Professor Lehmann, the Federal Foreign Office and its partners, among them the Goethe-Institut, have launched an initiative called “German – Language of Ideas” in 2010. Why is it necessary to have such campaign at all for the German language?
I regard this language campaign as important for bundling the many individual initiatives and projects throughout the world and drawing attention to them. In this way we create a clear profile with positive side-effects. But it is equally important for us to pay more attention ourselves to our language
The opening event in Berlin focused on the fun element of learning the German language. Yet the notion that German is a particularly difficult foreign language to master is a stubborn one. How can a delight in learning German be promoted?
You know, when it comes to the motivation to learn, I regard the supposed difficultly of a particular foreign language as unimportant. I believe the decisive factor is always the attractiveness of the language for a particular person. Is the language relevant to my career plan? Do I need it in my private life? Does it open up attractive training possibilities for me, or offer me additional access to knowledge? Do I like the language? The responses to these questions influence our choice of a foreign language. Needless to say, in the learning situation itself there is also a need for teachers with an ability to inspire learners. Teachers at the Goethe-Institut are able to do just that, and at the same time win over their course participants.
What do you see as the most important reasons for learning German?
The German language is still linked with whole branches of culture and science. Many people still perceive Germany as the land of “poets and philosophers”: German poetry or scientific disciplines such as philosophy or psychology can only be experienced through a knowledge of the German language. Moreover, Germany is an export country, and many German companies operate abroad. So the German language is a factor in a person’s own competitiveness and often linked with the hope for better professional prospects. Knowledge of German can broaden fields of action – what is more, it can so not just for individuals but for entire companies. Another reason is to be found not among people outside Germany learning German as a foreign language, but among people with a migrant background here in our own country. They often learn German as a second or third language. For them, German opens the door to German society, of which they are also a part. It gives them the possibility to participate in society, to exercise their rights. I regard living in Germany as a very important reason for learning German.
In what countries is the Goethe-Institut registering a particularly keen interest in learning German at the moment?
India, for example. German is a bestseller there, so to speak. We can scarcely keep up with the demand. I believe that above all the Partner School Initiative has had a great impact in recent years. German is on the curriculum in more and more schools. We are also noticing that the number of adults learning the language in different places has tended to remain constant, while the number of learners in schools, and here particularly in the primary school sector, has increased.
And where is there room for improvement?
We realize that the number of learners in many central and eastern European countries has declined. But in my opinion the figure has just settled at a realistic level after the euphoric mood of 1989/90 and the related orientation towards the West. English has often replaced German as the first foreign language – English is now also a tool there, a world language. Other languages have it hard competing with English. But in central and eastern Europe German is still often the second most important foreign language.
There are a lot of Anglicisms in German these days. Do you think that the native German speakers treat their language with too little confidence?
It would not really be appropriate here to take a swipe at German speakers, but I do think that we should look after our own language more and should certainly not treat it casually. It is the carrier of our culture, our identity, and at the same time a tool in our everyday lives. I would like to see a greater passion for our own language – German should not become a language the Germans only use at home. We should all make an effort to keep our language dynamic and fit for use, as a working language as well. On the other hand, I am not in favour of demonizing all foreign language influences. Languages change. This has always been the case.
You are a qualified physicist and librarian. When did you discover your enthusiasm for the German language?
Sometimes I think I could read before I could walk. What I mean by that is that I am an enthusiastic reader and have cared for and absorbed the German language from my childhood days. That applies not only to literature but later also to physics. The German language is characterized by clarity and diversity.
What is your favourite German word?
Augenblick – to describe a short space of time, the blink of an eye, so poetically and also so precisely is just fascinating.//
Interview: Janet Schayan
