In which countries are spoken in German except Germany?

German is native to 100 million people all over the world. In German, about 120 million are spoken. The first German dictionary was created by Johan Christoph Adelung in 1781. And in 1852 the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began to compose a new dictionary. Work on it was completed only by 1961. Now he is constantly replenished with new words. German grammar is normalized during the 19th century.

Where do they speak German and why?

Those who are interested in what countries are spoken in German, probably know about its prevalence throughout Europe. German is second only to English. The spread of German is connected not only with cultural features, but also with business necessity.

Some believe that for a successful career, only knowledge of English is enough. But this is far from the case. First, German is the official language of the European Union. Which countries are spoken in German, and where is it official? After Germany, this is Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium. Secondly, to work in many companies and enterprises in Germany and even Europe requires knowledge of the German language.

Why is German the official language in Austria?

Everyone who is looking for the answer to the question "In which countries do they speak German?" Probably heard about Austria. Here in German they say, first of all, in view of the historical past of this country. At various times, Austria was part of the empires and kingdoms in which they spoke German.

Residents of this country use a special dialect - Bavarian. The very name "Austria" was first mentioned only in the 18th century. Before that, Austria is part of Bavaria. Interestingly, throughout its history, Austria has also been part of such entities as the Holy Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Third Reich.

Can the Germans and the Austrian understand each other?

The dialect of the German language in Austria is so different from the generally accepted literary language that even a German and an Austrian can not always understand each other. That is why the question "In which countries speak the German language other than Germany" is not entirely true. Some researchers are convinced that if Austria were geographically more distant from Germany, then the Austrian dialect of German would eventually become a separate language. And this new language would already be impossible to distinguish from the original version.

In which countries are spoken in German except Austria? Another state in which German is accepted as official is Switzerland. However, even here it's not so simple. Swiss use official German only in written language. Everyday conversation they lead in the local dialect. Even instead of the word Danke, which means "Thank you", they pronounce the come from the French Merci. Interestingly, in fact, in Switzerland the most popular is now English. Even graffiti on the walls here like to write in English. And the inhabitants of Zurich call their city Little big city - "a small big city".

What languages do people actually speak in Belgium

German language, along with Flemish and French, is the official language of Belgium. Education there can be obtained on any of them. However, the de facto residents of this country speak only Flemish and French. Most of the Belgian population is Flemish from Flanders. In the southern part of the country live walloons - representatives of the French-speaking ethnic group. Not far from the eastern border of Switzerland lives a small population, which mainly uses German for communication.

It is interesting that for successful employment any resident of Belgium needs fluency in both Flemish and French. The French-speaking population has long been known for its dislike of the Flemish language. Why learn the language, say the French-speaking Belgians, which speak only 6 million people? Although if you add to this figure the population of Holland, you get a little bit more - 22 million people.

Dialects of German in Germany

In fact, the question "In which countries speak the German language officially?" In a certain sense will sound not entirely correct. The fact is that not a lot of residents of German-speaking countries use the literary version of the German language. Even in Germany they speak a huge number of German dialects. This - Berlin, Kölsch ("Kelsh", the dialect of the city of Cologne), Bavarian and Berlin dialects, and many others. The literary version, which broadcasts news on television and prints newspapers, is called Hoch Deutsch ("Hoch Deutsch").

Literary German. Is it universally accepted everywhere?

Now almost every diversified graduate of the university can list in which countries they speak German. However, this does not mean that in these regions they actually use German in the traditional sense. Literary German does not apply to countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. At the same time, it is considered that Austrian German is the most similar to the German one spoken in Germany.

Interestingly, in Switzerland and Luxembourg, when displaying news, you can see the subtitles in the literary language Hoch Deutsch. Most entertainment programs and radio broadcasts take place in local German. When traveling to Germany, one should also remember the following rule: one can never tell a German that he speaks a dialect, since the representative of each region considers his version of the German as the only true one.

German dialect and features of the Swiss mentality

Of Swiss-German, however, some new concepts have emerged that have become universally recognized. For example, this is the well-known word "muesli". And also "sieve", or "rusty" - the name of traditional Swiss potato pancakes. It is said that the Swiss national character is a bizarre mixture of the spirit of the peasant and the thrifty banker.

For example, the Swiss often say: "It's as dark as a cow." Most likely, this phrase originated somewhere in the peasant outback, on the Alpine pastures. There is another proverb that came to Sweden from the German language: Die Morgenstunde hat Gold im Munde. Literally it is translated as "Morning hour bears gold in the mouth" - its analogue may be Russian "Who gets up early, God gives to him".

However, in addition to confusion with German dialects, the Swiss have more to break their heads. After all, only four languages are official in this country - besides German, this is Romansh, Italian and French. Therefore, on the package of Swiss milk, there is hardly room for the image of the cow - the whole package of them is covered with composition and storage rules in all four languages.

Where else is studying German

In addition to interest in what countries are spoken in German, the list can be replenished by those states where German is studied in the school curriculum. Hoch Deutsch is studied as a foreign language in Scandinavian countries, in Holland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and even Japan. And also German is often taught in secondary schools in Belarus.