# RESOURCES and other useful info



## Jana337

*Quick links:*
Post 2 - General resources
Post 3 - Specialized dictionaries and glossaries 1 (language, economics, law, medicine)
Post 4 - Specialized dictionaries and glossaries 2 (science, technology, computers, social science, humanities),
Post 5 - Resources for German dialects
Post 6 - Tips for writing
Post 7 - Basic information on German certificates
Post 8 - Informationen über Deutsch-Zertifikate
Post 9 - The German speaking world - 10 1/2 furious facts about the German language

Suggestions and comments welcome (click)!

A writing tool: You can click on an umlauted letter or ß whenever you need them.


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## Jana337

*Bilingual dictionaries*
dict.cc | Wörterbuch Englisch-Deutsch - English-German (2018-06-29)
PONS - Das kostenlose Online-Wörterbuch, Online-Shop mit Produkten und Apps rund ums Sprachenlernen und -nachschlagen, Unterrichtsvorbereitung, u.v.m.  - German - English, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish (2018-06-29
Englisch - Deutsch Wörterbuch - leo.org: Startseite - English-German, French-German, Spanish-German, Italian-German, Portuguese-German, Polish-German, Russian-German, Chinese-German (2018-06-29)
webtranslate.de -&nbspThis website is for sale! -&nbspwebtranslate Resources and Information. - English-German with a lot of set phrases (tbc  2018-06-29)
Deutsch Wörterbücher mit 1.483.311 Übersetzungen - pauker.at - German bilingual dictionaries (2019-06-29)
Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz) - English-German (2018-06-29)
Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz) - Spanish-German (2018-06-29)
http://www.lessan.org/web/all.jsp - German-Arabic, Arabic-German (2018-06-29)
German dictionaries - bilingual dictionaries for less common languages (2018-06-29)
Linguee | Deutsch-Englisch Wörterbuch  -This is a website where one can find a specific phrase in German (typed in English or German) used in a real-life context. (2018-06-29)
Dizionario di Tedesco - Corriere della Sera German-Italian and Italian-German dictionary by the Italian publishing house Sansoni.
QuickDic - German-English/English-German; includes downloadable desktop version
German Dictionary Online Translation - LEXILOGOS >> - access to several dictionaries
Словари и энциклопедии на Академике - German-Russian and other language pairs. Audio files and links. Russian interface
Từ điển Lingea | Từ điển trực tuyến, bản dịch, sách cụm từ, tổng quan về ngữ pháp - multiple languages

*Monolingual dictionaries:*
http://www.duden.de  - New online content provided by Duden (important set of dictionaries and "the" reference for German spelling); much more comprehensive than it used to be (28JUL11)
DWDS              –                Das Wortauskunftssystem zur deutschen Sprache in Geschichte und Gegenwart - monolingual dictionary - Comprehensive German language corpus
canoonet - German Grammar, Online Dictionary for         Spelling, Inflection and Wordformation of the German Language
Langenscheidt Shop – Sprachenlernen mit Büchern, Apps, Sprachkursen | Langenscheidt
http://www.lexilogos.com/allemand_l...ctionnaires.htm - monolingual dictionary plus synonymes
Österreichisch Quiz - Austrian German
http://hehl-rhoen.de/pdf/lexikon_der_jugendsprache.pdf - Lexikon der Jugendsprache 

*Corpora:*
www.wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de - Deutsche Wortschatz-Portal, University of Leipzig
 http://www.subasub.com - movie corpus

*Dictionaries with special functions:*
schön : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz) - dictionary of synonyms
German Rhyming Dictionary - Deutsches reimendes Wörterbuch - rhyming dictionary
Grammatisches Wörterbuch - grammar dictionary
http://languageguide.org/deutsch/ - online picture dictionary
Wörterbuchnetz - complete Grimm online (begun in 1854): of course outdated (and not using modern spelling) but still a very valuable resource for German language and etymology
Spanish Number Translator online English German Russian Finnish - number/numeral translator, multilingual

*Language learning*
http://www.hueber.de/sixcms/list.php?page=index_the
http://www.ex.ac.uk/german/abinitio/
Learning and Teaching German - for students of all levels
Learning and Teaching German - a word a day
Frequent German Words - most common German words
http://www.cronimus.com/  - in French - grammar, vocabulary, grammatical conjugation,  dictionnary, downloadable exercises (pdf format), historical documents  (poems, quotes...), links, games to learn German - copyrighted but free  for a personnal use.
http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/ - Various exercises
Multi Kultura | Turning Vision Into Value! - German exercises, Grammar explanations, Listening practice from  intermediate --> upper intermediate level. Created by the University  of Cambridge.
Grammar tutorials - BYU German Online Brigham Young University
Aprende alemán con Germanica. Diccionario de alemán y ejercicios. - exercises, vocabulary quizzes, basic dictionaries (in English, Spanish, and Catalan)
Free German Lessons Welcome - Free German Courses - videos and PDFs
Learn Languages with LearnWithOliver.com - vocabulary practice with flashcards, with free e-mail subscription
German Courses | DW - language courses at various levels

*Listening*
vorleser.net | mp3-Hörbuch-Download • legal und kostenlos - free and legal audiobooks (2018-06-29)

*Online courses*
Learn German Online for Free at deutsch-lernen.com - interactive, for beginners and advanced learners (2018-06-29)
Gratis Online Deutschkurs - Online Deutsch lernen kostenlos (DeutschAkademie) - online grammar training (free for registered members) (2018-06-29)


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## Jana337

*Thesauri:*
Synonyme - OpenThesaurus - Deutscher Thesaurus - ein Open-Source-Thesaurus für die deutsche Sprache (2018-06-29)

*Encyclopedic references:*
Brockhaus – NE GmbH (2018-06-29)
Allgemeinbildung | Wissenstest | Lexikon | Wörterbücher | Suche auf wissen.de (2018-06-29)
xipolis.net: Homepage (2018-06-29)
http://kefk.org/wissen/ersch.gruber...edie.der.wissenschaften.und.kuenste.1818.1889 - science and art; incomplete but extensive (2018-06-29)

*Language:*
Redewendungen, Redensarten und idiomatische Ausdrücke - a very useful searchable database of idioms and proverbs (2018-06-29)
Technisches Wörterbuch: Englisch-Deutsch - dictionary of technical terms (2018-06-29)
http://www.languageguide.org/deutsch/ - picture dictionary (monolingual) with audio (2018-06-29)

*Economics and business:*
Informationsseite - DENIC eG - real estate (monolingual glossary) *excellent*
Online-Wörterbuch - Service - Festo Didactic - business and organization (multilingual dictionary - German, English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish; not all terms are available in all languages)
Copyright subsists in all material on this site. Lists may not be mirrored or otherwise distributed in any form without written permission (on paper) in advance from the copyright holders. - economics of health, insurance etc. (English-German-French dictionary)
US-Steuerglossar - financial markets (glossary with english equivalents)
http://www.proz.com/?sp=kog&kog_firs...m_pair=eng_deu - accounting terms (English-German dictionary, the other direction is here)
Glossar - Bayer Investor Relations - shares (monolingual glossary)
http://www.ubs.com/1/g/about/bterms/content_a.html - banking and finance (English, German, Italian, French glossary) *excellent*
http://boerse.ard.de/lexikon.jsp - stock exchange (monolingual glossary) *excellent*
http://www.perfekt.ru/dict/e-com-d.html - e-commerce (monolingual glossary)
http://www.learningspanish-spain.com/archivos/fusion.htm - economic policy, finance (German-Spanish dictionary)
http://quickdic.org/index_d.html - various fields (German-English dictionary)
http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/SearchByQueryEdit.do - database of official EU terms (see e. g. Konfitüre discussion)

*Marketing, management, logistics:*
http://www.pluspr.de/index.php?id=0,11,0,0,1,0 - PR (monolingual glossary)
http://www.scapackaging.de/Fachwoerterlexikon-E-D.120.0.html - packaging (English-German dictionary, the other direction is here)

*Law:*
http://www.perfekt.ru/dict/jurab.html - abbreviations (monolingual)
http://www.perfekt.ru/dict/gesetze2.html - abbreviations in public law (monolingual)
http://www.zap-verlag.de/index.php?lat_rechtsregeln - Latin terms explained

*Medicine*:
http://www.gesundheit.de/roche/ - general medicine and health (partly monolingual, partly English equivalents) *excellent*
http://www.zahnlexikon-online.de/frameset_lexi.htm - dentistry (glossary with German explanations and English equivalents) *excellent*
http://www.bdsp.tm.fr/Glossaire/Default.asp - public health, environment, hygiene (multilingual glossary - French, English, German, Spanish)
http://www.englischwoerterbuch-medizin.de/ - general medicine (English-German dictionary) *excellent*
http://german.about.com/library/blmedvoc.htm - diseases (English-German dictionary)
http://users.ugent.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/DE/lijsta.html - technical and popular terms of medicine (multilingual dictionary - English, German, Danish, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese)
http://www.morbus-hodgkin.de/infoserv/deut_a.htm - general medicine (monolingual, Latin terms explained)
http://www.hurisc.org/bkkwort/tablee.htm - economics of health, insurance etc. (English-German-French dictionary)
http://www.yi.com/home/EysenbachGunther/wb.htm - informatics in medicine (monolingual glossary)
http://www.pathologie-fuerth.de/Krebs/glossar.html - cancer (monolingual glossary)
http://www.perfekt.ru/dict/sex.html - sexuality, focus on anatomy (monolingual glossary) *excellent*
http://www.perfekt.ru/dict/sex2.html - sexuality, focus on behavior (monolingual glossary)
http://www.medizinische-abkuerzungen.de/ - abbreviations (monolingual) *excellent*


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## Jana337

*Science:*
Lexikon: A - mathematics (monolingual glossary) *excellent*
http://www.math.uni-goettingen.de/baule/wb31.html - linear algebra (English-German dictionary)
Tiere / Pflanzen / Pilze im Natur Lexikon - nature (monolingual lexicon)
www.seilnacht.com - chemistry (monolingual lexicon)
Biologie-Lexikon für Schule, Studium, Ausbildung - biology (monolingual glossary) *excellent*
http://webworld.unesco.org/water/ihp/db/glossary/glu/HINDDET.HTM - hydrology (multilingual glossary - English, German, French, Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Turkish, Portuguese, Russian, Romanian; not all terms available for all languages) *excellent*
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/sw...n/bedict1.html - organic chemistry (English-German dictionary)
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache...n&ct=clnk&cd=4 - geological terms for thermal energy (English glossary with German translations of terms]
http://www.physi.uni-heidelberg.de/~.../glossary.html - mathematics and physics and (English-German dictionary)
Math Dictionary: english - german - mathematics (English-German dictionary)
http://www.woc.science.ru.nl/translation/ - chemistry (translations between English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Frysian)
http://homepages.compuserve.de/ctmattke/dict_ed.html - rheology (English-German dictionary)
*
Technology*:
Betonzusatzmittel, Bodenbeschichtungen, Betonschutz, Betoninstandsetzung - technology, engineering, extremely comprehensive (English-German dictionary) *excellent*
http://www.wissen-elektrowerkzeuge.de/mdb/data/de/lexika/eopt/ - electronics (German glossary with pictures and English, French and Spanish translations of terms) *excellent*
WordReference Forums - technology (English-German dictionary) *excellent*
http://www.kfz-tech.de/Engl/Stichw/StichwA.htm - vehicles (glossary with German explanations of English terms)
e-woerterbuch.de - engineering, technology (English-German dictionary)
Lexikon der Mechatronik - technology (English-German dictionary, only A-C available online)
Online-Wörterbuch - Service - Festo Didactic - mechanics, hydraulics etc. (multilingual dictionary - German, English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish; not all terms are available in all languages)
IEC 60050 - International Electrotechnical Vocabulary - Welcome - eletronics (glossary with English and French explanations and German and Spanish translations of terms) *excellent*
QuickDic - various fields (German-English dictionary)
http://www.kfz-report.de/kfz-abkuerzungen.html - List of abbreviations used in the automotive industry (German)
http://www.kfztech.de/abc/kfztechnikabcAD_AK.htm - More automotive industry abbreviations (German)


*Computers*:
http://www.yi.com/home/EysenbachGunther/wb.htm - focused on software for medicine (monolingual glossary)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en - Windows and Office terms (dictionary of more than 40 languages; downloadable)
http://www.abb.com/cawp/GAD02181/C1256D71001E0037C1256C8A004554E4.aspx? - fieldbus technology (monolingual dictionary although many terms are naturally in English)
http://www.masters-consulting.de/mas...l-glossar.html - German-English IT service management glossary, searchable       
http://opensource.bureau-cornavin.com/glossary/index.html - German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese Glossary


*Construction*:
http://www.swov.nl/rapport/ITRD/ITRD_official_English_thesaurus-alphabetic.pdf - construction, architecture (English-German dictionary, .pdf)
http://www.baulexikon.de/dictionary/ - construction, architecture (English-German dictionary)
http://www.basf-cc.at/NR/rdonlyres/869C8812-5827-4123-B2D4-CC6C113A4ED0/54927/Betonlexikon.pdf - everything about concrete (monolingual, .pdf) *excellent*
http://www.ibl.uni-stuttgart.de/fileadmin/pdfs/Bautechnik S-D_D-S.pdf(Spanish-German civil engineering vocabulary)

*Environment*:
http://www.dr-krutz.de/abk.htm - abbreviations (monolingual)

*Social sciences, society, history, economics:*
http://www.dewsbery.de/Glossar/christen_1.html - Christian terminology (English-German dictionary)
http://sites.google.com/site/glossedintranslation/ - Politics & economics glossary
http://kruenitz1.uni-trier.de/ - Oekonomische Encyklopädie von J. G. Krünitz - German encyclopedia of the 18th and 19th century. It includes all 242 releases. It is a source in German language covering the change to the industrial age.

*Arts and humanities:*
http://www.textlog.de/woerterbuecher.html - specialized glossaries of philosophy (monolingual)

*Thematic wordlists:*
http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/de-en/lists/index.en.html - various topics (English-German)
http://www.lexiqueducheval.net/lexique_sommaire.html - horse terminology, German-English-French
http://www.happychild.org.uk/freeway/german/vocab/hairoverview.htm - hair style vocabulary
http://www.cognacguide.de/html/glossar.htm - Cognac glossary, German, English, French
http://books.google.de/books?id=ASx...dq=related:BSBBSB10228827#v=onepage&q&f=false - Glossary of *1740*, "Compendieuses und nutzbares Haushaltungs-Lexicon"

*Miscellaneous*
http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/zwiebelfisch/0,1518,332092,00.html - Zwiebelfisch, a popular language column in Der Spiegel
http://www.deutsche-welle.de/dw/0,,2547,00.html - Deutsche Welle (DW): news, stories, e-learning
http://www.zeno.org/Wander-1867 - German proverbs, fully searchable
http://books.google.com/books?id=FKy...page&q&f=false Dictionary of *German proverbs*, volume 1 (Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon, ein Hausschatz für das deutsche Volk, herausgegeben von Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Wander)
http://www.archive.org/details/deuts...rich01wandgoog volume 2
http://www.archive.org/details/deuts...rich02wandgoog volume 3
http://www.archive.org/details/deuts...rich03wandgoog volume 4
http://www.archive.org/details/deuts...rich04wandgoog volume 5


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## Jana337

We have finally begun a resources list for *German dialects.* New resources suggestions are appreciated and welcome; please contribute here.
Resources written entirely in dialect may be included if we consider them being valuable; they are of course problematic because you need to be more or less proficient in the dialect concerned if you want to use them.

For a short introduction on German dialects see Wiki - Deutsche Dialekte (with maps). Short articles (and in some cases longer ones) about most dialects also are available on Wikipedia.

*General:*
http://www.staff.uni-marburg.de/~naeser/sendai-dt.htm - short written samples plus audio files of German dialects (site of Marburg university which specialises on dialects)
http://www.staff.uni-marburg.de/~naeser/dial-aud.htm - audio files for most German dialects, again hosted by Marburg university

*Dialects - Germany:*
http://www.berlin-and-more.de/Berlin/berlinering.htm - Berlin dialect word list
http://www.deutsch-plattdeutsch.de/wsuchen.php - Lower German dictionary, quite extensive
Plattdeutsches Wörterbuch, deutsch, plattdeutsch, platt, Plattdeutsches Wörterbuch - deutsch plattdeutsche Übersetzung - Lower German (Holstein) word list
Kölsch Wörterbuch · Lexikon Kölsch/Deutsch · Sprache lernen - Cologne (Kölsch) word list
Hessenweb: Wörterbuch A - Hessian word list
http://www.barockstadt-dresden.de/woerterbuch-sachsen/ - very short Saxonian word list, Dresden (scientifically this is the dialect group Upper-Saxonian/Thuringian)
http://www.ghshauseniw.de/jphebel/olschowka/wöbu_schrd_alem_start.htm - Alemannic word list
http://www.undinger.de/dictionairle/ - Swabian word list and phrases
http://www.franken-wiki.de/index.php/Kategorie:Fränkisch-Wörterbuch - Franconian word list
Beiträge zu einen hennebergischen Idiotikon - a book about a Franconian dialect as spoken in Henneberg at the end of the 1th century

*Dialects - Austria:*
≡ Wörterbuch Österreichisch - Austrian word list, maintained by www.ostarrichi.org (both Austrian standard language and dialect words)
Wienerisch [janko.at] - Viennese, short word list
Steirische Mundarten - Vulkanland Steiermark Mundart - Eastern Styrian, a short list with audio files; focus is on Eastern Styria, still many words are known in a much broader region

*Dialects - Switzerland:*
Schweizerdeutsch -  Schweizer Dialekt. Eine Sammlung zum Mitmachen - Swiss German word list
Bärndütschi Wörter, Wörterbuch Berndeutsch - Hochdeutsch - Berne German, short word list

*Dialects - Grammar:*
Berlinische Grammatik – Wikipedia - Berlin dialect, a short but still useful article
Swabian into English - Schwäbisch-Englisches Wörterbuch - Swabian grammar plus Swabian-to-English word list and phrases
http://wapedia.mobi/de/Bairisch - Bavarian and Austrian; a quite extensive article and for the most part well-written (some inaccuracies though)


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## Jana337

*Grammar*
grammis - das grammatische Informationssystem des Instituts für Deutsche Sprache (IDS) - Startseite - systematic grammar, a grammar dictionary
canoonet - Deutsche Grammatik, Online-Wörterbuch zu         Rechtschreibung, Flexion und Wortbildung für die Sprache Deutsch - a rich grammar portal, here in English
Learning and Teaching German
Conjugate German verbs online - conjugates German verbs
http://www.wm.edu/modlang/gasmit/grammar/grammnu.html - basic level, with examples
Deutsch 101-326 University of Michigan - non-traditional and thorough grammar explanations
Toms Deutschseite - Hilfestellung beim Erlernen der deutschen Sprache - grammar explanations with exercises / vocabulary lists
Aprende alemán gratis, tanto gramática como vocabulario, con nosotros - in Spanish / en español
http://www.wordchamp.com/lingua2/VerbList.do?languageID=17 - extensive list of verb conjugations
German conjugation tables  - extensive list of verb conjugations
Liste zusammengesetzter Verben | Deutsche Stammformen
Welcome - German for English Speakers - basic overview of the German language for English-speaking students
Grammar Review - comprehensive German grammar
Deutsches Verben Lexikon | Impressum - verbs

*Rechtschreibreform*
Neuerungen der deutschen Rechtschreibreform von 1996 – Wikipedia - Rechtschreibreform in a nutshell (2018-06-29)
German orthography reform of 1996 - Wikipedia - in English (2018-06-29)
All About Double-s Words in The German Language - in English (2018-06-29)
IDS: Dokumente zur Rechtschreibreform - Institut für Deutsche Sprache, the author of the reform (2018-06-29)
Rechtschreibrat- click on Aktuelles for up-to-date information (2018-06-29)

*Pronunciation*
Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch : Viëtor, Wilhelm, 1850-1918 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch (1921) Gerrman Dictionary of Pronunciation;
Author: Viëtor, Wilhelm, 1850-1918; Herausgeber: Meyer, Ernst Alfred, 1873-1953 (2018-06-29)
German pronunciation dictionary - German words pronounced by native speakers (2018-06-29)


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## Jana337

Read this first (sticky in Comments and Suggestions).

For computers running Windows:

ß: Alt + 225
ä: Alt + 132
ö: Alt + 148
ü: Alt + 129
Ä: Alt + 142
Ö: Alt + 153
Ü: Alt + 154

OR

ß: Alt + 0223
ä: Alt + 0228
ö: Alt + 0246
ü: Alt + 0252
Ä: Alt + 0196
Ö: Alt + 0214
Ü: Alt + 0220

For laptops/notebooks:

The above + by means of the Fn key, i.e. for example: Fn + u = 4 (since there is no numerical keyboard on the right side of the keyboard)

A little easier on the Mac:
OPTION + u, then the letter ä, ö, ü,
OPTION + s gives ß.

* * * * * * * *

Virtual keyboard in German  ™ (Deutsch-Tastatur) - virtual German keyboard

* * * * * * * *

AX - Instant, simple accents and special characters - tool for typing special characters

Can be downloaded for free; Small program which you set to run on startup. It comes with a simple text file which you you initially set up to suit yourself, then when you press a given function key (which you can specify) your chosen sequence of characters cycles through. So whenever you type an *e*, if you press f10 repeatedly it cycles through eéèê until you stop at the one you want. Similarly *a *produces aàââäæ and *t* gives tðÞ. You set up capitals to do the same.

It works in any text entry situation - Word, Notepad, forums, e-mails. The characters produced survive cutting and pasting. When composing the original .txt file you choose your extra characters from Character Map, Alt+ or wherever else you find them, including cutting and pasting from other documents.

* * * * * * * *

Adding a German keyboard:

You can add a German keyboard in the Control Panel in Windows. Then you can switch between all of your input languages in a thing called the Language Bar that sits on your taskbar. This language-switching is per-application, so you can have German in MS Word, and English in Firefox, for instance.  To toggle between languages, use ALT+SHIFT in Windows XP.

Below is a video explaining its usage in Windows 7. It shouldn't be very difficult to figure out how how to use it in other versions of Windows as well.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Add-or-change-an-input-language

Here are the keyboard layouts for Germany and Switzerland, and a Wikipedia article with many others as well.
File:KB Germany.svg - Wikipedia
File:KB Swiss.svg - Wikipedia
Keyboard layout - Wikipedia

* * * * * * * *

Suggestion for MSWord, added 2011-07-14 (thanks, PaulQ ) :



> If you have MSWord, use the Autocorrect option to create ü, ö, ä, ß, etc.
> 
> Menu/Tools/AutoCorrect gets you there. The rest is self explanatory.
> 
> I choose to type /ue/ and have it Autocorrected to ü and /ae/ to ä, etc., but any reasonably unlikely combination of letters and symbols will work. Don’t use something common like “aa” or “uu” to achieve the umlaut as aardvark and vacuum, etc., will start to annoy. To convert to uppercase, there is a button for that on the MSWord toolbar.
> 
> This is good for any symbols, inflected letters, etc in almost any language.


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## sokol

Deutsche Version

*Basic information on German certificates:*

Apart from *Zertifikat Deutsch* (Goethe-Institut) there is the Austrian ÖSD (Österreichisches Sprachdiplom); in Switzerland certification is decentralised but coordinated by EDK (Erziehungsdirektorenkonferenz).
Those and other certificates however are now standardised according to the *Common European Framework (C.E.F.) *of Reference for Languages (levels explained below); thus it has become easier to compare certificates.

*Those are the most important certificates:*
B1: Zertifikat Deutsch (and Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf; Goethe-Institut)
B2: ZMP (Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung; Goethe-Institut)
~B2-C2: DSH (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang, in 3 levels; obligatory for those who want to study in Germany)
C2: ZOP (Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung; Goethe-Institut)

There's also the alternative *Austrian* system:
A1-C2: ÖSD (Österreichisches Sprachdiplom); the Austrian certification system, available for all C.E.F. levels (and partly in cooperation with Goethe-Institut and other institutions)
A1: Grundstufe Deutsch 1
A2: Grundstufe Deutsch 2
B1: Zertifikat Deutsch (with Goethe-Institut and other institutions)
B2: Mittelstufe Deutsch
C1: Oberstufe Deutsch
C2: Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch

And there's also a *four-skills test* (listening, speaking, reading, writing):
TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache): there exist three levels, TDN3 - TDN4 - TDN5; with TDN5 in all four skills you're way beyond the requirements for studying in Germany, TDN4 is sufficient, and some universities accept TDN3

*C.E.F. levels explained *(short version; for the long one see Wikipedia):
You can check your level of proficiency through this Goethe-Institut test.
*A1 Breakthrough*
Very basic conversation skills, enough to survive on a holiday trip.
*A2 Waystage*
Basic conversation skills - equivalent to Cambridge KET exam.
Also "false beginner" level (that is, you've learned the language some time ago but forgotten much, and you want to refresh your knowledge): usually they're categorised as A2 level, or also B1 level.
*B1 Threshold*
Sufficient skills for basic communication tasks in school and at the workplace - equivalent to Cambridge PET exam.
*B2 Vantage*
Fluent in a way that communication with native speakers works without noticeable strain for either side - equivalent to Cambridge FCE exam.
*C1 Effective Operational Proficiency*
Fluent but not quite native level - equivalent to Cambridge CAE exam.
*C2 Mastery*
Proficiency, "near-native" level - equivalent to Cambridge CPE exam.

We do not know of any online tests for any of those certificates, but both textbooks for certificates as well as tests to check your knowledge are available from many publishers.

Please search online or in bookstores for the exact name of the certificate you want (or need) to take, and pay attention to the C.E.F. levels: you will find plenty.


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## sokol

Englische Version

*Informationen über Deutsch-Zertifikate:*

Neben dem *Zertifikat Deutsch* (Goethe-Institut) gibt es auch das ÖSD (Österreichisches Sprachdiplom); in der Schweiz ist die Sprachzertifizierung dezentralisiert und wird der EDK (Erziehungsdirektorenkonferenz) koordiniert.
Alle Zertifikate sind inzwischen aber standardisiert und orientieren sich am *Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmen* für Sprachen, sodass sich die unterschiedlichen Zertifikate relativ leicht vergleichen lassen.

*Im Folgenden die wichtigsten Zertifikate:*
B1: Zertifikat Deutsch (und Zertifikat Deutsch für den Beruf; Goethe-Institut)
B2: ZMP (Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung; Goethe-Institut)
~B2-C2: DSH (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang, 3 Stufen; verpflichtend für den Hochschulzugang fremdsprachiger Studierender in Deutschland)
C2: ZOP (Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung; Goethe-Institut)

Alternativ dazu das *österreichische* System:
A1-C2: ÖSD (Österreichisches Sprachdiplom), mit Zertifizierungen für alle Referenzrahmen-Niveaustufen (teilweise in Kooperation mit dem Goethe-Institut und anderen Instituten):
A1: Grundstufe Deutsch 1
A2: Grundstufe Deutsch 2
B1: Zertifikat Deutsch (also das Goethe-Zertifikat, in Kooperation mit mehreren Sprachinstituten)
B2: Mittelstufe Deutsch
C1: Oberstufe Deutsch
C2: Wirtschaftssprache Deutsch

Weiters gibt es einen *vierteiligen Test* (Leseverstehen, Hörverstehen, Schriftlicher Ausdruck und Mündlicher Ausdruck - nach dem Muster der englischen "Four Skills"-Testmethode):
TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache) in 3 Stufen: TDN3 - TDN4 - TDN5; mit TDN5 in allen 4 Tests werden ausgezeichnete Deutschkenntnisse bescheinigt, die die Erfordernisse für das Studium in Deutschland übersteigen; TDN4 wird für den Hochschulzugang fremdsprachiger Studierender in Deutschland akzeptiert, TDN3 akzeptieren einige Universitäten für bestimmte Studienrichtungen

*Stufen des Referenzrahmens kurz erklärt* (die lange Version gibt es in der Wikipedia):
Das Goethe-Institut stellt einen Test zur Selbsteinstufung zur Verfügung.
*A1*
Sehr einfache Situationen im Alltag meistern, etwa auf einer Urlaubsreise.
*A2*
Erweiterte Grundkenntnisse und die Fähigkeit, Dialoge über einfache Themen zu führen  - entspricht dem Cambridge KET-Examen.
Wer vor längerer Zeit eine Sprache gelernt, aber das meiste wieder vergessen hat (d. h. also, Wiedereinsteiger), wird meist bei Niveau A2 liegen, allenfalls auch bei B1.
*B1*
Ausreichende Kenntnisse für alltägliche Kommunikationssituationen in der Schule und am Arbeitsplatz - entspricht dem Cambridge PET-Examen.
*B2*
Flüssige Sprachkenntnis, Kommunikation mit Muttersprachlern ist ohne besondere Anstrengung beider Seiten möglich - entspricht dem Cambridge FCE-Examen.
*C1*
Flexible und kompetente Sprachbeherrschung in Wort und Schrift - entspricht dem Cambridge CAE-Examen.
*C2*
Perfekte, nahezu muttersprachliche Sprachbeherrschung - entspricht dem Cambridge CPE-Examen.

_Pour *les certificats français* - ELF (français langue étrangère): DILF, DELF, DALF, ... - on emploie même le *CECRL (Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues):* A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. 
_
Unseres Wissens gibt es keine Online-Tests für irgendeines dieser Zertifikate; gedrucktes Material (Lehr- und Testbücher) gibt es jedoch in Hülle und Fülle.

Materialien für die Vorbereitung und die Tests selbst sucht man am Besten online oder im Fachbuchhandel, wobei sehr wichtig ist, auf den exakten Wortlaut des gewünschten Zertifikats bzw. die Referenzrahmen-Niveaustufen zu achten.


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## sokol

*The German speaking world*

10 1/2 furious facts about the German language:

(1) German is the official language of *Germany, Liechtenstein* and *Austria*, and one of *Switzerland's* four official languages. It is also an officially recognised minority language in *Italy* (Südtirol - Alto Adige: Southern Tyrol) and *Belgium* (Eastern Belgium: Eupen, Malmedy). A sizeable Germanic-speaking minority exists in *France* (Alsace, Lorraine), their dialects are recognised as _langues régionales_ - which are still strong in some rural areas, especially with the older generation. Further, German also is officially recognised in *Namibia*, a former German colony, and it is co-official language in *Luxembourg* (besides French and Luxemburgish).
Currently there are possibly *around 105 million* native speakers of German (minorities all over the world included).

(2) *Smaller German speaking minorities* (partly recognised minorities) also exist in some Western European countries (e. g. Denmark and the Netherlands). However, of greater numbers are still those in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Russia (with Asian part included) and Kazakhstan (many Volga-Germans - 'Wolgadeutsche' - have been deported there during World War II) as well as other former USSR states (noticeably Baltic ones), plus on the *Balkans* (so-called '(Donau)-Schwaben' and 'Sachsen' from Transsylvania); all those are on a steep decline now as many migrated to Germany as soon as this became possible, after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

(3) German(ic) speaking *migrant communities* exist in many countries overseas: sizeable German communities exist in the United States (among those e. g. 'Pennsylvania Dutch', an old Southern German dialect of the Amish, even boasting a Wiki page of their own), noticeable Austrian communities exist in Canada and locally in the United States (Chicago is renowned for being the biggest 'Burgenland town', as this is a centre of an Austrian Burgenland migrant community - pop. (estimation) ~60,000 (that is of course only those which, supposedly, have Burgenland roots), but sizeable migrant communities really are spread all over the world - some are even big cities, like Blumenau (Santa Catarina, Brazil) which was still mostly German speaking only half a century ago; they're now still known for the annual Oktoberfest.
There's also a more recent trend of migration to the European Sun Belt (Spain, mainly); not only of pensioners.

(4) It is an *urban myth* that *German had been rejected as official language of the USA* by only one vote. See Zwiebelfisch about that, for those who can read German; I will not give a short summary of the article for those which can't - to keep you curious, and thus motivated for improving sufficiently to read it in the original language  ... weeell okay, I'll give away the tiniest of hints on facts: the story is true at its core but, like it should be done in myths, has been blown up slightly.

(5) *German as a foreign language* once was strong in Central and Eastern Europe, lost importance during Communism but re-gained some of its previous status there recently. Also, German is an important foreign language in parts of Scandinavia and the Benelux states, while it was and still is relatively less taught in other Western and Southern European states. For this see also the Wiki map of knowledge of German in the EU - as the map only gives figures for EU states it should be added that German also has some status as a foreign language in Russia.

(6) *German is a multicentric language*, with 3 main standard varieties: those of *Germany, Austria and Switzerland,* and several regional ones, ranging from Southern Tyrol (basically Austrian German with some peculiarities) all the way down to insular German communities in the States (like the above-mentioned 'Pennsylvanian Dutch' which is a standardised dialect quite different from modern German standard language).

(7) *German dialects* are still strong throughout the German speaking area, but status of dialects differ extremely between regions. Learners of German are well-advised to learn at least passive (if not active) competence if they intend to (temporarily) move to some regions, while at most (if at all) passive competence of local dialects is asked for in others. To oversimplify gravely, dialects are strongest in the south (in German speaking Switzerland even active competence in local dialects is highly recommended for those who intend to settle there) and weakest in the north (where competence in standard language is completely sufficient for full integration). But the situation is way too complicated to explain in a simple furious fact line. 

(8) The *German alphabet* has 26 characters, 3 umlaut characters 'ä ö ü' and one special character 'ß'. Despite the fact that this makes for 30 characters, German native speakers only count 26 letters in their alphabet (from which we might deduce, it seems, that native speakers of German aren't that good at counting ).

(9) The German alphabet is *not phonemic*, this is one of the most common misconceptions of learners: while it is phonemic to a relatively high degree as e. g. compared to English or French it is not highly phonemic as compared to, say, Slovene or Italian. Compare *alphabet <> and phonemes // of standard language:*
<a aa ä e ee i ie ö ö ü ü e o oo u u> = /a aː ɛː ɛ eː ɪ iː œ øː ʏ yː ə ɔ oː ʊ uː/ (diphthongs) <au ei=ai eu=äu> /aʊ̯ aɪ̯ ɔʏ̯/
<p b t d k g - m n ng - r l - f=v w=v s/ß s sch ch> = /p b t d k ɡ - m n ŋ - r=ʀ=ʁ l - f v s z ʃ ç=x/
The phonemic status of /ɛ:/ is questionable, many speakers do not distinguish /ɛː/ from /eː/ in standard language, i. e. pronounce them both /eː/. Note, dialect phonemes are not included here; if they were added the list would become much longer.

(10) The *term German* as such - the name of the language - changed in meaning in the course of its history (see etymonline for more details). So no, Dutch is not German, but yes, the roots of both 'Deutsch' and 'Dutch' have a common origin (and yes, Pennsylvanian 'Dutch' is, basically, German, or anyway it is definitely not Dutch; rather, it is an ancient Southern German dialect preserved in migrant communities which have been cut off from mainstream German trends for centuries). And no, Luxemburgish is not German (not anymore) as it has evolved into a separate language, and has been defined as national language of Luxembourg.

(bonus fact) *Mark Twain* (Samuel Clemens, by real name) was a *great fan* of the German language (quotes):
- Yes, sir, once the German language gets hold of a cat, it's goodbye cat.
- A dream...I was trying to explain to St. Peter, and was doing it in the German tongue, because I didn't want to be too explicit.
- I can understand German as well as the maniac that invented it, but I talk it best through an interpreter.
- Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic with his verb in his mouth.
- Some German words are so long that they have a perspective.


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