German is spoken by 100 million natives and 100 million non-natives. It is the most widely spoken language in the European Union. A number of the German words are borrowed from Greek and Latin and a few more from French and English. German is closely related to languages such as Luxembourgish, Yiddish, Dutch, the Frisian languages and English.
German is spoken by 100 million natives and 100 million non-natives. It is the most widely spoken language in the European Union. A number of the German words are borrowed from Greek and Latin and a few more from French and English. German is closely related to languages such as Luxembourgish, Yiddish, Dutch, the Frisian languages and English.
German is:
- the official language in Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein
- one of the official languages of Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium and
- a recognized minor language in many countries such as Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Namibia and Poland.
The German language is standardized, but Austria and Switzerland have their own version of the language. The language is written in standard Latin alphabets which totals to 26. It has 3 vowels including 'a', 'o' and 'u'.
Below are a few German phrases that you would be interested in knowing before you visit any German speaking region.
1. Ja, Nein, Danke, Bitte - Yes, No, Thank you, Please...in that order.
2. Guten Morgen, Guten Abend - Good Morning, Good Evening.
3. Mein Name ist... - My name is...
4. Sprechen Sie Englisch? Ich kann kein Deutsch. - Do you speak English? I can't speak German.
5. Ich verstehe nicht - I don't understand.
6. Können Sie das übersetzen? - Can you translate for me?
7. Können Sie langsamer sprechen? - Could you speak slower?
8. Bitte wiederholen Sie! - Please repeat that.
9. Darf ich mir einen Stadtplan ansehen? - May I see a map?
10. Ich gehe zum Park - I am going to the park
If you speak English fluently, German is very easy to learn. Besides, it is almost written the same way as English. If I were you, this is a language I will quickly pick up as I go on to more difficult languages like Russian. The fact that both English and German uses the Latin alphabets makes it even simpler as you do not need to learn new alphabets. Trust me; if you are in any Western country, you will have a lot of practice as there are lots of German speakers, most of whom are native speakers.