Two new books explore the treasure trove of the German language, and how important it is worldwide. The 1300 page book “Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in 
der Welt” (DeGruyter), by the renowned German studies professor Ulrich Ammon, delivers a broad and profound overview of the current situation and history of our mother language. The author compares German with rival international languages, and examines its situation in the economic, scientific, diplomatic, tourism, educational, cultural and media sectors. He concludes, among other ideas, that German belongs to the five most important world languages, but is not duly encouraged by the German government.
The book “Edelsteine – 107 Sternstunden deutscher Sprache” (IFB), by Max Behland, Reiner Pogarell and Walter Krämer, deals with great texts written in German. Readers won’t just find examinations of Goethe’s Faust, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity or texts by Sigmund Freud, Karl May, Martin Luther and Günter Grass: the German Civil Code, the first automobile’s patent application and the linguistic output of Erika Fuchs, translator and editor-in-chief of the German “Micky Maus” magazine, are also honored: “The lasting contribution of Dr. Erika Fuchs is her creation of a new art form out of a magazine for children.”
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