Learning to speak German is a great investment in both your social and business life. 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. But there are in fact so many other great reasons to learn to speak German that people never consider. Here are some that come to mind:
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. 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.
With ample disposable income and an average of 6 weeks of vacation a year, German’s have both the time and means to travel. Year after year the German’s spend more on foreign travel than any other nation. Travel agencies, tour companies, hotels, airlines and car rental agencies that can communicate with Germans in their own language will win German business.
Also don’t be fooled into 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. 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.
The cultural heritage of German speaking countries is very rich. 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. Philosophy and the sciences would be unthinkable without the contributions of German speakers. 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 sought after and comfortable places to live.
You’re probably thinking that’s all well and good, but German is too hard to learn. Well you’re wrong! I think you’d be surprised to discover just how similar English is to 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..
