Languages of Germany
| Languages of Germany | |
|---|---|
| Official language(s) | German (>95%) |
| Regional language(s) | Low Rhenish; Limburgish; Luxembourgish; Alemannic; Bavarian; Danish; Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian; North Frisian, Saterland Frisian; Romani, Low German |
| Main immigrant language(s) | Turkish, Russian, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Dutch; and others see further:immigration to Germany |
| Main foreign language(s) | English (51%) French (15%) Russian (5%) |
| Sign language(s) | German Sign Language |
| Common keyboard layout(s) |
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| Source | ebs_243_en.pdf (europa.eu) |
The official language of Germany is Standard German, with over 95% of the country speaking Standard German or German dialects as their first language.[1] This figure includes speakers of Northern Low Saxon, a recognized minority or regional language which is not considered separately from Standard German in statistics.
Minority first languages include:
- Sorbian 0.09%
- Romani 0.08%
- Danish 0.06%
- North Frisian 0.01%
Immigrant languages spoken by sizable communities of first and second-generation persons of Eastern European, African, Asian and Latin American origins include:
- Turkish,
- Russian,
- Arabic, from the Middle East and North Africa;
- Greek;
- Dutch;
- Igbo;
- Italian;
- Polish;
- Serbo-Croatian from the former Yugoslavia;
- Spanish
Most Germans also learn English as their first foreign language in school. Sometimes French or Latin are taught first, but usually English is, with French and Latin as common second or third foreign languages. Russian, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, classical Greek, and other languages are also offered in schools (often depending on the school's geographic location).
