Court orders woman to learn German

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KARLSRUHE, Germany, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- An illiterate Turkish woman who has lived in Germany for 30 years must attend German language classes, an administrative court has ruled.

The 61-year-old woman asked a court in the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg to permit her to forgo the classes required for all foreign residents, the German news agency DAPD reported Tuesday.

The woman told the court despite her poor language skills she had managed to raise well-educated children who paid taxes and were German citizens.

The court ruled there was a societal interest "that all foreigners living permanently in Germany can at least verbally express themselves in a rudimentary fashion."

The ruling confirmed an order made by a public authority for foreign residents.