Please give me some good reasons for taking German as a foreign language

[Rebecca VA]

The battle is still raging here, LOL. My rising ninth grader wants to take German in high school, and we want her to take French. Her reasons for wanting to take German are flimsy, and they mostly have to do with the fact that (1) she doesn't like her middle-school French teacher; (2) she thinks Chinese will be too hard; (3) we won't let her take Spanish because we want her to take a more demanding language while she's in high school; (4) she has already taken 2-1/2 years of Latin and wants something different; (5) she met the German teacher at her new high school and thought he was nice.

 

She is making all kinds of wild claims ("I love the sound of German! I would love to read about Hitler and the Iron Curtain and um..um...all that German stuff!") to get her way. She really has no experience at all with German. Our family is not of German descent.

 

My husband and I want her to take French, and we both feel pretty strongly about this. However, we are willing to consider German -- but we just can't think of any good reasons that a person living outside of Germany would need it. Please, Hive members, help my daughter's cause and give us some reasons why it would benefit her to take German.

 

We have to make our decision within the next couple of days.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The battle is still raging here, LOL. My rising ninth grader wants to take German in high school, and we want her to take French. Her reasons for wanting to take German are flimsy, and they mostly have to do with the fact that (1) she doesn't like her middle-school French teacher; (2) she thinks Chinese will be too hard; (3) we won't let her take Spanish because we want her to take a more demanding language while she's in high school; (4) she has already taken 2-1/2 years of Latin and wants something different; (5) she met the German teacher at her new high school and thought he was nice.

 

She is making all kinds of wild claims ("I love the sound of German! I would love to read about Hitler and the Iron Curtain and um..um...all that German stuff!") to get her way. She really has no experience at all with German. Our family is not of German descent.

 

My husband and I want her to take French, and we both feel pretty strongly about this. However, we are willing to consider German -- but we just can't think of any good reasons that a person living outside of Germany would need it. Please, Hive members, help my daughter's cause and give us some reasons why it would benefit her to take German.

 

We have to make our decision within the next couple of days.

 

Language learning involves hard work, no matter what language you're learning. It is a little easier if you have some motivation for it.

 

I remember having a similar conversation when I started studying German.

Since then I've been a foreign exchange student (to a little dairy farm), had a college German language study trip to Germany, done a Russian language study program that was located in Germany, and lived in Germany for three years. (My dh still says that it was my knowledge of German and Germany that sealed the deal for his getting the 3 year job.)

 

But I think that languages open doors that you don't even know are there. One of my friends works for Deutsche Welle in the US. She got the job because she'd learned German and studied in Germany. I have frequently encountered German speaking tourists in the US and in other countries. Sometimes my German ability has been able to smooth a hardship for them. (On a similar note of opening doors, I met my dh long ago, because we were both students of Russian and were therefore trying to engage with a group of Soviet sailors on a ship visit to the US.)

 

Will you be conducting business or science in German? Probably not. It seemed that English was the common language of many international projects that we were familiar with when we lived in Germany. In fact, one German company rep had to appologize for not being familiar with his presentation in German because he usually gave it in English. However, if you were working on a project in Germany, there is no reason to think that the community at large will have English ability.

 

Maybe turn it around? What is compelling about French?

 

Or ask your dd to compile a meaningful list of reasons to study German rather than French.

 

I'm not saying that the reasons she gave aren't trivial. Just that an unwilling language student is often an unsuccessful one.

[Lolly]

Ummmm...Why on earth would you want her to take French??? That is a language that would be at the bottom of my list.

 

Why should she take German? The best reason she could have is...because she WANTS to. In high school (particularly) it is very important to allow our children to start taking some direction based on their interests and desires. Which language to take would be one of those places. So many other classes are dictated to them as required. Which language is not so important as the intensive study of a different language for 3 years.

 

Really? French?:tongue_smilie: (I am jking with you. Although, French truly is at the bottom of my list as far as languages go!)

[Bluegoat]

Why not take German? Here in Canada there is some reason to take French for employment purposes, but I'd let a high school student pick German if she preferred.

 

I also don't see how French is more difficult than Spanish?

 

German has some very interesting grammatical aspects and English is a Germanic language. There is a lot of great German literature (Goethe anyone?) and many 20th century philosophers wrote in German.

[sahm99]

I am German.

I would not have studied German if it wasn't my mother tongue. I don't think it is a "nice/beautiful" language (Italian, French,...), and I don't think German is a particularly "useful" language...

 

...BUT, I am really, really happy that German is my mother tongue, as it is a very complex language, and if mastered to perfection allows for an incredible level of precision. German has a very high level of grammar, combined with a rich vocabulary (not to the extend of English, but well beyond the Romance languages).

For an English native speaker, German comes very close to the modern equivalent of Latin, imo.

 

I will not try to sell you on the great books written in German...you have these in French just the same...

 

Most importantly, I would not attempt to force-feed a language to a teen - particularly is said teen seems to have well established preferences...

 

My advice is to lean back and have your daughter prove herself right!

Edited May 14, 2012 by sahm99

[beachmom]

My ds is taking German and just took the AP German exam. He loves it and his couple of years of Latin helped. I don't know if he'll get a job with it one day but I hope it will look good on his resume.

[Rebecca VA]

The reason we'd like her to take French is that:

 

(1) It's spoken in many areas of world, like Canada and parts of Africa and Asia, as well as Europe, and she is the type who would want to travel to all those places. I can easily see her seeking out a job that offered a chance to live in a foreign country and travel.

 

(2) It's kind of a standard language that most educated people know. It's a language diplomats use, and she is more likely to be successful striking up a conversation on an airplane using French than German.

 

(3) It should be fairly easy for her since she has mastered Latin. German would be a whole different type of language from what she has been taking (Germanic vs. Romance).

 

We don't know what kind of job she will end up doing in life. She is good at many things, but has shown no particular leaning toward anything yet.

 

I'm still willing to be convinced!! Please keep your answers coming!

Edited May 14, 2012 by Rebecca VA

[Karen in CO]

You never know what doors are in her future to open or close with a language. If she is motivated to take German and likes the teacher then I'd let her take it. It is a challenging language that will stretch her mind as well as her linguistic abilities, and the desire to learn it is the best argument for German and against every other language.

[sahm99]

(4) This sounds prejudiced, but my husband and I think the German culture is...kind of harsh and even immoral (I was doing a search for German language DVDs so L. could hear what German sounds like, and found lots of p*rn DVDs about Thailand, etc. Ick.) It just isn't...congenial to the way we've brought her up. I hope that doesn't offend anyone. I mean, I know Bach and Handel spoke German, but they lived hundreds of years ago, not in present-day Germany.

 

Yes, that does sound prejudiced!

My husband is French, and I left Germany (for Italy) when I was 6. I have since lived in very different parts of the world, and am confident that my view on Germany is far from being sugar-coated.

Germany today, more than ever, is a vibrating, colorful, tolerant and, yes, very moral country. I do not have the time now, to get seriously started on "French morals"...but you might want to dig a bit (a lot!) deeper into French (and German) culture, than comparing the number of easily accessible p*rn titles...

[Rebecca VA]

Sahm99, talk to me some more about the German culture. I do want to hear about it. If I sound prejudiced, it's because all I know is Hitler and bad things I've read about German tourists in Asian countries. I'm willing to have my mind changed! Tell me about the moral aspects.

[sahm99]

I'm happy to write more - I'll get back to you tonight!

 

I, myself, have done a long voyage in the way I see Germany (my grand-pa is a post WWII US-soldier, my other grand-parents came of age in the midst of Nazi Germany, my parents grew up in a country trying to re-invent itself, and me, I have been but a visitor for the last 30 years...).:)

[regentrude]

(4) This sounds prejudiced, but my husband and I think the German culture is...kind of harsh and even immoral (I was doing a search for German language DVDs so L. could hear what German sounds like, and found lots of p*rn DVDs about Thailand, etc. Ick.) It just isn't...congenial to the way we've brought her up. I hope that doesn't offend anyone. I mean, I know Bach and Handel spoke German, but they lived hundreds of years ago, not in present-day Germany.

I *really* don't mean the above in an offensive way. She is sort of the southern blonde type, we're Reformed Baptist, she grew up going to Cotillion every year, and so on. German culture would be a shock to her.

 

I do not see how the above can NOT be taken as offensive - clearly you are utterly unfamiliar with modern German culture. I can assure you that most Germans do not consume the kinds of DVDs you mention. I suggest you look on Netflix in the foreign film section for quality German Art films. Music and literature have not stopped with Bach and Goethe.

 

The remark about German culture being "harsh and immoral" coming from an American is rather bizarre if I consider some of the things US popular culture has to offer. It is generally offensive and prejudicial to make this kind of blanket statements about one people or one culture.

 

Aside from all the other reasons people have mentioned: The best motivation to learn a foreign language is to WANT to. Liking the teacher will make her much more likely to succeed than being forced to study a language she has no interest in.

[mumto2]

The reality is for travel she already speaks a popular language--english. People help our family all the time. They hear us talking in English and want to use their English. We get around Europe great--mainly German(dh is fluent) and English. A little bit of Spanish and French--menus mainly:lol:. If she is convinced she wants to learn German let her. She will probably do great just to prove her point. She can always learn French later.

[Teachin'Mine]

If you want to hear some beautiful German spoken, listen to Pope Benedict speaking in his native language.

 

I would definitely encourage her to take the language she wants to learn.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Teachin'Mine

[Rebecca VA]

I took the offensive comment away. I said twice that I wasn't trying to be offensive or prejudiced, and that I was willing to have my mind changed. I've never been to Germany and was asking for advice.

[aggieamy]

I love German - the language, the culture, the food so I'm going to be another vote for that over French.

 

My vote is because:

 

She wants to learn it. She's almost an adult and this is not that big of a decision, I'd let her make it.

 

Some of the biggest companies in the world are German (Siemons for one) and knowing the language could be a huge benefit.

 

Germany is an amazing place to travel to. I'd be hard pressed to name a country that was cleaner or better organized. The people were incredibly friendly also.

[sixglides]

My son took 4 years of German, took the AP exam/scored well, awesome German teacher at his school. He ended up taking a 6 week trip there between jr & sr year. He calls the trip life changing. Honestly, the teacher made all the difference!! The kids all LOVE her. Son said while in Germany, the German kids made fun of their German, were more likely to speak English.

 

My brother-in-law, years ago, also took several years of German (same teacher), did the 6 week trip twice, studied in Germany/Austria for a semester in college. We visited him there during college. Amazing place to visit! Culture, culture, culture!! Of course, we happened to hit a music festival, where choirs from all over with complete orchestras were playing in the streets of Vienna (Austria)...magical to say the least.

 

My DD (now 16) is homeschooled. She's worked through 2 years of German on her own. No easy task. She's spending 6 weeks there this summer with the school my son went with. Bless that teacher for taking her!!

 

Is it a practical language? Probably not. But, my impression of language in high school, it's the rare student who uses the language long term anyway.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

(2) It's kind of a standard language that most educated people know. It's a language diplomats use, and she is more likely to be successful striking up a conversation on an airplane using French than German.

 

 

This varies greatly from country to country. Our experience was that conversations were either in English or in the host nation language. After that there were pockets of Russian, Spanish, French and lots of others. All of the French speakers I met knew a couple other languages too. But there were many women who were isolated and could only speak Spanish, Russian or their home language and Russian (example, Estonian and Russian or Bulgarian and Russian), or their native language.

 

(One of the more comic/tragic experiences I had was translating for a tour guide from German into English for the non German speaking wives on a trip, while a Portuguese wife took my English and translated it into Spanish for the wives who spoke nothing else.)

 

Because the world of active diplomatic efforts has moved well beyond Europe, there are just many more languages in play. I tended to speak German not only with the Germans/Austrians/Swiss, but also with the various Scandanavian wives and some of the women from Eastern European countries.

 

YMMV, I'm sure my friends who were in sub-Saharan African countries used far more French than I did.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I took the offensive comment away. I said twice that I wasn't trying to be offensive or prejudiced, and that I was willing to have my mind changed. I've never been to Germany and was asking for advice.

 

You can find more info about Germany from the German Information Center.

 

You can find videos of Die Sendung mit der Maus or Wissen macht ah! online or on iTunes.

 

If you have cable, see if they have Deutsche Welle or any of the German news broadcasts.

 

Germany is a large country. There are less than desirable elements to it, just as there are to English speaking countries (Thailand is also a popular destination for certain types of British travelers, but I don't think you can write of a language for that.)

 

ETA: Unless you are learning it in order to sing, I find picking a language by the pleasantness of the sound a little odd. I've found that familiarity brings a lot more pleasantness to the ear than just sound qualities.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Sebastian (a lady)

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Ruth in CA]

It is a complex system whose syntax structure will build on what she already knows from Latin. In addition, because it is different from romance languages she is already familiar with, this will expand her knowledge of the variety of languages in the world.

[Candid]

The reason we'd like her to take French is that:

 

(1) It's spoken in many areas of world, like Canada and parts of Africa and Asia, as well as Europe, and she is the type who would want to travel to all those places. I can easily see her seeking out a job that offered a chance to live in a foreign country and travel.

 

If you are going to go by this then Spanish or Mandarian are the way to go. Take a look at this chart:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

329 million native Spanish speakers vs. 68 million French speakers. German has 90 million.

 

(2) It's kind of a standard language that most educated people know. It's a language diplomats use, and she is more likely to be successful striking up a conversation on an airplane using French than German.

 

This is incorrect, see above.

 

AND you are wrong about the education part. I've never heard the part about diplomats so I would verify that, but I have heard many, many graduate students who had to take German for their graduate program because it is a widely used language for their program of study. Those that I remember for sure are psychology and theology, but I think maybe other sciences would also have this be the case.

 

(3) It should be fairly easy for her since she has mastered Latin. German would be a whole different type of language from what she has been taking (Germanic vs. Romance).

 

We don't know what kind of job she will end up doing in life. She is good at many things, but has shown no particular leaning toward anything yet.

 

I'm still willing to be convinced!! Please keep your answers coming!

 

This is correct and it is something I would talk to her about. However, from your point of view this is a plus. Learning a difficult language in high school will make it easier for her to pick up other languages later.

[Michelle in MO]

I love German - the language, the culture, the food so I'm going to be another vote for that over French.

 

My vote is because:

 

She wants to learn it. She's almost an adult and this is not that big of a decision, I'd let her make it.

 

Some of the biggest companies in the world are German (Siemons for one) and knowing the language could be a huge benefit.

 

Germany is an amazing place to travel to. I'd be hard pressed to name a country that was cleaner or better organized. The people were incredibly friendly also.

 

If she is truly interested in studying German, it's difficult for me to understand the objections you would have to the language or culture. I wouldn't think that German culture is any less moral than other cultures. :confused:

 

Personally, I love the German language and culture. Their history is so much more than what happened there prior to and during WWII.

 

Also, you never know what doors might open for your dd. German is very precise and is much closer in grammar and syntax to Latin than French. Also, I would agree with the poster who stated that French is not necessarily more difficult than Spanish. Also, if she has met the German teacher and likes him or her, she may be more likely to learn from that individual than from a teacher she doesn't care for. My middle daughter has had a fantastic history teacher throughout high school; he is so knowledgeable and so engaging. She has learned more from him about history and writing than any other teacher in her school. I think that's valuable.

 

I think it's important to let high school students have some discretionary input into their educational futures. I'd be thrilled if our local high schools offered another foreign language besides Spanish.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Michelle in MO

[Starr]

There are many reasons to learn languages but one is because you want to. And if you decide to learn another it will be easier. About Germany, I'm sorry you were not better able to sift through internet postings. Maybe an encyclopedia would be better. Go to the children's dept at your library and read some books about Germany. Read the news. Whatever language she learns you will all be happier for some world geography and cultural awareness.Personally I was an exchange student in Germany in the dark ages. My host sister's children have spent summers with us and we travel back and forth. It's a lovely country with lovely people.

[Nan in Mass]

So you can ask Swiss farmers for directions. So you can speak to your Ukranian foster son's Polish and Ukranian and German relatives.

 

I would have been happy if one of mine had wanted to study German because I have been in situations personally when it would have been useful, but also because we have done Latin (thereby making French and Spanish easier) and I would like my children to study other unrelated languages while they are young.

 

Mostly, though, I think you should let your daughter choose for herself. The more choices we can give our children, the more likely they are to consider their education their own and take pride in it and try to do a good job. You can't give her a choice about English or math or whether she takes a scienc, or even whether she takes a foreign language, but letting her choose the language is an easy place to give her a say in her own education.

 

Nan

[Carol in Cal.]

If you want usability, go for Arabic, Spanish, or Mandarin.

 

German is helpful in learning old English--they are much closer to each other than most realize. Also, the absolutely best choral music is written in either Latin or German, so it is WONDERFUL to understand some of each. Additionally, the best hymns in history are written in English or German, so knowing German is helpful for spiritual formation if that is important to your family.

 

A lot of research literature in some fields is only written in German, not translated. So a working knowledge of German is helpful in advanced studies in those fields, especially chemistry or theology.

[Riverland]

Her reasons for wanting to take German are flimsy, and they mostly have to do with the fact that (1) she doesn't like her middle-school French teacher; ..............(5) she met the German teacher at her new high school and thought he was nice.

 

 

This is not a flimsy reason at all! A good/bad teacher can make all the difference. With my kids who are in public school, we try to arrange their schedules based around who is teaching what. A good subject taught by a poor teacher (or a teacher the student does not connect with) is very frustrating for the student and leads to a dislike of that subject. While I am partial to Mandarin & Spanish, in this case I would choose German because your daughter WANTS it and will be more MOTIVATED to learn it.

[Julie in MN]

(3) It should be fairly easy for her since she has mastered Latin. German would be a whole different type of language from what she has been taking (Germanic vs. Romance).

But I assume she knows more English than Latin, so wouldn't German be easier because it's related to English?

 

This is not a flimsy reason at all! A good/bad teacher can make all the difference.

I agree!

Edited May 14, 2012 by Julie in MN

[Sebastian (a lady)]

But I assume she knows more English than Latin, so wouldn't German be easier because it's related to English?

 

 

I agree!

 

There are many words that are similar because the English word is descended from a Germanic word. (Example: father<Vater, bread<Brot, to live<leben)

 

German differs by virtue of having three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) as well as case (nominative, accusative, dative and genitive) and verb conjugation. Articles and adjectives agree with their noun in number/gender/case.

 

I studied both French and German in high school. I thought that German was more complicated in learning how to deal with adjectives and articles and the way that word order for verbs was handled for separable prefixes and dependent clauses. French had more nuanced verb conjugations, but seemed easier for nouns and adjectives. (German also has a tendency to use compound, complex sentences with multiple dependent clauses.)

 

That said, there are plenty of complexities in either to keep a student hopping.

 

I'm not suggesting that the study of French is unworthy of her time. (Or Spanish, Russian or Chinese. I've studied three different languages to various levels. I don't really think that any of that study was misspent.) I think you can make an argument in favor of any number of languages.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Sebastian (a lady)

[oraetstudia]

I haven't read every reply, but I have taken both French and German. I started French when I was quite young, but it never came easily and I was never good at it. I began German in middle school and went on to get a BA and an MA in German Lit. German was for some reason a language that clicked for me. I found it much easier to master than French, even though the vocabulary is larger and the grammar more complicated.

 

Although French is a Romance language, going from Latin to German would not be a bad thing. I know my years of German have helped me teach my children about different cases and endings in Latin.

 

As for what one can do with it -- I have one friend who works in international business, one teaching at a university in Europe, some friends who became German teachers, one friend in armed services intelligence, and I was a reference librarian before kids (although I did get an MLS on top of the German degrees). Those are German majors though. A few years of high school German means little. In college she may want to learn French, or Russian, or Arabic, and she will have lost little by learning a good and interesting language.

[kiwimummy]

I took German (and French) throughout highschool. I have been to Germany on a school exchange (attended highschool there), and then been back to both countries as an adult.

 

Germany is a very interesting country and culture, and German is useful travelling around Europe. I loved all my time there and would love to go back.

 

I'd let her take German, 1)Because she wants to 2) Because there is no compelling advantage over French IMO

 

(agree with other posters if you want usability then go for Mandarin or Arabic or something else)

[momofkhm]

For us, it's a family thing. Gra'ma is from Germany. We still have family that we connect with in Germany. DD has cousins she is facebook friends with who live in Germany. Works out great cousin writes to dd in English and gets good practice. DD writes to cousin in German and gets good practice.

 

DD just finished German 3 and said she finally understand Fouste. (I spelled that wrong, shoot me)

 

An interesting side story. My physics prof in college was doing a speaking tour in Asia. He didn't speak the native language. I can't remember where he was. He and he audience went around and around and finally they all came to the conclusion that everyone there could understand German. Not French. (Which he did speak.) German. So you never know when you will need what language.

[Susan in TN]

The reason we'd like her to take French is that:

 

(1) It's spoken in many areas of world, like Canada and parts of Africa and Asia, as well as Europe, and she is the type who would want to travel to all those places. I can easily see her seeking out a job that offered a chance to live in a foreign country and travel.

 

(2) It's kind of a standard language that most educated people know. It's a language diplomats use, and she is more likely to be successful striking up a conversation on an airplane using French than German.

 

(3) It should be fairly easy for her since she has mastered Latin. German would be a whole different type of language from what she has been taking (Germanic vs. Romance).

 

We don't know what kind of job she will end up doing in life. She is good at many things, but has shown no particular leaning toward anything yet.

 

I'm still willing to be convinced!! Please keep your answers coming!

 

Those are all good reasons. I took lots of German in school and have never, ever had a real reason to use it, except to CLEP out of my 8 language credits in college which was very very useful. :D

 

My sister took French and has never, ever had a reason to use it. Brother took Spanish. Ditto.

 

How about this. Let her take German for a year and if she decides to switch, have her take a different language at community college. One year of CC language is worth two years of high school.

[Rebecca VA]

Update: My husband and I read everyone's replies and were so grateful to get the information. We decided to let our daughter make the choice. I told her this morning that *she* would choose a language for herself (out of six that her high school will offer). The only caveat is that once she decides, she must stay with it for at least three years.

 

That took the wind out of her sails. She suddenly began to panic. She is still ruling out French, Latin, and Classical Greek, so her choices are Chinese (which she is suddenly reconsidering), German, and Spanish. I will let you know when she makes her decision.

[Riverland]

Update: My husband and I read everyone's replies and were so grateful to get the information. We decided to let our daughter make the choice. I told her this morning that *she* would choose a language for herself (out of six that her high school will offer). The only caveat is that once she decides, she must stay with it for at least three years.

 

That took the wind out of her sails. She suddenly began to panic. She is still ruling out French, Latin, and Classical Greek, so her choices are Chinese (which she is suddenly reconsidering), German, and Spanish. I will let you know when she makes her decision.

 

 

I'm glad she gets to choose. Since you are enforcing a 3 year commitment, I would suggest that she try to meet the teachers of the languages she's considering. Also, ask other students about their experiences with those languages/teachers in that school. Finally, go to the library or find some internet sites that offer basic language instruction so she can get a feel of each language she is considering. Before my dd started Mandarin, we checked out a cute Mandarin learning video from the library. She enjoyed it and it gave her a small head start in the class. The teacher appreciated that she came prepared with some basic knowledge.

 

Having had kids go through the public school system, I am acutely aware of how a good/bad teacher can make/break a class.

[momofkhm]

Another "need German" story.

 

Mom and a friend of hers went to Switzerland a few years ago on one of those tour things. Mom could recall her German and the friend knew French. Neither one knew Swiss. Some of the people they talked to knew French but not German. Some knew German but not French. Between the 2 languages, they could converse to any native people they wanted. A few even broke down and spoke English to them. :-)

[Yolanda in Mass]

 

Aside from all the other reasons people have mentioned: The best motivation to learn a foreign language is to WANT to. Liking the teacher will make her much more likely to succeed than being forced to study a language she has no interest in.

 

:iagree: I can't imagine why you wouldn't let your daughter choose her language. This is part of letting go; it's not easy, but it's necessary.

 

Yolanda

[sahm99]

Another "need German" story.

 

Mom and a friend of hers went to Switzerland a few years ago on one of those tour things. Mom could recall her German and the friend knew French. Neither one knew Swiss. Some of the people they talked to knew French but not German. Some knew German but not French. Between the 2 languages, they could converse to any native people they wanted. A few even broke down and spoke English to them. :-)

 

I know, I still owe a justification for calling modern Germany a "moral country", but in the meantime couldn't resist commenting the above.;)

 

Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh, all spoken in different areas.

"Swiss" as a language does not exist. The pronounciation can be VERY particular...but essentially you are still dealing with the "real thing" (now, don't let a Swiss read this:lol:).

Edited May 15, 2012 by sahm99

[elegantlion]

Sahm99, talk to me some more about the German culture. I do want to hear about it. If I sound prejudiced, it's because all I know is Hitler and bad things I've read about German tourists in Asian countries. I'm willing to have my mind changed! Tell me about the moral aspects.

 

My great grandmother (died before I was born) was a licensed doctor in Germany during a time when women had more difficulty. I don't know all the history, but she immigrated from German to the rural mid-west where she cared for her family, unlicensed.

 

My former SIL was German. She was beautiful and gracious with close knit family still in Germany. Many of her family homes have been in the family for hundreds of years. They get passed on to family members. I don't know, but it sounded like a normal occurrence in her area of Germany. That showed me the importance of care and providing for your family.

 

If we all we hear about Germany is the communism and Hitler, we miss out on a rich full history.

 

DS has German heritage on both sides of the family, he wants to study it in college most likely.

 

Update: My husband and I read everyone's replies and were so grateful to get the information. We decided to let our daughter make the choice. I told her this morning that *she* would choose a language for herself (out of six that her high school will offer). The only caveat is that once she decides, she must stay with it for at least three years.

 

That took the wind out of her sails. She suddenly began to panic. She is still ruling out French, Latin, and Classical Greek, so her choices are Chinese (which she is suddenly reconsidering), German, and Spanish. I will let you know when she makes her decision.

 

I am glad you are letting her decide. I've recently opened language choice to ds. We added Japanese last year and now he wants to start Russian. :001_huh: It's going to be an interesting year.

[regentrude]

My former SIL was German. She was beautiful and gracious with close knit family still in Germany. Many of her family homes have been in the family for hundreds of years. They get passed on to family members. I don't know, but it sounded like a normal occurrence in her area of Germany. That showed me the importance of care and providing for your family.

 

That is pretty normal. Germans tend to stay close to the area where they were born and grew up; they have very strong roots. The concept of "Heimat" is something that does not exist to the same degree in the US where people are much more mobile (and which has been populated by people who left their homes in the first place).

Germany is very densely populated and real estate expensive because land is limited. Whoever is able to afford a house (as opposed to an apartment) hangs on to it and keeps it in the family if at all possible.

 

As a result, I found families rather tightly knit. Even if people move apart, the distances are all within one easy day's drive because the country is small, and consequently they can see each other more often than can widely dispersed family members in the much larger US.

[razorbackmama]

This has nothing to do with your question, but I read the subject line as

 

Please give me some good reasons for FAKING German as a foreign language...

 

I came up with all sorts of good reasons to fake it!:lol:

 

OK sorry for the hijack...carry on!

[Susan in TN]

Sahm99, talk to me some more about the German culture. I do want to hear about it. If I sound prejudiced, it's because all I know is Hitler and bad things I've read about German tourists in Asian countries. I'm willing to have my mind changed! Tell me about the moral aspects.

 

I just wanted to throw in a plug for Eric Metaxas' biography "Bonnhoeffer". It gives an interesting picture of what life was like for Germans before and during WWII, as well as some of their cultural mindset. It's long, but well worth it.

[Rebecca VA]

She's STILL thinking about it. She can't make a decision to save her life. I'm afraid we're going to have to step in and decide between Spanish and German for her. We have to tell her new high school *tomorrow* what the choice is.

 

Someone mentioned (was it on another thread?) the Mango online language site. I'd never heard of it before, so I went to it and was so impressed! The sample lessons (we looked at German, Spanish, and Chinese) were delightful!

[Teachin'Mine]

One idea is to tell her you made the decision for her, and then tell her what it is. Either decision will work - it doesn't matter. Then let her sit with that decision until tomorrow, and then ask her how she feels about it before you call it in. If she's happy with it, then it's probably the right one. If she regrets not having gone with the other, then that's probably what she'd truly prefer. Either way, let her know it hasn't been called in yet and is still her decision to make. It just might help her to come to know her feelings better on the issue. Listening to both languages on Mango is a great idea! That might help her to decide. :) I would let her make the call so she knows it's her decision.

[Trilliums]

She's STILL thinking about it. She can't make a decision to save her life. I'm afraid we're going to have to step in and decide between Spanish and German for her. We have to tell her new high school *tomorrow* what the choice is.

 

Someone mentioned (was it on another thread?) the Mango online language site. I'd never heard of it before, so I went to it and was so impressed! The sample lessons (we looked at German, Spanish, and Chinese) were delightful!

 

Many public libraries offer Mango free to patrons. Worth checking out. Otherwise I think you can find offers for $39 per year.

DS used it for Mandarin with a tutor. The tutor did point out done discrepancies, but I wonder if they were regional differences.

[Rebecca VA]

She chose...German. It took her two weeks, a Facebook poll, and umpteen discussions with us to make that choice, but we could see it coming all along. That's where her heart has been.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your help and advice!

[Harriet Vane]

She chose...German. It took her two weeks, a Facebook poll, and umpteen discussions with us to make that choice, but we could see it coming all along. That's where her heart has been.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your help and advice!

 

Good for you for supporting her in that choice. It will be an adventure to see where this path leads.

[Carol in Cal.]

I haven't read every reply, but I have taken both French and German. I started French when I was quite young, but it never came easily and I was never good at it. I began German in middle school and went on to get a BA and an MA in German Lit. German was for some reason a language that clicked for me. I found it much easier to master than French, even though the vocabulary is larger and the grammar more complicated.

 

 

 

This is not that surprising, since German is a major source language for English. After all, Saxony is part of Germany. (Ref. 'Anglo-Saxon') My great familiarity with the King James Bible made the connections much clearer than just knowing modern English would have done. The 'est' ending for 'thee', for instance, is just like the German 'du'. Obscure words are often related. Defenistrate, for instance, means to throw out the window in obscure English. Fenster means window in German. Also, German is extremely phonetic, more so than French, and its pronunciations at least mostly appear in English even if they are spelled differently. These make German easier to read, easier to learn to write, and easier to speak than French.

[regentrude]

Defenistrate, for instance, means to throw out the window in obscure English. Fenster means window in German. .

 

This is actually not a very good example since it is not a Saxon word, but comes from Latin (fenestra). There are many words that have the Saxon roots and are similar in English and German for that reason- this is not one of them.

[Carol in Cal.]

I think that she will be glad she learned German, and you will be glad you allowed her to do so.

 

I had an experience last year that made me value even my pathetic 2 years of high school German much more than I do. I sing in a community choir, and although we are a secular group, we sing a lot of sacred music and always in its original languages. We learned the St. Matthew Passion in German. Now, there was an English translation available, but not in the same book. As I learned the piece, the slow wrestling with the text was tremendously meaningful to me spiritually. And knowing enough German to be able to correct the English enabled me to appreciate the original far more than I would otherwise. I did not know enough German to be able to just read the texts and understand them, but the combination of my limited German AND the flawed but broadly accurate English translation catapulted this into a life-changing (literally) experience for me. I will seriously never be the same again, and that's a totally unexpected, random benefit of having learned some German. (It also demonstrates how all education has value, and often not the value we expect.) (And also how good God is, sometimes using the most random things to draw us to Him. I am totally going Meta here, and I hardly ever do that. But this experience was in that category.)