German is not just spoken in Germany and is, in fact, one of the most widely taught languages among European countries. According to the European Commission, 22.5 percent of children from across 27 countries in Europe learn German at school. Furthermore, German is the official language of Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and it is widely spoken in several other European countries, as well. There are 120 million native German speakers across the world, so if you like traveling and meeting new people along the way, speaking German can come in very handy.
Germany has the third largest economy in the world, and according to the European Commission, Germany exports the most products in Europe and is the second largest exporter in the world, after China. A number of multinational companies, such as BMW, Siemens and Bosch, are German companies in need of German-speaking employees throughout the world. German companies create 700,000 jobs in the United States alone.
Not only does speaking German enable you to communicate when traveling in Europe, but it helps when German travelers go on vacation themselves. In 2007, Germans spent $129 billion on international travel, and hundreds of thousands of German tourists visit the United States every year. German workers have an average of six weeks of vacation each year, giving them ample time to travel. Knowing German enables you to converse with these German tourists; moreover, if you run a business, you will have a distinct advantage in terms of gaining the patronage of German visitors over competitors who cannot converse with them.
Just more than 50 million Americans, or 17 percent of the population, have German ancestry, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This makes German-Americans the largest heritage group in the United States. In this instance, learning German can be seen as a testament to your roots; if you are interested in researching your ancestry, it can help you when reading old documents you uncover.
Approximately one in 10 of the world's books are published in German, and German-speaking writers produce almost 80,000 new book titles a year. Only Chinese and English language markets produce more books. Germany also has a massive Internet presence, and the .de domain extension is the second most-used extension in the world, following .com. So if you love reading and gathering information, knowing German can be extremely valuable to you.
If you're looking for a career in the sciences, learning German can be highly beneficial. Not only is German the second most used scientific language, but Germany is also the third most prominent contributor to scientific research and development. The country also offers research fellowships to scientists from other countries, and knowing German could make the vital difference in your chances of successfully getting a fellowship.
With its stronghold on the international business community and the importance placed on scientific development, it comes as no surprise that knowing German can also put you in the running for working opportunities in Germany. Those interested in working in the country may be offered special visas given to skilled and professional workers who want to live and work there.
Germany offers a number of scholarships to support international students wanting to study or continue their studies in Germany. Additionally, the country sponsors more than 60,000 international student exchanges every year. Unlike other international studying opportunities, German universities treat directly enrolled international students the same as German students and, therefore, international students do not pay tuition fees.
In addition to providing access to modern German books and information on websites, learning German can also give you access to German classics. Internationally known classic German authors include Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. German cultural heritage extends beyond the literary world, too. Famous German-speaking composers include Mozart, Bach and Beethoven, and philosophers include Marx, Hegel and Kant. Learning German can, therefore, open up many aspects of German cultural heritage to you.
German-speaking Switzerland offers its residents one of the highest qualities of life in the world. To enjoy this country's high standards of living as a resident, you'll need to learn the German language.