Languages of Germany

Languages of
country = Germany
official = Standard German (>90%)
regional = Low Rhenish; Kleverlandish, Limburgish; Luxembourgish; Alemanic; Yiddish (remnants of the language facing extinction); Danish, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, North Frisian, Saterland Frisian, Romani, Low German
minority = Turkish but many others are found spoken and heard in major cities across Germany.
foreign = English (51%)
French (15%)
Russian (5%)
sign = German Sign Language
keyboard = QWERTZ
keyboard

source = [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf ebs_243_en.pdf] (europa.eu)

The official language of Germany is Standard German, with over 95% of the country speaking Standard German or German dialects as their first language. cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/germany.shtml|title= BBC Education] This figure includes speakers of the recognized minority or regional language Low Saxon, which is not kept apart from German in statistics.

Minority first languages include:
*Sorbian 0.09%
*Romani 0.08%
*Danish 0.06%
*North Frisian 0.01%

Immigrant languages spoken by sizable communities of first and second-generation persons of Eastern European, African, Asian and Latin American origins: Turkish is spoken by about 2 million persons (ethnic Turks) in Germany alone, followed by smaller numbers whom use Arabic from the Middle East and North Africa; Greek; Italian; Serbo-Croatian of former Yugoslavia and Spanish from South America are examples.

Most Germans also learn English as first, some Germans French as first or second, or Latin as second foreign language in schools. Italian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, or other languages are also learned in schools (often depending on geographical location).

References