Learning German made me a better thinker and communicator. Far too often, languages are viewed as an “art form” or a side skill that you pick up for fun, family, or vacation. This is a big underestimation of the power that language holds. Why else would “superior written and verbal communication skills” be the #1 most valuable skill to nearly every company and organization world-wide? When one hears communication skills, the default is to think of communicating in their native language. What if we expanded that to include communicating in other languages as well? Well, we should. And here’s the simple reason why. The more languages you learn, the better of a communicator you will become in your native tongue. One language I have found, in particular, to boost cognitive and communicative abilities is German – the language of method, process, and creativity. In this piece, I’ll be sharing with you how the German language has helped me think and communicate more effectively and how it can do the same for you – namely, how it will sharpen your process-orientedness, methodicalness, and creative thinking.

Method

German is a highly methodical language with clear-cut rules for practically everything. For starters, all nouns are segmented into 3 classes: der (masculine), die (feminine), or das (neuter). Taking it a step further, each noun will appear differently based on the role it plays in a sentence. This “role in the sentence” is referred to as a case. There are 4 cases in the German language. In short, nouns can assume a potential 16 different forms, based on noun class, case, and number. Let’s take the German word for “the dog” – “der Hund” and demonstrate how it would change based on which role it plays in the sentence:

• Nominative (subject): der Hund
• Accusative (direct object): den Hund
• Dative (indirect object of sentence): dem Hund
• Genitive (possessor of sentence): des Hundes

While we will not bore ourselves with more grammar, there are a number of other grammatical rules like adjective endings and personal pronoun declension that point to the language’s methodicalness. Onto a more fun and interesting point. As many of you may be familiar with, extremely long words are common in the German language. Why is this the case? Well, in German, what you see is what you get, as most words have a single meaning. This allows for stringing together practically any association of words to make up new ones. Take this word for instance: “Haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesellschaft” = “Association for subordinate officials of the head office management.” Yes, I know it looks crazy at first. But once we break this up word for word, we reveal the method behind the madness.

• “Haupt” – head/main
• “Betriebswerk” – depot
• “Bau” – building
• “Unterbeamten” – low-grade officials
• “Gesellschaft” – association/society  

As you can see, this incredibly long word’s definition is an exact sum of the smaller words that make it up. This type of word engineering strengthens one’s methodical reasoning abilities.

The methods and mechanics behind the language lead you to think in a more systematic and structured manner, leading you to pay closer attention to detail. Furthermore, they enable you to construct or to interpret complex ideas by way of breaking them into smaller parts for eased comprehension.

Process

Due to the process-oriented nature of the language, there are a series of grammar rules that build on one another. Much like a “decision tree,” German always leaves you thinking “if U and V, then W” and “if X and Y, then Z.” Let me further my previous example of the 4 cases to prove this point. We will use the sentence “I have the happy dog”

• 1st question to ask is “what is the gender of the noun?” If masculine, like with the noun “the dog,” then use the article “der” – “der Hund – the dog.”

• Next question is “what role is the noun playing in the sentence?” Since it is masculine and a direct object (accusative case), der Hund becomes den Hund.

• Then, to make sure we use the proper ending for the adjective “froh” – “happy,” we look to the noun gender and the case. Since it is a masculine noun and it is in the accusative case, then we will use the ending “-en”; so “froh” will become “frohen.”

• And voila, there you have it: “I have the happy dog” — “Ich habe den frohen Hund.”

This is only a glimpse at how interconnected the German language is – hence, the “decision tree” analogy, where sentence construction requires starting from the top and progressing downward through a series of interrelated grammar principles.

This linguistic process-orientedness enables you to think through the causal elements of a situation, whether it be social or professional. “What effect does X have on Y?” “If X and Y are true, then how do they influence Z?” This correlative approach to thinking can apply to many areas of life, helping you take the big picture into account and think in terms of interdependence rather than separation.

Creativity

Your creative thinking will improve particularly due to the flexibility in word order – in German, you can begin a sentence with practically any word other than the verb (unless it’s a question), leading to numerous possibilities to express oneself. As a point of comparison, English does not give you freedom to express thoughts or ideas in numerous ways. Let’s take the sentence, “I walk with my dog every Monday nearby the largest building in the city.” The only other way you can express this sentence would be starting with “every Monday.” So that it would read, “Every Monday, I walk with my dog nearby the largest building in the city.” And then, there’s German. At first, German word acrobatics can seem confusing and intimidating. However, once you familiarize yourself with the flexibility, not only will you realize the fun you can have with it, but you’ll also feel the freedom it brings to your expression. Using the same sentence as above, let’s translate it and walk through just a few possible variations:

• “Ich laufe Montags mit meinem Hund neben das größte Gebäude der Stadt.” – literally translates to “I walk Mondays with my dog next to the largest building in the city.”
• “Neben das größte Gebäude der Stadt laufe ich Montags mit meinem Hund.” – literally translates to “Next to the largest building in the city walk I with my dog on Mondays.”
• “Mit meinem Hund laufe ich Montags neben das größte Gebäude der Stadt” – literally translates to “With my dog walk I Mondays next to the largest building in the city”

This wide variation in expression expands the creative mind. With the ability to begin a sentence with nearly any word part, you can express yourself and emphasize your main points far more precisely. This leads you to become more intentional with your communication, as you can relay thoughts, ideas, or stories much more precisely and with the right emphasis.

Language holds the power to transform the mind – to transform the way you assess, reason, and express. A language of method, process, and creativity, German has notably enhanced my cognitive abilities. Its methodicalness has refined my ability to think systematically and to construct, as well as interpret, complex ideas. Its fixation on process has guided me to see the big picture and think more holistically. Finally, its flexibility has expanded my creative mind, enabling me to express myself more precisely and to become more intentional about my communication. In reading this piece on how German has made me a better thinker and communicator, my hope is that you are inspired to learn it too! I truly hope this short piece proves to you that, although the language-learning process may be challenging, the resulting benefits make it more than worthwhile.

Feel free to comment below and share your experiences with the language! How has learning German impacted your life so far?