A bit about the language
German (Deutsch) is a West Germanic language related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Globally, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by about 80 million non-native speakers. Standard German is widely taught in schools, universities and Goethe Institutes worldwide. German is a pluricentric language, with multiple countries having their own standardised variants (e.g. Austrian German, Swiss Standard German) as well as many dialects. There is also one variant referred to as Standard German. German is the only official language of Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein; one of the official languages of Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Belgium; and a recognised minor language in many other countries, such as Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Namibia, and Poland. At the same time, German is the second most commonly used scientific language and the third largest contributor to research and development, as well as an important language in business and culture. Worldwide, Germany is ranked number 5 in terms of annual publication of new books. One tenth of all books (including e-books) in the world are published in German.
German in Europe