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Standard German phonology

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Thephonology of Standard Germanis the standard pronunciation or accent of theGerman language.It deals with currentphonologyandphoneticsas well as withhistorical developmentsthereof as well as the geographical variants and the influence ofGerman dialects.

While the spelling of German is officially standardised by an international organisation (theCouncil for German Orthography) the pronunciation has no official standard and relies on ade factostandard documented in reference works such asDeutsches Aussprachewörterbuch(German Pronunciation Dictionary) by Eva-Maria Krech et al.,[1]Duden6 Das Aussprachewörterbuch(Duden volume 6, The Pronunciation Dictionary) byMax Mangoldand the training materials of radio and television stations such asWestdeutscher Rundfunk,Deutschlandfunk,orSchweizer Radio und Fernsehen.This standardised pronunciation was invented, rather than coming from any particular German-speaking city. But the pronunciation that Germans usually consider to be closest to the standard is that ofHanover.[2][3][4][5]Standard German is sometimes referred to asBühnendeutsch(stage German), but the latter has its own definition and is slightly different.[6]

Vowels[edit]

Monophthongsof standard German, fromDudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015:34)

Monophthongs[edit]

Monophthong phonemes of Standard German
Front Central Back
Unrounded Rounded
short long short long short long short long
Close iː yː uː
Close-mid ɪ eː ʏ øː (ə) ʊ oː
Open-mid ɛ (ɛː) œ (ɐ) ɔ
Open a aː

Some scholars[7]treat/ə/as an unstressedallophoneof/ɛ/.Likewise, some scholars[7]treat/ɐ/as an allophone of the sequence/ər/or as a vocalic realization of syllabic /r̩/. The phonemic status of/ɛː/is also debated – see below.

Notes[edit]

  • Close vowels
  • Mid vowels
    • /eː/is close-mid front unrounded[eː].[8][9][10]
      • In non-standard accents of the Low German speaking area, as well as in some Bavarian and Austrian accents it may be pronounced as a narrow closing diphthong[eɪ].
    • /øː/has been variously described as close-mid near-front rounded[ø̠ː][9][10]and mid near-front rounded[ø̽ː].[8]One source[11]shows it as considerably centralized on the vowel chart (the one shown above), closer to[ɵː]than cardinal[øː].
      • In non-standard accents of the Low German speaking area, as well as in some Austrian accents it may be pronounced as a narrow closing diphthong[øʏ].
    • /oː/is close-mid back rounded[oː].[8][9][10]
      • In non-standard accents of the Low German speaking area, as well as in some Austrian accents it may be pronounced as a narrow closing diphthong[oʊ].
    • /ə/has been variously described as mid central unrounded[ə].[8][9][10]and close-mid central unrounded[ɘ].[12]It occurs only in unstressed syllables, for instance inbesetzen[bəˈzɛtsən]('occupy'). It is often considered a complementary allophone together with[ɛ],which only rarely or regionally occurs in unstressed syllables (e.g.entsetzt).[citation needed]If asonorantfollows in thesyllable coda,the schwa often disappears so that the sonorant becomes syllabic, for instanceKissen[ˈkɪsn̩]('pillow'),Esel[ˈeːzl̩]('donkey'). However, Standard German spoken inLuxembourgoften lacks syllabic sonorants under the influence of Luxembourgish, so that e.g.setzen('put') is pronounced[ˈzɛtsən],rather than[ˈzɛtsn̩].[13][14]
    • /ɛ/has been variously described as mid near-front unrounded[ɛ̽][9]and open-mid front unrounded[ɛ].[8][10]
    • /ɛː/has been variously described as mid front unrounded[ɛ̝ː][8]and open-mid front unrounded[ɛː].[8][9]
    • /œ/has been variously described as open-mid near-front rounded[œ̠][10]and somewhat lowered open-mid near-front rounded[œ̠˕].[8][9]
    • /ɔ/has been variously described as somewhat fronted open-mid back rounded[ɔ̟][9][10]and open-mid back rounded[ɔ].[8]
  • Open vowels
    • /ɐ/is near-open central unrounded[ɐ].[8][15]It is a common allophone of the sequence/ər/common to all German-speaking areas but Switzerland. As schwa /ə/ is never pronounced here, it also possible to interpret[ɐ]as the vocalic allophone of the syllabic sonorant /r̩/.[16]
    • /a/has been variously described as open front unrounded[a][17]and open central unrounded[ä].[8][9][10][18][19]Some scholars[20]differentiate two short/a/,namely front/a/and back/ɑ/.[21]The latter occurs only in unstressed open syllables, exactly as/i,y,u,e,ø,o/.[22]
      • Standard Austrian pronunciation of this vowel is back[ɑ].[23]
      • Front[a]or even[æ]is a common realization of/a/in northern German varieties influenced byLow German.
    • /aː/has been variously described as open central unrounded[äː][8][9][10][18][19]and open back unrounded[ɑː].[24]Because of this, it is sometimes transcribed/ɑː/.[25]
      • Back[ɑː]is the Standard Austrian pronunciation.[23]It is also a common realization of/aː/in northern German varieties influenced byLow German(in which it may even be rounded[ɒː]).
    • Wiese (1996)notes that "there is a tendency to neutralize the distinction between[a(ː)],[aɐ̯],and[ɐ].That is,Oda,Radar,andOderhave final syllables which are perceptually very similar, and are nearly or completely identical in some dialects. "[26]He also says that "outside of a word context,[ɐ]cannot be distinguished from[a].[26](As early as 1847,Verdi's librettist found it natural, whenadaptinga playby Schiller into the Italian language, to render the distinctly German nameRollerasRolla.)
    • According to the 7th edition ofDas Aussprachewörterbuch,the standard pronunciation differentiates[ɐ]from unstressed[a](which typically belongs to/aː/phoneme, see below). The authors claim that the difference is one of height:[ɐ]vs.[ä].However, they tend to be neutralized in theBerlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Regiontowards an open central[ä].Conversely, in southern Germany,/ɐ/is often realized as[ə](in turn, Standard/ə/is often closer to[ɛ]). InFranconiaand partially also in the coastal regions of Germany, the vowel is closer to[ɛ],whereas in west-central Germany it is slightly more open, that is[æ].In each case but the first one,[ɐ]is strongly differentiated from[a].In regions without r-vocalization, the difference is always present.[27]
    • According to a 2020 study,[ɐ]is not distinguished from unstressed[a]in Northern Standard German. Word pairs such asOper'opera' (traditionally transcribed[ˈoːpɐ]) andOpa'grandpa' (traditionally transcribed[ˈoːpa]) are thus homophones (as[ˈoːpɐ]), rather than minimal pairs. The merged vowel has a centralized quality[ɐ].The authors of the study advocate for ditching the distinction in transcriptions aimed at foreign learners of German. This neutralization may not apply to all dialects with r-vocalization, particularly the southern ones.[28]

Although there is also alength contrast,vowels are often analyzed according to atensenesscontrast, with long/iː,yː,uː,eː,øː,oː/being the tense vowels and short/ɪ,ʏ,ʊ,ɛ,œ,ɔ/their lax counterparts. Like the Englishchecked vowels,the German lax vowels require a following consonant, with the notable exception of/ɛː/(which is absent in many varieties, as discussed below)./a/is sometimes considered the lax counterpart of tense/aː/in order to maintain this tense/lax division. Short[i,y,u,e,ø,o]occur in unstressed syllables ofloanwords,for instance inPsychometrie[psyçomeˈtʁiː]('psychometry'). They are usually consideredallophonesof tense vowels (thus/psyːçoːmeːˈtriː/), which cannot occur in unstressed syllables (unless in compounds)./aː/is similarly shortened in those positions, with the difference being that it is shortened also in native words, such as aforementionedOpa[ˈoːpa]'grandpa' (phonemically/ˈoːpaː/).

In dialects with r-vocalization, historical/a(ː)r/(phonetically typically a long monophthong[äː]) may undergo a shortening akin to/aː/when unstressed, as in one pronunciation ofRadar'radar' as[ˈʁaːda](phonemically/ˈraːdaːr/).[26]An analogous process has taken place in Danish, as in the cognateradar[ˈʁɑːtɑ],meaning the same.[29]

Northern German varieties influenced by Low German could be analyzed as lacking contrasting vowel quantity entirely:

Phonemic status of/ɛː/[edit]

The existence of a phoneme/ɛː/in German is disputed.[30] The distinction between the long lax/ɛː/and the long tense/eː/does not exist in many varieties of Standard German, and many authors treat the/ɛː/phoneme as peripheral and regard a distinction between it and/eː/as a spelling pronunciation.[31]Most commonly, they are merged before an intervocalic/r/,so that potential minimal pairs such asÄhre'ear of grain' andEhre'honor' orBären'bears' andBeeren'berries' are rendered homophonous, as/ˈɛːrə/and/ˈbɛːrən/.Some authors claim that no distinction between/ɛː/and/eː/is possible in this position unless in hypercorrect pronunciation, in whichEhreandBeerenmay be pronounced[ˈeːʁə]and[ˈbeːʁən],with a tense/eː/.[32]Other authors claim that there is regional variation, a distinction occurring especially in southern variaties of Standard German.[33]In contexts other than before intervocalic/r/,the contrast between/ɛː/and/eː/is more stable, so thatbäten/ˈbɛːtən/'bid, conjunctive',Dänen/ˈdɛːnən/'Danes' andSägen/ˈzɛːɡən/('saws, n.') may be differentiated frombeten/ˈbeːtən/'to pray',dehnen/ˈdeːnən/'to stretch' andSegen/ˈzeːɡən/'blessing'. Even here the vowels can merge, but to a tense/eː/:[ˈbeːtn̩,ˈdeːnən,ˈzeːɡn̩].[32]Scholars who question the existence of a phoneme/ɛː/do so for the following reasons:

  1. The existence of a phoneme/ɛː/is an irregularity in a vowel system that otherwise has pairs of long and tense vs. short and lax vowels such as/oː/vs./ɔ/.[31]On the other hand, such irregularities are not ruled out by any principle.[citation needed]
  2. The phoneme/ɛː/has developed out of the spelling of the language rather than from any historicalsound change;[30]Most examples ofMiddle High German/ǣ/ correspond to New High German/eː/rather than/ɛː/,indicating that the modern/ɛː/is not a regular development.[34]
  3. Although some dialects (e.g.Ripuarianand someAlemannicdialects) have an opposition of/eː/vs./ɛː/,their usage does not follow that of the standard.[34]There is also little agreement across dialects as to whether individual lexical items should be pronounced with/eː/or with/ɛː/.E.g. South Hessian dialects have/eː/in Käse but/ɛː/in Leben.[35][better source needed]
  4. The use of/ɛː/is aspelling pronunciationrather than an original feature of the language. It is an attempt to "speak as printed" (sprechen wie gedruckt) and to differentiate the spellings⟨e⟩and⟨ä⟩(i.e. speakers attempt to justify the appearance of⟨e⟩and⟨ä⟩in writing by making them distinct in the spoken language).[36][31]
  5. Speakers with an otherwise fairly standardidiolectfind it rather difficult to utter longer passages with/eː/and/ɛː/in the right places. Such persons apparently have to picture the spellings of the words in question, which impedes the flow of speech.[citation needed]However, the examples above with a non-rhotic context for the disputed vowel distinction speak against this view.[citation needed]

Diphthongs[edit]

Phonemic[edit]

Diphthongsof standard German, fromDudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015:35)
Ending point
Front Back
Near-close (ʊɪ̯)
Open-mid ɔɪ̯
Open aɪ̯ aʊ̯
  • /aɪ̯/has been variously described as[äɪ],[8][37][äe̠][38]and[aɛ].[39]
  • /aʊ̯/has been variously described as[äʊ],[37][äʊ̞],[8][äo̟][38]and[aɔ].[40]
  • /ɔɪ̯/has been variously described as[ɔʏ],[37][ɔʏ̞],[8][ɔ̝e̠][38]and[ɔœ].[41]
  • /ʊɪ̯/is found only in a handful ofinterjectionssuch aspfui[pfʊɪ̯]andhui[hʊɪ̯],and as an alternative to disyllabic[uː.ɪ]in words such asruhig[ʁʊɪ̯ç].[11][42]

Phonetic[edit]

The following usually are not counted among the German diphthongs as German speakers often feel they are distinct marks of "foreign words" (Fremdwörter). These appear only in loanwords:

  • [o̯a],as inCroissant[kʁ̥o̯aˈsɑ̃],colloquially:[kʁ̥o̯aˈsaŋ].
  • Many German speakers use[ɛɪ̯]and[ɔʊ̯]as adaptations of the English diphthongs/eɪ/and/oʊ/in English loanwords, according toWiese (1996),or they replace them with the native German long vowels/eː/and/oː/.Thus, the wordokaymay be pronounced[ɔʊ̯ˈkɛɪ̯]or/oːˈkeː/.[43]However,Mangold (2005)andKrech et al. (2009)do not recognize these diphthongs as phonemes, and prescribe pronunciations with the long vowels/eː/and/oː/instead.

In the varieties where speakers vocalize/r/to[ɐ]in the syllable coda, a diphthong ending in[ɐ̯]may be formed with every stressable vowel:

German diphthongs ending in[ɐ̯](part 1), fromKohler (1999:88)
German diphthongs ending in[ɐ̯](part 2), fromKohler (1999:88)
Diphthong Example
Phonemically Phonetically IPA Orthography Translation
/ɪr/ [ɪɐ̯] [vɪɐ̯t] wird he/she/it becomes
/iːr/ [iːɐ̯]1 [viːɐ̯] wir we
/ʏr/ [ʏɐ̯] [ˈvʏɐ̯də] Würde dignity
/yːr/ [yːɐ̯]1 [fyːɐ̯] für for
/ʊr/ [ʊɐ̯] [ˈvʊɐ̯də] wurde I/he/she/it became
/uːr/ [uːɐ̯]1 [ˈuːɐ̯laʊ̯p] Urlaub holiday
/ɛr/ [ɛɐ̯] [ɛɐ̯ft] Erft Erft
/ɛːr/ [ɛːɐ̯]1 [bɛːɐ̯] Bär bear
/eːr/ [eːɐ̯]1 [meːɐ̯] mehr more
/œr/ [œɐ̯] [dœɐ̯t] dörrt he/she/it dries
/øːr/ [øːɐ̯]1 [høːɐ̯] hör! (you (sg.)) hear!
/ɔr/ [ɔɐ̯] [ˈnɔɐ̯dn̩] Norden north
/oːr/ [oːɐ̯]1 [toːɐ̯] Tor gate
/ar/ [aɐ̯] [haɐ̯t] hart hard
/aːr/ [aːɐ̯]1 [vaːɐ̯] wahr true
^1Wiese (1996)notes that the length contrast is not very stable before non-prevocalic/r/[44]and that "Meinhold & Stock (1980:180), following the pronouncing dictionaries (Mangold (1990),Krech & Stötzer (1982)) judge the vowel inArt,Schwert,Fahrtto be long, while the vowel inOrt,Furcht,hartis supposed to be short. The factual basis of this presumed distinction seems very questionable. "[44][45]He goes on stating that in his own dialect, there is no length difference in these words, and that judgements on vowel length in front of non-prevocalic/r/which is itself vocalized are problematic, in particular if/a/precedes.[44]
According to the "lengthless" analysis, the aforementioned "long" diphthongs are analyzed as[iɐ̯],[yɐ̯],[uɐ̯],[ɛɐ̯],[eɐ̯],[øɐ̯],[oɐ̯]and[aɐ̯].This makes non-prevocalic/ar/and/aːr/homophonous as[aɐ̯]or[aː].Non-prevocalic/ɛr/and/ɛːr/may also merge, but the vowel chart inKohler (1999)shows that they have somewhat different starting points –mid-centralizedopen-mid front[ɛ̽]for the former, open-mid front[ɛ]for the latter.[15]
Wiese (1996)also states that "la xing of the vowel is predicted to take place in shortened vowels; it does indeed seem to go hand in hand with the vowel shortening in many cases."[44]This leads to[iɐ̯],[yɐ̯],[uɐ̯],[eɐ̯],[øɐ̯],[oɐ̯]being pronounced the same as[ɪɐ̯],[ʏɐ̯],[ʊɐ̯],[ɛɐ̯],[œɐ̯],[ɔɐ̯].This merger is usual in the Standard Austrian accent, in which e.g.Moor'bog' is often pronounced[mɔɐ̯];this, in contrast with the Standard Northern variety, also happens intervocalically, along with the diphthongization of the laxed vowel to[Vɐ̯],so that e.g.Lehrer'teacher' is pronounced[ˈlɛɐ̯ʁɐ][46](the corresponding Standard Northern pronunciation is[ˈleːʁɐ]). Another feature of the Standard Austrian accent is complete absorption of[ɐ̯]by the preceding/a,aː/,so that e.g.rar'scarce' is pronounced[ʁɑː].[46]

Consonants[edit]

With around 22 to 26 phonemes, the German consonant system has an average number of consonants in comparison with other languages. One of the more noteworthy ones is the unusualaffricate/pf/.[47]

Labial Alveolar Post-
alveolar 		Palatal Velar/
Uvular 		Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive Fortis p t k (ʔ)
Lenis b d ɡ
Affricate Fortis pf ts tʃ
Lenis (dʒ)
Fricative Fortis f s ʃ ç (x) h
Lenis v z (ʒ) j
Lateral l
Rhotic r
  • /r/can be uvular, alveolar or even dental, a consonant or a semivowel, see below.
  • /pf/is bilabial–labiodental[pf],rather than purely labiodental[p̪f].[48]
  • /t,d,l,n/can beapicalalveolar[t̺,d̺,l̺,n̺],[49][50][51][52]laminalalveolar[t̻,d̻,l̻,n̻][49][53][54]or laminaldenti-alveolar[t̪,d̪,l̪,n̪].[49][55][56][57]The other possible pronunciation of/d/that has been reported to occur in unstressed intervocalic positions is retroflex[ɖ].[58]Austrian German often uses the laminal denti-alveolar articulation.
  • In the Standard Austrian variety,/k/may be affricated to[kx]before front vowels.[59]
  • /ts,s,z/can be laminal alveolar[t̻s̻,s̻,z̻],[60][61][62]laminal post-dental[t̪s̪,s̪,z̪][60][62](i.e. fronted alveolar, articulated with the blade of the tongue just behind upper front teeth),[60]or even apical alveolar[t̺s̺,s̺,z̺].[60][61][62]Austrian German often uses the post-dental articulation./s,z/are always strongly fricated.[63]
  • /tʃ,dʒ,ʃ,ʒ/are stronglylabializedpalato-alveolarsibilants[tʃʷ,dʒʷ,ʃʷ,ʒʷ].[64][65][66]/ʃ,ʒ/are fricated more weakly than/s,z/.[67]There are two variants of these sounds:
    • Laminal,[64][66]articulated with the foremost part of the blade of the tongue approaching the foremost part of the hard palate, with the tip of the tongue resting behind either upper or lower front teeth.[64]
    • Apico-laminal,[64][65][66]articulated with the tip of the tongue approaching the gums and the foremost part of the blade approaching the foremost part of the hard palate.[64]According toMorciniec & Prędota (2005),this variant is used more frequently.[66]
  • /r/has a number of possible realizations:
    • Voiced apical coronal trill[r̺],[68][69][70]either alveolar (articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge),[68][69][70]or dental (articulated with the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper front teeth).[68]
      • Distribution: Common in the south (Bavaria and many parts of Switzerland and Austria), but it is also found in some speakers in central and northern Germany, especially the elderly. It is also one of possible realizations of/r/in the Standard Austrian accent, but a more common alveolar realization is an approximant[ɹ].Even more common are uvular realizations, fricatives[ʁ~χ]and a trill[ʀ].[71]
    • Voiced uvular trill[ʀ],[68][69][72][73]which can be realized as voiceless[ʀ̥]after voiceless consonants (as intreten).[69]According toLodge (2009)it is often aflap[ʀ̆]intervocalically (as inEhre).[74]
      • Distribution: Occurs in some conservative varieties—most speakers with a uvular/r/realize it as a fricative or an approximant.[75]It is also one of possible realizations of/r/in the Standard Austrian accent, but it is less common than a fricative[ʁ~χ].[71]
    • Dorsal continuant, about the quality of which there is not a complete agreement:
      • Krech et al. (2009)describe two fricative variants, namelypost-palatal[ɣ˖]andvelar[ɣ].The post-palatal variant appears before and afterfront vowels,while the velar variant is used in all other positions.[76]
      • Morciniec & Prędota (2005)describe it asvoiced post-velar fricative[ʁ̟].[77]
      • Mangold (2005)andKohler (1999)describe it asvoiced uvular fricative[ʁ];[68][78]
        • Mangold (2005)states that "with educated professional radio and TV announcers, as with professional actors on the stage and in film, the [voiced uvular] fricative [realization of]/r/clearly predominates. "[68]
          • In the Standard Austrian accent, the uvular fricative is also the most common realization, although its voicing is variable (that is, it can be either voiced[ʁ]or voiceless[χ]).[71]
        • Kohler (1999)writes that "the place of articulation of the consonant varies from uvular in e.g.rot('red') to velar in e.g.treten('kick'), depending on back or front vowel contexts. "He also notes that[ʁ]is devoiced after voiceless plosives and fricatives, especially those within the same word, giving the wordtretenas an example. According to this author,[ʁ]can be reduced to an approximant in an intervocalic position.[79]
      • Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996)describe it as a uvular fricative[ʁ]or approximant[ʁ̞].The latter is less likely to occur word-initially.[80]
      • Distribution: Almost all areas apart from Bavaria and parts of Switzerland.
    • Near-open central unrounded vowel[ɐ]is a post-vocalic allophone of (mostly dorsal) varieties of/r/.The non-syllabic variant of it is not always near-open or central; it is similar to either[ɑ]or[ə],depending on the environment.[77]
      • Distribution: Widespread, but less common in Switzerland.
    • Retroflex approximant [ɻ⁠] realized like the r inStandard American English.
  • The voiceless stops/p/,/t/,/k/areaspiratedexcept when preceded by asibilant.Many southern dialects do not aspirate/ptk/,and some northern ones do so only in a stressed position. The voiceless affricates/pf/,/ts/,and/tʃ/are never aspirated,[82]and neither are any other consonants besides the aforementioned/p,t,k/.[82]
  • The obstruents/b,d,ɡ,z,ʒ,dʒ/are voicelesslenis consonants[b̥,d̥,ɡ̊,z̥,ʒ̊,d̥ʒ̊]in southern varieties. Voiceless lenis consonants[b̥,d̥,ɡ̊,z̥]continue to contrast with voiceless fortis consonants[p,t,k,s].The section§ Fortis–lenis pairscovers the issue in more detail.
  • In Austria,intervocalic/b,d,ɡ/can be lenited to fricatives[β,ð,ɣ].[59][83]
  • Before and after front vowels (/ɪ,iː,ʏ,yː,ɛ,ɛː,eː,œ,øː/and, in varieties that realize them as front,/a/and/or/aː/), the velar consonants/ŋ,k,ɡ/are realized as post-palatal[ŋ˖,k̟,ɡ˖].[84][85]According toWiese (1996),in a parallel process,/k,ɡ/before and after back vowels (/ʊ,uː,ɔ,oː/and, in varieties that realize them as back,/a/and/or/aː/) are retracted to post-velar[k̠,ɡ˗]or even uvular[q,ɢ].[84]
  • There is no complete agreement about the nature of/j/;it has been variously described as:
    • a fricative[ʝ],[86][87][88]
    • a fricative which can be fricated less strongly than[ç],[89]
    • a sound variable between a weak fricative and an approximant,[90]and
    • an approximant[j],[78][91]which is the usual realization in the Standard Austrian variety.[91]
  • In many varieties of standard German, the glottal stop,[ʔ],occurs in careful speech before word stems that begin with a vowel and before stressed vowels word-internally, as inOase[ʔo.ʔaː.zə] (twice). It is much more frequent in northern varieties than in the south. It is not usually considered a phoneme. In colloquial and dialectal speech,[ʔ]is often omitted, especially when the word beginning with a vowel is unstressed.
  • The phonemic status of affricates is controversial. The majority view accepts/pf/and/ts/,but not/tʃ/or the non-native/dʒ/;some[92]accept none, some accept all but/dʒ/,and some[93]accept all.
    • Although[tʃ]occurs in native words, it only appears in historic clusters of/t/+/ʃ/(e.g.deutsch<OHGdiutisc) or in words with expressive quality (e.g.glitschen,hutschen).[tʃ]is, however, well-established in loanwords, including Germantoponymsof non-Germanic origin (e.g.Zschopau).
    • [dʒ]and[ʒ]occur only in words of foreign origin. In certain varieties, they are replaced by[tʃ]and[ʃ]altogether.
  • [ʋ]is occasionally considered to be an allophone of/v/,especially in southern varieties of German.
  • [ç]and[x]are traditionally regarded as allophones after front vowels and back vowels, respectively. For a more detailed analysis see below atich-Lautandach-Laut.According to some analyses,[χ]is an allophone of/ç/after/a,aː/and according to some also after/ʊ,ɔ,aʊ̯/.[15][59]However, according toMoosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015),the uvular allophone is used after/ɔ/only in the Standard Austrian variety.[59]
  • Some phonologists do not posit a separate phoneme/ŋ/and use/nɡ/instead,[94]along with/nk/instead of/ŋk/.The phoneme sequence/nɡ/is realized as[ŋɡ]when/ɡ/can start a valid onset of the next syllable whose nucleus is a vowel other than unstressed/ə/,/ɪ/,or/ʊ/.It becomes[ŋ]otherwise.[95]For example:
    • Diphthong/dɪfˈtɔnɡ/[dɪfˈtɔŋ]
    • diphthongieren/dɪftɔnˈɡiːrən/[ˌdɪftɔŋˈɡiːʁən]
    • Englisch/ˈɛnɡlɪʃ/[ˈɛŋlɪʃ]
    • Anglo/ˈanɡloː/[ˈaŋɡloː]
    • Ganges/ˈɡanɡəs/[ˈɡaŋəs]~/ˈɡanɡɛs/[ˈɡaŋɡɛs]

Ich-Lautandach-Laut[edit]

A map showing the German dialect area with black/white squares indicating the Ich-Laut and the Ach-Laut

Ich-Lautis thevoiceless palatal fricative[ç](which is found in the wordich[ɪç]'I'), andach-Lautis thevoiceless velar fricative[x](which is found in the wordach[ax]the interjection 'oh', 'alas').Laut[laʊ̯t]is the German word for 'sound,phone'. In German, these two sounds areallophonesoccurring incomplementary distribution.The allophone[x]occurs after back vowels and/aaː/(for instance inBuch[buːx]'book'), the allophone[ç]after front vowels (for instance inmich[mɪç]'me/myself') and consonants (for instance inFurcht[fʊʁçt]'fear',manchmal[ˈmançmaːl]'sometimes'). The allophone[ç]also appears after vocalized⟨r⟩in superregional variants, e.g. inFurcht[fʊɐ̯çt]'fear'. In southeastern regiolects, theach-Lautis commonly used here, yielding[fʊɐ̯xt].

Inloanwords,the pronunciation of potentialfricativesinonsetsofstressed syllablesvaries: in the Northern varieties of standard German, it is[ç],while in Southern varieties, it is[k],and in Western varieties, it is[ʃ](for instance inChina:[ˈçiːna]vs.[ˈkiːna]vs.[ˈʃiːna]).

The diminutivesuffix-chenis always pronounced with anich-Laut[-çən].[96]Usually, this ending triggersumlaut(compare for instanceHund[hʊnt]'dog' toHündchen[ˈhʏntçn̩]'little dog'), so theoretically, it could only occur afterfront vowels.However, in some comparatively recent coinings, there is no longer an umlaut, for instance in the wordFrauchen[ˈfʁaʊ̯çən](adiminutiveofFrau'woman'), so that a back vowel is followed by a[ç],even though normally it would be followed by a[x],as inrauchen[ˈʁaʊ̯xən]('to smoke'). This exception to the allophonic distribution may be an effect of the morphemic boundary or an example ofphonemicization,where erstwhile allophones undergo a split into separatephonemes.

The allophonic distribution of[ç]after front vowels and[x]after other vowels is also found in other languages, such asScots,e.g.licht[lɪçt]'light',dochter[ˈdɔxtər]'daughter', and the same distribution is reconstructed forMiddle English.However, it is by no means inevitable:Dutch,Yiddish,and many Southern German dialects retain[x](which can be realized as[χ]instead) in all positions. It is thus reasonable to assume thatOld High Germanih,the ancestor of modernich,was pronounced with[x]rather than[ç].While it is impossible to know for certain whetherOld Englishwords such asniht(modernnight) were pronounced with[x]or[ç],[ç]is likely (seeOld English phonology).

Despite the phonetic history, the complementary distribution of[ç]and[x]in modernStandard Germanis better described as backing of/ç/after aback vowel,rather than fronting of/x/after afront vowel,because[ç]is used inonsets(Chemie[çeˈmiː]'chemistry') and after consonants (Molch[mɔlç]'newt'), and is thus theunderlying formof the phoneme.

According to Kohler,[97]the Germanach-Lautis further differentiated into two allophones,[x]and[χ]:[x]occurs after/uː,oː/(for instance inBuch[buːx]'book') and[χ]after/a,aː/(for instance inBach[baχ]'brook'), while either[x]or[χ]may occur after/ʊ,ɔ,aʊ̯/,with[χ]predominating.

In Western varieties, there is a strong tendency to realize/ç/as unrounded[ʃ]or[ɕ],and the phoneme may be confused or merged with/ʃ/altogether, secondarily leading tohypercorrectioneffects where/ʃ/is replaced with/ç/,for instance inFisch[fɪʃ],which may be realized as[fɪç].

Within German dialects, a large variation exists as to the environments which trigger or prevent one realization or the other.[98]

Fortis–lenis pairs[edit]

Various German consonants occur in pairs at the sameplace of articulationand in the samemanner of articulation,namely the pairs/p–b/,/t–d/,/k–ɡ/,/s–z/,/ʃ–ʒ/.These pairs are often calledfortis–lenispairs, since describing them as voiced–voiceless pairs is inadequate. With certain qualifications,/tʃ–dʒ/,/f–v/and/θ–ð/are also considered fortis–lenis pairs.

Fortis-lenis distinction for/ʔ,m,n,ŋ,l,r,h/is unimportant.[99]

The fortis stops/p,t,k/areaspiratedin many varieties. The aspiration is strongest in the onset of astressed syllable(such asTaler[ˈtʰaːlɐ]'thaler'), weaker in theonsetof anunstressed syllable(such asVater[ˈfaːtʰɐ]'father'), and weakest in thesyllable coda(such as inSaat[zaːtʰ]'seed'). All fortis consonants, i.e./p,t,k,f,θ,s,ʃ,ç,x,pf,ts,tʃ/[99]are fully voiceless.[100]

The lenis consonants/b,d,ɡ,v,ð,z,ʒ,j,r,dʒ/[99]range from being weakly voiced to almost voiceless[b̥,d̥,ɡ̊,v̥,ð̥,z̥,ʒ̊,j̥,r̥,d̥ʒ̊]after voiceless consonants:[100]Kasbah[ˈkasb̥a]('kasbah'),abdanken[ˈapd̥aŋkn̩]('to resign'),rotgelb[ˈʁoːtɡ̊ɛlp]('red-yellow'),Abwurf[ˈapv̥ʊʁf]('dropping'),Absicht[ˈapz̥ɪçt]('intention'),Holzjalousie[ˈhɔltsʒ̊aluziː]('woodenjalousie'),wegjagen[ˈvɛkj̥aːɡn̩]('to chase away'),tropfen[ˈtʁ̥ɔpfn̩]('to drop'),Obstjuice[ˈoːpstd̥ʒ̊uːs]('fruit juice').Mangold (2005)states that they are "to a large extent voiced"[b,d,ɡ,v,ð,z,ʒ,j,r,dʒ]in all other environments,[99]but some studies have found the stops/b,d,ɡ/to be voiceless word/utterance-initially in most dialects (while still contrasting with/p,t,k/due to the aspiration of the latter).[101]

/b,d,ɡ,z,ʒ/arevoicelessin most southern varieties of German. For clarity, they are often transcribed as[b̥,d̥,ɡ̊,z̥,ʒ̊].

The nature of the phonetic difference between the voiceless lenis consonants and the similarly voiceless fortis consonants is controversial. It is generally described as a difference in articulatory force, and occasionally as a difference in articulatory length; for the most part, it is assumed that one of these characteristics implies the other.

In various central and southern varieties, the opposition between fortis and lenis is neutralized in thesyllable onset;sometimes just in the onset of stressed syllables, sometimes in all cases.

The pair/f–v/is not considered a fortis–lenis pair, but a simple voiceless–voiced pair, as/v/remainsvoicedin all varieties, including the Southern varieties thatdevoicethe lenes (with however some exceptions).[102]Generally, the southern/v/is realized as the voicedapproximant[ʋ].However, there are southern varieties which differentiate between a fortis/f/(such as insträflich[ˈʃtʁɛːflɪç]'culpable' fromMiddle High Germanstræflich) and a lenis/f/([v̥],such as inhöflich[ˈhøːv̥lɪç]'polite' from Middle High Germanhovelîch); this is analogous to the opposition of fortis/s/([s]) and lenis[z̥].

Coda devoicing[edit]

In varieties from Northern Germany, lenis stops in thesyllable codaare realized as fortis stops. This does not happen in varieties from Southern Germany, Austria or Switzerland.[103]

Since the lenis stops/b,d,ɡ/are unvoiced or at most variably voiced (as stated above), this cannot be called devoicing in the strict sense of the word because it does not involve the loss ofphonetic voice.[104]More accurately, it can be called codafortitionor aneutralizationof fortis and lenis sounds in the coda. Fricatives are truly and contrastively voiced in Northern Germany.[105]Therefore, the fricatives undergocoda devoicingin the strict sense of the word.[104]It is disputed whether coda devoicing is due to a constraint which specifically operates on syllable codas or whether it arises from constraints which "protect voicing in privileged positions".[106]

Coda voicing[edit]

As against standard pronunciation rules, in western varieties including those of theRhineland,coda fortis–lenis neutralization results invoicingrather thandevoicingif the following word begins with a vowel. For example,mit unsbecomes[mɪd‿ʊns]anddarf ichbecomes[daʁv‿ɪʃ].The samesandhiphenomenon exists also as a general rule in theLuxembourgishlanguage.[107]

Stress[edit]

In German words there is always one syllable carrying main stress, with all other syllables either being unstressed or carrying a secondary stress. The position of the main stress syllable has been a matter of debate. Traditionally, word stress is seen as falling onto the first stem syllable. In recent analyses, there is agreement that main stress is placed onto one of the last three (stressable) syllables. Within thisthree-syllable window,[108]word stress is put regularly onto the second-to-last syllable, the penultimate syllable.[109]However, syllable quantity may modify this pattern: a heavy final or prefinal syllable, i.e., one with a long vowel or with one or more consonants in the syllable coda, will usually attract main stress.

Examples
  • final stress:Eleˈfant,Krokoˈdil,Kaˈmel
  • penultimate stress:ˈTurban, ˈKonsul, ˈBison
  • antepenultimate stress:ˈPinguin,ˈRisiko,ˈMonitor

A set of illustrative examples also stems from Japanese loan words, as these cannot be borrowed with their stress patterns (Japanesehas a system of pitch accents, completely different from word stress in Germanic languages):

  • final stress:Shoˈgun,Samuˈrai
  • penultimate stress:Mitsuˈbishi,Ikeˈbana
  • antepenultimate stress:Hiˈroshima,ˈOsaka

A list ofJapanese words in Germanreveals that none of the words with four syllables has initial stress, confirming thethree-syllable-windowanalysis.

Secondary stresses precede the main stress if at least two syllables are present, as in̩Bib-li- ̩o-the-'ka-rin.

Suffixes, if containing a stressable vowel, are either stressed (-ei, ion, -al,etc.) or unstressed (-ung, -heit, -isch,etc.)

In addition, German uses different stresses for separableprefixesand inseparable prefixes in verbs and words derived from such verbs:

  • Words beginning withbe-,ge-,er-,ver-,zer-,ent-,emp-and a few other inseparable prefixes are stressed on the root.
  • Words beginning with the separable prefixesab-,auf-,ein-,vor-,and mostprepositional adverbsare stressed on the prefix.
  • Some prefixes, notablyüber-,unter-,um-,anddurch-,can function as separable or inseparable prefixes and are stressed or not accordingly.
  • A few homographs with such prefixes exist. They are not perfect homophones. Consider the wordumschreiben.Asˈum•schreiben(separable prefix), it means 'to rewrite' and is pronounced[ˈʊmʃʁaɪ̯bən],with stress on the first syllable. Its associated noun,die ˈUmschreibungis also stressed on the first syllable –[ˈʊmʃʁaɪ̯bʊŋ].On the other hand,umˈschreiben(inseparable prefix) is pronounced[ʊmˈʃʁaɪ̯bən],with stress on the second syllable. This word means 'to paraphrase', and its associated noun,die Umˈschreibungis also stressed on the second syllable –[ʊmˈʃʁaɪ̯bʊŋ].Another example is the wordumˈfahren;with stress on the root ([ʊmˈfaːʁən]) it means 'to drive around (an obstacle in the street)', and with stress on the prefix ([ˈʊmfaːʁən]) it means 'to run down/over' or 'to knock down'.

Acquisition[edit]

General[edit]

Like all infants, German infants go through ababblingstage in the early phases of phonological acquisition, during which they produce the sounds they will later use in their first words.[110]Phonemeinventories begin withstops,nasals,andvowels;(contrasting)short vowelsandliquidsappear next, followed byfricativesandaffricates,and finally all otherconsonantsandconsonant clusters.[111]Children begin to produce protowords near the end of their first year. These words do not approximate adult forms, yet have a specific and consistent meaning.[110]Early word productions are phonetically simple and usually follow thesyllablestructure CV or CVC, although this generalization has been challenged.[112]The firstvowelsproduced are/ə/,/a/,and/aː/,followed by/eː/,/iː/,and/ɛ/,withrounded vowelsemerging last.[111]German children often use phonological processes to simplify their early word production.[111]For example, they may delete an unstressed syllable (Schokolade'chocolate' pronounced[ˈlaːdə]),[111]or replace a fricative with a corresponding stop (Dach[dax]'roof' pronounced[dak]).[113]One case study found that a 17-month-old child acquiring German replaced thevoiceless velar fricative[x]with the nearest availablecontinuant[h],or deleted it altogether (Buch[buːx]'book' pronounced[buh]or[buː]).[114]

Prosodically, children prefer bisyllabic words with the pattern strong – weak over monosyllabic words.

Vowel space development[edit]

In 2009, Lintfert examined the development ofvowel spaceof German speakers in their first three years of life. During thebabblingstage, vowel distribution has no clear pattern. However,stressedandunstressed vowelsalready show different distributions in the vowel space. Once word production begins,stressed vowelsexpand in thevowel space,while theF1–F2vowel space of unstressed vowels becomes more centralized. The majority of infants are then capable of stable production of F1.[115]The variability offormantfrequencies among individuals decreases with age.[116]After 24 months, infants expand their vowel space individually at different rates. However, if the parents' utterances possess a well-defined vowel space, their children produce clearly distinguished vowel classes earlier.[117]By about three years old, children command the production of all vowels, and they attempt to produce the fourcardinal vowels,/y/,/i/,/u/and/a/,at the extreme limits of the F1–F2 vowel space (i.e., the height and backness of the vowels are made extreme by the infants).[116]

Nasals[edit]

The acquisition of nasals in German differs from that ofDutch,a phonologically closely related language.[118]German children produce proportionately more nasals inonset position(sounds before a vowel in a syllable) than Dutch children do.[119]German children, once they reached 16 months, also produced significantly more nasals in syllables containingschwas,when compared with Dutch-speaking children.[120]This may reflect differences in the languages the children are being exposed to, although the researchers claim that the development of nasals likely cannot be seen apart from the more general phonological system the child is developing.[121]

Phonotactic constraints and reading[edit]

A 2006 study examined the acquisition of German inphonologically delayedchildren (specifically, issues with fronting ofvelarsand stopping of fricatives) and whether they appliedphonotactic constraintsto word-initialconsonant clusterscontaining these modified consonants.[122]In many cases, the subjects (mean age = 5.1) avoided making phonotactic violations, opting instead for other consonants or clusters in their speech. This suggests that phonotactic constraints do apply to the speech of German children with phonological delay, at least in the case of word-initial consonant clusters.[123]Additional research[124]has also shown that spelling consistencies seen in German raise children'sphonemic awarenessas they acquire reading skills.

Sound changes[edit]

Sound changes and mergers[edit]

A commonmergeris that of/ɡ/at the end of a syllable with[ç]or[x],for instanceKrieg[kʁ̥iːç]('war'), butKriege[ˈkʁ̥iːɡə]('wars');er lag[laːx]('he lay'), butwir lagen[ˈlaːɡən]('we lay'). This pronunciation is frequent all over central and northern Germany. It is characteristic of regional languages and dialects, particularlyLow Germanin the North, where⟨g⟩represents africative,becomingvoicelessin thesyllable coda,as is common in German (final-obstruent devoicing). However common it is, this pronunciation is considered sub-standard. Only in one case, in the grammatical ending-ig(which corresponds to English-y), the fricative pronunciation of final⟨g⟩is prescribed by theSiebsstandard, for instancewichtig[ˈvɪçtɪç]('important'),Wichtigkeit[ˈvɪçtɪçkaɪt]('importance'). The merger occurs neither inAustro-BavarianandAlemannic Germannor in the corresponding varieties ofStandard German,and therefore in these regions-igis pronounced[ɪɡ̊].

Many speakers do not distinguish theaffricate/pf/from the simplefricative/f/in the beginning of a word,[125]in which case the verb(er) fährt('[he] travels') and the nounPferd('horse') are both pronounced[fɛɐ̯t].This most commonly occurs in northern and western Germany, where the local dialects did not originally have the sound/pf/.Some speakers also have peculiar pronunciation for/pf/in the middle or end of a word, replacing the[f]in/pf/with avoiceless bilabial fricative,i.e. a consonant produced by pressing air flow through the tensed lips. TherebyTropfen('drop') becomes[ˈtʁ̥ɔpɸn̩],rather than[ˈtʁ̥ɔpfn̩].

Many speakers who have a vocalization of/r/after/a/merge this combination with long/aː/(i.e./ar/>*[aɐ]or*[ɑɐ]>[aː]or[ɑː]). Hereby,Schaf('sheep') andscharf('sharp') can both be pronounced[ʃaːf]or[ʃɑːf].This merger does not occur where/a/is a front vowel while/aː/is realised as a back vowel. Here the words are kept distinct as[ʃɑːf]('sheep') and[ʃaːf]('sharp').

In umlaut forms, the difference usually reoccurs:Schäfer[ˈʃɛːfɐ]or[ˈʃeːfɐ]vs.schärfer[ˈʃɛɐ̯fɐ].Speakers with this merger also often use[aːç](instead of formally normal/aːx/) where it stems from original[arç].The wordArchen('arks') is thus pronounced[ˈaːçn̩],which makes a minimal pair withAachen[ˈaːxn̩],arguably making the difference between[ç]and[x]phonemic,rather than justallophonic,for these speakers.

In the standard pronunciation, the vowel qualities/iː/,/ɪ/,/eː/,/ɛ/,as well as/uː/,/ʊ/,/oː/,/ɔ/,are all still distinguished even in unstressed syllables. In this latter case, however, many simplify the system in various degrees. For some speakers, this may go so far as to merge all four into one, hence misspellings by schoolchildren such asBräutegam(instead ofBräutigam) orPortogal(instead ofPortugal).

In everyday speech, moremergersoccur, some of which are universal and some of which are typical for certain regions or dialect backgrounds. Overall, there is a strong tendency of reduction and contraction. For example, long vowels may be shortened, consonant clusters may be simplified, word-final[ə]may be dropped in some cases, and the suffix-enmay be contracted with preceding consonants, e.g.[ham]forhaben[ˈhaːbən]('to have').

If the clusters[mp],[lt],[nt],or[ŋk]are followed by another consonant, the stops/p/,/t/and/k/usually lose their phonemic status. Thus while the standard pronunciation distinguishesganz[ɡants]('whole') fromGans[ɡans]('goose'), as well aser sinkt[zɪŋkt]fromer singt[zɪŋt],the two pairs are homophones for most speakers. The commonest practice is to drop the stop (thus[ɡans],[zɪŋt]for both words), but some speakers insert the stop where it is not etymological ([ɡants],[zɪŋkt]for both words), or they alternate between the two ways. Only a few speakers retain a phonemic distinction.

Middle High German[edit]

TheMiddle High Germanvowels[ei̯]and[iː]developed into the modernStandard Germandiphthong[aɪ̯],whereas[ou̯]and[uː]developed into[aʊ̯].For example, Middle High Germanheiz/hei̯s/andwîz/wiːs/('hot' and 'white') became Standard Germanheiß/haɪ̯s/andweiß/vaɪ̯s/.In some dialects, the Middle High German vowels have not changed, e.g.Swiss Germanheiss/hei̯s/andwiiss/viːs/,while in other dialects or languages, the vowels have changed but the distinction is kept, e.g.Bavarianhoaß/hɔɐ̯s/andweiß/vaɪ̯s/,Ripuarianheeß/heːs/andwieß/viːs/(however theColognian dialecthas kept the original [ei] diphthong inheiß),Yiddishהײסheys/hɛɪ̯s/andװײַסvays/vaɪ̯s/.

The Middle High Germandiphthongs[iə̯],[uə̯]and[yə̯]became the modernStandard Germanlong vowels[iː],[uː]and[yː]after the Middle High German long vowels changed to diphthongs. MostUpper Germandialects retain the diphthongs. A remnant of their former diphthong character is shown when[iː]continues to be writteniein German (as inLiebe'love').

Loanwords[edit]

German incorporates a significant number ofloanwordsfrom other languages. Loanwords are often adapted to German phonology but to varying degrees, depending on the speaker and the commonness of the word./ʒ/and/dʒ/do not occur in native German words but are common in a number of French and English loan words. Many speakers replace them with/ʃ/and/tʃ/respectively (especially in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland), so thatDschungel(from Englishjungle) can be pronounced[ˈdʒʊŋl̩]or[ˈtʃʊŋl̩].Some speakers in Northern and Western Germany merge/ʒ/with/dʒ/,so thatJournalist(phonemically/dʒʊrnaˈlɪst~ʒʊrnaˈlɪst/) can be pronounced[ʒʊɐ̯naˈlɪst],[dʒʊɐ̯naˈlɪst]or[ʃʊɐ̯naˈlɪst].The realization of/ʒ/as[tʃ],however, is uncommon.[126]

Loanwords from English[edit]

Many English words are used in German, especially in technology and pop culture. Some speakers pronounce them similarly to their native pronunciation, but many speakers change non-native phonemes to similar German phonemes (even if they pronounce them in a rather English manner in an English-language setting):

  • English/θ,ð/are usually pronounced as in RP or General American; some speakers replace them with/s/and/z/respectively (th-alveolarization) e.g.Thriller[ˈθʁɪlɐ~ˈsʁɪlɐ].
  • English/ɹ/can be pronounced the same as in English, i.e.[ɹ],or as the corresponding native German/r/e.g.Rock[ʁɔk]or[rɔk].German and Austrian speakers tend to bevariably rhoticwhen using English loanwords.[citation needed]
  • English/w/is often replaced with German/v/e.g.Whisk(e)y[ˈvɪskiː].
  • word-initial/s/is often retained (especially in the South, where word-initial/s/is common),[127]but many speakers replace it with/z/e.g.Sound[zaʊ̯nt].
  • word-initial/st/and/sp/are usually retained, but some speakers (especially in South Western Germany and Western Austria) replace them with/ʃt/and/ʃp/e.g.Steak[ʃteɪk]or[ʃteːk],Spray[ʃpʁeɪ]or[ʃpʁeː].[128]
  • English/tʃ/is usually retained, but in Northern and Western Germany as well as Luxembourg, it is often replaced with/ʃ/e.g.Chips[ʃɪps].[129]
  • In Northern Standard German,final-obstruent devoicingis applied to English loan words just as to other words e.g.Airbag[ˈɛːɐ̯bɛk],Lord[lɔʁt]or[lɔɐ̯t],Backstage[ˈbɛksteːtʃ].However, in Southern Standard German, in Swiss Standard German and Austrian Standard German, final-obstruent devoicing does not occur and so speakers are more likely to retain the original pronunciation of word-final lenes (although realizing them as fortes may occur because of confusing English spelling with pronunciation).
  • English/eɪ/and/oʊ/are often replaced with/eː/and/oː/respectively e.g.Homepage[ˈhoːmpeːtʃ].
  • English/æ/and/ɛ/are pronounced the same, as German/ɛ/(met–mat merger) e.g.Backup[ˈbɛkap].
  • English/ɒ/and/ɔː/are pronounced the same, as German/ɔ/(cot–caught merger) e.g.Box[bɔks].
  • English/ʌ/is usually pronounced as German/a/e.g.Cutter[ˈkatɐ].
  • English/ɜːr/is usually pronounced as German/œʁ/e.g.Shirt[ʃœʁt]or[ʃœɐ̯t].
  • English/i/is pronounced as/iː/(happy-tensing) e.g.Whisk(e)y[ˈvɪskiː].

Loanwords from French[edit]

French loanwords, once very numerous, have in part been replaced by native German coinages or more recently English loanwords. Besides/ʒ/,they can also contain the characteristicnasal vowels[ãː],[ɛ̃ː],[œ̃ː]and[õː](always long). However, their status as phonemes is questionable and they are often resolved into sequences either of (short) oral vowel and[ŋ](in the north), or of (long or short) oral vowel and[n]or sometimes[m](in the south). For example,Ballon[baˈlõː]('balloon') may be realized as[baˈlɔŋ]or[baˈloːn],Parfüm[paʁˈfœ̃ː]('perfume') as[paʁˈfœŋ]or[paʁˈfyːm]andOrange[oˈʁãːʒə]('orange') as[oˈʁaŋʒə]or[oˈʁanʒə].

Sample[edit]

The sample text is a reading of "The North Wind and the Sun".The phonemic transcription treats every instance of[ɐ]and[ɐ̯]as/ər/and/r/,respectively. The phonetic transcription is a fairly narrow transcription of the educated northern accent. The speaker transcribed in the narrow transcription is 62 years old, and he is reading in a colloquial style.[78]Aspiration, glottal stops and devoicing of the lenes after fortes are not transcribed.

The audio file contains the whole fable and was recorded by a much younger speaker.

Phonemic transcription[edit]

/aɪnstˈʃtrɪtɛnzɪçˈnɔrtvɪntʊntˈzɔnɛ |veːrfɔnˈiːnɛnˈbaɪdɛnvoːldeːrˈʃtɛrkɛrɛˈvɛːrɛ |alsaɪnˈvandɛrɛr |deːrɪnˈaɪnɛnˈvarmɛnˈmantɛlɡɛˈhʏltvaːr |dɛsˈveːɡɛsdaˈheːrˌkaːm ‖ziːˈvʊrdɛnˈaɪnɪç |dasˈdeːrjeːnɪɡɛfyːrdeːnˈʃtɛrkɛrɛnˈɡɛltɛnˈzɔltɛ |deːrdeːnˈvandɛrɛrˈtsvɪŋɛnˈvʏrdɛ |ˈzaɪnɛnˈmantɛlˈaptsuːˌneːmɛn ‖deːrˈnɔrtvɪntbliːsmɪtˈalɛrmaçt |ˈaːbɛrjeːˈmeːreːrbliːs |ˈdɛstoːˈfɛstɛrˈhʏltɛzɪçdeːrˈvandɛrɛrɪnˈzaɪnɛnˈmantɛlaɪn ‖ˈɛntlɪçɡaːpdeːrˈnɔrtvɪntdeːnkampfaʊf ‖nuːnɛrˈvɛrmtɛdiːˈzɔnɛdiːlʊftmɪtˈiːrɛnˈfrɔɪntlɪçɛnˈʃtraːlɛn |ʊntʃoːnnaːçˈveːnɪɡɛnaʊɡɛnˈblɪkɛntsoːkdeːrˈvandɛrɛrˈzaɪnɛnˈmantɛlaʊs ‖daːˈmʊstɛdeːrˈnɔrtvɪntˈtsuːɡeːbɛn |dasdiːˈzɔnɛfɔnˈiːnɛnˈbaɪdɛndeːrˈʃtɛrkɛrɛvaːr/

The North Wind and the Sun
Traditional fable
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Phonetic transcription[edit]

[aɪnsˈʃtʁɪtn̩zɪçˈnɔɐ̯tvɪntʊntˈz̥ɔnə |veːɐ̯fɔnˈiːnːˈbaɪdn̩voːldeːɐ̯ˈʃtɛɐ̯kəʁəˈvɛːʁə |alsaɪnˈvandəʁɐ |deːɐ̯ɪnˈaɪnːˈvaːɐ̯mn̩ˈmantl̩ɡəˈhʏltvaːɐ̯ |dəsˈveːɡəsdaˈheːɐ̯kaːm ‖ziːˈvʊɐ̯dn̩ˈaɪnɪç |dasˈdeːɐ̯jeːnɪɡəfʏɐ̯deːnˈʃtɛɐ̯kəʁənˈɡɛltn̩ˈzɔltə |deːɐ̯deːnˈvandəʁɐˈtsvɪŋ̍ˈvʏɐ̯də |ˈzaɪnːˈmantl̩ˈaptsʊˌneːmː ‖deːɐ̯ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪntbliːsmɪtˈalɐmaxt |ˈaːbɐjeˈmeːɐ̯eːɐ̯bliːs |ˈdɛstoˈfɛstɐˈhʏltəzɪçdeːɐ̯ˈvandəʁɐɪnˈzaɪnːˈmantl̩aɪn ‖ˈɛntlɪçɡaːpdeːɐ̯ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪntdeːnkampfaʊf ‖nuːnɛɐ̯ˈvɛɐ̯mtədiːˈzɔnədiːlʊftmɪtˈiːɐ̯n̩ˈfʁɔɪntlɪçn̩ˈʃtʁaːln̩ |ʊntʃoːnaːxˈveːnɪɡŋ̍aʊɡŋ̍ˈblɪkŋ̍tsoːkdeːɐ̯ˈvandəʁɐˈzaɪnːˈmantl̩aʊs ‖daːˈmʊstədeːɐ̯ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪntˈtsuːɡeːbm̩ |dasdiːˈzɔnəfɔnˈiːnːˈbaɪdn̩deːɐ̯ˈʃtɛɐ̯kəʁəvaːɐ̯][130]

Orthographic version[edit]

Einst stritten sich Nordwind und Sonne, wer von ihnen beiden wohl der Stärkere wäre, als ein Wanderer, der in einen warmen Mantel gehüllt war, des Weges daherkam. Sie wurden einig, daß derjenige für den Stärkeren gelten sollte, der den Wanderer zwingen würde, seinen Mantel abzunehmen. Der Nordwind blies mit aller Macht, aber je mehr er blies, desto fester hüllte sich der Wanderer in seinen Mantel ein. Endlich gab der Nordwind den Kampf auf. Nun erwärmte die Sonne die Luft mit ihren freundlichen Strahlen, und schon nach wenigen Augenblicken zog der Wanderer seinen Mantel aus. Da mußte der Nordwind zugeben, daß die Sonne von ihnen beiden der Stärkere war.[131]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Pages 1-2 of the book (Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch) discussdie Standardaussprache, die Gegenstand dieses Wörterbuches ist(the standard pronunciation which is the topic of this dictionary). It also mentionsDa sich das Deutsche zu einer plurizentrischen Sprache entwickelt hat, bildeten sich jeweils eigene Standardvarietäten (und damit Standardaussprachen)(German has developed into a pluricentric language separate standard varieties (and hence standard pronunciations)), but refers to these standards asregionale und soziolektale Varianten(regional and sociolectal variants).
  2. ^Drösser, Christoph (14 June 2000)."Angeblich sprechen die Hannoveraner das reinste - sprich dialektfreieste - Deutsch und kommen dem Hochdeutschen am nächsten. Stimmt's?".Die Zeit.Stimmt.
  3. ^"Reflections on Diglossia".In northern Germany, it appears that in Hanover – perhaps because of the presence of the electoral (later royal) court – a parastandard High German was spoken by the 18th century as well, at least among the educated, with the curious result that Hanover speech – though non-native – became the model of German pronunciation on the stage (Bühnendeutsch), since everywhere else in Germany dialects were still spoken by everyone. Other capitals (Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Vienna) eventually developed their own Umgangssprachen, but the Hanover model remained the ideal.
  4. ^"Reading Heinrich Heine"(PDF).He spoke the dialect of Hanover, where – as also in the vicinity to the south of this city – German is pronounced best.
  5. ^"Nicht das beste Hochdeutsch in Hannover".7 August 2013.In Hannover wird zweifellos ein Deutsch gesprochen, das sehr nah an der nationalen Aussprachenorm liegt. Aber das gilt auch für andere norddeutsche Städte wie Kiel, Münster oder Rostock. Hannover hat da keine Sonderstellung.
  6. ^Differences include the pronunciation of the endings-er,-en,and-em.
  7. ^abSee the discussions inWiese (1996:16–17) andStaffeldt (2010:passim)
  8. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuSee the vowel charts inMangold (2005:37).
  9. ^abcdefghijklmnopKohler (1999:87)
  10. ^abcdefghijklmnoLodge (2009:87)
  11. ^abDudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015),p. 34.
  12. ^"John Wells's phonetic blog:ɘ".3 June 2009.Retrieved28 January2016.
  13. ^Gilles & Trouvain (2013),pp. 70–71.
  14. ^Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015),p. 39.
  15. ^abcKohler (1999:88)
  16. ^Wiese (1996:256)
  17. ^Wierzbicka & Rynkowska (1992:413)
  18. ^abWiese (1996:8)
  19. ^abKrech et al. (2009:24)
  20. ^E.g.Wierzbicka & Rynkowska (1992)
  21. ^Wierzbicka & Rynkowska (1992:412). Authors state that/ɑ/can be realized as Polish/a/,i.e. central[ä].
  22. ^Wierzbicka & Rynkowska (1992:412–415)
  23. ^abMoosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015:342–344)
  24. ^Wierzbicka & Rynkowska (1992:412)
  25. ^e.g. byLodge (2009:86–89) (without length marks, i.e. as/ɑ/—the vowel chart on page 87 places/a/and/ɑ/in the same open central position[ä]),Morciniec & Prędota (2005)(without length marks, i.e. as/ɑ/) andWierzbicka & Rynkowska (1992).
  26. ^abcWiese (1996:254)
  27. ^Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015),pp. 40, 72.
  28. ^Rathcke & Mooshammer (2020),pp. 48–50.
  29. ^"radar — Den Danske Ordbog".Retrieved1 June2024.
  30. ^abNoack 2023.
  31. ^abcvan Lessen Kloeke 1982,p. 11.
  32. ^abWiese (1996),p. 17.
  33. ^Eisenberg (2016),p. 97.
  34. ^abvan Lessen Kloeke 1982,pp. 11–12.
  35. ^Südhessisches Wörterbuch online
  36. ^von Polenz (2000:151, 175)
  37. ^abcSource:Wiese (1996:11, 14). On the page 14, the author states that/aɪ̯/,/aʊ̯/and/ɔʏ̯/are of the same quality as vowels of which they consist. On the page 8, he states that/a/is low central.
  38. ^abcSee vowel chart inKohler (1999:87). Despite their true ending points, Kohler still transcribes them as/aɪ̯aʊ̯ɔɪ̯/,i.e. with higher offsets than those actually have.
  39. ^Source:Krech et al. (2009:72). Authors do not provide a vowel chart. Rather, they state rather vaguely that "the diphthong[aɛ̯]is a monosyllabic compound consisting of the unrounded open vowel[a]and the unrounded mid front vowel[ɛ]."
  40. ^Source:Krech et al. (2009:72–73). Authors do not provide a vowel chart. Rather, they state rather vaguely that "the diphthong[aɔ̯]is a monosyllabic compound consisting of the unrounded open vowel[a]and the rounded mid back vowel[ɔ]."
  41. ^Krech et al. (2009:73). Authors do not provide a vowel chart. Rather, they state rather vaguely that "the diphthong[ɔœ̯]is a monosyllabic compound consisting of the rounded mid back vowel[ɔ]and the rounded mid front vowel[œ]."
  42. ^Krech et al. (2009),p. 26.
  43. ^Wiese (1996:12)
  44. ^abcdWiese (1996:198)
  45. ^Also supported byTröster-Mutz (2011:20).
  46. ^abMoosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015:342)
  47. ^For a detailed discussion of the German consonants from a synchronic and diachronic point of view, seeCercignani (1979).
  48. ^Mangold (2005:45)
  49. ^abcMangold (2005:47, 49)
  50. ^Krech et al. (2009:94, 96). According to this source, only/l,n/can be apical alveolar.
  51. ^Morciniec & Prędota (2005:51–52, 84). According to this source, only/t,n/can be apical alveolar.
  52. ^See the x-ray tracing of/l/inLadefoged & Maddieson (1996:184), based on data fromWängler (1961).
  53. ^Krech et al. (2009:90, 94, 96)
  54. ^Morciniec & Prędota (2005:51–52, 84). According to this source, only/t,n/can be laminal alveolar.
  55. ^Krech et al. (2009:90). According to this source, only/t,d/can be laminal denti-alveolar.
  56. ^Morciniec & Prędota (2005:51–52, 59, 78, 84)
  57. ^See the x-ray tracing of/t/inLadefoged & Maddieson (1996:184), based on data fromWängler (1961).
  58. ^Hamann & Fuchs (2010:14–24)
  59. ^abcdMoosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015:341)
  60. ^abcdMangold (2005:50, 52)
  61. ^abKrech et al. (2009:79–80). This source talks only about/s,z/.
  62. ^abcMorciniec & Prędota (2005:65, 75) This source talks only about/s,z/.
  63. ^Mangold (2005:50)
  64. ^abcdeMangold (2005:51–52)
  65. ^abKrech et al. (2009:51–52)
  66. ^abcdMorciniec & Prędota (2005:67, 76)
  67. ^Mangold (2005:51)
  68. ^abcdefMangold (2005:53)
  69. ^abcdKrech et al. (2009:86)
  70. ^abMorciniec & Prędota (2005:79)
  71. ^abcMoosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015:341–342): "SAG features a wide variety of realizations of the trill. In approximately the past 40 years, the pronunciation norm has changed from an alveolar to a uvular trill. The latter is mostly pronounced as a fricative, either voiced or voiceless. Alveolar trills are still in use, mostly pronounced as an approximant.
  72. ^Morciniec & Prędota (2005:80)
  73. ^Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:225, 229)
  74. ^Lodge (2009:46)
  75. ^Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:225)
  76. ^Krech et al. (2009:74, 85)
  77. ^abMorciniec & Prędota (2005:81)
  78. ^abcKohler (1999:86)
  79. ^Kohler (1999:86–87)
  80. ^Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:225, 233–234)
  81. ^deutschlandfunkkultur.de."Dialekte - Hessische Zungenbrecher".Deutschlandfunk Kultur(in German).Retrieved2024-04-18.
  82. ^abMangold (2005:52)
  83. ^Moosmüller (2007:6)
  84. ^abWiese (1996:271)
  85. ^Krech et al. (2009:49, 92, 97)
  86. ^Krech et al. (2009:83–84)
  87. ^Morciniec & Prędota (2005:77–78). The authors transcribe it/j/,i.e. as an approximant.
  88. ^Wiese (1996:12). The author transcribes it/j/,i.e. as an approximant.
  89. ^Mangold (2005:51). The author transcribes it/j/,i.e. as an approximant.
  90. ^Hall (2003:48). The author transcribes it/j/,i.e. as an approximant.
  91. ^abMoosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015:340). The authors transcribe it as/j/,i.e. as an approximant.
  92. ^e.g.Kohler (1990)
  93. ^e.g.Wiese (1996)
  94. ^Graefen, Gabriele; Liedke, Martina (2012).Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft: Deutsch als Erst-, Zweit- oder Fremdsprache(in German) (2nd, revised ed.). Tübingen: A. Franke.ISBN9783825284916.
  95. ^Wiese, Richard (2000).The Phonology of German.Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 218–234.
  96. ^Wiese (1996:217)
  97. ^Kohler (1977)andKohler (1990),as cited inWiese (1996:210)
  98. ^Hall (2022),pp. 455ff.
  99. ^abcdMangold (2005:56)
  100. ^abMangold (2005:55)
  101. ^Jessen & Ringen (2002:190)
  102. ^[v] writtenv[clarify]can devoice in nearly every place once the word has become common;wis devoiced inMöwe, Löwe.On the other hand, the keeping to the variety is so standard thatdoof[doːf]induced the writing "(der) doofe" even though the standard pronunciation of the latter word is[ˈdoːvə]
  103. ^SeeAmmon et al. (2004,p. LVII).
  104. ^abBeckman, Jessen & Ringen (2009:233)
  105. ^In Southern Germany, Austria or Switzerland there is no phonetic voice in fricatives either, seeAmmon et al. (2004,p. LVII).
  106. ^Beckman, Jessen & Ringen (2009:264–265)
  107. ^"Lautstruktur des Luxemburgischen – Wortübergreifende Phänomene".Retrieved2013-05-15.
  108. ^Vennemann, Theo (1986).Neuere Entwicklungen in der Phonologie(in German). Berlin: de Gruyter.ISBN3-11-010980-8.
  109. ^Wiese, Richard(2000).The Phonology of German(2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 276–287.ISBN0198299508.
  110. ^abMeibauer et al. (2007:261)
  111. ^abcdMeibauer et al. (2007:263)
  112. ^Grijzenhout & Joppen (1998:1)
  113. ^Meibauer et al. (2007:264)
  114. ^Grijzenhout & Joppen (1998:12)
  115. ^Lintfert (2010:159)
  116. ^abLintfert (2010:138)
  117. ^Lintfert (2010:160)
  118. ^Altvater-Mackensen & Fikkert (2007:14)
  119. ^Altvater-Mackensen & Fikkert (2007:16)
  120. ^Altvater-Mackensen & Fikkert (2007:19)
  121. ^Altvater-Mackensen & Fikkert (2007:23)
  122. ^Ott, van de Vijver & Höhle (2006:323)
  123. ^Ott, van de Vijver & Höhle (2006:331)
  124. ^Goswami, Ziegler & Richardson (2005:362)
  125. ^Krech et al. (2009:108)
  126. ^"ZhimAnlaut < AADG < TWiki".Prowiki.ids-mannheim.de. 2016-04-27.Retrieved2022-03-20.
  127. ^"SimAnlaut < AADG < TWiki".prowiki.ids-mannheim.de.Retrieved7 April2018.
  128. ^"SteakSprayStSp < AADG < TWiki".prowiki.ids-mannheim.de.Retrieved7 April2018.
  129. ^"ChipsCh < AADG < TWiki".prowiki.ids-mannheim.de.Retrieved7 April2018.
  130. ^Source:Kohler (1999:88). In the original transcription the vowel length is not indicated, apart from where it is phonemic—that is, for the pairs/a/–/aː/and/ɛ/–/ɛː/.
  131. ^Kohler (1999:89)

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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