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Definition: German from Philip's Encyclopedia

Indo-European language spoken by c.120 million people in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and by German communities in many other countries. High German (Hochdeutsch), of S Germany and Austria, is now the standard dialect. Low German (Plattdeutsch) was spoken widely in the N, but is now declining.


German language

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages ). It is the official language of Germany and Austria and is one of the official languages of Switzerland. Altogether nearly 100 million people speak German as their first language, among them about 77 million in Germany; 8 million in Austria; 4.5 million in Switzerland; 2 million in the United States and Canada; about 2 million in Latin America; and several additional millions throughout Europe, including the Baltic republics, Belarus, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, and the Balkan states. German is important as a cultural and commercial second language for millions of people in Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe and in North and South America. There are two principal divisions of the German language: High German, or Hochdeutsch , and Low German, or Plattdeutsch. One of the most striking differences between…
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Full text Article German language

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages ). It is the official language of Germany and Austria and is one of the official languages of Switzerland. Altogether nearly 100 million people speak German as their first…
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Full text Article German language

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Member of the Germanic group of the Indo-European language family, the national language of Germany and Austria, and an official language of Switzerland. There are many spoken varieties of German, including High German ( Hochdeutsch ) and Low German ( Plattdeutsch ). ‘High’ and ‘Low’ refer to…
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Full text Article German language

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Official language of Germany and Austria and one of the official languages of Switzerland, used by more than 100 million speakers. It belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . German has four noun cases and masculine, feminine, and neuter genders. Its many dialect s belong to…
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Pages from a German language copy of 'Mirabilia Romae, Historia et Descriptio Urbis Romae' by Pseudo-Aegidius Romanus, possibly published by Ulrich Han, Rome, c.1475 (pen & ink on vellum)
Artist: German School, (15th century) Location: Private Collection Credit: Pages from a German language copy of 'Mirabilia Romae, Historia et Descriptio Urbis Romae' by Pseudo-Aegidius Romanus, possibly published by Ulrich Han, Rome, c.1475 (pen & ink on vellum), German School, (15th century) / …
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Page from a German language copy of 'Mirabilia Romae, Historia et Descriptio Urbis Romae' by Pseudo-Aegidius Romanus, possibly published by Ulrich Han, Rome, c.1475 (woodcut and pen & ink on vellum)
Artist: German School, (15th century) Location: Private Collection Credit: Page from a German language copy of 'Mirabilia Romae, Historia et Descriptio Urbis Romae' by Pseudo-Aegidius Romanus, possibly published by Ulrich Han, Rome, c.1475 (woodcut and pen & ink on vellum), German School, (15th…
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Full text Article German literature

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
works in the German language by German, Austrian, Austro-Hungarian, and Swiss authors, as well as by writers of German in other countries. Heroic legends, among them the Lay of Hildebrand , date from the turn of the 8th cent. to the 9th cent. and are the earliest known works in Old High German (see…
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Full text Article German

From The Chambers Dictionary
a native or citizen of Germany , or one of the same linguistic or ethnological stock ( pl Ger'mans ); the German language, esp High German. adj of or from Germany, or the Germans; German-speaking. [L’ Germānus German] adj marked by German characteristics. /-man'ik/ adj of Germany; of the linguistic…
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Full text Article Humboldt, (Karl) Wilhelm baron von

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born June 22, 1767, Potsdam, Prussia—died April 8, 1835, Tegel, near Berlin) German linguist and educational reformer. The elder brother of Alexander von Humboldt , he held a number of government posts. As minister of education (1809), he raised elementary education standards and was instrumental…
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Full text Article Germany

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Country, north-central Europe. Area: 137,879 sq mi (357,104 sq km). Population: (2016 est.) 81,762,000. Capital: Berlin . The majority of the people are German. Language: German (official). Religions: Christianity (Protestant, Roman Catholic, other Christians); also Islam. Currency: euro. The land…
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Full text Article Rosenzweig, Franz

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born Dec. 25, 1886, Kassel, Ger.—died Dec. 10, 1929, Frankfurt am Main) German existentialist and religious philosopher. As a student at Berlin and Freiburg, he rejected the idealism of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel . He briefly thought of converting to Christianity from Judaism but turned instead…
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