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The articulation of German vowels varies according to whether the vowel is long or short. Although the vowel length of each new word must of course be noted the first time that you encounter it, there are a few general rules which may help you to ascertain the duration of German vowel sounds. 1. A German vowel is usually long if it is followed by a single consonant. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words that end with a single consonant and thus have a long vowel sound. The words themselves are given in the box below along with an English translation:
Lista reproduccion Deuschtland rad reproductor windows media player
letter. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words containing the letters 'aa', 'ee' and 'oo'.
Lista reproduccion Deuschtland paar reproductor windows media player
3. A German vowel is usually long if it is followed by a silent 'h'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words containing a long vowel + 'h' in either medial or final position.
Lista reproduccion Deuschtland fahrer reproductor windows media player
Lehrer (teacher)
Fahrer (driver)
roh (raw)
Kuh (cow)
4. The German letters 'ie' usually represent a long German 'i' sound. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words whose 'ie' letters represent a long vowel sound. (N.B. the articulation of 'ie' is of course different if it appears in an unstressed syllable at the end of a word.)
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5. An unstressed vowel at the end of a word is generally long, unless this vowel is an '-e' sound. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words that end in vowels other than '-e':
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2. A German vowel is usually short if it precedes the consonant combination 'ck'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words containing the letters 'ck' in the middle or at the end.
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This is not always the case however. If the root form of a word contains a long vowel, then the vowel in the inflected form remains long, even if the vowel is followed by two consonants in this inflected form. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear two pairs German words that bear out this rule. Both the infinitive 'haben' and the uninflected adjective'gro' have a long vowel, and thus so do their inflected forms.
Lista reproduccion Deuschtland gehabt reproductor windows media player
The long German /a:/ vowel - which can be written 'a', 'aa' or 'ah' - is a central and open vowel which is formed with the tip of the tongue touching the lower front teeth. This means that the tongue is much lower than in the pronunciation of the other German vowels. It equates to the 'a' vowel sound in the English words 'bar' and 'calm'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words containing this long 'a' vowel:
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klar (clear) Jahr (year) Haar (hair) The short German 'a' vowel
The short /a/ vowel - which is only spelled 'a' - is a much more clipped vowel. It is a little like a shorter version of the 'a' vowel in the English word 'man'. This vowel can even tend towards the vowel sound heard in the English word 'but', albeit pronounced in a more open way. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to four German words containing this short vowel sound.
Lista reproduccion Deuschtland mann reproductor windows media player
Distinguishing between long and short 'a' vowels To practise the difference between the long and short 'a' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to four pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a long /a:/ phoneme, whereas the second contains a short /a/ sound.
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The long German '' vowel - which can be written '', 'h', but never '' - has no corresponding long vowel in English. It is best to start with the short German '' vowel outlined above and gradually lengthen it. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words containing this long '' vowel:
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The most common mistake made by English-speakers in articulating this long vowel sound is to produce a slight diphthongisation, i.e. to glide off into an 'aee' sound heard in English words such as 'day' or 'played'. This temptation must be resisted - German vowels do not glide off into a different vowel sound. Try instead to keep the tongue in the same position throughout a long '' vowel sound.
throughout articulation. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear eight German words containing this diphthong.
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The short German 'e' vowel The short German 'e' sound is articulated in much the same manner as the 'e' vowel in the English words 'get' and 'set'. It represents the same sound therefore as the short German ''. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words containing this short 'e' vowel:
wenn (if, when) Dreck (dirt) Fell (fur) The long German /e:/ vowel
The long German /e:/ vowel - which can be written 'e', 'eh' or 'ee' - has no corresponding long vowel in English. To pronounce it, you must ensure that your tongue remains tense and in the same high position in your mouth throughout articulation - the sound must not glide off into an 'i' at the end as it can do in English words such as 'day'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words containing this long 'e' vowel:
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To practise distinguishing between the long and short German 'e' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear three pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a long 'e' vowel, whereas the second contains a short 'e' vowel.
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Majonse (mayonnaise)
Boje (buoy)
Care should be taken to distinguish between an unstressed German '-e' and an unstressed German '-er'. Although ostensibly quite similar, the tongue should be retracted more quickly in German '-er' sounds than it is in an unstressed '-e'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to practise differentiating between the German words 'bitte' and 'bitter':
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bitte (please)
bitter (bitter)
You will also hear vocalic 'r' in the unstressed German prefixes of verbs and nouns that start with er-, ver-, zer- and her-. Click here or on the sound icon to listen to the vocalic 'r' in four words containing these prefixes.
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German words containing this diphthong. Note in particular the different ways in which this sound can be spelled.
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Main (River Main) Bayern (Bavaria) Teil (part) Meyer (German surname)
Saite (string) Karl May (German author) breit (wide) Speyer (German town)
Note that, unlike in English, the pronunciation of the German letters 'ei' remains consistent - it is always pronounced as the diphthong outlined above. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear eight German words containing the letters 'ei'.
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The pronunciation of the letters 'ie' also remains consistent in German. To practise the distinction between these two sounds, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to four pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains an 'ei' sound, whereas the second contains 'ie'.
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Wein (wine)
Wien (Vienna)
Now click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words containing this short 'i' vowel in the middle of a word. Note that this sound can only be written as an 'i'.
Sounds 2: Short German 'i' in medial position
90
sitzen
r (winte r)
(to sit)
Now click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear three German words in which the long /i:/ vowel appears in medial position. The words themselves are provided in the box below along with their English translation.
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politisch (political)
When long /i:/ appears in an unstressed syllable in a word, then the same sound is made but with a reduced length. Click either here or on
the sound icon on the left to hear three reduced length long /i:/ vowel sounds.
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ideal (ideal)
When 'i' occurs before a vowel, it does not constitute a separate syllable, but is instead pronounced very short. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear two German words in which the 'i' vowel appears before another vowel. The words themselves are provided in the box below along with their English translation.
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Station (station)
finanziell (financial)
Unlike in English, where the pronunciation of the letters 'ie' and 'ei' can vary, the sounds represented by these spellings remain consistent in German. To practise the distinction between these two sounds, click
either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to four pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains an 'ei' sound, whereas the second contains 'ie'.
Lista reproduccion Deuschtland leider reproductor windows media player
But when 'ie' appears in an unstressed syllable at the end of a word, then the letters are pronounced as two separate vowel sounds. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words with an unstressed final syllable containing 'ie':
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The long German 'o' vowel - which can be written 'o', 'oh', 'oo', and 'eau' - does not have an exact equivalent in English. It is a little like the vowel 'o' in the English words 'so' and 'go'. In German however, this sound must not be allowed to glide off into a 'u' sound, which English speakers ofen find themselves doing. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to six German words containing this long 'o' vowel. Note in particular the difference in vowel articulation that occurs in those German words below that have a similar form in English.
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so (so)
rot (red)
Distinguishing between long and short German 'o' vowels To practise distinguishing between the long and short German 'o' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a long 'o' vowel, whereas the second contains a short 'o' vowel.
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Flte (flute) bse (evil) Lhne (wages) The short German '' vowel
The short German '' sound - which can only be written '' and never features at the end of a word - is best described as a shorter, tenser and much more open version of the sound outlined above. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words containing this short '' vowel:
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Distinguishing between German 'o' and '' vowels To practise distinguishing between German 'o' and '' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear seven pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a 'o' vowel, whereas the second contains a '' vowel.
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The long German /u:/ vowel - which can be written 'u' or 'uh' - does not have an exact equivalent in English. It is a little like the vowel sound in the English words 'hoot' and 'boot' but the lips are much more rounded in German and the sound must not be allowed to glide off into a diphthong. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to six German words containing this long 'u' vowel.
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Tuch
Grube
Distinguishing between long and short German 'u' vowels To practise distinguishing between the long and short German 'u' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a long 'u' vowel, whereas the second contains a short 'u' vowel.
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the sound icon on the left to listen to six German words containing this long '' vowel:
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frh (early) grn (green) Bhne (stage) The short German '' vowel
The short German '' sound - which can be written '' and sometimes 'y' - is best described as a shorter version of the sound outlined above, but with slightly less lip-rounding. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words containing this short '' vowel:
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Distinguishing between German 'u' and '' vowels To practise distinguishing between German 'u' and '' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear nine pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a 'u' vowel, whereas the second contains a '' vowel.
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jung
jnger
(young) gut (good) Schule (school) Kuh (cow) Stuhl (chair) Busch (bush) Kuss (kiss) drucken (to print) Bruch (break)
(younger) Gte (goodness) Schler (schoolboy) Khe (cows) Sthle (chairs) Bsche (bushes) Ksse (kisses) drcken (to press) Brche (breaks)
If 'y' stands at the beginning or end of a word, then it is pronounced in the same way as it would be in English. The word in which it appears is
very probably an import from English in the first place. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear three words which end with the German letter 'y' and one word that starts with this letter.
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