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German is mainly spoken in Germany (95%), Austria (89%) and Switzerland (64%) along with Liechtenstein, Luxembourg constituting the countries where German is the most popular language. Other European German-speaking communities are found in Italy, the East Cantons of Belgium, and in some border villages of the former South Jutland County of Denmark. Some German-speaking communities still survive in parts of Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Russia and Kazakhstan. After WWII many of these communities in Russia were forced out. It is also spoken by foreign populations and some of their descendants in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Siberia in Russia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia. In Luxembourg, large parts of the population speak German dialects, as well as standard German. In the French regions of Alsace (German: Elsass) and Lorraine (German: Lothringen) French eventually replaced the local German dialects as the official language, although it is still spoken on the street. Historically, German began with the High German consonant shift of the migration period, which seperated High German dialects from West Germanic. The earliest evidence of Old High German are from scattered Elder Futhark inscriptions, particularily in Alemannic, from the 6th century, the earliest glosses (Abrogans) date to the 8th and the oldest coherent texts (the Hildebrandslied, the Muspilli and the Merseburg Incantations) to the 9th century. Old Saxon belongs to the North Sea Germanic cultural sphere, and Low Saxon falls under German rather than Anglo influence during the Holy Roman Empire. Initially Germany was a series of small states, and the only way German became standardized was from the writers desire to be understood by the most possible people in the area. Therefore, standard German originated as a written language, not regional dialects (due to the influence of the writers). But, there are places where the regional dialects have been replaced by standard German; most of Northern Germany, as well as cities serve as a major example of this. Standard German differs regionally, between German-speaking countries, mostly in vocabulary, but also somewhat in pronunciation, grammar and orthography. This variation is not to be confused with local dialects. Although regional varieties of standard German are, to a certain degree, influenced by local dialects, they are very identifiable. As a result, German is considered a pluricentric language. In most regions, the speakers use mixtures from more dialectical varieties to more standard varieties depending on the situation. In the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, mixtures of dialect and standard are very seldom used, and the use of standard German is largely restricted to the written language. Therefore, this situation has been called a medial diglossia. Swiss Standard German is only spoken with people who do not understand the Swiss German dialects at all. It is expected to be used in school. German was once the lingua franca of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe and is still one of the most popular foreign languages in Europe. 32% of citizens of the Union say they can speak German. This is helped by the widespread availability of German TV by cable or satellite. German is the main language of about 90–95 million people in Europe (as of 2004), or 13.3% of all Europeans, being the second most spoken native language in Europe after Russian, above French (66.5 million speakers in 2004) and English (64.2 million speakers in 2004). German is the third most taught foreign language worldwide, including the United States; it is the second most known foreign language in the EU. It is one of the official languages of the European Union, and one of the three working languages of the European Commission, along with English and French. Start Today! There is no time like the present, and never have so many resources been at your disposal for learning a foreign language. Check out the links and descriptions below to find a program that fits your needs.
German Learning Resources on the Web
German SoftwareRosetta Stone V3: German, Level 1, 2 & 3 The excellent Rosetta Stone program (see Review). Find out if Rosetta Stone products are right for your learning needs German basics by Living Language - see Review for complete details! German Books and AudioClick on the above link for a full review! Penton Overseas Playaway German See our review of this German Language course, wrapped in an innovative hardware solution.
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The German language is a Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. German is related to and categorized with English and Dutch. Globally, German has ~100 million native speakers and about ~80 million non-native speakers. Standard German is taught in schools and universities all over Europe. 
