''The German Language Today'' sets out to show the linguistic variety that exists within the German speech community as well as describing the main systematic linguistic features of the language. In it, Charles Russ covers most of the factors which produce competing forms in German, and describes the sounds, inflectional processes, syntactic structures and different layers of words in language. He seeks to give recognition to the fact that languages are changing. ''The German Language Today'' is detailed in its coverage of both sociolinguistic and linguistic topics, use of illustrative texts and examples, and the application of modern linguistic concepts to German coverage.