Comparison of English and German

ZahnarztgehilfinEisenbahnstreckeMarienkäfernest

… German: difficult to learn?

Mein Name ist Markus. Ich bin 25 Jahre alt und ich bin Englischlehrer.

English, German, Norwegian,… have common roots

Germanic languages

West Germanic Languages: English, German, Dutch

North Germanic Languages: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish,…

Some words are identical

• English

– Hand– Arm– Sand– Finger

• German

– Hand– Arm– Sand– Finger

Germanisms, Anglicisms

• In the English language

– Food and drink: hamburger, sauerkraut, wiener…

– Sports:to abseil, rucksack (backpack in AmE)…

– Literature:bildunsroman, künstlerroman,…

– Other aspects: kindergarten, zeitgeist,…

• In the German language

Computer, internet, mouse,….

Mountainbike, Skateboard,…

Fastfood, …

Language spread

English German

English• 300 – 400 million native

speakers• Spoken on all

continents• Official language in

many countries of the former British Empire(eg.: Ghana, NOTE: English is no official language neither in the USA nor in Australia)

German• Over a 100 million

native speakers• Spoken mainly in

Europe• Most widely spoken

language in Europe (as a native language!)

• 38% of Europe‘s population say they can converse in German

Politics

• Former British Empire (Canada, Australia, UK)by the late 19th century truly global

• The USA as a global superpower since WW II

=> importance of English

European Union

• About 500 million people• 27 members• 23 official languages• 3 working languages: English, French, German

Business

The USA?… an economic superpower

What about the German-speaking countries?… …

Germany

• The powerhouse of the EU• The most important trading partner for almost

all European partners and many non-European partners

• The 3rd largest industrial nation• Germans spend the most on tourism

worldwide

German companies

… and the rest of the German-speaking countries?

• Tourism: a major industry in Austria, Switzerland and parts of Germany

• Switzerland and Luxembourg – the wealthiest countries in Europe

Nevertheless, German is losing out to English…

• "Whereas in Hungary and Slovakia, Germany was stronger after reunification for traditional reasons, English is winning out nowadays more and more in the business world. […] English has even become the dominant foreign language in the Czech Republic in recent years. Whereas a few years ago, companies from the German linguistic area preferred local workers with a knowledge of German, they now accept more and more English-speaking employees.“

Source: http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/abinitio/whygerm7.html

German in America

• Americans of German descent the largest self-reported group in the US

• At 1990 census: one of four Americans claimed some form of German ancestry

• As late as 1910 nine million people in the US spoke German

Science

• Today: English the international language of science

• Around 1920: German-speaking countries the forefront of scientific disciplines

• 30% of scientific publications were written in German (now less than 5%)

• 40% of Nobel Prize winners spoke German (now less than 10%)

Nevertheless,

• German is the second most commonly used language for scholarly publications worldwide

• 40% of scientists in the USA recommend the study of German. In Poland and Hungary the figure is over 70%

Source: http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/pro/german4u.pdf

Arts and Culture• Books, magazines and newspapers written in

English available all around the world• German: 2nd most used language in the internet

after English• Literature: one in ten books in the world

published in German (80,000 new book titles a year)

• German-speaking countries – rich cultural heritage: „land of the poets and thinkers“– Classical music: Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss,…– Philosophies of Kant, Marx,…

Negative evaluation of German culture

• Because people don‘t go there on holidays?• Because history teaching concentrates too

much on Germany‘s nazi era?• Because of WWII films?• ….?• ….?• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXhvdHrC1RM