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German
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The neutral word order in German is Subject-Verb-Object. However, other orders are ... possible because inflectional endings mark grammatical roles in the sentence making them clear. Word order is principally determined by topic (what the sentence is about, or old information) and comment (new information). Constituents with old information (topic) precede constituents with new information (comment). Additionally, no matter which element begins a German statement, the verb is always the second element.
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Besides differences in word order, the German language is unlike English in that German makes extensive use of inflectional endings. The verb is inflected to show person, number, tense, and mood; and the subjunctive is frequently used. The declensional scheme has four cases: nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. There are two ways of declining the adjective, and there are three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. A distinctive feature of German is its extensive use of lengthy compound words. For example, the English “history of antiquity†is translated into German as Altertumswissenschaft; the English “worthy of distinction†is translated as auszeichnungswürdig.
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In common with many other European languages, German has two "you" verb forms which denote the relationship the speaker has to someone else. To express familiarity, one uses the du form; for formality, the Sie form. As a general rule the Sie form is used when one might address someone as "Madam" or "Sir". If on first name terms, one uses the du form. Grammatically, the Sie form takes the 3rd person plural ending.
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The judiciary branch (the part of German politics that deals with courts) has a Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court). This can stop all acts by the law-makers or other leaders if it feels they go against Germany's constitution.
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Upper German dialects include Alemannic (for instance Swiss German), Swabian, East Franconian, Alsatian and Austro-Bavarian. They are spoken in parts of the Alsace, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
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The German spoken in Switzerland is referred to as Schwyyzerdüütsch. There are various varieties of Swiss German depending on the region and it is even widely used in the media. This is rare in the German speaking world, as "Hochdeutsch" is more or less the sole language of media in Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein.
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