Languages of Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Languages of Germany | |
|---|---|
| Official language(s) | Standard German (>90%) |
| Regional language(s) | Low Rhenish; Kleverlandish, Limburgish-Bergish; Luxembourgish; Alemanic; Yiddish (remnants of the language facing extinction); Danish, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, North Frisian, Saterland Frisian, Romani, Low German |
| Minority language(s) | Turkish but many others are found spoken and heard in major cities across Germany. |
| Main foreign language(s) | English (51%) French (15%) Russian (5%) |
| Sign language(s) | German Sign Language |
| Common keyboard layout(s) |
 |
| Source | ebs_243_en.pdf (europa.eu) |
The official language of Germany is Standard German, with over 95% of the country speaking Standard German or German dialects as their first language. [1] This figure includes speakers of the recognized minority or regional language Low Saxon, which is not kept apart from German in statistics.
Minority first languages include:
- Sorbian 0.09%
- Romani 0.08%
- Danish 0.06%
- North Frisian 0.01%
Immigrant languages spoken by sizable communities of first and second-generation persons of Eastern European, African, Asian and Latin American origins: Turkish is spoken by about 2 million persons (ethnic Turks) in Germany alone, followed by smaller numbers whom use Arabic from the Middle East and North Africa; Greek; Italian; Serbo-Croatian of former Yugoslavia and Spanish from South America are examples.
Most Germans also learn English as first, some Germans French as first or second, or Latin as second foreign language in schools. Italian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, or other languages are also learned in schools (often depending on geographical location).
[edit] References
 |
This language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This Germany-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
|
|||||||||||
