The Advantages Of Learning To Speak German

Learning the German language is an excellent way to expand your personal and professional horizons. Popular reasons for people to start learning German are to make the most of holidays in Germany, be able to chat with German relatives and prepare for study exchange programs in Germany. While these are all good reasons to learn German, you might be surprised to discover just how many other great reasons there are that you’ve never considered. Here are a some others for you to think about:

Germany has the largest population of all the European countries and the language is very widely spoken internationally. Learning German can connect you with 120 million native speakers around the globe and you might be surprised to learn that German is the 3rd most popular foreign language taught worldwide. So German will not only allow you to build relationships with people in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein but also German speakers all over the world.  

Germany has one of the strongest economies and is one of the world’s top export nations. The competitiveness and desirability of German products is indicated by the country’s substantial trade surplus. This means that if you speak German you will have excellent international employment and career opportunities. If you’re in the field of research you will discover that Germany is a country committed to research and development.

But all work and no play makes Jake a dull boy and the German’s also know how to enjoy themselves and are the biggest spenders of tourist dollars in the world. Year after year the German’s spend more on foreign travel than any other nation. Tourism companies, airlines, hotels and car rental businesses that can communicate in German will profit from the German tourism industry.

Don’t fool yourself by thinking that German is a language of the past. The only language markets that produce more books annually than the Germans are the Chinese and English publishing industries. As very few German books are translated into English, the only way to appreciate these books is by learning to speak German.

German speaking countries have a very rich cultural heritage. The Germans are well known for their poets, classical musicians and great philosophers. 10 Nobel prizes have been awarded to German, Austrian and Swiss German authors. The philosophies of Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche and numerous others have had lasting influences on modern society. Knowing German allows you to access the works of these people in their original language allowing you a more in depth appreciation of their work.  Whether you’re interested in cultural and intellectual heritage of these countries or not, the fact remains that Switzerland, Austria and Germany all offer a very high standard of living, which make these countries very attractive to many people.

You might be thinking that this sounds good in theory but the German language is too difficult to learn. Well you’re wrong! I think you’d be surprised to discover just how similar English is to German. Modern German and modern English both evolved from the common ancestor language Germanic. Also once you learn the German system of sounds, it’s easy to predict how the spoken word is written and how the word is pronounced. Besides, there are loads of great resources online that will help you learn to speak German and have a lot of fun in the process.