This textbook provides an introduction into linguistically based language criticism for students of German studies and other philologies as well as for general readers interested in language criticism. The critique focuses on the merits of the German language with respect to acquisition, perception, recognition and presentation of the so-called extralinguistic reality. The approaches and practical possibilities of language criticism are presented from three perspectives: Linguistics, Language Didactics and from the point of view of the general public interested in language (Folk Linguistics).