Why Study German?
To have another language is to possess a second soul. - Charlemagne
The limits of my language are the limits of my world. - Wittgenstein
Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own. - Goethe
He who enters into the house of language, gets to know the people and culture of those who live inside. He also learns to name things anew. - Schami
WHY STUDY A FOREIGN LANGUAGE?
Studying a second language is good for your brain and personal development; it delays cognitive decline and makes you more flexible and open-minded. Learning another language pushes the limits of your world and expands your cultural horizon. It also brings a fuller understanding and appreciation of your own language and culture.
If these sound rather esoteric, here are more concrete reasons to study a foreign language: it gives you a competitive edge in today's global economy, provides access to untranslated materials critical to research, and allows you to communicate and network with people across the world.
Studying a new language can also be really exciting and fun!
WHY GERMAN?
There are many compelling reasons why you should study German, in particular. For starters, perhaps you're intrigued by a culture that has produced such poetic words as Fernweh (the opposite of homesickness, lit. the painful desire you feel for faraway places) or its less anguished twin, Wanderlust. Or the perplexing, possibly unattainable Vergangenheitsbewältigung (overcoming the past). How about the relatable verschlimmbessern (making something worse in the process of trying to improve it) or the impressive mouthful Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (a law regulating the labeling of beef). You will find other such linguistic treasures at the bottom of this page—and so many more once you delve into the language.
Words aside, there are solid pragmatic, career-oriented and personal reasons to study German and the Goethe Institute, worldwide cultural ambassador for all things German, has listed a few of them on their website at https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/wdl.html.
Here are even more Reasons to Study German:
German has the largest number of native speakers in the European Union (far more than English, Spanish, or French).
German is among the ten most commonly spoken languages in the world. It is also a lingua franca of Central and Eastern Europe. And as for “all Germans speak English anyway”? That’s myth.
92 Nobel Prizes and counting! 22 Nobel Prizes in Physics, 30 in Chemistry, and 25 in Medicine have gone to scientists from the three major German-speaking countries, while many laureates from other countries received their training in German universities. 11 Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to German-language writers, and 7 Germans and Austrians have received the Peace Prize.
Germans are world leaders in engineering.
German and English are similar. Many words in German sound or look the same as equivalent English words, because the two languages share the same “grandparent.” For example, look at these words:Haus = house, Buch = book, Finger = finger, Hand = hand, Name = name, Mutter = mother, schwimmen = to swim, singen = to sing, kommen = to come, blau = blue, alt = old, windig = windy.
The German-speaking world has produced some of the most revered filmmakers of the 20th century – from Fritz Lang to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and a generation of transnational directors such as Tom Tykwer and Fatih Akin. German and Austrian filmmakers such as Lang, Billy Wilder and Ernst Lubitsch also shaped the history of Hollywood.
German is the language of (take a breath) Arendt, Bach, Beethoven, Bonhoeffer, Brahms, Brecht, Buber, Einstein, Freud, Goethe, Grass, Hegel, Heidegger, Heisenberg, Kafka, Kant, Mahler, Mann, Marx, Mozart, Nietzsche, Planck, Schoenberg, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, Weber, and hundreds more great philosophers, writers, artists, scientists, and composers. But these days it’s also the language of choice for writers, filmmakers and thinkers from a wide array of cultural backgrounds, such as Yoko Tawada, Zsuzsanna Gahse, Terézia Mora, Michael Stavarič and Melinda Nadj Abonji. German isn’t just for “Germans” anymore (it actually never was).
German is the second most commonly used scientific language in the world.
Almost a fifth of the world’s books are published in German, of which few appear in English translation.
68% of all Japanese students study German. What do they know that you don’t?
Many of the Western world’s most important works of philosophy, literature, music, art history, theology, psychology, chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine are written in German and continue to be produced in German.
Germany is the world’s second-largest exporter.
The German economy ranks number one in Europe and number four worldwide. Its economy is comparable to that of all the world’s Spanish-speaking countries combined.
Germany is home to numerous international corporations.
Direct investment by Germany in the United States is over ten billion dollars.
(source: http://www.bu.edu/wll/home/why-study-german/)
As you study German, you may come up with your own reasons. Perhaps you will rediscover a German-language text you first read in English translation and finally appreciate its original beauty. Or, as has happened to a number of our alumni, the German language may lead you towards a new home, career, best friend, colleague, and sometimes even a spouse.
