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reasonsforgerman.html 23.04.2017

Inform Verlag

Reasons for Learning German; Copyright Helmar Kloss, 2016



   There are some good reasons to learn German. To begin with the present situation: There are 100 millions of German-speaking people in Europe! Only the Russians are more numerous. And the political as well as the economic situation favours Germany, because they are, well, let us say: strong. Historically, they were it long before but they have been divided into many tribes as were the american Indians. Only after unification in 1871 they became really powerful. But because of the jealousy and hate of the allies and their excessive pride there were two great wars – the greatest wars ever seen, which they lost – and historical complications which cost almost the lifes of half a billion of people! But now, a century later, they are were they were 100 years ago.
   The Germans are really curious people. Already the Romans felt it. And in the long run they won even against the Roman Empire! Here, in Umbria – but also in Lombardia - you can still see and feel the effects.
   Great part of ancient Germania was part of the Roman Empire for some centuries. But while the Gauls in the west accepted Latin language and changed their cultural identity, the Germanic tribes in Germania did not! They accepted a lot of Roman civi­lization but remained thiudisc" what later became "deutsch". They adapted their language but did not renounce using it. (The same thing now in Alsace and Südtirol or "Alto adige"). And the romanized Gauls – after being overrun by the germanic tribe of Francs - changed their cultural identity once again and called themselves "Français" or Frenchmen, while the Germans became christian but remained German. One can see: They are stubborn, and their strength results from discipline and assiduousness.
   So, in the long run, they will dominate Europe and their language will be spoken and understood everywhere. Even in Umbria, when I go shopping, I meet people – Italians, Rumanian ?c - who see my car with German plates, will shake hands with me, talk more or less good German, because they have been working in Germany and liked it! Can you imagine!?
   Well, so much about probable historical trends. Now some words about the language:
    It is a rather young language with a still complicated grammar and a very large and imaginative vocabulary which changed rapidly compared to French. While the French language is a rather abstract one (because derived from Latin learned and deformed in 2 or 3 centuries by illiterate Gauls) German stimulates phantasy and poetry. And it was the first language written after Latin, because the thiudisc poets of the early middle ages felt that Latin did not convey what they wanted to say. Already before 800, when the first texts in old French appeared, a wide German literature existed which Charlemagne had made collection of (his mother tongue was a German dialect the French call "Francique", in German "Alt-Fränkisch"). But one of his sons – Ludwig der Fromme (Louis the pious) – burned it all (typical christian hypocrite)!