Do you want to learn or improve your German language skills? There is no better place to study than in Germany.
Reasons to Learn German
- Communication: German is spoken by more than 120 million people in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and in parts of Belgium, Northern Italy and Eastern France.
- Business: German is a key language in the European Union and the new economies of Central and Eastern Europe. Learning German improves your chances of success on the job market.
- Culture: German is one of the most important cultural languages. It was spoken and written by Goethe, Mozart, Beethoven, Freud, Klimt and Einstein, and numerous other great artists and scientists.
About German
The official language of Germany is German. The standard form of German is called Hochdeutsch (High German). This is accent-free or better dialect-free German, the official form of the language. It is understood by all and spoken by many Germans. However, every region has its dialect, which might pose sometimes a challenge to those who speak even good German – and sometimes to native speakers as well.
What Other Languages Are Spoken in Germany?
All Germans learn English at school, so you should be able to get by with English in most places. Many people-especially in the tourism industry and higher educated persons–also speak French, Russian or Spanish, but if you can’t speak German, English remains your best bet. Even if one member of the staff doesn’t speak English, you are likely to find someone who does and is more than willing to help you.
Russian is also very useful in the area popularly known as East Germany, as virtually everyone was taught that language at school, albeit not as extensively as in its Slavic neighbours. In the southeastern part of that area, a small Slavic community of 50,000 also speak the Sorbian language, the least spoken modern Slavic language today, but widely protected from near-extinction since 1945. Sorbian is divided into two dialects just like German: Upper and Low Sorbian, with the former being the most commonly used.
If you address a German with English, you can ask ‘Do you speak English’? Or its German translation ‘Sprechen Sie Englisch’? This is considered a sign of politeness.
Germans less fluent in the English language often answer questions very briefly (one or two words) because they feel uncertain how to create a complete English sentence. This might sometimes appear impolite but it is not at all meant this way. Germans less fluent in the English also often say become instead of get because the German word bekommen (get) is phonetically so close to become. Since it’s polite to reply Bitte if someone thanks you, Germans may literally translate this with please instead of here you are or you’re welcome. Another source of confusion is that Germans call mobile (cell) phones a Handy and many of them regard this as an English word.
Is German Difficult to Learn?
German can be a challenging language to pick up, especially compared to other European languages. Germany uses the 24 hour format for times, people very often use 12 hour times in conversations. There is no real suffix like AM/PM, though you can add vormittags (before noon) and nachmittags (after noon) when it’s not clear from the context. Another difference is that when saying the time is 7:30 the English would say half past seven where as the Germans say the time half to eight, or halb acht. In addition, Germans say two-digit numbers backwards: instead of twenty-two they say two and twenty. Numbers below 20 are said the same way as in English. This becomes especially important when you inquire for prices, although most who speak English with you should use the correct form. It is still better to double-check what is really meant.
Popular Places to Study
The main cities are where most schools are located include: Augsburg, Bamberg, Berlin, Blossin, Bonn, Brunswick, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Ebernburg, Erfurt, Essen, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Freising, Greifswald, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Horb am Neckar, Leipzig, Lindau, Lübbecke, Mainz, Muenster, Munich, Nuremberg, Oberwesel, Radolfzell, Regensburg, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden.