The value of knowing German

More People Speak German Than You Realize
- German is the official language of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.
- German is the native language roughly 120 million people living in all of Europe.
- German is the third most popular language world-wide.
- 68% of Japanese students learn German because of its value.
Knowing German Gives You an Advantage in the Business World
- Germany has the world’s fourth largest economy.
- Germany is the #2 export nation in the world, only recently edged out by China.
- German companies provide roughly 800,000 jobs in the United States.
- German speakers are the biggest group of potential business partners in the EU.
- In sales, a customer is more likely to buy your product if you speak their language.
- Germany hosts two-thirds of the world’s trade fairs.
Germans Have a Knack for Science and Technology
- Many scientific discoveries happen in German-speaking countries.
- A lot of scientific information is only available in German.
- Four of the world’s ten most innovative companies are located in Germany.
Germans Have a Rich Culture
- German Authors: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Herman Hesse
- German Musicians: Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Händel, Mozart, Strauss, Wagner
- German Philosophers: Kant, Kegel, Marx, Nietzsche
- German Artists: Dürer, Kollwitz
German Heritage is Everywhere
- 25% of all Americans have German ancestry, and that number increases to about 50% in the Midwest.
- German is not as hard to learn as most people believe. German and English are sister languages and they use many of the same words, for example: friend = Freund, house = Haus, perfect = perfekt