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Why learn German? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| jbbar Senior Member Belgium Joined 5801 days ago 192 posts - 210 votes  Speaks: English | Message 65 of 119 19 February 2009 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | |||||
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German is spoken by a hundred million people in Europe in several countries, of which the most important one is still the biggest European economy and the third or fourth largest and strongest in the world. Germany, like France, has had an enormous impact on history and greatly contributed to Western civilization. It is spoken in highly developed countries and on the whole it is not nearly as difficult as Russian, despite the fact that it has cases. It's written pretty phonetically. Now it's true you can do without but German is a very in-demand language in business and knowing the language will certainly pay off in Europe, but the same may be true for other developed nations like the U.S. that have strong economic ties with Germany. Apart from that, the language is also of great use in academic research, and it can even be heard in places outside Europe such as Turkey and even Iran.
I always wonder what makes so many people think Spanish is so important and somehow "a must" for language learners, leading to questions like the one this thread is about. It's quite mind-boggling to me that anyone would think of German as plain useless and a waste of time. And mind you, I've been a student of Spanish for several years, in case you think I'm biased. Looking back on it it was about the biggest mistake I've ever made because it is really quite useless, no matter how many people speak it. Tell me, is Hindi important just because it is spoken by over half a billion people? No, it ain't. I'm noticing this "anti-German, pro-Spanish" trend among Europeans but also among Americans who think they have to adopt the language of a minority and that will somehow pay off. Wrong. A basic working knowledge is just fine but German or French or even Italian will be far more useful and enriching to you than Spanish. Let the Spanish speakers in America make more efforts at studying English instead. Sorry if I got a bit off-topic here but I think it's still relevant to the discussion. I'm speaking from my own experience with these languages. Edited by jbbar on 19 February 2009 at 11:52pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Lindsay19 Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5822 days ago 183 posts - 214 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC1 Studies: Swedish, Faroese, Icelandic | Message 66 of 119 20 February 2009 at 6:26am | IP Logged | |||||
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I'm learning German because it was something I took in High School and what started my interest in languages. It's my first. I've grown to love the way it sounds and I'm moving to Europe it a few years, and Germany is my first stop. I don't find it strange for someone to want to learn it; it's spoken by over 100 million people - that's quite a large number. To be able to communicate with that size a population is something I'd like to be able to do. There's also all of that literature you'll be able to read! Plus, from what I've heard, the average German citizen's English skills aren't really as advanced as would be believed. Even if I were able to "get by" with speaking English, that'd be extremely rude of me to expect everyone to cater to me, just because I didn't "feel" like learning their language.
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| jamesharris Diglot Newbie Germany myspace.com/james_b_ Joined 5980 days ago 22 posts - 25 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC2 Studies: French, Russian, Dutch | Message 67 of 119 21 February 2009 at 10:58pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I have to be honest that the economic power of German seems to me to have mightily declined. I've been in Germany for five years now and feel like I've been chasing around for a job to use my German in. Rest assured, German is firmly on the Anglicization trip at the moment. Look at the amount of degree programmes in Germany now taught in English, for example. It can also be frustrating for English people to learn German as German's often switch to English if you're level is not too good.
However, I should also say that learning German was the best decision I ever made. This is because Germany is (for me) such a great country. The culture, history - terrible as some of it is - and future of this country are an endless fascination to me. And the language itself is very interesting; both in the grammatical features of the language, but also that the language is, at least in the modern world, exceptionally rich in dialects and lexical variety (my latest favourite is 'putt', Umgangsprache for 'kaputt'). It's fascinating to begin to pick up on the different dialects of Swabians, Bavarians and Swiss Germans, for example. And a massive source of delight for me is German literature. Learning German was all worth it from the first time I was able to read Kafka in his original language. So here's to German - I just hope this wonderful language starts to get a little bit more support from its native speakers. Edited by jamesharris on 21 February 2009 at 11:03pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Stephen Groupie Australia Joined 6412 days ago 61 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Latin, Ancient Greek | Message 68 of 119 22 February 2009 at 2:20am | IP Logged | |||||
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I admit, I've had a wee bit of a chuckle reading some of the 'reactions' to the naming of the 'H' person. Even worse, I was rolling around the ground when I read Stalin being linked with Atheism. That's like saying we should all abandon eating vegetables because Charles Manson enjoyed a salad! Some people require a crash course in logic I think ;-)
Anyway, I digress. Why do I want to learn German? Lots of reasons. It is easy for me to pronounce German words, being Scottish. I think it is a good base language to learn Dutch and perhaps Norwegian. I like the syntax of their sentences and find it quite normal (strangely enough) to leave the verb to the end of the sentence. I am a big football fan and like watching and discussing games: not only Scottish but from the Bundesliga as well. I have a fetish for the portmanteau and Germans just love sticking words together. My academic degree is in Philosophy and I would like to read some Marx and Kant perhaps in the original. Where I live, they teach German as the main 'other language' in high schools, due to the settling of many immigrants from Germany hundreds of years ago here. In Russia and Poland, German can be understood by many people. There are a huge collection of resources for the student of German to study. Cheers Steve 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| mannimeister Triglot Newbie Canada Joined 5408 days ago 1 posts - 1 votes Speaks: Persian*, English, German | Message 69 of 119 05 February 2010 at 3:56am | IP Logged | |||||
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Here are my reasons:
- First, me having spoken English since grade 1, I found out that English does in fact fall in the same category as German lingually AND culturally (as opposed to Spanish or French both of which disgust me) - German is only spoken in first world countries (again as supposed to those 2...!) - Technologically & financially speaking, German is BIG, and Business: I.T. happens to be the subject I am majoring in right now. - German is the number 1 spoken language natively & non-natively throughout Europe (excluding English) - The place I live in, 99.99% of all students in school choose French as a second language. Well, even the sound of that language makes me vomit, whereas as I actually enjoy hearing German. - To me being linked to Germany, German-speaking, and Germanic Europe as a whole just seems prestigious & chic! - Last but not least, I am IN LOVE with the Netherlands! so this language is definitely going to help me big time in learning my favorite language: Dutch! :-) Edited by mannimeister on 05 February 2010 at 4:17am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Saif Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5613 days ago 122 posts - 208 votes Speaks: English*, Arabic (Levantine)*, French | Message 70 of 119 05 February 2010 at 4:23am | IP Logged | |||||
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1. I learned German in college as a requirement for a study abroad program in Germany
that I participated in for my engineering major in college. 2. I have relatives (non-German) that live in Germany, so when I visit them, I want to know the language so that I can explore the country and communicate with the locals. 3. Interest in German philosophers like Georg Hegel. Interest in reading the writings in the original German. 4. General interest in contributions to mathematics and science by German thinkers like Gauss and Einstein. It has nothing to do with the learning of the language, but it's a motivation factor. I can't really explain why! 5. I do like the sound of German. It's distinguished. 6. Huge German book market, specifically enjoy reading German thoughts on the Middle East. 7. Potential business and work opportunities in engineering. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6317 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French | Message 71 of 119 05 February 2010 at 6:36am | IP Logged | |||||
Ha, good luck with that! His original German was apparently so convoluted that German scholars themselves had to consult English translations which per force break down such long-winded sentences into (slightly) more manageable chunks. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Saif Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5613 days ago 122 posts - 208 votes Speaks: English*, Arabic (Levantine)*, French | Message 72 of 119 05 February 2010 at 7:20am | IP Logged | |||||
I know! That's why I want to see the German writing for myself. The English translation is confusing enough. =) Edited by Saif on 05 February 2010 at 7:22am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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