Modern German gradually developed from Old High German, which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during the Early Middle Ages. German is an inflected language, with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural).
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German language, official language of both Germany and Austria and one of the official languages of Switzerland. German belongs to the West Germanic group of the Indo-European language family, along with English, Frisian, and Dutch (Netherlandic, Flemish). Learn more about the German language.
Facts about the German language, learning tips, free language courses and important links for people learning or teaching German.