Umgangssprache

Noun

 * 1)  colloquial language, colloquialism
 * 2)  vernacular, non-standard language

Usage notes

 * Though there are also relevant differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, German is characterised especially by grammatical and syntactical features, such as:
 * the limited use of the preterite or even (in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland) its virtual absence;
 * the absence of the subjunctive of the present (Konjunktiv I) and the rarity of the genitive case;
 * the splitting of pronominal adverbs (especially in northern and central Germany) and the frequent elision of sentence-initial pronouns (both subject and object);
 * the use of the definite article with personal names (except in the very north).