We've compiled some facts to help you understand the importance of the language, its historical roots and how it works.

Fact #1 Around 289 million people have learned German as a foreign language

German is the second most used scientific language, and Germany is the third largest contributor to research and development worldwide, meaning that learning German is an investment for anyone involved in scientific or research ventures.

Fact #2 There are over 130 million people in the world who speak German as their mother tongue or a second language

Not only is German the most widely spoken native language within the EU, it is also the 11th most widely spoken language in the world.

The first comprehensive German dictionary (the Deutsches Wörterbuch) was founded by the Brothers Grimm in 1838.

Fact #3 German used to have its own unique script

Early German printing shows the letterings known as Schwabacher and Textualis as the primary typefaces in documentation, but they were superseded for many centuries by the Fraktur typeface, which was commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I in the 16th century.

Fact #4 The pandemic spawned more than 1,200 new German words

Since the start of the pandemic, 1200 new German words have been recorded by the Leibniz Institute for the German Language. These range from ‘Abstandsbier’ (a socially-distanced beer with friends) to ‘CoronaFußgruß’ (greeting someone with your foot) and ‘Impfneid’ (envy of those who have already had the vaccine).

Article from thelocal.de