“What English accomplished by accident, German shall have by regulation: a gender-equitable world language, and an alternative path to fluency for the millions learning it.”
It systematically eliminates several complex grammatical features:
- Gender System: Uses a single article form for most contexts
- Case Markings: Removes most case-based inflections
- Noun Declensions: Simplifies noun endings across cases
- Job Titles: Eliminates gender-specific forms in occupational titles
While Alman reduces grammatical complexity, it preserves:
- Core vocabulary
- Basic word order
- Verb conjugations
- Essential syntactic structures
This project seems quixotic, especially given the prevalence of English as an L2 language for so many Germanic language speakers, including Standard High German, and so many Europeans. I can understand the urge for Europeans to displace English as a lingua franca, though.
That’s really neat. It would be interesting to hear how it’s perceived, what it sounds like, etc
To me (a German) it sounds like “broken” or entry-level German, like how a foreigner with only basic German skills might talk, while making some “mistakes” (compared to standard German). Not toddlers, but immigrant vibes. When talking to certain immigrants or tourists, you would kind of expect some of these “mistakes” because they are simplifications after all. It is indeed highly intelligible, but it might subject you to racist reactions or make you appear as unprofessional (compared to talking standard German).
Cool, thank you for that. Is the existence of this language a well-known thing?