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The Middle High German (abbreviated MHG, c.1050c.1350) and Early New High (or Early Modern) German (abbreviated ENHG, c.1350c.1750) periods arc seen as an the gradual replacement of Latin along with the emergence, in the later period, of the modern standard. The modern language is conventionally termed New High (or Modern) German. Germany pioneered the a style of printing from movable type, first in Latin (Gutenberg's 42-line Bible, 1452-6) and then in German (Ulrich Boner's Edelstein and Johannes von Tepl's Ackermann aus Bhmen, both 1461), even so the absolute number of German titles did not exceed those in Latin until well in to the 17th c. The German equivalent of Books on the web (Verzeichnis lieferharer Bucher, VLB) now lists between 60,000 and 70,000 new titles annually.

German has a rich and varied literature from the early Middle Ages onwards, to which it can be out of the question justice in this limited space. Literary and linguistic developments often go hand-in-hand and inclusion in this account implies an important linguistic contribution. It requires to always be borne in mind machinery the history of literature and language alike that attempts to group and periodize the evidence are able to do about point to interesting connections. It's also important to recognize that German-speaking peoples, while retaining their regional character, have always
been united by a common language and culture which has transcended political arrangements.
The beginnings of German literature were fostered by the Christianization of the German tribes along with the adoption of Latin. A few fragments of Germanic epic survive (notably Hildebrandslied 'The I ay of Hildebrand'), real estate market arc insignificant beside examples belonging to the genre in Old English and Icelandic, and the majority of German writing while in the OHG period consists of translations and adaptations of Latin texts. Belonging to the products of Irish and Anglo-Saxon as well as Frankish-Roman monastic foundations, in order to belonging to the Isidore school, which rendered a series of difficult Latin texts into idiomatic German prose, in addition to Notker III of St Gallen, who found successful translations for many I.atin concepts, are particularly noteworthy. Also there is a German literature in Latin, e.g. Roswitha of Gandersheim (c.935after 973), Ekkchart I of St Gallen (died 973). The subsequent history of German literature as small as the modern period could possibly be characterized as being a slow emancipation from the dominant position of Latin as the standard literary language as well as the use of German in more and more text-types and genres (first verse, then drama and prose).
Following having a lacuna while in the German literary tradition in the mid-Ilth c., the early MHG period is characterized by a new beginning and noteworthy linguistic production in the Austrian monastic foundations belonging to the south-east. The texts arc mostly religious in character: Frau Ava, the authoress of a life of Christ (c.1120), may be the first poetess in the German language. The 12th e. saw the growth in excess of secular genres, a development reflected in the Latin sources too (Carmina Burana, 13th c.). The first secular epic in rhyming couplets was written on such basis as a French text (Alberich de
Besancon) by way of a monk, Pfaffe Lamprecht ((.1140), who a little later translated the French Chanson de Roland. French also furnished the model for the first prose talc (Lanzelet, c.1220). The major German monuments belonging to the high Middle Ages - the so-called 'classical' MHG period - are lyric and epic poetry, the products or services of courtly society with important lexical influence from France and also the Low Countries, even so they should not be seen simply as the German reworking of French originals. The lyric poems of Der von Kurenburg (/7. c.1170-5), probably the earliest of the Minnesanger ('Singers of Courtly Love'), and 140 others including Walther von der Vogelweide (c.1170-c.1230), are preserved while in the sumptuous Manessische Liederhandschrift , now while in the University Library in Heidelberg. The courtly epics of Hartmann von A ue (1160/70 to after 1210), Wolfram von Eschcnbach (c.1170-c.1220) and Gottfried von Strasburg (died (.1210) drew on the tales of King Arthur along with the Matter of Britain which inspired medieval French writers. The most important surviving heroic epic is an anonymous reworking of the cycle of sagas surrounding the figure of Dietrich von Bern (i.e. Theoderic [the Great' of Verona - sec Gothic), the Nibelungenlied.

The time scale of the late Middle Ages, seen as a increasing urbanization and also the social upheavals typified by the end results of the Black Death, is often seen as one of degeneration and decay, but it really witnessed the beginnings belonging to the drama to be a German genre (Easter and Christmas plays developed from antiphonal chants) and growth of prose as well as an increasingly urban readership. For example, the translation of Aquinas's Summa Theologica (after 1270) brought a key scholastic text to German readers; the prose versions of courtly romances bear witness to the increasing market for German-language material to always be read. The mystics belonging to the 14th c., e.g. the Dominican Meister Eckhart (1260-1327/8), Johannes Tattler ((.1300-61) and Heinrich Scuse (1293-1366), put German you are using equal footing with Latin first, and enriched the language especially in the community of word-formation (abstract derivations in -ung, -heft, -schaft, etc.). They as well as others - e.g. Claus Crane's translation of the Prophets (c.1350), the first prose translation of a biblical text in German - could possibly be seen as preparing the ground for the reformers belonging to the 16th c., most notably Martin Luther (1483-1546), who dominates the output of the Reformation period, but also figures such as Martin Bucer (1491-1551) and Johann Eberlin von Gunzberg (c.1470-1531), probably the greatest German stylist belonging to the period after Luther himself.

In common with other Renaissance vernaculars, the problem for literary German in the 16th c. was primarily certainly one of vocabulary: as the prestige (inter)national literary medium, Latin offered an immediate model and source of the latest words. Humanist writers such as Jakob Wimpfeling (1450-1528) continued to translate Latin, Greek as well as other works into German, partly as a technique of refining the language. Some wrote original works in German, even Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522), essentially the most celebrated Hebrew scholar of his day. And the like published works in both languages: for example, Johannes Aventinus (Turmaier) (1477-1534) translated his own Annales ducum Boiariae ('Annals belonging to the Dukes of Bavaria', 1521) into German between 1522 and 1533. The most successful textbook of the age, Sebastian Munster's (1488-1552)
Cosmographia (Description belonging to the World', Basle, 1500) had been a compilation of largely translated sources. The immensely popular moral satire Sebastian Brant's (1457-1521) Narrenschiff (`Ship of Fools') of 1494 was among the few works to be written first in German. Translations fostered indigenous production, which admittedly drew inspiration from classical sources, Arthurian romances and so on. Martin Luther's most influential work yet another translation the last edition of his Bible translation which he corrected himself appeared in 1545 and this, his catechism along with other theological writings taken into account a considerable proportion of German printed books in the early 16th c. His influence on other literary production belonging to the period is plain, whether this has been broadly supportive as in the plays, prose dialogues and lyric poetry of Hans Sachs (1494-1576) or gave voice to dissent such as in the satins of Thomas Murner (1475-1537). Two representatives belonging to the SW German Reformation, Jorg Wickram (el 500-62) and Johann Fischart (1546-90), provide the most important examples of the new genre of the prose novel. Indeed, German was used in almost every area of literary activity: to use R. E. Keller's terms, the functional bilingualism of the Middle Ages had given way to a bilingualism of the educated.

The position of German declined while in the 17th c., largely because effects belonging to the Counter-Reformation. Education in both the Catholic south as well as Protestant north returned to utilizing Latin. Indeed, Latin remained the language of learning while in the 17th and first half belonging to the 18th c., while French took over as language of society and German held its position as the language of literature. When the philosopher Christian Thomasius (1655-1728) announced a lecture course in German at Leipzig in 1687, he was persuaded to resign and go On To the new university of Halle. By 1711, most Halle professors were lecturing in German, including Christian Wolff (1679-1754), whose pupils were appointed to almost all of the chairs of philosophy in Protestant Germany, and who did more than anyone else to set up a system of mathematical and philosophical terminology in German. Leihniz (1646-1714), the greatest German thinker belonging to the age, wrote mainly in a choice of Latin or French, but encouraged his contemporaries to use German, reflecting the aspirations a number of intellectuals. The excellence of their 'ancient, original and heroic language' (Uhralte Haubt- und Heldensprache) original since the device was held by contemporaries to always be directly descended from the post-Babel confusion was trumpeted in the ten eulogies of Justus Georgius' us Schottelius's (1612-76) influential Ausfuhrliche Admit von der Teutschen HauhiSprache ('Complete Description of the Original German I Language', Brunswick, 1663). Schottel and his awesome contemporaries cultivated German in language societies, the earliest of which, the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft ('fructifying society') (founded 1617 and modelled on the Florentine Accademia della Crusca, founded 1582), aimed to preserve the High German language and then to cultivate the best pronunciation as well as the purest forms in writing and poetry. Its membership included eminent aristocrats such as its patron Prince Ludwig von An Anhalt-Kothen (whose residence at Halle the author belonging to the High Dutch Minerva, the first known grammar of German written in English, called 'the very Athens extremely refined Wits and language'), and many of the leading writers of the age such as Andreas Gryphius
(1616-64) and Martin Opitz (1597-1639). One writer who does not have the symptoms of been belonging to the Sprachgesellschaften was Johann Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelhausen (1621/2-76), whose novels belonging to the colourful 'Thirty Years War characters Simplicissimus, Springinsfeld and Courage have probably best stood the ages.
The language problem of the 17th c., as expressed by Martin Opitz as part of theoretical Buck von der Deutschen Poeterey (Book concerning German poetry', Breslau, 1624), concerned firstly it's a sensible belonging to the norm versus regional different types of the language, and secondly the purity belonging to the language industry by storm Latin, French, Spanish and other foreign loans, even as it should be noted that the thrust of the hook concerns use of the rules of rhetoric in German. Leibniz demanded three qualities of a language: Reichthum ('richness', i.e. self-sufficiency in vocabulary), ReinIgkeit (`purity', i.e. perspicuity and regularity) and Glanz; (`eleganee', i.e. of style). While in the hands of writers of the next century such as Friedrich Gottlob Klopstock (1724-1803), Lessing (1729-81), Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1815), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) and Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), this ideal was undoubtedly achieved. Schottel had already recognized the supraregional nature of Hochdeutsch
German') and affords some priority to `Meibnisch' (the educated usage of Leipzig, Merseburg, Dresden and Wittenberg, however is not the rural dialects), a view which is essentially repeated by Johann Christoph (Gottsched (1700-66) in his or her Deutsche Sprachkunst nark den Mustern der besten Srhriftseller des vorigen and itzigen .Jahrhunderts CA German Grammar Good works belonging to the Authorities of both this and the previous Century') (Leipzig, 1748) and by Johann Christoph Adelung (1732-1806) as part of Umstandliches Lehrgebaude der Deutschen Sprache ('A Comprehensive Grammar of the German Language') (1782), whose works became widely used and were declared obligatory in the schools of nearly all German regions. It is perhaps also significant that many major writers of the period lived and worked in the East Central German area, as well as the philosophers Thomasius and Wolff. Adelung's dictionary (see above) was the first comprehensive, scholarly dictionary of German and was used as a reference work by eminent literary figures such as Goethe and Schiller.

Goethe's influence in particular was so pervasive that via a tunnel 19th-c. German literature were displayed as an imitation of, extension of, or reaction to his work. Certainly, 19th-c. writers were backed up with a language of great expressive power which gradually became common currency among educated people and has remained a standard during the entire 20th c. Are mainly generally reckoned to always be extremely significant in their respective periods, but the lists could easily be augmented:

Romanticism: Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman (1776-1833), Heinrieh von Kleist (1777-1811), Novalis IFriedrich von Hardenherg (1772-1801), August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845), Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829), Ludwig 'Neek (1773-1853);
Biedermeier (eonservatives belonging to the period 1820-1850): Franz Grillparzer (1791-1872), Nikolaus Lenau (1802-50), Eduard Morike (1804-75), Annette von Droste-Hulshoff (1797-1848);
lunges Deutschland ('Young Germany') (liberal reformers of the period from 1830 through to the 1848 Revolution): Georg Buchner (1813-37), Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), Friedrieh Hebbel (1813-63);
Realism: Theodor Fontane (1819-98), Wilhelm Raabe (1851-1910), Gottfried Keller (1819-90), Theodor Storm (1817-88), Adalbert Stifter (1805-68);
Naturalism and its critics: Stefan George (1868-1933), Gerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946), Hermann I lesse (1877-1962), Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929), Christian Morgenstern (1871-1914), Rainer Maria Rake (1875-1926), Stefan Zweig (1881-1942);
Since MOO: Bert(olt) Brecht (1898-1956), Franz Kafka (1895-1924), Heinrieh Mann (1871-1950), Thomas Mann (1875-1955), Robert Musil (1880-1942).
Notable writers belonging to the post-1945 era include: Heinrich Boll (1917-85), Friedrich Durrenmatt (1921- ), Max Frisch (1922- ), Ginter Grass (1927- ), Uwe Johnson (1934- ), Christa Wolf (1929- ).

It is sometimes complicated to look at the output of the 19th and 20th centuries regarding the effect it has already established on the language, yet it's tempting to say that the decisive influences on German in the modern period should primarily literary, at the least in the narrow sense. Figures from the mid-1980s suggest that some 10 million newspapers and over 12 million magazines were published day to day in West Germany alone. In addition, the pervasive influence of English in written, visual and spoken media cannot be overlooked. The advent of television, especially the explosion of satellite channels, has presented the German-speaking viewing public with this type of wide selection of largely excellently dubbed and original English-language programmes to be in order to influence the positioning of the literary language.
The emergence belonging to the standard language

At the outset of the ENHG period, writing in German was still being relatively unusual: the function belonging to the standard written language was exercised by Latin. German texts of the period may perhaps be characterized, components orthography, grammar and lexis, as idiosyncratic, regional and non-standardized. These types of regional languages, called lantsprachen by contemporary MHG writers, the influence of spoken forms of the language can be readily inferred. The subsequent standardization process involved the emergence of a supraregional, written norm, largely independent belonging to the spoken language. Indeed, the emergence of the latest colloquial varieties (Umgangssprachen), which encroach on the traditional dialects during the present day period, especially in urban areas, is largely due to the influence of the written language.
The emergence of the standard written language itself (neuhochdeutsche Schriftsprache) proceeded by 50 percent stages. The first was considered one of largely unconscious convergence, especially in texts supposed to have been read in other areas of Germany. In there are some, the beginnings of that are traced back to the long run of the MHG

period (c.1350), the opening decades belonging to the 16th c. aided by the spread of the Reformation, the growth in hook produetion as well as reading public, the creation of the towns and secular educational establishments, were displayed as particularly significant. We have now know that each and every regional variants of German participated in the process and that the need for East Central German in addition to Martin Luther have in all probability been overemphasized yourself. The second stage involved conscious standardization on the part of grammarians and lexicographers. Grammatical standardization began somewhat earlier (16th c.) than the restriction of regional lexical items, a range of which can be still acceptable with regard to many concepts (e.g. northern Sonnabend, southern Samstag 'Saturday'). Opinions differ as to when the standardization process overall was largely complete; 1650, a date much advanced while in the literature, is sort of certainly ahead of time, as regional written forms in order to be evident, hut the actual requirement for a written standard was recognized by that time (Schottel's Ausfuhrliche Arbeit, 1663, see above). It can be, however, more probable that a significant a higher standard standardization was achieved in the work of Johann Christoph Gottsched (Deutsche Sprachkunst, 1748, see above) and Johann Christoph Adelung (Versuch: tines vollstandigen grammatisch-kritischen Worterbuches der Hochdeutschen Mundart, mil bestandiger Vergleichung der ubrigen Mundarten, besonders aber der Oberdeutschen: `Prolegomena to a complete grammatical-critical dictionary belonging to the High German dialect, with comprehensive comparison together with the other dialects, but especially with Upper German', Leipzig, 1774-86, of which six editions were published up to 1818, the majority in Vienna).

Spelling reform would have been a concern belonging to the 17th and 18th centuries, but the proposals of radical reformers such as Philipp von Zesen and Klopstock were rejected towards a more evolutionary approach, which, even as it was broadly speaking based on phonetic principles, was tempered by considerations of etymology (e.g. NHG Rad [ra:t] 'wheel', genitive Rades vs Rat [ra:t] 'advice', genitive Rates), economy (e.g. unnecessary double consonants were expunged, so unndt became and `and), tradition (e.g. word-initial <v> was retained for [f] beside initial <f>) and clarity (e.g. NHG Wane 'orphan' vs Weise. 'way', both [vaize]. Again, it was Adelung's Vollstandige Anweisung Sur deutsche Orthographic (`Complete Handbook of German Orthography') (1788) which provided the spelling for the literary language of the 19th c. Philipp von Zesen was probably the most notable of a number of language reformers who introduced German words beside foreign loans. Some have survived (e.g. Hochschule, literally `high-school', beside Universitat, both meaning 'university'), but others never passed into general use. Further inconsistencies in the emerging standard were removed during the 19th c. Konrad Duden (1829-1911) published the first edition of his Orthographisches Worterbuch der deutschen .Sprache ('Orthographical Dictionary of the German Language') in 1880: the seventh edition (1902) incorporates the agreement of the Berlin conference on orthography (1901), and the latest modern edition (20th edn, 1991) is still regarded as the standard reference work. It is important to stress that the standardization process took place in the written medium: there is still no standard spoken German, except in so far as the
written language is 'translated' into spoken form. Theodor Siebs's Deutsche Buhnenaussprache (Pronunciation of the German Stage') isn't adopted by most speakers along with the spoken language exhibits a broad spectrum of supraregionally accepted but diatopically restricted regional features.

Independent of the few runic inscriptions, German is simply written in variants of the Latin alphabet. The earliest German was written in Anglo-Saxon (Insular) script or Early Caroline minuscule, which gradually gave way to the sort of known as Gothic. Consequentlythis tended to be replaced by Roman script from the 15th c. onwards, although German Kurrentschrift (Gothic seript) which had developed from the Gothic cursive continued taught in schools well in to the 20th c., and books printed in Gothic type were common before the Second World War.

In the pre-literary period, you can find evidence for a southward movement of protoGerman-speakers from the area on and around the Danish peninsula into areas of modern France and southern Germany certainly where an variety of *Continental Celtic was spoken. Classical authors cannot always distinguish between Germans and Gauls. The period of the Great Migrations ( Volkerwanderung) is traditionally said firstly the destruction belonging to the Ostrogothic kingdom in southern Russia (see Gothic) by the Huns around the year AD 375. By the beginning of the literary period (8th c.) a Frankish kingdom had developed, the eastern portion of which, roughly from present-day Alsace and Lorraine to the Elbe, formed the nucleus of the medieval German-speaking area. During the Middle Ages the western border to France remained relatively stable, but German speakers gradually colonized what exactly is now eastern Germany and then large portions of eastern Europe (Ostkolontsation). Before the Second World War, German-speaking enclaves may be found as far east as the Baltic states as well as Black Sea, but Germany's military defeat in 1945 resulted in large-scale transportation of native speakers to the west (or, affected person the Volga Germans, to Siberia). During the 19th c. substantial numbers of German-speakers emigrated to North and South America, Algeria, Israel, Australia and New Zealand, Hawaii, and also the then German colonies in Africa, such as present-day Tanzania and Namibia, where German is now either extinct or under threat from the most important local languages.

German dialects are conventionally divided, using the reflexes belonging to the Second Sound Shift (see below) to be a criterion, right into a northern type (Low German, abbreviated I.G), a southern type (Upper German, abbreviated UG) as well as a central type (Central German, abbreviated CG). The terms 'Upper' and 'Low' German reflect the predominant topography of these areas, the flat North German plain contrasting with the South German uplands. The most important divisions (UGCGLG) also correlate broadly with distinctive realizations of the diminutive suffix, NHG -chen or -Iein, however it's usual to subdivide these dialect groupings further, using a variety of criteria.

In German studies, a distinction is usually recognized in between your standard language (Hochdeutsch/ High German, the written, supraregional norm), the dialects (the indigenous different types of local speech furthest removed from the standard) and colloquial language (German Umgangssprache, the idiom of everyday speech). Colloquial German is a comparatively recent variety, having developed principally in new urban areas intoxicated of the emerging standard language (see above). The most conservative dialect speakers are therefore located in rural communities and statistics suggest they're relatively more numerous in the south. All spoken German is regional to a greater or lesser extent, and speakers use varieties of colloquial German closer to the dialects or closer to the standard according to a number of factors (informal vs formal; private vs public). The first sort are informally designated Dialekt/ Mundart/ Platt (dialect) as well as the latter Hochdeutsch (High German), even if this designation belongs properly in order to the written language. It has to also be noted that, unlike English regional speech, the German equivalent is not socially stigmatized on the whole. Flexibility in usage and control of colloquial varieties depend on factors including the level of education or even the distance a speaker travels to work, some speakers having the tricks to switch according to situation. However, speakers' own distinctions between 'dialect' and 'High German' do not always correspond to objective criteria.

In German-speaking Switzerland, Swiss German (Schwyzertuutsch) regularly alternates with an Alemannic variety of colloquial German close to the written standard to make a situation of diglossia (similarly in Luxembourg). Swiss German is often a term used to pay extra for many local varieties. The dialects of Zurich (Zurituutsch) and Berne (Bandutsch) are probably numerically the, but the southern Highest Alemannic dialects (Hochstalemannisch) are noteworthy regarding conservatism (e.g. retention of inflected predicative adjectives; preservation of distinct weak verb classes, etc.). Dialect could be the normal medium of oral communication among Swiss except in formal contexts, even as it appears that there has been some movement and is overtaken by the regional varieties recently. As an example, formal lectures, sermons, the main news on tv and radio would almost always use High German; face-to-face discussions, local news and sports reporting would be a little more likely to try dialect.

Vis loan-words, the major influence on German in the historical period continues to be Latin. It was the source of prehistoric cultural loans also attested in other WGmc languages (Wein 'wine' < vinum; Pfeil 'arrow' < pilum); ecclesiastical loans in the OHG period (Klause `[monk's) cell' < clusa; Tinte 'ink' < tincta); didactic, religious and scholarly loans in the MHG period (Dekret 'decree' < decretum; Pulver 'powder' < pulvis -era; Einigkeit 'unity', a loan-translation of unitas); ecclesiastical, scholarly, philological, legal, scientific, mathematical and artistic terms in the ENHG period (Kapitel 'chapter' < capitellum; Talar 'gown' < lvestimenta I talaria; Vokal 'vowel' < vocalis; Klausel 'clause' < clausula; Horizon: 'horizon' < horiSon, -ontis; Quadrat 'square' < quadrarum; 'Tragodie 'tragedy' < tragedia), to name but a few of the major categories. The modern language has also borrowed freely from Latin: e.g. BaSillus 'microbe, germ' < bacillus; Konjunktur 'economic situation' < conjuncturus; Podium "stage' < podium and many more. Indeed, any Latin or Greek word is a potential source, especially for learned and scientific loans. (Greek words are usually reckoned to be imported via Latin.) Latin may have influenced the syntax of German in the ENHG period and was possibly also instrumental in increasing the number and complexity of compound types.

French is a second important source of loan-words, sometimes acting to be a vehicle for words using their company languages, first during the MHG period (Admiral 'admiral' < OF amiral 'oriental commander or prince', cf. Arabic emir; Fasan 'pheasant' < OF faisan; fehlen `to miss' < OF faillir; PanSer 'armour' < OF pancier; Noel 'paintbrush' < OF pincel; Ingwer 'ginger' < OF gingibre), carrying on throughout the ENHG period, reaching a peak in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuing down to the present day (e.g. abonnieren 'to subscribe to la journal]; Adresse `address'; Appetit 'appetite; Bordell 'brothel' Armee `army'; Bagage `baggage'; Parkett 'parquet'; Kompliment 'compliment' liberal 'liberal': Parfum 'perfume). Italian loans appeared due to commercial and cultural relations in the ENHG period (e.g. brutto 'gross' Dattel `date'; Konto 'account'; netto 'net' Schachtel'box';Spargel 'asparagus) and later due to Italian artistic and culinary influence (e.g. Adagio, Dilettant, Spaghetti, Torte).

English influence became significant only in the 20th c., although it began in the late MHG period (e.g. Boot 'boat') and in the 19th c. supplied words (either as borrowings or loan-translations) in the fields of literature (e.g. popular song > Volkslied; blank verse > Blankvers), science (horse power > Pferdekraft: steam engine > Dampfmaschine), politics (coalition > Koalition; opposition > Opposition) and commerce (e.g. bank note > Banknote; Manchester > Manchester(hosen) 'corduroy'). Modern loans are legion and yes it remains to always be seen how many of them will be retained depending on how long. Particularly receptive areas of vocabulary include sport (Caddie, fit), entertainment (die Band, Party), social life (Hobby, sexy), commerce (Boykott, Discounting), politics (Interview, Votum 'vote), science (Computer, Transistor), fashion (jeans, Slip 'knickers') and food (Keks 'biscuit' < cakes; Sandwich). Surprisingly, the influence of German on English is not as marginal as was once thought: a recent study (Pfeffer and Cannon 1995) lists over 6,000 loan-words.

You can get commonly reckoned to always be some 110 million speakers of German virtually, but it really should be noted that figures from different countries are often not comparable and they are therefore unreliable indicators in their raw form. German has sole official language status in this West Germany, incorporating the old East Germany (77,981,000), in the Federal Republic of Austria (7,605,000) as well as in the Principality of Liechtenstein (28,000). In Switzerland (4,141,000) may co-official language with French, Italian and Romansh, and also with French and Luxemburgish in Luxembourg (372,000). In France (1,200,000) a variety of Upper German is spoken in Alsace, especially by older speakers, and Lorraine, although here the language is under particular threat from French. In Belgium, where German is a recognized regional official language (see Belgium), you can get Franconian dialect-speakers in Eupen, St Vith and Montzen and speakers of Luxemburgish around Arel/Arlon (66,000). The German-speakers in Denmark (North Schleswig) (22,000) typically make use of a Danish dialect in your own home. The perhaps the Netherlands around Maastricht retains German dialect-speakers (Limburgisch) who use Dutch his or her official language (no figures available). In Italy, the South Tirol may be the home of a significant minority (280,000, some 65%) of German-speakers. In addition, some 13,000 Rhacto-Romance-speakers of Northern Italy use German as one of their official languages. These figures come from Ammon (1991), by far the most extensive recently published survey, and Althaus et al. (1980), comparison of which reveals growth at the centre (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and attrition in the enclaves and round the periphery, especially in those areas where German lacks official status.
This really is apparent in eastern Europe, where large areas had been settled by German-speakers during the Middle Ages and from where the lions share were resettled after the Second World War. Belonging to the areas bordering the present German-speaking area, Poland (1937 c.10.4 million, 1989 1.1 million), Hungary (1930 c.0.7 million, 1989 0.22 million) and former Czechoslovakia (1937 c.3.2 million, 1989 32,000) taken into account most, although significant minorities existed elsewhere: the first sort republic of Yugoslavia (1939 0.6 million, 1980 c.20,000); Romania (1930 c.0.8 million, 1980 0.2 million). The 300 speakers in Bulgaria were resettled in 1943. The first kind Soviet Union is something associated with an exception to the trend of attrition: in 1969, some 1.2 million recorded their language as German; Ammon's most recent figures indicate just over 1.1 million German-speakers.

Outside Europe, decline goes without saying everywhere. A survey in 1970 estimated that just over 6 million spoke German as children in the states. However, the amount of who make use of the language daily must happen to be much smaller then and it is probably considerably smaller now. Ammon's figures indicate 1.6 million. Canadian census returns indicate 0.56 million speakers in 1971 and c.0.45 million many years ago later. Latin America comes with a number in excess of or less stable minorities, with over 2 million estimated speakers, about three-quarters of them in Brazil. German has official status in Namibia beside English and Afrikaans and is therefore used more widely than in the relatively small German community (c.20,000); some 41,000 German-speakers live in neighbouring Republic Of South Africa. About 109,000 recent German-speaking immigrants live in Australia, numerically dwarfing the 19th-c. settlements. Finally, some 96,000 German native speakers live in Israel. Each one of these communities are suffering competition and attrition from local languages, although German churches and media, along with the cultural agency the Goethe Institut, sometimes provide a beneficial focus for German language and culture.
Because of Germany's economic position anywhere (the language is ranked anywhere from sixth to tenth numerically, but must he ranked third after English and Japanese by the disposable income of its speakers), German is widely taught to be a second language in schools. In Europe (see Sturm 1987) this is recognized most clearly in Finland, where, in 1982, 78% of secondary school children were taught the language (in comparison to 56% in Iceland, 48.5% in Norway, 46.4% in Sweden, 35% while in the Netherlands, 13.6% in Belgium, 5.7% in Ireland in support of 2% in the UK).