Top Ten Reasons to Learn German
(beside the fact it's fun!)

1. German is important for school. You need at least two years of a foreign language to study at a Minnesota State college.  Other colleges highly recommend it.
And consider this: at the University of California, German is by far the most frequently recommended and/or required language.  This is generally true for most other universities as well.  Among the majors specifically recommending German are: Anatomy, Art History, Biochemistry, Biomedicine, Botany, Chemistry, Film Studies, Genetics, Linguistics, Logic and Methodology of Science, Molecular Biology, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Physical Science, Physics, Physiology, Religious Studies, Zoology.

2. German and English are both Germanic languages. They both started out as the same language.  They share many of the same words, word origins and grammar characteristics.  That makes German a good choice for English speakers. 

3. German is important to our American heritage. Three out of every four citizens of our town have German heritage.  One out of every four Americans nationwide has German heritage.  German-Americans are the largest ethnic group in America today.    They have made innumerable contributions to our country.  The United States government sponsors exchange programs with Germany.  One of those is the German American Partnership Program (GAPP).  Our partner school is in Neuhaus, Germany.  And our official sister city is Neuhaus as well.

4. Over 120 million people speak German as their native language. German is spoken in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, as well as parts of other European countries such as Italy, France and Belgium.  Twice as many people speak German in Europe than any other language.  And after English, German is the most popular foreign language to learn in Europe.

5. German is important in the global economy. Germany also has the world's third biggest economy (after the USA and Japan).  Germany is the largest economic and political influence in Europe.    Germany has the highest paid workers in the world.  Germany is also the leading export nation in the world in proportion to its population.  And Switzerland, another German-speaking country, is the world's richest country.  The standard of living in German speaking countries is among the highest in the world.  

6. German is very important for business.   Many American companies are owned by German companies.  Brown Printing in our town is a German-owned company.  Corchran's Metal Fabrication also does much business with Germany.  More Americans have lived and worked in Germany than in any other foreign country since 1945.  Germany and the USA invest $40 billion in each other's businesses per year.  Many companies name German as the language they would most like their employees to know.  When American car company Chrysler and German car company Mercedes merged, a lot of Chrysler employees needed to learn German.  Take a look at the Netscape Career Center, type in the search word German, and you will find well over 800 jobs requiring or recommending German on any given day.

7. German is important for science. Most of the world's scientists have come from or studied in German-speaking countries.  Many new scientific discoveries happen in German-speaking countries, and some scientific information is only available in German.  The newest elements on the Periodic Table were just discovered by a German scientist.  Universities encourage science majors to learn German.

8. German is important in music. Most of the world's famous composers and musicians came from German-speaking countries.  Think of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Schubert...   Vienna, the capital of Austria, has been the world center of music for hundreds of years.  Classical musicians learn German. 

9. German is important for the tourist industry. Germans are the most traveled people in the world.  You will find German tourists everywhere.  In the USA, they will especially be at the top tourist spots like Florida, New York, and California.  Many American tourists go to German speaking countries, which are some of the most beautiful countries in the world.  Plus, German is widely spoken throughout Europe.  

10. The importance of German may not seem as obvious to Americans because we are separated from the rest of the world by ocean.  We tend to notice only what's in our backyard.  Worldwide, German is one of the most popular foreign language to learn. In Europe, it is the second most popular (after English).   The world sees the importance of German.  We really do live in a global society, and we need to look at more than what's right around us.  We need to see the entire picture.


Sources:  American Assoc. of Teachers of German, Dartmouth College, Goethe Institut, National Council for the Social Studies, St. Olaf College, Univ. of St. Thomas, US News & World Report, World Book Encyclopedia

Have any more verifiable statistics?  E-mail me!

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