- published: 03 Nov 2009
- views: 194894
- author: DAADBonn
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Adelaide
Adelaide (
/ˈædəleɪd/) is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million. The demonym "Adelaidean" is used in reference to the city and its residents. Adelaide is located north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city. Adelaide stretches 20 km (12 mi) from the coast to the foothills, and 90 km (56 mi) from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south.
Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely settled British province in Australia.Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people. Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by parkland. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties, which led to the moniker "City of Churches".
wn.com/Adelaide -
Alberta
Alberta /ælˈbɜrtə/ is a province of Canada. It had a population of 3,645,257 in 2011, making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces. Alberta and its neighbour, Saskatchewan, were established as provinces on September 1, 1905.
Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the US state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state and is also one of only two provinces that are landlocked.
Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, is located near the geographic centre of the province and is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. Approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of the capital is Calgary, Alberta's largest city and a major distribution and transportation hub. Calgary and Edmonton centre Alberta's two census metropolitan areas, both of which have populations exceeding 1 million.Census agglomerations in the province include Lethbridge, Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Wood Buffalo (includes Fort McMurray), Grande Prairie, Lloydminster, Okotoks, Brooks, Camrose, Cold Lake, High River, Sylvan Lake, Wetaskiwin, Strathmore, Canmore, and Lacombe. Notable tourist destinations in the province include Canmore, Sylvan Lake, Drumheller, Banff, and Jasper.
wn.com/Alberta -
Alsace
Alsace (French: Alsace [alzas]; Alsatian: Elsàss [ˈɛlsɑs]; German: Elsass, pre-1996: Elsaß, IPA: [ˈɛlzas]; Latin: Alsatia) is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area (8,280 km²), and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km² (total population in 2006: 1,815,488; 1 January 2008 estimate: 1,836,000). Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. The political, economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg. Because that city is the seat of dozens of international organizations and bodies, Alsace is politically one of the most important regions in the European Union.
The name "Alsace" can be traced back to the Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, meaning "foreign domain". An alternative explanation derives it from a Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "seated on the Ill", a river in Alsace. The region was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV and made one of the provinces of France. Alsace is frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because German possession of parts of these two régions (as the imperial province Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries, during which Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany in 75 years.
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Americas
The Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World.
In the English language, the Americas refers to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, whereas America, in current usage, usually refers to the United States of America.
The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.4% of its land area) and contain about 13.5% of the human population (about 900 million people).
The specifics of Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the exact dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that these early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000–17,000 years ago, when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation. These people are believed to have followed herds of now-extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Another route proposed is that, either on foot or using primitive boats, they migrated down the Pacific Northwest coast to South America. Evidence of the latter would since have been covered by a sea level rise of hundreds of meters following the last ice age.
wn.com/Americas -
Argentina
Argentina
i/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
wn.com/Australia -
Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈbaɪ.ɐn] ( listen)), is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of 70,548 square kilometres (27,200 sq mi), it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany. Bavaria is Germany's second most populous state (after North Rhine-Westphalia), with 12.5 million inhabitants, more than any of the three sovereign states on its borders. Bavaria's capital is Munich.
One of the oldest states of Europe, it was established as a duchy in the mid first millennium. In the 17th century, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. The Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, and Bavaria has since been a free state (republic). Modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia and Swabia.
The Bavarians emerged in a region north of the Alps, originally inhabited by the Gauls, which had been part of the Roman provinces of Raetia and Noricum. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, probably did not migrate from elsewhere. Rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, Heruli. The name "Bavarian" ("Baiuvarii") means "Men of Baia" which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources c. 520. Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early-8th century. Bavaria was, for the most part, unaffected by the Protestant Reformation.
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Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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Berlin, Wisconsin
Berlin is a city in Green Lake and Waushara Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,305 at the 2000 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Berlin in Green Lake County; only a small portion of the city extends into the Town of Aurora in Waushara County.
Berlin is located at 43°58′11″N 88°56′55″W / 43.96972°N 88.94861°W / 43.96972; -88.94861 (43.969732, −88.948717).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²), of which, 6.0 square miles (15.5 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (5.23%) is water.
Area residents put the accent on the first syllable of Berlin, /ˈbɜrlɪn/, rather than on the second. It has been said that this was in reaction to the anti-German sentiment that swept across the United States during World War I, and that the accent was previously on the second syllable. The town was originally named Strong's Landing.
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,305 people, 2,170 households, and 1,425 families residing in the city. The population density was 887.4 people per square mile (342.5/km²). There were 2,391 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile (154.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.70% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.47% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 4.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (i/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.
wn.com/Bolivia -
Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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British Columbia
British Columbiai/ˌbrɪtɪʃ kəˈlʌmbiə/ (B.C. or BC) (French: la Colombie-Britannique, C.-B.) is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without Diminishment"). Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858. In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.
As well as being the westernmost province of Western Canada, British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest, along with the US states of Oregon and Washington. The province has strong cultural and personal ties to the Prairie Provinces and Ontario as well as to the West Coast of the United States and to Alaska and the Yukon.
The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, and the second largest in the Pacific Northwest. In 2009, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,419,974 (about two and a half million of whom were in Greater Vancouver). The province is currently governed by the BC Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, who became leader as a result of the party election on February 26, 2011.
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Buda
Buda (German: Ofen, Turkish Budin) is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.
Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's complete territory and is mostly wooded and hilly. Notable landmarks include the Buda Castle and the Citadella.
While Pest was mostly Hungarian in the 15th century, Buda had a German majority. Germans — also clinging to their language — partly crowded out, partly assimilated the Hungarians and Serbians they have found here. With the rural population moving in the capital city, in the 19th century slowly Hungarians became the majority in Buda too.
Coordinates: 47°28′N 19°03′E / 47.467°N 19.05°E / 47.467; 19.05
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Budapest
Budapest ( /ˈbuːdəpɛst/, /ˈbuːdəpɛʃt/ or /ˈbʊdəpɛst/; Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbudɒpɛʃt] ( listen); names in other languages) is the capital and the largest city of Hungary, the largest in East-Central Europe and the seventh largest in the European Union. It is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre, sometimes described as the primate city of Hungary. According to 2011 Census, Budapest had 1.74 million inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2.1 million due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter Area is home to 3.3 million people. The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres (202.7 sq mi) within the city limits. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of west-bank Buda and Óbuda with east-bank Pest.
The history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia.Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century. Their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241-42. The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, development of the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873 unification. It also became the second capital of Austria-Hungary, a great power that dissolved in 1918. After the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, when Hungary lost 72% of its former territory, culturally and economically the country became wholly Budapest-dominated. The capital dominates the country both by the size of its population—which dwarfs those of Hungary's other cities Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944, the Battle of Budapest of 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Carinthia (state)
Carinthia (German: Kärnten, German pronunciation: [ˈkɛɐ̯ntn̩] ( listen), Slovene: Koroška, pronounciation (help·info), Croatian: Koruška) is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.
The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Austro-Bavarian group.
Carinthia's main industries are tourism, electronics, engineering, forestry and agriculture. The multinational corporations Philips and Siemens have large operations there.
The name is thought to be Celtic in origin, though two roots have been proposed:
Carantania is also related to the old Slovenian Korotan, from which the modern name Koroška arose, and it derives from pre-Slavic "carantia".
Carinthia consists mostly of the Klagenfurt basin and the mountain ranges of Upper Carinthia. The Carnic Alps and the Karawanken/Karavanke make up the border to the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Slovenia. The Hohe Tauern mountain range with mount Grossglockner 3,797 m (12,457.35 ft) separates it from the northern state of Salzburg. To the north-east and east beyond the Packsattel mountain pass is the state of Styria (German: Steiermark, Slovenian: Štajerska). The main river is the Drau (Drava), it makes up a continuous valley with the East Tyrol to the west. Tributaries to the Drau are the Gurk, the Glan, the Lavant and the Gail rivers. Carinthia's lakes including Wörther See, Millstätter See, Ossiacher See and Faaker See are a major tourist attraction.
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Chicago
Chicago (
i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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Chihuahua (state)
Chihuahua (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃiˈwawa]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Chihuahua), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Its capital city is Chihuahua.
It is located in Northwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the southwest, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east. To the north and northeast, it has a long line with the U.S.–Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas.
Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, with a mainland area of 247,455 square kilometres (95,543 sq mi), it is slightly larger than the United Kingdom. It is consequently known under the nickname El Estado Grande ("The Big State").
Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with the Chihuahuan Desert for namesake, it has more forests than any other state in Mexico. Due to its variant climate the state has a large variety of fauna and flora. The state is mostly characterized by rugged mountainous terrain and wide river valleys. The Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, an extension of the Rocky Mountains, dominates the state's terrain and is home to the state's greatest attraction, Las Barrancas del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. On the slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains (around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the state's agricultural production. Most of the inhabitants live along the Rio Grande Valley and the Conchos River Valley.
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Chile
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
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Cincinnati
Cincinnati (pronounced /sɪnsɨˈnæti/) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. Settled in 1788, the city is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits was 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's third-largest city. According to the 2011 Census Bureau estimate, the Cincinnati metropolitan area had a population of 2,138,038, the 27th most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States, and the most populous in Ohio. Residents of Cincinnati are called Cincinnatians.
In the early 19th century, Cincinnati was the first American boomtown in the heart of the country to rival the larger coastal cities in size and wealth. As the first major inland city in the country, it is sometimes thought of as the first purely American city. It developed initially without as much recent European immigration or influence as took place in eastern cities. However, by the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads, Cincinnati's growth had slowed considerably and the city became surpassed in population and prominence by another inland city, Chicago.
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.
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Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (i/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
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Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides. The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Durango
Durango (Spanish pronunciation: [duˈɾaŋɡo]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Durango (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur. The city of Victoria de Durango is the state's capital, named after the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria.
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Ecatepec de Morelos
Ecatepec City, once officially San Cristóbal Ecatepec de Morelos, is a city in the State of Mexico and the seat of Ecatepec de Morelos Municipality; however, both the city and the municipality are often known simply as "Ecatepec". The name "Ecatepec" is derived from Nahuatl, and means "windy hill" or "hill devoted to Ehecatl". It was also an alternative name or invocation to Quetzalcoatl. "Morelos" is the last name of José María Morelos, a hero of the Mexican War of Independence.
The city is practically co-extensive with the municipality with the city's 2005 population of 1,687,549 being 99.9% of the total municipal population of 1,688,258. The provisional population at the 2010 Census was 1,658,806. The city forms the most populous suburb of Mexico City (Ciudad de México).
"San Cristóbal" (Saint Christopher) is the city's patron saint, whose feast day is celebrated on July 25 of each year.
Points of interest include the newest Catholic Cathedral in Mexico, Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, several colonial era churches and the colonel edifice Casa de los virreyes.
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Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo (Portuguese pronunciation: [esˈpiɾitu ˈsɐ̃tu]) is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity. With an extensive coastline (40% of the territory is on the coast), the state has some of the country's main ports but the beaches are the best tourist attractions. Vitória, the capital, is on an island, next to Guarapari, well known by its sands. In the extreme north is the Itaúnas part of the municipality of Conceição da Barra, whose sand dunes and forró are famous. Also on the coast, the typical gastronomy is another attraction with the moquecas capixabas and many fruits from the ocean and seafood. In the country of the state there are many natural beauties, such as the parks of Pedra Azul and Alto Caparaó, and the Italian and German colonies.
With 46,180 square kilometers (17,830 sq mi), it is about the size of Estonia, or half the size of Portugal, and has a variety of habitats including coastal planes, lakes, mountainous forests, mangroves and many others.
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European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.
The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "commissioners" ). There is one member per member state, though members are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Durão Barroso) proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament. The Council then appoints the other 26 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and then the 27 members as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The first Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 and its successor, under the same President, took office in 2010.
The term "Commission" is used either in the narrow sense of the 27-member College of Commissioners (or College) or to also include the administrative body of about 23,000 European civil servants who are split into departments called Directorates-General and Services. The internal working languages of the Commission are English, French and German. The Members of the Commission and their "cabinets" (immediate teams) are based in the Berlaymont building of Brussels.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), 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. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa]) is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area includes seven adjacent municipalities with a reported population of 4,328,584 in 2009, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Mexico, behind Mexico City. The municipality is the second most densely populated area in Mexico; the first being Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl in State of Mexico.
The city's economy is based on industry, especially information technology with a large number of international firms having manufacturing facilities in the Guadalajara Metro Area. Other, more traditional industries, such as shoes, textiles and food processing are also important contributing factors. Guadalajara is the cultural center of Mexico, considered by most to be the home of Mariachi music and host to a number of large-scale cultural events such as the International Film Festival of Guadalajara and the Guadalajara International Book Fair and a number of globally renowned cultural events which draw international crowds. It is also home to the Chivas football/soccer team, one of the two most popular in Mexico. This city was named American Capital of Culture in 2005. Guadalajara hosted the 2011 Pan American Games and is currently bidding to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
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Hungary
Hungaryi/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).
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Iowa
Iowa (i/ˈaɪ.əwə/) is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New France. After the Louisiana Purchase, settlers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt. Iowa is often known as the "Food Capital of the World".
In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowa's agricultural economy transitioned to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, biotechnology, and green energy production. Iowa is the 26th most extensive and the 30th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital and largest city is Des Moines. Iowa has been listed as one of the safest states to live in.
Iowa is bordered by the Mississippi River on the east; the Missouri River and the Big Sioux River on the west; the northern boundary is a line along 43 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The southern border is the Des Moines River and a not-quite-straight line along approximately 40 degrees 35 minutes north, as decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. Iowa after a standoff between Missouri and Iowa known as the Honey War.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Kansas
Kansas (i/ˈkænzəs/) is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was probably not the term's original meaning. Residents of Kansas are called "Kansans."
For thousands of years what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the Eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the Western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. Kansas was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine if Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists eventually prevailed and on January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly, when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. Today, Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, sorghum and sunflowers. Kansas is the 15th most extensive and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States.
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
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Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener ( /ˈkɪtʃɨnər/) is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 219,153 in the 2011 Census. The metropolitan area, which includes the neighbouring cities of Waterloo and Cambridge, has 477,160 people, making it the tenth largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Canada and the fourth largest CMA in Ontario.. The city is adjacent to the smaller cities of Cambridge to the south, and Waterloo to the north. Kitchener and Waterloo are often referred to jointly as "Kitchener-Waterloo" (K-W), although they have separate municipal governments. Including Cambridge, the three cities are known as "the tri-cities".
The City of Kitchener covers an area of 136.86 square kilometres.
Kitchener is located in Southwestern Ontario,in the Saint Lawrence Lowlands. This geological and climatic region has wet-climate soils and deciduous forests. Located in the Grand River Valley, the area is generally above 300m (1000') in elevation.
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Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (i/ˈlɪktənstaɪn/ LIK-tən-styn; German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein, German pronunciation: [ˈfʏʁstn̩tuːm ˈlɪçtn̩ʃtaɪn]) 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 160 square kilometres (62 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan. Liechtenstein has the highest gross domestic product per person in the world when adjusted by purchasing power parity, and has the world's lowest external debt. Liechtenstein also has the second lowest unemployment rate in the world at 1.5% (Monaco is first).
Liechtenstein is the smallest yet the richest (by measure of GDP per capita) German-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within the Alps. It is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince. Liechtenstein is divided into 11 municipalities. Much of its terrain is mountainous, making it a winter sports destination. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterize its landscape both in the south (Oberland, upper land) and in the north (Unterland, lower land). The country has a strong financial sector located in the capital, Vaduz, and has been identified as a tax haven. It is a member of the European Free Trade Association and part of the European Economic Area, the Schengen Area but not of the European Union.
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Ljubljana
Ljubljana (locally: [lʲubˈlʲana] (
listen); German: Laibach, Italian: Lubiana, Latin: Labacum or Aemona) is the capital of Slovenia and its only centre of international importance. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. With approximately 272,000 inhabitants, it classifies as the only Slovenian large town. Throughout its history, it has been influenced by its geographic position at the crossroads of the Slavic world with the Germanic and Latin cultures.
For centuries, Ljubljana was the capital of the historical region of Carniola. Now it is the cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative centre of Slovenia, independent since 1991. Its transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and cultural tradition are contributing factors to its leading position.
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Lorraine (region)
Lorraine (French pronunciation: [lɔʁɛn]; Lorrain: Louréne; Lorraine Franconian: Lottringe; German: Lothringen) is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated. The region's name is derived from the medieval Lotharingia.
The region consists of four departments: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle and Vosges and contains 2,337 communes.
The borders of the area called Lorraine changed much in its long history. In 843, Charlemagne had died, and the Holy Roman Empire was divided among his three grandsons. One of them was Lothair, and his realm, reaching from Frisia to Rome, was called Lotharingia. In 870, it was decided that the realm should be a duchy within the kingdom of East Francia. In 962, when Otto the Great restored the Empire (restauratio imperii), Lorraine remained a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire until 1766.
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Louisiana
Louisiana (i/luːˌiːziˈænə/ or i/ˌluːziˈænə/; French: État de Louisiane, [lwizjan] ( listen); Louisiana Creole: Léta de la Lwizyàn) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, and the largest by land area is Cameron Parish.
Much of the state was formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas. These support an exceptionally large number of plant species including many species of orchids and carnivorus plants.
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg (i/ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-burg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg, Dutch: Groothertogdom Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland ("good country") in the south. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi). A representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is ruled by a grand duke. It is now the world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the world's highest GDP (nominal) per capita according to the IMF. Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a Roman era fortress site and Frankish count's castle site in the Early Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish Road when Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole western hemisphere and beyond in the 16th–17th centuries.
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Manitoba
Manitobai/ˌmænəˈtoʊbə/ is a Canadian prairie province. The province, with an area of 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi), has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other major industries are transportation, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy, and tourism.
Manitoba's capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is Canada's eighth-largest Census Metropolitan Area, and home to 60 percent of the population of the province. Winnipeg is the seat of government, home to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the highest court in the jurisdiction, the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Four of the province's five universities, all four of its professional sports teams, and most of its cultural activities are located in Winnipeg.
Fur traders first arrived during the late 17th century. Manitoba became a province of Canada in 1870 after the Red River Rebellion. A general strike took place in Winnipeg in 1919, and the province was hit hard by the Great Depression. This led to the creation of what would become the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, one of the province's major political parties and currently in power, led by premier Greg Selinger.
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Mazatlán
Mazatlán (Spanish pronunciation: [maθaˈtɬan], locally: [masaˈtɬan] ( listen)) is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio (municipality) for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at 23°13′N 106°25′W / 23.217°N 106.417°W / 23.217; -106.417 on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.
Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of the deer.". The city was founded in 1531 by an army of Spaniards and Indian settlers. By the mid-19th century a large group of immigrants had arrived from Germany. These new citizens developed Mazatlán into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. The German settlers also influenced the local music, banda, which is an alteration of Bavarian folk music. The settlers also established the Pacifico Brewery on March 14, 1900.
With a population of 438,434 (city) and 489,987 (municipality) as of the 2010 census, Mazatlán is the second-largest city in the state. It is also a popular tourist destination, with its beaches lined with resort hotels. A car ferry plies its trade across the Gulf of California from Mazatlán to La Paz, Baja California Sur. The municipality has a land area of 3,068.48 km² (1,184.75 sq mi) and includes smaller outlying communities such as Villa Unión, La Noria, El Quelite, El Habal and many other small villages. Mazatlán is served by Gral. Rafael Buelna International Airport.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Mexico City
Mexico City ( /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ ˈsɪti/; Spanish: Ciudad de México [sjuˈðað ðe ˈmexiko], also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
As an "alpha" global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people, and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.
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Milan
Milan (Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] ( listen); Lombard: [miˈlan]; Latin: Mediolanum) is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy as well as of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in EU and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of approximately 5 million. The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper, following the Italian economic miracle of 1950s–60s and massive commuting flows, suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limits and its agglomeration, creating a region of approximately 9,3 million people. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. Its health care and education system is considered one of the best of Europe.
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Milwaukee
Milwaukee /mɪlˈwɔːkiː/ is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States, and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the City of Milwaukee has a population of 594,833. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area with a population of 1,751,316 as of 2010. Milwaukee is also the regional center of the seven county Greater Milwaukee Area, with an estimated population of 2,014,032 as of 2008.
The first Europeans to pass through the area were French missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, the French-Canadian explorer Solomon Juneau settled in the area, and in 1846 Juneau's town combined with two neighboring towns to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee. Large numbers of German and other immigrants helped increase the city's population during the 1840s and the following decades.
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Minnesota
Minnesota (i/mɪnɨˈsoʊtə/) is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11, 1858. Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes", the state's name comes from a Dakota word for "sky-tinted water". Those waters, together with forests, parks, and wilderness areas, offer residents and tourists a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.
Minnesota is the 12th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the U.S. states. Nearly 60% of its residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area (known as the "Twin Cities"), the center of transportation, business, industry and education and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; deciduous forests in the southeast, now cleared, farmed and settled; and the less populated North Woods, used for mining, forestry, and recreation.
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Montana
Montana (i/mɒnˈtænə/) is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges that are part of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name, derived from the Spanish word montaña (mountain). Montana has several nicknames, none official, including: "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently, "The Last Best Place". Montana is the 4th-most extensive, but the 7th-least populous and the 3rd-least densely populated of the 50 United States. The economy is primarily based on services, with ranching, wheat farming, oil and coal mining in the east, and lumber, tourism, and hard rock mining in the west. Millions of tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and three of the five entrances to Yellowstone National Park.
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Montreal
Montreal (i/ˌmʌntriːˈɒl/;French: Montréal; pronounced [mɔ̃ʁeal] ( listen)) is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the fifteenth largest in North America. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", the city takes its present name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, or Mont Réal as it was spelled in Middle French (Mont Royal in present French). The city is located on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard.
As of May 10, 2011, Statistics Canada identifies Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) (land area 4,259 square kilometres (1,644 sq mi)) as Canada's second most populous with an estimated metropolitan area population of 3,824,221 and a population of 1,886,481 in the urban agglomeration of Montreal, which includes all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal. The city of Montreal proper had a population of 1,649,519.
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Munich, North Dakota
Munich is a city in Cavalier County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 210 at the 2010 census. Munich was founded in 1904 and is named after Munich, Germany.
Munich is located at 48°40′10″N 98°50′8″W / 48.66944°N 98.83556°W / 48.66944; -98.83556 (48.669516, -98.835677).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), of which, 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) of it is land and 1.61% is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 268 people, 112 households, and 73 families residing in the city. The population density was 436.3 people per square mile (169.6/km²). There were 124 housing units at an average density of 201.9 per square mile (78.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.76% White, 0.37% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 112 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.01.
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Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German:
Republik Namibia (help·info)), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.
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New Braunfels
New Braunfelsi/ˌnjuː ˈbrɔːnfəlz/ is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is one of the two principal cities of the San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan area, the other being the City of San Antonio. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000 census population of 36,494. It is the seat of Comal County. New Braunfels has a sizeable German Texan community. During the 19th century, its name was often spelled Neu-Braunfels, even by English speakers.
New Braunfels was established in 1845 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, also known as the Noblemen's Society (in German: Mainzer Adelsverein). Prince Solms named the settlement in honor of his home of Solms-Braunfels, Germany.
The Adelsverein organized hundreds of people in Germany to settle in Texas. Immigrants from Germany began arriving at Galveston in July, 1844. Most then traveled by ship to Indianola in December, 1844 and began the overland journey to the Fisher-Miller Land Grant purchased by Prince Solms. At the urging of John Coffee Hays, who realized the settlers would not have time to build homes and plant crops further inland before winter, and as the German settlers were traveling inland along the Guadalupe River, they stopped near the Comal Springs. Prince Solms bought two leagues of land from the Rafael Garza and Maria Antonio Veramendi Garza for $1,111.00.
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New York
New York (/njuː ˈjɔrk/; locally IPA: [nɪu ˈjɔək] or [nuː ˈjɔɹk] ( listen)) is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th most extensive, the 3rd most populous, and the 7th most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west and north, and Quebec to the north. The state of New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.
New York City, with a population of over 8.1 million, is the most populous city in the United States. Alone, it makes up over 40 percent of the population of New York state. It is known for its status as a center for finance and culture and for its status as the largest gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, New York City is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both the state and city were named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.
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New Zealand
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses ‒ that of the North and South Islands ‒ as well as numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.
During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of both animal and plant life. Most notable are the large number of unique bird species, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing beneath the earth's surface.
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North Dakota
North Dakota (i/ˌnɔrθ dəˈkoʊtə/) is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Manitoba and Saskatchewan to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th most extensive, but the 3rd least populous and the 4th least densely populated of the 50 United States. North Dakota was created from the northern portion of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with South Dakota.
The state capital is Bismarck and the largest city is Fargo. The primary public universities are located in Grand Forks and Fargo. The U.S. Air Force operates air bases at Minot AFB and Grand Forks AFB.
For more than a decade, the state has had a strong economy, with unemployment lower than the national average, job and population growth, and low housing vacancies. Much of the growth has been based on development of the Bakken oil shale fields in the western part of the state, but it has also had growth in the technology and service sectors. Flooding in June 2011 has caused extensive damage to Minot and threatened Bismarck, the capital city.
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Nuevo León
Nuevo León (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnweβo leˈon]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Nuevo León), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 51 municipalities and its capital city is Monterrey.
It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas.
The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
Besides its capital, other important cities are Guadalupe, Santa Catarina, San Nicolás de los Garza, and San Pedro Garza García, all of which are part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area.
Nuevo León was originally founded by Alberto del Canto, although frequent raids by Chichimecas, the natives of the north, prevented the establishment of almost any permanent settlements. Subsequent to the failure of del Canto to populate Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, at the head of Portuguese and Spanish settlers, requested permission from the Spanish King to attempt to repopulate the area which would be called the New Kingdom of León, it eventually became (along with the provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Santander and Texas) one of the Eastern Internal Provinces in Northern New Spain.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma (i/ˌoʊkləˈhoʊmə/) (Pawnee: Uukuhuúwa , Cayuga: Gahnawiyoˀgeh ) is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Oklahoma is the 20th most extensive and the 28th most populous of the 50 United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people", and it is known informally by its nickname, The Sooner State. Formed by the combination of Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory on November 16, 1907, Oklahoma was the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans or, informally "Okies", and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.
A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agriculture, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. It has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, ranking among the top states in per capita income growth and gross domestic product growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly 60 percent of Oklahomans living in their metropolitan statistical areas.
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Ontario
Ontario /ɒnˈtɛərioʊ/ is one of the provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province or territory and fourth largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa.
Ontario is bordered by the province of Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay to the north, Quebec to the east, and to the south by the U.S. states of Minnesota, Michigan (portions to the west), New York (portions to the east), Ohio and Pennsylvania. All but a small part of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) border with the United States follow inland waterways: from the west at Lake of the Woods, eastward along the major rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River drainage system. These are the Rainy River, the Pigeon River, Lake Superior, the St. Mary's River, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and along the St. Lawrence River from Kingston, Ontario to the Quebec boundary just east of Cornwall, Ontario.
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Opole Voivodeship
Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province (Polish: województwo opolskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ɔˈpɔlskʲɛ]; German: Woiwodschaft Oppeln/Oppelner Schlesien), is a Polish voivodeship, or province, created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Opole Voivodeship and parts of Częstochowa Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole, pronounced [ɔˈpɔlɛ]. It is part of Silesia, and the territorial successor of the former German Upper Silesia, which had the same city — then Oppeln — as its capital.
Opole Voivodeship is bordered by Lower Silesian Voivodeship to the west, Greater Poland and Łódź Voivodeships to the north, Silesian Voivodeship to the east, and the Czech Republic to the south.
Opole Province's geographic location, economic potential, and its population's level of education make it an attractive business partner for other Polish regions (especially Lower Silesian and Silesian Voivodeships) and for foreign investors. Formed in 1997, the Praděd/Pradziad Euroregion has facilitated economic, cultural and tourist exchanges between the border areas of Poland and the Czech Republic.
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Oregon
Oregon (i/ˈɔrɨɡən/ ORR-ə-gən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern boundaries, respectively. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers, and settlers who formed an autonomous government in Oregon Country in 1843. The Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859.
Oregon is the 9th most extensive and the 27th most populous of the 50 United States. Salem is the state's capital and third-most-populous city; Portland is the most populous. Portland is the 29th-largest U.S. city, with a population of 583,776 (2010 US Census) and a metro population of 2,241,841 (2009 estimate), the 23rd-largest U.S. metro area. The valley of the Willamette River in western Oregon is the state's most densely populated area and is home to eight of the ten most populous cities.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth. According to recent data, 841 different languages are listed for the country, although 11 of these have no known living speakers. . (A detailed series of language maps of Papua New Guinea may be found at Ethnologue) There may be at least as many traditional societies,out of a population of about 6.2 million. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18% of its people live in urban centres. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.
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Paraguay
Paraguay (i/ˈpɛərəɡwaɪ/, PAIR-ə-gwy), officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay [reˈpuβlika ðel paɾaˈɣwai], Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái [teˈtã paɾaˈɣwaj]), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the country from north to south. Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América, or the Heart of America.
The Guaraní have been living in Paraguay since before the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, when Paraguay became part of the Spanish colonial empire. Following independence from Spain in 1811, Paraguay was ruled by a series of dictators who followed isolationist and protectionist policies. This development was truncated by the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870) in which the country lost 60% to 70% of its population and large amounts of territory. During a large part of the 20th century, Paraguay was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner, who led one of South America's longest lived military dictatorships. In 1989 Stroessner was toppled and free elections were celebrated in 1993. In 1994 Paraguay joined Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to found Mercosur.
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Paraná (state)
Paraná (Portuguese pronunciation: [paɾaˈna]) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay, with the Paraná River as its western boundary line. Cut by the Tropic of Capricorn, Paraná has what is left of the araucaria forest, one of the most important subtropical forests in the world. At the border with Argentina is the National Park of Iguaçu, considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage site and the spectacle of the Cataratas do Iguaçu attracts about 700 thousand tourists per year. At only 40 km (25 mi) from there, at the border with Paraguay, the largest dam in the world was built, the Hidroelétrica de Itaipu. The State Park of Vila Velha near the city of Ponta Grossa, is another attraction, with great rocky formations sculpted by the erosion of rain and wind. Curitiba, the capital, is famous for its high quality of life, compared to the Brazilian average, and the Ilha do Mel, next to the historical Paranaguá, is another destination for eco-tourists.
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Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (i/ˌpɛnsɨlˈveɪnjə/), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a US state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, and the Great Lakes Region. The state borders Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Ontario, Canada to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.
Pennsylvania is the 33rd most extensive, the 6th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state's four most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Erie. The state capital is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of shoreline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.
Pennsylvania is 170 miles (274 km) north to south and 283 miles (455 km) east to west. Of a total 46,055 square miles (119,282 km2), 44,817 square miles (116,075 km2) are land, 490 square miles (1,269 km2) are inland waters, and 749 square miles (1,940 km2) are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States. Pennsylvania has 51 miles (82 km) of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary.
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Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbərɡ/, PITS-burg) is the second largest city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of both Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley. Nationally, it is the 22nd largest urban area in the United States. The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285.Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density. The characteristic shape of Pittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings, 446 bridges, two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as "the City of Bridges" and "the Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.
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Poland
Polandi/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
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Pomerode
Pomerode is a Brazilian city in the state of Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil. It is located in the valley of the Itajaí-Açu river, not very far from the city of Blumenau, one of the largest cities in the state.
Pomerode is known as the most German city in Brazil, because the vast majority of its inhabitants are of German descent and are bilingual in German and Portuguese.
Pomerode was founded by Pomeranian Germans in 1861 and is considered the "most typically German of all German towns of southern Brazil".
One very remarkable characteristic about Pomerode is the fact that Pommersch is still being preserved by the majority of the local population.
In Pomerode, as in some other localities in southern Brazil (Santa Maria de Jetibá, Espírito Santo, among them), the German language is not a foreign language, but a Brazilian linguistic regionalism.
For a good part of the 20th century, the Brazilian government did not encourage people to speak the German language. As a matter of fact, at times it was actively repressed and prohibited, like during Getúlio Vargas's presidency. Today on the other hand the German language is part of the curriculum in local schools and strongly encouraged by the local governments throughout southern Brazil.
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Prague
Prague ( /ˈprɑːɡ/; Czech: Praha pronounced [ˈpraɦa] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and fourteenth largest city in European Union. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of nearly 2.0 million. The city has a temperate oceanic climate with warm summers and chilly winters.
Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100 year existence. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus then also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire and after World War I became the capital of Czechoslovakia. The city played major roles in the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and in modern history generally as the principal conurbation in Bohemia and Moravia whose second city is Brno.
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Puebla
Puebla (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpweβla]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla.
It is located in East-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the north and east, Hidalgo, México, Tlaxcala and Morelos to the west, Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south.
The origins of the state lie in the city of Puebla, which was founded by the Spanish in this valley in 1531 to secure the trade route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz.
By the end of the 18th century, the area had become a colonial province with its own governor, which would become the State of Puebla, after the Mexican War of Independence in the early 19th century. Since that time, the area, especially around the capital city, has continued to grow economically, mostly through industry, despite being the scene of a number of battles, the most notable of which being the Battle of Puebla. Today, the state is one of the most industrialized in the country, but since most of its development is concentrated in Puebla and other cities, many of its rural areas are very poor, forcing many to migrate away to places such as Mexico City and the United States.
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Queensland
Coordinates: 23°0′S 143°0′E / 23°S 143°E / -23; 143 Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state of Australia, located in the northeast of the country. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, southwest and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. Queensland has a population of 4,580,700, concentrated along the coast and particularly in the state's South East. The state is the world's sixth largest subnational entity, with an area of 1,852,642 km2. The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. Referred to as the 'Sunshine State', Queensland is home to 10 of Australia's 30 largest cities and is the nation's third largest economy.
Queensland was first occupied by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived at least 40,000 years ago. The first European to land in Queensland was Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1607. In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 by Governor Arthur Phillip at Sydney; New South Wales at that time included all of what is now Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. Queensland was explored in subsequent decades until the establishment of a penal colony at Brisbane in 1824 by John Oxley. Penal transportation ceased in 1839 and free settlement permitted in 1842. Queensland was separated from New South Wales, forming a self-governing colony, on 6 June 1859, a date now celebrated state-wide as Queensland Day. Queensland achieved statehood with the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901.
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Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo (Spanish pronunciation: [kinˈtana ˈro]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal.
It is located in Southeastern Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the northwest and Campeche to the west. To the north, Quintana Roo borders the Gulf of Mexico and to the south, Belize. It also claims territory which gives it a small border with Guatemala in the southwest of the state, although this disputed area is also claimed by Campeche.
Quintana Roo is home of the world famous city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, the towns of Bacalar, Playa del Carmen and Akumal, as well as the ancient Maya ruins of Chacchoben, Coba, Kohunlich, Muyil, Tulum, Xel-Há, and Xcaret. The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is also in the state.
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Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁiw ˈɡɾɐ̃dʒi du suw] ( listen); lit. "Great Southern River") is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index (HDI) in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine producing center in Brazil, the attraction is Italian gastronomy. Besides the European influence, the gaúchos, or inhabitants of Rio Grande do Sul, strongly cultivate the traditions of the Pampas — region of the border with Uruguay and Argentina — such as drinking mate (known as chimarrão drunk in special gourd cups), eating the typical barbecue, known as churrasco, and the traditional clothes are the bombachas (baggy trousers), boots and large hats. Although the majority of the population dresses non-traditionally, there is[citation needed][says who?] a widespread value for tradition and culture, which renders the image of "cultural zealots" sometimes attributed[by whom?] to the gaúchos.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] ( listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsan ˈlwis potoˈsi]), officially Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí.
It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Coahuila to the north, Nuevo León to the northeast, Tamaulipas and Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo, Querétaro, and Guanajuato to the south, Zacatecas to the northwest, and Jalisco to the west.
In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Ciudad Valles, Matehuala, and Rioverde.
The state and its capital are both named after Louis IX of France (also known in Mexico as San Luis Rey de Francia, Saint Louis, King of France), its patron saint. The Potosí was added in reference to the fabulously rich mines of Potosí, Bolivia, believed to have enough gold to build a bridge between Bolivia and Spain. Thereafter, upon the development of Cerro de San Pedro near the capital city, they found such gold wealth that they compared it to that of Potosi and thus they named it as such. The wealth of these mines is thought to be comparable to that of the local mines at Cerro de San Pedro.
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Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan (i/səˈskætʃɨwən/ or /səˈskætʃɨwɑːn/) is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of 588,276 square kilometres (227,100 sq mi). Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota.
As of April 2011, the population of Saskatchewan was estimated at 1,053,960. Residents primarily live in the southern half of the province. Of the total population, 257,300 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 210,000 live in the provincial capital, Regina. Other major cities include Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current and North Battleford.
Saskatchewan was first explored by Europeans in 1690 and settled in 1774, having also been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups. It became a province in 1905. Saskatchewan's current premier is Brad Wall and its lieutenant-governor is Vaughn Solomon Schofield. Its major industries are agriculture, mining, and energy. "In 1992, the federal and provincial governments signed a historic land claim agreement with Saskatchewan First Nations. Under the Agreement, the First Nations received money to buy land on the open market. As a result, about 761,000 acres have been turned into reserve land and many First Nations continue to invest their settlement dollars in urban areas", including Saskatoon.
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Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
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Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province (in Polish, województwo śląskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ˈɕlɔ̃skʲɛ]), is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centering on the historic region known as Upper Silesia (Górny Śląsk), with the capital in Katowice. Contrary to the name, however, eastern half of Silesian Voivodeship is not historical Silesia, but Lesser Poland.
It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Katowice, Częstochowa and Bielsko-Biała Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998.
The Silesian voivodeship is historically territorially aligned with the Polish region of Upper Silesia.
At the time of Svatopluk I and King Arnulf of Carinthia in the 9th century, Silesia was a part of Greater Moravia; after its destruction in the early 10th century, it was conquered by Bohemia. A number of earlier inhabitants of Silesia, the Silingi, remained in the region and they concentrated around the Zobten mountain and in a settlement named Niempsch (derived from a Slavic name for Germans).[citation needed]
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Slovakia
The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakiai/sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ or /sləˈvækiə/; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Košice. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, United Nations, OECD and WTO among others. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of present day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration period. In the course of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire (the first known political unit of Slavs), Principality of Nitra (as independent polity, as part of Great Moravia and as part of Hungarian Kingdom), Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak state briefly existed during World War II, during which Slovakia was a dependency of Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1944. From 1945 Slovakia once again became a part of Czechoslovakia. The present-day Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
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Sopron
Sopron (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈʃopron]; German: Ödenburg, Croatian: Šopron, Latin: Scarbantia) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near the Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a city called Scarbantia stood here. Its forum was located where the main square of Sopron can be found today.
During the Migration Period Scarbantia was believed to be deserted and by the time Hungarians arrived in the area, it was in ruins. In the 9th–11th centuries Hungarians strengthened the old Roman city walls and built a castle. The town received its Hungarian name at this time from a castle steward named Suprun. In 1153 it was mentioned as an important town.
In 1273 King Otakar II of Bohemia occupied the castle. Even though he took the children of Sopron's nobility with him as hostages, the city opened its gates when the armies of King Ladislaus IV of Hungary arrived. The king awarded Sopron by elevating it to the rank of free royal town.
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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South Australia
Coordinates: 30°0′S 135°0′E / 30°S 135°E / -30; 135
South Australia (abbreviated as SA) is a state of Australia, located in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.
South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland states and the Northern Territory. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the north by the Northern Territory, to the north-east by Queensland, to the east by New South Wales, to the south-east by Victoria, and to the south by the Great Australian Bight and the Indian Ocean. With over 1.6 million people, the state comprises less than 8% of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the states and territories. The majority of its people reside in the state capital, Adelaide, with most of the remainder settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray. The state's origins are unique in Australia as a freely settled, planned British province, rather than as a convict settlement. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836, when the colony was proclaimed at The Old Gum Tree by Governor John Hindmarsh.
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South Dakota
South Dakota (i/ˌsaʊθ dəˈkoʊtə/) is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota is the 17th most extensive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Once the southern portion of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of nearly 160,000, is South Dakota's largest city.
South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and fertile soil in this area is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis /seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ (French: Saint-Louis or St-Louis, [sɛ̃ lwi] ( listen)) is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States, and is the second-largest city in the state. With a population of 318,069 in July 2011, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population of 2,812,896 is the 18th-largest in the country. The Greater St. Louis combined statistical area's (CSA) population of 2,878,255 is the 16th-largest CSA in the country, the fourth-largest in the Midwest. The Greater St. Louis area is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri.
The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, and after the Louisiana Purchase, it became a major port on the Mississippi River. Its population expanded after the American Civil War, and it became the fourth-largest city in the United States in the late 19th century. It seceded from St. Louis County in March 1877, allowing it to become an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Olympic Games. The city's population peaked in 1950, then began a long decline that reversed only at the beginning of the 21st century.
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Switzerland
Switzerland (German: die Schweiz[ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.
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São Paulo
São Paulo (/ˌsaʊ ˈpaʊloʊ/; Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ˈpawlu] ( listen); Saint Paul;), popularly known as Sampa, is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and Americas, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among the five largest metropolitan areas on the planet. São Paulo is the capital of the state of São Paulo, which is the most populous Brazilian state, and exerts strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. São Paulo maintains strong international influence and is considered an Alpha- World City. The name of the city honors Saint Paul.
The metropolis has significant cultural, economic and political influence both nationally and internationally. It houses several important monuments, parks and museums such as the Latin American Memorial, the Museum of the Portuguese Language, São Paulo Museum of Art and the Ibirapuera Park. The Paulista Avenue is the most important financial center of São Paulo. The city holds many high profile events, like the São Paulo Art Biennial, the Brazil Grand Prix Formula 1 Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Fashion Week, ATP Brasil Open, and the São Paulo Indy 300.
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Tapachula
Tapachula is a city and municipality located in the far southwest of the state of Chiapas in Mexico, near the Guatemalan border and the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most important cities of Chiapas economically as the capital of the agriculturally rich Soconusco region as well as port for trade between Mexico and Central America. The city was established by the Aztecs but most of its economic importance has come since the late 19th century with the establishment of coffee plantations. This agricultural production began a history of migration into the area which continues to this day and has left the city with a significant Asian cultural presence.
The city of Tapachula is capital of the Chiapas region of Soconusco with the nickname of the “pearl of the Soconusco.” The name “Tapachula” comes from Nahuatl and means “between the waters” due to the area’s frequent flooding. It is located on a low lying coastal plain with various small rivers about 120 meters above sea level.
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Texas
Texas (i/ˈtɛksəs/) (Alibamu: Teksi ) is the second most populous and the second most extensive of the 50 United States, and the most extensive state of the 48 contiguous United States. The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas. Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km2), and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.
During the Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas. Antonio Margil de Jesús was known to be the first person to use the name in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico in July 20, 1716. The name was not popularly used in daily speech but often appeared in legal documents until the end of the 1800s.
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Toronto
Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, colloquially /ˈtrɒnoʊ/) is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.
With over 2.6 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area has over 5.5 million residents. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which has a population of nearly 9 million people as of 2011. The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,583,064, and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 6,054,191 in the 2011 Census. Its cosmopolitan and international population reflects its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada. Toronto is also consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Uruguay
Uruguayi/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay pronounced: [re̞ˈpuβ̞lika o̞ɾje̞n̪ˈt̪al̪ d̪e̞l uɾuˈɰwai̯]) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European ancestry.
Except for the recent union of Timoteo Domínguez Island and Argentina's Martín García Island, Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata to the southwest. To the southeast lies the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is the second-smallest nation in South America by area, after Suriname.
Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1811–28 following a three-way struggle between the claims of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, with a president who is both the head of state and the head of government.
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Vancouver
Vancouver (/vænˈkuːvər/) is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The 2011 census recorded more than 603,000 people in the city, making it the eighth largest among Canadian cities. The metropolitan area, with more than 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada. With 5,249 people per square kilometre (13,590 per sq mile), the City of Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality among those with 5,000 residents or more. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada, with 52% for whom English is not their first language.
The original settlement, named Gastown, grew around the Hastings Mill logging sawmill and a nearby tavern, both established in 1867. Enlarging to become the townsite of Granville, with the announcement that the railhead would reach the site it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated as a city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London. As of 2009, Port Metro Vancouver is the busiest and largest port in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Metro Vancouver into the third-largest film production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North.
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Vatican City
Vatican Cityi/ˈvætɨkən ˈsɪti/, or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano (pronounced [ˈstaːto della t͡ʃitˈta del vatiˈkaːno]), is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.
Vatican City State was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and by Prime Minister and Head of Government Benito Mussolini on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe. Ordinances of Vatican City are published in Italian; official documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin. The two entities have distinct passports: the Holy See, not being a country, issues only diplomatic and service passports, whereas Vatican City State issues normal passports. In each case very few passports are issued.
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Venezuela
Venezuela (i/ˌvɛnɨˈzweɪlə/ VEN-ə-ZWAY-lə), officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela [repuˈβlika βoliβaˈɾjana ðe βeneˈswela]), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of roughly 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) includes numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in the north east borders the northern Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and the Leeward Antilles lie near the Venezuelan coast. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres (353,841 sq mi) with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.
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Western Australia
Coordinates: 26°0′S 121°0′E / 26°S 121°E / -26; 121
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state and the second-largest subnational entity in the world. The state has approximately 2.3 million inhabitants (around 10% of the national total), the majority of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.
The first European to visit Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, who visited the Western Australian coast in 1616. The British established a military outpost at King George Sound, near present-day Albany, in 1826, which was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, including the townsite of the present-day capital, Perth.
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin (i/wɨsˈkɒnsɨn/) is a US state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin is the 23rd most extensive and the 20th most populous of the 50 United States. Wisconsin's capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee. The state is divided into 72 counties.
The word Wisconsin originates from the name given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian speaking American Indian groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River and record its name, arriving in 1673 and calling the river Meskousing in his journal. This spelling was later corrupted to Ouisconsin by other French explorers, and over time this version became the French name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling to its modern form when they began to arrive in greater numbers during the early 19th century. The current spelling was made official by the legislature of Wisconsin Territory in 1845.
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Zacatecas
Zacatecas (Spanish pronunciation: [sakaˈtekas]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas.
It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Durango to the northwest, Coahuila to the north, Nayarit to the west, San Luis Potosí and Nuevo León to the east, and Jalisco, Guanajuato and Aguascalientes to the south.
The state of Zacatecas is best known for its rich deposits of silver and other minerals, its colonial architecture and its importance during the Mexican revolution. Its main economic activities are mining, agriculture and tourism.
"Zacatecas" is the Nahuatl-derived name for one of the indigenous peoples who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spanish. The name ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word for a type of grass common in the region, zacatl. The region where this grass grew was originally called Zacatlan, and its inhabitants, Zacateca, pluralized in Mexican Spanish to Zacatecas.
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Zagreb
Zagreb (Croatian pronunciation: [zǎːɡrɛb]) is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately 122 m (400 ft) above sea level. In the last official census of 2011, the population of the settlement of Zagreb was 686,568, while the total population of its administrative area was 792,875. The wider Zagreb metropolitan area includes the City of Zagreb and the separate Zagreb County with a population of 317,642, bringing the total metropolitan area population up to 1,110,517. It is the only metropolitan area in Croatia with a population of over one million.
Its favourable geographic position in the southwestern part of the Pannonian Basin, which extends to the Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonic regions, provides an excellent connection for traffic between Central Europe and the Adriatic Sea. The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and almost all government ministries.
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Alsace
Alsace (French: Alsace [alzas]; Alsatian: Elsàss [ˈɛlsɑs]; German: Elsass, pre-1996: Elsaß, IPA: [ˈɛlzas]; Latin: Alsatia) is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area (8,280 km²), and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km² (total population in 2006: 1,815,488; 1 January 2008 estimate: 1,836,000). Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. The political, economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg. Because that city is the seat of dozens of international organizations and bodies, Alsace is politically one of the most important regions in the European Union.
The name "Alsace" can be traced back to the Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, meaning "foreign domain". An alternative explanation derives it from a Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "seated on the Ill", a river in Alsace. The region was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV and made one of the provinces of France. Alsace is frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because German possession of parts of these two régions (as the imperial province Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries, during which Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany in 75 years.
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Amish
The Amish ( /ˈɑːmɪʃ/ AH-mish; Pennsylvania Dutch: Amisch, German: Amische), sometimes referred to as Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian church fellowships that form a subgroup of the Mennonite churches. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.
In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites emigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. However, a dialect of Swiss German predominates in some Old Order Amish communities, especially in the American state of Indiana. As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and approximately 1500 live in Canada. A 2008 study suggested their numbers have increased to 227,000, and in 2010 a study suggested their population had grown by 10% in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West.
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Aryan
Aryan /ˈɛərjən/ is an English language loanword derived from the Sanskrit ārya ('Noble'). In present-day academia, the terms "Indo-Iranian" and "Indo-European" have, according to many, made most uses of the term 'Aryan' minimal, and 'Aryan' is now mostly limited to its appearance in the term "Indo-Aryan" to represent (speakers of) North, West and Central Indian languages.
Western notions of an "Aryan race" rose to prominence in late-19th and early-20th century racialist thought, an idea most notably embraced by Nazi ideology (see master race). The Nazis believed that the "Nordic peoples" (who were also referred to as the "Germanic peoples") represent an ideal and "pure race" that was the purest representation of the original racial stock of those who were then called the Proto-Aryans. The Nazis declared that the Nordics were the true Aryans because they claimed that they were more "pure" (less racially mixed with non-native Indo-European peoples) than other people of what were then called the Aryan peoples (now generally called the Indo-European peoples).
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Ashkenazi Jew
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, pronounced [ˌaʃkəˈnazim], singular: [ˌaʃkəˈnazi]; also יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכֲּנָז, Y'hudey Ashkenaz, "the Jews of Ashkenaz"), are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north.[citation needed]
The name Ashkenazi derives from the bibilical figure of Ashkenaz, the first son of Gomer, and a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10). In the Rabbinic literature, Ashkenaz's kingdom was first associated with the Scythian region, then later on with the Slavic territories, and from the 11th century onwards with Northern Europe and Germany. The Jews living in the northern regions, associated with Ashkenaz's kingdom, thus came to call themselves the Ashkenazi Jews. Later, Jews from Western and Central Europe also came to be called "Ashkenazi" because the main centers of Jewish learning were located in Germany.
Many Ashkenazi Jews later migrated, largely eastward, forming communities in non German-speaking areas, including Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and elsewhere between the 11th and 19th centuries. With them, they took and diversified Yiddish, a High German language written using the Hebrew alphabet. It had developed in medieval times as the lingua franca among Ashkenazi Jews. The Jewish communities of three cities along the Rhine: Speyer, Worms and Mainz, created the SHUM league (SHUM after the first Hebrew letters of Shpira, Vermayza, and Magentza). The ShUM-cities are considered the cradle of the distinct Ashkenazi culture and liturgy.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht (German: [ˈbɛɐ̯tɔlt ˈbʁɛçt] ( listen); born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (help·info); 10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.
An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble – the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife, long-time collaborator and actress Helene Weigel.
Bertolt Brecht was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, (about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of Munich) to a conventionally-devout Protestant mother and a Catholic father (who had been persuaded to have a Protestant wedding). His father worked for a paper mill, becoming its managing director in 1914. Thanks to his mother's influence, Brecht knew the Bible, a familiarity that would impact on his writing throughout his life. From her, too, came the "dangerous image of the self-denying woman" that recurs in his drama. Brecht's home life was comfortably middle class, despite what his occasional attempt to claim peasant origins implied. At school in Augsburg he met Caspar Neher, with whom he formed a lifelong creative partnership, Neher designing many of the sets for Brecht's dramas and helping to forge the distinctive visual iconography of their epic theatre.
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Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm (German: Brüder Grimm or Die Gebrüder Grimm), Jakob Grimm (January 4, 1785 – September 20, 1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (February 24, 1786 – December 16, 1859), were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who together collected folklore. They are among the most well-known storytellers of European folk tales, and their work popularized such stories as "Cinderella", "The Frog Prince" (Der Froschkönig), "Hansel and Gretel" (Hänsel und Gretel), "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin" (Rumpelstilzchen), and "Snow White" (Schneewittchen). Their first collection of folk tales, Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen), was published in 1812.
The brothers spent their formative years first in the German town of Hanau and then in Steinau. Their father's death in 1796, about a decade into their lives, caused great poverty for the family and affected the brothers for many years. They attended the University of Marburg where historian and jurist Friedrich von Savigny spurred their interest in philology and Germanic studies—a field in which they are now considered pioneers—and at the same time developed a curiosity for folklore, which grew into a life-long dedication to collecting German folk tales.
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Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz (German: [ˈkaʁl ˈʃʊʁts]; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.
His wife, Margarethe Schurz, was instrumental in establishing the kindergarten system in the United States. During his later years, Schurz was perhaps the most prominent independent in American politics, noted for his high principles, his avoidance of political partisanship, and his moral conscience.
He is famous for saying: "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." Many streets, schools, and parks are named in honor of him, including New York City's Carl Schurz Park.
Schurz was born in Liblar (now part of Erftstadt), Germany on March 2, 1829, the son of a schoolteacher. He studied at the Jesuit Gymnasium of Cologne, and learned piano under private instructors. Financial problems in his family obligated him to leave school a year early, without graduating, to help manage his family's financial affairs. Later he graduated from the gymnasium by passing a special examination, and he entered the University of Bonn.
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Carl Spitteler
Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler (24 April 1845 – 29 December 1924) was a Swiss poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1919. His work includes both pessimistic and heroic poems.
Spitteler was born in Liestal, and from 1863 he studied law at the University of Zurich. In 1865-1870 he studied theology in the same institution, at Heidelberg and Basel. Later he worked in Russia as tutor, starting from August 1871, remaining there (with some periods in Finland) until 1879. Later he was elementary teacher in Bern and La Neuveville, as well as journalist for the Der Kunstwart and as editor for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. In 1883 Spitteler married Marie op der Hoff, previously his pupil in Neuveville.
In 1881 Spitteler published the allegoric prose poem Prometheus and Epimetheus, published under the pseudonym Carl Felix Tandem, and showing contrasts between ideals and dogmas through the two mythological figures of the titles. This 1881 edition was given an extended psychological exegesis by Carl Gustav Jung in his book Psychological Types (published in 1921). Late in life, Spitteler reworked Prometheus and Epimetheus and published it under his true name, with the new title Prometheus der Dulder (Prometheus the Sufferer, 1924).
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Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek (German pronunciation: [ɛlˈfʀiːdə ˈjɛlinɛk]; born October 20, 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."
Jelinek was born on October 20, 1946, in Mürzzuschlag, Styria, Austria, the daughter of Olga Ilona (née Buchner), a personnel director, and Friedrich Jelinek. She was raised in Vienna by her Romanian-German Catholic mother and Czech Jewish father (whose surname "Jelinek" means "little deer" in Czech).
Her father was a chemist, who managed to avoid persecution during the Second World War by working in strategically important industrial production. However, several dozen family members became victims of the Holocaust. Her mother, with whom she shared the household even as an adult, and with whom she had a difficult relationship, was from a formerly prosperous Vienna family. As a child, Elfriede suffered from what she considered an over-restrictive education in a Roman Catholic convent school in Vienna. Her mother planned a career for her as a musical wunderkind. Elfriede was instructed in piano, organ, guitar, violin, viola and recorder from an early age. Later, she went on to study at the Vienna Conservatory, where she graduated with an organist diploma. Jelinek also studied art history and drama at the University of Vienna. However, she had to discontinue her studies due to an anxiety disorder that prevented her from following courses.
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Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti (Bulgarian: Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a Bulgarian-born modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and non-fiction writer. He wrote in German and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981, "for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power".
Born to Jacques Canetti and Mathilde née Arditti in Ruse, a city on the Danube in Bulgaria, Elias Canetti was the eldest of three sons of a Jewish businessman. His ancestors were Sephardi Jews who had been expelled from Spain in 1492. His paternal ancestors had settled in Ruse from Ottoman Adrianople. The original family name was Cañete, named after a village in Spain. In Ruse, Elias' father and grandfather were successful merchants who operated out of a commercial building, which they had built in 1898. Canetti's mother descended from one of the oldest Sephardi families in Bulgaria, Arditti, who were among the founders of the Ruse Jewish colony in the late 18th century. The Ardittis can be traced back to the 14th century, when they were court physicians and astronomers to the Aragonese royal court of Alfonso IV and Pedro IV. Before settling in Ruse, they had lived in Livorno in the 17th century.
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Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller [ˈjoːhan ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈfʁiːdʁɪç fɔn ˈʃɪlɐ] (10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. They frequently discussed issues concerning aesthetics, and Schiller encouraged Goethe to finish works he left as sketches. This relationship and these discussions led to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism. They also worked together on Xenien, a collection of short satirical poems in which both Schiller and Goethe challenge opponents to their philosophical vision.
Friedrich Schiller was born on 10 November 1759, in Marbach, Württemberg as the only son of military doctor Johann Kaspar Schiller (1733–96), and Elisabeth Dorothea Kodweiß (1732–1802). They also had five daughters. His father was away in the Seven Years' War when Friedrich was born. He was named after king Frederick the Great, but he was called Fritz by nearly everyone. Kaspar Schiller was rarely home during the war, but he did manage to visit the family once in a while. His wife and children also visited him occasionally wherever he happened to be stationed. When the war ended in 1763, Schiller's father became a recruiting officer and was stationed in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The family moved with him. Due to the high cost of living—especially the rent—the family moved to nearby Lorch.
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George Oliver Curme
George Oliver Curme, Sr. (January 14, 1860 – April 29, 1948) was an American grammarian and philologist. He is best known for his Grammar of the German Language (1905, revised 1922), and A Grammar of the English Language (1931).
Curme received most of his education at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and the University of Michigan. He also did postgraduate work at the University of Berlin. His principal teaching posts were at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa (1886–96), and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (1896–1933). After his retirement from Northwestern, Curme taught from 1934 to 1939 at the University of Southern California.
Curme’s Grammar of the German Language is one of the best works in its field, among the books by non-Germans. His English grammars are classic rather than modernistic; they may be profitably consulted for detailed explanations and analyses.
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Gerhart Hauptmann
Gerhart Hauptmann (15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.
Hauptmann was born in Obersalzbrunn, a small town of Silesia, now known as Szczawno-Zdrój and a part of Poland. He was the son of a hotel-keeper. After attending the village school he went to the Realschule in Breslau, after which he was sent to learn agriculture on his uncle's farm at Jauer. Having no taste for country life, Hauptmann soon returned to Breslau and entered the art school with the intention of becoming a sculptor. There he met his life-long friend Josef Block. He later studied at the University of Jena and spent the greater part of 1883 and 1884 in Italy. In May 1885, Hauptmann married and settled in Berlin and, devoting himself entirely to literary work, soon attained a reputation as one of the chief representatives of the modern drama.
In 1891 he moved to Schreiberhau in Silesia. Hauptmann's first drama, Before Dawn (1889) inaugurated the naturalistic movement in modern German literature. It was followed by The Reconciliation (1890), Lonely People (1891) and The Weavers (1892), a powerful drama depicting the rising of the Silesian weavers in 1844 for which he is best known outside of Germany.
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German Americans
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 50 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group.California, Texas and Pennsylvania have the largest numbers of German origin, although upper Midwestern states, including Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, have the highest proportion of German Americans at over one-third.
None of the historical German states had overseas colonies, so not until the 1680s did the first significant groups of German immigrants arrive in the British colonies, settling primarily in New York and Pennsylvania. Immigration continued in very large numbers during the 19th century, with some eight million arrivals from Germany. They were pulled by the attractions of land and religious freedom, and pushed out of Europe by shortages of land and religious or political oppression. Many arrived seeking religious or political freedom, others for economic opportunities greater than those in Europe, and others simply for the chance to start fresh in the New World. The arrivals before 1850 were mostly farmers who sought out the most productive land, where their intensive farming techniques would pay off. After 1840, many came to cities, where "Germania"—German-speaking districts—soon emerged.
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German Mexican
A German Mexican (German: Deutsch-Mexikaner or Deutsch-Mexikanisch, Spanish: germano-mexicano or aleman-mexicano) is a Mexican citizen of German descent or origin. Germans first arrived in Mexico during the mid-to-late 19th century. The majority of them settled in Mexico City and Puebla. Significant numbers of German immigrants also arrived during and after the First and Second World Wars. The Plautdietsch language is also spoken by the descendants of German and Dutch Mennonite immigrants in the states of Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Durango, Zacatecas and Aguascalientes. Other German towns lie in the states of Nuevo León, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and other parts of Puebla, where the German culture and language have been preserved to different extents.
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German Namibians
German Namibians (German: Deutschnamibier) are a community of people descended from ethnic German colonists who settled in present-day Namibia. In 1883, the German trader Adolf Lüderitz bought (from a local chief) what would become the southern coast of Namibia and founded the city of Lüderitz. The German government, eager to gain overseas possessions, annexed the territory soon after, naming it South-West Africa (German: Deutsch-Südwestafrika). Small numbers of Germans subsequently immigrated there, many coming as soldiers (German: Schutztruppe), traders, diamond miners, or colonial officials. In 1915, during the course of World War I, Germany lost Southwest Africa (see History of Namibia); after the war, the former colony became a South African mandate. The German settlers were allowed to remain and, until independence in 1990, German remained an official language of the territory.
Today, English is the country's sole official language, but about 30,000 Namibians of German descent (around 2% of the country's overall population) and possibly 15,000 black Namibians (many of whom returned from East Germany after Namibian independence) still speak German or Namibian Black German, respectively. However, the numbers of German Namibians, rather than of Namibian speakers of German, are uncertain. Many Namibians of German descent still speak German and prefer classification as Namibian Germans not as Afrikaners.
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Germanic language
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic (also known as Common Germanic), which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe. Proto-Germanic, along with all of its descendants, is characterized by a number of unique linguistic features, most famously the consonant change known as Grimm's law. Early varieties of Germanic enter history with the Germanic peoples moving south from northern Europe in the 2nd century BC, to settle in north-central Europe.
The most widely spoken Germanic languages are English and German, with approximately 300–400 million and over 100 million native speakers respectively. They belong to the West Germanic family. The West Germanic group also includes other major languages, such as Dutch with 23 million and Afrikaans with over 6 million native speakers;. The North Germanic languages include Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese, which have a combined total of about 20 million speakers. The SIL Ethnologue lists 53 different Germanic languages.
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Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic (also known as Common Germanic), which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe. Proto-Germanic, along with all of its descendants, is characterized by a number of unique linguistic features, most famously the consonant change known as Grimm's law. Early varieties of Germanic enter history with the Germanic peoples moving south from northern Europe in the 2nd century BC, to settle in north-central Europe.
The most widely spoken Germanic languages are English and German, with approximately 300–400 million and over 100 million native speakers respectively. They belong to the West Germanic family. The West Germanic group also includes other major languages, such as Dutch with 23 million and Afrikaans with over 6 million native speakers;. The North Germanic languages include Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese, which have a combined total of about 20 million speakers. The SIL Ethnologue lists 53 different Germanic languages.
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Günter Grass
Günter Wilhelm Grass (born 16 October 1927) is a German-Kashubian novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is widely regarded as Germany's most famous living writer.
Grass was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). In 1945, he came to West Germany as a homeless refugee, though in his fiction he frequently returns to the Danzig of his childhood.
Grass is best known for his first novel, The Tin Drum (1959), a key text in European magic realism, and the first part of his Danzig Trilogy, which also includes Cat and Mouse and Dog Years. His works are frequently considered to have a left-wing political dimension and Grass has been an active supporter of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The Tin Drum was adapted into a film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The Swedish Academy, upon awarding him the Nobel Prize in Literature, noted him as a writer "whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history".
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Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Theodor Böll (December 21, 1917 – July 16, 1985) was one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers. Böll was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.
Böll was born in Cologne, Germany, to a Catholic, pacifist family that later opposed the rise of Nazism. He refused to join the Hitler Youth during the 1930s. He was apprenticed to a bookseller before studying German at the University of Cologne. Conscripted into the Wehrmacht, he served in France, Romania, Hungary and the Soviet Union, and was wounded four times before he was captured by Americans in April 1945 and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Böll became a full-time writer at the age of 30. His first novel, Der Zug war pünktlich (The Train Was on Time), was published in 1949. Many other novels, short stories, radio plays and essay collections followed, and in 1972 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was the first German-born author to receive this award since Nelly Sachs in 1966. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and he is one of Germany's most widely read authors. His best-known works are Billiards at Half-past Nine, The Clown, Group Portrait with Lady, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, and The Safety Net, apart from many short stories.
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Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder (art songs) by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert. Heine's later verse and prose is distinguished by its satirical wit and irony. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities. Heine spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris.
Heine was born in Düsseldorf, Rhineland, into a Jewish family. He was called "Harry" as a child, but became "Heinrich" after his conversion to Christianity in 1825. Heine's father, Samson Heine (1764–1828), was a textile merchant. His mother Peira (known as "Betty"), née van Geldern (1771–1859), was the daughter of a physician. Heinrich was the eldest of the four children; his siblings were Charlotte, Gustav - who later became Baron Heine-Geldern and publisher of the Viennese newspaper Das Fremdenblatt - and Maximilian, later a physician in Saint Petersburg.
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Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 1777 – 21 November 1811) was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.
Kleist was born into the von Kleist family in Frankfurt an der Oder in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. After a scanty education, he entered the Prussian Army in 1792, served in the Rhine campaign of 1796, and retired from the service in 1799 with the rank of lieutenant. He studied law and philosophy at the Viadrina University and in 1800 received a subordinate post in the Ministry of Finance at Berlin.
In the following year, Kleist's roving, restless spirit got the better of him, and procuring a lengthened leave of absence he visited Paris and then settled in Switzerland. Here he found congenial friends in Heinrich Zschokke and Ludwig Friedrich August Wieland (d. 1819), son of the poet Christoph Martin Wieland; and to them he read his first drama, a gloomy tragedy, The Schroffenstein Family (1803, originally entitled The Ghonorez Family).
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Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛɐ̯man ˈhɛsə]; July 2, 1877 – August 9, 1962) was a German poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi), each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality.
Hermann Hesse was born on 2 July 1877 in the Black Forest town of Calw in Württemberg, Germany. Both of Hesse's parents served in India at a mission under the auspices of the Basel Mission, a Protestant Christian missionary society. Hesse's mother, Marie Gundert, was born at such a mission in India in 1842. In describing her own childhood, she said, "A happy child I was not..." As was usual among missionaries at the time, she was left behind in Europe at the age of four when her parents went to India. In her teens she attempted to rebel against her authoritarian father, Hermann Gundert, but finally submitted.
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Herta Müller
Herta Müller (born 17 August 1953) is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet, essayist and recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Niţchidorf, Timiş County in Romania, her native language is German. Since the early 1990s she has been internationally established, and her works have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Müller is noted for her works depicting the effects of violence, cruelty and terror, usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime which she experienced herself. Many of her works are told from the viewpoint of the German minority in Romania and are also a depiction of the modern history of the Germans in the Banat, and Transylvania. Her much acclaimed 2009 novel The Hunger Angel (Atemschaukel) portrays the deportation of Romania's German minority to Stalinist Soviet Gulags during the Soviet occupation of Romania for use as German forced labor.
Müller has received more than twenty awards to date, including the Kleist Prize (1994), the Aristeion Prize (1995), the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (1998) and the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award (2009). On 8 October 2009, the Swedish Academy announced that she had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, describing her as a woman "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed".
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Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel."
Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", which became very popular and brought nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling.
He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.
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Martin Luther
Martin Luther (help·info) (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German monk, priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.
Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with Luther's teachings are called Lutherans.
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Mennonite
The Mennonites are a Protestant group based around the church communities of the Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons (1496–1561), who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders. The teachings of the Mennonites were founded on their belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ, which they held to with great conviction despite persecution by the various Roman Catholic and Protestant states. Rather than fight, the majority survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their radical belief in adult baptism. Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches because of their commitment to nonviolence.
There are about 1.5 million Mennonites worldwide as of 2006. Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from "plain people" to those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population. The largest populations of Mennonites are in Ethiopia,Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States, but Mennonites can also be found in tight-knit communities in at least 51 countries on six continents or scattered amongst the populace of those countries. There are also significant numbers of Mennonites scattered throughout China. There are German Mennonite colonies in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia,Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Paraguay, who are to a large extent descendants of Mennonites living in eastern Europe, and there remains a small congregation in the Netherlands where Simons was born.
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Mennonites
The Mennonites are a Protestant group based around the church communities of the Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons (1496–1561), who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders. The teachings of the Mennonites were founded on their belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ, which they held to with great conviction despite persecution by the various Roman Catholic and Protestant states. Rather than fight, the majority survived by fleeing to neighboring states where ruling families were tolerant of their radical belief in adult baptism. Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches because of their commitment to nonviolence.
There are about 1.5 million Mennonites worldwide as of 2006. Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from "plain people" to those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population. The largest populations of Mennonites are in Ethiopia,Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States, but Mennonites can also be found in tight-knit communities in at least 51 countries on six continents or scattered amongst the populace of those countries. There are also significant numbers of Mennonites scattered throughout China. There are German Mennonite colonies in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia,Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Paraguay, who are to a large extent descendants of Mennonites living in eastern Europe, and there remains a small congregation in the Netherlands where Simons was born.
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Michael Clyne
Michael George Clyne, AM, FAHA, FASSA (12 October 1939 – 29 October 2010) was an Australian linguist, academic and intellectual. He was a scholar in various fields of linguistics, including sociolinguistics, pragmatics, bilingualism and multilingualism, second language learning, contact linguistics and intercultural communication. He was a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences.
Educated at Christ Church Grammar School and Caulfield Grammar School, Clyne studied for his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees at the University of Melbourne, focusing on Germanic and French languages. He undertook further graduate studies in German and general linguistics at Utrecht and Bonn Universities, before joining the German language faculty at Monash University in Melbourne in 1962. He earned a Ph.D. from Monash in 1965, and was a Professor of Linguistics at the University from 1988 to 2001. In 2001 he became a professorial fellow of linguistics at Melbourne University and director of the university's Research Unit for Multilingualism and Cross-Cultural Communication.
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Migration period
The Migration Period, also known as the Barbarian Invasions (German: Völkerwanderung "migration of peoples"), was a period of intensified human migration in Europe from about 400 to 800 AD. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Migrations were catalyzed by profound changes within the Roman Empire and on its "barbarian frontier". The migrants who came first were Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Suebi, Frisii and Franks; they were later pushed westwards by the Huns, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars and Alans. Later migrations (such as the Arab conquest and Viking, Magyar, Moorish, Turkic, and Mongol invasions) also had significant effects (especially in North Africa, the Iberian peninsula, Anatolia and Central and Eastern Europe); however, they are outside the scope of the Migration Period.
Germanic peoples moved out of southern Scandinavia, Denmark and adjacent lands between the Elbe and Oder rivers after 1000 BC. The first wave moved westward and southward (pushing the resident Celts west to the Rhine River by about 200 BC) and moving into southern Germany up to the Roman province of Gaul by 100 BC, where they were stopped by Gaius Marius and Julius Caesar. It is this western group who was described by the Roman historian Tacitus (56 – 117 AD) and Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BC). A later wave of German tribes migrated eastward and southward from Scandinavia between 600 and 300 BC to the opposite coast of the Baltic Sea, moving up the Vistula near the Carpathians. During Tacitus' era they included lesser-known tribes such as the Tencteri, Cherusci, Hermunduri and Chatti; however, a period of federation and intermarriage resulted in the familiar groups known as the Alamanni, Franks, Saxons, Frisians and Thuringians.
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Nelly Sachs
Nelly Sachs (10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a Jewish German poet and playwright whose experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews. Her best-known play is Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels (1950); other works include the poems "Zeichen im Sand" (1962), "Verzauberung" (1970), and the collections of poetry In den Wohnungen des Todes (1947), Flucht und Verwandlung (1959), Fahrt ins Staublose (1961), and Suche nach Lebenden (1971).
Born Leonie Sachs in the Schöneberg district of Berlin, Germany in 1891, to a wealthy manufacturer, she was educated at home because of frail health. She showed early signs of talent as a dancer, but her protective parents did not encourage her to pursue a profession. She grew up as a very sheltered, introverted young woman and never married. She pursued an extensive correspondence with, and was friends with, Selma Lagerlöf and Hilde Domin. As the Nazis took power, she became increasingly terrified, at one point losing the ability to speak, as she would remember in verse: "When the great terror came/I fell dumb." Sachs fled with her aged mother to Sweden in 1940. It was her friendship with Lagerlöf that saved their lives: shortly before her own death Lagerlöf intervened with the Swedish royal family to secure their release from Germany. Sachs and her mother escaped on the last flight from Nazi Germany to Sweden, a week before Sachs was scheduled to report to a concentration camp.
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Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge.
The Nibelungenlied is based on pre-Christian Germanic heroic motifs (the "Nibelungensaga"), which include oral traditions and reports based on historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries. Old Norse parallels of the legend survive in the Völsunga saga, the Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda, the Legend of Norna-Gest, and the Þiðrekssaga.
In 2009, the three main manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied were inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in recognition of their historical significance.
The poem in its various written forms was lost by the end of the 16th century, but manuscripts from as early as the 13th century were re-discovered during the 18th century. There are thirty-five known manuscripts of the Nibelungenlied and its variant versions. Eleven of these manuscripts are essentially complete. The oldest version however seems to be the one preserved in manuscript "B". Twenty-four manuscripts are in various fragmentary states of completion, including one version in Dutch (manuscript 'T'). The text contains approximately 2,400 stanzas in 39 Aventiuren. The title under which the poem has been known since its discovery is derived from the final line of one of the three main versions, "hie hât daz mære ein ende: daz ist der Nibelunge liet" ("here the story takes an end: this is the lay of the Nibelungs"). Liet here means lay, tale or epic rather than simply song, as it would in Modern German.
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Notker Labeo
Notker Labeo (c. 950 – 28 June 1022), also known as Notker Teutonicus i.e. "the German", Notker the German, or Notker III, was a Benedictine monk and the first commentator on Aristotle active in the Middle Ages. "Labeo" means "the thick lipped". Later he was named Teutonicus in recognition of his services to the language.
He was born about 950, from a noble family of Thurgau, and he was a nephew of Ekkehard I, the poet of Waltharius. He went to the Abbey of Saint Gall when only a boy, and there acquired a vast and varied knowledge by omnivorous reading. After finishing his education, he continued in the abbey as a teacher and then head of the school under abbot Burckhard II. His contemporaries admired him as a theologian, philologist, mathematician, astronomer, connoisseur of music, and poet. He tells of his studies and his literary work in a letter to Bishop Hugo of Sitten (998–1017), and we also know of his activities through texts from his pupil Ekkehard IV.
The Necrologium St.Galli recorded his death under June 27, 1022, as "Obitus Notkeri doctissimi atque benignissimi magistri". He died stricken by the plague.
wn.com/Notker_Labeo -
Otto Basler
Otto Basler (8 May 1892 in Kitzingen, Bavaria – 28 May 1975 in Freiburg im Breigau) was a German philologist.
Basler studied German, Romance studies, English and History at the University of Freiburg. In World War I he was a reserve officer. After his graduation, he was a librarian at the University of Freiburg until 1936 when he became the librarian at the German army library from 1936–1945 in Berlin. In 1943 he started teaching at the University of Munich, first with a training order for German philology and folklore and in 1947 he became a professor at the university. 1952 up to his retirement he taught at Freiburg university. He left Freiburg im Breisgau, where he taught since 1952 as a fee professor in 1959. Basler was involved in the German orthography reform of 1944. After the end of the World War II he published his proposals for a spelling reform in his Leibniz publishing house.
wn.com/Otto_Basler -
Sorbian languages
The Sorbian languages (Serbsce, Serbski) are classified under the Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. They are the native languages of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. Historically the language has also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code is wen. It is closely related to Polish, Kashubian, Czech and Slovak.
There are two literary languages: Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbsce), spoken by about 40,000 people in Saxony, and Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbski) spoken by about 10,000 people in Brandenburg. The area where the two languages are spoken is known as Lusatia (Łužica in Upper Sorbian, Łužyca in Lower Sorbian, or Lausitz in German).
Both languages have the dual for nouns, pronouns, adjectives and verbs; very few known living Indo-European languages retain this feature as a productive aspect of the grammar (see Slovenian grammar or Lithuanian grammar for other ones).
In Germany, Upper and Lower Sorbian are officially recognized and protected as minority languages. In the home areas of the Sorbs, both languages are officially equal to German.
wn.com/Sorbian_languages -
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician, archaeologist, and writer generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. His work regarding Roman history is still of fundamental importance for contemporary research. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902, and was also a prominent German politician, as a member of the Prussian and German parliaments. His works on Roman law and on the law of obligations had a significant impact on the German civil code (BGB).
Mommsen was born in Garding in Schleswig in 1817, and grew up in Bad Oldesloe, where his father was a Lutheran minister. He studied mostly at home, though he attended the gymnasium Christianeum in Altona for four years. He studied Greek and Latin and received his diploma in 1837. As he could not afford to study at Göttingen, he enrolled at the University of Kiel in Holstein.
wn.com/Theodor_Mommsen -
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann (6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann, and three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus Mann and Golo Mann, also became important German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke out in 1939, he emigrated to the United States, from where he returned to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur.
Mann was born Paul Thomas Mann in Lübeck, Germany, and was the second son of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann (a senator and a grain merchant), and his wife Júlia da Silva Bruhns (a Brazilian of partial German ancestry who emigrated to Germany when seven years old). His mother was Roman Catholic, but Mann was baptised into his father's Lutheran faith. Mann's father died in 1891, and his trading firm was liquidated. The family subsequently moved to Munich. Mann attended the science division of a Lübeck Gymnasium (school), then spent time at the Ludwig Maximillians University of Munich and Technical University of Munich where, in preparation for a journalism career, he studied history, economics, art history and literature.
wn.com/Thomas_Mann -
Vilamovian language
Vilamovian or Wilamowicean (Wymysiöeryś) is a West Germanic language spoken in the small town of Wilamowice (Wymysoj in Vilamovian) near Bielsko-Biała, on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland in the historical region of Galicia. At present, there are about 70 native users of Vilamovian, the majority of them elderly people; Vilamovian is therefore a moribund language.
In origin, Vilamovian appears to derive from 12th century Middle High German, with a strong influence from Low German, Dutch, Frisian, Polish and Old English. The inhabitants of Wilamowice are thought to be descendants of German, Dutch and Scottish settlers who arrived in Poland in the 13th century. However, the inhabitants of Wilamowice always denied any connections with Germany and proclaimed their Dutch origins.[citation needed]
Vilamovian was the vernacular language of Wilamowice until 1939–1945. After World War II, local communist authorities forbade the use of the language. Although the ban was lifted after 1956, Vilamovian has been gradually replaced by Polish, especially amongst the younger generations.
wn.com/Vilamovian_language -
Volga German
The Volga Germans (German: Wolgadeutsche or Russlanddeutsche, Russian: Поволжские немцы, Povolzhskie nemtsy) were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southeastrn European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed, Roman Catholics, and Mennonites (Russian Mennonites). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Volga Germans emigrated to the Midwestern United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and other countries.
Nazi Germany rose in part on a pan-German appeal, claiming interests in lands where ethnic Germans had been long settled. After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 during World War II, the Soviet government considered the Volga Germans potential collaborators and transported them wholesale to labour camps, where many died. After the war, it expelled some ethnic Germans to the West. In the late 1980s, many of the remaining ethnic Germans moved from the Soviet Union to Germany.
wn.com/Volga_German -
World War I
World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.
wn.com/World_War_I
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Student Life: German for Beginners
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:13
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
Learn the basics of German language in a couple of minutes. This video is part of a project called "Student Life" realised by the DAAD in cooperation with the University of Applied Science in Mittweida. More information on www.study-in.de
http://wn.com/Student_Life_German_for_Beginners
Learn the basics of German language in a couple of minutes. This video is part of a project called "Student Life" realised by the DAAD in cooperation with the University of Applied Science in Mittweida. More information on www.study-in.de
German language: greetings
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:12
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Learn how to greet an individual in German in this one of many videos in a series at Expert Village. See thousands of more videos at video.expertvillage.com
http://wn.com/German_language_greetings
Learn how to greet an individual in German in this one of many videos in a series at Expert Village. See thousands of more videos at video.expertvillage.com
- published: 01 May 2006
- views: 209636
- author: expertvillage
Easy German Episode 20 - What is typical German to you? (Part 1)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:43
- Updated: 05 Dec 2012
Episode 20: a student team from Franz Hitze Haus asks people in Münster about what is typical german Easy German is a video series produced on the streets of german cities to help learners getting in touch with the daily spoken german language. Check out more at www.easygerman.org produced by The Global Experience - Join our intercultural community at www.theglobalexperience.org
http://wn.com/Easy_German_Episode_20_What_is_typical_German_to_you?_Part_1
Episode 20: a student team from Franz Hitze Haus asks people in Münster about what is typical german Easy German is a video series produced on the streets of german cities to help learners getting in touch with the daily spoken german language. Check out more at www.easygerman.org produced by The Global Experience - Join our intercultural community at www.theglobalexperience.org
- published: 14 Aug 2011
- views: 111515
- author: magauchsein
Easy German Episode 9 - American elections
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:06
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Josh asks people of Münster about the American elections, more precisely about who is going to win: Obama or McCain - just two days before the final result. Easy German is a video series produced on the streets of german cities to help learners getting in touch with the daily spoken german language. Check out more at www.easygerman.org
http://wn.com/Easy_German_Episode_9_American_elections
Josh asks people of Münster about the American elections, more precisely about who is going to win: Obama or McCain - just two days before the final result. Easy German is a video series produced on the streets of german cities to help learners getting in touch with the daily spoken german language. Check out more at www.easygerman.org
- published: 17 Nov 2008
- views: 163107
- author: magauchsein
Learn How to Speak German - Beginner German Conversation
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:10
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Click on teachyourselfgermanphrases.com Now to get a bunch of free German Phrases videos and Tips That will help you speak German in no time - Click http
http://wn.com/Learn_How_to_Speak_German_Beginner_German_Conversation
Click on teachyourselfgermanphrases.com Now to get a bunch of free German Phrases videos and Tips That will help you speak German in no time - Click http
- published: 19 Jul 2009
- views: 468512
- author: shard46
People and Politics | Resisting English -- Why the German Language Needs Rescuing
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:08
- Updated: 28 Nov 2012
Increasingly, English seem to be encroaching on the German language. The German Language Association has registered some 6000 pseudo-anglicisms and is determined to stop the invasion. Its campaign is supported by a number of companies such as Dr.Oetker and Porsche, which are now dispensing with Anglicisms in their advertising. Members of the German Parliament are also fleshing out strategies to protect the German language. Ultimately, they want to see this enshrined in the Constitution.
http://wn.com/People_and_Politics_|_Resisting_English_-_Why_the_German_Language_Needs_Rescuing
Increasingly, English seem to be encroaching on the German language. The German Language Association has registered some 6000 pseudo-anglicisms and is determined to stop the invasion. Its campaign is supported by a number of companies such as Dr.Oetker and Porsche, which are now dispensing with Anglicisms in their advertising. Members of the German Parliament are also fleshing out strategies to protect the German language. Ultimately, they want to see this enshrined in the Constitution.
- published: 11 Oct 2008
- views: 15452
- author: deutschewelleenglish
German: Languages of the World: Introductory Overviews
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:45
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. For further information about the series, please refer to www.foreignlanguageexpertise.com
http://wn.com/German_Languages_of_the_World_Introductory_Overviews
Alexander Arguelles presents a series of videos to provide introductory overviews of the languages of the world. Working diachronically through various language families in turn, he demonstrates how to identify each language, translates a text sample to show how it works, and discusses its genetic affiliation and cultural context. For further information about the series, please refer to www.foreignlanguageexpertise.com
- published: 19 Mar 2008
- views: 80830
- author: ProfASAr
Why Learn German?
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:14
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Why Learn German? It's a question you may be asked. For those of us with a love of German language and culture, it's an easy question to answer. But others may wonder what language they should study or why German is so relevant to their lives or their future. They may be looking for the kind of answers we can all provide. With this in mind, we are launching a contest entitled "Why Learn German?" We are looking for any answers you and your students may come up with, sent to us in any form you like -- notes, videos, collages, essays, photos, musical presentations -- whatever fits your message and your mood. Visit www.concordialanguagevillages.org for contest details on how to enter.
http://wn.com/Why_Learn_German?
Why Learn German? It's a question you may be asked. For those of us with a love of German language and culture, it's an easy question to answer. But others may wonder what language they should study or why German is so relevant to their lives or their future. They may be looking for the kind of answers we can all provide. With this in mind, we are launching a contest entitled "Why Learn German?" We are looking for any answers you and your students may come up with, sent to us in any form you like -- notes, videos, collages, essays, photos, musical presentations -- whatever fits your message and your mood. Visit www.concordialanguagevillages.org for contest details on how to enter.
- published: 20 Apr 2009
- views: 81232
- author: jonberndt
Reasons Why 'The Awful German Language' is Leider Geil
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:23
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
Kanal #2 www.youtube.com Blog mywordsarelikespears.wordpress.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter twitter.com
http://wn.com/Reasons_Why_'The_Awful_German_Language'_is_Leider_Geil
Kanal #2 www.youtube.com Blog mywordsarelikespears.wordpress.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter twitter.com
- published: 22 Aug 2012
- views: 5661
- author: Maria Athena
Class 1: Baptist German Language Class in Phoenix, AZ
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:34
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE TEXT HANDOUT FOUND AT THIS BLOG: www.baptistgermanclass.blogspot.com http
http://wn.com/Class_1_Baptist_German_Language_Class_in_Phoenix,_AZ
FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE TEXT HANDOUT FOUND AT THIS BLOG: www.baptistgermanclass.blogspot.com http
- published: 15 Jul 2010
- views: 1544
- author: sanderson1611
Easy German Episode 3 - Denken
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:08
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Simon asks people in Münster about what they think! Easy German is a video series produced on the streets of german cities to help learners getting in touch with the daily spoken german language. Check out more at www.easygerman.org
http://wn.com/Easy_German_Episode_3_Denken
Simon asks people in Münster about what they think! Easy German is a video series produced on the streets of german cities to help learners getting in touch with the daily spoken german language. Check out more at www.easygerman.org
- published: 29 May 2007
- views: 366491
- author: magauchsein
Learn German - How to Introduce Yourself in German
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:34
- Updated: 05 Dec 2012
www.GermanPod101.com Learn to introduce yourself in German with our German in Three Minutes series! In Germany, manners are important, and this step-by-step video teaches you some of the basics you need to be polite while speaking German. A native German teacher will explain the simple phrases necessary. This is the fastest, easiest way to pick up basic German! In this lesson, you'll learn how to introduce yourself in German. If you learned a lot with this video, stop by our German language learning website and get other language learning content including great videos just like this one, audio podcasts, review materials, blogs, iPhone applications, and more. www.GermanPod101.com
http://wn.com/Learn_German_How_to_Introduce_Yourself_in_German
www.GermanPod101.com Learn to introduce yourself in German with our German in Three Minutes series! In Germany, manners are important, and this step-by-step video teaches you some of the basics you need to be polite while speaking German. A native German teacher will explain the simple phrases necessary. This is the fastest, easiest way to pick up basic German! In this lesson, you'll learn how to introduce yourself in German. If you learned a lot with this video, stop by our German language learning website and get other language learning content including great videos just like this one, audio podcasts, review materials, blogs, iPhone applications, and more. www.GermanPod101.com
- published: 12 Jul 2012
- views: 22165
- author: germanpod101
German Language -Home Study -Accelerated Learning
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:24
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
See full info at www.acceleratedlearning.com SPANISH FRENCH ITALIAN GERMAN The Classic Accelerated Learning Home Study Language Course takes you from beginner to GCSE standard in 72 hours (average) of enjoyable home study video created by Robert Nichol RNaudioproductions www.allcast.co.uk
http://wn.com/German_Language_-Home_Study_-Accelerated_Learning
See full info at www.acceleratedlearning.com SPANISH FRENCH ITALIAN GERMAN The Classic Accelerated Learning Home Study Language Course takes you from beginner to GCSE standard in 72 hours (average) of enjoyable home study video created by Robert Nichol RNaudioproductions www.allcast.co.uk
- published: 11 Jun 2009
- views: 17209
- author: AcceleratedLearning
German - Hallo - Blackboard Project -
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:13
- Updated: 29 Nov 2012
The main feature of this project is how simple it is to produce such lessons. We ask everybody to join our "Blackboard Language Lessons" Project by producing similar videos. For more information please visit us on www.solarnet-international.org
http://wn.com/German_Hallo_Blackboard_Project_-
The main feature of this project is how simple it is to produce such lessons. We ask everybody to join our "Blackboard Language Lessons" Project by producing similar videos. For more information please visit us on www.solarnet-international.org
- published: 31 Jul 2008
- views: 182993
- author: magauchsein
The Best Way To Learn a Language in 3 Months (Blueprint 1/2)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:23
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
If you are interested in how to learn a language, this is the best way to learn a language in 3 months that I found. The original post, titled "How to learn any language in 90 days" was written by Maneesh Sethi from HackTheSystem.com and it had been featured on Zenhabits, Lifehacker and shared by Tim Ferriss on Twitter and Facebook. Its a great blueprint to follow for language learning, so I broke it down into 3 simple parts in this video: 0:22 Someone got slap by a girl because he did not learn german language the right way and said something wrong. Don't let that happen to you! 0:46 Part 1 - Overall Strategy of learning a new language 1:04 Part 2 - Da Game Plan broken down by months 2:36 Part 3 - The Resources you need to implement the best way to learn a language in 3 months 4:38 Behind the scene footage To test this blueprint myself, I am taking on the Learn German Language in 3 Months challenge to see if this blueprint actually works. You can see why I am so motivated by watching this video www.youtube.com Resources Mentioned: Sign up for Genius+ iPad beta testing: dageniuslab.com Memorization software for Macs: Genius - www.macupdate.com Memorization software for windows: Ankisrs.net Finding free Language partners The Mixxer at language-exchanges.org Couch Surfing: www.couchsurfing.org MeetUp: www.meetup.com Affordable online language tutors: edufire.com Dover Language Essential Grammar Guides: www.amazon.com Lonely Planet Phrasebook: www.amazon.com How To Learn Any ...
http://wn.com/The_Best_Way_To_Learn_a_Language_in_3_Months_Blueprint_1_2
If you are interested in how to learn a language, this is the best way to learn a language in 3 months that I found. The original post, titled "How to learn any language in 90 days" was written by Maneesh Sethi from HackTheSystem.com and it had been featured on Zenhabits, Lifehacker and shared by Tim Ferriss on Twitter and Facebook. Its a great blueprint to follow for language learning, so I broke it down into 3 simple parts in this video: 0:22 Someone got slap by a girl because he did not learn german language the right way and said something wrong. Don't let that happen to you! 0:46 Part 1 - Overall Strategy of learning a new language 1:04 Part 2 - Da Game Plan broken down by months 2:36 Part 3 - The Resources you need to implement the best way to learn a language in 3 months 4:38 Behind the scene footage To test this blueprint myself, I am taking on the Learn German Language in 3 Months challenge to see if this blueprint actually works. You can see why I am so motivated by watching this video www.youtube.com Resources Mentioned: Sign up for Genius+ iPad beta testing: dageniuslab.com Memorization software for Macs: Genius - www.macupdate.com Memorization software for windows: Ankisrs.net Finding free Language partners The Mixxer at language-exchanges.org Couch Surfing: www.couchsurfing.org MeetUp: www.meetup.com Affordable online language tutors: edufire.com Dover Language Essential Grammar Guides: www.amazon.com Lonely Planet Phrasebook: www.amazon.com How To Learn Any ...
- published: 08 Sep 2012
- views: 2740
- author: DaGeniusLab
Learn german in 6 days
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:53
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
TV-report about a german language school in Munich. Watch the video!!! It´s worth it. www.sprachtrainings.de A language is most easily learned in childhood. You learned your mother-tongue joyfully and effortlessly. Before you ever saw the inside of a school, you spoke freely with nary a care. You formed fluent sentences without having studied grammar. The prize-winning Alpha College Method takes the natural learning behavior of children and scientifically adapts it for adults.
http://wn.com/Learn_german_in_6_days
TV-report about a german language school in Munich. Watch the video!!! It´s worth it. www.sprachtrainings.de A language is most easily learned in childhood. You learned your mother-tongue joyfully and effortlessly. Before you ever saw the inside of a school, you spoke freely with nary a care. You formed fluent sentences without having studied grammar. The prize-winning Alpha College Method takes the natural learning behavior of children and scientifically adapts it for adults.
- published: 02 Nov 2006
- views: 182477
- author: Sprachschule
![ABBA - Waterloo [German Language Version]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121205220340im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q4_2TGXZubQ/default.jpg "ABBA - Waterloo [German Language Version]")
ABBA - Waterloo [German Language Version]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:40
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
ABBA perform the German language version of their Eurovision winning song, "Waterloo", complete with flashy outfits and platform boots.
http://wn.com/ABBA_Waterloo_German_Language_Version_
ABBA perform the German language version of their Eurovision winning song, "Waterloo", complete with flashy outfits and platform boots.
- published: 17 Mar 2006
- views: 1077207
- author: say3words
Speak German - -Learn German Language
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:37
- Updated: 09 Nov 2012
See full info at www.acceleratedlearning.com SPANISH FRENCH ITALIAN GERMAN The Classic Accelerated Learning Home Study Language Course takes you from beginner to GCSE standard in 72 hours (average) of enjoyable home study video created by Robert Nichol RNaudioproductions www.allcast.co.uk
http://wn.com/Speak_German_-Learn_German_Language
See full info at www.acceleratedlearning.com SPANISH FRENCH ITALIAN GERMAN The Classic Accelerated Learning Home Study Language Course takes you from beginner to GCSE standard in 72 hours (average) of enjoyable home study video created by Robert Nichol RNaudioproductions www.allcast.co.uk
- published: 11 Jun 2009
- views: 43663
- author: AcceleratedLearning
★★★★★ Sarah Chalke speaks german spricht deutsch
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:27
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
Sarah Chalke speaks german spricht deutsch
http://wn.com/★★★★★_Sarah_Chalke_speaks_german_spricht_deutsch
Sarah Chalke speaks german spricht deutsch
- published: 17 Dec 2010
- views: 2863260
- author: arnsbach
Unit 1 of intermediate German from online FSI language courses
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:20
- Updated: 26 Nov 2012
Here's Unit 1 of the second book (or Unit 13 if counting from the first) of FSI's German language courses. Perfect dialogues if you were supposed to do something at the Ministry of Economic Affairs but suddenly had to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead. The text for this unit can be read here: www.pagef30.com
http://wn.com/Unit_1_of_intermediate_German_from_online_FSI_language_courses
Here's Unit 1 of the second book (or Unit 13 if counting from the first) of FSI's German language courses. Perfect dialogues if you were supposed to do something at the Ministry of Economic Affairs but suddenly had to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead. The text for this unit can be read here: www.pagef30.com
- published: 06 Aug 2010
- views: 19955
- author: mithradates
German Language Directions
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:50
- Updated: 02 Dec 2012
Start learning German by understanding common phrases. In this language video lesson from About.com you will learn how to ask and give directions in German.
http://wn.com/German_Language_Directions
Start learning German by understanding common phrases. In this language video lesson from About.com you will learn how to ask and give directions in German.
- published: 28 Feb 2012
- views: 1606
- author: About
Learn Basic German Words
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:45
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
Click german.jklm.cc for free German audio lessons and German language and culture lessons. There are 81 basic German words and expressions in this video, comprising greetings, numbers, telling the time, days of the weeks and months. Each time, the English equivalent is pronounced first so that you have time to say the German translation aloud, then the right German word is given.
http://wn.com/Learn_Basic_German_Words
Click german.jklm.cc for free German audio lessons and German language and culture lessons. There are 81 basic German words and expressions in this video, comprising greetings, numbers, telling the time, days of the weeks and months. Each time, the English equivalent is pronounced first so that you have time to say the German translation aloud, then the right German word is given.
- published: 03 Dec 2010
- views: 18291
- author: linguistmail
German Language Lessons: Thank You in german!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:23
- Updated: 01 Nov 2012
www.best-german-gifts.com 8 ways to say thank you in german.
http://wn.com/German_Language_Lessons_Thank_You_in_german!
www.best-german-gifts.com 8 ways to say thank you in german.
- published: 08 Jul 2008
- views: 29423
- author: sloveniaholidays
photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan
02 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Guest Writer Gilad Atzmon. Israel suffered a humiliating defeat at The UN recently. The nations of the world stood up and said NO to the Jewish state - NO to Israeli occupation, NO to Israeli human rights abuse, NO to Jewish racism. In effect, they stood up and confessed to serious Zio-fatigue ... This is a very good news indeed. But interestingly, this united opposition to Israel is not in response to Israeli strength ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
photo: AP / Bassem Tellawi
04 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) â President Barack Obama warned Syria on Monday that the use of chemical weapons would be "totally unacceptable" and that the country's leaders would be held accountable ... Obama stopped short of detailing those consequences....(size: 6.7Kb)
photo: AP / Nasser Nasser
05 Dec 2012
Police in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have clashed with protesters angry at what they say is the rushed drafting of a new constitution and by President Morsi's recent extension of his powers. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the presidential palace. The police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, some of whom managed to cut through barbed wire around the palace ... Press action ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
photo: AP / Karlos Manlupig
05 Dec 2012
The death toll from a powerful storm that hit the southern Philippines is continuing to rise, as rescue teams headed for affected areas. Typhoon Bopha struck Mindanao island on Tuesday, bringing rain and high winds. Tens of thousands were evacuated ahead of the storm, which is now passing over the western island of Palawan ... Water and mud rushed down mountainous slopes to engulf a school and a village hall serving as evacuation centres ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
photo: NATO
05 Dec 2012
BRUSSELS. NATO on Tuesday approved member state Turkey's request for Patriot missiles to defend its border against Syria following a series of blunt warnings to Damascus not to use chemical weapons ... "We say to anyone who would want to attack Turkey -- don't even think about it," he remarked, announcing the decision after the first day of a two-day meeting in Brussels ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)
The Associated Press
05 Dec 2012
Few German employers are prepared to compromise when it comes to language skills, according to Raimund Becker, who heads the German Federal Employment Agency's division for foreign and specialist recruitment ... But despite the boom in German language teaching seen also in Spain itself, the number of Spaniards coming to Germany remains modest....(size: 9.4Kb)
Seattle Post
05 Dec 2012
Few German employers are prepared to compromise when it comes to language skills, according to Raimund Becker, who heads the German Federal Employment Agency's division for foreign and specialist recruitment ... But despite the boom in German language teaching seen also in Spain itself, the number of Spaniards coming to Germany remains modest....(size: 9.4Kb)
Sacramento Bee
05 Dec 2012
Few German employers are prepared to compromise when it comes to language skills, according to Raimund Becker, who heads the German Federal Employment Agency's division for foreign and specialist recruitment ... But despite the boom in German language teaching seen also in Spain itself, the number of Spaniards coming to Germany remains modest....(size: 9.5Kb)
Star Tribune
05 Dec 2012
Few German employers are prepared to compromise when it comes to language skills, according to Raimund Becker, who heads the German Federal Employment Agency's division for foreign and specialist recruitment ... But despite the boom in German language teaching seen also in Spain itself, the number of Spaniards coming to Germany remains modest....(size: 9.8Kb)
The News & Observer
05 Dec 2012
Few German employers are prepared to compromise when it comes to language skills, according to Raimund Becker, who heads the German Federal Employment Agency's division for foreign and specialist recruitment ... But despite the boom in German language teaching seen also in Spain itself, the number of Spaniards coming to Germany remains modest....(size: 21.1Kb)
Jamaica Observer
05 Dec 2012
STL Today
05 Dec 2012
The number of Missouri students learning Spanish, French, German and even languages like Russian, Japanese and Chinese has grown from 89,684 in the 1991-1992 school year to 192,785 last school year, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ... Duchesne in recent discontinued its German language classes, but Long said enrollment in French and Spanish classes has remained steady....(size: 4.8Kb)
The Daily Telegraph
05 Dec 2012
The English language is closely related to many Germanic and Romance dialects, so when it comes to language study English speakers aren’t starting from scratch ... when it comes to language study, English speakers aren’t starting from scratch ... >> Ten easiest languages for native English speakers to learn ... Rather, it is linked to many European Germanic languages by descent or influence....(size: 12.4Kb)
The Daily Telegraph
05 Dec 2012
PREVIOUS. 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10. Afrikaans. Like English, Afrikaans is in the West Germanic language family. Unlike English, its structure won’t make your head spin ... Unlike Romance languages, there is no gender (un homme, une femme in French). Another feature of Afrikaans is its vocabulary, which shares many Germanic-derived root words that are familiar to English speakers ... ... Best foreign languages to study 21 Aug 2012 ... ....(size: 8.0Kb)
CBC
05 Dec 2012
and Germany includes new French- and German-language versions of the website, as well as the option to make transactions in Canadian dollars, euros and British pound sterling, Indiegogo said Wednesday.Indiegogo co-founder Danae Ringelmann co-founded the San Francisco-based company Indiegogo in 2008 (Courtesy of Indiegogo)....(size: 6.4Kb)
Business Wire
04 Dec 2012
. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... For a copy of Bain’s “Service Now! Time to wake up the sleeping giant” report or to schedule an interview with Oliver Straehle or Christoph Winterer, German-language media, please contact Pierre Deraed at email. pierre.deraed@bain.com or +49 89-5123-1330, or Julia Henry at Julia.henry@bain.com or +49 89 5123 1428; English-language media please contact Cheryl Krauss at email ... German-Language Media ... or. English-Language Media ... or ... ....(size: 9.5Kb)
Buffalo News
04 Dec 2012
The toaster-sized brass box contained mainly newspapers from Sept ... The media landscape back then was chockablock with newspapers, and the time capsule carried copies of six local dailies – the Buffalo Evening News, the Courier-Express, the Buffalo Times, the Buffalo Enquirer and the Buffalo Commercial, as well as two German-language papers, Der Buffalo Demokrat and the Buffalo Volksfreund ... Deaconess Hospital closed in 1986....(size: 2.9Kb)
noodls
02 Dec 2012
GRANVILLE, Ohio-A view of rock music in Germany and how it shaped German identity in the 1950s and early 1960s will be considered in a lecture, "Can You Put a Beat to that Umlaut," at 4.30 p.m ... In the aftermath of National Socialism and the Second World War, Germany suffered a cultural identity crisis in which the viability of German as a language for popular song was questioned....(size: 2.9Kb)
German (Deutsch [ˈdɔʏtʃ] ( listen)) is a West Germanic language related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90[1] – 98 million[2] native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.
Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.[16] Significant minorities of words are derived from Latin and Greek, with a smaller amount from French and English.
German is written using the Latin alphabet. In addition to the 26 standard letters, German has three vowels with umlauts (Ä/ä, Ö/ö, and Ü/ü) and the letter ß.
Contents |
History[link]
Main article: History of German
Origins[link]
The history of the language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, separating Old High German dialects from Old Saxon. The earliest testimonies of Old High German are from scattered Elder Futhark inscriptions, especially in Alemannic, from the 6th century AD; 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 at this time belongs to the North Sea Germanic cultural sphere, and Low Saxon was to fall under German rather than Anglo-Frisian influence during the Holy Roman Empire.
As Germany was divided into many different states, the only force working for a unification or standardization of German during a period of several hundred years was the general preference of writers trying to write in a way that could be understood in the largest possible area.
Modern German[link]
When Martin Luther translated the Bible (the New Testament in 1522 and the Old Testament, published in parts and completed in 1534), he based his translation mainly on the bureaucratic standard language used in Saxony (sächsische Kanzleisprache), also known as Meißner-Deutsch (German from the city of Meissen). This language was based on Eastern Upper and Eastern Central German dialects and preserved much of the grammatical system of Middle High German (unlike the spoken German dialects in Central and Upper Germany, which had already at that time begun to lose the genitive case and the preterit). In the beginning, copies of the Bible had a long list for each region, which translated words unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics rejected Luther's translation initially and tried to create their own Catholic standard (gemeines Deutsch) — which, however, differed from "Protestant German" only in some minor details. It took until the middle of the 18th century to create a widely accepted standard, thus ending the period of Early New High German.
Until about 1800, standard German was almost only a written language. At this time, people in urban northern Germany, who spoke dialects very different from Standard German, learned it almost like a foreign language and tried to pronounce it as closely to the spelling as possible. Prescriptive pronunciation guides used to consider northern German pronunciation to be the standard. However, the actual pronunciation of Standard German varies from region to region.
German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant, an urbanite, not their nationality. Some cities, such as Prague (German: Prag) and Budapest (Buda, German: Ofen), were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain. Others, such as Bratislava (German: Pressburg), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. A few cities such as Milan (German: Mailand) remained mainly non-German. However most cities, such as Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, Zagreb (German: Agram), and Ljubljana (German: Laibach), were primarily German during this time, although surrounded by territory where other languages were spoken.
In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a complete standardization of the German language in its written form while the Deutsche Bühnensprache (literally, German stage language) had established rules for German three years earlier, which were later to become obligatory for general German pronunciation[citation needed].
Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German (often called Hochdeutsch in German) which is understood in all areas where German is spoken.
The first dictionary of the Brothers Grimm, the 16 parts of which were issued between 1852 and 1860, remains the most comprehensive guide to the words of the German language. In 1860, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, this was declared the standard definition of the German language. Official revisions of some of these rules were not issued until 1998, when the spelling reform of 1996 was officially promulgated by governmental representatives of all German-speaking countries.
Reform of 1996[link]
Main article: German spelling reform of 1996
The spelling reform of 1996 led to public controversy and considerable dispute. The states (Bundesländer) of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria would not accept it. The dispute landed at one point in the highest court, which made a short issue of it, claiming that the states had to decide for themselves and that only in schools could the reform be made the official rule—everybody else could continue writing as they had learned it. After 10 years, without any intervention by the federal parliament, a major revision was installed in 2006, just in time for the coming school year. In 2007, some traditional spellings were finally invalidated.
The most noticeable change was probably the use of the letter ß, called scharfes s or ess-zett (pronounced ess-tsett). Traditionally, this letter was used in three situations: 1) after a long vowel or vowel combination, 2) before a t, and 3) at the end of a syllable, thus Füße, paßt, and daß. Currently only the first rule is in effect, thus Füße, passt, and dass. The word Fuß 'foot' has the letter ß because it contains a long vowel, even though that letter occurs at the end of a syllable. The logic of this change is the basic fact that an 'ß' is a single letter whereas 'ss' obviously are two letters, so the same distinction applies as for instance between the words 'den' and 'denn'.
Geographic distribution[link]
Main article: German diaspora
German-speaking communities can be found in the former German colony of Namibia, independent from South Africa since 1990, as well as in the other countries of German emigration such as the US, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela (where the dialect Alemán Coloniero developed), South Africa and Australia. In Namibia, German Namibians retain German educational institutions.
According to Global Reach (2004), 6.9% of the Internet population is German.[17][18] According to Netz-tipp (2002), 7.7% of webpages are written in German,[19] making it second only to English in the European language group. They also report that 12% of Google's users use its German interface.[19]
| Country | German speaking population (outside Europe)[20] |
|---|---|
 USA |
5,000,000 |
 Brazil |
3,000,000 |
 Argentina |
500,000 |
 Canada |
450,000[20] – 620,000[21] |
 Mexico |
200,000 |
 Australia |
110,000 |
 South Africa |
75,000 (German expatriate citizens alone)[20] |
 Bolivia |
60,000[citation needed] |
 Chile |
40,000 |
 Paraguay |
30,000 – 40,000 |
 New Zealand |
37,500 |
 Namibia |
30,000 (German expatriate citizens alone)[20] |
 Venezuela |
10,000 |
Europe[link]
Main articles: German-speaking Europe and German as a minority language
German is primarily spoken in Germany (where it is the first language for more than 95% of the population), Austria (89%), Switzerland (65%), the majority of Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein - the latter being the only state with German as the sole official language.
Other European German-speaking communities are found in Northern Italy (in South Tyrol and in some municipalities in other provinces), in the East Cantons of Belgium, in the French regions of Alsace and Lorraine, and in some border villages of the former South Jutland County of Denmark.
German-speaking communities can also be found in parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Russia and Kazakhstan. In Russia, forced expulsions after World War II and massive emigration to Germany in the 1980s and 1990s have depopulated most of these communities.
South America[link]
In Brazil the largest concentrations of German speakers are in Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and Espírito Santo. There are also important concentrations of German-speaking descendants in Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay and Chile. In the 20th century, over 100,000 German political refugees and invited entrepreneurs settled in Latin America, in countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, to establish German-speaking enclaves, and reportedly there is a small German immigration to Puerto Rico. Nearly all inhabitants of the city of Pomerode in the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil can speak German. However, in most other locations where German immigrants settled, the vast majority of their descendents no longer speak German, as they have been largely assimilated into the host language and culture of the specific location of settlement; generally English in North America, and Spanish, or Portuguese in Latin America.
North America[link]
In the United States, the states of North Dakota and South Dakota are the only states where German is the most common language spoken at home after English (the second most spoken language in other states is either Spanish or French).[22] An indication of the German presence can be found in the names of such places as New Ulm and many other towns in Minnesota; Bismarck (state capital), Munich, Karlsruhe, and Strasburg in North Dakota; New Braunfels and Muenster in Texas; and Kiel, Berlin and Germantown in Wisconsin.
Between 1843 and 1910, more than 5 million Germans emigrated overseas,[23] mostly to the United States.[24] German remained an important medium for churches, schools, newspapers, and even the administration of the United States Brewers' Association[25] through the early 20th century, but was severely repressed during World War I. Over the course of the 20th century many of the descendants of 18th century and 19th century immigrants ceased speaking German at home, but small populations of elderly (as well as some younger) speakers can be found in Pennsylvania (Amish, Hutterites, Dunkards and some Mennonites historically spoke Hutterite German and a West Central German variety of German known as Pennsylvania Dutch), Kansas (Mennonites and Volga Germans), North Dakota (Hutterite Germans, Mennonites, Russian Germans, Volga Germans, and Baltic Germans), South Dakota, Montana, Texas (Texas German), Wisconsin, Indiana, Oregon, Louisiana and Oklahoma. A significant group of German Pietists in Iowa formed the Amana Colonies and continue to practice speaking their heritage language. Early twentieth century immigration was often to St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
In Canada, there are 622,650 speakers of German according to the most recent census in 2006,[21] while people of German ancestry (German Canadians) are found throughout the country. German-speaking communities are particularly found in British Columbia (118,035) and Ontario (230,330).[21] There is a large and vibrant community in the city of Kitchener, Ontario, which was at one point named Berlin. German immigrants were instrumental in the country's three largest urban areas: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver; while post-Second World War immigrants managed to preserve a fluency in the German language in their respective neighborhoods and sections. In the first half of the 20ᵗʰ century, over a million German-Canadians made the language Canada's third most spoken after French and English.
In Mexico there are also large populations of German ancestry, mainly in the cities of: Mexico City, Puebla, Mazatlán, Tapachula, Ecatepec de Morelos, and larger populations scattered in the states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Zacatecas. German ancestry is also said to be found in neighboring towns around Guadalajara, Jalisco and much of Northern Mexico, where German influence was immersed into the Mexican culture. Standard German is spoken by the affluent German communities in Puebla, Mexico City, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Quintana Roo.
The dialects of German which are or were primarily spoken in colonies or communities founded by German-speaking people resemble the dialects of the regions the founders came from. For example, Pennsylvania German resembles Palatinate German dialects, and Hutterite German resembles dialects of Carinthia. Texas German is a dialect spoken in the areas of Texas settled by the Adelsverein, such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. In the Amana Colonies in the state of Iowa, Amana German is spoken. Plautdietsch is a large minority language spoken in Northern Mexico by the Mennonite communities, and is spoken by more than 200,000 people in Mexico. Pennsylvania Dutch is a dialect of German spoken by the Amish population of Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio.
Hutterite German is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. Hutterite is spoken in the U.S. states of Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota; and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Its speakers belong to some Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and Dariusleit Hutterite groups, but there are also speakers among the older generations of Prairieleit (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn to speak Hutterite German before learning English, the standard language of the surrounding areas, in school. Many of these children, though, continue with German Grammar School, in addition to public school, throughout a student's elementary education.[citation needed]
Australia[link]
In Australia, the state of South Australia experienced a pronounced wave of immigration in the 1840s from Prussia (particularly the Silesia region). With the prolonged isolation from other German speakers and contact with Australian English some have suggested a unique dialect formed known as Barossa German spoken predominantly in the Barossa Valley near Adelaide. Usage sharply declined with the advent of World War I, due to the prevailing anti-German sentiment in the population and related government action. It continued to be used as a first language into the twentieth century but now its use is limited to a few older speakers.[citation needed]
New Zealand[link]
German migration to New Zealand in the nineteenth century was less pronounced then migration from the British and Irish Isles and perhaps even Scandinavia. Despite this there were significant pockets of German speaking communities lasting up to the first decades of the twentieth century. German-speakers settled principally in Puhoi, Nelson and Gore. Puhoi was settled by Bohemians and these settlers retained the Egerlaender dialect long after it died out in its native land. At last estimate a few dozen inhabitants still speak this dialect fluently.
At the last census (2006) 37,500 people in New Zealand spoke German. This made German the third most spoken European language after English and French and the ninth most spoken language over all. German is somewhat of an invisble minority language, however, as most speakers, other than the very young, are fluent in English. Unlike less widely spoken languages (for example Korean, Nuiean or Cook Island Maori) government departments make no provision for German speakers to communicate with them in the language.
Asia[link]
There is also an important German creole being studied and recovered, named Unserdeutsch, spoken in the former German colony of Papua New Guinea, across Micronesia and in northern Australia (i.e. coastal parts of Queensland and Western Australia), by a few elderly people. The risk of its extinction is serious and efforts to revive interest in the language are being implemented by scholars.
Standard German[link]
Main article: Standard German
Standard German originated not as a traditional dialect of a specific region, but as a written language. However, there are places where the traditional regional dialects have been replaced by standard German; this is the case in vast stretches of Northern Germany, but also in major cities in other parts of the country.
Standard German differs regionally, between German-speaking countries, in vocabulary and some instances of pronunciation, and even grammar and orthography. This variation must not be confused with the variation of local dialects . Even though the regional varieties of standard German are only to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct. German is thus considered a pluricentric language.
In most regions, the speakers use a continuum of mixtures from more dialectal varieties to more standard varieties according to 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 used in the Swiss, Austrian Standard German officially in the Austrian education system.
Official status[link]
Standard German is the only official language in Liechtenstein; it shares official status in Germany (with Danish, Frisian, Romany and Sorbian as minority languages), in Austria (with Slovene, Croatian, and Hungarian as minority languages), Switzerland (with French, Italian and Romansh), Belgium (with Dutch (Flemish) and French) and Luxembourg (with French and Luxembourgish). It is used as an official regional language in Italy (South Tyrol), as well as in the cities of Sopron (Hungary), Krahule (Slovakia) and several cities in Romania. It is the official command language (with Italian) of the Vatican Swiss Guard.
German has an officially recognized status as regional or auxiliary language in Denmark[27] (Southern Jutland region), Italy (Gressoney valley)[citation needed], Namibia, Poland (Opole region), and Russia[citation needed] (Asowo and Halbstadt).
German is one of the 23 official languages of the European Union and one of the three working languages. It is the language with the largest number of native speakers in the European Union, and is the second-most spoken language in Europe, just behind English and ahead of French.
German as a foreign language[link]
Main article: German as a foreign language
German is the third-most taught foreign language in the English-speaking world, after French and Spanish.[28]
German is the main language of about 90[1] – 98 million[2] 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). It is therefore the most spoken first language in the EU. It is the second most known foreign language in the EU.[29] 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. Thirty-two percent of citizens of the EU-15 countries say they can converse in German (either as a mother tongue or as a second or foreign language).[30] This is assisted by the widespread availability of German TV by cable or satellite.
Dialects[link]
Main article: German dialects
German is a member of the western branch of the Germanic family of languages, which in turn is part of the Indo-European language family. The German dialect continuum is traditionally divided most broadly into High German and Low German.
The variation among the German dialects is considerable, with only the neighboring dialects being mutually intelligible. Some dialects are not intelligible to people who only know standard German. However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low Saxon languages.
Low German[link]
Main article: Low German
Middle Low German was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany. This changed in the 16th century, when in 1534 the Luther Bible by Martin Luther was printed. This translation is considered to be an important step towards the evolution of the Early New High German. It aimed to be understandable to a broad audience and was based mainly on Central and Upper German varieties. The Early New High German language gained more prestige than Low German and became the language of science and literature. Other factors were that around the same time, the Hanseatic league lost its importance as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established, and that the most powerful German states of that period were located in Middle and Southern Germany.
The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education of Standard German in schools. Slowly, Low German was politically viewed as nothing but a dialect language spoken by the uneducated. Today Low Saxon can be divided in two groups: Low Saxon varieties with a reasonable standard German influx and varieties of Standard German with a Low Saxon influence known as Missingsch. Sometimes, Low Saxon and Low Franconian varieties are grouped together because both are unaffected by the High German consonant shift. However, the part of the population capable of speaking and responding to it, or of understanding it has decreased continuously since World War II.
High German[link]
Main article: High German languages
High German is divided into Central German, High Franconian (a transitional dialect), and Upper German. Central German dialects include Ripuarian, Moselle Franconian, Rhine Franconian, Central Hessian, East Hessian, North Hessian, Thuringian, Silesian German, Lorraine Franconian, Mittelalemannisch, North Upper Saxon, High Prussian, Lausitzisch-Neumärkisch and Upper Saxon. It is spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of France, and parts of Germany approximately between the River Main and the southern edge of the Lowlands. Modern Standard German is mostly based on Central German, but it should be noted that the common (but not linguistically correct) German term for modern Standard German is Hochdeutsch, that is, High German.
The Moselle Franconian varieties spoken in Luxembourg have been officially standardised and institutionalised and are therefore usually considered a separate language known as Luxembourgish.
The two High Franconian dialects are East Franconian and South Franconian.
Upper German dialects include Northern Austro-Bavarian, Central Austro-Bavarian, Southern Austro-Bavarian, Swabian, East Franconian, High Alemannic German, Highest Alemannic German, Alsatian and Low Alemannic German. They are spoken in parts of the Alsace, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
Vilamovian is a High German dialect of Poland, and Sathmarisch and Siebenbürgisch are High German dialects of Romania. The High German varieties spoken by Ashkenazi Jews (mostly in the former Soviet Union) have several unique features, and are usually considered as a separate language, Yiddish. It is the only Germanic language that does not use the Latin script as the basis of its standard alphabet.
Varieties of standard German[link]
In German linguistics, German dialects are distinguished from varieties of standard German.
- The German dialects are the traditional local varieties. They are traditionally traced back to the different German tribes. Many of them are hardly understandable to someone who knows only standard German, since they often differ from standard German in lexicon, phonology and syntax. If a narrow definition of language based on mutual intelligibility is used, many German dialects are considered to be separate languages (for instance in the Ethnologue). However, such a point of view is unusual in German linguistics.
- The varieties of standard German refer to the different local varieties of the pluricentric standard German. They only differ slightly in lexicon and phonology. In certain regions, they have replaced the traditional German dialects, especially in Northern Germany.
Grammar[link]
Main article: German grammar
German is an inflected language with three grammatical genders; as such, there can be a large number of words derived from the same root.
Noun inflection[link]
German nouns inflect into:
- one of four cases: nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative.
- one of three genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Word endings sometimes reveal grammatical gender; for instance, nouns ending in ...ung (ing), ...schaft (-ship), ...keit or ...heit (-hood) are feminine, while nouns ending in ...chen or ...lein (diminutive forms) are neuter and nouns ending in ...ismus (-ism) are masculine. Others are controversial, sometimes depending on the region in which it is spoken. Additionally, ambiguous endings exist, such as ...er (-er), e.g. Feier (feminine), celebration, party, Arbeiter (masculine), labourer, and Gewitter (neuter), thunderstorm.
- two numbers: singular and plural
Although German is usually cited as an outstanding example of a highly inflected language, the degree of inflection is considerably less than in Old High German or in other old Indo-European languages such as Latin, Ancient Greek, or Sanskrit, or, for instance, in modern Icelandic or Russian. The three genders have collapsed in the plural, which now behaves, grammatically, somewhat as a fourth gender. With four cases and three genders plus plural there are 16 distinct possible combinations of case and gender/number, but presently there are only six forms of the definite article used for the 16 possibilities. Inflection for case on the noun itself is required in the singular for strong masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive and sometimes in the dative. Both of these cases are losing way to substitutes in informal speech. The dative ending is considered somewhat old-fashioned in many contexts and often dropped, but it is still used in sayings and in formal speech or in written language. Weak masculine nouns share a common case ending for genitive, dative and accusative in the singular. Feminines are not declined in the singular. The plural does have an inflection for the dative. In total, seven inflectional endings (not counting plural markers) exist in German: -s, -es, -n, -ns, -en, -ens, -e.
In German orthography, nouns and most words with the syntactical function of nouns are capitalised, which is supposed to make it easier for readers to find out what function a word has within the sentence (Am Freitag ging ich einkaufen.—"On Friday I went shopping."; Eines Tages kreuzte er endlich auf.—"One day he finally showed up.") This convention is almost unique to German today (shared perhaps only by the closely related Luxemburgish language and several insular dialects of the North Frisian language), although it was historically common in other languages such as Danish and English.
Like most Germanic languages, German forms noun compounds where the first noun modifies the category given by the second, for example: Hundehütte (dog hut; specifically: doghouse). Unlike English, where newer compounds or combinations of longer nouns are often written in open form with separating spaces, German (like the other German languages) nearly always uses the closed form without spaces, for example: Baumhaus (tree house). Like English, German allows arbitrarily long compounds, but these are rare. (See also English compounds.) The longest German word verified to be actually in (albeit very limited) use is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, which, literally translated, is "beef labelling supervision duty assignment law" [from Rind (cattle), Fleisch (meat), Etikettierung(s) (labelling), Überwachung(s) (supervision), Aufgaben (duties), Übertragung(s) (assignment), Gesetz (law)].
Verb inflection[link]
Main article: German verbs
Standard German verbs inflect into:
- one of primarily two conjugation classes: weak and strong (as in English). Additionally, there is a third class, known as mixed verbs, which exhibit inflections combining features of both the strong and weak patterns.
- three persons: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
- two numbers: singular and plural
- three moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive
- two voices: active and passive; the passive being composed and dividable into static and dynamic.
- two non-composed tenses (present, preterite) and four composed tenses (perfect, pluperfect, future and future perfect)
- distinction between grammatical aspects is rendered by combined use of subjunctive and/or preterite marking; thus: neither of both is plain indicative voice, sole subjunctive conveys second-hand information, subjunctive plus preterite marking forms the conditional state, and sole preterite is either plain indicative (in the past), or functions as a (literal) alternative for either second-hand-information or the conditional state of the verb, when one of them may seem indistinguishable otherwise.
- distinction between perfect and progressive aspect is and has at every stage of development been at hand as a productive category of the older language and in nearly all documented dialects, but, strangely enough, is nowadays rigorously excluded from written usage in its present normalised form.
- disambiguation of completed vs. uncompleted forms is widely observed and regularly generated by common prefixes (blicken - to look, erblicken - to see [unrelated form: sehen - to see]).
- Verb prefixes
The meaning of base verbs can be expanded, and sometimes radically changed, through the use of any number of prefixes. Some prefixes have a meaning themselves; the prefix zer- refers to the destruction of things, as in zerreißen (to tear apart), zerbrechen (to break apart), zerschneiden (to cut apart). Others do not have more than the vaguest meaning in and of themselves; the use of ver- is found in a number of verbs with a large variety of meanings, as in versuchen (to try), vernehmen (to interrogate), verteilen (to distribute), verstehen (to understand).
Other examples include haften (to stick), verhaften (to detain); kaufen (to buy), verkaufen (to sell); hören (to hear), aufhören (to cease); fahren (to drive), erfahren (to experience).
Many German verbs have a separable prefix, often with an adverbial function. In finite verb forms this is split off and moved to the end of the clause, and is hence considered by some to be a "resultative particle". For example, mitgehen meaning "to go along" would be split, giving Gehen Sie mit? (Literal: "Go you with?" ; Formal: "Are you going along?").
Indeed, several parenthetical clauses may occur between the prefix of a finite verb and its complement; e.g.
- Er kam am Freitagabend nach einem harten Arbeitstag und dem üblichen Ärger, der ihn schon seit Jahren immer wieder an seinem Arbeitsplatz plagt, mit fraglicher Freude auf ein Mahl, das seine Frau ihm, wie er hoffte, bereits aufgetischt hatte, endlich zu Hause an .
A literal translation of this example might look like this:
- He -rived on Friday evening, after a hard day at work and the usual annoyances that had been repeatedly troubling him for years now at his workplace, with questionable joy, to a meal which, as he hoped, his wife had already served him, finally at home ar-.
Word order[link]
Word order is generally less rigid than in Modern English. There are two common word orders: one is for main clauses and another for subordinate clauses. In normal affirmative sentences the inflected verb always has position 2. In polar questions, exclamations, and wishes it always has position 1. In subordinate clauses the verb is supposed to occur at the very end, but in speech this rule is often disregarded.
German requires that a verbal element (main verb or auxiliary verb) appear second in the sentence. The verb is preceded by the topic of the sentence. The element in focus appears at the end of the sentence. For a sentence without an auxiliary this gives, amongst other options:
- Der alte Mann gab mir gestern das Buch. (The old man gave me yesterday the book; normal order)
- Das Buch gab mir gestern der alte Mann. (The book gave [to] me yesterday the old man)
- Das Buch gab der alte Mann mir gestern. (The book gave the old man [to] me yesterday)
- Gestern gab mir der alte Mann das Buch. (Yesterday gave [to] me the old man the book, normal order)
- Mir gab der alte Mann das Buch gestern. ([To] me gave the old man the book yesterday (entailing: as for you, it was another date))
The position of a noun in a German sentence has no bearing on its being a subject, an object, or another argument. In a declarative sentence in English if the subject does not occur before the predicate the sentence could well be misunderstood. This is not the case in German.
- Auxiliary verbs
When an auxiliary verb is present, the auxiliary appears in second position, and the main verb appears at the end. This occurs notably in the creation of the perfect. Many word orders are still possible, e.g.:
- Der alte Mann hat mir heute das Buch gegeben. (The old man has given me the book today.)
- Das Buch hat der alte Mann mir heute gegeben. (The book has the old man given me today.)
- Heute hat der alte Mann mir das Buch gegeben. (Today the old man has given me the book.)
- Modal verbs
Sentences using modal verbs place the infinitive at the end. For example, the sentence in Modern English "Should he go home?" would be rearranged in German to say "Should he (to) home go?" (Soll er nach Hause gehen?). Thus in sentences with several subordinate or relative clauses the infinitives are clustered at the end. Compare the similar clustering of prepositions in the following English sentence: "What did you bring that book which I don't like to be read to out of up for?"
- Multiple infinitives
German subordinate clauses have all verbs clustered at the end. Given that auxiliaries encode future, passive, modality, and the perfect, this can lead to very long chains of verbs at the end of the sentence. In these constructions, the past participle in ge- is often replaced by the infinitive.
Man nimmt an, dass der Deserteur wohl erschossenV wordenpsv seinperf solltemod
One suspects that the deserter probably shot become be should
("It is suspected that the deserter probably should have been shot")
The order at the end of such strings is subject to variation, though the latter version is unusual.
Er wusste nicht, dass der Agent einen Nachschlüssel hatte machen lassen
He knew not that the agent a picklock had make let
Er wusste nicht, dass der Agent einen Nachschlüssel machen lassen hatte
He knew not that the agent a picklock make let had
("He did not know that the agent had had a picklock made")
Vocabulary[link]
Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, although there are significant minorities of words derived from Latin and Greek, and a smaller amount from French[31] and most recently English.[32] At the same time, the effectiveness of the German language in forming equivalents for foreign words from its inherited Germanic stem repertory is great.[citation needed] Thus, Notker Labeo was able to translate Aristotelian treatises in pure (Old High) German in the decades after the year 1000. Overall, German has fewer Romance-language loanwords than English or even Dutch.
Even today, some low-key non-academic movements try to promote the Ersatz (substitution) of virtually all foreign words with ancient, dialectal, or neologous German alternatives.[33] It is claimed that this would also help in spreading modern or scientific notions among the less educated, and thus democratise public life, too.
The modern German scientific vocabulary has nine million words and word groups (based on the analysis of 35 million sentences of a corpus in Leipzig, which as of July 2003 included 500 million words in total).[34]
Literature[link]
Main article: German literature
The German language is used in German literature and can be traced back to the Middle Ages, with the most notable authors of the period being Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. The Nibelungenlied, whose author remains unknown, is also an important work of the epoch, as is the Thidrekssaga. The fairy tales collections collected and published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century became famous throughout the world.
Theologian Luther, who translated the Bible into German, is widely credited for having set the basis for the modern "High German" language. Among the most well known German poets and authors are Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Hoffmann, Brecht, Heine and Schmidt. Thirteen German speaking people have won the Nobel Prize in literature: Theodor Mommsen, Rudolf Christoph Eucken, Paul von Heyse, Gerhart Hauptmann, Carl Spitteler, Thomas Mann, Nelly Sachs, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Böll, Elias Canetti, Günter Grass, Elfriede Jelinek and Herta Müller.
| Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe (1749–1832) |
Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) |
Brothers Grimm (1785–1863) |
Thomas Mann (1875–1955) |
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
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Orthography[link]
Main articles: German orthography and German alphabet
German is written in the Latin alphabet. In addition to the 26 standard letters, German has three vowels with Umlaut, namely ä, ö and ü, as well as the Eszett or scharfes s (sharp s), ß.
Written texts in German are easily recognisable as such by distinguishing features such as umlauts and certain orthographical features—German is the only major language that capitalizes all nouns—and the frequent occurrence of long compounds (the longest German word is made of 79 characters).
Present[link]
Before the German spelling reform of 1996, ß replaced ss after long vowels and diphthongs and before consonants, word-, or partial-word-endings. In reformed spelling, ß replaces ss only after long vowels and diphthongs. Since there is no capital ß, it is always written as SS when capitalization is required. For example, Maßband (tape measure) is capitalized MASSBAND. An exception is the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalizing names. To avoid confusion with similar names, a "ß" is to be used instead of "SS". (So: "KREßLEIN" instead of "KRESSLEIN".) A capital ß has been proposed and included in Unicode, but it is not yet recognized as standard German. In Switzerland, ß is not used at all.
Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly transcribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard used. In the same manner ß can be transcribed as ss. Some operating systems use key sequences to extend the set of possible characters to include, amongst other things, umlauts; in Microsoft Windows this is done using Alt codes. German readers understand those transcriptions (although they look unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available because they are considered a makeshift, not proper spelling. (In Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g. Raesfeld [ˈraːsfɛlt], Coesfeld [ˈkoːsfɛlt] and Itzehoe [ɪtsəˈhoː], but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than proper nouns.)
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There is no general agreement on where these umlauts occur in the sorting sequence. Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e. Some dictionaries sort each umlauted vowel as a separate letter after the base vowel, but more commonly words with umlauts are ordered immediately after the same word without umlauts. As an example in a telephone book Ärzte occurs after Adressenverlage but before Anlagenbauer (because Ä is replaced by Ae). In a dictionary Ärzte comes after Arzt, but in some dictionaries Ärzte and all other words starting with "Ä" may occur after all words starting with "A". In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial Sch and St are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after S, but they are usually treated as S+C+H and S+T.
Written German also typically uses an alternative opening inverted comma (quotation mark) as in „Guten Morgen!”.
Past[link]
Further information: 2nd Orthographic Conference (German), Antiqua-Fraktur dispute, German orthography reform of 1944, and German orthography reform of 1996
Until the early twentieth century, German was mostly printed in blackletter typefaces (mostly in Fraktur, but also in Schwabacher) and written in corresponding handwriting (for example Kurrent and Sütterlin). These variants of the Latin alphabet are very different from the serif or sans serif Antiqua typefaces used today, and particularly the handwritten forms are difficult for the untrained to read. The printed forms however were claimed by some to be actually more readable when used for printing Germanic languages.[35] The Nazis initially promoted Fraktur and Schwabacher since they were considered Aryan, although they abolished them in 1941, claiming that these letters were Jewish. The Fraktur script remains present in everyday life through road signs, pub signs, beer brands and other forms of advertisement, where it is used to convey a certain rusticality and oldness.
A proper use of the long s, (langes s), ſ, is essential for writing German text in Fraktur typefaces. Many Antiqua typefaces include the long s also. A specific set of rules applies for the use of long s in German text, but nowadays it is rarely used in Antiqua typesetting. Any lower case "s" at the beginning of a syllable would be a long s, as opposed to a terminal s or short s (the more common variation of the letter s), which marks the end of a syllable; for example, in differentiating between the words Wachſtube (guard-house) and Wachstube (tube of floor polish). One can easily decide which "s" to use by appropriate hyphenation, ("Wach-ſtube" vs. "Wachs-tube"). The long s only appears in lower case.
Phonology[link]
Main article: German phonology
Vowels[link]
German vowels (excluding diphthongs; see below) come in short and long varieties, as detailed in the following table:
| A | Ä | E | I | O | Ö | U | Ü | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | /a/ | /ɛ/ | /ɛ/, /ə/ | /ɪ/ | /ɔ/ | /œ/ | /ʊ/ | /ʏ/ |
| long | /aː/ | /ɛː/ | /eː/ | /iː/ | /oː/ | /øː/ | /uː/ | /yː/ |
Short /ɛ/ is realized as [ɛ] in stressed syllables (including secondary stress), but as [ə] in unstressed syllables. Note that stressed short /ɛ/ can be spelled either with e or with ä (hätte 'would have' and Kette 'chain', for instance, rhyme). In general, the short vowels are open and the long vowels are closed. The one exception is the open /ɛː/ sound of long Ä; in some varieties of standard German, /ɛː/ and /eː/ have merged into [eː], removing this anomaly. In that case, pairs like Bären/Beeren 'bears/berries' or Ähre/Ehre 'spike (of wheat)/honour' become homophonous.
In many varieties of standard German, an unstressed /ɛr/ is not pronounced [ər], but vocalised to [ɐ].
Whether any particular vowel letter represents the long or short phoneme is not completely predictable, although the following regularities exist:
- If a vowel (other than i) is at the end of a syllable or followed by a single consonant, it is usually pronounced long (e.g. Hof [hoːf]).
- If the vowel is followed by a double consonant (e.g. ff, ss or tt), ck, tz or a consonant cluster (e.g. st or nd), it is nearly always short (e.g. hoffen [ˈhɔfən]). Double consonants are used only for this function of marking preceding vowels as short; the consonant itself is never pronounced lengthened or doubled, in other words this is not a feeding order of gemination and then vowel shortening.
Both of these rules have exceptions (e.g. hat [hat] 'has' is short despite the first rule; Mond [moːnt], 'moon' is long despite the second rule). For an i that is neither in the combination ie (making it long) nor followed by a double consonant or cluster (making it short), there is no general rule. In some cases, there are regional differences: In central Germany (Hessen), the o in the proper name "Hoffmann" is pronounced long while most other Germans would pronounce it short; the same applies to the e in the geographical name "Mecklenburg" for people in that region. The word Städte 'cities', is pronounced with a short vowel [ˈʃtɛtə] by some (Jan Hofer, ARD Television) and with a long vowel [ˈʃtɛːtə] by others (Marietta Slomka, ZDF Television). Finally, a vowel followed by ch can be short (Fach [fax] 'compartment', Küche [ˈkʏçə] 'kitchen') or long (Suche [ˈzuːxə] 'search', Bücher [ˈbyːçɐ] 'books') almost at random. Thus, Lache is homographous: (Lache) [laːxə] 'puddle' and (lache) [laxə] 'manner of laughing' (coll.), 'laugh!' (Imp.).
German vowels can form the following digraphs (in writing) and diphthongs (in pronunciation); note that the pronunciation of some of them (ei, äu, eu) is very different from what one would expect when considering the component letters:
| spelling | ai, ei, ay, ey | au | äu, eu |
|---|---|---|---|
| pronunciation | /aɪ̯/ | /aʊ̯/ | /ɔʏ̯/ |
Additionally, the digraph ie generally represents the phoneme /iː/, which is not a diphthong. In many varieties, an /r/ at the end of a syllable is vocalised. However, a sequence of a vowel followed by such a vocalised /r/ is not considered a diphthong: Bär [bɛːɐ̯] 'bear', er [eːɐ̯] 'he', wir [viːɐ̯] 'we', Tor [toːɐ̯] 'gate', kurz [kʊɐ̯ts] 'short', Wörter [vœɐ̯tɐ] 'words'.
In most varieties of standard German, syllables that begin with a vowel are preceded by a glottal stop [ʔ].
Consonants[link]
With approximately 25 phonemes, the German consonant system exhibits an average number of consonants in comparison with other languages. One of the more noteworthy ones is the unusual affricate /p͡f/. The consonant inventory of the standard language is shown below.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p3 b4 | t3 d4 | k3 ɡ4 | |||||
| Affricate | pf | ts | tʃ (dʒ)5 | |||||
| Fricative | f v | s z | ʃ (ʒ)5 | x1 | h | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||
| Approximant | l | j | ||||||
| Rhotic | r2 |
- 1/x/ has two allophones, [x] and [ç], after back and front vowels, respectively.
- 2/r/ has three allophones in free variation: [r], [ʁ] and [ʀ]. In the syllable coda, the allophone [ɐ] is found in many varieties.
- 3 The voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ are aspirated except when preceded by a sibilant.
- 4 The voiced stops /b/, /d/, /ɡ/ are devoiced to /p/, /t/, /k/, respectively, in word-final position.
- 5/d͡ʒ/ and /ʒ/ occur only in words of foreign origin.
- Where a stressed syllable has an initial vowel, it is preceded by [ʔ]. As its presence is predictable from context, [ʔ] is not considered a phoneme.
- Consonant spellings
- c standing by itself is not a German letter. In borrowed words, it is usually pronounced [t͡s] (before ä, äu, e, i, ö, ü, y) or [k] (before a, o, u, and consonants). The combination ck is, as in English, used to indicate that the preceding vowel is short.
- ch occurs most often and is pronounced either [ç] (after ä, ai, äu, e, ei, eu, i, ö, ü and consonants; in the diminutive suffix -chen; and at the beginning of a word), [x] (after a, au, o, u), or [k] at the beginning of a word before a, o, u and consonants. Ch never occurs at the beginning of an originally German word. In borrowed words with initial Ch before bright vowels (Chemie "chemistry" etc.), [ç] is considered standard, but is itself practically absent from language in use. Upper Germans and Franconians (in the popular, not linguistic sense) will replace them with [k], as German as a whole does before darker vowels and consonants such as in Charakter, Christentum. Middle Germans (saving Franconians) will borrow a [ʃ] from the French model. Both agree in considering each other's variant, and Upper Germans also the standard in [ç], as particularly awkward and unusual.
- dsch is pronounced [d͡ʒ] (like j in Jungle) but appears in a few loanwords only.
- f is pronounced [f] as in "father".
- h is pronounced [h] as in "home" at the beginning of a syllable. After a vowel it is silent and only lengthens the vowel (e.g. Reh = roe deer).
- j is pronounced [j] in Germanic words (Jahr [jaːɐ]). In younger loanwords, it follows more or less the respective languages' pronunciations.
- l is always pronounced [l], never *[ɫ] (the English "dark L").
- q only exists in combination with u and appears in both Germanic and Latin words (quer; Qualität). The digraph qu is pronounced [kv].
- r is usually pronounced in a guttural fashion (a voiced uvular fricative [ʁ] or uvular trill [ʀ]) in front of a vowel or consonant (Rasen [ˈʁaːzən]; Burg [buʁk]). In spoken German, however, it is commonly vocalised after a vowel (er being pronounced rather like [ˈɛɐ]—Burg [buɐk]). In some varieties, the r is pronounced as a "tongue-tip" r (the alveolar trill [r]).
- s in Germany, is pronounced [z] (as in "zebra") if it forms the syllable onset (e.g. Sohn [zoːn]), otherwise [s] (e.g. Bus [bʊs]). In Austria and Switzerland, it is always pronounced [s]. A ss [s] indicates that the preceding vowel is short. st and sp at the beginning of words of German origin are pronounced [ʃt] and [ʃp], respectively.
- ß (a letter unique to German called scharfes S or Eszett) was a ligature of a double s and of an sz and is always pronounced [s]. Originating in Blackletter typeface, it traditionally replaced ss at the end of a syllable (e.g. ich muss → ich muß; ich müsste → ich müßte); within a word it contrasts with ss [s] in indicating that the preceding vowel is long (compare in Maßen [in ˈmaːsən] "with moderation" and in Massen [in ˈmasən] "in loads"). The use of ß has recently been limited by the latest German spelling reform and is no longer used for ss after a short vowel (e.g. "ich muß" and "ich müßte" were always pronounced with a short U/Ü); Switzerland and Liechtenstein already abolished it in 1934.[36]
- sch is pronounced [ʃ] (like "sh" in "shine").
- tion in Latin loanwords is pronounced [tsion].
- v is pronounced [f] in words of Germanic origin, to wit, Vater [ˈfaːtɐ], Vogel "bird", von "from, of", vor "before, in front of", voll "full" (yet "to fill" is notwithstandingly spelt füllen) and the prefix ver-. It is also used in loanwords, where it is supposed to be pronounced [v]. This pronunciation is retained for example in Vase, Vikar, Viktor, Viper, Ventil, vulgär, and English loanwords; however, pronunciation tends to [f] the further you travel south. They have reached a plain f in Bavaria and Swabia.
- w is pronounced [v] as in "vacation" (e.g. was [vas]).
- y only appears in loanwords and is traditionally considered a vowel.
- z is always pronounced [t͡s] (e.g. zog [t͡soːk]). A tz indicates that the preceding vowel is short.
Consonant shifts[link]
For more details on this topic, see High German consonant shift.
German does not have any dental fricatives (as English th). The th sounds, which the English language still has, survived on the continent up to Old High German and then disappeared in German with the consonant shifts between the 8th and the 10th centuries.[37] It is sometimes possible to find parallels between English and German by replacing the English th with d in German: "Thank" → in German "Dank", "this" and "that" → "dies" and "das", "thou" (old 2nd person singular pronoun) → "du", "think" → "denken", "thirsty" → "durstig" and many other examples.
Likewise, the gh in Germanic English words, pronounced in several different ways in modern English (as an f, or not at all), can often be linked to German ch: "to laugh" → "lachen", "through" and "thorough" → "durch", "high" → "hoch", "naught" → "nichts", "light" → "leicht", "sight" → "Sicht" etc.
Loanwords[link]
For a list of German loanwords to English, see Category:German loanwords.
English has taken many loanwords from German, often without any change of spelling:
| German word | English loanword | Meaning of German word |
|---|---|---|
| Abseilen | abseil | to descend by rope / to fastrope |
| Angst | angst | fear |
| Ansatz | ansatz | onset / entry / math. approach |
| Anschluss | anschluss | connection / access / annexation |
| Automat | automat | automation / machine |
| Bildungsroman | bildungsroman | novel concerned with the personal development or education of the protagonist |
| Blitz | Blitz | flash / lightning |
| Bratwurst | bratwurst | fried sausage |
| Delikatessen | delikatessen/delicatessen | delicate / delicious food items |
| Doppelgänger | doppelgänger | lit. "double going/living person alive", look-alike of somebody |
| Edelweiß | edelweiss | edelweiss flower |
| Fest | fest | feast / celebration |
| Gedankenexperiment | Gedankenexperiment | thought experiment |
| Geländesprung | gelandesprung | ski jumping for distance on alpine equipment |
| Gemütlichkeit | gemuetlichkeit | snug feeling, cosiness, good nature, geniality |
| Gestalt | Gestalt | form or shape / creature / scheme; refers to a concept of 'wholeness' |
| Gesundheit! | Gesundheit! (Amer.) | health / bless you! (when someone sneezes) |
| Heiligenschein | heiligenschein | meteo. "holy shine" / gloriole |
| Hinterland | hinterland | lit. mil. "area behind the front-line": interior / backwoods |
| kaputt | kaput | out of order, not working (from French, être capot "to have made no tricks in card games", lit. "to be hoodwinked") |
| Katzenjammer | katzenjammer | lit. "cats' lament": hangover, crapulence |
| Kindergarten | kindergarten | lit. "childrens' garden" - nursery or preschool |
| Kitsch | kitsch | fake art, something produced exclusively for sale |
| Kraut | kraut | herb, cabbage in some dialects |
| Leitmotiv | leitmotif | guiding theme (the verb "leiten" means "to guide, to lead") |
| plündern (v.) | to plunder | lit. "taking goods by force" (original meaning "to take away furniture" shifted in German and was borrowed by English both during the Thirty Years War) |
| Poltergeist | poltergeist | lit. "rumbling ghost" (artificial compound, not originally German) |
| Realpolitik | realpolitik | diplomacy based on practical objectives rather than ideals |
| Reich | reich | empire or realm |
| Rucksack | rucksack | backpack (Ruck→"Rücken" which means "back") |
| Sauerkraut | sauerkraut | shredded and salted cabbage fermented in its own juice |
| Schadenfreude | schadenfreude | taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune |
| Sprachraum | sprachraum | lit. "place/area/room of a language": area where a certain language is spoken |
| Übermensch | ubermensch | superhuman |
| verklemmt | verklemmt | lit. "jammed": inhibited, uptight |
| Waldsterben | waldsterben | lit. "forest dieback", dying floral environment |
| Wanderlust | wanderlust | desire, pleasure, or inclination to travel or walk |
| Weltanschauung | weltanschauung | lit. "perception of the world": ideology |
| Wunderkind | wunderkind | lit. "wonder child": child prodigy, whiz kid |
| Zeitgeist | zeitgeist | lit. "spirit of the times": the spirit of the age; the trend at that time |
| Zugzwang | Zugzwang | chess term lit. "compulsion to move" |
Organisations[link]
The use and learning of the German language are promoted by a number of organisations.
Goethe Institut[link]
Main article: Goethe Institut
File:Goethe-Institut logo.svg
Goethe-Institut logo
The government-backed Goethe Institut[38] (named after the famous German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) aims to enhance the knowledge of German culture and language within Europe and the rest of the world. This is done by holding exhibitions and conferences with German-related themes, and providing training and guidance in the learning and use of the German language. For example the Goethe Institut teaches the Goethe-Zertifikat German language qualification.
Deutsche Welle[link]
Main article: Deutsche Welle
The German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle is the equivalent of the British BBC World Service and provides radio and television broadcasts in German and a 30 other languages across the globe[39]. Its German language services are tailored for German language learners by being spoken at slow speed. Deutsche Welle also provides an E-learning website to learn German.
See also[link]
- Deutsch (disambiguation page)
- Category:German loanwords
- German as a minority language
- German exonyms
- German family name etymology
- German in the United States
- German language literature
- German name
- German placename etymology
- German spelling reform of 1996
- Germanism (linguistics)
- List of German expressions in English
- List of pseudo-German words adapted to English
- Missingsch
- Names for the German language
- Otto Basler
- Umlaut, ß
- Various terms used for Germans
References[link]
- ^ a b c d Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16 ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=deu.
- ^ a b c Marten, Thomas; Sauer, Fritz Joachim, eds. (2005) (in German). Länderkunde - Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein im Querschnitt [Regional Geography - An Overview of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein]. Berlin: Inform-Verlag. p. 7. ISBN 3-9805843-1-3.
- ^ a b National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World. Willard, Ohio: R.R Donnelley & Sons Company. April 2006. pp. 257–299. ISBN Regular:0-7922-3662-9, 978-0-7922-3662-7. Deluxe: 0-7922-7976-X, 978-0-7922-7976-1.
- ^ "Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung - Über den Rat". Rechtschreibrat.ids-mannheim.de. http://rechtschreibrat.ids-mannheim.de/rat/. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- ^ EUROPA - Allgemeine & berufliche Bildung - Regional- und Minderheitensprachen der Europäischen Union - Euromosaik-Studie
- ^ Support from the European Commission for measures to promote and safeguard regional or minority languages and cultures - The Euromosaic study: German in Denmark (engl.). Letzter Zugriff am 13. November 2009
- ^ EC.europa.eu
- ^ "KAZAKHSTAN: Special report on ethnic Germans". Irinnews.org. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=28051. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- ^ "Deutsch in Namibia" (in German) (PDF). Supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung. 2007-08-18. http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- ^ "CIA World Fact book Profile: Namibia" cia.gov'.' Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ "Map on page of Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration (MSWiA)". http://www2.mswia.gov.pl/download.php?s=1&id=944. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ "SbZ - Deutsche Minderheit in Rumänien: "Zimmerpflanze oder Betreuungs-Objekt" - Informationen zu Siebenbürgen und Rumänien". Siebenbuerger.de. http://www.siebenbuerger.de/zeitung/artikel/alteartikel/223-deutsche-minderheit-in-rumaenien.html. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ "Geschichte". Rusdeutsch.EU. http://www.rusdeutsch.eu/?menu=1&menu0=38&level3=&z=1. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- ^ EUROPA - Allgemeine & berufliche Bildung - Regional- und Minderheitensprachen der Europäischen Union - Euromosaik-Studie
- ^ Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V. (2006-06-15). "Wussten Sie, dass...". Vds-ev.de. http://www.vds-ev.de/wussten-sie-dass. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ European Commission (2004). "Many tongues, one family. Languages in the European Union" (PDF). Europa (web portal). http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/move/45/en.pdf. Retrieved 3 February 2007.
- ^ Global Statistics, Global Reach.
- ^ Internet Languages, NVTC.
- ^ a b "Distribution of languages on the Internet". Netz-tipp.de. http://www.netz-tipp.de/languages.html. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ a b c d Handwörterbuch des politischen Systems der Bundesrepublik (in German). Source lists "German expatriate citizens" only for Namibia and South Africa!
- ^ a b c "Statistics Canada 2006". 2.statcan.ca. 2010-01-06. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89189&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=705&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&GID=837928. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ "Table 5. Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over by State: 2000" (PDF). http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ Henry Steele Commager (1961). "Immigration and American history: essays in honor of Theodore C. Blegen". U of Minnesota Press. p.102. ISBN 0-8166-5735-1
- ^ 49.2 million German Americans as of 2005 according to the "US demographic census". http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:535;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:535&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-TABLE_NAMEX=&-ci_type=A&-redoLog=false&-charIterations=047&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en. Retrieved 2007-08-02. ; the 1990 census gives 57.9 million, or 23.3% of the U.S. population.
- ^ Documentary History of the United States Brewers' Association
- ^ Ulrich Ammon, Hans Bickel, Jakob Ebner, et al.: Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Die Standardsprache in Österreich, der Schweiz und Deutschland sowie in Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Ostbelgien und Südtirol. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2004.
- ^ Euromosaic study: German in Denmark
- ^ Modern Language Association, 2007-11-13, New MLA Survey Shows Significant Increases in Foreign Language Study at U.S. Colleges and Universities. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
- ^ After English; "Europeans and Language" (PDF). European Commission. 2005. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
- ^ "Languages in Europe". European Commission. 2007. http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
- ^ some of which might be reborrowings from Germanic Frankish
- ^ a phenomenon known in German as Denglisch or in English as Germish or Denglisch
- ^ Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V.. "Verein Deutsche Sprache e.V. - Der Anglizismen-Index". Vds-ev.de. http://vds-ev.de/anglizismenindex. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ "Ein Hinweis in eigener Sache". Wortschatz.informatik.uni-leipzig.de. 2003-01-07. http://wortschatz.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/html/inhalt_next.html. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ Adolf Reinecke, Die deutsche Buchstabenschrift: ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung, ihre Zweckmäßigkeit und völkische Bedeutung, Leipzig, Hasert, 1910
- ^ "Mittelschulvorbereitung Deutsch". Mittelschulvorbereitung.ch. http://www.mittelschulvorbereitung.ch/index.php?SUBJECT=&actualid=5. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ For a history of the German consonants see Fausto Cercignani, The Consonants of German: Synchrony and Diachrony, Milano, Cisalpino, 1979.
- ^ "Learning German, Experiencing Culture - Goethe-Institut". Goethe.de. http://www.goethe.de/enindex.htm. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
- ^ http://www.dw.de/dw/0,,3325,00.html
Bibliography[link]
- Fausto Cercignani, The Consonants of German: Synchrony and Diachrony, Milano, Cisalpino, 1979.</ref>
- Michael Clyne, The German Language in a Changing Europe (1995) ISBN 0-521-49970-4
- George O. Curme, A Grammar of the German Language (1904, 1922)—the most complete and authoritative work in English
- Anthony Fox, The Structure of German (2005) ISBN 0-19-927399-5
- W.B. Lockwood, German Today: The Advanced Learner's Guide (1987) ISBN 0-19-815850-5
- Ruth H. Sanders. German: Biography of a Language (Oxford University Press; 2010) 240 pages. Combines linguistic, anthropological, and historical perspectives in a "biography" of German in terms of six "signal events" over millennia, including the Battle of Kalkriese, which blocked the spread of Latin-based language north.
External links[link]
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Wikibooks has a book on the topic of |
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Wikibooks has a book on the topic of |
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German language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: German language |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: German proverbs |
Texts on Wikisource:
- “German language,” Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., 1911
- Mark Twain, The Awful German Language, 1880
- Carl Schurz, The German Mothertongue, 1897
- German (language) at the Open Directory Project
- German vocabulary: German language vocabulary resource.
- The Goethe Institute: German Government sponsored organisation for the promotion of the German language and culture.
- USA Foreign Service Institute German basic course
- German phrasebook at Wikitravel
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Germanic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
In northern, western and central Europe, Anglo-America, Oceania, southern Africa |
| Linguistic classification: | Indo-European
|
| Proto-language: | Proto-Germanic |
| Subdivisions: |
East Germanic (extinct)
|
| ISO 639-2 and 639-5: | gem |
 Countries where a Germanic language is the first language of the majority of the population
Countries where a Germanic language is an official but not primary language
|
|
| Indo-European topics |
|---|
| Indo-European languages (list) |
|
| Proto-Indo-European language |
| Indo-European language-speaking peoples |
|
| Proto-Indo-Europeans |
| Indo-European archaeology |
|
| Indo-European studies |
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic (also known as Common Germanic), which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe. Proto-Germanic, along with all of its descendants, is characterized by a number of unique linguistic features, most famously the consonant change known as Grimm's law. Early varieties of Germanic enter history with the Germanic peoples moving south from northern Europe in the 2nd century BC, to settle in north-central Europe.
The most widely spoken Germanic languages are English and German, with approximately 300–400 million[1][2] and over 100 million[3] native speakers respectively. They belong to the West Germanic family. The West Germanic group also includes other major languages, such as Dutch with 23 million[4] and Afrikaans with over 6 million native speakers;[5]. The North Germanic languages include Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese, which have a combined total of about 20 million speakers.[6] The SIL Ethnologue lists 53 different Germanic languages.
Contents |
Characteristics[link]
Germanic languages possess a number of defining features compared with other Indo-European languages, such as the following:
- Large numbers of vowels. For example, the Amstetten dialect of Bavarian German has 13 distinct long vowels.[7] Standard Swedish has 9 long vowels and 8 short vowels, which are distinguished by both length and quality, making for at least 16 vowel qualities.[8]
- A change known as Germanic umlaut, which modified vowel qualities when a high vocalic segment (/i/, /iː/ or /j/) followed in the next syllable. This is largely responsible for the large vowel systems.
- The reduction of the various tense and aspect combinations of the Indo-European verbal system into only two: the present tense and the past tense (also called the preterite).
- A large class of verbs that use a dental suffix (/d/ or /t/) instead of vowel alternation (Indo-European ablaut) to indicate past tense. These are called the Germanic weak verbs; the remaining verbs with vowel ablaut are the Germanic strong verbs.
- The use of so-called strong and weak adjectives: different sets of inflectional endings for adjectives depending on the definiteness of the noun phrase. (A similar development happened in the Balto-Slavic languages. This has been lost in modern English, but was present in Old English, and is still present in modern German.)
- Grimm's Law, which shifted the values of all the Indo-European stop consonants. (A similar shift occurred later in the history of German, known as the High German consonant shift.)
- Some words with etymologies that are difficult to link to other Indo-European families but with variants that appear in almost all Germanic languages.
- The sound change known as Verner's Law, which left a trace of Indo-European accent variations in voicing variations in fricatives.
- The shifting of word stress onto word stems and later onto the first syllable of the word, along with significant phonological reduction of all other syllables. (A similar change occurred in the history of the Italic languages and the Celtic languages. English no longer has initial stress due to the borrowing of numerous foreign words, especially from Latin and French.)
Roughly speaking, Germanic languages differ in how conservative or how progressive each language is with respect to an overall trend toward analyticity. Some, such as Icelandic, and to a lesser extent, German, have preserved much of the complex inflectional morphology inherited from the Proto-Indo-European language. Others, such as English, Swedish, and Afrikaans, have moved toward a largely analytic type.
Another characteristic of Germanic languages is verb second (V2) word order, which is uncommon cross-linguistically. This feature was not inherited from Proto-Germanic,[9] but may have already been present in latent form, and may be related to Wackernagel's Law, an Indo-European law dictating that sentence clitics must be placed second. It is now shared by all modern Germanic languages except modern English which has more or less replaced the earlier V2 structure with fixed Subject–verb–object word order.
Writing[link]
The earliest evidence of Germanic languages comes from names recorded in the 1st century by Tacitus (especially from his work Germania), but the earliest Germanic writing occurs in a single instance in the 2nd century BC on the Negau helmet.[10] From roughly the 2nd century AD, certain speakers of early Germanic varieties developed the Elder Futhark, an early form of the Runic alphabet. Early runic inscriptions also are largely limited to personal names, and difficult to interpret. The Gothic language was written in the Gothic alphabet developed by Bishop Ulfilas for his translation of the Bible in the 4th century.[11] Later, Christian priests and monks who spoke and read Latin in addition to their native Germanic varieties began writing the Germanic languages with slightly modified Latin letters. However, throughout the Viking Age, Runic alphabets remained in common use in Scandinavia.
In addition to the standard Latin script, many Germanic languages use a variety of accent marks and extra letters, including umlauts, the ß (Eszett), IJ, Ø, Æ, Å, Ä, Ü, Ö, Ð, Ȝ, and the Latinized runes Þ and Ƿ (with its Latin counterpart W). In print, German used to be prevalently set in blackletter typefaces (e.g. fraktur or schwabacher) until the 1940s, whereas Kurrent and since the early 20th century Sütterlin was used for German handwriting.
History[link]
 |
This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
.png)
Settlements before 750 BC
New settlements by 500 BC
New settlements by 250 BC
New settlements by AD 1
All Germanic languages are thought to be descended from a hypothetical Proto-Germanic, united by subjection to the sound shifts of Grimm's law and Verner's law. These probably took place during the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe from c. 500 BC. Proto-Germanic itself was likely spoken after c. 500 BC,[12] and Proto-Norse from the 2nd century AD and later is still quite close to reconstructed Proto-Germanic, but other common innovations separating Germanic from Proto-Indo-European suggest a common history of pre-Proto-Germanic speakers throughout the Nordic Bronze Age.
From the time of their earliest attestation, the Germanic varieties are divided into three groups: West, East, and North Germanic. Their exact relation is difficult to determine from the sparse evidence of runic inscriptions, and they remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration period[citation needed], so that some individual varieties are difficult to classify.
The 6th-century Lombardic language, for instance, may be a variety originally either Northern or Eastern, before being assimilated by West Germanic as the Lombards settled at the Elbe. The Western group would have formed in the late Jastorf culture, the Eastern group may be derived from the 1st-century variety of Gotland, leaving southern Sweden as the original location of the Northern group. The earliest coherent Germanic text preserved is the 4th century Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas. Early testimonies of West Germanic are in Old Frankish (5th century), Old High German (scattered words and sentences 6th century, coherent texts 9th century) and Old English (coherent texts 10th century). North Germanic is only attested in scattered runic inscriptions, as Proto-Norse, until it evolves into Old Norse by about 800.
Longer runic inscriptions survive from the 8th and 9th centuries (Eggjum stone, Rök stone), longer texts in the Latin alphabet survive from the 12th century (Íslendingabók), and some skaldic poetry held to date back to as early as the 9th century.
By about the 10th century, the varieties had diverged enough to make inter-comprehensibility difficult. The linguistic contact of the Viking settlers of the Danelaw with the Anglo-Saxons left traces in the English language, and is suspected to have facilitated the collapse of Old English grammar that resulted in Middle English from the 12th century.
The East Germanic languages were marginalized from the end of the Migration period. The Burgundians, Goths, and Vandals became linguistically assimilated by their respective neighbors by about the 7th century, with only Crimean Gothic lingering on until the 18th century.
During the early Middle Ages, the West Germanic languages were separated by the insular development of Middle English on one hand, and by the High German consonant shift on the continent on the other, resulting in Upper German and Low Saxon, with graded intermediate Central German varieties. By Early modern times, the span had extended into considerable differences, ranging from Highest Alemannic in the South to Northern Low Saxon in the North and, although both extremes are considered German, they are hardly mutually intelligible. The southernmost varieties had completed the second sound shift, while the northern varieties remained unaffected by the consonant shift.
The North Germanic languages, on the other hand, remained unified until well past 1000 AD, and in fact the mainland Scandinavian languages still largely retain mutual intelligibility into modern times. The main split in these languages is between the mainland languages and the island languages to the west, especially Icelandic, which has maintained the grammar of Old Norse virtually unchanged while the mainland languages have diverged greatly.
Classification[link]
Note that divisions between and among subfamilies of Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form continuous clines, with adjacent varieties being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not.
Diachronic[link]
The table below shows the succession of the significant historical stages of each language (vertically), and their approximate groupings in subfamilies (horizontally). Horizontal sequence within each group does not imply a measure of greater or lesser similarity.
| Pre-Roman Iron Age 500–100 BCE |
Early Roman Iron Age 100 BCE–100 CE |
Late Roman Iron Age 100–300 |
Migration Period 300–600 |
Early Middle Ages 600–1100 |
Middle Ages 1100–1350 |
Late Middle Ages2 1350–1500 |
Early Modern Age 1500–1700 |
Modern Age 1700 to present |
|
| Proto-Germanic | West Germanic | Irminonic (Elbe Germanic) |
Primitive Upper German | Old Upper German, Lombardic1 |
Middle Upper German | Early New Upper German |
Upper German varieties | ||
| Standard German | |||||||||
| Istvaeonic (Weser-Rhine Germanic) |
Primitive Frankish | Old Frankish | Old Central German | Middle Central German | Early New Central German |
||||
| Central German varieties | |||||||||
| Old Low Franconian (Old Dutch) |
Early Limburgish Middle Dutch |
Late Limburgish Middle Dutch |
Early Limburgish | Limburgish | |||||
| Early Middle Dutch |
Late Middle Dutch |
Early Modern Dutch |
Dutch varieties | ||||||
| Afrikaans | |||||||||
| Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic) |
Primitive Saxon (Southeast Ingvaeonic) |
Old Saxon | Middle Low German | Low German varieties | |||||
| Anglo-Frisian (Northwest Ingvaeonic) |
Primitive Frisian | Old Frisian | Middle Frisian | Frisian varieties | |||||
| Primitive Anglic | Old English (Anglo-Saxon) |
Early Middle English |
Late Middle English |
Early Modern English |
English varieties | ||||
| Early Scots3 | Middle Scots | Scots varieties | |||||||
| North Germanic | Proto-Norse | Runic Old West Norse |
Old Icelandic | Late Old Icelandic |
Icelandic | ||||
| Old Norwegian6 | Old Faroese | Faroese | |||||||
| Old Norn | Norn | extinct4 | |||||||
| Runic Old East Norse |
Middle Norwegian | Norwegian | |||||||
| Early Old Danish |
Late Old Danish |
Danish | |||||||
| Early Old Swedish |
Late Old Swedish |
Swedish and Dalecarlian dialects |
|||||||
| Runic Old Gutnish |
Early Old Gutnish |
Late Old Gutnish |
Gutnish | extinct5 | |||||
| East Germanic | Gothic | (unattested Gothic dialects) | Crimean Gothic | extinct | |||||
| Vandalic | extinct | ||||||||
| Burgundian | extinct | ||||||||
- ^1 There are conflicting opinions on the classification of Lombardic. Contrary to its isolated position in the table above, it also has been classified as close to either Upper German or Old Saxon.
- ^2 Late Middle Ages refers to the post-Black Death period. Especially for the language situation in Norway this event was important.
- ^3 From Early Northern Middle English[13]. McClure gives Northumbrian Old English[14]. In the Oxford Companion to the English Language (p. 894) the 'sources' of Scots are described as "the Old English of the Kingdom of Bernicia" and "the Scandinavian-influenced English of immigrants from Northern and Midland England in the 12-13c [...]." The historical stages 'Early—Middle—Modern Scots' are used, for example, in the "Concise Scots Dictionary"[15] and "A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue"[16].
- ^4 The speakers of Norn were assimilated to speak the Modern Scots varieties.
- ^5 The Gutnish language today is practically a dialect of Swedish.
- ^6 Mainland Old Norwegian existed along a dialect continuum between West and East Old Norse.
Contemporary[link]
Main article: List of Germanic languages
All living Germanic languages belong either to the West Germanic or to the North Germanic branch. The West Germanic group is the larger by far, further subdivided into Anglo-Frisian on one hand, and Continental West Germanic on the other. Anglo-Frisian notably includes English and all its variants, while Continental West Germanic includes German (standard register and dialects) as well as Dutch (standard register and dialects).
- West Germanic languages
- High German languages (includes Standard German and its dialects)
- Central German
- East Central German
- West Central German
- Luxembourgish
- Pennsylvania German (spoken by the Amish and other groups in southeastern Pennsylvania)
- Upper German
- Yiddish
- Central German
- Low Franconian
- Dutch and its dialects
- Afrikaans (a separate standard language)
- Low German
- West Low German
- East Low German
- Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German)
- Anglo-Frisian
- Frisian group
- English group
- English and its dialects
- Scots
- Ulster Scots
- Yola (extinct)
- High German languages (includes Standard German and its dialects)
- North Germanic
Common linguistic features[link]
Main article: Proto-Germanic
Phonology[link]
The oldest Germanic languages all share a number of features, assumed to be inherited from Proto-Germanic. Phonologically, this includes the important sound changes known as Grimm's Law and Verner's Law, which introduced a large number of fricatives; late Proto-Indo-European (PIE) had only one, /s/.
The main vowel developments are the merging (in most circumstances) of long and short /a/ and /o/, producing short /a/ and long /ō/. This likewise affected the diphthongs, with PIE /ai/ and /oi/ merging into /ai/, and PIE /au/ and /ou/ merging into /au/. PIE /ei/ developed into long /ī/. PIE long /ē/ developed into a vowel denoted as /ē1/ (often assumed to be phonetically [ǣ]), while a new, fairly uncommon long vowel /ē2/ developed in varied and not completely understood circumstances. Proto-Germanic had no front rounded vowels, although all Germanic languages except for Gothic subsequently developed them through the process of i-umlaut.
Proto-Germanic developed a strong stress accent on the first syllable of the root (although remnants of the original free PIE accent are visible due to Verner's Law, which was sensitive to this accent). This caused a steady erosion of vowels in unstressed syllables. In Proto-Germanic this had progressed only to the point that absolutely final short vowels (other than /i/ and /u/) were lost and absolutely final long vowels were shortened, but all of the early literary languages show a more advanced state of vowel loss. This ultimately resulted in some languages (e.g. modern English) in the loss of practically all vowels following the main stress, and the consequent rise of a very large number of monosyllabic words.
Table of outcomes[link]
The following table shows the main outcomes of Proto-Germanic vowels and consonants in the various older languages. For vowels, only the outcomes in stressed syllables are shown. Outcomes in unstressed syllables are quite different, vary from language to language, and depend on a number of other factors, e.g. whether the syllable was medial or final, whether the syllable was open or closed, and (in some cases) whether the preceding syllable was light or heavy.
Notes:
- C- means before a vowel (word-initially, or sometimes after a consonant).
- -C- means between vowels.
- -C means after a vowel (word-finally or before a consonant). Word-final outcomes generally occurred after deletion of final short vowels (which occurred shortly after Proto-Germanic, and is reflected in the history of all written languages except for Proto-Norse).
- The above three are given in the order C-, -C-, -C. If one is omitted, the previous one applies. For example, f, -[v]- means that [v] occurs after a vowel regardless of what follows.
- Something like a(…u) means "a if /u/ occurs in the next syllable".
- Something like a(n) means "a if /n/ immediately follows".
- Something like (n)a means "a if /n/ immediately precedes".
| Proto-Germanic[17][18] | (Pre-)Gothic[a][19][20] | Old Norse[21] | Old English[22][23][24][25][26][27][28] | Old High German[29][30] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | a, ɔ(…u)[b] | æ, a(…a)[c], a/o(n), æ̆ă(h,rC,lC)[d] | a |
| a(…i)[e] | e, ø(…u)[b] | e, æ, ĭy̆(h,rC,lC)[d] | e, a(hs,ht,Cw) | |
| ãː | aː | aː | oː | aː |
| ãː(…i)[e] | æ | eː | äː | |
| æː | eː, ɛː(V) | aː | æː, æa(h)[d] | aː |
| æː(…i)[e] | æː | æː | äː | |
| e | i, ɛ(h,hʷ,r) | ja[f], jø(…u)[b], (w,r,l)e, (w,r,l)ø(…u)[b] | e, ĕŏ(h,w,rC)[d] | e, i(…u) |
| e(…i)[e] | i, y(…w)[b] | i | i | |
| eː | eː, ɛː(V) | eː | eː | ie |
| i | i, ɛ(h,hʷ,r) | i, y(…w)[b] | i, ĭŭ(h,w,rC)[d] | i |
| iː | iː | iː | iː, iu(h) | iː |
| oː | oː, ɔː(V) | oː | oː | uo |
| oː(…i)[e] | øː | eː | üö | |
| u | u, ɔ(h,hʷ,r) | u, o(…a)[c] | u, o(…a)[c] | u, o(…a)[c] |
| u(…i)[e] | y | y | ü | |
| uː | uː, ɔː(V) | uː | uː | uː |
| uː(…i)[e] | yː | yː | üː | |
| ai | ai[a] | ei, ey(…w)[b], aː(h,r)[g] | aː | ei, eː(r,h,w,#)[h] |
| ai(…i)[e] | ei, æː(h,r) | æː | ||
| au | au[a] | au, oː(h) | æa | ou, oː(h,T)[i] |
| au(…i)[e] | ey, øː(h) | iy | öü, öː(h,T)[i] | |
| eu | iu | juː, joː(T)[j] | eo | io, iu(…i/u)[c] |
| eu(…i)[e] | yː | iy | ||
| p | p | p | p | pf-, -ff-, -f |
| t | t | t | t | ts-, -ss-, -s[k] |
| k | k | k | k, tʃ(i,e,æ)-, -k-, -(i)tʃ-, -tʃ(i)-[l] | k-, -xx-, -x |
| kʷ | kʷ | kv, -k | kw-, -k-, -(i)tʃ-, -tʃ(i)-[l] | kw-, -xx-, -x |
| b-, -[β]-[m] | b-, -[β]-, -f | b-, -[v]- | b-, -[v]-, -f | b |
| d-, -[ð]-[m] | d-, -[ð]-, -þ | d-, -[ð]- | d | t |
| [ɣ]-, -[ɣ]-[m] | g-, -[ɣ]-, -[x] | g-, -[ɣ]- | g-, j(æ,e,i)-, -[ɣ]-, -j(æ,e,i)-, -(æ,e,i)j-[l] | g |
| f | f | f, -[v]- | f, -[v]-, -f | f |
| þ | þ | þ, -[ð]- | þ, -[ð]-, -þ | d |
| x | h | h, -∅- | h, -∅-, -h | h |
| xʷ | hʷ | xv, -∅- | hw, -∅-, -h | hw, -h- |
| s | s | s-, -[z]- | s-, -[z]-, -s | ṣ-, -[ẓ]-, -ṣ[k] |
| z | -z-, -s | r | -r-, -∅ | -r-, -∅ |
| r[n] | r | r | r | r |
| l | l | l | l | l |
| n | n | n-, -∅(s,p,t,k)[o], -∅[p] | n, -∅(f,s,þ)[o] | n |
| m | m | m | m | m |
| j[q] | j | ∅-, -j-, -∅ | j | j |
| w[q] | w | ∅-, v-(a,e,i), -v-, -∅ | w | w |
- ^ a b c The Gothic writing system uses the spelling ‹ai› to represent the outcomes of three different Proto-Germanic sounds:
- /ai/
- /eː/ and /æː/ before vowels
- /e/ and /i/ before /h/, /hʷ/ and /r/.
- /au/
- /oː/ and /uː/ before vowels
- /u/ before /h/, /hʷ/ and /r/.
- ^ a b c d e f g In Old Norse, non-rounded vowels become rounded when a /u/ or /w/ follows in the next syllable, in a process known as u-umlaut. Some vowels were affected similarly, but only by a following /w/; this process is sometimes termed w-umlaut. These processes operated after i-umlaut. U-umlaut (by a following /u/ or /w/) caused /a/, /ja/ (broken /e/), /aː/, and /e/ to round to /ɔ/ (written o̧), /jɔ/ (written jo̧), /ɔː/ (written ó̧ and later unrounded again to /aː/), and /ø/, respectively. The vowels /i/ and /ai/ rounded to /y/ and /ey/, respectively, only before /w/. Short /a/ become /ø/ by a combination of i-umlaut and w-umlaut.
- ^ a b c d e A process known as a-mutation or a-umlaut caused short /u/ to lower to /o/ before a non-high vowel (usually /a/) in the following syllable. All languages except Gothic were affected, although there are various exceptions in all the languages. Two similar process later operated:
- In Old High German, /iu/ (from Proto-Germanic /eu/,/iu/) became /io/ before a non-high vowel in the next syllable.
- In Old English, /æ/ (from Proto-Germanic /a/) became /a/ before /a/ in the next syllable.
- ^ a b c d e The diphthongal results are due to Old English breaking. In general, front vowels break into diphthongs before some subset of h, w, rC, and lC, where C is a consonant. The diphthong /æa/ is written ea; /iu/ is written io; and /iy/ is written ie (although the phonological interpretation of this diphthong as /iy/ is disputed by some authors). All diphthongs umlaut to /iy/ ie.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j All languages except Gothic were affected by i-umlaut. This was the most significant of the various umlaut processes operating in the Germanic languages, and caused back vowels to become fronted, and front vowels to be raised, when /i/, /iː/ or /j/ followed in the next syllable. The term i-umlaut actually refers to two separate processes that both were triggered in the same environment. The earlier process raised /e/ and /eu/ to /i/ and /iu/, respectively, and may have operated still in Proto-Germanic (with its effects in Gothic obscured due to later changes). The later process affected all back vowels and some front vowels; it operated independently in the various languages, occurring at differing times with differing results. Old English was the earliest and most-affected language, with nearly all vowels affected. Old High German was the last language to be affected; the only written evidence of the process is with short /a/, which is umlauted to /e/. However, later evidence suggests that other back vowels were also affected, perhaps still sub-phonemically in Old High German times. These are indicated with a diaeresis or "umlaut" symbol (two dots) placed over the affected vowels.
- ^ Proto-Germanic /e/ usually became Old Norse /ja/ by a process known as vowel breaking.
- ^ Before Proto-Germanic /x/, /xʷ/ or /r/, but not before Proto-Germanic /z/ (which only merged with /r/ much later in North Germanic). Cf. Old Norse árr (masc.) "messenger" < PG *airuz, ár (fem.) "oar" < PG *airō, vs. eir (fem.) "honor" < PG *aizō, eir (neut.) "bronze" < PG *aizan. (All four become ār in Old English; in Gothic, they become, respectively, airus, (unattested), *aiza, *aiz.) Cf. Köbler, Gerhard. "Altenglisches Wörterbuch". http://www.koeblergerhard.de/germanistischewoerterbuecher/altenglischeswoerterbuch/AENG-A.pdf. .
- ^ Before /r/, /h/ (including when derived from Proto-Germanic /xʷ/) or /w/, or word-finally.
- ^ a b Before /h/ (including when derived from Proto-Germanic /xʷ/) or before any dental consonant, i.e. /s/,/z/,/þ/,/t/,/d/,/r/,/l/,/n/.
- ^ Before any dental consonant, i.e. /s/,/z/,/þ/,/t/,/d/,/r/,/l/,/n/.
- ^ a b The result of the High German consonant shift produced a different sort of s than the original Proto-Germanic s. The former was written ‹z› and the latter ‹s›. It is thought that the former was a dental /s/, somewhat like in English, while the latter was an "apicoalveolar" sound as in modern European Spanish, sounding somewhere between English /s/ and /ʃ/. (Joos, Martin (1952). "The Medieval Sibilants". Language 28 (2): 222–231. ) Modern standard German has /ʃ/ for this sound in some contexts, e.g. initially before a consonant (schlimm cf. English slim; Stand /ʃtant/, cf. English stand), and after /r/ (Arsch, cf. English arse). A number of modern southern German dialects have /ʃ/ for this sound before all consonants, whether or not word-initially.
- ^ a b c Old English palatalizes /k,g,ɣ/ to /tʃ,dʒ,j/ near a front vowel. The sounds /k/ and /ɣ/ palatalized initially before any front vowel. Elsewhere /ɣ/ palatalized before /j/ or before or after any front vowel, where /k/ and /g/ (which occurred only in the combinations /gg/, /ng/) palatalized before /j/, or either before or after /i,iː/.
- ^ a b c Voiced fricatives were originally allophones of voiced stops, when occurring after a vowel or after certain consonants (and for /g/, also initially — hard [g] occurred only in the combinations /gg/, /ng/). In Old Norse and Old English, voiceless fricatives became voiced between vowels (and finally after a vowel in Old Norse); as a result, voiced fricatives were reanalyzed as allophones of voiceless fricatives. In Old High German, all voiced fricatives hardened into stops.
- ^ In the early periods of the various languages, the sound written /r/ may have been strongly velarized, as in modern American English (Lass 1994); this is one possible explanation for the various processes were triggered by h (probably [x]) and r.
- ^ a b Old English and Old Norse lose /n/ before certain consonants, with the previous vowel lengthened (in Old Norse, the following consonant is also lengthened).
- ^ /n/ lost finally and before /s,p,t,k/, but not before other consonants.
- ^ a b Proto-Germanic /j/ and /w/ were often lost between vowels in all languages, often with /j/ or /w/ later reappearing to break the hiatus, and not always corresponding to the sound previously present. After a consonant, Gothic consistently preserved /j/ and /w/, but most languages deleted /j/ (after triggering i-umlaut), and /w/ sometimes disappeared. The loss of /j/ after a consonant occurred in the various languages at different times and to differing degrees. For example, /j/ was still present in most circumstances in written Old Saxon, and was still present in Old Norse when a short vowel preceded and a back vowel followed; but in Old English and Old High German, /j/ only remained after an /r/ preceded by a short vowel.
Morphology[link]
The oldest Germanic languages have the typical complex inflected morphology of old Indo-European languages, with four or five noun cases; verbs marked for person, number, tense and mood; multiple noun and verb classes; few or no articles; and rather free word order. The old Germanic languages are famous for having only two tenses (present and past), with three PIE past-tense aspects (imperfect, aorist, and perfect/stative) merged into one and no new tenses (future, pluperfect, etc.) developing. There were three moods: indicative, subjunctive (developed from the PIE optative mood) and imperative. Gothic verbs had a number of archaic features inherited from PIE that were lost in the other Germanic languages with few traces, including dual endings, an inflected passive voice (derived from the PIE mediopassive voice), and a class of verbs with reduplication in the past tense (derived from the PIE perfect). The complex tense system of modern English (e.g. In three months, the house will still be being built or If you had not acted so stupidly, we would never have been caught) is almost entirely due to subsequent developments (although paralleled in many of the other Germanic languages).
Among the primary innovations in Proto-Germanic are the preterite present verbs, a special set of verbs whose present tense looks like the past tense of other verbs and which is the origin of most modal verbs in English; a past-tense ending (in the so-called "weak verbs", marked with -ed in English) that appears variously as /d/ or /t/, often assumed to be derived from the verb "to do"; and two separate sets of adjective endings, originally corresponding to a distinction between indefinite semantics ("a man", with a combination of PIE adjective and pronoun endings) and definite semantics ("the man", with endings derived from PIE n-stem nouns).
Strong vs. weak nouns and adjectives[link]
Originally, adjectives in Proto-Indo-European followed the same declensional classes as nouns. The most common class (the o/ā class) used a combination of o-stem endings for masculine and neuter genders and ā-stems ending for feminine genders, but other common classes (e.g. the i class and u class) used endings from a single vowel-stem declension for all genders, and various other classes existed that were based on other declensions. A quite different set of "pronominal" endings was used for pronouns, determiners and words with related semantics (e.g. "all", "only").
An important innovation in Proto-Germanic was the development of two separate sets of adjective endings, originally corresponding to a distinction between indefinite semantics ("a man") and definite semantics ("the man"). The endings of indefinite adjectives were derived from a combination of pronominal endings with one of the common vowel-stem adjective declensions — usually the o/ā class (often termed the a/ō class in the specific context of the Germanic languages), but sometimes the i or u classes. Definite adjectives, however, had endings based on n-stem nouns. Originally both types of adjectives could be used by themselves, but already by Proto-Germanic times a pattern evolved whereby definite adjectives had to be accompanied by a determiner with definite semantics (e.g. a definite article, demonstrative pronoun, possessive pronoun, or the like), while indefinite adjectives were used in other circumstances (either accompanied by a word with indefinite semantics such as "a", "one" or "some", or unaccompanied).
In the 19th century, the two types of adjectives — indefinite and definite — were respectively termed "strong" and "weak", names which are still commonly used. These names were based on the appearance of the two sets of endings in modern German. In German, the distinctive case endings formerly present on nouns have largely disappeared, with the result that the load of distinguishing one case from another is almost entirely carried by determiners and adjectives. Furthermore, due to regular sound change, the various definite (n-stem) adjective endings coalesced to the point where only two endings (-e and -en) remain in modern German to express the 16 possible inflectional categories of the language (masculine/feminine/neuter/plural crossed with nominative/accusative/dative/genitive — modern German merges all genders in the plural). The indefinite (a/ō-stem) adjective endings were less affected by sound change, with six endings remaining (-, -e, -es, -er, -em, -en), cleverly distributed in a way that is capable of expressing the various inflectional categories without too much ambiguity. As a result, the definite endings were thought of as too "weak" to carry inflectional meaning and in need of "strengthening" by the presence of an accompanying determiner, while the indefinite endings were viewed as "strong" enough to indicate the inflectional categories even when standing alone. (This view is enhanced by the fact that modern German largely uses weak-ending adjectives when accompanying an indefinite article, and hence the indefinite/definite distinction no longer clearly applies.) By analogy, the terms "strong" and "weak" were extended to the corresponding noun classes, with a-stem and ō-stem nouns termed "strong" while n-stem nouns termed "weak".
However, in Proto-Germanic — and still in Gothic, the most conservative Germanic language — the terms "strong" and "weak" are not clearly appropriate. For one thing, there were a large number of noun declensions. The a-stem, ō-stem and n-stem declensions were the most common, and represented targets into which the other declensions were eventually absorbed, but this process occurred only gradually. Originally the n-stem declension was not a single declension but a set of separate declensions (e.g. -an, -ōn, -īn) with related endings, and these endings were in no way any "weaker" than the endings of any other declensions. (For example, among the 8 possible inflectional categories of a noun — singular/plural crossed with nominative/accusative/dative/genitive — masculine an-stem nouns in Gothic include 7 endings and feminine ōn-stem nouns include 6 endings, meaning there is very little ambiguity of "weakness" in these endings and in fact much less than in the German "strong" endings.) Although it is possible to group the various noun declensions into three basic categories — vowel-stem, n-stem and other-consonant-stem (aka "minor declensions") — the vowel-stem nouns do not display any sort of unity in their endings that supports grouping them together with each other but separate from the n-stem endings.
It is only in later languages that the binary distinction between "strong" and "weak" nouns become more relevant. In Old English, the n-stem nouns form a single, clear class, but the masculine a-stem and feminine ō-stem nouns have little in common with each other, and neither has much similarity to the small class of u-stem nouns. Similarly, in Old Norse, the masculine a-stem and feminine ō-stem nouns have little in common with each other, and the continuations of the masculine an-stem and feminine ōn/īn-stem nouns are also quite distinct. It is only in modern German that the various vowel-stem nouns have merged to the point that a binary strong/weak distinction clearly applies.
As a result, newer grammatical descriptions of the Germanic languages often avoid the terms "strong" and "weak" except in conjunction with German itself, preferring instead to use the terms "indefinite" and "definite" for adjectives and to distinguish nouns by their actual stem class.
In English, both two sets of adjective endings were lost entirely in the late Middle English period.
The following shows a typical masculine a-stem noun, Proto-Germanic *fiskaz "fish", and its development in the various old literary languages:
| Proto-Germanic | Gothic | Old Norse | Old High German | Middle High German | Modern German | Old English | Old Saxon | Old Frisian | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Nominative | *fisk-az | fisk-s | fisk-r | visk | visch | fisch | fisc | fisc | fisk |
| Vocative | *fisk | fisk | ||||||||
| Accusative | *fisk-ą | fisk | fisk | |||||||
| Genitive | *fisk-as, -is | fisk-is | fisk-s | visk-es | visch-es | fisch-es[32] | fisc-es < fisc-æs | fisc-as, -es | fisk-is, -es | |
| Dative | *fisk-ai | fisk-a | fisk-i | visk-a | visch-e | fisch-(e)[33] | fisc-e < fisc-æ | fisc-a, -e | fisk-a, -i, -e | |
| Instrumental | *fisk-ō | -- | -- | visk-u | -- | -- | fisc-e < fisc-i[34] | fisc-u | -- | |
| Plural | Nominative, Vocative | *fisk-ôs, -ôz | fisk-ōs | fisk-ar | visk-a | visch-e | fisch-e | fisc-as | fisc-ōs, -ās | fisk-ar, -a |
| Accusative | *fisk-anz | fisk-ans | fisk-a | visk-ā | ||||||
| Genitive | *fisk-ǫ̂ | fisk-ē | fisk-a | visk-ō | fisc-a | fisc-ō, -ā | fisk-a | |||
| Dative | *fisk-amaz | fisk-am | fisk-um, -om | visk-um | visch-en | fisch-en | fisc-um | fisc-un, -on | fisk-um, -on, -em | |
| Instrumental | *fisk-amiz | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
Linguistic developments[link]
The subgroupings of the Germanic languages are defined by shared innovations. It is important to distinguish innovations from cases of linguistic conservatism. That is, if two languages in a family share a characteristic that is not observed in a third language, that is evidence of common ancestry of the two languages only if the characteristic is an innovation compared to the family's proto-language.
The following innovations are common to the Northwest Germanic languages (all but Gothic):
- The lowering of /u/ to /o/ in initial syllables before /a/ in the following syllable ("a-Umlaut", traditionally called Brechung)
- "Labial umlaut" in unstressed medial syllables (the conversion of /a/ to /u/ and /ō/ to /ū/ before /m/, or /u/ in the following syllable)[35]
- The conversion of /ē1/ into /ā/ (vs. Gothic /ē/) in initial syllables[36]
- The raising of final /ō/ to /u/ (Gothic lowers it to /a/)
- The monophthongisation of /ai/ and /au/ to /ǣ/ and /ō/ in non-initial syllables (however, evidence for the development of /au/ in medial syllables is lacking)
- The development of an intensified demonstrative ending in /s/ (reflected in English "this" compared to "the")
- The use of /ē2/ in the preterite of Class VII strong verbs in North and West Germanic, while Gothic uses reduplication (e.g. Gothic haihait; ON, OE hēt, preterite of the Gmc verb *haitan "to be called")[37] as part of a comprehensive reformation of the Gmc Class VII from a reduplicating to a new ablaut pattern, which presumably started in verbs beginning with vowel or /h/[38] (a development which continues the general trend of de-reduplication in Gmc[39]); there are forms (such as OE dial. heht instead of hēt) which retain traces of reduplication even in West and North Germanic
The following innovations are also common to the Northwest Germanic languages, but represent areal changes:
- Proto-Germanic /z/ > /r/ (e.g. Gothic dius; ON dȳr, OHG tior, OE dēor, "wild animal"); note that this is not present in Proto-Norse and must be ordered after West Germanic loss of final /z/
- Germanic umlaut
The following innovations are common to the West Germanic languages:
- Loss of final /z/ (except in short monosyllables).
- Change of voiced dental fricative /ð/ to stop /d/.
- Change of voiceless dental fricative /þ/ to stop /d/ after /l/ (except when /þ/ is word-final).[40]
- West Germanic gemination of consonants, except r, before /j/ in short-stemmed words (gemination of /p/, /t/, /k/ and /h/ is also observed before liquids), but not if /j/ (or a liquid) is vocalised (becomes syllabic) word-finally.
- The simplification of /ngw/ to /ng/.
- A particular type of umlaut /e-u-i/ > /i-u-i/.
- Loss of /j/ before /i/ and /w/ before /u/ in endings.
- The change of /b/ or /g/ to /w/ before nasal consonant[41].
- Changes to the 2nd person singular past-tense: Replacement of the past-singular stem vowel with the past-plural stem vowel, and substitution of the ending -t with -i.
- Short forms (*stān, stēn, *gān, gēn) of the verbs for "stand" and "go"; but note that Crimean Gothic also has gēn.
- The development of a gerund.
The following innovations are common to the Ingvaeonic subgroup of the West Germanic languages, which includes English, Frisian, and to some extent Dutch and Low German, but not High German:
- The so-called Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, with loss of /n/ before voiceless friactives: e.g. *munþ, *gans > Old English mūþ, gōs > "mouth, goose", but German mund, gans.
- The loss of the Germanic reflexive pronoun.
- The reduction of the three Germanic verbal plural forms into one form ending in -þ.
- The development of Class III weak verbs into a relic class consisting of four verbs (*sagjan "to say", *hugjan "to think", *habjan "to have", *libjan "to live"; cf. the numerous Old High German verbs in -ēn).
- The split of the Class II weak verb ending *-ō- into *-ō-/-ōja- (cf. Old English -ian < -ōjan, but Old High Geman -ōn).
- Development of a plural ending *-ōs in a-stem nouns (note, Gothic also has -ōs, but this is an independent development, caused by terminal devoicing of *-ōz; Old Frisian has -ar, which is thought to be a late borrowing from Danish). Cf. modern English plural -(e)s, but German plural -e.
- Possibly, the monophthongization of Germanic *ai to ē/ā (this may represent independent changes in Old Saxon and Anglo-Frisian).
The following innovations are common to the Anglo-Frisian subgroup of the Ingvaeonic languages:
- Raising of nasalized a, ā into o, ō.
- Anglo-Frisian brightening: Fronting of non-nasal a, ā to æ,ǣ when not followed by n or m.
- Metathesis of CrV into CVr, where C represents any consonant and V any vowel.
- Monophthongization of ai into ā.
Vocabulary comparison[link]
Several of the terms in the table below have had semantic drift. For example, the form Sterben and other terms for die are cognates with the English word starve. There is also at least one example of a common borrowing from a non-Germanic source (ounce and its cognates from Latin).
| English | Scots | West Frisian | Afrikaans | Dutch | Dutch (Limburgish) | Low German | Low German (Groningen) | Middle German (Luxemburgish) |
German | Yiddish | Gothic | Icelandic | Faroese | Swedish | Danish | Norwegian (Bokmål) | Norwegian (Nynorsk) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| apple | aiple/aipil | apel | appel | appel | appel | Appel | Abbel | Apel | Apfel | עפל / epl | aplus | epli | epli[42] | äpple | æble | eple | eple | |
| board | buird | board | bord | bord | bórdj/telleur | Boord | Bred | Briet | Brett[43] | ברעט / bret | baúrd | borð | borð | bord | bord | bord | bord | |
| beech | beech | boeke | beuk | beuk | beuk | Boeoek / Böök | Beukenboom | Bich | Buche | – | bōka[44]/-bagms | beyki | bók(artræ) | bok | bøg | bok | bok / bøk | |
| book | beuk/buik | boek | boek | boek | book | Book | Bouk | Buch | Buch | בוך / bukh | bōka | bók | bók | bok | bog | bok | bok | |
| breast | breest | boarst | bors | borst | boors | Bost | Bôrst | Broscht | Brust | ברוסט / brust | brusts | brjóst | bróst / bringa | bröst | bryst | bryst | bryst | |
| brown | broun | brún | bruin | bruin | broen | bruun | broen | brong | braun | ברוין / broyn | bruns | brúnn | brúnur | brun | brun | brun | brun | |
| day | day | dei | dag | dag | daag | Dag | Dag | Do | Tag | טאג / tog | dags | dagur | dagur | dag | dag | dag | dag | |
| dead | deid | dea | dood | dood | doed | dood | dood | dout | tot | טויט / toyt | dauþs | dauður | deyður | död | død | død | daud | |
| die (starve) | dee | stjerre | sterf | sterven | stèrve | sterven / starven / döen | staarven | stierwen | sterben | שטארבן / shtarbn | diwan | deyja | doyggja | dö | dø | dø | døy / starva | |
| enough | eneuch | genôch | genoeg | genoeg | genóg | noog | genog | genuch | genug | גענוג / genug | ganōhs | nóg | nóg/nógmikið | nog | nok | nok | nok | |
| finger | finger | finger | vinger | vinger | veenger | Finger | Vinger | Fanger | Finger | פינגער / finger | figgrs | fingur | fingur | finger | finger | finger | finger | |
| give | gie | jaan | gee | geven | geve | geven | geven | ginn | geben | געבן / gebn | giban | gefa | geva | ge / giva | give | gi | gje(va) | |
| glass | gless | glês | glas | glas | glaas | Glas | Glas | Glas | Glas | גלאז / gloz | – | glas | glas | glas | glas | glass | glas | |
| gold | gowd | goud | goud | goud | goud / góldj | Gold | Gold | – | Gold | גאלד / gold | gulþ | gull | gull | guld / gull | guld | gull | gull | |
| good | guid | gód | goed | goed | good | good | goud | gutt | gut | גוט / gut | gōþ(is) | góð(ur) / gott | góð(ur) / gott | god | god | god | god | |
| hand | haund | hân | hand | hand | hand | Hand | Haand | Hand | Hand | האנט / hant | handus | hönd | hond | hand | hånd | hånd | hand | |
| head | heid | holle | hoof[45] / kop[46] | hoofd / kop[46] | kop[46] | Kopp[46] / höved | Heufd / Kop[46] | Kopp[46] | Haupt / Kopf[46] | הויפט/קאפ / hoypt/kop | háubiþ | höfuð | høvd / høvur | huvud | hoved | hode | hovud | |
| high | heich | heech | hoog | hoog | hoeg | hoog | hoog / höch | héich | hoch | הויך / hoykh | háuh | hár | høg / ur | hög | høj | høy / høg | høg | |
| home | hame | hiem | heim[47] / tuis[48] | heem, heim[47] / thuis[48] | thoes[48] | Tohuus[48] / heem | Thoes[48] | Heem | Heim | היים / heym | háimōþ | heim | heim | hem | hjem | hjem / heim | heim | |
| hook / crook | heuk/huik | hoek | haak | haak | haok | Haak | Hoak | Krop / Kramp | Haken | האק / hak | kramppa | haki / krókur | krókur / ongul | hake / krok | hage / krog | hake / krok | hake / krok[49] | |
| house | hoose/houss | hûs | huis | huis | hoes | Huus | Hoes | Haus | Haus | הויז / hoyz | hūs | hús | hús | hus | hus | hus | hus | |
| many | mony/monie | mannich / mennich | baie / menige | menig | minnig | Mennig | Ìnde | – | manch | מאנכע / mankhe | manags | margir | mangir / nógvir | många | mange | mange | mange | |
| moon | muin | moanne | maan | maan | maon | Maan | Moan | Mound | Mond | – | – | mēna | máni / tungl | måne | måne | måne | måne | måne |
| night | nicht | nacht | nag | nacht | nach | Nach / Nacht | Nacht | Nuecht | Nacht | נאכט / nakht | nótt | nótt | nátt | natt | nat | natt | natt | |
| no (nay) | nae | nee | nee | nee(n) | nei | nee | nee / nai | nee(n) | nee / nein / nö | ניין / neyn | nē | nei | nei | nej / nä | nej / næ | nei | nei | |
| old (but: elder, eldest) | auld | âld | oud | oud | aajt (old) / gammel (decayed) | old / gammelig | old / olleg | aalt | alt | אלט / alt | sineigs | gamall (but: eldri, elstur) / aldinn | gamal (but: eldri, elstur) | gammal (but: äldre, äldst) | gammel (but: ældre, ældst) | gammel (but: eldre, eldst) | gam(m)al (but: eldre, eldst) | |
| one | ane | ien | een | een | ein | een | aine | een | eins | איין / eyn | áins | einn | ein | en | en | en | ein | |
| ounce | unce | ûns | ons | ons | óns | Ons | Onze | – | Unze | – | unkja | únsa | únsa | uns | unse | unse | unse / unsa | |
| snow | snaw | snie | sneeu | sneeuw | sjnie | Snee | Snij / Snèj | Schlue | Schnee | שניי / shney | snáiws | snjór | kavi / snjógvur | snö | sne | snø | snø | |
| stone | stane | stien | steen | steen | stein | Steen | Stain | Steen | Stein | שטיין / shteyn | stáins | steinn | steinur | sten | sten | stein | stein | |
| that | that | dat | daardie / dit | dat / die | dat / tot | dat / dit | dat / dij | dat | das | דאס / dos | þata | það | tað | det | det | det | det | |
| two / twain | twa | twa | twee | twee | twie | twee | twij / twèje | zoo / zwou / zwéin | zwei/zwo | צוויי / tsvey | twái | tveir / tvær / tvö | tveir / tvey / tvær / tvá | två / tu | to | to | to[50] | |
| who | wha | wa | wie | wie | wee | wokeen | wel | wien | wer | ווער / ver | Ƕas / hwas | hver | hvør | vem | hvem | hvem | kven | |
| worm | wirm | wjirm | wurm | worm | weurm | Worm | Wörm | Wuerm | Wurm | ווארעם / vorem | maþa | maðkur / ormur | maðkur / ormur | mask / orm [51] | orm | makk / mark / orm [51] | makk/mark/orm[51] | |
| English | Scots | West Frisian | Afrikaans | Dutch | Dutch (Limburgish) | Low German | Low German (Groningen) | Middle German (Luxemburgish) |
German | Yiddish | Gothic | Icelandic | Faroese | Swedish | Danish | Norwegian (Bokmål) | Norwegian (Nynorsk) |
See also[link]
- Germanic verb and its various subordinated articles
- Language families and languages
- Non-Indo-European roots of Germanic languages
- List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents
- Germanisation and Anglicisation
- Germanic name
- Germanic placename etymology
- German name
- German placename etymology
- Isogloss
- Germanic substrate hypothesis
Notes[link]
- ^ "Ethnologue on English". Ethnologue.com. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=eng. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Curtis, Andy. Color, Race, And English Language Teaching: Shades of Meaning. 2006, page 192.
- ^ SIL Ethnologue (2006). 95 million speakers of Standard German; 95 million including Middle and Upper German dialects; 120 million including Low Saxon and Yiddish.
- ^ Dutch, University College London
- ^ "Ethnologue on Afrikaans". Ethnologue.com. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=afr. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Holmberg, Anders and Christer Platzack (2005). "The Scandinavian languages". In The Comparative Syntax Handbook, eds Guglielmo Cinque and Richard S. Kayne. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Excerpt at Durham University.
- ^ Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 290. ISBN 0-631-19814-8.
- ^ Chuan-Chao Wang, Qi-Liang Ding, Huan Tao, Hui Li (2012). "Comment on “Phonemic Diversity Supports a Serial Founder Effect Model of Language Expansion from Africa”". Science 335 (6069): 657. DOI:10.1126/science.1207846. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6069/657.3.full. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ Ringe (2006), p. 295. According to Ringe, Proto-Germanic had S-O-V-I word order.
- ^ Malcolm Todd (1992). The Early Germans. Blackwell Publishing.
- ^ Cercignani, Fausto, The Elaboration of the Gothic Alphabet and Orthography, in «Indogermanische Forschungen», 93, 1988, pp. 168-185.
- ^ Ringe (2006), p. 67.
- ^ Aitken, A. J. and McArthur, T. Eds. (1979) Languages of Scotland. Edinburgh,Chambers. p. 87
- ^ McClure (1991) in The Cambridge History of the English Language Vol. 5. p. 23.
- ^ Robinson M. (ed.) (1985) the "Concise Scots Dictionary, Chambers, Edinburgh. p. xiii
- ^ Dareau M., Pike l. and Watson, H (eds) (2002) "A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue" Vol. XII, Oxford University Press. p. xxxiv
- ^ Ringe, Don (2009). A linguistic history of English: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- ^ König, Ekkehard; van der Auwera, Johan (1994). The Germanic languages. London: Routledge.
- ^ Bennett, William H. (1980). An introduction to the Gothic language. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
- ^ Wright, Joseph C. (1919). Grammar of the Gothic language. London: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Gordon, E.V. (1927). An introduction to Old Norse. London: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Campbell, A. (1959). Old English grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Diamond, Robert E. (1970). Old English grammar and reader. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
- ^ Lass, Roger; Anderson, John M. (1975). Old English phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Lass, Roger (1994). Old English: A historical linguistic companion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Mitchell, Bruce; Robinson, Fred C. (1992). A guide to Old English, 5th edition. Cambridge: Blackwell.
- ^ Robinson, Orrin (1992). Old English and its closest relatives. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- ^ Wright, Joseph; Wright, Mary Elizabeth (1925). Old English grammar, 3rd edition. London: Oxford University Press.
- ^ Wright, Joseph (1906). An Old High German primer, 2nd edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Waterman, John C. (1976). A history of the German language. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press.
- ^ Ringe (2006), Lass (1994), Helfenstein (1870).
- ^ In speech, the genitive is usually replaced with vom + dative, or with the dative alone after prepositions.
- ^ The use of -e in the dative has become increasingly uncommon, and is found only in a few fixed phrases (e.g. zu Hause "at home") and in certain archaizing literary styles.
- ^ Of questionable etymology. Possibly an old locative.
- ^ Campbell, Alistair (1959). Old English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 139.
- ^ But see Cercignani, Fausto, Indo-European ē in Germanic, in «Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung», 86/1, 1972, pp. 104-110.
- ^ See also Cercignani, Fausto, The Reduplicating Syllable and Internal Open Juncture in Gothic, in «Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung», 93/1, 1979, pp. 126-132.
- ^ Bethge, Richard (1900). "Konjugation des Urgermanischen". In Ferdinand Dieter. Laut- und Formenlehre der altgermanischen Dialekte (2. Halbband: Formenlehre). Leipzig: Reisland. pp. 361.
- ^ Schumacher, Stefan (2005), "'Langvokalische Perfekta' in indogermanischen Einzelsprachen und ihr grundsprachlicher Hintergrund", in Meiser, Gerhard, Sprachkontakt und Sprachwandel. Akten der XI. Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft, 17. – 23. September 2000, Halle an der Saale, Wiesbaden: Reichert, pp. 603f.
- ^ Campbell, Alistair (1959). Old English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 169.
- ^ Kuiper, F B J (1995). "Gothic 'bagms' and Old Icelandic 'ylgr'". North-Western European Language Evolution (NOWELE) (25): 63–88.
- ^ The cognate means 'potato'. The correct word is 'Súrepli'.
- ^ Brett is used in the South, Bord is used additionally in the North
- ^ Attested meaning 'letter', but also means beech in other Germanic languages, cf. Russian buk 'beech', bukva 'letter', maybe from Gothic.
- ^ Now only used in compound words such as hoofpyn (headache) and metaphorically, such as hoofstad (capital city).
- ^ a b c d e f g From an old Latin borrowing, akin to "cup".
- ^ a b Archaic: now only used in compound words such as 'heimwee' (homesickness).
- ^ a b c d e From a compound phrase akin to "to house"
- ^ ongel is also used for fishing hook.
- ^ Dialectally tvo / två / tvei (m) / tvæ (f) / tvau (n).
- ^ a b c The cognate orm usually means 'snake'.
References[link]
Germanic languages in general:
- König, Ekkehard; van der Auwera, Johan (1994). The Germanic languages. London: Routledge.
- Helfenstein, James (1870). A comparative grammar of the Teutonic languages. London: MacMillan and Co.
Proto-Germanic:
- Ringe, Don (2006). A linguistic history of English: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gothic:
- Wright, Joseph C. (1919). Grammar of the Gothic language. London: Oxford University Press. </ref>
- Bennett, William H. (1980). An introduction to the Gothic language. New York: Modern Language Association of America.
Old Norse:
- Gordon, E.V. (1927). An introduction to Old Norse. London: Oxford University Press.
- Zoëga, Geir T. (2004). A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Old English:
- Campbell, A. (1959). Old English grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
- Wright, Joseph; Wright, Mary Elizabeth (1925). Old English grammar, 3rd edition. London: Oxford University Press.
- Lass, Roger (1994). Old English: A historical linguistic companion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mitchell, Bruce; Robinson, Fred C. (1992). A guide to Old English, 5th edition. Cambridge: Blackwell.
- Hall, J.R. (1984). A concise Anglo–Saxon dictionary, 4th edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- Diamond, Robert E. (1970). Old English grammar and reader. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. </ref>
- Lass, Roger; Anderson, John M. (1975). Old English phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. </ref>
- Robinson, Orrin (1992). Old English and its closest relatives. Stanford: Stanford University Press. </ref>
Old High German:
- Wright, Joseph (1906). An Old High German primer, 2nd edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Waterman, John C. (1976). A history of the German language. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press.
External links[link]
- Germanic Lexicon Project
- 'Hover & Hear' pronunciations of the same Germanic words in dozens of Germanic languages and 'dialects', including English accents, and compare instantaneously side by side
- Bibliographie der Schreibsprachen: Bibliography of medieval written forms of High and Low German and Dutch
- Ethnologue Report for Germanic
- Swadesh lists of Germanic basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh-list appendix)
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| Sarah Chalke | |
|---|---|
 Chalke in December 2008 |
|
| Born | (1976-08-27) August 27, 1976 (age 35) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Other names | Sarah Louise Christine Chalke Sarah Cassandra Chalke |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Parents | Douglas and Angie Chalke |
Sarah Chalke ( /ˈtʃɔːk/; born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian-American actress known for portraying Dr. Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy Scrubs, "Second Becky" Conner Healy on Roseanne, and Stella Zinman in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.[1] She most recently starred in the CBS sitcom Mad Love, which aired during the spring of 2011. As of 2012, she is now guest-starring in ABC's sitcom Cougar Town.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Chalke was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is the middle of the three daughters of Douglas and Angie Chalke. Her mother is originally from Rostock, Germany. According to a Scrubs commentary track, she used to attend the German school in her hometown twice a week. Her first language is English, but she speaks German fluently and French fairly well; this was incorporated into her Scrubs character, Elliot Reid, who also speaks German and French at the same skill levels. Chalke graduated from Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver in 1994.
Career[link]
Chalke's acting career began at the age of eight when she began appearing in musical theatre productions. At 12, she became a reporter on the Canadian children's show KidZone. In 1993, she took over the role of Rebecca Conner-Healy on Roseanne after Lecy Goranson left the series; she made a cameo appearance as a different character in the Roseanne episode "Halloween: The Final Chapter" (#178, originally aired October 31, 1995). She returned briefly to Canada where she starred in the CBC Television drama Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (1998–1999).
In 2001, she was cast as Dr. Elliot Reid in the NBC comedy series Scrubs. She has appeared in several feature films, including Ernest Goes to School and Cake. She appeared in Channel 101's The 'Bu with The Lonely Island, a parody of the hit show The O.C., but was credited as "Pamela Fenton". In 2007, she appeared as a supporting character in Chaos Theory, which starred fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds. In 2008, Chalke became the spokesperson for a line of women's underwear by Hanes that included a series of commercials directed by her Scrubs co-star Zach Braff.[2][3] In 2008 and 2009 she made appearances in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother as Stella Zinman. In the spring of 2011, she starred in the CBS television series Mad Love, a romantic comedy which debuted as a midseason replacement and was cancelled after only one season was produced.[4] Chalke has been signed by former Scrubs, and current Cougar Town executive producer, Bill Lawrence to play a love interest in the series Cougar Town. She is set to appear in multiple episodes.[5]
Activism[link]
Chalke lost her aunt and grandmother to breast cancer that was undiagnosed while in its early stages. Chalke has since encouraged breast cancer detection and prevention, and starred in the Lifetime movie Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy.[6] She is an ambassador for the Audrey Hepburn Children's Foundation. Chalke also made an appearance in a short video parodying the National Organization for Marriage's "Gathering Storm" advertisement opposing same-sex marriage.[7] She is also the 2009 ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure(R) program, for which she also designed a T-shirt.[8]
Personal life[link]
She is engaged to lawyer Jamie Afifi, with whom she has a son, Charlie Rhodes Afifi, born December 24, 2009.[9][10]
Her father is a lawyer in private practice in Vancouver. Her parents operate an adoption agency that specializes in placing foreign orphans (primarily Chinese) with Canadian families. Her elder sister Natasha is also a lawyer, and she has a younger sister named Piper.
Filmography[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Ernest Goes to School | Maisy | |
| 1999 | All Shook Up | Katy Dudston | |
| 2000 | Spin Cycle | Tess | |
| 2000 | Cinderella: Single Again | Cinderella | |
| 2001 | Kill Me Later | Linda | |
| 2001 | XCU: Extreme Close Up | Jane Bennett | |
| 2005 | Alchemy | Samantha Rose | |
| 2005 | Cake | Jane | |
| 2007 | Chaos Theory | Paula Crowe | |
| 2007 | Mama's Boy | Maya | |
| 2008 | Prop 8: The Musical | Scary Catholic School Girls From Hell | Short film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | City Boy | Angelica | TV film |
| 1993 | Neon Rider | Annie | 1 episode |
| 1993 | The Odyssey | Estate Agent | 1 episode |
| 1993 | Relentless: Mind of a Killer | Carrie | TV film |
| 1993 | Woman on the Ledge | Elizabeth | TV film |
| 1993–1997 | Roseanne | Becky Conner-Healy | Main role; 70 episodes |
| 1994 | Beyond Obsession | Laura Sawyer | TV film |
| 1996 | Robin of Locksley | Marion Fitzwater | TV film |
| 1996 | Dead Ahead | Heather Loch | TV film |
| 1996 | Stand Against Fear | Krista Wilson | TV film |
| 1997 | Daughters | Annie Morrell | TV film |
| 1997 | A Child's Wish | Melinda | TV film |
| 1997 | Dying to Belong | Drea Davenport | TV film |
| 1997 | Dead Man's Gun | Murial Jakes | 1 episode |
| 1998 | I've Been Waiting for You | Sarah Zoltanne | TV film |
| 1999 | Y2K | Myra Soljev | TV film |
| 1999 | First Wave | Chloe Wells | 1 episode |
| 1999–2000 | Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy | Gloria Hobson | Main role; 23 episodes |
| 2001–2010 | Scrubs | Dr. Elliot Reid | Main role; 173 episodes |
| 2002 | It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | Dr. Elliot Reid | TV film |
| 2002–2003 | Clone High | Marie Antoinette | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy | Geralyn Lucas | TV film |
| 2007 | Saturday Night Live | Dr. Elliot Reid | |
| 2008–2009 | How I Met Your Mother | Stella Zinman | 9 episodes |
| 2009 | Maneater | Clarissa Alpert | Mini-series |
| 2009 | Prep and Landing | Magee | Voice; TV special on ABC |
| 2010 | Freshman | Jane | Pilot on ABC[11] |
| 2010 | Team Spitz | Guidance Counsellor | Pilot on CBS[12] |
| 2011 | Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice | Magee | Voice; TV Special on ABC |
| 2011 | Mad Love | Kate Swanson | Main role; 13 episodes |
| 2011 | Cougar Town | Angie LeClaire | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | The Fresh Beat Band | Glinda the Good Witch | "The Wizard of Song" |
Notes[link]
- ^ "It's Official: Chalke Returning to 'Mother! Is Brit Next?'"[dead link] TV Guide. April 21, 2008. Retrieved on April 22, 2008.
- ^ Sarah Chalke at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Scrubs' Sarah Chalke, Zach Braff Tackle Wedgies in Hanes Underwear Commercial". Tv.popcrunch.com. http://tv.popcrunch.com/scrubs-sarah-chalke-zach-braff-tackle-wedgies-in-hanes-underwear-commercial/. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (June 26, 2010). "Judy Greer finds 'Mad Love'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5qpkgRh33.
- ^ http://perezhilton.com/2011-09-11-sarah-chalke-cast-on-cougar-town
- ^ Why I Wore Lipstick[dead link]
- ^ "Gaythering Storm – Gathering Storm parody with famous actors – Lance Bass, Jane Lynch, and more". FunnyOrDie. http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6eddb255b2/a-gaythering-storm. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
- ^ SOLVEJ SCHOU , TOI Crest, Oct 20, 2009, 12.00am IST (2009-10-20). "Report on Chalke and Cure(R) program". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/health-fitness/health/A-stare-case-for-cancer-awareness-/articleshow/5136700.cms. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
- ^ E-Online celebrity news report
- ^ "Magazine coverage of Chalke's birth to son Charlie Rhodes Afifi". Usmagazine.com. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/sarah-chalke-of-scrubs-gives-birth-to-baby-boy-201081. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (2010-02-03). "Pilot Intel: Sarah Chalke joins ABC's 'Freshman'". Entertainment Weekly. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/02/03/pilot-intel-sarah-chalke-joins-abcs-freshman/. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (2010-04-13). "Pilot Intel: Sarah Chalke joins 'Team Spitz'". Entertainment Weekly. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/04/13/sarah-chalke-cbs-team-spitz/. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
External links[link]
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sarah Chalke |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Chalke, Sarah |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Actress |
| Date of birth | August 27, 1976 |
| Place of birth | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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