Why learn German?

The language of literature, music, art and philosophy will broaden your cultural horizon! German (Deutsch) is the official language of both Germany and Austria and one of the 4 official languages of Switzerland. It is also spoken in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and parts of France and Italy.  German is the language of a.o. Goethe, Kafka, Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. Enjoy reading literature and listening to the music in their original language.

What is the difference between German and Swiss German?

Swiss German (Schwyzerdütsch) is an Alemannic (Upper German) dialect spoken in parts of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria’s Vorarlberg province, as well as parts of Baden-Württemberg and the Alsace. Swiss German is a spoken language only,  virtually identical to Standard German with differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and orthography.

Fun facts about German

• The German language consists of about 5.3 million words. About 1/3 of  words were added in the last 100 years. German contains 8x more words than English.

• German is the second most common used language of science in the world. Germany is the third largest contributor to global research and development.

• Although German and English have many words in common, like “Kindergarten” and “Strudel”, there are examples where the meaning is totally different:

  • kind      (English: nice, cute) - German Kind: “child”

  • still       (English: nevertheless, however) - German: "silent"

  • spring  (English: season) - German: "jump"