Notes on Pronunciation
(Pronunciation Practices. To be drilled in class.)
A. German b, d, g and p, t, k
- In most cases the symbols b, d, g and p, t, k represent the same sounds in German as in English. You probably experience little difficulty therefore in pronouncing the following words:
| | | | | |---------|-------|------|---------| | Bahnhof | aber | Pass | (Mappe) | | danke | oder | Taxe | bitte | ist | | gut | sagen | kann | Ecke | Bank |
b, d, g usually represent what we call voiced sounds; that is, your vocal cords are vibrating when you make these sounds. p, t, k represent what we call voiceless sounds; that is, your vocal cords are not vibrating, and you are actually whispering when you make these sounds.
- However, b, d, g also represent the voiceless sounds when they occur at the end of a word or syllable and when they are followed by other voiceless sounds:
| | | | | |------------|--------------|---------|--------------| | abheben | "ap-heben" | bleibt | "bleip-t" | | hebt ... ab| "hep-t...ap" | glaubt | "glaup-t" | | siebzehn | "siep-zehn" | gibt | "gip-t" | | sind | "sin-t" | und | "unt" | | Flughafen | "Fluk-hafen" | zeigt | "zeik-t" | | Tag | "Tak" | sagt | "sak-t" |
This is especially important to realize when considering verb forms. Since there is an alternation between voiced and voiceless endings (–e, –en, –t) many verbs actually have alternate stems which the writing system does not show.
| | | | | |---------|----------|-------|---------| | bleib- | or "bleip-" | sag- | or "sak-" | | (bleibe)| (bleibt) | (sage)| (sagt) |
B. Pre-vocalic r in clusters
Practice 1
| Frau | treffen | Preis | Kraft |
| Front | Tropfen | Probe | Kreis |
| Friede | Traum | prima | Krieg |
| schreibe | Strasse | sprechen |
| Schramme | streben | springen |
| Schritt | Strom | Sprung |
As noted in Unit 2 you may find it easier to break up the cluster by inserting a vowel between the initial consonant and the r. This may be more necessary in the following group where the r is voiced. For drei try saying darei for example, and for bringen, baringen, etc.
Practice 2
| drei | braun | grau |
| dringen | bringen | Greis |
| Adresse | Gebrauch | begraben |
| bedrohen | verbrennen | ergriffen |
C. Pre-vocalic r after vowels and initially
Practice 3
| Bahre | Maria | Rat |
| Zigarre | beraten | reich |
| Ehre | erreichen | Rind |
| ihre | gerieben | roh |
D. The German l
Pronounce English "leap" and "believe". Ask your instructor to pronounce German lieb and belieben. In these words the l sound is almost identical in both languages. Remember of course that the German ie sound is higher and tenser than the English vowel, and this difference is reflected somewhat in the l.
Practice 4
| Lied | Loch | beleben |
| lesen | lösen | Geleit |
| leider | lud | gelogen |
| Lack | lügen | beluden |
Ask your instructor to pronounce German lieb again slowly and repeat it after him as slowly as you can, holding the l for a full second or more. Then say the l alone just the same way. This is the only l sound which occurs in German. After vowels however it occurs almost as a separate syllable. Now ask your instructor to pronounce German hohl. You will note that this word does not sound like English "hole". Listen carefully and see if you can distinguish the two syllables, the o syllable and the l syllable, as your instructor says hohl again. In the following exercise try to imitate him exactly.
Practice 5
| viel | hohl | Wahl | viele | Aale |
| Ziel | wohl | Zahl | fehle | male |
| fehl | Pfuhl | Maul | hole | kühle |
| Mehl | Stuhl | Gaul | Suhle | fühle |
Practice 6
| Wille | will | wild |
| balle | Ball | bald |
| helle | hell | hält |
| solle | soll | Sold |