Why German?

When asking yourself, why you should consider learning German, think about the following reasons. You will see that the study of German is not only an enriching experience but also offers some real advantages in your professional future.

Did you know that over 100 million Europeans are native speakers of German? In fact, German ranks 9th in the number of native speakers among world languages. In a recent survey of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), German is the second-most-often taught foreign language in Europe. In Eastern Europe, 13 million students are currently studying German as a second language and even in Japan 68% of students take German!

According to the 1990 Census, 1.5 million residents of the U.S. speak German at home. Speakers of German occupy a prominent place on almost any list of the world's greatest artists and thinkers; every discipline in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences has a strong German tradition. Scientists from the three major German-speaking countries, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, have earned 34 Nobel Prizes in Physics, 38 in Chemistry, and 31 in Medicine alone. Three of Germany's most important writers, i.e., Thomas Mann, Heinrich Böll, and Günter Grass, have been the recipients of the Nobel Prize in literature.

Within the European Community Germany has the highest productivity and ranks second only to the United States, for example, in the number of patent approvals. Within the world community, Germany enjoys the reputation of being an economic powerhouse with some industries, such as automobile, engineering, chemical, and pharmaceutical firms leading the way for quality products in the global marketplace. Even in the field of computing, Germany is among the world's leaders.

Learning German is easier than you think! Consider words like "Hand", "Kindergarten", "Zeitgeist." Since German and English share a common historical background, many words and grammatical structures are very similar. This makes learning German easier but it also helps you understand English grammar much better. German is also closely related to many other Germanic languages such as Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Afrikaans, and Yiddish. Knowing German will give you a considerable advantage when you learn any other Germanic language.


Thus, knowledge of German grants access to a rich professional environment. In view of Germany's strong economic, political, artistic, literary and philosophical tradition in the world community, the career choices with a degree in German are significant. Knowledge of German always broadens both your intellectual and professional horizons, but also enhances your chances on the job market. Especially when pursuing a career in the sciences, German is very important since you have access to a world of research findings in all areas of modern science. According to the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD, one out of every 10 books in the world is published in German. With the knowledge of German you are not dependent on translations. Instead, you have direct access to the spirit of the original work and gain greater insight into the author's cultural background and intent.

Why Learn German?

Studying German can help a student lead a more successful life. Finance, career enhancement, travel, heritage, personal enjoyment, and human services include some of the areas enriched by the study of German.
Business and Career Enhancement
International business is crucial for the economic health of the US. The Federal Republic of Germany is American's largest trading partner in Europe and its third largest partner in the world.
More Europeans are native speakers of German than of English, French, Italian or Spanish. As a language of business, diplomacy, and tourism in Western Europe, it stands second only to English, and in the East it holds first place. Much of the language's current importance stems from the Federal Republic's economic status. It has the third-highest GNP in the world, is the second highest creditor nation, and every year occupies one of the top three spots among exporting countries. Its publishing industry, which ranks #3 in the world (behind Britain and China), produced 36% more new book titles in 1995 than did the United States.
While Germany is economically the most important member of the 15 member European Union (EU) and invests heavily in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, its economy is particularly connected with that of the United States. In 1994 and again in 1995, each country directly invested almost $40 billion in the other. The German investments in the United States in 1995 supported 2,507 separate enterprises with 494,000 employees. These nearly half a million consumers are part of the US economy where they spend the money they have earned. Beyond that, German exports to the United States in 1994 totaled $33.5 billion (while imports were $27.5 billion). The EU absorbed nearly one-quarter of American exports in 1993. A significant share of US exports to Germany are shipped via the Dutch port of Rotterdam and are thus counted as US export to Holland. Germany is the ultimate destination of these products. Given this environment, the advantages of bilingualism for employment are obvious.
Many companies, such as Boeing, participate in joint ventures with Germany.
In the 1994 survey conducted by the German American Chamber of Commerce, 64.9% of all respondents conducting business with Germany "specifically ask for German and English bilingual skills when conducting a search for new employees."
"German is the language of commerce in the EU and especially important as the bridge language into the former east block countries," says Manfred Reimann of Ballantrae International, LTD, in Seattle, Washington.
German and Japanese are the pilot languages for new Microsoft products that will eventually be brought on to the market. Germany and China house the most trade shows in the world and trade shows are an excellent way to sell products to distributors all over the world, not just in the host countries.
Education
Learning German helps students achieve higher SAT and ACT scores.
At the University of California, more majors require the study of German than other languages (German 56 majors, French 43 majors, Spanish 21 majors, Japanese 7 majors). Among many academic programs requiring or recommending German are: anatomy, art history, biochemistry, biology, biomedical physics, botany, chemistry, design, engineering, film studies, genetics, linguistics, logic and methodology of science, molecular biology, music, near eastern studies, philosophy, physical science, physics, physiology, religious studies, and zoology to name a few.
Nobel Prizes
The significance of German extends well beyond economic considerations. A review of Nobel Prizes shows that scientists from the three major German-speaking countries have won 21 in Physics, 30 in Chemistry, and 25 in Medicine, while many laureates from other countries received their training in German universities. Nine Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to German and Swiss writers, and seven Germans and Austrians have received the Peace Prize.
Travel
Travel is an industry for pleasure and finance. More than 25% of all foreign tourists visiting the US come from German-speaking countries and Germans have money to buy products while they travel. The German speaking countries are also among the most popular destinations for American travelers.
If you travel to Japan and you do not get along with English, try German: 68% of all Japanese students learn German.
In the countries where Americans most often do not know the language (e.g.. Turkey, Greece), a knowledge of German can be helpful. Guest workers returning home from Germany are a good resource, because you can communicate with them in their second language (German).
Travel all over Europe is easier with a knowledge of German. According to the German Foreign Office, German as a foreign language is becoming increasingly important in the countries of Middle and Eastern Europe. Eastern European Elementary school students chose German (49%) over English (44%). The number of German students in the Czech Republic rose 33% in the past four years now that Russian is not required. Many countries gear up for the German tourist, so wherever you may land in Europe, you are likely to get by with a knowledge of German.
Since 1945, more Americans have lived and worked in Germany than in any other country in the world. There are still American military personnel stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany. Many also have their families with them.
Heritage
As Americans we are often interested in our roots and the land of our ancestors. Twenty-five percent of all Americans claim German ancestry.
Health and Human Services
Almost half of all US pharmaceuticals come from Germany and Switzerland. Medical research continues to thrive in Germany and many companies in the U.S. have affiliates in German speaking countries.
Germany's educational system is a leading model for our current emphasis on school-top-trade partnerships and mentoring as well as the dual system. It is the source of our oldest educational traditions: kindergarten, education for the deaf, technical training, universities and graduate school.
Germany has made tremendous strides in pollution control, oceanography, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, and wildlife management. American and German research scientists often co-operate, as in JOIDES, the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth sampling. The creation of the international Nautical Almanac is another co-operative venture as is the SPACELAB.
German continues to be one of the main languages of scientific publications.
Sports
Even in the world of sport, German-speakers figure prominently. Germany accumulated the second-highest total number of medals in the 1996 Olympics while also winning the European Cup in soccer for the third time. In addition, the Federal Republic won the highest total number of medals in the 1998 Olympics. In the history of World Cup soccer, Germany has reached the finals more often than any other country, and only Brazil has won the title more often. Tennis is of course another sport at which Germans excel, and athletes from the German-speaking countries traditionally dominate alpine skiing to the extent that German is the sport's primary language.
Personal enjoyment
Personal enjoyment includes many areas and German continues to offer much for this topic. Students studying music are helped greatly by knowing the language of the great composers and by visiting their homes, walking in their towns, and woods, etc. Beethoven's 6th Symphony, for example, was written near Vienna. The performance of such a piece is more accurate, if the musician has heard the animals, the brook, or the storm. An artist who has eaten Viennese food and talked with Austrians has a better understanding of Beethoven and feels a stronger connection with his music.
German literature is rich and abundant. Many of the world's best authors are German and reading their works in the original language is a richer experience. In the Encyclopedia Americana there are 14 pages devoted to German literature, 13 to French, 8 to Spanish and 6 to Japanese.

The "Why Learn German?" Top Ten Reasons
• To succeed in school. Students who take German score higher on college acceptance tests (ACT / SAT) than other students. You need at least two years of a foreign language to study at a university in the state of Florida. Other colleges highly recommend it or require it as well.
• To learn your own language better. German and English are both Germanic languages. They both started out as basically the same language. They share many of the same words, word origins and grammar characteristics. That makes German a good choice for English speakers.
• To learn about your American heritage. One out of every four Americans nationwide has German heritage. German-Americans are the largest ethnic group in America today. They have made a lot of contributions to our country. Some of the more famous include Levi Strauss, Albert Einstein, Werner von Braun, and Henry Kissinger.
• To learn the language spoken by over 120 million people. German is spoken in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, as well as parts of other European countries. West of Russia, twice as many people speak German in Europe than any other language. And after English, German is the most popular foreign language to learn in Europe. It is the most popular foreign language of study in eastern European schools.
• To participate in an exchange program. Many schools are involved in either a travel abroad or exchange program. Such students who learn German can tour places in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
• To get a good job in the United States. Many American companies are owned by German companies. You may have heard about the Mercedes purchase of Chrysler or the acquisition of Random House Books by Bertelsmann. German companies now represent the largest source of foreign employment in the United States today. Most of the firms name German as the language they would most like their employees to know.
• To get a job in the global economy. Germany has the world's third largest economy (after the USA and Japan). Germany is the largest economic and political influence in Europe. Germany has the highest paid workers in the world and is also the leading export nation in the world in proportion to its population. And Switzerland, another German-speaking country, is one of the world's richest nations. The standard of living in German speaking countries is among the highest on Earth.
• To be a scientist. A majority of the world's scientists have come from or studied in German-speaking countries. Many new scientific discoveries happen in German-speaking countries and much scientific information is only available in German. The newest elements on the Periodic Table were just discovered by a German scientist. Universities encourage science majors to learn German.
• To be a great musician. Most of the western world's famous composers and musicians came from German-speaking countries. Vienna, the capital of Austria, has been the world center of music for hundreds of years. Think of Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Händel, Mozart......
• To work in the tourist industry. Germans are the most traveled people in the world. You will find German tourists everywhere. In the US, they are among the most numerous tourists in states like Florida, New York, and California. Many American tourists go to German speaking countries, which are some of the most beautiful countries in the world. Plus, German is widely spoken throughout Europe.
The importance of German may not seem as obvious to Americans because we are separated from the rest of the world by ocean. We tend to notice only what's in our own backyard. Worldwide, German is among the most popular foreign languages to learn. The world sees the importance of German. We really do live in a global society and must look at more than what is immediately around us. We need to see the entire picture.

Hi, I want to know what people learn as 2nd and 3rd foreign languages in Germany and Autria. Thanks!!!

Do really 1.5 mln. people speak German in USA? Who are these people?

Hello Chinese!

Are you a teacher of German? You seem very interested in pushing German on everyone!

<<Do really 1.5 mln. people speak German in USA? Who are these people?>>
From what I've seen its mostly Mennonites that speak German, but there are 2 types of german (High German and Low German) and I'm not sure which one they speak or which one the above posters were referring to. German is a good language to learn but to me its not worth the trouble, in my part of the world Spanish is a much more useful language. 1.5 Million Spanish speakers in the U.S. compared to some 60 Million+ Spanish speakers, about 40 Million of those being native Spanish speakers. However if German is used in your part of the world, I'd go for it.