Who's Speaking German?

How European is German?

German is quite European. You can see that in our history and in looking at German today. The idea that German is separate from other European languages only started in the 19th century, following the unification of the German states as one nation.

Over the last two years the Goethe Institute has promoted the “power of language.” What “power” does German have today, and what does European integration mean for the German language?

English has won out as the major international language, that’s well established now. The issue is what worth and power a single language has at this point in time. German is clearly important and powerful within Europe, however German is not used as internationally as English or French.

In what areas does German play an international role?

The field of natural sciences has been almost entirely given over to English. There are a number of traditional fields of study where German has always been strong, and where it still plays a large role, including philosophy and music. And there are some fields, such as art history, where German has, in recent decades, actually been the primary language.
Is the use of German growing?

German could become a European regional language in the east; that is a reasonable possibility. The linguistic connection between Germany and its eastern neighbors dates back centuries, and those countries have a strong tradition of learning German. However we also need to promote the German language, in Europe especially, as a useful second foreign language. In many countries English will be the first foreign language people choose to learn, but there are also good economic and practical reasons for learning German which we should promote.

There are plans to enshrine German as the national language in Germany’s constitution. What do you think of this plan?

The intentions behind the plan are good. It’s about making the point that our language is not just a symbol, but saying that it should be maintained on a practical level as well. On the other hand, I don’t think we have reached a point where we need to decree that it is critical that in Germany we should speak German.

In that sense it is not necessary to specify the German language in the constitution, which is a fairly general text. That would imply that German is somehow endangered and that we need to do it to protect the language. Our problem is rather that of integration, given we have so many immigrants for whom German is not their first language.

How multilingual is Germany?

Germany is comparatively multilingual – but on another level quite monolingual. The establishment is very much based on the German language. The educational system is also quite rightly based on the German language. However there is a large multilingual population in Germany, and we have to be practical about this. The danger is not that, if for example Turkish were to become stronger in Germany, we would all end up speaking Turkish.

The issue is really that we need to see this multilingualism as a part of the cultural identity of immigrants, while at the same time to ensure -- and this may sound harsh -- that they can function effectively in our society. Objectively, we can see with recent generations of immigrants that retreating into their own communities brings social disadvantage. So we shouldn’t stress the importance of integration because otherwise the German language would be endangered, but because we need to give all communities the opportunity to participate fully in society.


Do we need a German equivalent to the “Academie Francaise” devoted to regulating, preserving and standardizing our language?

That would probably be a bit difficult, because German is such a diverse language group.

Traditionally, what is correct German has not been centrally determined. For example, there has just been a dictionary published which describes the differences in the variants of German – what is spoken in Austria, Switzerland and then High German. Of course we could look at creating an institution concerned with the introduction of foreign words into the language. But a comprehensive language academy, given the ways in which German changes, would be difficult.

Ludwig M. Eichinger is the director of the Institute for the German Language and a professor of German linguistics at the University of Mannheim.