German

Hallo!

Wilkommen zu meinem Internet-Tagebüch!

               

Since I learn German in school I thought I would begin with discussing this language as I have a particular fascination in it. 

German is the language that I most enjoy learning in school because unlike Irish, it seems to really interest me and I find myself eager to learn everything about it whether that be its history, its geography or its grammatical rules. 

German is spoken natively by approximately 100 million people around the world and is the most spoken language in the European Union. In the past, German used to exist in many different dialects and variations and was not as formally structured as it is today. Yet in the modern world there are still different types of the language as it is spoken officially in seven countries. These countries are Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, the German speaking parts of Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and also Northern Italy (south Tyrol). People dispersed all over the world also speak German so the language really exists everywhere.

                          European German speaking countries

We know that languages are humans' way of communicating with each other and have changed as we have changed. German was originally a West Germanic language and then evolved to become what it is today. It is one of the oldest languages in Europe and has a long and turbulent history. It was originally spoken by a group of Germanic tribes but grew to become much larger as it went through many stages of development such as pronunciations altering so the tongue even began to sound different. 

Interestingly German didn't take the form that it has today until the 16th Century when Martin Luther, the well-known German friar, played a big role in world events. Martin Luther encouraged and caused the reformation of the church which resulted in the Protestant religion. So what on earth did this have to do with the language of his people? Well, from the years 1521 to 1522 Luther was kept safe in Wartburg castle. While there he translated the bible from Latin, which is the traditional language of the Catholic Church, into vernacular German. Vernacular language is the language of the common people and this meant that those who didn't have the opportunity to educate themselves in Latin could now read the bible. 


In my next post there will be a small language lesson so if you were interested in today's update then stay tuned for the opportunity to learn some small, simple snippets of German! 

Sources

http://www.germanconnects.ie/where-is-german-spoken

http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/resources/german/articles/guide-to-word-origins/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#At_Wartburg_Castle

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http://blog.apiabroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/shutterstock_96950510.jpg



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