132-585: Sils im Engadin/Segl ( German : Sils im Engadin ; Romansh Segl ), often also as Sils i.E./Segl , is a municipality and village in the Maloja Region , Upper Engadine in the Swiss canton of the Grisons . It consists of two villages, Segl Maria (Romansh, German : Sils Maria ; Seglias is part of Segl Maria) and Segl Baselgia (German: Sils Baselgia ; Baselgia is Romansh for church);
264-492: A Fachhochschule ). Sils im Engadin/Segl is classed as a tourist community. As of 2014, there were a total of 955 people employed in the municipality. Of these, a total of 24 people worked in 8 businesses in the primary economic sector . The secondary sector employed 132 workers in 18 separate businesses, of which 5 were small businesses with a total of 94 employees. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 799 jobs in 85 businesses. There were 14 small businesses with
396-531: A black market trade in contraceptives, smuggled in from neighbouring Thailand. In 1990, five years after the Iraq-Iran war ended, Iran saw the fastest recorded fall in fertility in world history. Revolution gave way to consumerism and westernization. With TVs and cars came condoms and birth control pills. A generation of women had been expected to produce soldiers to fight Iraq, but the next generation of women could choose to enjoy some newfound luxuries. During
528-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
660-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
792-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
924-537: A Trout Azure spotted Gules . It shows a blue upper half with a golden sun and a yellow lower section with a blue trout. It is a combination of the historical village coats of arms, and represents the municipality's sunny, elevated location and the fish-filled Lake Sils . Sils im Engadin/Segl is first mentioned around 800–850 as Silles . In 1131 it was mentioned as Sillis . Four little votive altars from Roman times, found in Segl Baselgia, suggest that there
1056-513: A correlation between economic difficulties and fertility decline by race and ethnicity. Hispanics (particularly affected by the recession) have experienced the largest fertility decline, particularly compared to Caucasians. In 2008–2009 the birth rate declined 5.9 percent for Hispanic women, 2.4 percent for African American women and 1.6 percent for white women. The relatively large birth rate declines among Hispanics mirror their relatively large economic declines, in terms of jobs and wealth. According to
1188-492: A country undergoes economic development and social change its population growth declines, with birth rates serving as an indicator. At the 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest , Romania , women's issues gained considerable attention. Family programs were discussed, and 137 countries drafted a World Population Plan of Action. As part of the discussion, many countries accepted modern birth control methods such as
1320-519: A family-coefficient of income tax ( le quotient familial ). Since the end of World War II, early family policy in France has been based on a family tradition that requires children to support multi-child family, so that a third child enables a multi-child family to benefit from family allowances and income tax exemptions. This is intended to allow families with three children to enjoy the same living standards as households without children. In particular,
1452-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
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#17327753992291584-415: A lesser degree) increased male age . Many of these factors however are not universal, and differ by region and social class. For instance, at a global level, religion is correlated with increased fertility. Reproductive health can also affect the birth rate, as untreated infections can lead to fertility problems, as can be seen in the "infertility belt" - a region that stretches across central Africa from
1716-587: A lower birth rate than underdeveloped countries (see Income and fertility ). A parent's number of children strongly correlates with the number of children that each person in the next generation will eventually have. Factors generally associated with increased fertility include religiosity , intention to have children, and maternal support. Factors generally associated with decreased fertility include wealth , education, female labor participation , urban residence, intelligence , increased female age , women's rights, access to family planning services and (to
1848-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
1980-627: A one-son policy. In many countries, the steady decline in birth rates over the past decades can largely be attributed to the significant gains in women's freedoms, such as tackling forced marriage and child marriage , access to contraception , equal access to education, and increased socioeconomic opportunities. Women of all economic, social, religious and educational persuasions are choosing to have fewer children as they are gaining more control over their own reproductive rights . Apart from more children living into their adult years, women are often more ambitious to take up education and paid work outside
2112-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
2244-577: A population (as of December 2020) of 715. As of 2014, 38.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. In 2015, 144 people or 18.9% of the population were born in Portugal, 42 or 5.5% of the population were born in Germany and 63 or 8.3% of the population were born in Italy. Over the last 4 years (2010–2014) the population has changed at a rate of 2.13%. The birth rate in the municipality, in 2014,
2376-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
2508-400: A substitute to maternity leave. The payment known as the 'Baby Bonus' was A$ 3000 per child. This rose to A$ 5000 which was paid in 13 installments. At a time when Australia's unemployment was at a 28-year low of 5.2%, the then Treasurer Peter Costello stated there was opportunity to go lower. With a good economic outlook for Australia, Costello held the view that now was a good time to expand
2640-655: A total of 169 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 40.6%. In the 2007, federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.6% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP (29.3%), the FDP (26.6%) and the CVP (7.2%). In Sils im Engadin/Segl, about 70.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or
2772-448: A total of 338 employees and two mid sized businesses with a total of 201 employees. In 2014 a total of 26.5% of the population received social assistance. In the second quarter of 2016 an average of 251 workers commuted from outside Switzerland to work in the municipality, representing a large minority of the employees. In 2015 local hotels had a total of 196,257 overnight stays, of which 37.6% were international visitors. The Fex Valley
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#17327753992292904-408: A universal registration system for births; population counts from a census , and estimation through specialized demographic techniques. The birth rate (along with mortality and migration rates) is used to calculate population growth . The estimated average population may be taken as the mid-year population. When the crude death rate is subtracted from the crude birth rate (CBR), the result
3036-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
3168-413: Is agricultural, while 11.1% is forested. Of the rest, 1.2% is developed (buildings or roads) and 61.7% is unproductive. In the 2004/09 survey, 38 ha (94 acres), or about 0.6% of the total area, was covered with buildings, an increase of 5 ha (12 acres) from 1985. Over the same time period, the amount of recreational space increased by 6 ha (15 acres) and is now about 0.16% of the total area. Of
3300-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
3432-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
3564-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
3696-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
3828-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
3960-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
4092-496: Is given in the following chart: Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (59.4%), with Italian being second most common (15.4%) and Romansh being third (12.0%). Into the 19th century, the entire population spoke the Upper- Engadin Romansh dialect of Putèr . Due to increasing trade with the outside world, Romansh usage began to decline. In 1880 about 68% spoke Romansh as a first language, while in 1910 it
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4224-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
4356-511: Is now a small museum. Anne Frank was in Sils for several vacations, and Hermann Hesse also visited Sils. Annemarie Schwarzenbach lived in Sils since 1935 and died there in 1942 after a bicycle accident. The area is the setting for much of the film Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), written and directed by Olivier Assayas , and starring Juliette Binoche , Kristen Stewart and Chloë Grace Moretz . Part of Coda (2019), starring Patrick Stewart,
4488-479: Is officially car-free except for residents of the valley. The Furtschellas cable car begins near the village and leads to many ski runs and, in summer, to trails above the tree line . Sils-Segl Maria features a cold subarctic climate ( Dfc ) on Köppen classification. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche summered in Sils in 1881 and between 1883 and 1888, and the house he lived in – the Nietzsche-Haus –
4620-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
4752-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
4884-580: Is only 8.3 per thousand, lower than the UK and France. In Europe as of July 2011, Ireland's birth rate was 16.5 per 1000 (3.5 percent higher than the next-ranked country, the UK). As of 2016, Japan has the third lowest crude birth rate (i.e. not allowing for the population's age distribution) in the world, with only Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Monaco having lower crude birth rates. Japan has an unbalanced population with many elderly but few young people, and this
5016-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
5148-424: Is projected to be more extreme in the future, unless there are major changes. An increasing number of Japanese people are staying unmarried: between 1980 and 2010, the percentage of the population who had never married increased from 22% to almost 30%, even as the population continued to age, and by 2035 one in four people will not marry during their childbearing years. The Japanese sociologist Masahiro Yamada coined
5280-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
5412-476: Is the rate of natural increase (RNI). This is equal to the rate of population change (excluding migration). The total (crude) birth rate (which includes all births)—typically indicated as births per 1,000 population—is distinguished from a set of age-specific rates (the number of births per 1,000 persons, or more usually 1,000 females, in each age group). The first known use of the term "birth rate" in English
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5544-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
5676-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
5808-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
5940-631: The Aerial tramway to Furtschellas in 1972, Sils/Segl also became a winter resort. Located in the valley of Upper Engadine, Sils i.E./Segl nestles between Lake Sils and Lake Silvaplana at the foot of Piz Corvatsch and Piz da la Margna and below the Val Fex, a valley in the south. The municipality belongs to the Maloja District. Sils im Engadin/Segl has an area (as of the 2004/09 survey) of 63.58 km (24.55 sq mi). About 25.9%
6072-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
6204-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
6336-480: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
6468-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
6600-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
6732-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
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#17327753992296864-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
6996-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
7128-513: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
7260-625: The Val Fex (German: Fextal ); and three Maiensäss e (Alpine pastures traditionally used for spring grazing): Grevasalvas , Blaunca and Buaira , above Plaun da Lej on the left side of the valley. The municipality's official label uses both the German and the Romansh versions of its name: Segl is the Romansh version while Sils im Engadin is the German. Engadin is Romansh for "Valley of
7392-557: The World Health Organization , the country with the highest birth rate is Niger at 6.49 children born per woman and the country with the lowest birth rate is Taiwan, at 1.13 children born per woman. However, despite not having any official records, it can be presumed for obvious reasons (only men are allowed to be Catholic priests) that the Holy See has the lowest birth rate of any sovereign state . Compared with
7524-757: The birth control pill and the condom while opposing abortion . Population concerns, as well as the desire to include women in the discourse, were discussed; it was agreed that improvements in women's status and initiatives in defense of reproductive health and freedom, the environment, and sustainable socioeconomic development were needed. Birth rates ranging from 10 to 20 births per 1,000 are considered low, while rates from 40 to 50 births per 1,000 are considered high. There are problems associated with high birth rates, and there may be problems associated with low birth rates. High birth rates may contribute to malnutrition and starvation, stress government welfare and family programs, and more importantly store up overpopulation for
7656-469: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
7788-539: The 1950s (when the birth rate was 36 per thousand), as of 2011, the world birth rate has declined by 16 per thousand. As of 2017, Niger has had 49.443 births per thousand people. Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world with 8 per thousand people. While in Japan there are 126 million people and in Niger 21 million, both countries had around 1 million babies born in 2016. The region of Sub-Saharan Africa has
7920-723: The 1970s, the focus has been on supporting families who are vulnerable such as single parent families and the children of a poor family in order to ensure equality of opportunity. In addition, as many women began to participate in the labor market, the government introduced policies of financial support for childcare leave as well as childcare facilities. In 1994, the government expanded the parent education allowance ( l'allocation parentale d'éducation ) for women with two children to ensure freedom of choice and reduce formal unemployment in order to promote family well-being and women's labor participation. There are also: The birth rate in Germany
8052-420: The 253 inhabited buildings in the municipality, in 2000, about 34.8% were single family homes and 36.0% were multiple family buildings. Additionally, about 32.0% of the buildings were built before 1919, while 7.5% were built between 1991 and 2000. In 2013 the rate of construction of new housing units per 1000 residents was 26.46. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2015, was 1.2%. The historical population
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#17327753992298184-478: The Decree ). These policies temporarily increased birth rates for a few years, but this was followed by a decline due to the increased use of illegal abortion . Ceaușescu's policy resulted in over 9,000 deaths of women due to illegal abortions, large numbers of children put into Romanian orphanages by parents who could not cope with raising them, street children in the 1990s (when many orphanages were closed and
8316-723: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
8448-417: The French income taxation system is structured so that families with children receive tax breaks greater than single adults without children. This income tax imposition system is known as the family coefficient of income tax. A characteristic of the family factor is that households with a large number of children, even if they are at the same standard of living, can receive more tax exemption benefits. Since
8580-748: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
8712-483: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
8844-451: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
8976-681: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
9108-419: The Inn ( Romansh : En )", the river, which flows northeast from Maloja through Sils Baselgia and eventually into the Danube at Passau, Germany at the German-Austrian border. Sils i.E is distinguished from Sils im Domleschg in another Swiss watershed. Sils was originally divided into the three hamlets of Segl Baselgia, Segl Maria, and Seglias. The coat of arms is Per fess Azure a Sun radiated Or and Or
9240-547: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
9372-757: The Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ), the Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
9504-473: The Jeonse system of renting. Landlords require the renters to upfront as much as 70% of the property value as a type of security deposit, then live rent free for the duration of the contract, usually two years. At the end of the contract, the deposit is refunded 100% back to the renter. Historically, landlords have invested the security deposit and banked on rising property values. But as inflation rises higher than
9636-518: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
9768-598: The Pew Hispanic Center revealed that Hispanics have also been the biggest losers in terms of wealth since the beginning of the recession, with Hispanic households losing 66% of their median wealth from 2005 to 2009. In comparison, black households lost 53% of their median wealth and white households lost only 16%. Other factors (such as women's labor-force participation, contraceptive technology and public policy) make it difficult to determine how much economic change affects fertility. Research suggests that much of
9900-585: The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced a 2.4 percent increase in live births in the United Kingdom in 2010. This is the highest birth rate in the UK in 40 years. However, the UK record year for births and birth rate remains 1920 (when the ONS reported over 957,000 births to a population of "around 40 million"). There has been a dramatic decline in birth rates in the U.S. between 2007 and 2020. The Great Recession appears to have contributed to
10032-514: The United Republic of Tanzania in the east to Gabon in the west, and which has a lower fertility than other African regions. Child custody laws, affecting fathers' parental rights over their children from birth until child custody ends at age 18, may have an effect on the birth rate. U.S. states strict in enforcing child support have up to 20 percent fewer unmarried births than states that are lax about getting unmarried fathers to pay,
10164-419: The adolescent birth rate continues to decline. In 2013, teenage birth rates in the U.S. were at the lowest level in U.S. history. Teen birth rates in the U.S. have decreased from 1991 through 2012 (except for an increase from 2005 to 2007). The other aberration from this otherwise-steady decline in teen birth rates is the six percent decrease in birth rates for 15- to 19-year-olds between 2008 and 2009. Despite
10296-416: The agricultural land, 307 ha (760 acres) are fields and grasslands, and 1,435 ha (3,550 acres) are alpine grazing areas. Since 1985, the agricultural land has decreased by 119 ha (290 acres) and the forested land increased by 117 ha (290 acres). Rivers and lakes cover 404 ha (1,000 acres). The plain is grass-covered, and the steep slopes are heavily forested. Sils im Engadin/Segl has
10428-504: The children ended on the streets), and overcrowding in homes and schools. Ultimately, this aggressive natalist policy led to a generation who eventually led the Romanian Revolution which overthrew and executed him . In stark contrast to Ceaușescu's natalist policy was China's one child policy , in effect from 1978 to 2015, which included abuses such as forced abortions . This policy has also been deemed responsible for
10560-460: The common practice of sex-selective abortion which led to an imbalanced sex ratio in the country. Given strict family size limitations and a preference for sons, girls became unwanted in China because they were considered as depriving the parents of the chance of having a son. With the progress of prenatal sex-determination technologies and induced abortion, the one-child policy gradually turned into
10692-459: The contemporary United States can possibly be ascribed to the recession, which led families to postpone having children and fewer immigrants coming to the US. The current US birth rates are not high enough to maintain the size of the U.S. population, according to The Economist . There are many factors that interact in complex ways, influencing the birth rates of a population. Developed countries have
10824-403: The decline in the early period. A 2022 study did not identify any other economic, policy, or social factor that contributed to the decline. The decline may be due to shifting life priorities of recent cohorts that go through childbearing age, as there have been "changes in preferences for having children, aspirations for life, and parenting norms." A Pew research center study found evidence of
10956-447: The decrease, U.S. teen birth rates remain higher than those in other developed nations. Racial differences affect teen birth and pregnancy rates: American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic black teen pregnancy rates are more than double the non-Hispanic white teenage birth rate. States strict in enforcing child support have up to 20 percent fewer unmarried births than states that are lax about getting unmarried dads to pay,
11088-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
11220-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
11352-460: The different roles of men and women, and the cultural desire to have several sons. Historically, Australia has had a relatively low fertility rate, reaching a high of 3.14 births per woman in 1960. This was followed by a decline which continued until the mid-2000, when a one off cash incentive was introduced to reverse the decline. In 2004, the then Howard government introduced a non-means tested 'Maternity Payment' to parents of every newborn as
11484-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
11616-449: The economic crisis in 1997; fathers abandoning their families because they could not financially support them. In addition, the abortion of female fetuses lead to a relative shortage of women, resulting in overall lowerall birthrate in the country. In August 2011, Taiwan's government announced that its birth rate declined in the previous year, despite the fact that the government implemented approaches to encourage fertility. In July 2011,
11748-410: The elders themselves. There will be fewer younger able-bodied people who may be needed to support an ageing population, if a high proportion of older people become disabled and unable to care for themselves. In the 20th century, several authoritarian governments sought either to increase or to decrease the birth rates, sometimes through forceful intervention. One of the most notorious natalist policies
11880-444: The fertility decline during an economic downturn is a postponement of childbearing, not a decision to have fewer (or no) children; people plan to "catch up" to their plans of bearing children when economic conditions improve. Younger women are more likely than older women to postpone pregnancy due to economic factors, since they have more years of fertility remaining. In July 2011, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that
12012-497: The fertility rate has fallen to below one child per woman. The total fertility rate in South Korea sharply declined from 4.53 in 1970 to 2.06 in 1983, falling below the replacement level of 2.10. The low birth rate accelerated in the 2000s, with the fertility rate dropping to 1.48 in 2000, 1.23 in 2010, and reaching 0.72 in 2023. One example of Korea's economic crisis is the housing market. Tenants may choose to buy, rent, or use
12144-437: The forefront of development initiatives will lead to a decline in birth rates. In some countries, government policies have focused on reducing birth rates by improving women's rights, sexual and reproductive health . Typically, high birth rates are associated with health problems, low life expectancy , low living standards, low social status for women and low educational levels. Demographic transition theory postulates that as
12276-460: The future, and increase human damage to other species and habitats, and environmental degradation. Additional problems faced by a country with a high birth rate include educating a growing number of children, creating jobs for these children when they enter the workforce, and dealing with the environmental impact of a large population. Low birth rates may stress the government to provide adequate senior welfare systems and stress families who must support
12408-414: The highest birth rate in the world. As of 2016, Niger , Mali , Uganda , Zambia , and Burundi have the highest birth rates in the world. This is part of the fertility-income paradox , as these countries are very poor, and it may seem counter-intuitive for families there to have so many children. The inverse relationship between income and fertility has been termed a demographic-economic " paradox " by
12540-480: The home, and to live their own lives rather than just a life of reproduction and unpaid domestic work. Birth rates have fallen due to the introduction of family planning clinics and other access to contraception. In Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, women are less likely to have two children (or more) than they were before 1999, according to Australian demographer Jack Caldwell . Bangladeshi women eagerly took up contraceptives, such as condoms and
12672-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
12804-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
12936-491: The interest rates, property values plummeted. Recent government caps, aimed at protecting the renters from being victims of price gouging, restricted the profit the landlord can make on renewing the contract. The Korean government offers a wide range of financial incentives to parents; however, many new parents, both mother and father, refuse to take full advantage of postpartum parental leave. Some fathers fear being ridiculed for taking "mom leave" while both working parents fear
13068-416: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Birth rate Birth rate , also known as natality , is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from
13200-445: The low levels seen in the late 1980s, after a continuous fall in the birth rate. In 1994, the total fertility rate was as low as 1.66, but perhaps due to the active family policy of the government in the mid-1990s, it has increased, and maintained an average of 2.0 from 2008 until 2015. France has embarked on a strong incentive policy based on two key measures to restore the birth rate: family benefits ( les allocations familiales ) and
13332-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
13464-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
13596-469: The notion that greater means would enable the production of more offspring as suggested by the influential Thomas Malthus . Afghanistan has the 11th highest birth rate in the world, and also the highest birth rate of any non-African country (as of 2016). The rapid population growth of Afghanistan is considered a problem when it prevents population stabilization and affects maternal and infant health. Reasons for large families include tradition, religion,
13728-417: The oldest son, aware of his financial obligation to feed, clothe and shelter the aging parents. As a result, in 1988 the government banned doctors from telling expectant parents the sex of the fetus. Effective 1 January 2021, abortion has been decriminalized. Divorce is another deterrent to childbirth. Although divorce has been on the rise over the last 50 years, it hit families especially hard after
13860-650: The past 30 years Turkey's fertility rate of children per woman has dropped from 4.07 to 2.08. Tunisia has dropped from 4.82 to 2.14 and Morocco from 5.4 to 2.52 children per woman. Latin America, of predominately Catholic faith, has seen the same trends of falling fertility rates. Brazilian women are having half the children compared to 25 years ago: a rate of 1.7 children per woman. The Vatican now has less influence over women in other hard-line Catholic countries. Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru have all seen significant drops in fertility in
13992-584: The pill, according to a study in 1994 by the World Bank. The study proved that family planning could be carried out and accepted practically anywhere. Caldwell also believes that agricultural improvements led to the need for less labour. Children not needed to plough the fields would be of surplus and require some education, so in turn, families become smaller and women are able to work and have greater ambitions. Other examples of non-coercive family planning policies are Ethiopia, Thailand and Indonesia. Myanmar
14124-432: The population, with his famous quote that every family should have three children "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country". Australia's fertility rate reached a peak of 1.95 children per woman in 2010, a 30-year high, although still below replacement rate . Phil Ruthven of the business information firm IBISWorld believes the spike in fertility was more about timing and less about monetary incentives. Generation X
14256-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
14388-426: The researchers found. Moreover, according to the results, if all 50 states in the United States had done at least as well in their enforcement efforts as the state ranked fifth from the top, that would have led to a 20 percent reduction in out-of-wedlock births. The United States population growth is at a historical low level as the United States current birth rates are the lowest ever recorded. The low birth rates in
14520-509: The same period, all going from over six to less than three children per woman. Forty percent of married Brazilian women are choosing to get sterilised after having children, but this may be because it only requires confession on one occasion . Some observers claim this to be a triumph of modern Western values of freedom for women against states with Catholic values. According to the CIA's The World Factbook , who presumably get their figures from
14652-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
14784-439: The statistics using the data from National Centre for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, from 2007 to 2008, the employment rate among Hispanics declined by 1.6 percentage points, compared with declines of 0.7 points for whites. The unemployment rate shows a similar pattern—unemployment among Hispanics increased 2.0 percentage points from 2007 to 2008, while for whites the increase was 0.9 percentage points. A recent report from
14916-499: The stigma of "falling behind" in their professional careers. The South Korean corporate world is very unsympathetic to family needs. Abortion and divorce are other contributing factors for Korea's low birth rate. In the twentieth century, due mainly to Confucian beliefs and a strong desire to sire a son, female fetuses were being aborted. This strong desire to have a son as a first child has somewhat of an oxymoron effect on today's low birth rate, as many women will not want to marry
15048-513: The term " parasite singles " for unmarried adults in their late 20s and 30s who continue to live with their parents. Since joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) in 1996, South Korea's fertility rate has been on the decline. It recorded the lowest fertility rate among OECD countries in 2017, with just 1.1 children per woman being born. Subsequent studies indicate that Korea has broken its own record and that
15180-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
15312-409: The village. In the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century, tourism became more and more important to Sils/Segl. Friedrich Nietzsche spent the summers here from 1881 to 1888. The house in which he lived has been a museum since 1960: the Nietzsche-Haus . The Waldhaus hotel was opened in 1908; among its guests were numerous artists, musicians, writers and philosophers. With the opening of
15444-408: The war, the women of Iran averaged about 8 children each, a ratio the hard-line Islamic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted to revive. As of 2010, the birth rate of Iran is 1.7 babies per woman. Some observers claim this to be a triumph of Western values of freedom for women against states with Islamic values . Islamic clerics are also having less influence over women in other Muslim countries. In
15576-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
15708-436: The world. On average, two people in the world die every second or about 121 per minute. The birth rate is an issue of concern and policy for national governments. Some (including those of Italy and Malaysia ) seek to increase the birth rate with financial incentives or provision of support services to new mothers. Conversely, other countries have policies to reduce the birth rate (for example, China's one-child policy which
15840-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
15972-504: Was 15.7, while the death rate was 1.3 per thousand residents. As of 2014, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) are 65.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.8%. In 2015 there were 299 single residents, 381 people who were married or in a civil partnership, 37 widows or widowers and 44 divorced residents. In 2014 there were 401 private households in Sils im Engadin/Segl with an average household size of 1.91 persons. Of
16104-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
16236-883: Was a sanctuary on the Roman trade route leading over the Maloja Pass and the Julier Pass . In the Middle Ages , Sils/Segl was a reloading point on this route. Remains of a medieval castle are located on the Chastè peninsula in Lake Sils. In the Late Middle Ages , fishing was a major source of income: Salted and smoked trout were exported to Italy. In the 19th century, numerous citizens of Sils/Segl emigrated; some of them returned wealthy and brought prosperity to
16368-685: Was also filmed there, in the countryside and at the Waldhaus Sils Hotel. German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and
16500-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
16632-506: Was controlled until 2011 by an austere military junta, intent on controlling every aspect of people's lives. The generals wanted the country's population doubled. In their view, women's job was to produce babies to power the country's labour force, so family planning was vehemently opposed. The women of Burma opposed this policy, and Peter McDonald of the Australian National University argues that this gave rise to
16764-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
16896-513: Was in 1856. The average global birth rate was 17 births per 1,000 total population in 2024. The death rate was 7.9 per 1,000. The RNI was thus 0.91 percent. In 2012, the average global birth rate was 19.611 per 1,000 according to the World Bank and 19.15 births per 1,000 total population according to the CIA, compared to 20.09 per 1,000 total population in 2007. The 2024 average of 17 births per 1,000 total population equates to approximately 4.3 births per second or about 260 births per minute for
17028-420: Was in effect from 1978 to 2015). Policies to increase the crude birth rate are known as pro-natalist policies, and policies to reduce the crude birth rate are known as anti-natalist policies. Non-coercive measures such as improved information on birth control and its availability have achieved good results in countries such as Iran and Bangladesh . There has also been discussion on whether bringing women into
17160-480: Was now aged 25 to 45 years old. With numerous women putting pregnancies off for a few years for the sake of a career, many felt the years closing in and their biological clocks ticking. On 1 March 2014, the baby bonus was replaced with Family Tax Benefit A. By then the baby bonus had left its legacy on Australia. In 2016, Australia's fertility rate has only decreased slightly to 1.91 children per woman. France has been successful in increasing fertility rates from
17292-448: Was only 56% and in 1941 it increased to 61.5%. In the 1960s German became the majority language. However, in 2000 there were 33% of the population who at least understood Romansh. In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the FDP with 28.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP (24.0%), the SVP (18.5%) and the SP (16.9%). In the federal election,
17424-432: Was that in communist Romania in 1967–1990, during the time of communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu , who adopted a very aggressive natalist policy which included outlawing abortion and contraception, routine pregnancy tests for women, taxes on childlessness , and legal discrimination against childless people. This policy has been depicted in movies and documentaries (such as 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days , and Children of
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