German language
![](/Images/godic/202501/09/Legal_statuses_of_German_in_the_world.svg0445.png")
![The Germanic-speaking area of the Holy Roman Empire around AD 962.
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Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)
Old Saxon (Alt-Sächsisch)
Old Franconian (Alt-Fränkisch)
Old Alemannic (Alt-Alemannisch)
Old Bavarian (Alt-Bairisch)](/Images/godic/202501/09/AlthochdeutscheSprachräume962_Box0445.jpg")
![The widespread popularity of the Bible translated into German by Martin Luther helped establish modern GermanA contemporary map showing ethnicities in central Europe as of 1880. Note that Niederlande (The Netherlands) is depicted as part of the Nieder-Deutsche (Low Germans).](/Images/godic/202501/09/Lutherbibel0445.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202501/09/Sprachenkarte_Deutschland18800445.png")
German (Deutsch [ˈdɔʏtʃ]) is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and (co-)official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), and Liechtenstein; it is also an official, but not majority language of Luxembourg and Belgium. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, and English.