In today's Europe, besides English of course, is it better to speak French or German?

Question

What is likely to be, more or less, the official language of Europe after English?

Answer 1

Sorry but all these people saying German is easier to learn are wrong, with German there is a lot more to learn for example cases, prepositions etc. German is spoken more widely in Europe and more important in business world however French is the second most important political language of the world. Sudy both

Answer 2

As someone who speaks both French and German fluently, I would have to say that French is objectively the more useful language, as it is spoken in many countries of the world and used as a lingua franca when English can't be. Within the EU, however, there are more native speakers of German than of any other language - 80 million in Germany alone, with Austria and Switzerland contributing a further few million - which boosts the appeal of Deutsch. German is also spoken by many Eastern Europeans, which should help make it the EU's second working language, after English. This place goes to French, however.

Answer 3

I am English, but I am fluent in French and German. HOWEVER, I would really come down on the side of French, because it is spoken more widely than German. I have managed (for example) in quite a few parts of Africa because of my French. Also in Quebec. I have been a teacher (in UK) and an interpreter, but when I have been asked to give private tuition at home it has always been for French. PS: I am fortunate, I had an English father and a French mother, I went to a school in UK which taught Latin for 5 years, consequently I can get by in all the Romantic languages. But of course you can do crash courses in all languages - I needed to really improve my Portuguese because I was doing a humanitarian visit to NE Brazil and I had to know all the medical terms for all the illnesses that people were suffering from. This will sound so snobbish, but I DID actually know that one patient at a remote clinic was suffering from polio, and that the Portuguese speaking doctor kept saying it was just toothache. How could I argue? The suffering in the world is just so bad. I have been to Ethiopia, Cuba, The Sudan, India ... What is to be done? And you ask about languages!

Answer 4

Well I would argue German.

First of all, it is actually the most widely spoken language in Western Europe and so could indeed be viewed as the official language of Europe.

Second, it is the second most common language on the net (check out wikipedia for instance and you'll see the German site is second to English).

Thirdly, the German economy is by far the most dominant on mainland Europe. German manufacture is massively important: just look at cars!

Fourthly: Whereas English is dominant in many countries as a foreign language to learn, German is more common in Eastern Europe and beyond, so acquiring it would make you extremely employable!

Some people would argue that German is an ugly language, but they might not realise that German has far more in common with English than French has with English. In fact, English is a Germanic language!

Answer 5

Depends which country you are intending to visit/stay in.
Not much point in learning German if you have no intention of staying there.
Better if your going on a one off visit just to talk loudly & point as learning their language only discourages them from learning English which is a pity because they are so good at it.
German is accepted as the language of technical details & French the language of diplomacy
No surprises there is there the Germans have the best fire power & the French talk their way out of fights.

Answer 6

German is spoken or used as a second language in more European countries than French. It is definitely the second language in Europe. I don't necessarily like it, but I have to concede that it is a fact. Many Russians speak German as well for that matter. Not to mention the Polish, Czechs, Spanish, Italians, Greeks…there is no getting away from it. Anybody that tells you differently has not been around.
I prefer French above German in terms of the beauty and flow of the spoken language. German is far too guttural for my liking.

Answer 7

Well, since you asked about Europe, German would be more useful. Only about 65 million people speak French in Europe but over 100 million people speak German in Europe.

Also, English is a Germanic language so it is probably easier for you to learn than Romantic based French.

And if you still want to learn a Romantic language, I would suggest Italian. It is much cooler sounding than French.

Answer 8

Go with Spanish! German is only useful in Germany and Austria, French only in France, Belgium, and maybe Algeria.

Spanish on the other hand, is useful in every country in Latin America (save Brazil), as well as in Spain. It's also relatively easy to learn for an English Speaker, sharing thousands of words with English, and similiar grammar.

Also, if you live in the USA, particularly the SouthWest, it is practically a requirement for any service related job!

I speak German, and love the language and people, but the grammar will drive an English speaker crazy.

All the Best

Answer 9

German, it's often used as a "bridge" language in Eastern Europe.

Answer 10

without a doubt, german.

1) germany, austria, and switzerland all speak german.

2) many people in eastern europe still speak german, due to the influence of the german government in ww1 and ww2, and many former communist countries learned german as a second language because of communist germany.

3) it is closely related to dutch, danish, swedish, and norwegian. you will at least be able to read many words if ever visiting these countries.