Barry Tomalin

German is spoken in Germany, Austria, in the German part of Switzerland, and in the far north of Italy (Tyrol), as well as in small enclaves around the world. It is no longer a world language, but in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was the language of enlightenment, science, scholarship, and liberal values, and German researchers, thinkers, and philosophers led the world. Up to the 1990s it was the second language taught in Russian schools, and it appeared on menus and bilingual documents in Russia until its recent replacement by English.

Home ownership is less common in Germany than in the rest of Europe: about 43 percent of Germans own their homes. Most people rent, and spend 25–33 percent of their net income on accommodation.

One company representative, shaken by the barrage of questions and detailed interrogation and discussion that followed his presentation, said that he felt his presentation had been “torn to shreds.” “On the contrary,” said the German chairman, “If they hadn’t liked your presentation they wouldn’t have asked so many questions!”