Because I Spoke German

Because I Spoke German By: L. Arlene Hink While growing up in World War II-era San Francisco, the author always wanted to learn the German language to be able to speak with her father’s family in Germany, even though her father insisted that only English be spoken in their home. Thanks to her professor suggesting she become a German teacher, the author studied the language, and that decision opened an expansive new world to her. Because I Spoke German is a lighthearted account of the adventures and misadventures of a naive young American widow, and how her first trip to Europe in 1964–65, where she lived with and conversed with her paternal extended family, impacted and enriched her entire life.

Suitable for both independent study and class use, this text comprises an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume.

Filled with dialogues, grammar and idiom studies, and practical exercises, this is probably the most delightful, useful, and comprehensive elementary book available for learning spoken and written German. 330 illustrations.

This volume addresses the issue of Germany's external minorities, exploring the complex interrelationship between their ethnic identity and sense of cultural belonging on the one hand, and the political, economic, legal, and social situation in their respective societies, on the other.

The Position of the German Language in the World focuses on the global position of German and the factors which work towards sustaining its use and utility for international communication. From the perspective of the global language constellation, the detailed data analysis of this substantial research project depicts German as an example of a second-rank language. The book also provides a model for analysis and description of international languages other than English. It offers a framework for strengthening the position of languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Spanish and others and for countering exaggerated claims about the global monopoly position of English. This comprehensive handbook of the state of the German language in the world was originally published in 2015 by Walter de Gruyter in German and has been critically acclaimed. Suitable for scholars and researchers of the German language, the handbook shows in detail how intricately and thoroughly German and other second-rank languages are tied up with a great number of societies and how these statistics support or weaken the languages’ functions and maintenance.