The Facts:

German is, after English, the primary international language in the fields of archaeology, biology, diplomacy, finance, electrical and electronic engineering, international law, pharmacy, sport, theology, vehicle manufacture, and tourism, to name a few.

• Worldwide there are about 130 million people who speak German as their mother tongue and about 15-18 million who are learning German.

• German is the most important business language in the European Union and a bridge to the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe.

• Germany's external trade volume of about $1.013 billion (1999) is the second largest in the world after the USA and, per capita, it is the largest.

• Germany, with almost 82 million inhabitants imports almost half as much as the US with 270 million inhabitants.

• When looking at the exports, the importance of Germany on international trade markets is even more clear. The export volume of Germany with $541 billion (1999) reached 77% of the US volume, even though the population is under one third the size.

German in Liberal Arts

History: Long before the world took interest in the events in Germany under the Nazi dictatorship, German was the key to understanding the historical links in central Europe, which has so often been the trigger point for changes in the world map.

Science: Many scientific theories were first put forward in German. This still applies in the these days of the Internet: German is, after English, the most important language on the "net" and many people benefit from the advantage of being able to read the original texts in German.

Literature: German literature is both rich and well-known. The Encyclopaedia Americana, for example, sets aside 14 pages for German Literature, 13 for French, 8 for Spanish, and 6 for Japanese (and 68% of all Japanese students study German.) Authors such as Hesse, Kafka, Luther, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Freud and Nobel-prize-winners Günther Grass and Thomas Mann are German.

Music: With names like Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Mozart, Wagner, need we say more?

Language and Culture: The translation of everything into English may provide a universal contact point, but at the same time it results in a loss of meaning and undertones. Thus, translation often only skims over the original message and intention. Germany is particularly important in literature, philosophy, painting, architecture and music.

"The Germans sell in English, but they buy in German."
- a Danish saying