An A-level in the language and modules in German at the University of Oxford, where she studied history, have helped her to her "dream job", working as a Blue Badge Guide in London, where some of the large range of tours she offers are in the German language.
"[In England] we have such a bad rap for not learning languages, assuming that everyone is going to speak English. I think it's just polite to learn even the basics of the language... it puts you on the right foot," she said.
She volunteers a few of her favourite German compound words, to illustrate "how creative a language it is... the heart of the matter captured in a single word".
Esta historia es de la edición August 23, 2024 de The Guardian Weekly.
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