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- <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>Notes on pronunciation</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.2"/><link rel="home" href="index.xhtml" title="GERMAN Basic Course"/><link rel="up" href="ch01.xhtml" title="Chapter 1. Unit 1"/><link rel="prev" href="ch01.xhtml" title="Chapter 1. Unit 1"/><link rel="next" href="ch01s03.xhtml" title="Notes on grammar"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Notes on pronunciation</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ch01.xhtml">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 1. Unit 1</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ch01s03.xhtml">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="d5e820"/>Notes on pronunciation</h2></div></div></div><p>The spelling of a language only symbolizes to the native speaker the sounds Which he
- already knows. You will learn these sounds directly from your instructor; the spelling will
- serve as an aid to listening. No spelling system adequately represents the sounds of the
- spoken language, and no attempt will be made at this point to outline exactly what sounds
- are represented by what symbols of the German spelling system. We will however present for
- particular drill and attention in each unit certain sounds which have shown themselves to be
- difficult for speakers of American English. In the meantime we ask you to remember two
- cardinal points:</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>The German of your text is printed in the standard German written style.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>The letter-symbols used, although in most cases the same symbols we use in written
- English, in most cases do not represent exactly the same sounds we use in English.
- Therefore, DO NOT EXPECT GERMAN WRITTEN SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT SOUND VALUES YOU KNOW IN
- ENGLISH.</p></li></ol></div><p>Pronunciation Practices. To be drilled in class.</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">A. Short Vowels</span></dt><dd><p>The German short vowels i,e,a and u are not dissimilar from English sounds. The
- o, however, is probably different from any sound that you have in English. Do not
- try to replace it by a sound from English, but rather reproduce the pronunciation of
- your instructor. The German front rounded vowels ö and ü do not occur in English. To
- produce the ö, put your tongue in the position for the German e and round your lips;
- for ü, put your tongue in the position for the German i and round your lips. You
- will then produce a sound similar to the German sound. Experiment until your
- instructor is satisfied with your pronunciation. Do not worry about the meaning of
- the words in these practices. Concentrate instead on the sounds.</p><div class="informaltable"><table><col width="20%"/><col width="20%"/><col width="20%"/><col width="20%"/><col width="20%"/><thead><tr>
- <td align="center" colspan="5" valign="top">Practice l(a)</td>
- </tr></thead><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short i
- </strong></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short
- e</strong></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short
- a</strong></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short
- o</strong></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short u
- </strong></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">bitte</em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> denn
- </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> das
- </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- kostet </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> muss
- </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> ist
- </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- essen </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Mann
- </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- Sonne </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- Mutter </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> in
- </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- etwas </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> an
- </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- Doktor </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> und
- </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short ö
- </strong></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> Short
- ü</strong></span></td>
- <td/>
- <td/>
- <td align="center"><span class="bold"><strong> - e (unstressed)
- </strong></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- können </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- Mütter </em></span></td>
- <td/>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- bitte </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- genug </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- möchte </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> fünf
- </em></span></td>
- <td/>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- danke </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- gesehen </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- öfter </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- Hütte </em></span></td>
- <td/>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- Sonne </em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">
- bekommen </em></span></td>
- </tr></table></div><div class="informaltable"><table><col width="50%"/><col width="50%"/><tr valign="top">
- <td align="left">Practice 1(b)</td>
- <td/>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">mit</em></span> - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">Mütter</em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">kennen</em></span> - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">können</em></span></td>
- </tr><tr valign="top">
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">missen</em></span> - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">müssen</em></span></td>
- <td align="center"><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">stecke</em></span> - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">Stöcke</em></span></td>
- </tr></table></div></dd><dt><span class="term">B. Long Vowels</span></dt><dd><p>There are no sounds in English exactly like the German long vowels. If you will
- pronounce English gate and then ask your instructor to pronounce German <span class="bold"><strong><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">geht</em></span></strong></span>, you
- will notice that the English vowel sound seems to change during its pronunciation,
- but the German sound seems tense and stable throughout its duration. Your tongue
- actually moves during the production of the English vowel sound, but during the
- production of the German sound the tongue remains in the same position. The long ö
- and ü are formed approximately like short ö and ü. Pronounce German long e and round
- your lips to form ö , and pronounce German long i and round your lips to form
- ü</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Practice 2(a)</strong></span></p><div class="informaltable"><table><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><col width="12.5%"/><tr align="center">
- <td>Long</td>
- <td>i</td>
- <td>e</td>
- <td>a</td>
- <td>o</td>
- <td>u</td>
- <td>ö</td>
- <td>ü</td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td/>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> wie
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> geht
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Tag
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Sohn
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> gut
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> König
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> für
- </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td/>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> ihnen
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Tee
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Abend
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> oder
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> du
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> schön
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Tür
- </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td/>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> viel
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> den
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Bahn
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> wo
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Flug
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> öde
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">über
- </em></span></td>
- </tr></table></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Practice 2(b)</strong></span></p><div class="informaltable"><table><col width="50%"/><col width="50%"/><tr align="center">
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">vier</em></span>
- - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">für</em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">lesen</em></span> - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">lösen</em></span></td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">Tier</em></span>
- - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">Tür</em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">Sehne</em></span> - <span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase">Söhne</em></span></td>
- </tr></table></div></dd><dt><span class="term">C.</span></dt><dd><p><span class="bold"><strong>Distinguishing Long and Short Vowels</strong></span></p><p>It is NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE to distinguish long and short vowels in written
- German, as the German spelling system does not consistently mark them as such. Your
- best guide to the pronunciation of any given word is the way your native instructor
- pronounces it. However, a few hints can be given which will help you to recognize
- them <span class="bold"><strong>most</strong></span> of the time. If you look back at the
- practice lists above you will see that the short vowels in <span class="bold"><strong>most</strong></span> cases are followed by two or more consonants and they are always
- written with a single letter symbol. Then note that the long vowels are <span class="bold"><strong>not always</strong></span> written with a single letter symbol and usually
- are followed by only one consonant. The following combinations of letters always
- designate long vowels: ie, ih - eh, ee - ah, aa - oh, oo - uh - öh - üh</p></dd><dt><span class="term">D.</span></dt><dd><p><span class="bold"><strong>Diphthongs</strong></span></p><p>These combinations of two vowel sounds in German are very similar, though not
- identical to certain vowel combinations in English.</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Practice 3</strong></span></p><div class="informaltable"><table><col width="33%"/><col width="33%"/><col width="33%"/><tr align="center">
- <td>ei</td>
- <td>au</td>
- <td>eu (äu)</td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> nein
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> auch
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> deutsch
- </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> eins
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Tau
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> neun
- </em></span></td>
- </tr><tr align="center">
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Wein
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> Laut
- </em></span></td>
- <td><span xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"><em xml:lang="de-1901" class="foreignphrase"> läute
- </em></span></td>
- </tr></table></div></dd></dl></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="ch01.xhtml">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="ch01.xhtml">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="ch01s03.xhtml">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Chapter 1. Unit 1 </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.xhtml">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Notes on grammar</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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