Reading: “German – A Declaration of Love” // Roland Kaehlbrandt

Prof. Dr. Roland Kaehlbrandt teaches linguistics with a focus on language and society at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences. As a non-fiction author, he achieved high circulation figures with the “Lexicon of Beautiful Words.” Kaehlbrandt initiated major foundation projects such as the “National Youth Debating Competition,” the spelling competition “Germany Writes!,” and the “German Summer.” He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the German Academy for Language and Literature and of the jury for the German Teachers’ Award. For his commitment to language education, he has received, among other honors, the Federal Cross of Merit and the Ordre National du Mérite of the French Republic. 

For everyone who teaches, learns, and speaks German: the book “German – A Declaration of Love” shows why it is worth it. Because the rewards are rich. Mark Twain is said to have once remarked that life is too short to learn German. Completely wrong! The new book by non-fiction author Roland Kaehlbrandt uses ten appealing and tangible advantages to show how coherent the German language is in its structure and how accessible it is.

German language, difficult language? German is a Lego language, because new words are playfully formed from existing words: Herzenstränen (Goethe), Waldeinsamkeit (Ludwig Tieck), Wertstoffhof (modern times). Everything under one roof. Is German supposed to be harsh? On the contrary, it is sensitive and friendly in direct address: Wie heißt du denn? Du machst es, gell? Komm doch mit! German does not like foreign words? A prejudice! On the contrary, it is receptive: gescreent, geboostert, geflasht. Complicated sentence structure? Wrong—the syntax is actually supple. Very simple rearrangements effortlessly create new nuances: Ich habe sie gesehen. Sie habe ich gesehen. Gesehen habe ich sie. Spelling is reader-friendly. Capitalization immediately shows where the noun or nominalization is, making every sentence easier to understand. Can one only speak long-windedly in German? Prejudice! Brevity—no problem: Aber hallo! Kein Ding! Als ob! Sowas von! Dein Ernst? Hundert Pro!

The French philosopher Voltaire once claimed that German was spoken only with soldiers and horses. For a long time now, however, German has counted among the world’s great cultural languages thanks to its outstanding literature and scholarship. As Kaehlbrandt shows, it was not imposed from above but developed from the heart of society. Today, German proves to be a shared language capable of integration in an immigration country. And last but not least, it is widely spoken: among the roughly 7,000 languages of the world, German ranks tenth. More than enough reason to appreciate it.

The renowned linguist Prof. Dr. Jürgen Trabant writes: »Roland Kaehlbrandt’s charming book about our charming language praises the virtues of German, which are sometimes viewed precisely as difficulties and which are described and celebrated here as wonderful qualities. Vividly illustrated with beautiful examples, convincingly argued, and yet light and urban in tone, the book will strengthen and spread love for our language.«