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Home > German > Why Study German?
Academics
- Many of the greatest thinkers and artists of the modern era thought and wrote in German: Einstein, Freud, Nietzsche, Kant, Beethoven, Marx, Kafka, Goethe -- the list is endless. Students of Music, Law, Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, History, Political Science, Engineering, and most of the other sciences find German to be especially valuable for their studies.
- German is the language most often required or recommended in academic programs. For example, no less than 56 programs at the University of California require or recommend German -- far more than any other language.
- German remains an important scientific language. It is the second most common language on the Internet with 13% of all websites (compared to 5% in Japanese, 4% in French, and 2% in Spanish). German scientists are world leaders in many aspects of engineering, pharmaceuticals, pollution control, and natural resources. German and American researchers collaborate on many important projects, such as SPACELAB, the International Nautical Almanac, and the Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES).
- German is closely related to English and 36 other "Germanic" languages, including Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, and Yiddish. Learning German will give you important insights into the history and structure of English, and it will give you a leg up in learning any of the other Germanic languages.
Business
- German is the most widely spoken language in Europe (100 million speakers, vs. 60 million for English, French, and Italian), and it is especially important as a language of business in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, where 13 million students are currently studying German as a second language. 68% of all Japanese students study German. (Spanish is the most widely studied foreign language only in Brazil and the U.S.).
- Germany is our largest European trading partner, with more than 750 American firms doing business there. The former German chancellor, Willy Brandt, once said: "If I'm selling to you, I speak your language. If I'm buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen [then you have to speak German]."
- According to the Wall Street Journal, "As U.S. companies expand overseas and reach out to more non-English-speaking customers at home, demand for multilingual workers is rising fast. . . . Language skills have long commanded a premium in higher-ranking jobs," and there is a "supply and demand mismatch at middle and upper management" for employees who can speak a second language.
- More than a thousand German companies do business in the U.S., and many have formed strategic partnerships with American firms. German companies are currently the largest source of foreign employment in the U.S. Daimler-Benz, for example, has recently merged with Chrysler, and formed a strategic alliance with Microsoft. In both 1994 and 1995, Germany and the U.S. each made direct investments of more than $40,000,000,000 in the other country.
- Germany's is the third-largest economy in the world, and is the largest exporter relative to its population.
- The productivity of German workers is the highest of any European country.
- Together with China, Germany hosts more trade shows than any other country in the world.
- Germany had more patent approvals in 1998 than the next four European countries combined.
- More than 25% of all foreign tourists visiting the U.S. come from German-speaking countries.
- Siemens and DaimlerChrysler rank third and fourth in the world in the amount of money they spend on research and development.
- In a 1994 survey by the German-American Chamber of Commerce, 65% of all respondents said that they were looking specifically for German/English bilingual skills when hiring new employees.
- The German firm Bertelsmann is the world's largest publisher, and Germany publishes 35% more titles annually than the U.S.
- Greater Munich boasts more than 1,800 computer firms with more than 100,000 workers total. Only Silicon Valley, Boston, and London have a greater concentration.
- Germany is the world leader in the field of wind and solar power production.
The Michigan Connection
Still not convinced?
Have a look at these URLs:
http://www.goethe.de/uk/saf/werbung/english/index.htm
http://www.goethe.de/i/eniazeh.htm
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