German
German and Bavarian dialects have been autochthonous since present-day Slovenia came under the rule of Bavaria in the 8th century. Whereas many immigrants from German-speaking areas adopted Slovene over the centuries, others retained their language. Until the 20th century, the most numerous German-speaking communities were found in the urban centers of Lower Styria, in the Gottschee County in southern Slovenia and in the villages around Apače (Apaško polje) along the Mura river.
According to the last Austrian census of 1910, around 9% of the population of present-day Slovenia spoke German as their native tongue. Towns with a German-speaking majority included Maribor, Celje, Ptuj, Kočevje, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenska Bistrica, Ormož, Dravograd and some other smaller towns.
After World War I, the number of German-speakers dropped significantly: most of the towns were Slovenisized, and German remained the majority language only in the Gottschee County and around Apače. According to the last pre-WWII Yugoslav census, German speakers amounted to 2.5% of the overall population.
After World War II, ethnic Germans were expelled and only few of them remained. In the census of 2002, just 1628 persons (0,1% of the population) declared German as their mother tongue.
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Slovenia
Famous quotes containing the word german:
“I am particularly interested in the indications that the people seem to understand and approve the necessity of pursuing the course that will prevent a further effort on the part of the German peoples to continue the struggle for world domination, even though they are thoroughly beaten in this war.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Reduced to a miserable mass level, the level of a Hitler, German Romanticism broke out into hysterical barbarism.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
“Many of our German friends before the war would come as our guest to hunt wild pig. I refused to invite Goering. I could not tolerate his killing a wild pig— seemed too much like brother against brother.”
—Joseph L. Mankiewicz, U.S. director, screenwriter. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Countess (Danielle Darrieux)