Is German really worth learning?

Selcuk   Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:35 am GMT
I live in Turkey, and I am starting to get interested in German as two million Turkish immigrants live in Germany, and nearly half of them come in Turkey in summer and demonstrate Turkey in Germany very well. So others, Germans come in Turkey in a great number, but I just can't think a language can be necessary while English is still existing, what do you think, help meeee....
Guest   Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:43 am GMT
Ich denke, dass Sie Deutsch lernen sollten. Es ist eine sehr schöne Sprache. Es ist die wichtigste Sprache auf dem Kontinentalteil Europas.
Guest 224   Tue Jun 26, 2007 7:33 am GMT
Guest,

Selcuk is asking whether or not s/he should learn German, implying that s/he doesn't already know German. Why are you responding in German, knowing that s/he doesn't understand?

Selcuk,

I will translate what Guest wrote:

I think that you should learn German. It is a very pretty language. It is the most important language of Continental Europe.




I think that English is the most important language of Europe...and of the world. But it seems that you already have a very firm grasp on the language, so it wouldn't hurt at all to learn a new language. I like German a lot, but I suggest that you learn French because it is more global.
Guest   Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:49 pm GMT
I recommend you to learn German because of the reasons you already mentioned! There are plenty of Turks in the German speaking countries. In Europe, German is more important than French - esp. in Eastern and Northern Europe.
Adolfo   Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:23 pm GMT
German is very important in Europe, it is the second most important language of Europe in direct competition with English. In my opinion east Europe countries will become bilingual (their native language and German), so it is very interesting to learn Germa.
Adolf   Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:45 pm GMT
There will be 4 main languages around the world:

English in North America, excluding Mexico

Spanish in South America, Mexico and some states of US.

French in Africa

German in Europe

Chinese in Asia.

People from Europe really need to speak German more than English, because it is the lingua franca of this continent. German is also the language with more native speakers.
Guest   Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:04 am GMT
In the future only two languages shall be made legal in Europe: German and French.

The bilingual upper class of Switzerland, Alsace, Luxemburg and Eastern Belgium is ready to seize power.

:)
Alba   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:01 am GMT
<<German is very important in Europe, it is the second most important language of Europe in direct competition with English. In my opinion east Europe countries will become bilingual (their native language and German), so it is very interesting to learn Germa. >>

most Eastern Europeans are bilingual dork, trilingual even LOL.
Alba   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:03 am GMT
<<In the future only two languages shall be made legal in Europe: German and French.

The bilingual upper class of Switzerland, Alsace, Luxemburg and Eastern Belgium is ready to seize power.

:) >>

and who the hell are you to say what languages should become legal in Europe??? The original topic asked about learning German not this nationalist crap. but I think its a given that Turkish people learn German, like if youre Albanian you have to at least know SOME Italian LOL
Adolfo   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:17 am GMT
"most Eastern Europeans are bilingual dork, trilingual even LOL. "

Why don't you inform yourself before opening your dirty mouth?

Accordingo to Eurobarometer of 2005 , only 45% of Bulgarians speak another language. This percentage is 49 % for Poland and 25% for Hungary. These are large eastern european countries, so you can't say most of the people are bilingual.
Adolf   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:40 am GMT
I don't know about US, but I would say 1-2%.
K. T.   Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:11 am GMT
I think German is a useful language, but it's always good to know WHY one wants to learn the target language. If it is for tourism, sure-why not learn German? Germans travel all over the world.

English is probably more useful, but German has its advantages. Learn any language and you'll get more of an "in" with its speakers. Knowing some German (it's my weakest language, but...) got me an upgrade for free on a train, got me a travel tip from a German travel agent on the cheapest flights to Europe-you get the picture. People relate better to YOU, if you speak their language.
Babel   Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:49 am GMT
In Central-Eastern Europe are studied a lot of international languages: English, German and Russian are more spoken. French, Spanish and Italian are less spoken, but also studied.

I think that the winner will be English. The problem of German (and French) is that English is the most practical foreign language in all Europe. For instance, German is very studied in Central Europe but not too much in other countries.

It is difficult to know if Russian or German will be the second most important language in Eastern Europe. It depends on the power of Germany and Russia in the near future. My bet is Russia because is an energy superpower.
sino   Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:10 am GMT
Asian learn German always for science and technology.
The science and technology of German is admiring in Asia.
Therefore, if you are working in science or technology field, learning German will be a great help.

In addition, if you are interested in philosophy, you will be required to read classic books which were written in German.

In brief, German is a language for researchers in science and technology, and it will be less useful for average people whose proffesion is less related to science.
die Wahrheit   Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:33 pm GMT
Selcuk,

Is German worth learning and knowing? Yes, I think it is. One thing that can be said about all languages is that they are a major factor that reminds us that we are all unique and special in our own ways.

English is no more special as a language than German, Chinese, or some tribal language spoken in a remote area of the planet. It is easy to say, or even think, that the English language is taking over, or that it is more important than another language because we feel the influences of English and its numbers in some key areas of society such as economics and pop culture. But you have to remember that English, unlike some of the other major languages of the world, has been very lucky and has been able to establish itself where some of the other languages are only now starting to catch up and offer their own language services where only English could before.

Using music as an example...English took over the world music market because English speaking artists from around the world were able to dominate because of a lack of competition. It is not uncommon to see the majority of a country’s modern music being in English, English with subtitles, or some small cases…dubbing from English into another language. But something is starting to happen that is very interesting in my mind...thanks to technology allowing other countries to produce their own music more and more...we are seeing an increase in other languages producing fantastic musical talent in their native languages.