Standard German
Encyclopedia
Standard German is the standard variety
of the German language
used as a written language
, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas. Since German is a pluricentric language
, there are different varieties of Standard German.
, developed over a process of several hundred years, in which writers tried to write in a way that was understood in the largest area. Until about 1800, Standard German was almost entirely a written language. In this time, people in Northern Germany
, who mainly spoke Low Saxon dialects very different from Standard German, learned it almost like a foreign language. However, later the Northern pronunciation (of Standard German) was considered standard and spread southward; in some regions (such as around Hanover
) the local dialect has completely died out with the exception of small communities of Low German speakers. It is thus the spread of Standard German as a language taught at school that defines the German Sprachraum
, i.e. a political decision rather than a direct consequence of dialect geography, allowing areas with dialects of very limited mutual comprehensibility to participate in the same cultural sphere albeit used mainly in informal situations or at home and also including dialect literature, and more recently a resurgence of German dialects in mass media.
are called dialect
s, not the different varieties of standard German. The latter are known as Umgangssprachen and in the territory of Germany
began to replace the traditional dialects beginning in the nineteenth century. They constitute a mixture of old dialectal elements with Standard German.
In German, Standard German is often called , a somewhat misleading term since it collides with the linguistic term High German
. ("high") in the term for the standard language refers to "high" in a cultural or educational sense, while in the linguistic term it simply refers to the geography of the German speaking regions in Central Europe; High German of the southern uplands and the Alps (including Austria
, Switzerland
and parts of northern Italy
as well as southern Germany) contrasting with Low German
spoken in the lowlands stretching towards the North Sea
. To avoid this confusion, some refer to Standard German as ("standard German"), ("German standard language"), or if the context of the German language is clear, simply ("standard language"). Traditionally, though, the language spoken in the high mountainous areas of southern Germany is referred to as ("Upper German"), while remains the common term for the standard language.
. Additionally, there are linguists who think that there are different varieties of standard German within Germany. Linguistic research of the different varieties of standard German has for the most part only begun in the 1990s, and especially in Austria and in Switzerland. During the existence of the German Democratic Republic
, there were occasional studies about whether there were differences between the standard varieties of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic
. The German federal state of Bavaria has promoted language diversity in the past in an effort to preserve its unique culture.
The different varieties of standard German (Austrian, Swiss and Germany Standard) differ only in a few features, especially in vocabulary
and pronunciation
, but even in some instances of grammar
and orthography
. In the written language, it may be hard or even impossible to tell what variety of standard German has been used, though in the spoken language, the different varieties of standard German are easily recognized by most speakers.
The variation of the standard German varieties must not be confused with the variation of the local German dialects
. Even though the standard German varieties are to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. All varieties of standard German are based on the common tradition of the written German language, whereas the local dialects have their own historical roots that go further back than the unification of the written language and in the case of Low German belong to a different language entirely.
Although Luxembourgish
is no longer considered a German dialect today but a language, the situation can be compared to that of Switzerland. Standard German is also taught in schools in Luxembourg and close to 90% of the population can speak it.
– originally intended only for the field of theatre and movies ( = stage). In Siebs' pronunciation, the phoneme /r/ was given a pronunciation of [r], while regional variants are permissible in contemporary Standard German. In many ways the pronunciation is derived from the Low German
pronunciation, for example, the written suffix "-ig" is given the pronunciation identical to "-ich," which is contrary to common usage in southern parts of the German dialect continuum that pronounce it like "-ik" or western ones that pronounce it like "-isch." Modern pronunciation differs in some aspects from Siebs' description and the current state is commonly recorded in the Duden
series (volume 4: – The Pronunciation Dictionary).
of 1534. In consequence, the written language of the chancery of Saxony-Wittenberg rose in importance in the course of the 17th century, and the 1665 revision of the Zürich Bible
abandoned its Alemannic
idiom in favour of this standard.
The First Orthographical Conference (I. Orthographische Konferenz) was called in 1876 by the government of Prussia
. Since Prussia was by far the largest state in the German Empire
, its regulations also influenced spelling elsewhere.
Konrad Duden
published the first edition of his dictionary, later simply known as the Duden
, in 1880. The first spelling reform
, based on Duden's work, came into effect in 1901. The orthographical standards predating 1901 are now known as "classical orthography" (Klassische deutsche Rechtschreibung), while the conventions in effect from 1901 to 1998 are summarized as "old orthography" (Alte deutsche Rechtschreibung). A failed attempt at another reform dates to 1944, delayed on the order of Hitler and not taken back up after the end of the World War II
. In the following decades German spelling was essentially decided de facto by the editors of the Duden dictionaries. After the war, this tradition was followed with two different centers: Mannheim
in West Germany
and Leipzig
in East Germany. By the early 1950s, a few other publishing houses had begun to attack the Duden monopoly in the West by putting out their own dictionaries, which did not always hold to the "official" spellings prescribed by Duden. In response, the Ministers of Culture of the federal states in West Germany officially declared the Duden spellings to be binding as of November, 1955.
From 1996, another reform
was attempted, based on an international agreement signed by the governments of the German
-speaking countries Germany
, Austria
, Liechtenstein
, and Switzerland
. The acceptance of the reform was limited. While, , most German print media use rules that to a large extent comply with the reform, some newspapers, such as Die Zeit
, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, or Süddeutsche Zeitung, created their own in-house orthographies.
In 2006, there was a final revision of the spelling reform because there were disagreements like capitalizing or separating German words. Also revised were the rules governing punctuation marks.
Standard language
A standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...
of the German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
used as a written language
Written language
A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages....
, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas. Since German is a pluricentric language
Pluricentric language
A pluricentric language is a language with several standard versions, both in spoken and in written forms. This situation usually arises when language and the national identity of its native speakers do not, or did not, coincide.-English:...
, there are different varieties of Standard German.
Origins
Standard German originated not as a traditional dialect of a specific region, but as a written languageWritten language
A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages....
, developed over a process of several hundred years, in which writers tried to write in a way that was understood in the largest area. Until about 1800, Standard German was almost entirely a written language. In this time, people in Northern Germany
Northern Germany
- Geography :The key terrain features of North Germany are the marshes along the coastline of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and the geest and heaths inland. Also prominent are the low hills of the Baltic Uplands, the ground moraines, end moraines, sandur, glacial valleys, bogs, and Luch...
, who mainly spoke Low Saxon dialects very different from Standard German, learned it almost like a foreign language. However, later the Northern pronunciation (of Standard German) was considered standard and spread southward; in some regions (such as around Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
) the local dialect has completely died out with the exception of small communities of Low German speakers. It is thus the spread of Standard German as a language taught at school that defines the German Sprachraum
Sprachraum
Sprachraum is a linguistic term used to designate a geographical region/district where a language, dialect, group or family of languages is spoken. The German word Sprachraum literally means "language area"....
, i.e. a political decision rather than a direct consequence of dialect geography, allowing areas with dialects of very limited mutual comprehensibility to participate in the same cultural sphere albeit used mainly in informal situations or at home and also including dialect literature, and more recently a resurgence of German dialects in mass media.
Terminology
In German linguistics, only the traditional regional varieties of GermanGerman dialects
German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
are called dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s, not the different varieties of standard German. The latter are known as Umgangssprachen and in the territory of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
began to replace the traditional dialects beginning in the nineteenth century. They constitute a mixture of old dialectal elements with Standard German.
In German, Standard German is often called , a somewhat misleading term since it collides with the linguistic term High German
High German languages
The High German languages or the High German dialects are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and Yiddish, as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighboring portions of Belgium and the...
. ("high") in the term for the standard language refers to "high" in a cultural or educational sense, while in the linguistic term it simply refers to the geography of the German speaking regions in Central Europe; High German of the southern uplands and the Alps (including Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and parts of northern Italy
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
as well as southern Germany) contrasting with Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
spoken in the lowlands stretching towards the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. To avoid this confusion, some refer to Standard German as ("standard German"), ("German standard language"), or if the context of the German language is clear, simply ("standard language"). Traditionally, though, the language spoken in the high mountainous areas of southern Germany is referred to as ("Upper German"), while remains the common term for the standard language.
Pluricentricity
Standard German differs regionally. The most accepted distinction is between different national varieties of standard German: Austrian Standard German, Germany Standard German and Swiss Standard GermanSwiss Standard German
Swiss Standard German, referred to by the Swiss as Schriftdeutsch, or Hochdeutsch, is one of four official languages in Switzerland, besides French, Italian and Romansh...
. Additionally, there are linguists who think that there are different varieties of standard German within Germany. Linguistic research of the different varieties of standard German has for the most part only begun in the 1990s, and especially in Austria and in Switzerland. During the existence of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, there were occasional studies about whether there were differences between the standard varieties of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. The German federal state of Bavaria has promoted language diversity in the past in an effort to preserve its unique culture.
The different varieties of standard German (Austrian, Swiss and Germany Standard) differ only in a few features, especially in vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
and pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
, but even in some instances of grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
and orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
. In the written language, it may be hard or even impossible to tell what variety of standard German has been used, though in the spoken language, the different varieties of standard German are easily recognized by most speakers.
The variation of the standard German varieties must not be confused with the variation of the local German dialects
German dialects
German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
. Even though the standard German varieties are to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. All varieties of standard German are based on the common tradition of the written German language, whereas the local dialects have their own historical roots that go further back than the unification of the written language and in the case of Low German belong to a different language entirely.
Continuum between standard German and German dialects
In most regions, the speakers use a continuum of mixtures from more dialectical varieties to more standard varieties according to situation. However, there are two exceptions:- In Northern Germany, there is no such continuum between the local indigenous languages and dialects of Low GermanLow GermanLow German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
varieties and standard German. Low German speakers only constitute a small minority. - In German-speaking SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, there is no such continuum between the Swiss GermanSwiss GermanSwiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
varieties and Swiss Standard GermanSwiss Standard GermanSwiss Standard German, referred to by the Swiss as Schriftdeutsch, or Hochdeutsch, is one of four official languages in Switzerland, besides French, Italian and Romansh...
, and the use of standard German is almost entirely restricted to the written language. Therefore, this situation has been called a medial diglossiaDiglossiaIn linguistics, diglossia refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety , a second, highly codified variety is used in certain situations such as literature, formal...
. Standard German is rarely spoken, and even then the accent and vocabulary is very much Swiss, except for instance when speaking with people who do not understand the Swiss GermanSwiss GermanSwiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...
dialects at all, and it is expected to be used in school. Standard German has, however, left a clear imprint on the contemporary variants of Swiss German, regional expressions and vocabulary having been replaced with material assimilated from the standard language. Of all the German-speaking countries Switzerland has however retained its ability to use dialect in everyday situations, also a commonplace phenomenon in southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Alsace, and South Tyrol. The fairly common aspect of dialect use in Swiss media (both radio, internet, and television), which ranges from uncommon to rare in the media of Austria, Germany, East Belgium, South Tyrol and Liechtenstein, makes Switzerland a special case.
Although Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish language
Luxembourgish is a High German language spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 320,000 people worldwide speak Luxembourgish.-Language family:...
is no longer considered a German dialect today but a language, the situation can be compared to that of Switzerland. Standard German is also taught in schools in Luxembourg and close to 90% of the population can speak it.
Phonology
Pronunciation of Standard German was first prescribed in 1898 in the Deutsche Bühnenaussprache of Theodor SiebsTheodor Siebs
Theodor Siebs was a German linguist most remembered today as the author of Deutsche Bühnenaussprache published in 1898...
– originally intended only for the field of theatre and movies ( = stage). In Siebs' pronunciation, the phoneme /r/ was given a pronunciation of [r], while regional variants are permissible in contemporary Standard German. In many ways the pronunciation is derived from the Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
pronunciation, for example, the written suffix "-ig" is given the pronunciation identical to "-ich," which is contrary to common usage in southern parts of the German dialect continuum that pronounce it like "-ik" or western ones that pronounce it like "-isch." Modern pronunciation differs in some aspects from Siebs' description and the current state is commonly recorded in the Duden
Duden
The Duden is a German dictionary, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880.Currently the Duden is in its 25th edition and published in 12 volumes, each covering different aspects like loan words, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms, etc...
series (volume 4: – The Pronunciation Dictionary).
Orthography
A first standardization, although non-prescriptive, of Early Modern High German was introduced by the Luther BibleLuther Bible
The Luther Bible is a German Bible translation by Martin Luther, first printed with both testaments in 1534. This translation became a force in shaping the Modern High German language. The project absorbed Luther's later years. The new translation was very widely disseminated thanks to the printing...
of 1534. In consequence, the written language of the chancery of Saxony-Wittenberg rose in importance in the course of the 17th century, and the 1665 revision of the Zürich Bible
Zürich Bible
The Zürich Bible is a Bible translation historically based on the translation by Huldrych Zwingli. Recent editions have the stated aim of maximal philological exactitude.-Froschau Bible:...
abandoned its Alemannic
Alemannic German
Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...
idiom in favour of this standard.
The First Orthographical Conference (I. Orthographische Konferenz) was called in 1876 by the government of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. Since Prussia was by far the largest state in the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, its regulations also influenced spelling elsewhere.
Konrad Duden
Konrad Duden
Konrad Alexander Friedrich Duden was a Gymnasium teacher who became a philologist. He founded the well-known German language dictionary bearing his name Duden.- Life :...
published the first edition of his dictionary, later simply known as the Duden
Duden
The Duden is a German dictionary, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880.Currently the Duden is in its 25th edition and published in 12 volumes, each covering different aspects like loan words, etymology, pronunciation, synonyms, etc...
, in 1880. The first spelling reform
Spelling reform
Many languages have undergone spelling reform, where a deliberate, often officially sanctioned or mandated, change to spelling takes place. Proposals for such reform are also common....
, based on Duden's work, came into effect in 1901. The orthographical standards predating 1901 are now known as "classical orthography" (Klassische deutsche Rechtschreibung), while the conventions in effect from 1901 to 1998 are summarized as "old orthography" (Alte deutsche Rechtschreibung). A failed attempt at another reform dates to 1944, delayed on the order of Hitler and not taken back up after the end of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the following decades German spelling was essentially decided de facto by the editors of the Duden dictionaries. After the war, this tradition was followed with two different centers: Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in East Germany. By the early 1950s, a few other publishing houses had begun to attack the Duden monopoly in the West by putting out their own dictionaries, which did not always hold to the "official" spellings prescribed by Duden. In response, the Ministers of Culture of the federal states in West Germany officially declared the Duden spellings to be binding as of November, 1955.
From 1996, another reform
German spelling reform of 1996
The German orthography reform of 1996 was an attempt to simplify the spelling of the German language and thus to make it easier to learn, without substantially changing the rules familiar to all living users of the language....
was attempted, based on an international agreement signed by the governments of the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking countries Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The acceptance of the reform was limited. While, , most German print media use rules that to a large extent comply with the reform, some newspapers, such as Die Zeit
Die Zeit
Die Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, or Süddeutsche Zeitung, created their own in-house orthographies.
In 2006, there was a final revision of the spelling reform because there were disagreements like capitalizing or separating German words. Also revised were the rules governing punctuation marks.
See also
- German languageGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
- History of the German language
- Standard languageStandard languageA standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...