Greetings from the Ambassadors

Dr. Christian Prosl
Ambassador, Austria

The German language is important, since in Europe alone more than 120 million people speak German as their first language and another 80 million as a second language. German is an official language in four of the member states of the European Union. German has always been known as the language of science and it is increasingly becoming more important in the business world. Having command of German can be very helpful is business transactions, in negotiations or in facilitating traveling. Even the English language uses German loan words like Zeitgeist, Wunderkind or Wanderlust. Internet users discover that 7.7% of all web pages are written in German, which makes it the third most popular cyber language after English and Japanese.

Learning German also opens the doors to understanding the richness of German literature, enjoying writers like Goethe, Schiller and Kafka, understanding philosophers like Kand or Hegel, and also many of the modern writers like Elfriede Jelinek, whose multi-faceted and highly controversial writing won her the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Understanding another language not only offers the advantage of immersing oneself in a different culture and civilization, but also gives the opportunity to a better understanding of how other people feel and think, which is so valuable in an increasingly globalized world.

I support the German Language School Conference in its important work to provide training, education and advocacy.

Dr. Christian Prosl, Ambassador
Austria