Do People in Europe even speak German as a first language?

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O Smart One

Germany is actually the most spoken first language in the European Union, and the second most spoken second-language. Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria all use German mostly in day to day life. However, the definition of "German" can be confusing. The standard of German as we know it, is High German. There are many other languages that are very similar to German, and could even be regarded as dialects. Some examples like Dutch, is closer to High German then Bavarian. Swiss people also speak Swiss German (Another dialect) in day to day life, but should know High German too. Most people know passable English in Germany, however most people barely know it, and don't expect everyone to know what you're saying. A lot of people in the areas surrounding Germany also speak German as a second or first language. Some of these countries include the Netherlands (Half the population speaks it), Danish area near the German border, and Luxembourg (Taught in schools, and widely spoken).

gary o

The people speak the language of their country...........Most also speak English as a second language,,, or the language of a neighbor country...

Martin S

German is the language with the most native speakers in Western Europe - so more people in Europe speak German as a first language than any other language.
People in Germany (as well as in Austria and Switzerland) learn English in school. So they speak it as a second language (more or less well of course). In the generation over 50 you may find people who never learned English at school. I am not sure if English was a "must" in the GDR (German Democratic Republic - Eastern Germany) - Russian was more likely taught as a second language there.

@o smart one: It is simply not true that Dutch is closer to standard German (High German) than Bavarian. Dutch is not a German dialect - Dutch and German seperated some hundreds of years ago.

@Alwin E: The European Union has in fact more inhabitants than the USA. The EU is not one country like the USA but consists of many countries most of them having their own language so that's it.

celebrate_me_home_2000

for the second question, in every school you have to learn some english even in Hauptschule and the special education schools.

Several nations speak german as a first language.

boy

Europe has lots of languages.

people living in germany know english.

Alwin E

Most people in Germany speak some sort of English, but other people in Europe might not. Like the French, Spanish, or Italian, for instance. Europe might be almost as big as the United States of America, but imagine the States with, say, Washington State speaking a language completely different from the language spoken in Missouri. -- Well, that's Europe. The Greek, for instance, don't even use the Latin alphabet we are all used to, but are a member state of the EU.

J W

There are 23 official languages in the EU. German is just one of them and can be useful for you in Germany of course, Austria and Switzerland (if they speak High/Standard German with you-everyday speech is Swiss German which is quite different). A lot of people in parts of Northern Italy (South Tirol), the Netherlands and Luxembourg will understand it too.
Many Europeans know English. (But in France you should speak French -many of them hate it to speak English)

@Martin S.: First foreign language in the GDR was Russian and you could decide whether you want to learn English or French as the second foreign language (but you had to learn one of both).

And who ..... gave Miss USA 2009 two thumbs down: She is right! Many Swiss don't like to speak High/Standard German.

Miss USA 2009

Some countries do but not switzerland they hate speaking it with a passion. I ask my man to speak it and he will refuse to lol

Prisstina

most people living in germany do know english, it is given in every grade of school....but thier main language is Deutche. thats what the germans call themselves. (it sounds like Doich) they dont say german. its similar to english in many ways, though.

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