This is a funny ad put out by Berlitz, portraying the German Coast guard. Check it out if you haven’t seen it.
I have so many funny stories about accents. Not “toh-mah-to” vs “toh-may-to” type discussions…but pronunciation that’s way off. Luckily after years of dealing with people with a variety of accents from every major Western and Eastern culture, I’m beginning to be able to make out what people are trying to say.
People speak English in so many different ways. I’m with the camp that believes languages evolve, and as long as you get the message across, grammatical and spelling mistakes are acceptable. As such, my advice to most people learning a second language is to just start practising. Don’t worry about getting it 100% right. Because if you want to work out all the grammar until you get it absolutely right, you will never speak a word in the first two years. The key is to get started. You get the most joy from learning a language by actually being able to use it. Then you’ll have more motivation to learn the grammar and progress to the next level.
German has traditionally been a very popular language in New Zealand. German is the main language of Germany and Austria. It is also spoken in: Switzerland (most of the country), Luxemburg, in small pockets in countries neighbouring Germany or Austria (Belgium, Italy etc.), Namibia; and widely spoken in eastern Europe and the Balkans as a second language
The number of mother-tongue speakers worldwide total about 110,000,000.
Here are some key reasons why New Zealanders should consider learning German.
German is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.
Germany has the largest economy in the EU, and is an industrial giant on the world stage. Companies and organisations from Siemens to Carl Zeiss, BMW and the Deutsche Bank have formidable reputations world-wide.
German technology and know-how are widely respected around the world, and organisational skills are immediately apparent when one visits any of the German-speaking countries.
New Zealand has to engage more with the German-speaking world if it is to establish a stronger base for its exports in Europe.
Young Kiwis can go and work in Germany for one year under a working holiday scheme. A knowledge of the German language would obviously help enormously on this particular OE!
Some of the big cities such as Berlin are among the liveliest in Europe, with an enormous range of events throughout the year, many of them geared to the younger population.
Young people in Germany seem to be on the same kind of wavelength as young Kiwis; they usually get on well.
The Germans and the Swiss come to New Zealand in large numbers – and usually love it!
Germans are usually very environmentally aware, and are often innovators in green issues.
Germany has a rich cultural heritage, and has made huge contributions to world literature, painting, music and philosophy.
The German-speaking world has produced thinkers whose ideas have changed the way people look at the world: from Luther to Marx, to Einstein and to Freud.
People are often surprised by the beauty of the German countryside, with its dense forests and deep valleys, also by the charms of its many historical towns and villages. Austria and Switzerland have wonderful mountain landscapes. And with extensive hiking trails, all three countries are a tramper’s paradise!
Find out more about learning German with Euroasia. To enrol for a German course, check out the German timetable on the Euroasia website. Last intake for 2008 is coming up on 10 November.
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