The Benefits Of Learning German
It’s a fact that if you learn to speak German you will be giving yourself huge advantages in your professional career not to mention expanding your personal horizons. Some popular reasons for people to start learning German include being able to talk with German family, preparing for an exchange program at a German institution and for taking holidays in Germany. There are however many other great reasons to learn German that many people never even 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. German is the third most popular foreign language internationally and by learning German you are able to connect with 120 million native German speakers. 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 is the economic powerhouse of the European Union and one of the biggest international exporters. The competitiveness and desirability of German products is indicated by the country’s substantial trade surplus. Knowing German creates many business opportunities, not just in Germany itself but also internationally. Given Germany’s commitment to innovation, it’s perhaps not surprising that two-thirds of the world’s leading international trade fairs take place in Germany.
With ample disposable income and an average of 6 weeks of vacation a year, German’s have both the time and means to travel. If you are a world traveler, you are sure to encounter Germans wherever you go since nearly 3 out of every 4 vacations by Germans are spent in other countries. Tourism companies, airlines, hotels and car rental businesses that can communicate in German will profit from the German tourism industry.
Also don’t be fooled into thinking that German is a language of the past. As prolific researchers and scholars, German speakers produce nearly 80, 000 new book titles each year. As few of these books are translated into English, the only way to profit from this information is to learn German.
German speaking countries have made a huge contribution to the world’s cultural heritage. Germany is often referred to as the land of poets and thinkers. 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. Anyone interested in any of these fields automatically expands their knowledge and skill by knowing German. 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. Modern German and modern English both evolved from the common ancestor language Germanic. Also convenient is that German words are spelled phonetically. 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.
