hɪz fˈæmɪli flˈɛd wɪð hˌɪm tə wˈɛst dʒˈɜːməni ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti ˈeɪt, wˌɛɹ fɹʌm nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti ˈeɪt tə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti θɹˈiː hiː wɛnt tʊ ɐ nˈætʃɚɹəl sˈaɪənsᵻz ænd mˈɑːdɚn lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz dʒɪmnˈeɪsiəm ɪn lˈɑːɹ ɪnðə blˈæk fˈɔːɹɪst, ænd ðɛɹˈæftɚ, ʌntˈɪl nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti tˈuː, hiː stˈʌdid dʒˈɜːmən stˈʌdiz, ɹoʊmˈæns fɪlˈɑːlədʒi ænd fɪlˈɑːsəfi æt ðɪ ˈælbɚt lˈʌdwɪɡz jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi ʌv fɹˈeɪbɜːɡ ɪn fɹˈeɪbɜːɡ ˈɪm bɹˈeɪsɡaʊ.
His family fled with him to West Germany in 1958, where from 1958 to 1963 he went to a natural sciences and modern languages Gymnasium in Lahr in the Black Forest, and thereafter, until 1972, he studied German studies, Romance philology and philosophy at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg in Freiburg im Breisgau.