German is spoken by roughly 95 million people worldwide. It is the most spoken language in Europe, the second most common language for scientific publications and one of the most popularly taught second languages. The first book ever printed was also printed in German! These all make German a practical and rewarding language to learn.
German belongs to the Indo-European family of languages along with English, Dutch, and Icelandic. This means that despite a lot of outward differences, German is really quite similar to English. Grammar rules are similar and it is estimated that over a third of vocabulary is shared between the two languages. German spelling is very phonetic and every word can be pronounced exactly as it is spelled. Don’t let the use of compound words scare you!
Whether you are dreaming of spending Oktoberfest in Munich, aspiring to work for BMW, or just want speak the language of Beethoven and Kant; German is one of the most useful and fun languages to learn!