German is part of the "
West Germanic Languages" family along with Dutch, English, etc.
So I would imagine German is more similar to English than Nordic/Scandinavian languages (which are "
North Germanic languages")
Taking this into account, I wonder why Scandinavians/Nordics speak English better than Germans/Austrians/Swiss (or at least that's my impression, I could be wrong)
-Is it because Nordics have more intensive programs to learn English while very young at kindergarten?
-Is it because "Nordic" languages are so "tiny" population-wise and therefore they're "forced" to learn English in order to communicate with the rest of the world? Also, there are very few resources already written/spoken in Nordic languages compared to German materials.
-Is it because English movies/shows are subbed rather than dubbed like in Germany?
-Is it because "Nordic" languages are actually more similar to English than German despite being from another language family? (West vs North Germanic languages)
-Is it because "Nordics" don't feel their languages "threatened" by adopting a more active use of English in general than Germany?
I've always had this doubt, I hope someone knows the reason behind this. This doesn't actually apply only to Germany but also in other German-speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland.
This can easily be confirmed here by sorting the list/column by "% of Total English Speakers"
I look forward to your answers.
P.S. On a similar note, native Finnish-speaking people might speak English even better than German-speaking people which is very surprising given the fact that the Finnish language isn't even a Germanic language at all.
P.S N2º I really hope I don't offend anyone with my question (I'm sorry if I do), it is only my impression (I could be wrong). Needless to say German-speaking people speak English far better than me. This question is just a curiosity of mine. Thank you very much for reading.