Posted on 03/25/2018 6:02:01 AM PDT by SandRat
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The German language has a few fairly unique features, both in writing as well as the spoken form.
For one, there’s the dieresis, which turn the vowels a, o, and u into ä, ö and ü. These two simple dots over the vowel indicate a phonetic shift, and /a/ becomes /ɛː/, /o/ becomes /œ/ and /øː/, and /ʊ/ and /uː/ turn into /y/. Another distinctive and unique feature is the letter ß, “sharp S” as it is usually referred to. It’s pronounced /s/ and traditionally follows long vowels or diphthongs while “ss” would follow a short vowel.
For example, it is “Kuss” (“kiss”) with ss following the short /ʊ/, but it is “Fuß” (“foot”) to indicate the long /uː/ sound.
Additionally, there are words that have several and often completely different meanings.
Some of those words, such as “Schlange” (“snake” or “queue/line”) have to be understood in the context of the sentence, which can be simple or rather tricky.
For example, “Auf der Straße lag eine Schlange,” (“There was a snake on the street”) may be easy to figure out, just like “An der Kasse war eine Schlange” (“There was a line at the cash register”).
However, “Vor dem Eingang der Bank ist eine Schlange” could mean that there is either a line or a snake at the entrance to the bank, and it may be wise to ask for clarification.
Other expressions, especially verbs, change their meaning based on how they are pronounced or which syllable is stressed. For example, “unterstellen” /ʊntɐʃtɛlən/ means “to store” or “to take shelter” when it is stressed on the prefix “unter,” but if the lexical stress is on the word stem “stell,” the meaning of “unterstellen” is “to insinuate.”
Traditionally, there are three phonetic intricacies in the German language that present challenges to non-native speakers: lexical stress placement, the rolling /r/ sounds, and the voiceless fricatives /ç/ and /x/. “Ch” is pronounced /ç/ in words such as “ich” /ɪç/ (“I”), and “herzlich” /hɛʁtslɪç/ (“cordial/affectionate/hearty”), and it’s pronounced /x/ in words like “flach” /flax/ (“flat”), “Sachen” /zaxən/ (“things”), or “wach” /vax/ (“awake”).
And as if that wasn’t complicated enough, “ch” can also be pronounced /k/ in words like “wachsen” /vaksən/ (“to grow”, “to wax-polish”).
The “rolling r” sound presents a challenge to many non-native speakers, but especially so to Americans, because the /r/ doesn’t natively exist in American phones. For example, “reden” (“to speak/talk”) is pronounced /ʁeːdən/, but native English speakers tend to turn it into /reɪdən/.
Errors in any of these three areas can lead to reduced understanding in a native listener.
A study found that especially errors in stress patterns can influence the listener to the point of him/her being unable to recognize the word or make sense of the sentence.
As a native German speaker married to a non-native speaker who reads books in German but doesn’t get much practice speaking, my personal experience confirms this. Stress pattern is crucial to comprehensibility.
My husband, while reading a children’s book in German, once asked me what “Achaten” means. He pronounced it /´axatən/ with the lexical stress on the first syllable. I had no clue what he meant until I tried to picture a written equivalent to what I had heard. It was the German word for agate, a mineral stone. The nominative word form is Achat, pronounced /ax´aːt/ with the lexical stress on the last syllable.
The fact that in his sentence the word was presented in the genitive word form only added to my confusion, and when he stressed it incorrectly, I couldn’t recognize what he meant.
For most people studying the language, the correct placement of the lexical stress is a matter of memorizing, but it may prove especially challenging when it comes to words that are almost identical to their English equivalent, yet the stress placement is different.
A prime example for this is “Musik,” the German word for music. It’s pronounced /muː´ziːk/ with the stress on the last syllable, whereas in the English “music,” the stress falls on the first syllable.
Other errors may cause some confusion, but in most cases context makes things clear. For example, the “Kirsche” /kɪʁʃə/ and “Kirche” /kɪʁçə/ look almost identical, but they mean “cherry” and “church,” respectively.
Getting the /ʃ/ and /ç/ sounds mixed up usually results in chuckles all around and happens to many people, native speakers included. Children are especially prone to this, and our 7- and 3-year-olds are living proof that you can point at a “Nachttisch” (night stand) and call it a “Nachtisch” (dessert) while being dead serious about it.
When the i and the e go walking,
the last one does the talking
Mark Twain, The Awful German Language
Mark Twain's Notebook: A dog is "der Hund"; a woman is "die Frau"; a horse is "das Pferd"; now you put that dog in the genitive case, and is he the same dog he was before? No, sir; he is "des Hundes"; put him in the dative case and what is he? Why, he is "dem Hund." Now you snatch him into the accusative case and how is it with him? Why, he is "den Hunden." But suppose he happens to be twins and you have to pluralize him- what then? Why, they'll swat that twin dog around through the 4 cases until he'll think he's an entire international dog-show all in is own person. I don't like dogs, but I wouldn't treat a dog like that- I wouldn't even treat a borrowed dog that way. Well, it's just the same with a cat. They start her in at the nominative singular in good health and fair to look upon, and they sweat her through all the 4 cases and the 16 the's and when she limps out through the accusative plural you wouldn't recognize her for the same being. Yes, sir, once the German language gets hold of a cat, it's goodbye cat. That's about the amount of it.
It is made even more complicated as a non-speaker to move to a German speaking region of Switzerland where their mother tongue and common language is SWISS GERMAN.
3/4 of my ancestors came from Germanic countries.
That's why.
Never developed a large vocabulary, but did get complemented on my Westphalia accent. My teacher was an American who was stationed there during the Cold War.
I was actually able to use it in real life when I was in Switzerland on business once.
Once...
However, “Vor dem Eingang der Bank ist eine Schlange” could mean that there is either a line or a snake at the entrance to the bank, and it may be wise to ask for clarification.
I'm sorry, I just don't see the difference in the three sentences. All are equally likely to have a line rather than a snake. In fact, the only one I haven't seen a snake at was the bank entrance. I've seen them on the street and I even saw one at the cash register - but that was at a pet store when someone was buying it.
Used to be, college bound students interested in the sciences were steered to German because of the scientific literature written in German.
And I believe German is the most common ethnic heritage in America.
I can relate. I killed it in French and was able to ultimately think in French. I got all A’s in German A I got all B’s in German B and I got all C’s in German C..... it’s a complicated language.
Which, by the way, is practically impossible for a non-Swiss to learn well.
The instant a Swiss German detects an accent, they switch to your language and won't let you practice your Swiss German accent.
It's happened to me after a single German word. (To be fair it was an international stewardess at the Zurich airport, I could occasionally carry on a brief conversation on the street).
Anyway, a Swiss co-worker told me the Swiss didn't want foreigners to speak flawless Schwizertitsch as a security thing...
When the weather is hot and sticky ... when the frost is on the pumpkin ...
you must be from the South ??
Die, der, das ... nominative, dative, genitive, objective ... masculine, feminine, neuter ... ach du lieber!
Yes, indeed, Good old Uncle Joe - his relatives are in the so called Dem. party. And the way The Donald is talking about guns, he too may be related
Not born there, raised there.
Zum Teufel
I will make a wild guess based on your Uncle Joe Tag - You were born in Europe - more likely Easter Europe
I lived there 7 years, in eastern Switzerland (50 miles from Zuerich). In the beginning when people are speaking with you you have no idea what is what, Swiss German or German?
I was told and followed this advice. The best way to learn Swiss German is to hang out in the bars and restaurants because when the Swiss speak their German dialect it sounds as though they are slurring their words.
It was near Easter, but not Europe, I’m a Natural Born Citizen.
I was there 365x less time, and barely got out of the factory.
Do Silent Night in GERMAN.
Is that your word for the Accusative Case?
Regards,
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