Germans

The **Germans** () are a Germanic ethnic group native tae Central Europe. The Inglis/Scots term *Germans* haes referred tae the German-speakin population o the Holy Roman Empire syne the Late Middle Ages. Legally, Germans are ceetizens o the Federal Republic o Germany.

O approximately 100 million native speakers o German in the warld, aboot 66–75&nbsp;million consider thairsels Germans. Thare are an additional 80&nbsp;million fowk o German ancestry mainly in the Unitit States, Brazil, Canadae, Argentinae, Fraunce, Roushie, Chile, Poland, Australie an Romanie (who maist likely are no native speakers o German). Sicweys, the tot nummer o Germans warldwide lees atween 66 an 160 million, dependin on the criteria appleed (native speakers, single-ancestry ethnic Germans, pairtial German ancestry, etc.).

The day, fowks frae kintras wi a German-speakin majority or significant German-speakin population groups ither than Germany, sic as Austrick, Swisserland, Liechtenstein an Luxembourg, hae developit thair awn naitional identity an uisually dae no refer tae thairsels as "Germans" in a modren context.

## Leid

The native leid o Germans is German, a Wast Germanic leid, relatit tae an classifeed alangside Inglis an Dutch, an sharin mony similarities wi the North Germanic or Scandinavie leids. Spoken bi approximately 100 million native speakers, German is ane o the warld's major leids an the maist widely spoken first leid in the European Union.

### Dialects

*Heich German
**Upper German
***Bavaries (ca. 10 million) form the Austro-Bavarie linguistic group, thegither wi those Austrians who speak German an dae no live in Vorarlberg an the wastren Tyrol destrict o Reutte. Swabians (ca. 10 million) form the Alemannic group, thegither wi the Alemannic Swiss, Liechtensteiners, Alsatians an Vorarlbergians.
**Central German dialect group (ca. 45 million)
***Wast Central German
****Central Franconie (Ripuarian, Kölsch), forms a dialectal unity wi Luxembourgis, Rhine Franconie(Hessian)
***East Central German
****Staundart German, Thuringie, Upper Saxon, Heich Proushie, German Silesian
**Yiddish, a Heich German leid o Ashkenazi Jewish oreegin, spoken throughoot the warld. It developit as a fusion o German dialects wi Ebreu, Slavic leids an traces o Romance leids. 
*Law German (ca. 3–10&nbsp;million), forms a dialectal unity wi Dutch Law Saxon
**Law Saxon, East Law German

### Native speakers
Global distribution o native speakers o the German leid:

## Geographic distribution

Ethnic Germans form an important minority group in several kintras in central an eastren Europe—(Poland, Hungary, Romanie, Roushie) as well as in Namibie (German Namibie), Brazil (German Brazilian) (approx. 3% o the population), Argentinae (German Argentine) (1,5% ~ 7,5% o the population) an Chile (German-Chilean) (approx. 1% o the population).

Some groups mey be classifeed as Ethnic Germans despite nae langer haein German as thair mither tongue or belangin tae a destinct German cultur. Till the 1990s, twa million Ethnic Germans livit throughoot the umwhile Soviet Union, pairticularly in Roushie an Kazakhstan.

In the Unitit States 1990 census, 57 million fowk wur fully or pairtly o German ancestry, formin the lairgest single ethnic group in the kintra. States wi the heichest percentage o Americans o German strynd are in the northren Midwast (especially Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Sooth Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan) an the Mid-Atlantic state, Pennsylvania. But Germanic immigrant enclaves existit in mony ither states (e.g., the German Texans an the Denver, Colorado aurie) an tae a lesser extent, the Paceefic Northwast (i.e. Idaho, Montana, Oregon an Washington state).

Notable Ethnic German minorities exist in ither Anglosphere kintras sic as Canadae (approx. 10% o the population) an Australie (approx. 4% o the population) an aw. As in the Unitit States, maist fowk o German strynd in Canadae an Australie hae amaist completely assimilatit, culturally an linguistically, intae the Inglis-speakin mainstream.

Distribution o German ceetizens an fowk claimin German ancestry:

## References

## Freemit airtins