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81-646: The mountains are bordered by Zvolen in the west, Košice in the east, the rivers Hron and Hornád in the north, and the Juhoslovenská kotlina and Košice Basin ( Košická kotlina ) in the south. The region includes the Domica Cave (jaskyňa Domica), one of the largest caves in Europe, Zádiel canyon and Krásna Hôrka Castle . Geomorphologically, the Slovak Ore Mountains are grouped within

162-465: 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

243-402: 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

324-612: 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

405-559: 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

486-676: A memorial to the Slovak National Uprising which is situated in the park between the Castle and the main Zvolen osobná railway station . It was manufactured in 1944 in the railway workshops of Zvolen. The Historic Technology Club at Zvolen's Locomotive Depot is a non-profit organization founded in 1998. It's dedicated to preserving railway history and showcasing historic vehicles through events like nostalgic rides and exhibitions. The club has restored various locomotives and expanded

567-458: 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

648-696: 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

729-420: A regional center of what is now central Slovakia. Zvolen remained the capital of Zólyom County until the 1760s. In the 11th and 12th centuries, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe, Pustý hrad , was constructed. The town, originally built under the castle, lay on an important trade route ( Via Magna ) from Buda to Kraków . Zvolen was granted town privileges by King Béla IV in the 1230s - as one of

810-483: 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

891-717: 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 the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and

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972-642: Is a city in central Slovakia , situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West and by Javorie and Štiavnické vrchy from the South. The population numbers approximately 40,000, which makes it the twelfth-largest city in Slovakia by population, thirteenth by size. It

1053-559: Is a dual-aisle building inspired by ancient temples, featuring a colonnade and a large basilica-style glazing. Zvolen is a member of the Douzelage , a town twinning association of towns across the European Union . This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals. As of 2019, its members are: German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] )

1134-601: 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

1215-559: 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

1296-558: 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

1377-478: 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

1458-430: 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

1539-423: Is constructed in the center and festive celebrations run throughout December. Zvolen currently has a population of 39 453. For comparison, in 2005, Zvoled had a population of 43,147. According to the 2001 census , 95.9% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 1.2% Czechs . The religious make-up was 52.5% Roman Catholics , 26.4% people with no religious affiliation, and 15% Lutherans . Zvolen's paramount landmark,

1620-535: 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

1701-611: 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

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1782-565: 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

1863-435: 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

1944-597: 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

2025-401: 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

2106-525: 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

2187-612: Is the Zvolen Ice Stadium which has a capacity of 5,345 spectators. The Slovak Women's Ice Hockey Extraliga is played by the local club ŽHKm Zvolen, which is a female alternative of the HKM Zvolen. The football club MFK Zvolen is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Zvolen. The club was established in 1902. The club plays home matches at MFK Zvolen Stadium in Zvolen which has a capacity of 1 870 spectators. As of

2268-536: Is the center of the Podpoľanie historical region and the seat of a county ( Zvolen District ). It is also an important transportation hub in Slovakia, being one of the four central train stations in Slovakia (others are Bratislava , Košice and Žilina ). The name is of Slovak (Slavic) origin meaning "the chosen one, splendid, excellent". The Hungarian Zólyom and the German Sohl were derived from

2349-578: 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

2430-485: 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

2511-689: 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

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2592-639: 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

2673-600: The Austrian Empire ) 1804 – 1867 [REDACTED] Austro-Hungarian Empire 1867 – 1918 [REDACTED]   Czechoslovakia 1918–1938 [REDACTED] Slovak Republic 1938 – 1945 [REDACTED]   Czechoslovakia 1945–1992 [REDACTED]   Slovakia 1993–present Zvolen has been inhabited since the Paleolithic . In the ninth century, a Slavic settlement (today the Môťová neighborhood) became

2754-537: 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

2835-417: 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

2916-522: 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

2997-746: 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

3078-522: The Inner Western Carpathians . The mountains do not have a central ridge - they consist of several independent sections, geomorphological regions: Basic data: Since this is a very extensive geomorphological unit, no general characterization is appropriate. The geomorphological structure is varied and has crystalline , Mesozoic and volcanic rocks. The mountains were, as the name suggests, heavily mined but activity died out during

3159-666: 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

3240-676: 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

3321-550: 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

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3402-513: 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

3483-704: The Zvolenský zámok Castle, stands as a significant symbol of the city's historical and cultural heritage. Within its venerable walls, the Slovak National Gallery curates a distinguished collection spanning Gothic to modern art, offering visitors an immersive experience in artistic evolution. Notably, since its establishment in 1974, the castle's courtyard has been the esteemed venue for the Zámocké hry zvolenské, an annual outdoor professional theatre festival of great renown. This cultural tradition underscores

3564-469: 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

3645-621: The 19th century. There is evidence of copper mining since at least the Early Bronze Age . which grew in importance during the early modern period . Deposits included ores of copper, lead, silver, gold, zinc and some iron. From 1494 one of the first multinational corporations was set up by the Thurzó and Fugger families to take advantage of the region's valuable economic resources. The towns of Banská Bystrica , Špania Dolina and Ľubietová were important centers of mining: in 1692,

3726-927: The 2022/2023 season it competes in the Slovak Third League (West), the third-tier of Slovak football. The higher degree college was founded in 1952 and initially named the College of Forestry and Wood Technology. In 1991, it attained university status and underwent a name change to become the Technical University in Zvolen. It is a member of the European Forest Institute. In the field of education, it fulfills its mission in study programs such as forestry, wood processing, ecology, and environmental studies, production engineering, as well as in related artistic, economic, natural science, and technical fields, with an emphasis on

3807-723: 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

3888-748: 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

3969-536: 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

4050-451: 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

4131-623: 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

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4212-547: 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

4293-644: 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

4374-440: The Kuruc army in the battle of Zvolen defeated the enemy forces from Austria, Denmark, Vojvodina and Hungary. In 1848–49, Ľudovít Štúr was a member of the Diet, with Zvolen as his constituency. In 1871–1872, two new railways were built and Zvolen became an important railroad hub and important industrial center. Zvolen played an important role during the Slovak National Uprising . Two of its armored trains , which were made in

4455-697: The Latinized form Zolium (earliest mention 1135). An adjective "Old" ( German : Altsohl , Slovak : Starý Zvolen , Latin : Antiquum or Vetus Solium ) distinguish Zvolen from Banská Bystrica ( German : Neusohl meaning New Zvolen ). [REDACTED] Kingdom of Hungary 1000 – 1526 [REDACTED] John Zápolya 's Eastern Hungarian Kingdom 1526 – 1551 ( Ottoman vassal) [REDACTED] Kuruc rebellion 1672 – 1682 ( Ottoman -backed) [REDACTED] Imre Thököly 's Principality of Upper Hungary ( Ottoman vassal) 1682 – 1686 [REDACTED] Francis II Rákóczi 's insurrection 1703 – 1711 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Hungary (crownland of

4536-408: 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

4617-408: The castle's pivotal role as a nexus of artistic expression and community engagement in the region. The oldest castle in Zvolen is Pustý hrad Castle. Covering an area of over four hectares, it ranks among the most extensive castle ruins not only in Slovakia but also in Central Europe. Due to the largely concealed state of the preserved ruins from the city of Zvolen, a portion of the hill of Horný hrad

4698-430: 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

4779-404: 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

4860-435: 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

4941-450: The first modern blast furnace in the Kingdom of Hungary was built in Ľubietová. Slovenské rudohorie contains the Muránska planina National Park , Slovak Karst National Park and Slovak Paradise National Park . This Slovak geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Zvolen Zvolen ( Slovak pronunciation: [ˈzʋɔlen] ; Hungarian : Zólyom ; German : Altsohl )

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5022-408: The first towns in the Kingdom of Hungary . The privileges were confirmed on 28 December 1243, after the original document was destroyed in war. Later, King Louis I the Great built a new castle , which became a popular hunting resort of the Hungarian kings. The future queen regnant Mary of Hungary and emperor Sigismund celebrated their wedding there in 1385. In the Rákóczi's War of Independence

5103-435: 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,

5184-417: 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

5265-472: The international Sliač Airport. This strategic positioning enhances its accessibility and connectivity, making it a pivotal hub for transportation and commerce within the region. The Zvolen Railway Junction is one of the four main establishment stations (Bratislava, Košice, Žilina, Zvolen) in the network of Slovak Railways (ŽSR). It comprises multiple stations and stops ( Zvolen osobná railway station , Zvolen City Station, Zvolen Freight Station). The main station

5346-492: The local railway manufactory, Hurban and Štefánik can be seen near the Zvolen castle. Zvolen is an important railroad, an important road hub and has a large timber factory and a technical university, the Technická univerzita vo Zvolene . An airport in nearby Sliač used to offer direct flights to Prague , but has been used exclusively by the military since 2021. The town square was modernized in 2002 and local businesses are popular with tourists. In wintertime an ice rink

5427-402: 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

5508-405: The museum vehicle park. It also co-organizes the annual Grand Prix steam locomotive races in Zvolen. The ice hockey club HKM Zvolen is the third most successful hockey club in Slovakia. It plays in Slovakia's highest league, the Slovak Extraliga , and has won three titles in 2001, 2012 and 2021. Another noteworthy achievement is winning the IIHF Continental Cup in 2005. Since 1965, their home

5589-411: The name Stredoslovenské divadlo. It was reportedly chosen as one of the region's established institutions due to its contributions during the Slovak National Uprising and to bolster the cultural and industrial fabric of the city. Since 1954, the institution has been known as the Jozef Gregor Theatre. The dominating feature of the eastern part of the town centre is the model of the Hurban armoured train as

5670-423: 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

5751-462: 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

5832-430: The representation of second and third-degree study programs, accreditation, and the implementation of programs in foreign languages. The university has the following faculties: The largest town in central Pohronie, Zvolen, boasts a highly advantageous transportation location. Situated at the intersection of key national roadways (R1, R2) and significant railway routes of nationwide importance, it also enjoys proximity to

5913-546: 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,

5994-500: 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

6075-555: 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

6156-600: 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

6237-429: 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

6318-547: 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

6399-459: Was cleared of trees. Currently, it is possible not only to observe the castle walls' remnants from Zvolen but also to enjoy the panoramic view of the Zvolenská kotlina basin and the surrounding mountain ranges from Pustý hrad. The dominant feature of the main town square in the city center is the isolated building of Roman-Catholic parish Church of St. Elizabeth from the 14th century. The building

6480-492: 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

6561-618: Was later modified in the late Gothic style around the year 1500, and subsequently in the 16th century and the 18th century in the Baroque style. Another important church is the Lutheran St. Trinity Church. A single-nave originally late Baroque building with a polygonally terminated chancel and a protruding tower from the year 1784. In the years 1856-1857, a tower was built according to the project of František Mikša. The Professional Theatre in central Zvolen commenced operations in 1949 under

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