1.1 Wo spricht man Deutsch?
Wo spricht man Deutsch? (Where do people speak German?)
The following is a list of key countries and regions where German is spoken as an official, co-official, or minority language:
- Deutschland (official language/Amtssprache)
- Österreich (official language)
- Schweiz (official language alongside French, Italian, and Romansh)
- Liechtenstein (official language)
- Belgien (official language alongside Dutch/Flemish and French)
- Luxemburg (official language alongside Luxembourgish and French)
- Südtirol – a region in Italy (official language alongside Italian and Ladin)
- Elsass – a region in France (not official language)
Übung 1.1a
Take a moment to locate these countries and regions on the maps below that use different colour coding to show where:
- German is the (co-)official language and first language of the majority of the population (yellow).
- German is a co-official language but not the first language of the majority of the population (red).
- German (or a variety of German) is a legally recognized minority language in the marked country (purple).
- German (or a variety of German) is spoken by a sizable minority but has no legal recognition (turquoise).
Map of Europe
Image Description
The image is a map of Europe showing which countries speak German. Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and South Tyrol are highlighted with yellow. Belgium and Luxembourg are all coloured red. Switzerland, Poland, and South Tyrol have parts that are red. Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine have areas highlighted in blue. The Alsace is highlighted in turquoise.
World Map
In addition to the countries and regions mentioned above, German is spoken is several other places around the world such as Russia, Namibia, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Paraguay, and the United States.
Want to learn more about German-speaking countries and their regions? Here are some other links to explore:
- Europa: Map of the 47 European countries and their flags
- Bundesländer Deutschland: Map of the 16 states of Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin (Stadtstaat/city state), Brandenburg, Bremen (Stadtstaat/city state), Hamburg (Stadtstaat/city state), Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen-Anhalt, Sachsen, Schleswig-Holstein und Thüringen.)
- Bundesländer Österreich: Map of 9 states of Austria (Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg und Wien)
- Kantone Schweiz: Map shows the 26 member states, called Kantone, of Switzerland
Übung 1.1b
Text Description
Deutsch auf der ganzen Welt
Test your knowledge of where German is spoken by answering the following multiple-choice questions. Hint: You’ll need to know how to say the countries in German.
1. In which country is German spoken as the official language?
- Schweden
- Polen
- Italien
- Österreich
2. In which country is German considered a co-official language?
- Liechtenstein
- Schweiz
- Brasilien
- Niederlande
3. In what country is German spoken as a minority language?
- Luxemberg
- Belgien
- Argentinien
- Südtirol
Answers:
1. Österreich
2. Schweiz
3. Argentinien
Here are some additional links to practice identifying countries in Europe using their German names:
