{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.german","code":"thing-q188","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q188/","name":"German","alternateNames":["German language in the United States","German language in Australia","German language in Cameroon","German language in Togo","German language in Namibia","German language in Switzerland","German language in Germany","German language in the Netherlands","German language in Brazil","German language in Denmark","German language in Chile","German language in Austria"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A West Germanic language spoken natively by roughly 95-100 million people, official in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Belgium, with Standard German varieties and many regional dialects; its speakers call it Deutsch.","purpose":"Let an agent handle German by varieties, standards, identifiers, learning and translation, respecting national standard varieties and dialects.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["West Germanic language","Pluricentric standards","Grammatical cases and genders","Wide dialect variation"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"varieties","name":"Varieties","description":"Regional forms.","layers":[{"id":"variety","name":"Variety","description":"Which variety.","findings":[{"id":"variety-finding","name":"Variety","description":"National variety.","questions":[{"text":"Which national or regional variety is meant or appropriate?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How does vocabulary differ, for example in Austria or Switzerland?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"dialect","name":"Dialect","description":"Dialects.","findings":[{"id":"dialect-finding","name":"Dialect","description":"Dialects.","questions":[{"text":"Which dialect is spoken here?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is it mutually intelligible with Standard German?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"norms","name":"Norms","description":"Standards.","layers":[{"id":"spelling","name":"Spelling","description":"Orthography.","findings":[{"id":"spelling-finding","name":"Spelling","description":"Spelling.","questions":[{"text":"What does current official spelling say about this word?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is eszett used in Switzerland?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"address","name":"Address","description":"Du and Sie.","findings":[{"id":"address-finding","name":"Address","description":"Forms of address.","questions":[{"text":"Should formal Sie or informal du be used in this context?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How are gender-inclusive forms handled, according to style guides?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"learning","name":"Learning","description":"Studying German.","layers":[{"id":"resources","name":"Resources","description":"Courses.","findings":[{"id":"resources-finding","name":"Resources","description":"Learning resources.","questions":[{"text":"Which resources suit this learner level?","kind":"action"},{"text":"How are cases best practised?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"exams","name":"Exams","description":"Certificates.","findings":[{"id":"exams-finding","name":"Exams","description":"Exams.","questions":[{"text":"Which certificates, such as Goethe-Zertifikat or TestDaF, fit this goal?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Where can they be taken?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Translation and data.","layers":[{"id":"translation","name":"Translation","description":"Localisation.","findings":[{"id":"translation-finding","name":"Translation","description":"Translation.","questions":[{"text":"Should the translation target Germany, Austria or Switzerland?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which terms differ?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"speakers","name":"Speakers","description":"Statistics.","findings":[{"id":"speakers-finding","name":"Speakers","description":"Speaker numbers.","questions":[{"text":"How many speakers are there, according to recent sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Native or total?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Translate, teach and analyze German, stating the variety and the spelling rules used.","Use formal or informal address as the context requires."],"mustNot":["Treat German Standard German as the only correct norm.","Mix formal and informal address in one text addressed to a person.","Present machine translations of legal or medical texts as certified.","Use outdated spelling rules without saying so."],"requiresHuman":["Certified or official translation into or out of German."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["German varieties carry regional and national identities that deserve respect.","Language access affects people's rights in courts, hospitals and schools."],"affectedParties":["Speakers and learners of German","Readers of translations"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; it belongs to its speakers, with official spelling councils advising on usage.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q106937689","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q26721","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q52040","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"West Germanic language","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"Council for German Orthography","type":"related","note":"body"},{"target":"Dutch","type":"related","note":"related language"},{"target":"Latin script","type":"related","note":"script"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.german","Wikidata: Q188 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188)","ISO 639-1: de language code","ISO 639-3: deu language code"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Umlauts and eszett","Capitalised nouns","Dutch and Yiddish are related separate languages","Latin script with umlauts and the letter eszett, and capitalised nouns."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["identify national and regional varieties","check spelling rules and dictionaries","find learning resources and exams","translate with regional sensitivity"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Treating German Standard German as the only norm","Mixing formal and informal address","Outdated spelling rules"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Council for German Orthography rules","Goethe-Institut and TestDaF exams","National language provisions"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Communication, culture, science, education and business.","German Standard German","Austrian Standard German","Swiss Standard German","Low German and other regional varieties","German in diaspora communities"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q188: German","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: German language","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should varieties be separate entries?","How should speaker statistics be sourced?","How should German in specific countries be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q188/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q188/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T12:04:03Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:55+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}