Is German difficult or is it just a common cliché? Find out here: Deutsche Sprache, Schwere Sprache?

Learning German is notoriously difficult. Native English speakers in particular have difficulties learning the article of nouns — der, die or das — instead of an ever-valid the.

German grammar is also more complex than English grammar. For example, in German there are small but subtle differences between conjugations in the subjunctive and in the past: “aß – äße”, “durfte – dürfte”, “ging – ginge”, “musste – müsste”. In many cases the difference consists only in the use of an Umlaut, a difference that in itself is difficult to appreciate for those who are not used to using Umlauts in their mother tongue.

Using books for self-study as well as a German language course (Sprachkurs für Deutsch als Fremdsprache) allows you to acquire and practise these skills.

For satisfactory communication in a language, no matter whether for work occasions, among friends or on holiday, mastery of pronunciation is also necessary. Native English speakers in particular have notable difficulties with German phonetic combinations that do not exist in their own language.

For example, English and American people have problems with the pronunciation of the vowel “y”. In German the “y” is pronounced like the “ü” (even though there are some regional variants). Native English speakers often pronounce the “y” as “i” or “ei”, for example in the words “Hygiene – Heigiene”, “Psychiater – Psickiater”, “Ypisilon – Ipsilon”.

Other pronunciation difficulties concern particular phonetic combinations that do not exist in English, such as the “ch”, which is often pronounced as “ck”. Very famous is the phrase of the president of the United States J.F. Kennedy “Ick bin ein Berliner” where he meant “Ich bin ein Berliner”.

The correct intonation of words is just as important as the correct pronunciation of the words and of the phonetic combinations. The basic rule is to put the accent on the first syllable of the word if it is a simple word, or on the last word if it is a compound word.

Besides learning the rules of pronunciation, it is important to learn the sound of the new language. In this a German course can be of great help. During German lessons you can learn the correct pronunciation through listening, speaking and practice.

A German course can be of help, both for private individuals and for business people, to understand German better and to be understood better.