Editing Standard German (section)

== Pluricentricity ==
[[File:Standard varieties of German.png|thumb|The national and regional standard varieties of the German language<ref>Ulrich Ammon, Hans Bickel, Jakob Ebner, et al.: Variantenwörterbuch des Deutschen. Die Standardsprache in Österreich, der Schweiz und Deutschland sowie in Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Ostbelgien und Südtirol. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2004.</ref>]]

Since the 1980s, German has widely been considered a [[pluricentric language]] with the national standard varieties of [[German Standard German]], [[Austrian Standard German]] and [[Swiss Standard German]].<ref>Kellermeier-Rehbein, Birte. 2014. ''Plurizentrizität: Einführung in die Standardvariation des Deutschen.'' Berlin: ESV.</ref> These varieties of standard German differ above all in [[vocabulary]], [[pragmatics]] and [[pronunciation]], but in some instances also in [[grammar]] and, in only a handful of cases, in [[orthography]]. In formal writing, the differences are small; in regards to the spoken language, the different varieties of Standard German are easily recognized by most speakers,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dollinger |first=Stefan |url=https://www.nid-library.com/Home/ViewBook/512/60/view |title=Österreichisches Deutsch oder Deutsch in Österreich? Identitäten im 21. Jahrhundert |publisher=New Academic Press |year=2021 |edition=3rd |location=Vienna |pages=58, 51 on dialect use in AT and DE |language=DE}}</ref> as the audio and video samples illustrate.

[[File:Kroepfl_2_radiointerview_2010.ogg|thumb|An Austrian Standard German speaker (Heinz Kröpfl for Radio Grün-Weiß, 2010)]]

[[File:Helvetic.ogg|thumb|A Swiss Standard German speaker (2008)]]

[[File:WIKITONGUES- Gereon speaking German.webm|thumb|A Standard German speaker from Germany]]

These three national standards (German, Austrian and Swiss) have each been adopted by other German-speaking countries and communities as their standard form of German.<ref>Dollinger, Stefan. 2019. ''The Pluricentricity Debate: on Austrian German and Other Germanic Standard Varieties.'' Abingdon: Routledge, p. 26</ref> The German standard is applied in [[Luxembourg]], [[Belgium]], and [[Namibia]] while the Swiss standard has been adopted in [[Liechtenstein]].<ref>Karina Schneider-Wiejowski, Birte Kellermeier-Rehbein, Jakob Haselhuber: ''Vielfalt, Variation und Stellung der deutschen Sprache''. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2013, p.46.</ref>

The variation of the Standard German varieties must not be confused with the variation of the local [[German dialects]]. Even though the Standard German varieties are to a certain degree influenced by the local dialects, they are very distinct.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/37714477/The_Pluricentricity_Debate_On_Austrian_German_and_other_Germanic_Standard_Varieties_2019_chs_1_and_9_, p.6-8</ref> All varieties of Standard German are based on the common tradition of the written German language, whereas the local [[German dialects|dialects]] have their own historical roots that go further back than the unification of the written language, and in the case of Low German, belong to a different language entirely.