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"I found my smattering of German very useful here; indeed, I don’t know how I should be able to get on without it." Jonathan Harker on his way to Transylvania to visit a certain Count in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1897 Times have changed since Bram Stoker’s words were published 100 years ago--or have they? Is German still useful in a globalized world and a multicultural US? The answer to both questions is yes. Times have indeed changed since Stoker’s day; German is more important than ever as the first language of business, diplomacy and tourism in Eastern Europe. Knowledge of German is simply a must if Americans want to compete in the emerging Eastern European market. German is also central to Western Europe as the language of the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, and the largest portion of Switzerland, as well as Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, areas of Northern Italy, Eastern Belgium and Eastern France. More Europeans (approximately 93 million) are native speakers of German than of English, French, Italian (58,060 million each) or Spanish (36 million). In addition to being the second most common language on the Internet, German is the third or fourth most popular foreign language world-wide; even in Japan, 68% of all students learn German. Yet there are many other reasons to learn German: Economics and Business Much of German’s current importance stems from the Federal Republic’s economic status. It is emerging as the major force in a consolidating Europe; the New York Times Book Review (11.97) cites the "Euro" as the "Deutsch-Mark by another name." Germany has the third-highest GNP in the world, is the second highest creditor nation, and every year occupies one of the top three spots among exporting countries. Its publishing industry, which ranks #3 in the world (behind England and China), produced 36% more book titles in 1995 than did the United States. While Germany is economically the most important member of the European Union and invests heavily in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, its economy is particularly connected with that of the United States. In 1994 and again in 1995, each country directly invested almost $40 billion in the other. The German investments in the United States in 1995 supported 2,507 separate enterprises with 494,000 employees. Beyond that, German exports to the United States in 1994 totaled $33.5 billion (while imports from the U.S. were $27.5 billion). Germany is the fourth largest trading partner of the state of Minnesota. Given this environment, the advantages of competence in German for employment are obvious. Culture and Science By any measure, the German-speaking world has made enormous contributions to world culture, whether in the areas of music, art, literature, philosophy, education, or science. To cite just a few examples, our understanding of education and the liberal arts is indebted to Wilhelm von Humboldt; of relativity to Einstein; of social theory to Max Weber, who inspired American sociology; of the human mind to Freud. It should be noted that German philosophy (particularly Nietzsche, who heavily influenced recent French philosophy) has been essential to contemporary understandings of diversity and multiculturalism. A knowledge of German significantly enriches one’s understanding of this tradition; indeed, foundational texts are read in translation only at a considerable loss. A review of Nobel Prizes shows that scientists from three major German-speaking countries have won 21 in Physics, 30 in Chemistry, and 25 in Medicine, while many laureates from other countries received their training at German universities (German continues to be one of the main languages of scientific publications and is required by many graduate programs in science). Nine Nobel Prizes in literature have been awarded to German and Swiss writers, and seven Germans and Austrians have received the Peace Prize. Sports Even in the world of sports, German-speakers figure prominently. Germany accumulated the second-highest total number of medals in the 1996 Olympics, while also winning the European Cup in soccer for the third time. In the history of World Cup soccer, Germany has reached the finals more often than any other country, and only Brazil has won the title more often. Tennis is of course another sport at which Germans excel, and athletes from the German-speaking countries traditionally dominate alpine skiing to the extent that German is the sport’s primary language. Heritage Twenty-five percent of all Americans claim German ancestry. This heritage is felt throughout the country, in names like New Ulm, in festivals like Oktoberfest, in culinary and holiday traditions, and in our particular brand of English. Accessibility and cognitive development: As with any language, achieving a High level of proficiency in German requires extensive exposure to and study of the language. Since, however, both English and German are part of the same Germanic language family, it is possible for English speakers to achieve functional proficiency in German in a short time. Moreover, learning another Germanic language helps English speakers better understand the structures of their own language, and be more sensitized to their language. Students of foreign languages score statistically higher on standardized tests conducted in English. In its 1992 report, College Bound Seniors: The 1992 Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers, the College Entrance Examination Board reported that students who averaged 4 or more years of foreign language study scored higher on the verbal section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) than those who had studied 4 or more years in any other subject area. In addition, the average mathematics score for individuals who had taken 4 or more years of foreign language study was identical to the average score of those who had studied 4 years of mathematics. These findings are consistent with College Board profiles for previous years. Far from being an isolated field, language instruction can help equip students to meet learning standards for mathematics, inquiry, sciences, and the like.