German, or “Deutsch” in German, belongs to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is related to both English and Dutch, along with Afrikaans. There are around 100 million native German speakers, making it one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, and the most common native language in the entire European Union.
Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are the three countries where German is spoken the most, and it is the first language of over 95% of the German population. Two very small countries, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, boast large German-speaking populations as well.
German-speaking communities can be found all over Europe, such as in South Tyrol and other areas of Northern Italy. Belgium is home to a large German-speaking community in East Cantons, and in France, Alsace and Lorraine are regions that have long had German communities.
German has many different dialects, more so than many other languages, but some of them are not mutually intelligible with the three types of Standard German. At Alpha Omega Translations we have German translators who work exclusively with their particular native dialect or variety of German, so there is never an issue with terms that are specific to one dialect but not even used in another. It is our priority to ensure your German translation is relevant to the specific market and geographic area you are targeting
Germany has the biggest economy in Europe, and many Fortune 500 companies call it home, making it an important language for any international business, or business that wishes to become international.