Some Reasons to learn German

Trade and Commerce. Germany is the largest economy in the European Union and the third largest in the world. German is one of the official languages of the European Union (of which German is the mother tongue for the largest proportion), and a primary medium for communication in Eastern Europe. Many major German companies such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW maintain major operations in the US, which employ thousands of Americans.

A Deeper Understanding of Your Own Language. As the German writer J.W. Goethe remarked: "He who knows no foreign language knows nothing of his own." This is particularly true of the close relationship between German and English, as English is a Germanic language (alongside others such as Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish). 

History and Political Science. Situated at the center of Europe, Germany in the last two hundred years alone has gone from a loose confederation of kingdoms, duchies, bishoprics to a parliamentary monarchy, a democratic republic, a fascist state, then one country divided in two parts - capitalist and communist - and finally a reunified federal republic. Much of the Cold War played out on German soil, such as the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Germany also played a major role, of course, in both of the world wars. Naturally, knowledge of German is a great asset when conducting research in modern European history.

German Intellectual History. Just a few examples of German/Austrian thinkers who revolutionized the way in which we view the world: in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous Theses, in which he denounced the position of the Catholic Church on many issues of doctrine, to the church door in Wittenburg, marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, a document which would capture the imagination of hundreds of millions of people and form the intellectual basis of revolutions that would later take place in Russia, China, Cuba, Vietnam and elsewhere. In his Thus Spoke Zarathustra (pub. 1886 as a single volume), one of the most influential, controversial and misunderstood philosophers of our time, Friedrich Nietzsche, commented on the absence of a unifying principle in modern Europe, asserting: "God is dead." Unlike many other philosophers of the nineteenth century, Nietzsche - often considered the first existentialist philosopher - is, to this day, very widely read and discussed by philosophers and laymen alike. In 1909, Sigmund Freud's Analysis of Dreams was published, giving birth to the theory of psychoanalysis which would dominate the field of psychology for most of the twentieth century. Needless to say, an understanding of German provides a unique insight into the way in which these pivotal figures understood and explained our modern world.

Music and Art. Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, Haydn, Bach, Strauss, Schumann, Mendelsohn. Each of these names marks a turning point in the history of classical music. The music they composed for voice was, of course, virtually all in German, so much that many classical singers learn the language in order to master German pronunciation and understand the meaning of lyrics. To this day, many classical musicians, composers and conductors from the world over come to Vienna to study music. Likewise, artists and students of art have flocked to Berlin in recent years to take advantage of the reinvigorated artistic spirit that infuses Germany 's capital city, Berlin . As TIME magazine recently remarked: "Forget Paris and London. For the folks farthest out on fashion's cutting edge, Berlin is the new capital of creative inspiration." The ability to speak and understand German greatly facilitates learning for the innovative musicians and artists who realize their dreams every day in the cities of Vienna and Berlin .

Learn German - and put your learning right to use! You'll be surprised what you can do!