German:
An Important European Language
German is spoken by over 100 million people, primarily in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. There are smaller communities of active German-speakers in Italy, Belgium, and Luxemburg.
Pockets of German-speakers exist in Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Brazil; but German is mostly limited to the European continent. Of the major Western European tongues – English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese-- German is the least international of the group.
Although it does not have the global reach of French or Spanish, German is an important language in Europe. Germany has the largest economy in the European Union. Many non-German Europeans learn the language; German is an especially popular second language in Eastern Europe.
For native English speakers, German lies in the midrange of difficulty. German is more difficult than Spanish, but much easier than Russian or Arabic. It is probably about as difficult as French.
German and English share common roots, so you will notice scores of words that are the same (or nearly the same) in both languages: Hand, Industrie, warm, starten. German pronunciation takes some time to master---- but less time than either French or Russian pronunciation.
For most students, the most challenging aspect of German is its grammar. German grammar contains some rules which strike the English speaker as wholly counterintuitive. For example, the middle vowels of many nouns change when they become plural.
Along with French and Spanish, German is one of the traditional “Big Three” languages studied in American high schools; so you should have no trouble finding classroom courses, audio CD programs, and reading materials. If you live in North America, you may not have ready access to native speakers of the language, but there is plenty of German on the internet--- including some online radio broadcasts.
