7 Amazing Reasons Why You Should Learn German

The world is slowly but steadily becoming a global village today; people are getting more connected through new technological innovations. For this reason, it’s becoming almost obvious to learn a new language so that you can fit in with the numerous opportunities the knowledge of other languages has to offer. Knowledge of German has in the past opened doors to many people across the whole world.

Here are some reasons why you should also consider learning German;

Easy to Learn

Something many people don’t know is that German and English actually belong to the same language family tree. That’s a fact! And that’s precisely why English speakers find learning German to be quite a cup of tea.

Unlike the Romance languages; French, Italian and Spanish, both English and German actually belong to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. This is why you will find that some English words and expressions we have used for centuries are actually German. Examples of these words are angst, kindergarten and kitsch. Yes, these words are originally German.

English later came to be influenced by languages like French, Greek and Latin. However, if you were to pull down the flesh from English, down to the skeleton basics, you’ll find that there is a huge resemblance to German. Still not convinced? Well, take a look at German words such as Bruder (brother), Wasser (water) and Freund (friend). There you go!

If you are an English speaker and you decide to learn German, you’ll be surprised by how many words you already know. You are at an advantage; you just probably don’t know it yet. You can learn other simple German words here.

Important Language in the Academic Sector

It should come as no surprise that German is a very important language in the academic community. In fact, it ranks second as the most commonly used scientific language. Major reason being that the German book market is the third largest in the world, of course after the Chinese and English publishing industries. Books that are being translated into other languages are fairly limited and only knowledge of German will enable you to get the very best out of them.

Key to a World-Class Higher Education

It is an obvious knowledge that German boasts of a high standing in the science community. It is only normal to find that Germany’s universities have an excellent reputation worldwide. For example, in 2011, Germany was the fourth most popular destination amongst students from abroad; a population of up to a quarter million foreigners being enrolled in the top German schools.

Additionally, the German system for higher education has many universities with a very low tuition fee- sometimes the tuition fee is completely non- existent. It is believed that this is one of the major reasons why scholars and researchers flood Germany! For this reason, learning German as a smart way to save on student debt sounds like the real deal.

Country is an Economic Powerhouse

Whoever says learning German is only an interesting option for the academician should rethink such a sentiment. If you are in the business world and your Deutsch ranks at zero, I strongly recommend you to brush up on it. You can’t dispute the fact that Germany is the biggest economy within the European Union; worldwide, it is the fourth largest worldwide. It is also home to many international corporations and is always on the front line of new and innovative technologies.

The schooling system in Germany is interestingly set up in a way that every German citizen should at least know some English. However, communicating with someone in their native tongue is a sign of good faith and is appreciated everywhere. As long as you know the language of your fellow and potential German business partners, you can be sure to greatly improve on your chances of effective communication and propel your professional relationships even to greater heights.

German Companies are Global Market Leaders

Speaking of German companies: is it your desire to work for a business/company which is an international market leader in its field? Learning some German skills and having it on your resume could be a secret recipe not everyone can boast of.

Germany plays a significant role in a number of economic global activities. Products such as Siemens, Volkswagen, Adidas and Lufthansa are globally recognized brands and corporations. Germany also hosts some of the biggest international trade fairs which include CeBIT and IFA; the world’s most recognized exhibitions for information technology, and consumer electronics.

At the same time, the German capital Berlin is secretly turning into a hub for innovative start-ups. Some have gone as far as dubbing it “the Silicon Valley of Europe.” As a consequence, knowing that learning some German has the potential to greatly enhance your career opportunities should inspire you to some extent.

The Most Widely Spoken Native Language in Europe

There are three official working languages of the European Union; English, French and German. German ranks as the second most-spoken language of the three on the continent of Europe. However, in terms of numbers of native speakers, German ranks first.

For many years, German served as a lingua franca (a common language which unifies different peoples) in large parts of Europe. Today, the use of German has not decreased any bit- it continues to serve the ancient purpose and is also an important second language in central and Eastern Europe. In Anglophone countries, German unsurprisingly is also the third most taught foreign language. Besides, it falls in top ten as one of the major languages of the world. Mark you, this is for a relatively small country.

Germans may not have the numbers as compared to the Chinese, however knowing German alone gives you approximately 100 million more people to communicate with.

Its Big Online Presence

Thanks to the ever growing levels of social media interaction, you don’t even have to meet those 100 million people in the real world. All you need to have is some Internet and a Smartphone and you are good to meet some German speaking people. In addition, German websites make up a relatively huge part of the internet. Proof: when you look at domain endings that are affiliated with a particular country, for example Germany’s .de is the most popular top-level domain out there. For news in German you can also click here

The fact that you can speak some German gives you access to an additional 15 million websites, this is before you even include the German sites ending in .net, .org and .info.

I believe you are now convinced that learning German is one of the best New Year resolutions for 2018. It’s now time to make a decision and learn how to get started at just a pocket friendly cost.

It does not matter much whether you’re a total newbie or trying to get your German mojo back, after a long lapse in your studies, speechling.com is here to take you through the entire process. Brace yourself.