Learn German

Why learn German?

German is very useful for travelling in Europe. It is the native language of a good hundred million people - mainly in Germany and Austria but also in parts of Switzerland and Luxembourg and in Lichtenstein. It is also widely spoken as a second language in Eastern Europe, particularly in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Germany has had a turbulent history, of course, but is a beautiful, cultured, stimulating place. Wonderful scenery; interesting architecture; a strong tradition of inventors, composers and philosophers; thumping nightlife and great beer - Germany has a lot to offer. (If you like beer, you have got to experience the world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich.)

Whether you are interested in getting involved with a German-speaking country for holidays, for business or just out of curiosity, there is no doubt that it is an enormous advantage to know the language.

For English speakers, a lot of the vocabulary is easily recognisable. For example:

das Haus (the house)
der Mann (the man)
die Musik (the music)

All the nouns begin with a capital letter, which makes it easy to distinguish them from other words.

German grammar can be quite tricky for native English speakers. If you have studied Latin or know some modern Greek, this will be a help to you because the most difficult aspect of German is that the nouns and articles change according to their function in the sentence. For example:

Der Mann arbeitet. (The man works.)
Ich sehe den Mann. (I see the man.)
Ich bin die Schwester des Mannes. (I am the sister of the man.)

The work for 'the' is different in each sentence, even though we are always using the same noun. The noun itself changes in the genitive, to show possession. This is the same principle as English pronouns changing, depending whether we are talking about the subject or the object of the sentence:

I see him. (I am the subject and he is the object.)
He sees me. (He is the subject and I am the object.)

In compensation for the rather challenging grammar, German spelling and pronunciation are pretty straightforward and, as indicated above, much of the vocabulary has common roots with English.