Why it’s Important to Learn German
The importance of the German language is known by an estimated one-hundred forty million across Europe and around the world. German is tied with French as the most learned second language in the European Union. The importance of German as playing a crucial role for centuries in Europe and on the world stage.
A good amount of the original immigrants to America were German and with them brought many customs and traditions with them to America. Cultural mainstays such as kindergarten, the Christmas tree, hotdogs/hamburgers/ketchup, and founded many breweries as well as Levi jeans and Hershey’s chocolate were introduced by German immigrants to America. It is estimated that One out of every four Americans nationwide has German heritage.
From Gutenberg’s printing press to Hertz’ discovery of electromagnetic waves, from Ehrlich’s development of chemotherapy to Einstein’s theory of relativity, to Brandenburg’s creation of the MP3 digital music format, throughout history, Germans have proven themselves time and again to be great innovators.
In addition to the very wealthy cultural heritage of the German themselves add to the importance of the German language. With art and architecture spanning centuries ranging from the middle ages to modern times. It’s a shame that Germany receives little tourism though from the Lakes of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to the beautiful Bavarian Alps to the beautiful Swiss cities of Bern and Zurich only add and highlight the pure beauty to the landscape of Germany with plenty of theatres, choirs, and Orchestras to go to.
The importance of the German language in the European Union as the most crucial language to possess in enterprise cause it bridges the particular divide involving the established and emerging financial systems of Central and Eastern Europe. As a result knowing German as a possible American entrepreneur is highly valued in parts of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic states and the Czech Republic is a great asset to have. German speakers form the biggest group of potential business partners in the European Union, forming around one-third of the population.
Being in a position to speak the actual language of the target group can be a major factor of influence in successful advertising cause the majority of customers anticipate the service or product to end up being presented within their own language. Germany and the German language have a wealth of musical talent, literature, architecture and even Scientific and technological advancements. The demand for German-speakers is highly sought after within the fields associated with biology, chemistry, pharmacy, engineering, and many other areas of training.
German being a West Germanic language as ties to English and Dutch languages and presents some degree of difficulty for English speakers due to its different vocabulary, three-word genders, case system and rigid syntax. Although it is quite easy to articulate words however there really are a few difficult ones to understand. The three genders (Masculine, Neuter or Feminine) is the most demanding part of learning German cause you can’t really predict which gender the word requires. Potentially forgetting them altogether however sad that might be, it usually isn’t an option since sentence structure and vocabulary of the phase depends on the gender.
All languages change over time and German is no different. To indisputably understand the importance of the German language you need to learn the language yourself so you can receive the full benefit of this amazing language. In fact, the latest research has shown that learning a second language helps fight against Alzheimer’s disease and slows down the ageing effects of the brain. Talk about the Importance of language in action!
Your German vocabulary should begin with words you could use in your daily life and should be familiar with already. Below are some useful German vocabulary and expressions for Continents, Weather, Anatomy, Home/Rooms, Vehicles, and Countries from around the world.
Depending on where you live. You are taught a little differently when it comes to continents, if you’re an American like me, you were taught 7 continents. In parts of Europe, some are taught 5-6 continents instead. Either merging Europe and Asia as Eurasia and combining North and South America as one continent.
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– Ten Reasons to Learn German
You probably already have your own reasons to learn German but in case you don’t have one already or still looking for more reasons to get motivated to learn German. This article should help you answer the question “why learn German?”
Reasons to Learn German 1: German is one of the most Spoken Languages in Europe
German is a popular language around Europe as a native language and has a second language. Germany is one of the most populated areas of the European Union. It is also an official language of Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. And it is the native language of a significant portion of the population in northern Italy, eastern Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, eastern France, parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Romania, as well as in other parts of Europe.
Reasons to Learn German 2: German Immigrants influence American Culture
A good amount of the original immigrants to America were German and with them brought many customs and traditions with them to America. Cultural mainstays such as kindergarten, the Christmas tree, hotdogs/hamburgers/ketchup, and founded many breweries as well as Levi jeans and Hershey’s chocolate were introduced by German immigrants to America. It is estimated that One out of every four Americans nationwide has German heritage.
Reasons to Learn German 3: Foreign Business Opportunities with German Businesses
Knowledge in a second language increases your potential business opportunities cause businesses planning to break into international markets should understanding that communicating in your target demographic native languages increases confidence and builds trust among both parties.
Reasons to Learn German 4: Some of the Greatest Discoveries Were Done by German Scientists
From Gutenberg’s printing press to Hertz’ discovery of electromagnetic waves, from Ehrlich’s development of chemotherapy to Einstein’s theory of relativity, to Brandenburg’s creation of the MP3 digital music format, throughout history Germans have proven themselves time and again to be great innovators.
Reasons to Learn German 5: German’s Importance to the World’s Economy
Germany has the third largest economy in the world and is one of the biggest exporters.
Reasons to Learn German 6: Tons of Great Literature And Music in German
German speakers produce nearly 80,000 new book titles each year. Munich, Germany is second only to New York in the number of new books produced each year and roughly as little as 5% of those are translated into English and other world languages. Most of the world’s famous composers were German.
Reasons to Learn German 7: Rich Cultural History of German on the World
Apart from their impact on American culture, Germany has a wealth of history and art of it’s own. Germany is referred to as “the land of Dichter und Denker” or “the land of poets and thinkers”
Reasons to Learn German 8: Academic Reasons to Learn German
Considering the importance of the German language in the fields of publishing and research, it’s not surprising that many graduate schools want their graduates to have at least a reading knowledge of German. Knowing German gives graduates access to important research published in German books and professional journals. Many of the world’s governments and agencies have been offering scholarships and other opportunities for individuals who are interested in German studies and learning German.
Reasons to Learn German 9: Learn German as a Hobby/Love of Learning Languages
Maybe you are just one of those people that just enjoy learning languages for the fun of it! Once you’ve mastered the urge to learn more becomes pretty strong. Contrary to popular opinion, not much confusion happens between languages.
Reasons to Learn German 10: German is an Easy Second Language to Learn for English Speakers
English and German both come from the Germanic language and are pretty similar in vocabulary and grammar. There is a good chance you already understand a little German already.
Meine Schwester hat braunes Haar. Sie ist intelligent. Sie studiert Medizin in Berlin. Sie kann gut singen.
If you understand that with little to no problem then learning German should be no problem for you.
German is truly an amazing language to learn. I hope you find this article helpful in narrowing and strengthening your reasons to learn German.
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The fun part of learning any language.. learning Grammar! The grammar rules you must follow to properly speak the German language. But don’t worry about how hard learning German Grammar might feel at first. Learning German grammar rules is one of the most effective ways to speed up your ability to speak a language. Keep in mind this is just a basic introduction into understanding how German grammar works.
German Grammar Rules: Sentence Structure• German Sentence structure as four distinct cases that can potentially follow.
• Nominative case identifies the subject (who or what is doing the action).
• Accusative case identifies the direct object (whom or what the subject “verbs”).
• Genitive case indicates that this noun belongs to someone or something.
• Dative case identifies the indirect object (the receiver of the object or an action.)
German Grammar Rules: Nouns and Pronouns• German Nouns can be either masculine, feminine, and neuter. German Nouns and Pronouns are always capitalizes.
• Masculine and Feminine don’t always apply to how “manly” or how “female” the subject is.
• Masculine nouns usually include male people and animals, the seasons, and months of the year.
German Grammar Rules: Verbs• German Verbs have different endings to the words depending on which tense of the word is used.
German Grammar Rules: Adjectives• German Adjectives vary depending on which gender and case of the noun they are describing.
Learning German grammar rules can be considered the cornerstone of the language and will take some time to learn but creates a sturdy foundation to help you completely learn German in no time. Take the time to let these points soak in, then build on them as you continue your German studies. Good luck, and have fun learning German.
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Within any language or language group there may be significant changes in speech, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The term used to describe these changes is called a dialect. Some words or phrases that exist in one dialect may exist or be absent from different German dialects. A Few German Dialects exist today because of various German dialects merging together through German history.German Dialects
- Low German – Named after the flat lands in the region. Low German is spoken from the Dutch border to the former German lands of Eastern Pommerania, and Eastern Prussia. Low German includes many sub dialects.
- Frisian German – Dialect found along the border of Denmark and the North Sea Coast.
- Middle German – Spoken in the region in the middle of German from Luxembourg to Poland and Silesia. Middle German includes many sub dialects.
- Frankish German – The Frankish Dialects lie east of the Rhine River in near the very center of Germany.
- Alemannic German – This dialect follows the Rhine River north from Switzerlan to Basel and Freibug. This dialect includes many sub dialects like Alsatian, Swabian, Low and High Alemannic.
- Bavarian-Austrian German – Included most of southern Germany. This region hosts many different sub dialects that fall under this category. Theses include (South, Middle, and North Bavarian as well as Tyrolian and Salzburgian)
Different German dialects of the German language are spoken in many different nations and regions around the world, most commonly throughout Europe. However, the differences in regional dialects may not make one German speaker nearly incomprehensible to another. In most cases, the different German dialects don’t have a specific written form of the language, but there’s usually a certain amount of literature that accompanies each German dialects.
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German numbers are easy to understand because they are written exactly like English Numbers but are pronounced differently. Understanding how to write German numbers should take very little time and effort to learn. By the end of this article you should have a very solid understanding of the German number system.
It’s actually pretty straight forward when it comes to learning how to use the German number system. Pronouncing German numbers on the other hands get a little bit tricky. German numbers 1 to 10 should be your primary focus when you begin. German numbers after gain a suffix added to the base number. To illustrate what I mean, here are German numbers 1 to 100.
German Numbers 1 to 100
German Numbers beginning at ten through nineteen gain the suffix “zehn” added to the base number. German numbers from 13-19 work like this. However the number twenty adds und- to the mix. So it goes base number + und + the appropriate suffix. Example of how to write the pronunciation of German numbers below.
Understanding how to write German numbers is really that simple to learn. Only takes an hour or two to fully memorizes the German number system.
Learn German Alphabet – Learn German Alphabet Letters
Learn German alphabet is part of Germanic language that’s origins trace back to early 700s. German contains the twenty six letters of the English alphabet and adds the extra letters ä, ö, ü and ß. All German letter have upper and lowercase version except for ß. The letter ß will never be at the start of a word. German is sometime viewed by non-native German speakers as a harsh sounding language. The German language is a more consistent phonetically language than English.
Learn German Alphabet Pronunciation
Some German Letters are pronounce way different then their English counterparts. For example, the German W sounds like English V, and German V sounds like the English F. Most of the time the S in German sounds like Z in English when placed at the beginning of a word followed by a vowel. Learn German Alphabet letters g, ch, and r are pronounce mostly in the back of the throat. The pronunciation of some of these German letters do not have an English counterpart (Like “ü” for example”).
Learn German Alphabet Diphthongs and Grouped Consonants
Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels(and only vowels) that are combined and sounded together. Consonants can be grouped together this way as well. Instead of each letter being pronounced separately, the two letters have combined pronunciation and sound. Example of German Alphabet Diphthongs and Group Consonants below.
To do the extra German letters without using German keyboard. Alt code can be used. Alt code is when you press then hold down the Alt key on your keyboard then type in numbers on your num pad then release the alt key.
The German Alphabet plays a very important role in learning German, especially when it comes to pronunciation. So make sure to practice pronouncing the German Alphabet multiple times often. Whenever you can.
Learn Common German Phrases
Help you Around German Countries
If you ever play to visit a country where the primary spoken language is German, then knowing and being able to use common German phrases. Even though English is gradually becoming the most used language in international business in some situations. Speaking the language of the locals and talking to the people. It shows respect and an effort to their culture by just knowing a few common German phrases.
In any language, you should be able to greet people and introduce yourself or simply ask for help or directions. German greeting and phrases to start or end conversations. Being able to introduce yourself in German. Being able to say your “Sorry” or ask politely for someone to repeat themselves. Common German words and phrases like saying “yes’ and “no”
Most of the sentences below can be used for travel and daily life conversations. So they might come handy if you memorizes and practice then. The following is a list of common German phrases that you may need to know in the German language:
| Common German Phrases: German Greetings and Phrases |
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| Common German Phrases: How to Introduce Yourself in German |
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| Common German Phrases: Asking for Help or Directions in German |
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| Common German Phrases: Correcting a Misunderstanding in German |
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| Common German Phrases: German Phrases |
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I hope you find this page of common German phrases useful in your travels. Memorizes them and try to incorporate them into your daily conversations
Learn German Swear Words and Profanity
I was a little hesitant to write this article because some people might be offended and such. but actually, it was one of the most requested things I receive in my email. It comes as no surprise really since I’m sure most of us would admit that we always seek out the profanity when learning a new language.
Learning German swear words for a variety of reasons. Most people tend to swear when they are stressed or angry. If you have a relative that knows a second language then get upset and start talking in their other language? People also tend to swear when they are hurt in some way. Studies have shown that swearing does have pain reducing element.
