German is mainly known for being spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy) and Liechtenstein. It is also widely spoken in parts of Belgium and Luxembourg and is one of the world’s major languages.
It is the 3rd most used language on the web and the largest language by number of native speakers in the European Union.
Spelling reform
In 1996, an attempt was made to reform German spelling in order to make it easier to learn and use. These reforms have mostly been accepted but you will still find major publications using the old rules or a combination of old and new, or a house style.
Notable Grammar and Spelling Differences
Without getting into the real nitty-gritty, German punctuation largely follows the same rules as in English, with a few notable exceptions to watch for when checking a German translation:
Quotation marks: Chevron marks: << >> or lowered quotation marks „ ” are more common.
Commas: Are used instead of decimal point in numbers. For example, 345.75 euros would be 345,75 euros.
For more information contact us here: German Translation Services.
