German language classes coming to Catoosa County

In a move to attract new businesses, the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce is offering German-language classes this spring to extend friendly greetings to potential new partners.

In other words, the Chamber is looking for new handel and hopes the classes will help local businesses send freundliche Grüßen to suppliers from the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.

“We are inviting the Germans here to do business with us,” said Martha Eaker, president of the Catoosa County Chamber.

Ms. Eaker said she came up with the idea for the classes during a trip to Germany earlier this year. She said she was impressed by the Germans’ command of English and wished she could have spoken at least a few words in their language.

Learning some of the language could be “another tool in our tool box,” Mrs. Eaker said, as the county tries to lure a spin-off company from VW’s Chattanooga plant.

Chattanooga State Community College also offers conversational German classes.

Karen Claypool, a teacher at the Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, will lead the class for the Catoosa Chamber. She said students can expect to learn more than a few phrases, including more than 50 verbs in the first few weeks.

“The goal is conversation,” she said.

Learning about another nation’s culture and language can help in understanding the people who speak it, she explained.

“When one studies the language, one does learn how people think,” she said.

Trevor Gatty, an international protocol consultant based in Charlotte, N.C., said the ordered structure of the German language reflects the precision with which many Germans operate.

Mr. Gatty said most Europeans are conversant in English, but a greeting or a few words in a visitor’s native tongue would make a good impression.