German is the Most Recommended Language in U.S. Universities

"Who studies German?

There are 200 million speakers of German worldwide. German is the most frequently studied language in the world after English and Japanese. Worldwide there are currently 20 million students of German. Of these, 13 million are in Europe, Eastern Europe and the former USSR, where it is the most commonly used second language. In the United States there are 600,000 students learning German. In Japan, 68% of students study German.


The Importance of German in Academic Programs

German is required or recommended in more academic programs than any other language (for example, 56 programs at the University of California).

The importance of German in fields such as Music, Art, Psychology, Sociology, History Art History, European Politics, Classics, Archeology, Literary Studies, Religious Studies, Film, Architecture, Law, and the Sciences is reflected by the 119 Nobel Prizes awarded to native speakers
of German. To fully understand important texts in their majors, students should be able to read them in the original language. Thinkers and artists such as Freud, Einstein, Marx, Nietzsche, Kant, Hegel, Mozart, Beethoven, Goethe and Kafka created their works in German."


*** This is for all the people saying it is useless to study German. And for the ones who aren't saying this, here are some more reasons to learn German. :) ***

Oops, I missed a spot. :)


"German and Science

German leadership in science began in the 19th and early 20th centuries and has continued in areas such as medical and health research, agriculture, optics, engineering, the pharmaceutical industry, environmental studies, computer and telecommunication technology. Germans collaborate on
international projects such as Spacelab, Deep Earth Sampling in the Oceans, and the International Nautical Almanac.

Germany is among the top three countries in high-tech-research and products. Nearly half of the pharmaceuticals in the US come from Germany and Switzerland.

Germany is second only to the United States in the number of patents it produces.



German, International Politics, Banking, and Business

Because of Germany’s political importance, it is essential to know German for careers in Foreign Affairs, National Defense, or International Trade. Germany has the third largest economy (GNP) in the world and the highest worker productivity in Europe. It is the second highest creditor nation and every year it is among the top three exporting nations. Four of the world’s largest trade fairs are held annually in Germany.

Germany is one of the top five sources of foreign direct investment in the United States. Each year Germany and the US each invest around $40 billion annually in each other. Germany has taken the economic and financial lead in Europe. Over 1000 major U.S companies do business in Germany, and German-speaking countries. Over 1000 firms from German-speaking countries have subsidiaries in the U.S and many of them pay bonus salaries to German-speaking employees. German companies rank among the highest in the world for money spent on research and development. German investments in the United States support 2,500 enterprises with over 5 million employees. Germany is the largest European trading partner of the United States. At $541 billion the World Trade Organization ranks
German exports are the world’s largest next to the United States.
This is nearly 10% of the world export trade. This creates the opportunities for hundreds of American students to do internships each year in companies in Germany. The German-American Chamber of Congress reports 65% of American companies surveyed said that in hiring new employees they look for German/English lingual skills. German is also a key business language in Russia, the European Union, Central and Eastern Europe and parts of Asia.

Per capita, Germans have one of the highest incomes in the world. Germany is the largest market for telecommunications in Europe and the third largest in the world. Germans spend more money on tourism than any other country in the world ($437 billion) and their first travel destination is the United States. They comprise 25% of the foreign tourists who visit the US each year. A knowledge of German is important for people who work with foreign tourists, and also for journalists, sportscasters, and broadcast program
hosts who need to know German for conducting interviews with celebrities from around the world.

For more information on the role of Germany and the German language in the world, see the following Internet link:
http://www.goethe.de/enindex.htm "

**** Now those are the facts. So it seems more people in the world study German than Spanish, even though there are twice as many Spanish speakers in the world as there are German-speakers. ****

German is also a great introduction to foreign languages. As a lot of the basic vocabulary of English (most prepositions, pronouns, numbers, articles, etc.) is of Germanic origin, for the first few semesters, students can focus on the complex (compared to English) grammar. Most English speakers have a huge diversion from grammar and their knowledge is extremely lacking...

Though, if you're from Texas (like me) or live in California (like me) Spanish is more useful and Chinese has more speakers, if you're hoping to be successful in business or technology, German is absolutely a better route to take than any other foreign language I can think of off the top of my head.

Hello Libelle! You around here as well, hehehe :) German is odd as I said before, so why is it so important in the US ?

Do you speak German ? Wow! It has to be hard.

By the way I wonder how do you say: 'Yeap', 'ouch', 'phew', 'oh-lala', etc in German ? Just curious. hehehe. ;)

Thank you.

Salut encore, Franc:

I am afraid that French is the only language I know with the brilliant phrase of "oh, là là..." There is no true equivalent in German or English! ;)

And yes, I speak German and French, though my German is better than my French. I agree that German is more difficult to learn, but I find it harder to understand spoken French than spoken German because my native language is English, and because the Germans tend to pronounce their language as it is written. I love French, though, and think it is very beautiful. I was lucky enough to live in northern France for a while -- simply stunning :)

Regards,
Libelle

GERMAN MAKES YOU SMART.

DO YOU HAVE DATIVE CASE?...

<<GERMAN MAKES YOU SMART. >>

Not really. Learning any foreing language makes you smarter. Because you learn wider views of how to express yourself, even in your own language.

Does German have different Cases? is declenssion that difficult? I was thinking about taking German after I learn French...

Kind regards

Pete from Peru

<<The importance of German in fields such as Music, Art, Psychology, Sociology, History Art History, European Politics, Classics, Archeology, Literary Studies, Religious Studies, Film, Architecture, Law, and the Sciences is reflected by the 119 Nobel Prizes awarded to native speakers
of German. To fully understand important texts in their majors, students should be able to read them in the original language. Thinkers and artists such as Freud, Einstein, Marx, Nietzsche, Kant, Hegel, Mozart, Beethoven, Goethe and Kafka created their works in German.">>

Yes, that's quite cool!

Regards

Pete from Peru

Pete

German grammar is quite complicated, but it also mainly follows clear logical rules. It has three genders and four cases. Adjective endings change according to gender, number and case. A lot of people find them a bit baffling at first, but they do mostly follow a clear pattern and after a while you'll get used to them. And there are aspects which are pretty easy, such as the tense system. There's no progressive form, no real need to distinguish between simple past and present perfect in the spoken language, and no distinction between 'will' and 'going to' as there is in English. It's also almost totally phonetic.

I would definitely recommend learning German. In my opinion it is a fascinating and satisfying language.

Hi! Well I don't know much about German culture except by those more important guys by "vox populi" like Marx, Himmler, Beckenbauer and Schwarzenneger who I think and if I'm not wrong some of them won a Novel prize, I think! :)

I know only a couple of pharases that somebody told me long time ago: 'subanshtrugen bajenn' which means 'to travel in a bus' and 'dessvirgenssen' which means 'honeymoon'. Ignore my spelling, as I said German is odd! :)

what is the proper context of using words like : "also", "Uber", "ganz"

Franc, excuse me but you are an idiot! Sorry!

Libelle, why do you say that ?

What have I done ? Please forgive me if I've offended you. :(

Franc,

That was not me -- some dirtbag keeps posting in my name because he is a coward. Je pense qu'il est aussi un cretin, un enculé d'enfer! hee hee :)

In French I would call him a sac-à-daube. :) I know it is a peculiar and strange, obscure phrase, but my ex-boyfriend taught it to me and I think it is funny. :)

à bientôt,

Libelle

Freiheit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!