'' is conjugated in the first person singular and placed just after the subject, and the past participle of ''geben'' (to give) is placed at the end of the sentence. The sentence also contains a direct object (das Buch = the book), an indirect object (ihr = her), and a place indicator (in der Schule = at school).
@@ Line 268: / Line 268: @@
 ''Ich <u>kann</u> ihn überhaupt nicht <u>verstehen</u>.'' (I can't understand him at all.)<br />
-''Sie <u>wird</u> vielleicht morgen in die Oper <u>gehen</u> <u>wollen</u>.'' (She will perhaps want to go to the opera tomorrow.)
+''Sie <u>wird</u> vielleicht morgen in die Oper <u>gehen</u> <u>wollen</u>.'' (She'll probably want to go to the opera tomorrow.)
 Notice that however the constituent parts are arranged, the main verb always is placed in the second position, and the remaining verbs are placed at the end.