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Modern Languages and Classics |
Why Learn German?
SCIENTIFIC REASONS:
- German-speaking scientists are in the forefront of engineering,
pharmaceuticals, environmental sciences and natural resource
management.
- German is in second place as language of scientific
publication after English.
- German
and American researchers collaborate on many international projects,
such as SPACELAB, the International Nautical Almanac, and
JOIDES (Joint Oceanographic Institutes for Deep Earth Sampling).
ACADEMIC REASONS:
- Many of the greatest thinkers and artists of the modern
era thought and wrote in German
- 18% of all books published world-wide
every year are published in German
- American
undergraduate and graduate programs most often require or recommend
that their applicants learn German
- German is closely related to English and
36 other "Germanic" languages
- learning Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish,
or Yiddish is therefore easier after you have learned German.
ECONOMIC REASONS:
- After the U.S. and Japan, Germany has the third largest
economy in the world.
- Germany is the U.S.'s largest European trading partner:
more than 1000 companies do business in the U.S., and
more than 750 American companies do business there.
- Next
to China, Germany hosts more trade shows than any other country in
the world.
- Alongside Russian, German is the most frequently spoken Native
language in Europe.
- German is the most widely spoken second language in Europe,
and is especially important as a language of business in
the emerging Eastern European markets, where 13 Million students
are learning German, and not English, as their second language.
- More than 25% of all foreign tourists visiting the U.S. each
year come from German-speaking countries.
HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
If you have never had German before, you can enroll either in GER
101 in the first, and GER
102 in the second semester (8 credits) and continue in
the second year with GER 203 and GER 204, or you have the option
of taking the entire elementary and intermediate sequence in
one year, by enrolling in GER
121/223: Schnelldeutsch (12 credits).
If you have had German before, your best course of action is to take the placement
test first and then enroll in the appropriate class.
After you have completed the intermediate level, you are eligible to spend
up to a year studying German in
Austria at the University of Salzburg.
Planning to pursue a job or internship in a German-speaking country? GER
307: German for the Professions will help prepare you to succeed in a professional
environment.
Back to Why Learn Languages?
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