[10290010] |<article>French language</article>
[10290020] |'''French''' (''français'', ) is today spoken around the world by 72 to 130 million people as a [[first language|native]] language, and by about 190 to 600 million people as a [[second language|second]] or third language, with significant speakers in 54 countries.
[10290030] |Most native speakers of the language live in [[France]], where the language originated.
[10290040] |The rest live in [[Canada]], [[Belgium]] and [[Switzerland]].
[10290050] |French is a descendant of the [[Latin]] language of the [[Roman Empire]], as are languages such as [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and [[Romanian language|Romanian]].
[10290060] |Its development was also influenced by the native [[Celtic languages]] of Roman [[Gaul]] and by the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] language of the post-Roman [[Frankish]] invaders.
[10290070] |It is an [[official language]] in [[List of countries where French is an official language|29 countries]], most of which form what is called in French ''La [[Francophonie]]'', the community of French-speaking nations.
[10290080] |It is an official language of all [[United Nations]] agencies and a [[List of international organisations which have French as an official language|large number of international organizations]].
[10290090] |According to the [[European Union]], 129 million (26% of the 497,198,740) people in 27 member states speak French, of which 59 million (12%) speak it natively and 69 million (14%) claim to speak it as a second language, which makes it the third most spoken second language in the Union, after English and German respectively.
[10290100] |== Geographic distribution== 
[10290110] |===Europe=== 
[10290120] |====Legal status in France==== 
[10290130] |Per the [[Constitution of France]], French has been the official language since 1992 (although previous legal texts have made it official since 1539, see [[ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts]]).
[10290140] |[[France]] mandates the use of French in official government publications, public [[education]] outside of specific cases (though these dispositions are often ignored) and legal [[contract]]s; [[advertisement]]s must bear a translation of foreign words.
[10290150] |In addition to French, there are also a variety of regional languages.
[10290160] |France has signed the European Charter for Regional Languages but has not ratified it since that would go against the 1958 Constitution.
[10290170] |====Switzerland==== 
[10290180] |French is one of the four official languages of [[Switzerland]] (along with [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Romansh language|Romansh]]) and is spoken in the part of Switzerland called ''[[Romandie]]''.
[10290190] |French is the native language of about 20% of the Swiss population.
[10290200] |====Belgium==== 
[10290210] |In [[Belgium]], French is the official language of [[Wallonia]] (excluding the [[East Cantons]], which are [[German language|German-speaking]]) and one of the two official languages—along with [[Dutch language|Dutch]]—of the [[Brussels-Capital Region]] where it is spoken by the majority of the population, though often not as their primary language.
[10290220] |French and German are not official languages nor recognised minority languages in the [[Flemish Region]], although along borders with the Walloon and Brussels-Capital regions, there are a dozen of [[municipalities with language facilities]] for French-speakers; a mirroring situation exists for the Walloon Region with respect to the Dutch and German languages.
[10290230] |In total, native French-speakers make up about 40% of the country's population, the remaining 60% speak Dutch, the latter of which 59% claim to speak French as a second language.
[10290240] |French is thus known by an estimated 75% of all Belgians, either as a mother tongue, as second, or as third language.
[10290250] |====Monaco and Andorra==== 
[10290260] |Although [[Monégasque language|Monégasque]] is the national language of the [[Principality of Monaco]], French is the only official language, and French nationals make up some 47% of the population.
[10290270] |[[Catalan language|Catalan]] is the only official language of [[Andorra]]; however, French is commonly used due to the proximity to France.
[10290280] |French nationals make up 7% of the population.
[10290290] |====Italy==== 
[10290300] |French is also an official language, along with [[Italian language|Italian]], in the province of [[Aosta Valley]], [[Italy]].
[10290310] |In addition, a number of [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]] dialects are spoken in the province, although they do not have official recognition.
[10290320] |====Luxembourg==== 
[10290330] |French is one of three official languages of [[Luxembourg|the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg ]] ;
[10290340] |the other official languages of Luxembourg are 
[10290350] |*[[German language|German]] 
[10290360] |*[[Lëtzebuergesch|Luxemburgish]].
[10290370] |Luxemburgish is the natively-spoken language of Luxembourg ;
[10290380] |Luxembourg's education system is trilingual: the first years of primary school are in Luxembourgish, before changing to German, while secondary school, the language of instruction changes to French.
[10290390] |====The Channel Islands==== 
[10290400] |Although [[Jersey]] and [[Guernsey]], the two bailiwicks collectively referred to as the [[Channel Islands]], are separate entities, both use French to some degree, mostly in an administrative capacity.
[10290410] |[[Jersey Legal French]] is the standardized variety used in Jersey.
[10290420] |===The Americas=== 
[10290430] |====Legal status in Canada==== 
[10290440] |About 7 million [[Canadian]]s are native French-speakers, of whom 6 million live in [[Quebec]], and French is one of [[Canada]]'s two official languages (the other being [[English language|English]]).
[10290450] |Various provisions of the [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]] deal with Canadians' right to access services in both languages, including the right to a publicly funded education in the minority language of each province, where numbers warrant in a given locality.
[10290460] |By [[law]], the federal government must operate and provide services in both English and French, proceedings of the [[Parliament of Canada]] must be translated into both these languages, and most products sold in Canada must have labeling in both languages.
[10290470] |Overall, about 13% of Canadians have knowledge of French only, while 18% have knowledge of both English and French.
[10290480] |In contrast, over 82% of the population of Quebec speaks French natively, and almost 96% speak it as either their first or second language.
[10290490] |It has been the sole official language of Quebec since 1974.
[10290500] |The legal status of French was further strengthened with the 1977 adoption of the [[Charter of the French Language]] (popularly known as ''Bill 101''), which guarantees that every person has a right to have the civil administration, the health and social services, corporations, and enterprises in Quebec communicate with him in French.
[10290510] |While the Charter mandates that certain provincial government services, such as those relating to health and education, be offered to the English minority in its language, where numbers warrant, its primary purpose is to cement the role of French as the primary language used in the public sphere.
[10290520] |[[Image:Knowledge French EU map.png|right|thumb|240px|Knowledge of French in the European Union and candidate countries]] The provision of the Charter that has arguably had the most significant impact mandates French-language [[education]] unless a child's parents or siblings have received the majority of their own primary education in English within Canada, with minor exceptions.
[10290530] |This measure has reversed a historical trend whereby a large number of immigrant children would attend English schools.
[10290540] |In so doing, the Charter has greatly contributed to the "visage français" (French face) of Montreal in spite of its growing immigrant population.
[10290550] |Other provisions of the Charter have been ruled unconstitutional over the years, including those mandating French-only commercial signs, court proceedings, and debates in the legislature.
[10290560] |Though none of these provisions are still in effect today, some continued to be on the books for a time even after courts had ruled them unconstitutional as a result of the government's decision to invoke the so-called [[Section Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|notwithstanding clause]] of the Canadian constitution to override constitutional requirements.
[10290570] |In 1993, the Charter was rewritten to allow signage in other languages so long as French was markedly "predominant."
[10290580] |Another section of the Charter guarantees every person the right to work in French, meaning the right to have all communications with one's superiors and coworkers in French, as well as the right not to be required to know another language as a condition of hiring, unless this is warranted by the nature of one's duties, such as by reason of extensive interaction with people located outside the province or similar reasons.
[10290590] |This section has not been as effective as had originally been hoped, and has faded somewhat from public consciousness.
[10290600] |As of 2006, approximately 65% of the workforce on the island of Montreal predominantly used French in the workplace.
[10290610] |The only other province that recognizes French as an official language is [[New Brunswick]], which is officially bilingual, like the nation as a whole.
[10290620] |Outside of [[Quebec]], the highest number of Francophones in Canada, 485,000, excluding those who claim multiple mother tongues, reside in [[Ontario]], whereas [[New Brunswick]], home to the vast majority of [[Acadians]], has the highest ''percentage'' of Francophones after [[Quebec]], 33%, or 237,000.
[10290630] |In [[Ontario]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]], and [[Manitoba]], French does not have full official status, although the provincial governments do provide some French-language services in all communities where significant numbers of Francophones live.
[10290640] |Canada's three northern territories ([[Yukon]], [[Northwest Territories]], and [[Nunavut]]) all recognize French as an official language as well.
[10290650] |All provinces make some effort to accommodate the needs of their Francophone [[citizen]]s, although the level and quality of French-language service vary significantly from province to province.
[10290660] |The Ontario [[French Language Services Act]], adopted in 1986, guarantees French language services in that province in regions where the Francophone population exceeds 10% of the total population, as well as communities with Francophone populations exceeding 5,000, and certain other designated areas; this has the most effect in the north and east of the province, as well as in other larger centres such as [[Ottawa]], [[Toronto]], [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Mississauga, Ontario|Mississauga]], [[London, Ontario|London]], [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]], [[St. Catharines, Ontario|St. Catharines]], [[Greater Sudbury]] and [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]].
[10290670] |However, the French Language Services Act does not confer the status of "official bilingualism" on these cities, as that designation carries with it implications which go beyond the provision of services in both languages.
[10290680] |The City of Ottawa's language policy (by-law 2001-170) allows employees to work in their official language of choice and be supervised in the language of choice.
[10290690] |Canada has the status of member state in the Francophonie, while the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick are recognized as participating governments.
[10290700] |Ontario is currently seeking to become a full member on its own.
[10290710] |====Haiti==== 
[10290720] |French is an official language of [[Haiti]], although it is mostly spoken by the [[upper class]], while [[Haitian Creole]] (a [[French-based creole language]]) is more widely spoken as a [[mother tongue]].
[10290730] |====French overseas territories==== 
[10290740] |French is also the official language in France's overseas territories of [[French Guiana]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], [[Saint Barthélemy]], [[Saint Martin (France)|St. Martin]] and [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]].
[10290750] |====The United States==== 
[10290760] |Although it has no official recognition on a federal level, French is the third most-spoken language in the United States, after [[English language|English]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and the second most-spoken in the states of [[Louisiana]], [[Maine]], [[Vermont]] and [[New Hampshire]].
[10290770] |Louisiana is home to two distinct dialects, [[Cajun French]] and [[Louisiana Creole French|Creole French]]
[10290780] |===Africa=== 
[10290790] |A majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa.
[10290800] |According to the 2007 report by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 francophone African countries can speak French either as a [[first language|first]] or [[second language]].
[10290810] |French is mostly a second language in Africa, but in some areas it has become a first language, such as in the region of [[Abidjan]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]] and in [[Libreville]], [[Gabon]].
[10290820] |It is impossible to speak of a single form of [[African French]], but rather of diverse forms of African French which have developed due to the contact with many indigenous [[African languages]].
[10290830] |In the territories of the [[Indian Ocean]], the French language is often spoken alongside French-derived creole languages, the major exception being [[Madagascar]].
[10290840] |There, a Malayo-Polynesian language ([[Malagasy]]) is spoken alongside French.
[10290850] |The French language has also met competition with English since English has been the official language in [[Mauritius]] and the [[Seychelles]] for a long time and has recently become an official language of Madagascar.
[10290860] |[[Sub-Saharan Africa]] is the region where the French language is most likely to expand due to the expansion of education and it is also there the language has evolved most in recent years.
[10290870] |Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries but written forms of the language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world.
[10290880] |French is an official language of many African countries, most of them former French or [[Belgian colonial empire|Belgian colonies]]:
[10290890] |:*[[Benin]]
[10290900] |:*[[Burkina Faso]]
[10290910] |:*[[Burundi]]
[10290920] |:*[[Cameroon]]
[10290930] |:*[[Central African Republic]]
[10290940] |:*[[Chad]]
[10290950] |:*[[Comoros]]
[10290960] |:*[[Congo (Brazzaville)]]
[10290970] |:*[[Côte d'Ivoire]]
[10290980] |:*[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
[10290990] |:*[[Djibouti]]
[10291000] |:*[[Equatorial Guinea]] (former colony of [[Spain]])
[10291010] |:*[[Gabon]]
[10291020] |:*[[Guinea]]
[10291030] |:*[[Madagascar]]
[10291040] |:*[[Mali]]
[10291050] |:*[[Niger]]
[10291060] |:*[[Rwanda]]
[10291070] |:*[[Senegal]]
[10291080] |:*[[Seychelles]]
[10291090] |:*[[Togo]]
[10291100] |In addition, French is an administrative language and commonly used though not on an official basis in [[Mauritius]] and in the [[Maghreb]] states: 
[10291110] |:* [[Mauritania]]
[10291120] |:* [[Algeria]]
[10291130] |:*[[Morocco]]
[10291140] |:*[[Tunisia]].
[10291150] |Various reforms have been implemented in recent decades in Algeria to improve the status of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] relative to French, especially in education.
[10291160] |While the predominant European language in [[Egypt]] is [[English language|English]], French is considered to be a more sophisticated language by some elements of the Egyptian upper and upper-middle classes; for this reason, a typical educated Egyptian will learn French in addition to English at some point in his or her education.
[10291170] |The perception of sophistication may be related to the use of French as the [[Noble court|royal court]] language of Egypt during the nineteenth century.
[10291180] |Egypt participates in [[La Francophonie]].
[10291190] |French is also the official language of [[Mayotte]] and [[Réunion]], two [[Overseas departments and territories of France|overseas territories]] of France located in the [[Indian Ocean]], as well as an administrative and educational language in [[Mauritius]], along with [[English language|English]].
[10291200] |===Asia=== 
[10291210] |====Lebanon ==== 
[10291220] |French was the official language in [[Lebanon]] along with [[Arabic language|Arabic]] until 1941, the country's declaration of independence from [[France]].
[10291230] |French is still seen as an official language by the [[Lebanese people]] as it is widely used by the Lebanese, especially for administrative purposes, and is taught in schools as a primary language along with [[Arabic]].
[10291240] |====Southeast Asia==== 
[10291250] |French is an administrative language in [[Laos]] and [[Cambodia]].
[10291260] |French was historically spoken by the elite in the leased territory [[Guangzhouwan]] in southern [[China]].
[10291270] |In colonial [[Vietnam]], the elites spoke French and many who worked for the French spoke a French creole known as "[[Tây Bồi]]" (now extinct).
[10291280] |====India==== 
[10291290] |French has official status in the Indian [[Union Territory]] of [[Puducherry|Pondicherry]], along with the regional language [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and some students of Tamil Nadu may opt French as their third or fourth language (usually behind [[English language|English]], Tamil, [[Hindi]]).
[10291300] |French is also commonly taught as third language in secondary school in most cities of [[Maharashtra]] State including [[Mumbai]] as part of the Secondary (X-SSC) and Higher secondary School (XII-HSC) certificate examinations.
[10291310] |===Oceania=== 
[10291320] |French is also a second official language of the [[Pacific Island]] nation of [[Vanuatu]], along with France's territories of [[French Polynesia]], [[Wallis & Futuna]] and [[New Caledonia]].
[10291330] |==Dialects== 
[10291340] |*[[Acadian French]]
[10291350] |*[[African French]]
[10291360] |*[[Aostan French]]
[10291370] |*[[Belgian French]]
[10291380] |*[[Cajun French]]
[10291390] |*[[Canadian French]]
[10291400] |*[[Cambodian French]]
[10291410] |*Guyana French (see [[French Guiana]])
[10291420] |*[[Indian French]]
[10291430] |*[[Jersey Legal French]]
[10291440] |*[[Lao French]]
[10291450] |*[[Levantine French]] (most commonly referred to as Lebanese French, very similar to [[Maghreb French]])
[10291460] |*[[Louisiana Creole French]]
[10291470] |*[[Maghreb French]] (see also North African French)
[10291480] |*[[Meridional French]]
[10291490] |*[[Metropolitan France|Metropolitan French]]
[10291500] |*[[Caldoche|New Caledonian French]]
[10291510] |*[[Newfoundland French]]
[10291520] |*Oceanic French
[10291530] |*[[Quebec French]]
[10291540] |*[[South East Asian French]]
[10291550] |*[[Swiss French]]
[10291560] |*[[Vietnamese French (dialect)|Vietnamese French]]
[10291570] |*West Indian French
[10291580] |==History== 
[10291590] |==Sounds== 
[10291600] |{{IPA notice}}
[10291610] |Although there are many French regional accents, only one version of the language is normally chosen as a model for foreign learners, which has no commonly used special name, but has been termed ''[[français neutre]]'' (neutral French).
[10291620] |* Voiced stops (i.e. {{IPA|/b d g/}}) are typically produced fully voiced throughout.
[10291630] |* Voiceless stops (i.e. {{IPA|/p t k/}}) are unaspirated.
[10291640] |* Nasals: The velar nasal {{IPA|/ŋ/}} occurs only in final position in borrowed (usually English) words: parking, camping, swing.
[10291650] |The palatal nasal {{IPA|/ɲ/}}can occur in word initial position (e.g. gnon), but it is most frequently found in intervocalic, onset position or word-finally (e.g. montagne).
[10291660] |* Fricatives: French has three pairs of homorganic fricatives distinguished by voicing, i.e. labiodental {{IPA|/f/–/v/}}, dental {{IPA|/s/–/z/}}, and palato-alveolar {{IPA|/ʃ/–/ʒ/}}.
[10291670] |Notice that {{IPA|/s/–/z/}} are dental, like the plosives {{IPA|/t/–/d/}}, and the nasal {{IPA|/n/}}.
[10291680] |* French has one rhotic whose pronunciation varies considerably among speakers and phonetic contexts.
[10291690] |In general it is described as a voiced uvular fricative as in {{IPA|[ʁu]}} roue "wheel" .
[10291700] |Vowels are often lengthened before this segment.
[10291710] |It can be reduced to an approximant, particularly in final position (e.g. "fort") or reduced to zero in some word-final positions.
[10291720] |For other speakers, a uvular trill is also fairly common, and an apical trill {{IPA|[r]}} occurs in some dialects.
[10291730] |* Lateral and central approximants: The lateral approximant {{IPA|/l/}} is unvelarised in both onset (''lire'') and coda position (''il'').
[10291740] |In the onset, the central approximants {{IPA|[w]}}, {{IPA|[ɥ]}}, and {{IPA|[j]}} each correspond to a high vowel, {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/y/}}, and {{IPA|/i/}} respectively.
[10291750] |There are a few minimal pairs where the approximant and corresponding vowel contrast, but there are also many cases where they are in free variation.
[10291760] |Contrasts between {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} occur in final position as in {{IPA|/pɛj/}} ''paye'' "pay" vs. {{IPA|/pɛi/}} ''pays'' "country".
[10291770] |French pronunciation follows strict rules based on spelling, but French spelling is often based more on history than phonology.
[10291780] |The rules for pronunciation vary between dialects, but the standard rules are: 
[10291790] |* final consonants: Final single consonants, in particular ''s'', ''x'', ''z'', ''t'', ''d'', ''n'' and ''m'', are normally silent.
[10291800] |(The final letters ''c'', ''r'', ''f'' and ''l'', however, are normally pronounced.)
[10291810] |**When the following word begins with a vowel, though, a silent consonant ''may'' once again be pronounced, to provide a ''[[liaison (linguistics)|liaison]]'' or "link" between the two words.
[10291820] |Some liaisons are ''mandatory'', for example the ''s'' in ''les amants'' or ''vous avez''; some are ''optional'', depending on [[dialect]] and [[register (linguistics)|register]], for example the first ''s'' in ''deux cents euros'' or ''euros irlandais''; and some are ''forbidden'', for example the ''s'' in ''beaucoup d'hommes aiment''.
[10291830] |The ''t'' of ''et'' is never pronounced and the silent final consonant of a noun is only pronounced in the plural and in [[set phrase]]s like ''pied-à-terre''.
[10291840] |Note that in the case of a word ending ''d'' as in ''pied-à-terre'', the consonant ''t'' is pronounced instead.
[10291850] |** Doubling a final ''n'' and adding a silent ''e'' at the end of a word (e.g. ''chien'' → ''chienne'') makes it clearly pronounced.
[10291860] |Doubling a final ''l'' and adding a silent ''e'' (e.g. ''gentil'' → ''gentille'') adds a [j] sound.
[10291870] |* [[elision (French)|elision]] or vowel dropping: Some monosyllabic function words ending in ''a'' or ''e'', such as ''je'' and ''que'', drop their final vowel when placed before a word that begins with a vowel sound (thus avoiding a [[hiatus (linguistics)|hiatus]]).
[10291880] |The missing vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. (e.g. ''je ai'' is instead pronounced and spelt → ''j'ai'').
[10291890] |This gives for example the same pronunciation for ''l'homme qu'il a vu'' ("the man whom he saw") and ''l'homme qui l'a vu'' ("the man who saw him").
[10291900] |==Orthography== 
[10291910] |* [[Nasal vowel|Nasal]]: ''[[n]]'' and ''[[m]]''.
[10291920] |When ''n'' or ''m'' follows a vowel or diphthong, the ''n'' or ''m'' becomes silent and causes the preceding vowel to become nasalized (i.e. pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to allow part of the air to leave through the nostrils).
[10291930] |Exceptions are when the ''n'' or ''m'' is doubled, or immediately followed by a vowel.
[10291940] |The prefixes ''en-'' and ''em-'' are always nasalized.
[10291950] |The rules get more complex than this but may vary between dialects.
[10291960] |* [[digraph (orthography)|Digraphs]]: French does not introduce extra letters or [[diacritic]]s to specify its large range of vowel sounds and [[diphthongs]], rather it uses specific combinations of vowels, sometimes with following consonants, to show which sound is intended.
[10291970] |* [[Consonant length|Gemination]]: Within words, double consonants are generally not pronounced as geminates in modern French (but geminates can be heard in the cinema or TV news from as recently as the 1970s, and in very refined elocution they may still occur).
[10291980] |For example, ''illusion'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ilyzjɔ̃]}} and not {{IPA|[illyzjɔ̃]}}.
[10291990] |But gemination does occur between words.
[10292000] |For example, ''une info'' ("a news") is pronounced {{IPA|[ynɛ̃fo]}}, whereas ''une nympho'' ("a nympho") is pronounced {{IPA|[ynnɛ̃fo]}}.
[10292010] |* [[Diacritic|Accents]] are used sometimes for pronunciation, sometimes to distinguish similar words, and sometimes for etymology alone.
[10292020] |**Accents that affect pronunciation
[10292030] |***The [[acute accent]] (''l'accent aigu''), ''é'' (e.g. ''école''—school), means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/e/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}.
[10292040] |***The [[grave accent]] (''l'accent grave''), ''è'' (e.g. ''élève''—pupil) means that the vowel is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} instead of the default {{IPA|/ə/}}.
[10292050] |***The [[circumflex]] (''l'accent circonflexe'') ''ê'' (e.g. ''forêt''—forest) shows that an ''e'' is pronounced {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and that an ''o'' is pronounced {{IPA|/o/}}.
[10292060] |In standard French it also signifies a pronunciation of {{IPA|/ɑ/}} for the letter ''a'', but this differentiation is disappearing.
[10292070] |In the late 19th century, the circumflex was used in place of ''s'' where that letter was not to be pronounced.
[10292080] |Thus, ''forest'' became ''forêt'' and ''hospital'' became'' hôpital''.
[10292090] |***The [[Umlaut (diacritic)|diaeresis]] (''le tréma'') (e.g. ''naïf''—foolish, ''Noël''—Christmas) as in English, specifies that this vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding one, not combined and is not a [[schwa]].
[10292100] |***The [[cedilla]] (''la cédille'') ''ç'' (e.g. ''garçon''—boy) means that the letter ''c'' is pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the hard vowels ''a'', ''o'' and ''u'' (''c'' is otherwise {{IPA|/k/}} before a hard vowel).
[10292110] |''C'' is always pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} in front of the soft vowels ''e'', ''i'', and ''y'', thus ''ç'' is never found in front of soft vowels.
[10292120] |**Accents with no pronunciation effect
[10292130] |***The circumflex does not affect the pronunciation of the letters ''i'' or ''u'', and in most dialects, ''a'' as well.
[10292140] |It usually indicates that an ''s'' came after it long ago, as in ''hôtel''.
[10292150] |***All other accents are used only to distinguish similar words, as in the case of distinguishing the adverbs ''là'' and ''où'' ("there", "where") from the article ''la'' and the conjunction ''ou'' ("the" fem. sing., "or") respectively.
[10292160] |==Grammar== 
[10292170] |French grammar shares several notable features with most other Romance languages, including: 
[10292180] |* the loss of Latin's [[declension]]s
[10292190] |* only two [[grammatical gender]]s
[10292200] |* the development of grammatical [[article (grammar)|article]]s from Latin [[demonstrative]]s
[10292210] |* new [[tense]]s formed from auxiliaries
[10292220] |French word order is [[Subject Verb Object]], except when the object is a pronoun, in which case the word order is [[Subject Object Verb]].
[10292230] |Some rare archaisms allow for different word orders.
[10292240] |==Vocabulary== 
[10292250] |The majority of French words derive from [[Vulgar Latin]] or were constructed from Latin or Greek roots.
[10292260] |There are often pairs of words, one form being "popular" (noun) and the other one "savant" (adjective), both originating from Latin.
[10292270] |Example: 
[10292280] |* brother: ''frère'' / ''fraternel'' < from Latin ''frater''
[10292290] |* finger: ''doigt'' / ''digital'' < from Latin ''digitus''
[10292300] |* faith: ''foi'' / ''fidèle'' < from Latin ''fides''
[10292310] |* cold: ''froid'' / ''frigide'' < from Latin ''frigidus''
[10292320] |* eye: ''œil'' / ''oculaire'' < from Latin ''oculus''
[10292330] |In some examples there is a common word from Vulgar Latin and a more savant word borrowed directly from [[Medieval Latin]] or even [[Ancient Greek]].
[10292340] |* '''Cheval'''—Concours '''équestre'''—'''Hippo'''drome
[10292350] |The French words which have developed from Latin are usually less recognisable than [[Italian language|Italian]] words of Latin origin because as French evolved from [[Vulgar Latin]], the unstressed final [[syllable]] of many words was dropped or elided into the following word.
[10292360] |It is estimated that 12% (4,200) of common French words found in a typical [[dictionary]] such as the ''Petit Larousse'' or ''Micro-Robert Plus'' (35,000 words) are of foreign origin.
[10292370] |About 25% (1,054) of these foreign words come from [[English language|English]] and are fairly recent borrowings.
[10292380] |The others are some 707 words from [[Italian language|Italian]], 550 from ancient [[Germanic languages]], 481 from ancient [[Gallo-Romance languages]], 215 from [[Arabic language|Arabic]], 164 from [[German language|German]], 160 from [[Celtic languages]], 159 from [[Spanish language|Spanish]], 153 from [[Dutch language|Dutch]], 112 from [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], 101 from [[Native American languages]], 89 from other [[Asian languages]], 56 from other [[Afro-Asiatic languages]], 55 from [[Slavic languages]] and [[Baltic languages]], 10 for [[Basque language|Basque]] and 144 — about three percent — from other languages.
[10292390] |===Numerals=== 
[10292400] |The French counting system is partially [[vigesimal]]: [[20 (number)|twenty]] (''{{lang|fr|vingt}}'') is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 60–99.
[10292410] |The French word for ''eighty'', for example, is ''{{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}'', which literally means "four twenties", and ''{{lang|fr|soixante-quinze}}'' (literally "sixty-fifteen") means 75.
[10292420] |This reform arose after the [[French Revolution]] to unify the different counting system (mostly vigesimal near the coast, due to Celtic (via [[Basque language|Basque]]) and Viking influence).
[10292430] |This system is comparable to the archaic English use of ''score'', as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70).
[10292440] |[[Belgian French]] and [[Swiss French]] are different in this respect.
[10292450] |In Belgium and Switzerland 70 and 90 are ''{{lang|fr|septante}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|nonante}}''.
[10292460] |In Switzerland, depending on the local dialect, 80 can be ''{{lang|fr|quatre-vingts}}'' (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) or ''{{lang|fr|huitante}}'' (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg).
[10292470] |''Octante'' had been used in Switzerland in the past, but is now considered archaic.
[10292480] |In Belgium, however, ''quatre-vingts'' is universally used.
[10292490] |==Writing system== 
[10292500] |French is written using the 26 letters of the [[Latin alphabet]], plus five diacritics (the [[circumflex]] accent, [[acute accent]], [[grave accent]], [[Umlaut (diacritic)|diaeresis]], and [[cedilla]]) and the two [[Ligature (typography)|ligatures]] (œ) and (æ).
[10292510] |French spelling, like English spelling, tends to preserve obsolete pronunciation rules.
[10292520] |This is mainly due to extreme phonetic changes since the Old French period, without a corresponding change in spelling.
[10292530] |Moreover, some conscious changes were made to restore Latin orthography: 
[10292540] |* Old French ''doit'' > French ''doigt'' "finger" (Latin ''digitus'')
[10292550] |* Old French ''pie'' > French ''pied'' "foot" (Latin ''pes'' (stem: ''ped-'')
[10292560] |As a result, it is difficult to predict the spelling on the basis of the sound alone.
[10292570] |Final consonants are generally silent, except when the following word begins with a vowel.
[10292580] |For example, all of these words end in a vowel sound: ''pied'', ''aller'', ''les'', ''finit'', ''beaux''.
[10292590] |The same words followed by a vowel, however, may sound the consonants, as they do in these examples: ''beaux-arts'', ''les amis'', ''pied-à-terre''.
[10292600] |On the other hand, a given spelling will almost always lead to a predictable sound, and the [[Académie française]] works hard to enforce and update this correspondence.
[10292610] |In particular, a given vowel combination or diacritic predictably leads to one phoneme.
[10292620] |The diacritics have '''phonetic''', '''semantic''', and '''etymological''' significance.
[10292630] |* [[acute accent]] (''é''): Over an ''e'', indicates the sound of a short ''ai'' in English, with no [[diphthong]].
[10292640] |An ''é'' in modern French is often used where a combination of ''e'' and a consonant, usually ''s,'' would have been used formerly: ''écouter'' < ''escouter''.
[10292650] |This type of accent mark is called ''accent aigu'' in French.
[10292660] |* [[grave accent]] (''à'', ''è'', ''ù''): Over ''a'' or ''u'', used only to distinguish homophones: ''à'' ("to") vs. ''a'' ("has"), ''ou'' ("or") vs. ''où'' ("where").
[10292670] |Over an ''e'', indicates the sound {{IPA|/ɛ/}}.
[10292680] |* [[circumflex]] (''â'', ''ê'', ''î'', ''ô'', ''û''): Over an ''a'', ''e'' or ''o'', indicates the sound {{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} or {{IPA|/o/}}, respectively (the distinction ''a'' {{IPA|/a/}} vs. ''â'' {{IPA|/ɑ/}} tends to disappear in many dialects).
[10292690] |Most often indicates the historical deletion of an adjacent letter (usually an ''s'' or a vowel): ''château'' < ''castel'', ''fête'' < ''feste'', ''sûr'' < ''seur'', ''dîner'' < ''disner''.
[10292700] |It has also come to be used to distinguish homophones: ''du'' ("of the") vs. ''dû'' (past participle of ''devoir'' "to have to do something (pertaining to an act)"; note that ''dû'' is in fact written thus because of a dropped ''e'': ''deu'').
[10292710] |(''See [[Use of the circumflex in French]]'')
[10292720] |* [[Umlaut (diacritic)|diaeresis]] or ''tréma'' (''ë'', ''ï'', ''ü'', ''ÿ''): Indicates that a vowel is to be pronounced separately from the preceding one: ''naïve'', ''Noël''.
[10292730] |A diaeresis on ''y'' only occurs in some proper names and in modern editions of old French texts.
[10292740] |Some proper names in which ''ÿ'' appears include ''Aÿ'' (commune in ''canton de la Marne'' formerly ''Aÿ-Champagne''), ''Rue des Cloÿs'' (alley in the 18th arrondisement of Paris), ''Croÿ'' (family name and hotel on the Boulevard Raspail, Paris), ''[[Château du Feÿ]]'' (near Joigny), ''Ghÿs'' (name of Flemish origin spelt ''Ghijs'' where ''ij'' in handwriting looked like ''ÿ'' to French clerks), ''l'Haÿ-les-Roses'' (commune between Paris and Orly airport), Pierre Louÿs (author), Moÿ (place in ''commune de l'Aisne'' and family name), and ''Le Blanc de Nicolaÿ'' (an insurance company in eastern France).
[10292750] |The diaresis on ''u'' appears only in the biblical proper names ''Archélaüs'', ''Capharnaüm'', ''Emmaüs'', ''Ésaü'' and ''Saül''.
[10292760] |Nevertheless, since the 1990 orthographic rectifications (which are not applied at all by most French people), the diaeresis in words containing ''guë'' (such as ''aiguë'' or ''ciguë'') may be moved onto the ''u'': ''aigüe'', ''cigüe''.
[10292770] |Words coming from German retain the old Umlaut (''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'') if applicable but use French pronunciation, such as ''kärcher'' (trade mark of a pressure washer).
[10292780] |* [[cedilla]] (''ç''): Indicates that an etymological ''c'' is pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} when it would otherwise be pronounced /k/.
[10292790] |Thus ''je lance'' "I throw" (with ''c'' = {{IPA|[s]}} before ''e''), ''je lan'''ç'''ais'' "I was throwing" (''c'' would be pronounced {{IPA|[k]}} before ''a'' without the cedilla).
[10292800] |The c cedilla (ç) softens the hard /k/ sound to /s/ before the vowels '''a''', '''o''' or '''u''', for example '''ça''' /sa/.
[10292810] |C cedilla is never used before the vowels '''e''' or '''i''' since these two vowels always produce a soft /s/ sound ('''ce''', '''ci''').
[10292820] |There are two [[ligatures]], which have various origins.
[10292830] |* The ligature ''[[œ]]'' is a mandatory contraction of ''oe'' in certain words.
[10292840] |Some of these are native French words, with the pronunciation {{IPA|/œ/}} or {{IPA|/ø/}}, e.g. ''sœur'' "sister" {{IPA|/sœʁ/}}, ''œuvre'' "work (of art)" {{IPA|/œvʁ/}}.
[10292850] |Note that it usually appears in the combination ''œu''; ''œil'' is an exception.
[10292860] |Many of these words were originally written with the [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] ''eu''; the ''o'' in the ligature represents a sometimes artificial attempt to imitate the Latin spelling: Latin ''bovem'' > Old French ''buef''/''beuf'' > Modern French ''bœuf''. ''Œ'' is also used in words of Greek origin, as the Latin rendering of the Greek diphthong ''οι'', e.g. ''cœlacanthe'' "coelacanth".
[10292870] |These words used to be pronounced with the vowel {{IPA|/e/}}, but in recent years a spelling pronunciation with {{IPA|/ø/}} has taken hold, e.g. ''œsophage'' {{IPA|/ezɔfaʒ/}} or {{IPA|/øzɔfaʒ/}}.
[10292880] |The pronunciation with {{IPA|/e/}} is often seen to be more correct.
[10292890] |The ligature œ is not used in some occurrences of the letter combination ''oe'', for example, when ''o'' is part of a prefix (''coexister'').
[10292900] |* The ligature ''[[æ]]'' is rare and appears in some words of Latin and Greek origin like ''ægosome'', ''ægyrine'', ''æschne'', ''cæcum'', ''nævus'' or ''uræus''.
[10292910] |The vowel quality is identical to é {{IPA|/e/}}.
[10292920] |French writing, as with any language, is affected by the spoken language.
[10292930] |In Old French, the plural for ''animal'' was ''animals''.
[10292940] |Common speakers pronounced a ''u'' before a word ending in ''l'' as the plural.
[10292950] |This resulted in ''animauls''.
[10292960] |As the French language evolved this vanished and the form ''animaux'' (''aux'' pronounced {{IPA|/o/}}) was admitted.
[10292970] |The same is true for ''cheval'' pluralized as ''chevaux'' and many others.
[10292980] |Also ''castel'' pl. ''castels'' became ''château'' pl. ''châteaux''.
[10292990] |==Samples== 
[10300010] |<article>German language</article>
[10300020] |The '''German language''' ({{lang|de|''Deutsch''}}) is a [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language]] and one of the world's [[world language|major languages]].
[10300030] |German is closely related to and classified alongside [[English language|English]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]].
[10300040] |Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 100 million [[First language|native speakers]] and also about 80 million non-native speakers, and [[Standard German]] is widely taught in schools, universities, and [[Goethe Institute]]s worldwide.
[10300050] |==Geographic distribution== 
[10300060] |===Europe=== 
[10300070] |German is spoken primarily in [[Languages of Germany|Germany]] (95%), [[Languages of Austria|Austria]] (89%) and [[Linguistic geography of Switzerland|Switzerland]] (64%) together with [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]] ([[D-A-CH-Li-Lux]]) constituting the countries where German is the majority language.
[10300080] |Other European German-speaking communities are found in [[Italy]] ([[Province of Bolzano-Bozen|Bolzano-Bozen]]), in the [[German speaking community in Belgium|East Cantons]] of [[Belgium]], in the [[France|french]] area [[Alsace]] which often was traded between Germany and France in history and in some border villages of the former [[South Jutland County]] (in German, ''Nordschleswig'', in Danish, ''Sønderjylland'') of [[Denmark]].
[10300090] |Some German-speaking communities still survive in parts of [[Romania]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Poland]], [[Hungary]], and above all [[Russia]] and [[Kazakhstan]], although forced expulsions after World War II and massive emigration to Germany in the 1980s and 1990s have depopulated most of these communities.
[10300100] |It is also spoken by German-speaking foreign populations and some of their descendants in [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], Italy, [[Morocco]], [[Egypt]], [[Israel]], [[Cyprus]], [[Turkey]], [[Greece]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Netherlands]], [[Scandinavia]], [[Siberia]] in Russia, Hungary, Romania, [[Bulgaria]], and the former [[Yugoslavia]] ([[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]], [[Serbia]], [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]], [[Croatia]] and [[Slovenia]]).
[10300110] |In Luxembourg and the surrounding areas, big parts of the native population speak German dialects, and some people also master standard German (especially in Luxembourg), although in the [[France|French]] regions of [[Alsace]] (German: ''Elsass'') and [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]] (German: ''Lothringen'') [[French language|French]] has replaced the local German dialects as the official language, even though it has not been fully replaced on the street.
[10300120] |===Overseas=== 
[10300130] |Outside of Europe and the former [[Soviet Union]], the largest German-speaking communities are to be found in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Brazil]] and in [[Argentina]] where millions of Germans migrated in the last 200 years; but the vast majority of their descendants no longer speak German.
[10300140] |Additionally, German-speaking communities can be found in the former [[List of former German colonies|German colony]] of [[Namibia]] independent from [[South Africa]] since 1990, as well as in the other countries of German emigration such as [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Paraguay]], [[Uruguay]], [[Chile]], [[Peru]], [[Venezuela]] (where [[Alemán Coloniero]] developed), South Africa and [[Australia]].
[10300150] |====South America==== 
[10300160] |In Brazil the largest concentrations of German speakers are in [[Rio Grande do Sul]] (where [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]] was developed), [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]], and [[Espírito Santo]], and large German-speaking descendant communities in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
[10300170] |In the 20th century, over 100,000 German [[Refugee|political refugees]] and invited entrepreneurs settled in [[Latin America]], such as [[Costa Rica]], [[Panama]], Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to establish German-speaking enclaves, and there is a reportedly small [[German immigration to Puerto Rico]].
[10300180] |====North America==== 
[10300190] |The United States has the largest concentration of German speakers outside of Europe; an indication of this presence can be found in the names of such villages and towns as [[New Leipzig, North Dakota|New Leipzig]], [[Munich, North Dakota|Munich]], [[Karlsruhe, North Dakota|Karlsruhe]], and [[Strasburg, North Dakota|Strasburg]], [[North Dakota]], and [[New Braunfels]], Texas.
[10300200] |Though over the course of the 20th century many of the descendants of 18th and 19th-century immigrants ceased speaking German at home, small populations of elderly (as well as some younger) speakers can be found in [[Pennsylvania]] ([[Amish]], [[Hutterites]], [[Dunkards]] and some [[Mennonites]] historically spoke [[Pennsylvania German language|Pennsylvania Dutch]] (a [[West Central German]] variety) and [[Hutterite German]]), [[Kansas]] (Mennonites and [[Volga German]]s), North Dakota (Hutterite Germans, Mennonites, [[History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union|Russian German]]s, Volga Germans, and [[Baltic Germans]]), [[South Dakota]], [[Montana]], [[Texas]] ([[Texas German]]), [[Wisconsin]], [[Indiana]], [[Louisiana]] and [[Oklahoma]].
[10300210] |Early twentieth century immigration was often to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Chicago]], [[New York]], [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Cincinnati]].
[10300220] |Most of the post–[[World War II]] wave are in the New York, [[Philadelphia]], [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]] and Chicago [[urban area]]s, and in [[Florida]], [[Arizona]] and [[California]] where large communities of retired German, Swiss and Austrian expatriates live.
[10300230] |The [[German Americans|American population of German ancestry]] is above 60 million.
[10300240] |The German language is the third largest language in the U.S. after [[Spanish language|Spanish]].
[10300250] |In Canada there are people of German ancestry throughout the country and especially in the western cities such as [[Kelowna]].
[10300260] |German is also spoken in [[Ontario]] and southern [[Nova Scotia]].
[10300270] |There is a large and vibrant community in the city of [[Kitchener, Ontario]].
[10300280] |German immigrants were instrumental in the country's three largest urban areas: [[Montreal]], [[Toronto]] and [[Vancouver]], but post-WWII immigrants managed to preserve a fluency in the German language in their respective neighborhoods and sections.
[10300290] |In the first half of the 20th century, over a million [[German-Canadian]]s made the language one of Canada's most spoken after [[French language|French]].
[10300300] |In Mexico there are also large populations of German ancestry, mainly in the cities of: [[Mexico City]], [[Puebla]], [[Mazatlán]], [[Tapachula]], and larger populations scattered in the states of [[Chihuahua]], [[Durango]], and [[Zacatecas]].
[10300310] |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.
[10300320] |Standard German is spoken by the affluent German communities in Puebla, Mexico City, [[Nuevo Leon]], [[San Luis Potosi]] and [[Quintana Roo]].
[10300330] |German immigration in the twentieth century was small, but produced German-speaking communities in Central America (i.e.
[10300340] |[[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]] and [[Nicaragua]]) and the Caribbean Islands like the [[Dominican Republic]].
[10300350] |'''Dialects in North America:'''
[10300360] |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.
[10300370] |For example, Pennsylvania German resembles dialects of the [[Rhenish Palatinate|Palatinate]], and Hutterite German resembles dialects of [[Carinthia (state)|Carinthia]].
[10300380] |[[Texas German]] is a dialect spoken in the areas of Texas settled by the [[Adelsverein]], such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg.
[10300390] |In the [[Amana Colonies]] in the state of Iowa [[Amana German]] is spoken.
[10300400] |[[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.
[10300410] |[[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.
[10300420] |Hutterite is spoken in the U.S. states of [[Washington]], Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, and [[Minnesota]]; and in the Canadian provinces of [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]] and [[Manitoba]].
[10300430] |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).
[10300440] |Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn and speak first Hutterite German before learning English in the public school, the standard language of the surrounding areas.
[10300450] |Many colonies though continue with German Grammar School, separate from the public school, throughout a student's elementary education.
[10300460] |====Creoles==== 
[10300470] |There is 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 few elderly people.
[10300480] |The risk of its extinction is serious and efforts to revive interest in the language are being implemented by scholars.
[10300490] |====Internet==== 
[10300500] |According to [[Global Reach]] (2004), 6.9% of the Internet population is German.
[10300510] |According to [[Netz-tipp]] (2002), 7.7% of webpages are written in German, making it second only to English in the European language group.
[10300520] |They also report that 12% of Google's users use its German interface.
[10300530] |Older statistics: Babel (1998) found somewhat similar demographics.
[10300540] |FUNREDES (1998) and Vilaweb (2000) both found that German is the third most popular language used by websites, after English and Japanese.
[10300550] |==History== 
[10300560] |The history of the language begins with the [[High German consonant shift]] during the [[migration period]], separating [[High German]] dialects from common [[West Germanic]].
[10300570] |The earliest testimonies of [[Old High German]] are from scattered [[Elder Futhark]] inscriptions, especially in [[Alemannic]], from the 6th century, the earliest glosses (''[[Abrogans]]'') date to the 8th and the oldest coherent texts (the ''[[Hildebrandslied]]'', the ''[[Muspilli]]'' and the [[Merseburg Incantations]]) to the 9th century.
[10300580] |[[Old Saxon]] at this time belongs to the [[Ingvaeonic|North Sea Germanic]] cultural sphere, and [[Low Saxon]] should fall under German rather than [[Anglo-Frisian]] influence during the [[Holy Roman Empire]].
[10300590] |As Germany was divided into many different [[state]]s, the only force working for a unification or [[standard language|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.
[10300600] |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'' (Meißner-German), which was the most widely understood language at this time, because the region it was spoken in was quite influential amongst the German states.
[10300610] |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 that already at that time began to lose the [[genitive case]] and the preterite tense).
[10300620] |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.
[10300630] |[[Roman Catholics]] rejected Luther's translation in the beginning and tried to create their own Catholic standard (''gemeines Deutsch'') — which, however, only differed from 'Protestant German' in some minor details.
[10300640] |It took until the middle of the 18th century to create a standard that was widely accepted, thus ending the period of [[Early New High German]].
[10300650] |In 1901 the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a complete standardization of German language in written form while the ''Deutsche Bühnensprache'' (literally: ''German stage-language'') had already established spelling-rules for German three years earlier which were later to become obligatory for general German pronunciation.
[10300660] |German used to be the language of commerce and government in the [[Habsburg Empire]], which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe.
[10300670] |Until the mid-19th century it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire.
[10300680] |It indicated that the speaker was a [[merchant]], an urbanite, not their nationality.
[10300690] |Some cities, such as [[Prague]] (German: ''Prag'') and [[Budapest]] ([[Buda]], German: ''Ofen''), were gradually [[Germanization|Germanized]] in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain.
[10300700] |Others, such as [[Bratislava]](German: ''Pressburg''), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time.
[10300710] |A few cities such as [[Milan]] (German: ''Mailand'') remained primarily non-German.
[10300720] |However, most cities were primarily German during this time, such as Prague, Budapest, Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg''), [[Zagreb]] (German: ''Agram''), and [[Ljubljana]] (German: ''Laibach''), though they were surrounded by territory that spoke other languages.
[10300730] |Until about 1800, standard German was almost only a written language.
[10300740] |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 close to the spelling as possible.
[10300750] |Prescriptive pronunciation guides used to consider northern [[German phonology|German pronunciation]] to be the standard.
[10300760] |However, the actual pronunciation of standard German varies from region to region.
[10300770] |Media and written works are almost all produced in standard German (often called ''Hochdeutsch'' in German) which is understood in all areas where German is spoken, except by [[Nursery school|pre-school]] children in areas which speak only dialect, for example [[Switzerland]] and [[Austria]].
[10300780] |However, in this age of television, even they now usually learn to understand Standard German before school age.
[10300790] |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.
[10300800] |In 1860, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the ''[[Duden Handbook]]''.
[10300810] |In 1901, this was declared the standard definition of the German language.
[10300820] |Official revisions of some of these rules were not issued until 1998, when the [[German spelling reform of 1996]] was officially promulgated by governmental representatives of all German-speaking countries.
[10300830] |Since the reform, German spelling has been in an eight-year transitional period where the reformed spelling is taught in most schools, while traditional and reformed spellings co-exist in the media.
[10300840] |See [[German spelling reform of 1996]] for an overview of the public debate concerning the reform with some major newspapers and magazines and several known writers refusing to adopt it.
[10300850] |The German spelling reform of 1996 led to public controversy indeed to considerable dispute.
[10300860] |Some state parliaments (Bundesländer) would not accept it ([[North Rhine-Westphalia|North Rhine Westphalia]] and Bavaria).
[10300870] |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.
[10300880] |After 10 years, without any intervention by the federal parliament, a major yet incomplete revision was installed in 2006, just in time for the new school year of 2006.
[10300890] |In 2007, some venerable spellings will be finally invalidated even though they caused little or no trouble.
[10300900] |The only sure and easily recognizable symptom of a text's being in compliance with the reform is the -ss at the end of words, like in ''dass'' and ''muss''.
[10300910] |Classic spelling forbade this ending, instead using ''daß'' and ''muß''.
[10300920] |The cause of the controversy evolved around the question whether a language is part of the culture which must be preserved or a means of communicating information which has to allow for growth.
[10300930] |(The reformers seemed to be unimpressed by the fact that a considerable part of that culture - namely the entire German literature of the 20th century - is in the old spelling.)
[10300940] |The increasing use of English in Germany's higher education system, as well as in business and in popular culture, has led various German academics to state, not necessarily from an entirely negative perspective, that German is a language in decline in its native country.
[10300950] |For example, Ursula Kimpel, of the [[University of Tübingen]], said in 2005 that “German universities are offering more courses in English because of the large number of students coming from abroad.
[10300960] |German is unfortunately a language in decline.
[10300970] |We need and want our professors to be able to teach effectively in English.”
[10300980] |==Standard German== 
[10300990] |Standard German originated not as a traditional dialect of a specific region, but as a [[written language]].
[10301000] |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.
[10301010] |Standard German differs regionally, between German-speaking countries, in [[vocabulary]] and some instances of [[pronunciation]], and even [[grammar]] and [[orthography]].
[10301020] |This variation must not be confused with the variation of local dialects.
[10301030] |Even though the regional varieties of standard German are only to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct.
[10301040] |German is thus considered a pluricentric language.
[10301050] |In most regions, the speakers use a continuum of mixtures from more dialectal varieties to more standard varieties according to situation.
[10301060] |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.
[10301070] |Therefore, this situation has been called a ''medial [[diglossia]]''.
[10301080] |[[Swiss Standard German]] is used in the Swiss education system.
[10301090] |===Official status=== 
[10301100] |Standard German is the only [[official language]] in Liechtenstein and Austria; it shares official status in [[Germany]] (with [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Frisian languages|Frisian]] and [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] as minority languages), Switzerland (with [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Romansh language|Romansh]]), Belgium (with [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and French) and Luxembourg (with French and [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]]).
[10301110] |It is used as a local official language in Italy ([[Province of Bolzano-Bozen]]), as well as in the cities of [[Sopron]] (Hungary), Krahule ([[Slovakia]]) and several cities in Romania.
[10301120] |It is the official language (with Italian) of the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] [[Swiss Guard]].
[10301130] |German has an officially recognized status as regional or auxiliary language in Denmark ([[South Jutland]] region), France (Alsace and [[Moselle]] regions), Italy (Gressoney valley), Namibia, [[Poland]] ([[Bilingual communes in Poland|Opole]] region), and Russia (Asowo and Halbstadt).
[10301140] |German is one of the 23 official [[languages of the European Union]].
[10301150] |It is the language with the largest number of native speakers in the [[European Union]], and, shortly after English and long before French, the second-most spoken language in Europe.
[10301160] |===German as a foreign language=== 
[10301170] |German is the third most taught [[foreign language]] in the English speaking world after French and Spanish.
[10301180] |German is the main language of about 90–95 million people in Europe (as of 2004), or 13.3% of all Europeans, being the second most spoken native language in Europe after [[Russian language|Russian]], above French (66.5 million speakers in 2004) and English (64.2 million speakers in 2004).
[10301190] |It is therefore the most spoken first language in the EU.
[10301200] |It is the second most known foreign language in the EU.
[10301210] |It is one of the official languages of the European Union, and one of the three [[working language]]s of [[European Commission|the European Commission]], along with English and French.
[10301220] |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).
[10301230] |This is assisted by the widespread availability of German TV by cable or satellite.
[10301240] |German was once, and still remains to some extent, a [[lingua franca]] in Central, Eastern and [[Northern Europe]].
[10301250] |==Dialects== 
[10301260] |German is a member of the [[West Germanic language|western branch]] of the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] [[Language family|family of languages]], which in turn is part of the [[Indo-European language family]].
[10301270] |The German dialect continuum is traditionally divided most broadly into [[High German languages|High German]] and Low German.
[10301280] |The variation among the German dialects is considerable, with only the neighbouring dialects being mutually intelligible.
[10301290] |Some dialects are not intelligible to people who only know standard German.
[10301300] |However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low Saxon languages.
[10301310] |Until roughly the end of the Second World War, there was a dialect continuum of all the continental West Germanic languages because nearly any pair of neighbouring dialects were perfectly mutually intelligible.
[10301320] |=== Low German === 
[10301330] |Low Saxon varieties (spoken on German territory) are considered linguistically a language separate from the German language by some, but just a dialect by others.
[10301340] |Sometimes, Low Saxon and [[Low Franconian]] are grouped together because both are unaffected by the High German consonant shift.
[10301350] |However, the part of the population capable of speaking and responding to it, or of understanding it has decreased continuously since WWII.
[10301360] |Currently the effort to maintain a residual presence in cultural life is negligible.
[10301370] |[[Middle Low German]] was the [[lingua franca]] of the [[Hanseatic League]].
[10301380] |It was the predominant language in Northern Germany.
[10301390] |This changed in the 16th century.
[10301400] |In 1534 the [[Luther Bible]] by Martin Luther was printed.
[10301410] |This translation is considered to be an important step towards the evolution of the Early New High German.
[10301420] |It aimed to be understandable to an ample audience and was based mainly on Central and [[Upper German]] varieties.
[10301430] |The Early New High German language gained more prestige than Low Saxon and became the language of science and literature.
[10301440] |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.
[10301450] |The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass [[education]], the language of the schools being standard German.
[10301460] |Slowly Low Saxon was pushed back and back until it was nothing but a language spoken by the uneducated and at home.
[10301470] |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]].
[10301480] |=== High German === 
[10301490] |High German is divided into [[Central German]] and [[Upper German language|Upper German]].
[10301500] |Central German dialects include [[Ripuarian]], [[Moselle Franconian]], [[Hessian language|Hessian]], [[Thuringian]], [[South Franconian]], [[Lorraine Franconian]] and [[Upper Saxon dialect|Upper Saxon]].
[10301510] |It is spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of France, and in Germany approximately between the River [[Main]] and the southern edge of the Lowlands.
[10301520] |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''.
[10301530] |The Moselle Franconian varieties spoken in Luxembourg have been officially standardised and institutionalised and are therefore usually considered a separate language known as [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]].
[10301540] |Upper German dialects include [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] (for instance [[Swiss German (linguistics)|Swiss German]]), [[Swabian German|Swabian]], [[East Franconian German|East Franconian]], [[Alsatian]] and [[Austro-Bavarian]].
[10301550] |They are spoken in parts of the Alsace, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
[10301560] |[[Wymysorys]], [[Sathmarisch]] and [[Siebenbürgisch]] are High German dialects of Poland and Romania respectively.
[10301570] |The High German varieties spoken by [[Ashkenazi Jew]]s (mostly in the former [[Soviet Union]]) have several unique features, and are usually considered as a separate language, [[Yiddish]].
[10301580] |It is the only Germanic language that does not use the [[Latin alphabet]] as its [[official script|standard script]].
[10301590] |===German dialects versus varieties of standard German=== 
[10301600] |In German [[linguistics]], German [[dialect]]s are distinguished from [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of [[standard German]].
[10301610] |*The ''German dialects'' are the traditional local varieties.
[10301620] |They are traditionally traced back to the different German tribes.
[10301630] |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]].
[10301640] |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]]).
[10301650] |However, such a point of view is unusual in German linguistics.
[10301660] |*The ''varieties of standard German'' refer to the different local varieties of the [[pluricentric language|pluricentric]] standard German.
[10301670] |They only differ slightly in lexicon and phonology.
[10301680] |In certain regions, they have replaced the traditional German dialects, especially in Northern Germany.
[10301690] |==Grammar== 
[10301700] |German is an [[Fusional language|inflected language]].
[10301710] |===Noun inflection=== 
[10301720] |[[German nouns]] inflect into: 
[10301730] |* one of four [[Grammatical case|case]]s: [[nominative]], [[genitive]], [[dative case|dative]], and [[accusative case|accusative]].
[10301740] |* one of three [[grammatical gender|genders]]: masculine, feminine, or neuter.
[10301750] |Word endings sometimes reveal grammatical gender; for instance, nouns ending in '''...ung'''([[-ing]]), '''...e''','''...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.
[10301760] |Others are controversial, sometimes depending on the region in which it is spoken.
[10301770] |Additionally, ambiguous endings exist, such as '''...er''' ([[-er]]), e.g. ''Feier (feminine)'', engl. ''celebration, party'', and ''Arbeiter (masculine)'', engl. ''labourer''.
[10301780] |Sentences can usually be reorganized to avoid a misunderstanding.
[10301790] |* two numbers: singular and plural
[10301800] |Although German is usually cited as an outstanding example of a highly inflected language, the degree of inflection is considerably less than in [[Old German]], or in other old [[Indo-European languages]] such as [[Latin]], [[Ancient Greek]], or [[Sanskrit]].
[10301810] |The three genders have collapsed in the plural, which now behaves, grammatically, somewhat as a fourth gender.
[10301820] |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 [[Article (grammar)|definite article]] used for the 16 possibilities.
[10301830] |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.
[10301840] |Both of these cases are losing way to substitutes in [[Natural language|informal speech]].
[10301850] |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.
[10301860] |Weak masculine nouns share a common case ending for genitive, dative and accusative in the singular.
[10301870] |Feminines are not declined in the singular.
[10301880] |The plural does have an inflection for the dative.
[10301890] |In total, seven inflectional endings (not counting plural markers) exist in German: ''-s, -es, -n, -ns, -en, -ens, -e''.
[10301900] |In the 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 bin ich einkaufen gegangen.'' — "On Friday I went shopping."; ''Eines Tages war er endlich da.'' — "One day he finally showed up".)
[10301910] |This spelling convention is almost unique to German today (shared perhaps only by the closely related [[Luxemburgish language]]), although it was historically common in other languages (e.g., Danish and English), too.
[10301920] |Like most Germanic languages, German forms left-branching noun [[compound (linguistics)|compound]]s, where the first noun modifies the category given by the second, for example: ''Hundehütte'' (eng. ''dog hut''; specifically: ''doghouse'').
[10301930] |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 (eng. ''tree house'').
[10301940] |Like English, German allows arbitrarily long compounds, but these are rare.
[10301950] |(''See also'' [[English compounds]].)
[10301960] |The longest German word verified to be actually in (albeit very limited) use is [[Rinderkennzeichnungs- und Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz|Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz]]. [which, literally translated, breaks up into: Rind (cattle) - Fleisch (meat) - Etikettierung(s) (labelling) - Überwachung(s) (supervision) - Aufgaben (duties) - Übertragung(s) (assignment) - Gesetz (law), so "Beef labelling supervision duty assignment law".]
[10301970] |===Verb inflection=== 
[10301980] |Standard German verbs inflect into: 
[10301990] |* one of two conjugation classes, [[weak verb|weak]] and [[strong verb|strong]] (like English).
[10302000] |(There is actually a third class, known as mixed verbs, which exhibit inflections combining features of both the strong and weak patterns.)
[10302010] |* three persons: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
[10302020] |* two numbers: singular and plural
[10302030] |* three [[Grammatical mood|mood]]s: Indicative, Subjunctive, Imperative
[10302040] |* two [[Grammatical voice|genera verbi]]: active and passive; the passive being composed and dividable into static and dynamic.
[10302050] |* two non-composed tenses ([[present tense|present]], [[preterite]]) and four composed tenses ([[perfect tense|perfect]], [[pluperfect]], [[Future tense|future]] and [[Future perfect tense|future perfect]]) 
[10302060] |* distinction between [[grammatical aspect]]s 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 for the conditional state of the verb, when one of them may seem indistinguishable otherwise.
[10302070] |* distinction between perfect and [[Continuous and progressive aspects|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.
[10302080] |* 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]).
[10302090] |====Verb prefixes==== 
[10302100] |There are also many ways to expand, and sometimes radically change, the meaning of a base verb through a relatively small number of prefixes.
[10302110] |Some of those prefixes have a meaning themselves (Example: zer- refers to the destruction of things, as in zerreißen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to tear apart, zerbrechen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to break apart, zerschneiden&nbsp;=&nbsp;to cut apart), others do not have more than the vaguest meaning in and of themselves (Example: ver- , as in versuchen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to try, vernehmen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to interrogate, verteilen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to distribute, verstehen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to understand).
[10302120] |More examples: haften&nbsp;=&nbsp;to stick, verhaften&nbsp;=&nbsp;to imprison; kaufen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to buy, verkaufen&nbsp;=&nbsp;to sell; hören&nbsp;=&nbsp;to hear, aufhören&nbsp;=&nbsp;to cease; fahren&nbsp;=&nbsp;to drive, erfahren&nbsp;=&nbsp;to get to know, to hear about something.
[10302130] |=====Separable prefixes===== 
[10302140] |Many [[German verbs]] have a separable prefix, often with an adverbial function.
[10302150] |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".
[10302160] |For example, ''mitgehen'' meaning "to go with" would be split giving ''Gehen Sie mit?''
[10302170] |(Literal: "Go you with?" ; Formal: "Are you going along"?).
[10302180] |Indeed, several [[parenthetic]]al clauses may occur between the prefix of a finite verb and its complement; e.g. 
[10302190] |:''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''' ''.
[10302200] |A literal translation of this example might look like this: 
[10302210] |:He '''arr-''' on a Friday evening after a hard day at work and the usual disagreements that had been troubling him repeatedly, looking forward to a questionable meal which, as he hoped, his wife had already fixed for him, '''-ived''' at home.
[10302220] |===Word order=== 
[10302230] |German requires that a verbal element (main verb or [[auxiliary verb]]) appear second in the sentence, preceded by the most important topical phrase.
[10302240] |The second most important phrase appears at the end of the sentence.
[10302250] |For a sentence without an auxiliary, this gives several options:
[10302260] |: ''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann gibt mir das Buch heute.}}''
[10302265] |(The old man gives me the book today)
[10302270] |: ''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann gibt mir heute das Buch.}}''
[10302280] |: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt mir der alte Mann heute.}}''
[10302290] |: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt der alte Mann heute mir.}}'' ([[stress (linguistics)|stress]] on ''mir'')
[10302300] |: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt heute der alte Mann mir.}}'' (as well)
[10302310] |: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt der alte Mann mir heute.}}''
[10302320] |: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt heute mir der alte Mann.}}''
[10302330] |: ''{{lang|de|Das Buch gibt mir heute der alte Mann.}}''
[10302340] |: ''{{lang|de|Heute gibt mir der alte Mann das Buch.}}''
[10302350] |: ''{{lang|de|Heute gibt mir das Buch der alte Mann.}}''
[10302360] |: ''{{lang|de|Heute gibt der alte Mann mir das Buch.}}''
[10302370] |: ''{{lang|de|Mir gibt der alte Mann das Buch heute.}}''
[10302380] |: ''{{lang|de|Mir gibt heute der alte Mann das Buch.}}''
[10302390] |: ''{{lang|de|Mir gibt der alte Mann heute das Buch.}}''
[10302400] |The position of a noun as a subject or object in a German sentence doesn't affect the meaning of the sentence as it would in English.
[10302410] |In a [[Sentence (linguistics)|declarative sentence]] in English if the subject does not occur before the predicate the sentence could well be misunderstood.
[10302420] |For example, in the sentence "Man bites dog" it is clear who did what to whom.
[10302430] |To exchange the place of the subject with that of the object — "Dog bites man" — changes the meaning completely.
[10302440] |In other words the word order in a sentence conveys significant information.
[10302450] |In German, nouns and articles are declined as in Latin thus indicating whether it is the [[subject (linguistics)|subject]] or [[object (linguistics)|object]] of the verb's action.
[10302460] |The above example in German would be ''{{lang|de|Ein Mann beißt den Hund}}'' or ''{{lang|de|Den Hund beißt ein Mann}}'' with both having exactly the same meaning.
[10302470] |If the articles are omitted, which is sometimes done in headlines (''{{lang|de|Mann beißt Hund}}''), the syntax applies as in English — the first noun is the subject and the noun following the predicate is the object.
[10302480] |Except for emphasis, adverbs of time have to appear in the third place in the sentence, just after the predicate.
[10302490] |Otherwise the speaker would be recognised as non-German.
[10302500] |For instance the German word order (in Modern English) is: We're going tomorrow to town. (''{{lang|de|Wir gehen morgen in die Stadt.}}'')
[10302510] |====Auxiliary verbs==== 
[10302520] |When an [[auxiliary verb]] is present, the auxiliary appears in second position, and the main verb appears at the end.
[10302530] |This occurs notably in the creation of the [[perfect tense]].
[10302540] |Many word orders are still possible, e.g.: 
[10302550] |:''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann hat mir das Buch gestern gegeben.}}''
[10302555] |(The old man gave me the book yesterday.)
[10302560] |:''{{lang|de|Der alte Mann hat mir gestern das Buch gegeben.}}''
[10302570] |:''{{lang|de|Das Buch hat mir der alte Mann gestern gegeben.}}''
[10302580] |:''{{lang|de|Das Buch hat mir gestern der alte Mann gegeben.}}''
[10302590] |:''{{lang|de|Gestern hat mir der alte Mann das Buch gegeben.}}''
[10302600] |:''{{lang|de|Gestern hat mir das Buch der alte Mann gegeben.}}''
[10302610] |The word order is generally less rigid than in Modern English except for nouns (see below).
[10302620] |There are two common [[word order]]s; one is for main [[clause]]s and another for [[subordinate clause]]s.
[10302630] |In normal positive sentences the ''inflected'' verb always has position 2; in questions, exclamations and wishes it always has position 1.
[10302640] |In subordinate clauses the verb is supposed to occur at the very end, but in speech this rule is often disregarded.
[10302650] |For example in a [[Dependent clause|subordinate clause]] introduced by "weil" ("because") the verb quite often occupies the same order as in a [[Independent clause|main clause]].
[10302660] |The correct way of saying "because I'm broke" is ''"{{lang|de|…weil ich pleite bin.}}"''.
[10302670] |In the vernacular you may hear instead ''"{{lang|de|…weil ich bin pleite.}}"''
[10302675] |This phenomenon may be caused by mixing the word-order pattern used for the word ''{{lang|de|weil}}'' with the pattern used for an alternative word for "because", ''{{lang|de|denn}}'', which is used with the main clause order (''"{{lang|de|…denn ich bin pleite.}}"'').
[10302680] |====Modal verbs==== 
[10302690] |Sentences using modal verbs place the infinitive at the end.
[10302700] |For example, the sentence in Modern English "Should he go home?" would be rearranged in German to say "Should he (to) home go?" (''{{lang|de|Soll er nach Hause gehen?}}'').
[10302710] |Thus in sentences with several subordinate or relative clauses the infinitives are clustered at the end.
[10302720] |Compare the similar clustering of prepositions in the following English sentence: "What did you bring that book that I don't like to be read to out of up for?"
[10302730] |====Multiple infinitives==== 
[10302740] |The number of infinitives at the end is usually restricted to two, causing the third infinitive or auxiliary verb that would have gone at the very end to be placed instead at the beginning of the chain of verbs.
[10302750] |For example in the sentence "Should he move into the house that he just has had renovated?" would be rearranged to "Should he into the house move, that he just renovated had?".
[10302755] |(''{{lang|de|Soll er in das Haus einziehen, das er gerade hat renovieren lassen?}}'').
[10302760] |The older form would have been (''{{lang|de|Soll er in das Haus, das er gerade hat renovieren lassen, einziehen?}}'').
[10302770] |If there are more than three infinitives, all except the first two are relocated to the beginning of the chain.
[10302780] |Needless to say the rule is not rigorously applied.
[10302790] |==Vocabulary== 
[10302800] |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 language|Greek]], and a smaller amount from French and most recently English .
[10302810] |At the same time, the effectiveness of the German language in forming equivalents for foreign words from its inherited Germanic stem repertory is great.
[10302820] |Thus, [[Notker Labeo]] was able to translate Aristotelian treatises in pure (Old High) German in the decades after the year 1000.
[10302830] |Overall, German has fewer Romance-language loanwords than does English.
[10302840] |The coining of new, autochthonous words gave German a vocabulary of an estimated 40,000 words as early as the ninth century.
[10302850] |In comparison, Latin, with a written tradition of nearly 2,500 years in an empire which ruled the Mediterranean, has grown to no more than 45,000 words today.
[10302860] |Even today, many low-key scholarly movements try to promote the ''[[Ersatz]]'' (substitution) of virtually all foreign words with ancient, dialectal, or [[neologism|neologous]] German alternatives.
[10302870] |It is claimed that this would also help in spreading modern or scientific notions among the less educated, and thus democratise public life, too.
[10302880] |Jurisprudence in Germany, for example, uses perhaps the "purest" tongue in terms of "Germanness", but also the most cumbersome, to be found today..
[10302890] |In the modern scientific German vocabulary data base in Leipzig (as of July 2003) there are nine million words and word groups in 35 million sentences (out of a corpus of 500 million words).
[10302900] |==Writing system== 
[10302910] |=== Present === 
[10302920] |German is written using the Latin alphabet.
[10302930] |In addition to the 26 standard letters, German has three vowels with [[Umlaut (diacritic)|Umlaut]], namely ''ä'', ''ö'' and ''ü'', as well as the Eszett or ''[[scharfes s]]'' (sharp s), ''[[ß]]''.
[10302940] |Before the German spelling reform of 1996, ''ß'' replaced ''ss'' after [[Vowel length|long vowels]] and diphthongs and before consonants, word-, or partial-word-endings.
[10302950] |In reformed spelling, ''ß'' replaces ''ss'' only after long vowels and diphthongs.
[10302960] |Since there is no [[capital ß]], it is always written as SS when capitalization is required.
[10302970] |For example, ''Maßband'' (tape measure) is capitalized ''MASSBAND''.
[10302980] |An exception is the use of ß in legal documents and forms when capitalizing names.
[10302990] |To avoid confusion with similar names, a "ß" is to be used instead of "SS".
[10303000] |(So: "KREßLEIN" instead of "KRESSLEIN".)
[10303010] |A capital ß has been proposed and included in [[Unicode]], but it is not yet recognized as standard German.
[10303020] |In [[Switzerland]], ß is not used at all.
[10303030] |Umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) are commonly circumscribed with ae, oe, and ue if the umlauts are not available on the keyboard used.
[10303040] |In the same manner ß can be circumscribed as ss. German readers understand those circumscriptions (although they look unusual), but they are avoided if the regular umlauts are available because they are considered a makeshift, not proper spelling.
[10303050] |(In Westphalia, city and family names exist where the extra e has a vowel lengthening effect, e.g. ''Raesfeld'' [ˈraːsfɛlt] and ''Coesfeld'' [ˈkoːsfɛlt], but this use of the letter e after a/o/u does not occur in the present-day spelling of words other than [[proper noun]]s.
[10303060] |)
[10303070] |Unfortunately there is still no general agreement exactly where these umlauts occur in the sorting sequence.
[10303080] |Telephone directories treat them by replacing them with the base vowel followed by an e, whereas dictionaries use just the base vowel.
[10303090] |As an example in a [[Telephone directory|telephone book]] ''Ärzte'' occurs after ''Adressenverlage'' but before ''Anlagenbauer'' (because Ä is replaced by Ae).
[10303100] |In a dictionary ''Ärzte'' occurs after ''Arzt'' but before ''Asbest'' (because Ä is treated as A).
[10303110] |In some older dictionaries or indexes, initial ''Sch'' and ''St'' are treated as separate letters and are listed as separate entries after ''S''.
[10303120] |=== Past === 
[10303130] |Until the early 20th century, German was mostly printed in [[blackletter]] [[typefaces]] (mostly in [[fraktur (typeface)|Fraktur]], but also in [[Schwabacher]]) and written in corresponding [[Penmanship|handwriting]] (for example [[Kurrent]] and [[Sütterlin]]).
[10303140] |These variants of the Latin alphabet are very different from the serif or [[Sans-serif|sans serif]] [[Antiqua]] typefaces used today, and particularly the handwritten forms are difficult for the untrained to read.
[10303150] |The printed forms however were claimed by some to be actually more readable when used for printing [[Germanic language]]s .
[10303160] |The [[Nazis]] initially promoted Fraktur and Schwabacher since they were considered [[Aryan]], although they later abolished them in 1941 by claiming that these letters were Jewish.
[10303170] |The latter fact is not widely known anymore; today the letters are often associated with the Nazis and are no longer commonly used .
[10303180] |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.
[10303190] |A proper use of the [[long s]], (''langes s''), [[Long s|ſ]], is essential to write German text in [[Fraktur (script)|Fraktur]] typefaces.
[10303200] |Many [[Antiqua script|Antiqua]] typefaces include the [[long s]], also.
[10303210] |A specific set of rules applies for the use of long s in German text, but it is rarely used in Antiqua typesetting, recently.
[10303220] |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).
[10303230] |One can decide which "s" to use by appropriate hyphenation, easily ("Wach-ſtube" vs. "Wachs-tube").
[10303240] |The long s only appears in [[lower case]].
[10303250] |The widespread ignorance of the correct use of the Fraktur scripts shows however in the many mistakes made&mdash; such as the frequent erroneous use of the round s instead of the [[long s]] at the beginning of a syllable, the failure to employ the mandatory [[Typographical ligature|ligature]]s of Fraktur, or the use of letter-forms more alike to the Antiqua for certain especially hard-to-read Fraktur letters.
[10303260] |==Phonology== 
[10303270] |===Vowels=== 
[10303280] |German vowels (excluding diphthongs; see below) come in ''short'' and ''long'' varieties, as detailed in the following table:
[10303290] |Short {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is realised as {{IPA|[ɛ]}} in stressed syllables (including [[secondary stress]]), but as {{IPA|[ǝ]}} in unstressed syllables.
[10303300] |Note that stressed short {{IPA|/ɛ/}} can be spelled either with ''e'' or with ''ä'' (''hätte'' 'would have' and ''Kette'' 'chain', for instance, rhyme).
[10303310] |In general, the short vowels are open and the long vowels are closed.
[10303320] |The one exception is the open {{IPA|/ɛː/}} sound of long Ä; in some varieties of standard German, {{IPA|/ɛː/}} and {{IPA|/eː/}} have merged into {{IPA|[eː]}}, removing this anomaly.
[10303330] |In that case, pairs like ''Bären/Beeren'' 'bears/berries' or ''Ähre/Ehre'' 'spike/honour' become homophonous).
[10303340] |In many varieties of standard German, an unstressed {{IPA|/ɛr/}} is not pronounced as {{IPA|[ər]}}, but vocalised to {{IPA|[ɐ]}}.
[10303350] |Whether any particular vowel letter represents the long or short phoneme is not completely predictable, although the following regularities exist: 
[10303360] |* 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]).
[10303370] |* 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'' [ˈhɔfǝn]).
[10303380] |Double consonants are used only for this function of marking preciding vowels as short; the consonant itself is never pronounced lengthened or doubled.
[10303390] |Both of these rules have exceptions (e.g. ''hat'' [hat] 'has' is short despite the first rule; ''Kloster'' {{IPA|[kloːstər]}}, '[[cloister]]'; ''Mond'' {{IPA|[moːnt]}}, '[[moon]]' are long despite the second rule).
[10303400] |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.
[10303410] |In some cases, there are regional differences: In central Germany (Hessen), the ''o'' in the [[Noun#Proper nouns and common nouns|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.
[10303420] |The word ''Städte'' 'cities', is pronounced with a short vowel {{IPA|[ˈʃtɛtə]}} by some (Jan Hofer, ARD Television) and with a long vowel {{IPA|[ˈʃtɛːtə]}} by others (Marietta Slomka, ZDF Television).
[10303430] |Finally, a vowel followed by ''ch'' can be short (''Fach'' {{IPA|[fax]}} 'compartment', ''Küche'' {{IPA|[ˈkʏçe]}} 'kitchen') or long (''Suche'' {{IPA|[ˈzuːxǝ]}} 'search', ''Bücher'' {{IPA|[ˈbyːçər]}} 'books') almost at random.
[10303440] |Thus, ''Lache'' is homographous: {{IPA|[la:xe]}} 'puddle' and {{IPA|[laxe]}} 'manner of laughing' (coll.), 'laugh!'
[10303450] |(Imp.).
[10303460] |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:
[10303470] |Additionally, the digraph ''ie'' generally represents the phoneme {{IPA|/iː/}}, which is not a diphthong.
[10303480] |In many varieties, a /r/ at the end of a syllable is vocalised.
[10303490] |However, a sequence of a vowel followed by such a vocalised /r/ is not considered a diphthong: Bär {{IPA|[bɛːɐ̯]}} 'bear', er {{IPA|[eːɐ̯]}} 'he', wir {{IPA|[viːɐ̯]}} 'we', Tor {{IPA|[toːɐ̯]}} 'gate', kurz {{IPA|[kʊɐ̯ts]}} 'short', Wörter {{IPA|[vœɐ̯tɐ]}} 'words'.
[10303500] |In most varieties of standard German, word stems that begin with a vowel are preceded by a [[glottal stop]] [ʔ].
[10303510] |===Consonants=== 
[10303520] |* '''c''' standing by itself is not a German letter.
[10303530] |In borrowed words, it is usually pronounced [ʦ] (before ä, äu, e, i, ö, ü, y) or [k] (before a, o, u, or before consonants).
[10303540] |The combination '''ck''' is, as in English, used to indicate that the preceding vowel is short.
[10303550] |* '''ch''' occurs most often and is pronounced either [ç] (after ä, ai, äu, e, ei, eu, i, ö, ü and after consonants) or [x] (after a, au, o, u).
[10303560] |Ch never occurs at the beginning of an originally German word.
[10303570] |In borrowed words with initial Ch there is no single agreement on the pronunciation.
[10303580] |For example, the word ''"Chemie"'' (chemistry) can be pronounced [keːˈmiː], [çeːˈmiː] or [ʃeːˈmiː] depending on dialect.
[10303590] |* '''dsch''' is pronounced ʤ (like ''j'' in ''Jungle'') but appears in a few [[loanwords]] only.
[10303600] |* '''f''' is pronounced [f] as in "''f''ather".
[10303610] |* '''h''' is pronounced [h] like in "''h''ome" at the beginning of a syllable.
[10303620] |After a vowel it is silent and only lengthens the vowel (e.g. ''"Reh"'' = [[roe deer]]).
[10303630] |* '''j''' is pronounced [j] in Germanic words (''"Jahr"'' [jaːɐ]).
[10303640] |In younger loanwords, it follows more or less the respective languages' pronunciations.
[10303650] |* '''l''' is always pronounced [l], never [ɫ] (the English "[[Dark L]]").
[10303660] |* '''q''' only exists in combination with '''u''' and appears both in Germanic and Latin words (''"quer"''; ''"Qualität"'').
[10303670] |It is pronounced [kv].
[10303680] |* '''r''' is pronounced as a [[Guttural R|guttural sound]] (an [[uvular trill]], [ʀ]) in front of a vowel or consonant (''"Rasen"'' [ʀaːzən]; ''"Burg"'' like [buʀg]).
[10303690] |In spoken German however, it is commonly vocalised after a vowel (''"er"'' being pronounced rather like ['ɛɐ] - ''"Burg"'' [buɐg]).
[10303700] |In some southern non-standard varieties, the '''r''' is pronounced as a tongue-tip r (the [[alveolar trill]]).
[10303710] |* '''s''' in Germany, is pronounced [z] (as in "''Z''ebra") if it forms the [[syllable onset]] (e.g. Sohn [zoːn]), otherwise [s] (e.g. Bus [bʊs]).
[10303720] |In Austria, always pronounced [s].
[10303730] |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.
[10303740] |* '''ß''' (a letter unique to German called "Esszet") was a ligature of a double '''s''' ''and'' of a '''sz''' and is always pronounced [s].
[10303750] |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 'maːsən] "with moderation" and ''"in Massen"'' [in 'masən] "in loads").
[10303760] |The use of '''ß''' has recently been limited by the latest German spelling reform and is no longer used for '''ss''' at the end of a syllable; Switzerland and Liechtenstein already abolished it in 1934.
[10303770] |* '''sch''' is pronounced [ʃ] (like "sh" in "Shine").
[10303780] |* '''v''' is pronounced [f] in words of Germanic origin (e.g. ''"Vater"'' [ˈfaːtɐ]) and [v] in most other words (e.g. ''"Vase"'' [ˈvaːzǝ]).
[10303790] |* '''w''' is pronounced [v] like in "''v''acation" (e.g. ''"was"'' [vas]).
[10303800] |* '''y''' only appears in loanwords and is traditionally considered a vowel.
[10303810] |* '''z''' is always pronounced [ʦ] (e.g. ''"zog"'' [ʦoːk]).
[10303820] |A '''tz''' indicates that the preceding vowel is short.
[10303830] |====Consonant shifts==== 
[10303840] |German does not have any [[dental fricative]]s (as English '''th''').
[10303850] |The '''th''' sounds, which the English language has inherited from [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo Saxon]], survived on the continent up to Old High German and then disappeared in German with the consonant shifts between the 8th and the 10th century.
[10303860] |It is sometimes possible to find parallels between 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.
[10303870] |Likewise, the '''gh''' in [[Germanic languages|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", etc.
[10303880] |==Cognates with English== 
[10303890] |There are many thousands of German words that are [[cognate]] to English words (in fact a sizeable fraction of native German and English vocabulary, although for various reasons much of it is not immediately obvious).
[10303900] |Most of the words in the following table have almost the same meaning as in English.
[10303910] |Compound word cognates 
[10303920] |When these cognates have slightly different consonants, this is often due to the High German consonant shift.
[10303930] |Hence the affinity of English words with those of German dialects is more evidently: 
[10303940] |There are cognates whose meanings in either language have changed through the centuries.
[10303950] |It is sometimes difficult for both English and German speakers to discern the relationship.
[10303960] |On the other hand, once the definitions are made clear, then the logical relation becomes obvious.
[10303970] |Sometimes the generality or specificity of word pairs may be opposite in the two languages.
[10303980] |German and English also share many borrowings from other languages, especially Latin, French and Greek.
[10303990] |Most of these words have the same meaning, while a few have subtle differences in meaning.
[10304000] |As many of these words have been borrowed by numerous languages, not only German and English, they are called ''[[internationalism (linguistics)|internationalisms]]'' in German linguistics.
[10304010] |For reference, a good number of these borrowed words are of the neuter gender.
[10304020] |==Words borrowed by English== 
[10304030] |:''For a list of German loanwords in English, see [[:Category:German loanwords]]''
[10304040] |In the English language, there are also many words taken from German without any letter change, e.g.:
[10304050] |==Names for German in other languages== 
[10304060] |:''See also: [[Deutsch]], [[Names for the Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Deitsch]], [[Dietsch]], [[Teuton]], [[Teutonic]], [[Allemanic]], [[Alleman]], [[Theodisca]]''
[10304070] |The names that countries have for the language differ from region to region.
[10304080] |In Italian the sole name for German is still ''tedesco'', from the Latin ''[[theodiscus]]'', meaning "vernacular".
[10304090] |A possible explanation for the use of words meaning "mute" (e.g., ''nemoj'' in Russian, ''němý'' in Czech, ''nem'' in [[Serbian language|Serbian]]) to refer to German (and also to Germans) in Slavic languages is that Germans were the first people [[Slavic peoples|Slavic tribes]] encountered with whom they could not communicate.
[10304100] |[[Romanian language|Romanian]] used to use the Slavonic term "nemţeşte", but "germană" is now widely used.
[10304110] |Hungarian "német" is also of Slavonic origin.
[10304120] |The [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name for Austria, النمسا ("an-namsa"), is derived from the Slavonic term.
[10304130] |Note also that though the Russian term for the language is ''немецкий'' ''(nemetskij)'', the country is ''Германия'' ''(Germania)''.
[10304140] |However, in certain other [[Slavic languages]], such as Czech, the country name (''Německo'') is similar to the name of the language, ''německý'' (jazyk).
[10304150] |[[Finns]] and [[Estonians]] use the term ''saksa'', originally from the [[Saxon people|Saxon]] tribe.
[10304160] |[[Scandinavians]] use derivatives of the word ''Tyskland/Þýskaland'' (from Theodisca) for the country and ''tysk(a)/þýska'' for the language.
[10304170] |[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] traditionally (nowadays this is not the case) used the Biblical term אַשְׁכֲּנָז ([[Ashkenaz]]) (Genesis 10:3) to refer to Germany, or to certain parts of it, and the [[Ashkenazi]] Jews are those who originate from Germany and [[Eastern Europe]] and formerly spoke Yiddish as their native language, derived from [[Middle High German]].
[10304180] |Modern Hebrew uses גֶּרְמָנִי ''germaní'' (Or גֶּרְמָנִית ''germanít'' for the language).
[10304190] |The French term is ''allemand'', the Spanish term is ''alemán'', the [[Catalan language|Catalan]] term is ''alemany'', and the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] term is ''alemão''; all derive from the ancient [[Alamanni]] tribal alliance, meaning literally "''All Men''".
[10304200] |The [[Latvian language|Latvian]] term ''vācu'' means "tinny" and refers disparagingly to the iron-clad [[Teutonic Knights]] that colonized the Baltic in the Middle Ages.
[10304210] |The [[Scottish Gaelic]] term for the German language, ''Gearmailtis'', is formed in the standard way of adding ''-(a)is'' to the end of the country name.
[10304220] |See [[Names for Germany]] for further details on the origins of these and other terms.
[10310010] |<article>GNU General Public License</article>
[10310020] |The '''GNU General Public License''' ('''GNU GPL''' or simply '''GPL''') is a widely used [[free software license]], originally written by [[Richard Stallman]] for the [[GNU project]].
[10310030] |The GPL is the most popular and well-known example of the type of strong [[copyleft]] license that requires derived works to be available under the same copyleft.
[10310040] |Under this philosophy, the GPL is said to grant the recipients of a [[computer program]] the rights of the [[free software definition]] and uses copyleft to ensure the freedoms are preserved, even when the work is changed or added to.
[10310050] |This is in distinction to [[permissive free software licenses]], of which the [[BSD licenses]] are the standard examples.
[10310060] |The [[GNU Lesser General Public License]] (LGPL) is a modified, more permissive, version of the GPL, originally intended for some [[library (computing)|software libraries]].
[10310070] |There is also a [[GNU Free Documentation License]], which was originally intended for use with documentation for GNU software, but has also been adopted for other uses, such as the [[Wikipedia]] project.
[10310080] |The [[Affero General Public License]] (GNU AGPL) is a similar license with a focus on networking server software.
[10310090] |The GNU AGPL is similar to the GNU General Public License, except that it additionally covers the use of the software over a computer network, requiring that the complete source code be made available to any network user of the AGPLed work, for example a web application.
[10310100] |The Free Software Foundation recommends that this license is considered for any software that will commonly be run over the network.
[10310110] |==History== 
[10310120] |The GPL was written by [[Richard Stallman]] in 1989 for use with programs released as part of the [[GNU project]].
[10310130] |The original GPL was based on a unification of similar licenses used for early versions of [[GNU Emacs]], the [[GNU Debugger]] and the [[GNU Compiler Collection]].
[10310140] |These licenses contained similar provisions to the modern GPL, but were specific to each program, rendering them incompatible, despite being the same license.
[10310150] |Stallman's goal was to produce one license that could be used for any project, thus making it possible for many projects to share code.
[10310160] |An important vote of confidence in the GPL came from [[Linus Torvalds]]' adoption of the license for the [[History of the Linux kernel|Linux kernel]] in 1992, switching from an earlier license that prohibited commercial distribution.
[10310170] |As of August 2007, the GPL accounted for nearly 65% of the 43,442 free software projects listed on [[Freshmeat]], and [[As of 2006|as of January 2006]], about 68% of the projects listed on [[SourceForge.net]].
[10310180] |Similarly, a 2001 survey of [[Red Hat Linux]] 7.1 found that 50% of the source code was licensed under the GPL and a 1997 survey of [[Ibiblio|MetaLab]], then the largest free software archive, showed that the GPL accounted for about half of the licenses used.
[10310190] |One survey of a large repository of open-source software reported that in July 1997, about half the software packages with explicit license terms used the GPL.
[10310200] |Prominent free software programs licensed under the GPL include the [[Linux kernel]] and the [[GNU Compiler Collection]] (GCC).
[10310210] |Some other free software programs are [[dual-licensed]] under multiple licenses, often with one of the licenses being the GPL.
[10310220] |Some observers believe that the strong [[copyleft]] provided by the GPL was crucial to the success of Linux, giving the programmers who contributed to it the confidence that their work would benefit the whole world and remain free, rather than being exploited by software companies that would not have to give anything back to the community.
[10310230] |The second version of the license, version 2, was released in 1991.
[10310240] |Over the following 15 years, some members of the [[free software community|FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) community]] came to believe that some software and hardware vendors were finding loopholes in the GPL, allowing GPL-licensed software to be exploited in ways that were contrary to the intentions of the programmers.
[10310250] |These concerns included [[tivoization]] (the inclusion of GPL-licensed software in hardware that will refuse to run modified versions of its software); the use of unpublished, modified versions of GPL software behind web interfaces; and patent deals between [[Microsoft]] and Linux and Unix distributors that may represent an attempt to use patents as a weapon against competition from Linux.
[10310260] |Version 3 was developed to attempt to address these concerns.
[10310270] |It was [http://www.fsf.org/news/gplv3_launched officially released] on [[June 29]], [[2007]].
[10310280] |==Versions== 
[10310290] |===Version 1=== 
[10310300] |Version 1 of the GNU GPL, released in January 1989, prevented what were then the two main ways that software distributors restricted the freedoms that define free software.
[10310310] |The first problem was that distributors may publish [[binary file]]s only – executable, but not readable or modifiable by humans.
[10310320] |To prevent this, GPLv1 said that any vendor distributing binaries must also make the human readable source code available under the same licensing terms.
[10310330] |The second problem was the distributors might add additional restrictions, either by adding restrictions to the license, or by combining the software with other software which had other restrictions on its distribution.
[10310340] |If this was done, then the union of the two sets of restrictions would apply to the combined work, thus unacceptable restrictions could be added.
[10310350] |To prevent this, GPLv1 said that modified versions, as a whole, had to be distributed under the terms in GPLv1.
[10310360] |Therefore, software distributed under the terms of GPLv1 could be combined with software under more permissive terms, as this would not change the terms under which the whole could be distributed, but software distributed under GPLv1 could not be combined with software distributed under a more restrictive license, as this would conflict with the requirement that the whole be distributable under the terms of GPLv1.
[10310370] |===Version 2=== 
[10310380] |According to Richard Stallman, the major change in GPLv2 was the "Liberty or Death" clause, as he calls it - Section 7.
[10310390] |This section says that if someone has restrictions imposed that ''prevent'' him or her from distributing GPL-covered software in a way that respects other users' freedom (for example, if a legal ruling states that he or she can only distribute the software in binary form), he or she cannot distribute it at all.
[10310400] |By 1990, it was becoming apparent that a less restrictive license would be strategically useful for some software libraries; when version 2 of the GPL (GPLv2) was released in June 1991, therefore, a second license - the Library General Public License (LGPL) was introduced at the same time and numbered with version 2 to show that both were complementary.
[10310410] |The version numbers diverged in 1999 when version 2.1 of the LGPL was released, which renamed it the [[GNU Lesser General Public License]] to reflect its place in the GNU philosophy.
[10310420] |===Version 3=== 
[10310430] |In late 2005, the [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) announced work on version 3 of the GPL (GPLv3).
[10310440] |On [[January 16]], [[2006]], the first "discussion draft" of GPLv3 was published, and the public consultation began.
[10310450] |The public consultation was originally planned for nine to fifteen months but finally stretched to eighteen months with four drafts being published.
[10310460] |The official GPLv3 was released by FSF on [[June 29]], [[2007]].
[10310470] |GPLv3 was written by [[Richard Stallman]], with legal counsel from [[Eben Moglen]] and [[Software Freedom Law Center]].
[10310480] |According to Stallman, the most important changes are in relation to [[Software patents and free software|software patents]], [[free software license]] compatibility, the definition of "source code", and hardware restrictions on software modification ("[[tivoization]]").
[10310490] |Other changes relate to internationalisation, how license violations are handled, and how additional permissions can be granted by the copyright holder.
[10310500] |Other notable changes include allowing authors to add certain additional conditions or requirements to their contributions.
[10310510] |One of those new optional requirements, sometimes referred to as the Affero clause, is intended to fulfill a request regarding [[software as a service]]; the permitting addition of this requirement makes GPLv3 compatible with the [[Affero General Public License]].
[10310520] |The public consultation process was coordinated by the Free Software Foundation with assistance from [[Software Freedom Law Center]], [[Free Software Foundation Europe]], and other free software groups.
[10310530] |Comments were collected from the public via the gplv3.fsf.org web portal.
[10310540] |That portal runs purpose-written software called [[stet (software)|stet]].
[10310550] |These comments were passed to four committees comprising approximately 130 people, including supporters and detractors of FSF's goals.
[10310560] |Those committees researched the comments submitted by the public and passed their summaries to Stallman for a decision on what the license would do.
[10310570] |During the public consultation process, 962 comments were submitted for the first draft.
[10310580] |By the end, a total of 2,636 comments had been submitted.
[10310590] |The third draft was released on [[March 28]], [[2007]].
[10310600] |This draft included language intended to prevent patent cross-licenses like the controversial [[Novell#Agreement with Microsoft|Microsoft-Novell patent agreement]] and restricts the anti-tivoization clauses to a legal definition of a "User" or "consumer product."
[10310610] |It also explicitly removed the section on "Geographical Limitations", whose probable removal had been announced at the launch of the public consultation.
[10310620] |The fourth discussion draft, which was the last, was released on [[May 31]], [[2007]].
[10310630] |It introduced [[Apache Software License]] compatibility, clarified the role of outside contractors, and made an exception to permit the Microsoft-Novell agreement, saying in section 11 paragraph 6 that
[10310640] |This aims to make future such deals ineffective.
[10310650] |The license is also meant to cause Microsoft to extend the patent licenses it grants to Novell customers for the use of GPLv3 software to ''all'' users of that GPLv3 software; this is possible only if Microsoft is legally a "conveyor" of the GPLv3 software.
[10310660] |Others, notably some high-profile developers of the [[Linux kernel]], commented to the mass media and made public statements about their objections to parts of discussion drafts 1 and 2.
[10310670] |== Terms and conditions == 
[10310680] |The terms and conditions of the GPL are available to anybody receiving a copy of the work that has a GPL applied to it ("the licensee").
[10310690] |Any licensee who adheres to the terms and conditions is given permission to modify the work, as well as to copy and redistribute the work or any derivative version.
[10310700] |The licensee is allowed to charge a fee for this service, or do this free of charge.
[10310710] |This latter point distinguishes the GPL from software licenses that prohibit commercial redistribution.
[10310720] |The FSF argues that free software should not place restrictions on commercial use, and the GPL explicitly states that GPL works may be sold at any price.
[10310730] |The GPL additionally states that a distributor may not impose "further restrictions on the rights granted by the GPL".
[10310740] |This forbids activities such as distributing of the software under a non-disclosure agreement or contract.
[10310750] |Distributors under the GPL also grant a license for any of their patents practiced by the software, to practice those patents in GPL software.
[10310760] |Section three of the license requires that programs distributed as pre-compiled binaries are accompanied by a copy of the source code, a written offer to distribute the source code via the same mechanism as the pre-compiled binary or the written offer to obtain the source code that you got when you received the pre-compiled binary under the GPL.
[10310770] |=== Copyleft === 
[10310780] |The distribution rights granted by the GPL for modified versions of the work are not unconditional.
[10310790] |When someone distributes a GPL'd work plus their own modifications, the requirements for distributing the whole work cannot be any greater than the requirements that are in the GPL.
[10310800] |This requirement is known as copyleft.
[10310810] |It earns its legal power from the use of [[copyright]] on software programs.
[10310820] |Because a GPL work is copyrighted, a licensee has no right to redistribute it, not even in modified form (barring [[fair use]]), except under the terms of the license.
[10310830] |One is only required to adhere to the terms of the GPL if one wishes to exercise rights normally restricted by copyright law, such as redistribution.
[10310840] |Conversely, if one distributes copies of the work without abiding by the terms of the GPL (for instance, by keeping the source code secret), he or she can be [[lawsuit|sued]] by the original author under copyright law.
[10310850] |Copyleft thus uses copyright law to accomplish the opposite of its usual purpose: instead of imposing restrictions, it grants rights to other people, in a way that ensures the rights cannot subsequently be taken away.
[10310860] |It also ensures that unlimited redistribution rights are not granted, should any legal flaw (or "[[computer bug|bug]]") be found in the copyleft statement.
[10310870] |Many distributors of GPL'ed programs bundle the source code with the [[executable]]s.
[10310880] |An alternative method of satisfying the copyleft is to provide a written offer to provide the source code on a physical medium (such as a CD) upon request.
[10310890] |In practice, many GPL'ed programs are distributed over the [[Internet]], and the source code is made available over [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]].
[10310900] |For Internet distribution, this complies with the license.
[10310910] |Copyleft applies only when a person seeks to redistribute the program.
[10310920] |One is allowed to make private modified versions, without any obligation to divulge the modifications as long as the modified software is not distributed to anyone else.
[10310930] |Note that the copyleft applies only to the software and not to its output (unless that output is itself a derivative work of the program); for example, a public web portal running a modified derivative of a GPL'ed [[content management system]] is not required to distribute its changes to the underlying software.
[10310940] |==Licensing and contractual issues== 
[10310950] |The GPL was designed as a [[license]], rather than a [[contract]].
[10310960] |In some [[Common Law]] jurisdictions, the legal distinction between a license and a contract is an important one: contracts are enforceable by [[contract law]], whereas licenses are enforced under [[copyright law]].
[10310970] |However, this distinction is not useful in the many jurisdictions where there are no differences between contracts and licenses, such as [[Civil law (legal system)|Civil Law]] systems.
[10310980] |Those who do not agree to the GPL's terms and conditions do not have permission, under copyright law, to copy or distribute GPL licensed software or derivative works.
[10310990] |However, they may still use the software however they like.
[10311000] |== Copyright holders == 
[10311010] |The text of the GPL is itself copyrighted, and the copyright is held by the [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF).
[10311020] |However, the FSF does not hold the copyright for a work released under the GPL, unless an author explicitly assigns copyrights to the FSF (which seldom happens except for programs that are part of the [[GNU]] project).
[10311030] |Only the individual copyright holders have the authority to sue when a license violation takes place.
[10311040] |The FSF permits people to create new licenses based on the GPL, as long as the derived licenses do not use the GPL preamble without permission.
[10311050] |This is discouraged, however, since such a license is generally incompatible with the GPL.
[10311060] |(See the [http://www.fsf.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#ModifyGPL GPL FAQ] for more information.)
[10311070] |Other licenses created by the GNU project include the [[GNU Lesser General Public License]] and the [[GNU Free Documentation License]].
[10311080] |== The GPL in court == 
[10311090] |A key dispute related to the GPL is whether or not non-GPL software can [[library linking|dynamically link]] to GPL libraries.
[10311100] |The GPL is clear in requiring that all [[derivative work]]s of GPL'ed code must themselves be GPL'ed.
[10311110] |However, it is not clear whether an executable that dynamically links to a GPL code should be considered a derivative work.
[10311120] |The free/open-source software community is split on this issue.
[10311130] |The FSF asserts that such an executable is indeed a derivative work if the executable and GPL code "make function calls to each other and share data structures," with others agreeing, while some (e.g. [[Linus Torvalds]]) agree that dynamic linking can create derived works but disagree over the circumstances.
[10311150] |On the other hand, some experts have argued that the question is still open: one [[Novell]] lawyer has written that dynamic linking not being derivative "makes sense" but is not "clear-cut," and [[Lawrence Rosen]] has claimed that a court of law would "probably" exclude dynamic linking from derivative works although "there are also good arguments" on the other side and "the outcome is not clear" (on a later occasion, he argued that "market-based" factors are more important than the linking technique).
[10311160] |This is ultimately a question not of the GPL ''per se'', but of how copyright law defines derivative works.
[10311170] |In ''[[Galoob v. Nintendo]]'' the [[Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals]] defined a derivative work as having "'form' or permanence" and noted that "the infringing work must incorporate a portion of the copyrighted work in some form," but there have been no clear court decisions to resolve this particular conflict.
[10311180] |Since there is no record of anyone circumventing the GPL by dynamic linking and contesting when threatened with lawsuits by the copyright holder, the restriction appears ''[[de facto]]'' enforceable even if not yet proven ''[[de jure]]''.
[10311190] |In 2002, MySQL AB sued Progress NuSphere for copyright and trademark infringement in [[U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts|United States district court]].
[10311200] |NuSphere had allegedly violated MySQL's copyright by linking code for the Gemini table type into the MySQL server.
[10311210] |After a preliminary hearing before Judge [[Patti Saris]] on [[February 27]], [[2002]], the parties entered settlement talks and eventually settled.
[10311220] |At the hearing, Judge Saris "saw no reason" that the GPL would not be enforceable.
[10311230] |In August 2003, the [[SCO Group]] stated that they believed the GPL to have no legal validity, and that they intended to take up lawsuits over sections of code supposedly copied from SCO Unix into the [[Linux kernel]].
[10311240] |This was a problematic stand for them, as they had distributed Linux and other GPL'ed code in their [[Caldera OpenLinux]] distribution, and there is little evidence that they had any legal right to do so except under the terms of the GPL.
[10311250] |For more information, see [[SCO-Linux controversies]] and [[SCO v. IBM]].
[10311260] |In April 2004 the [[netfilter/iptables]] project was granted a preliminary [[injunction]] against Sitecom Germany by [[Munich]] District Court after Sitecom refused to desist from distributing Netfilter's GPL'ed software in violation of the terms of the GPL.
[10311270] |On July 2004 , the German court confirmed this injunction as a final ruling against Sitecom.
[10311280] |The court's justification for its decision exactly mirrored the predictions given earlier by the FSF's [[Eben Moglen]]:
[10311290] |: ''Defendant has infringed on the copyright of plaintiff by offering the software 'netfilter/iptables' for download and by advertising its distribution, without adhering to the license conditions of the GPL.
[10311300] |Said actions would only be permissible if defendant had a license grant...
[10311310] |This is independent of the questions whether the licensing conditions of the GPL have been effectively agreed upon between plaintiff and defendant or not.
[10311320] |If the GPL were not agreed upon by the parties, defendant would notwithstanding lack the necessary rights to copy, distribute, and make the software 'netfilter/iptables' publicly available.''
[10311330] |This ruling was important because it was the first time that a court had confirmed that violating terms of the GPL was an act of copyright violation.
[10311340] |However, the case was not as crucial a test for the GPL as some have concluded.
[10311350] |In the case, the enforceability of GPL itself was not under attack.
[10311360] |Instead, the court was merely attempting to discern if the license itself was in effect.
[10311370] |In May of [[2005]], [[Wallace versus International Business Machines et al|Daniel Wallace]] filed suit against the [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) in the [[U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana|Southern District of Indiana]], contending that the GPL is an illegal attempt to fix prices at zero.
[10311380] |The suit was dismissed in March 2006, on the grounds that Wallace had failed to state a valid anti-trust claim; the court noted that "the GPL encourages, rather than discourages, free competition and the distribution of computer operating systems, the benefits of which directly pass to consumers."
[10311390] |Wallace was denied the possibility of further amending his complaint, and was ordered to pay the FSF's legal expenses.
[10311400] |On September 8, 2005, Seoul Central District Court ruled that GPL has no legal relevance concerning the case dealing with [[trade secret]] derived from GPL-licensed work.
[10311410] |Defendants argued that since it is impossible to maintain trade secret while being compliant with GPL and distributing the work, they aren't in breach of trade secret.
[10311420] |This argument was considered without ground.
[10311430] |On September 6, 2006, the [[gpl-violations.org]] project prevailed in court litigation against D-Link Germany GmbH regarding D-Link's inappropriate and copyright infringing use of parts of the Linux Operating System Kernel.
[10311440] |The judgment finally provided the on-record, legal precedent that the GPL is valid and legally binding, and that it will stand up in German court.
[10311450] |In late 2007, the developers of [[BusyBox]] and the [[Software Freedom Law Center]] embarked upon a program to gain GPL compliance from distributors of BusyBox in [[embedded system]]s, suing those who would not comply.
[10311460] |These were claimed to be the first US uses of courts for enforcement of GPL obligations.
[10311470] |''See'' [[BusyBox#GPL lawsuits]].
[10311480] |== Compatibility and multi-licensing== 
[10311490] |Many of the most common free software licenses, such as the original [[MIT License|MIT/X license]], the [[BSD license]] (in its current 3-clause form), and the [[GNU Lesser General Public License|LGPL]], are "GPL-[[License compatibility|compatible]]".
[10311500] |That is, their code can be combined with a program under the GPL without conflict (the new combination would have the GPL applied to the whole).
[10311510] |However, some free/open source software licenses are not GPL-compatible.
[10311520] |Many GPL proponents have strongly advocated that free/open source software developers use only GPL-compatible licenses, because doing otherwise makes it difficult to reuse software in larger wholes.
[10311530] |Note that this issue only arises in concurrent use of licenses which impose conditions on their manner of combination.
[10311540] |Some licenses, such as the BSD license, impose no conditions on the manner of their combination.
[10311550] |Also see the [[list of FSF approved software licenses]] for examples of compatible and incompatible licenses.
[10311560] |A number of businesses use [[dual-licensing]] to distribute a GPL version and sell a [[proprietary software|proprietary]] license to companies wishing to combine the package with proprietary code, using dynamic linking or not.
[10311570] |Examples of such companies include [[MySQL AB]], [[Trolltech]] ([[Qt (toolkit)|Qt toolkit]]), [[Namesys]] ([[ReiserFS]]) and [[Red Hat]] ([[Cygwin]]).
[10311580] |== Adoption == 
[10311590] |The Open Source License Resource Center maintained by [[Black Duck Software]] shows that GPL is the license used in about 70% of all open source software.
[10311600] |The vast majority of projects are released under GPL 2 with 3000 open source projects having migrated to GPL 3.
[10311610] |==Criticism== 
[10311620] |In [[2001]] [[Microsoft]] [[CEO]] [[Steve Ballmer]] referred to Linux as "a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches."
[10311630] |Critics of Microsoft claim that the real reason Microsoft dislikes the GPL is that the GPL resists proprietary vendors' attempts to "[[embrace, extend and extinguish]]".
[10311640] |Microsoft has released [[Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX]] which contains GPL-licensed code.
[10311650] |In response to Microsoft's attacks on the GPL, several prominent Free Software developers and advocates released a joint statement supporting the license.
[10311660] |The GPL has been described as being [[Copyleft#Is copyleft .22viral.22.3F|"viral"]] by many of its critics because the GPL only allows conveyance of whole programs, which means that programmers are not allowed to convey programs that [[GPL linking exception|link]] to libraries having GPL-incompatible licenses.
[10311670] |The so-called "viral" effect of this is that under such circumstances disparately licensed software cannot be combined unless one of the licenses is changed.
[10311680] |Although theoretically either license could be changed, in the "viral" scenario the GPL cannot be practically changed (because the software may have so many contributors, some of whom will likely refuse), whereas the license of the other software ''can'' be practically changed.
[10311690] |This is part of a [[BSD and GPL licensing|philosophical difference]] between the GPL and permissive free software licenses such as the [[BSD licenses|BSD-style licenses]], which do not put such a requirement on modified versions.
[10311700] |While proponents of the GPL believe that free software should ensure that its freedoms are preserved all the way from the developer to the user, others believe that intermediaries between the developer and the user should be free to redistribute the software as non-free software.
[10311710] |More specifically, the GPL requires that redistribution occur subject to the GPL, whereas more "permissive" licenses allow redistribution to occur under licenses more restrictive than the original license.
[10311720] |While the GPL does allow commercial distribution of GPL software, the market price will settle near the price of distribution&mdash;near zero&mdash;since the purchasers may redistribute the software and its source code for their cost of redistribution.
[10311730] |This could be seen to inhibit commercial use of GPL'ed code by others wishing to use that code for proprietary purposes&mdash;if they don't wish to avail themselves of GPL'ed code, they will have to re-implement it themselves.
[10311740] |Microsoft has included anti-GPL terms in their open source software.
[10311750] |In addition, the [[FreeBSD]] project has stated that "a less publicized and unintended use of the GPL is that it is very favorable to large companies that want to undercut software companies.
[10311760] |In other words, the GPL is well suited for use as a marketing weapon, potentially reducing overall economic benefit and contributing to monopolistic behavior".
[10311770] |It's not clear that there are any cases of this happening in practice, however.
[10311780] |The GPL has no [[Indemnity|indemnification]] clause explicitly protecting maintainers and developers from litigation resulting from unscrupulous contribution.
[10311790] |(If a developer submits existing patented or copyright work to a GPL project claiming it as their own contribution, all the project maintainers and even other developers can be held legally responsible for damages to the copyright or patent holder.)
[10311800] |Lack of indemnification is one criticism that lead Mozilla to create the [[Mozilla Public License]] rather than use the GPL or LGPL.
[10311810] |However, Mozilla later relicensed their work under a GPL/LGPL/MPL triple license, due to problems with the GPL-incompatibility of the MPL.
[10311820] |Some software developers have found the extensive scope of the GPL to be too restrictive.
[10311830] |For example, Bjørn Reese and Daniel Stenberg describe how the downstream effects of the GPL on later developers creates a "quodque pro quo" (Latin, "Everything in return for something").
[10311840] |For that reason, in 2001 they abandoned the GPLv2 in favor of less restrictive copyleft licenses.
[10311850] |A more specific example of the downstream effects of the GPL can be observed through the frame of incompatible licenses.
[10311860] |Sun Microsystems' ZFS, because it is licensed under the GPL-incompatible CDDL and covered by several Sun patents, cannot link to the GPL-licensed linux kernel.
[10311870] |Some have also argued that the GPL could, and should, be shorter.