The Benefits Of Learning German
Learning the German language is an excellent way to expand your personal and professional horizons. Some of the most popular reasons to learn to speak German are to communicate with relatives, to prepare to travel in Germany or to study in Germany as an exchange student. But there are in fact so many other great reasons to learn to speak German that people never consider. Here are a some others for you to think about:
Germany is the most populous European nation and German is the most widely spoken language in Europe. 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. Learning German will allow you to communicate with German speakers all across the world and not just the Germans, Austrians and the Swiss in their respective countries.
Germany has the 3rd strongest economy and is the number 1 export nation in the world. 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. Germany exports more high-tech products than any other country apart from the U.S. so Germany is a country of innovation.
While German workers are highly productive, it is clear they know how to play just as hard as they work. In 2007, the Germans spent a record 91 billion euros on international travel. Travel agencies, tour companies, hotels, airlines and car rental agencies that can communicate with Germans in their own language will win German business.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that the German language is dying. The only language markets that produce more books annually than the Germans are the Chinese and English publishing industries. Since only a small percentage of German books are translated into other languages, only if you learn the German language will you enjoy access to the vast majority of these titles.
German speaking countries have a very rich cultural heritage. Germany is often referred to as the land of poets and thinkers. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka and Hermann Hesse are just a few authors whose names and works are well known internationally. 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. Even if your not so interested in Germany on an intellectual level the high quality of life in German speaking countries may well be of interest to you.
You’re probably thinking that’s all well and good, but German is too hard to learn. If that’s the case, you’d be wrong! If English is your native language then you already have a huge advantage when it comes to learning German. Due to their common heritage, German and English share many similarities in both vocabulary and grammar. Also convenient is that German words are spelled phonetically. Also learning German can be really fun when you use resources like this free learning German podcast..
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