I want to learn another language, but don't know if german is a good one, because i heard all german speakers can speak better english than americans.
2007-10-15 05:55:37 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Well, yes they can, but that shouldn't put you off. The killer grammar is what should put you off!
If I were you I'd learn chinese, that's not as mad as it sounds, they have a few grammatical similarites with english, they are both analytic, while german is synthetic
2007-10-15 05:59:29 · answer #1 · answered by 地獄 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No completely wrong, most Americans speak better, but most Germans speak a bit, even in the East. Coming back from another foreign country I tried my German a bit because I didn't expect to speak English, but frankly I was soon relying on English for actual conversation: there'd always be someone about, except maybe at the stations(busy?)
But German is a great language to speak and the accent isn't a pain for most English speakers, I hated French but you can just SAY most German words without having to twist yourself up...
Why do you think Americans can't speak English? Because the English can? Ha Ha! Not any more, if ever. I bet some of the worst writers on here are English ('self included at times), and there's even mistakes in our antipodean relatives' constructions...
2007-10-15 05:59:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
I know that people in the big cities of Germany speak English very well, but not so much in the country side. Go for learning German and you will understand much more of the German culture and get German friends. It´s always a richness to know foreign languages!
2007-10-15 06:11:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
I lived in Germany for 2 years and the answer is no, most Germans do not speak English fluently (however, most know at least a little bit).
Young, educated people do tend to speak it very well, better than most foreigners for sure. But still, I feel they overestimate their knowledge sometimes.
It's still useful to learn, especially if you plan on spending any time over there.
2007-10-15 06:01:52 · answer #4 · answered by L D 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
i've live in germany for nearly 1 years. and i know that they learn english at school (from elementary until high school--class 13). well, they can speak english very well...at school. the grammatic is not a problem for them (since they have more more confusing grammatic like the articles and dativ, akkusativ, etc.). but i think it is just 20% who can speak english fluently (or willing to use it, more correctly). the problem is most germans are a little bit arrogant to use english than german.
2007-10-15 07:52:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It is true many Germans can speak English or have some knowledge of it.The vast majority of Germans do not speak or understand English especially the older people.German is a local European language.It is not a world or international language.Next to English Spanish is your best bet.
2007-10-15 06:12:43 · answer #6 · answered by Don Verto 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋