One of the greatest achievements one could ever have in a lifetime is becoming fluent in a second Language and there are few better languages to learn than German.
- German is not Difficult to Learn
There are often jokes made about how hard it is to learn German, but for English speakers at least, it is not difficult at all. The reason for this is that both English and German have the Germanic root in common. Because of this relationship literally thousands of words share some common characteristics. For example the word ‘chin’ in English is Kinn in German. ‘water’ is Wasser in German, while father is Vater.
If you were to compare German to Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Chinese or Russian, there are many differences to consider when learning these languages. With German, there is no need to learn a new alphabet. There are just the umlauts to add, like ä, ü, ö and there’s the ß, which is an emphasised ‘s’ sound. These are not too difficult to learn.
- German is known as the Language of Innovators and Inventors
It is no exaggeration to say that Germans have won more than 100 Nobel Prizes. These have been awarded for achievements in medicine, chemistry, physics and literature just to name a few in Germany alone. Many other German speakers in other countries have been awarded these prizes as well.
- German has Important Academic Connections
When it comes to academia, Germany is in the forefront and the German language takes second place as the most common language used by the scientific community. To add to that achievement is the fact that it has the third largest book publishing industry in the world.
- Germany Offers a World-Class Higher Education
As more and more overseas students seek new avenues to gain qualifications, Germany is now the 4th most sought after destination for higher education, with more than 250,000 enrolled in courses. Tuition fees are low and have never reached the level of other countries like Britain and Australia. It is a great place to study that avoids a student accumulating debt.
- Germany Boasts a Booming Economy
If you are not into academia, but prefer the idea of running your own business, then learning German opens new doors as the economic sector is one of the strongest in the world. It is the largest economy in the European Union and the 4th largest in the world. It is the home base for many famous international business names, like Volkswagen, Lufthansa and Adidas. That means that learning the language of your German company partners can improve greatly your opportunity to gain from a favourable business relationship.
- Consumer Electronics are high on Germany’s Agenda
Germany is known to have firm ties with the consumer electronics’ industry, as it is host to consumer electronics’ largest international trade symposiums such as CeBIT and IFA. Berlin has now become known as the hub for game changing start-ups and has even been dubbed Europe’s Silicon Valley. There is no better time than now to learn German and be a part of some of the most significant innovations in the world.
- One of Europe’s most Widely Spoken languages is German
There are more native speakers of German than any other language on the European continent. It also acts as a key 2nd language in both eastern and central Europe. Throughout the world it takes 10th place as a world language. If you speak German you will find 100 million other people who share a love of the German language.
- German and the Internet
Germany has a large online presence and there are 15 million German websites that are shared worldwide. So if you want to communicate in German, you can do it online.
- Germans can be found Everywhere
Germany’s citizens have six weeks vacation every year and with large salary packets they explore every corner of the Earth. So if you can speak German you may at anytime and anywhere bump into someone who is an inveterate German traveller. It is only recently that China has taken number one place for the most overseas travellers.
- German and Literary Works
There are some key German works, like Goethe’s “Faust,” which is all written in rhyming form. It is one of those sorts of literary works which is best understood in its language of origin.
Of all these ten facts about Germany and its language, there isn’t one that doesn’t support learning the language. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain if you choose to become bilingual by learning German. It opens you to new ideas, a different culture and if you become fluent enough it may increase your chances for better employment prospects.
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This post first appeared on 5 Fun Ways Of Improving Your German Pronunciation, please read the originial post: here
