Standard German phonology
Template:Short description Template:WikiIPA Template:IPA notice The phonology of Standard German is the standard pronunciation or accent of the German language. It deals with current phonology and phonetics as well as with historical developments thereof as well as the geographical variants and the influence of German dialects.
While the spelling of German is officially standardised by an international organisation (the Council for German Orthography) the pronunciation has no official standard and relies on a de facto standard documented in reference works such as Template:Lang (German Pronunciation Dictionary) by Eva-Maria Krech et al.,<ref>Pages 1-2 of the book (Template:Lang) discuss Template:Lang (the standard pronunciation which is the topic of this dictionary). It also mentions Template:Lang (German has developed into a pluricentric language separate standard varieties (and hence standard pronunciations)), but refers to these standards as Template:Lang (regional and sociolectal variants).</ref> Template:Lang (Duden volume 6, The Pronunciation Dictionary) by Max Mangold and the training materials of radio and television stations such as Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Deutschlandfunk, or Schweizer 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 of Hanover.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Standard German is sometimes referred to as Template:Lang (stage German), but the latter has its own definition and is slightly different.<ref>Differences include the pronunciation of the endings Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang.</ref>
Vowels
Monophthongs
| Front | Central | Back | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | |||||||
| short | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | ||
| Close-mid | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | (Template:IPA link) | Template:IPA link | ||||
| Open-mid | Template:IPA link | (Template:IPA link) | Template:IPA link | (Template:IPA link) | Template:IPA link | |||
| Open | Template:IPA link | Template:IPA link | ||||||
Some scholars<ref name="wiese1617&staffeldt">See the discussions in Template:Harvcoltxt and Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> treat Template:IPA as an unstressed allophone of Template:IPA. Likewise, some scholars<ref name="wiese1617&staffeldt"/> treat Template:IPA as an allophone of the sequence Template:IPA or as a vocalic realization of syllabic Template:IPA. The phonemic status of Template:IPA is also debated – see below.
Notes
- Close vowels
- Template:IPA is close front unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37">See the vowel charts in Template:Harvcoltxt.</ref><ref name="Kohler87">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="Lodge87">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:IPA is close near-front rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- Template:IPA is close back rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as near-close front unrounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Lodge87"/> and near-close near-front unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/>
- Template:IPA is near-close near-front rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- Template:IPA is near-close near-back rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- Mid vowels
- Template:IPA is close-mid front unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- 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 Template:IPA.
- Template:IPA has been variously described as close-mid near-front rounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/> and mid near-front rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/> One sourceTemplate:Sfnp shows it as considerably centralized on the vowel chart (the one shown above), closer to Template:IPAblink than cardinal Template:IPAblink.
- 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 Template:IPA.
- Template:IPA is close-mid back rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- 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 Template:IPA.
- Template:IPA has been variously described as mid central unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/> and close-mid central unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It occurs only in unstressed syllables, for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA ('occupy'). It is often considered a complementary allophone together with Template:IPAblink, which only rarely or regionally occurs in unstressed syllables (e.g. Template:Lang).Template:Citation needed If a sonorant follows in the syllable coda, the schwa often disappears so that the sonorant becomes syllabic, for instance Template:Lang Template:IPA ('pillow'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('donkey'). However, Standard German spoken in Luxembourg often lacks syllabic sonorants under the influence of Luxembourgish, so that e.g. Template:Lang ('put') is pronounced Template:IPA, rather than Template:IPA.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
- Template:IPA has been variously described as mid near-front unrounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Kohler87"/> and open-mid front unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as mid front unrounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Mangold37"/> and open-mid front unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as open-mid near-front rounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Lodge87"/> and somewhat lowered open-mid near-front rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as somewhat fronted open-mid back rounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/> and open-mid back rounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/>
- Template:IPA is close-mid front unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/>
- Open vowels
- Template:IPA is near-open central unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler88">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> It is a common allophone of the sequence Template:IPA common to all German-speaking areas but Switzerland. As schwa /ə/ is never pronounced here, it is also possible to interpret Template:IPAblink as the vocalic allophone of the syllabic sonorant /r̩/.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as open front unrounded Template:IPAblink<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> and open central unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/><ref name="Wiese8">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="Krechetal24">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Some scholars<ref>E.g. Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> differentiate two short Template:IPA, namely front Template:IPA and back Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. Authors state that Template:IPA can be realized as Polish Template:IPA, i.e. central Template:IPA.</ref> The latter occurs only in unstressed open syllables, exactly as Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Standard Austrian pronunciation of this vowel is back Template:IPAblink.<ref name="moosjipa342344">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Front Template:IPAblink or even Template:IPAblink is a common realization of Template:IPA in northern German varieties influenced by Low German.
- Template:IPA has been variously described as open central unrounded Template:IPAblink<ref name="Mangold37"/><ref name="Kohler87"/><ref name="Lodge87"/><ref name="Wiese8"/><ref name="Krechetal24"/> and open back unrounded Template:IPAblink.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Because of this, it is sometimes transcribed Template:IPA.<ref>e.g. by Template:Harvcoltxt (without length marks, i.e. as Template:IPA—the vowel chart on page 87 places Template:IPA and Template:IPA in the same open central position Template:IPA), Template:Harvcoltxt (without length marks, i.e. as Template:IPA) and Template:Harvcoltxt.</ref>
- Back Template:IPAblink is the Standard Austrian pronunciation.<ref name="moosjipa342344"/> It is also a common realization of Template:IPA in northern German varieties influenced by Low German (in which it may even be rounded Template:IPAblink).
- Template:Harvcoltxt notes that "there is a tendency to neutralize the distinction between Template:IPA, Template:IPA, and Template:IPA. That is, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang have final syllables which are perceptually very similar, and are nearly or completely identical in some dialects."<ref name="Wiese254">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> He also says that "outside of a word context, Template:IPA cannot be distinguished from Template:IPA.<ref name="Wiese254"/> (As early as 1847, Verdi's librettist found it natural, when adapting a play by Schiller into the Italian language, to render the distinctly German name Roller as Rolla.)
- According to the 7th edition of Das Aussprachewörterbuch, the standard pronunciation differentiates Template:IPA from unstressed Template:IPA (which typically belongs to Template:IPA phoneme, see below). The authors claim that the difference is one of height: Template:IPAblink vs. Template:IPAblink. However, they tend to be neutralized in the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region towards an open central Template:IPAblink. Conversely, in southern Germany, Template:IPA is often realized as Template:IPAblink (in turn, Standard Template:IPA is often closer to Template:IPAblink). In Franconia and partially also in the coastal regions of Germany, the vowel is closer to Template:IPAblink, whereas in west-central Germany it is slightly more open, that is Template:IPAblink. In each case but the first one, Template:IPA is strongly differentiated from Template:IPA. In regions without r-vocalization, the difference is always present.Template:Sfnp
- According to a 2020 study, Template:IPA is not distinguished from unstressed Template:IPA in Northern Standard German. Word pairs such as Template:Lang 'opera' (traditionally transcribed Template:IPA) and Template:Lang 'grandpa' (traditionally transcribed Template:IPA) are thus homophones (as Template:IPA), rather than minimal pairs. The merged vowel has a centralized quality Template:IPAblink. 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.Template:Sfnp
Although there is also a length contrast, vowels are often analyzed according to a tenseness contrast, with long Template:IPA being the tense vowels and short Template:IPA their lax counterparts. Like the English checked vowels, the German lax vowels require a following consonant, with the notable exception of Template:IPA (which is absent in many varieties, as discussed below). Template:IPA is sometimes considered the lax counterpart of tense Template:IPA in order to maintain this tense/lax division. Short Template:IPA occur in unstressed syllables of loanwords, for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA ('psychometry'). They are usually considered allophones of tense vowels (thus Template:IPA), which cannot occur in unstressed syllables (unless in compounds). Template:IPA is similarly shortened in those positions, with the difference being that it is shortened also in native words, such as aforementioned Template:Lang Template:IPA 'grandpa' (phonemically Template:IPA).
In dialects with r-vocalization, historical Template:IPA (phonetically typically a long monophthong Template:IPAblink) may undergo a shortening akin to Template:IPA when unstressed, as in one pronunciation of Template:Lang 'radar' as Template:IPA (phonemically Template:IPA).<ref name="Wiese254"/> An analogous process has taken place in Danish, as in the cognate Template:Lang Template:IPA, meaning the same.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Northern German varieties influenced by Low German could be analyzed as lacking contrasting vowel quantity entirely:
- Template:IPA has a different quality than Template:IPA (see above).
- These varieties also consistently lack Template:IPA, and use only Template:IPA in its place.Template:Citation neededTemplate:Fix
Phonemic status of Template:IPA
The existence of a phoneme Template:IPA in German is disputed.Template:Sfn The distinction between the long lax Template:IPA and the long tense Template:IPA does not exist in some varieties of Standard German, and many authors treat the Template:IPA phoneme as peripheral and regard a distinction between it and Template:IPA as a spelling pronunciation.Template:Sfn Most commonly, they are merged before an intervocalic Template:IPA, so that potential minimal pairs such as Template:Lang 'ear of grain' and Template:Lang 'honor' or Template:Lang 'bears' and Template:Lang 'berries' are rendered homophonous, as Template:IPA and Template:IPA. Some authors claim that no distinction between Template:IPA and Template:IPA is possible in this position unless in hypercorrect pronunciation, in which Template:Lang and Template:Lang may be pronounced Template:IPA and Template:IPA, with a tense Template:IPA.Template:Sfnp Other authors claim that there is regional variation, a distinction occurring especially in southern varieties of Standard German.Template:Sfnp In contexts other than before intervocalic Template:IPA, the contrast between Template:IPA and Template:IPA is more stable, so that Template:Lang Template:IPA 'bid, conjunctive', Template:Lang Template:IPA 'Danes' and Template:Lang Template:IPA ('saws, n.') may be differentiated from Template:Lang Template:IPA 'to pray', Template:Lang Template:IPA 'to stretch' and Template:Lang Template:IPA 'blessing'. Even here the vowels can merge, but to a tense Template:IPA: Template:IPA.Template:Sfnp Scholars who question the existence of a phoneme Template:IPA do so for the following reasons:
- The existence of a phoneme Template:IPA is an irregularity in a vowel system that otherwise has pairs of long and tense vs. short and lax vowels such as Template:IPA vs. Template:IPA.Template:Sfn On the other hand, such irregularities are not ruled out by any principle.Template:Citation needed
- The phoneme Template:IPA has developed out of the spelling of the language rather than from any historical sound change.Template:Sfn Most examples of Middle High German /ǣ/ correspond to New High German Template:IPA rather than Template:IPA, indicating that the modern Template:IPA is not a regular development.Template:Sfn
- Although some dialects (e.g. Ripuarian and some Alemannic dialects) have an opposition of Template:IPA vs. Template:IPA, their usage does not follow that of the standard.Template:Sfn There is also little agreement across dialects as to whether individual lexical items should be pronounced with Template:IPA or with Template:IPA. E.g. South Hessian dialects have Template:IPA in Käse but Template:IPA in Leben.<ref>Südhessisches Wörterbuch online</ref>Template:Better source needed
- The use of Template:IPA is a spelling pronunciation rather than an original feature of the language. It is an attempt to "speak as printed" (Template:Lang) and to differentiate the spellings Template:Angbr and Template:Angbr (i.e. speakers attempt to justify the appearance of Template:Angbr and Template:Angbr in writing by making them distinct in the spoken language).<ref name="bären=beeren">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>Template:Sfn
Diphthongs
Phonemic
| Ending point | ||
|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | |
| Near-close | (Template:IPA) | |
| Open-mid | Template:IPA | |
| Open | Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
- Template:IPA has been variously described as Template:IPA,<ref name="Mangold37" /><ref name="WieseDiph">Source: Template:Harvcoltxt. On the page 14, the author states that Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA are of the same quality as vowels of which they consist. On the page 8, he states that Template:IPA is low central.</ref> Template:IPA<ref name="Kohler87D">See vowel chart in Template:Harvcoltxt. Despite their true ending points, Kohler still transcribes them as Template:IPA, i.e. with higher offsets than those actually have.</ref> and Template:IPA.<ref>Source: Template:Harvcoltxt. Authors do not provide a vowel chart. Instead, they state rather vaguely that "the diphthong Template:IPA is a monosyllabic compound consisting of the unrounded open vowel Template:IPA and the unrounded mid front vowel Template:IPA."</ref>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as Template:IPA,<ref name="WieseDiph"/> Template:IPA,<ref name="Mangold37"/> Template:IPA<ref name="Kohler87D"/> and Template:IPA.<ref>Source: Template:Harvcoltxt. Authors do not provide a vowel chart. Instead, they state rather vaguely that "the diphthong Template:IPA is a monosyllabic compound consisting of the unrounded open vowel Template:IPA and the rounded mid back vowel Template:IPA."</ref>
- Template:IPA has been variously described as Template:IPA,<ref name="WieseDiph"/> Template:IPA,<ref name="Mangold37"/> Template:IPA<ref name="Kohler87D"/> and Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. Authors do not provide a vowel chart. Instead, they state rather vaguely that "the diphthong Template:IPA is a monosyllabic compound consisting of the rounded mid back vowel Template:IPA and the rounded mid front vowel Template:IPA."</ref>
- Template:IPA is found only in a handful of interjections such as Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA, and as an alternative to disyllabic Template:IPA in words such as Template:Lang Template:IPA.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
Phonetic
The following usually are not counted among the German diphthongs as German speakers often feel they are distinct marks of "foreign words" (Template:Lang). These appear only in loanwords:
- Template:IPA, as in Template:Lang Template:IPA, colloquially: Template:IPA.
- Many German speakers use Template:IPA and Template:IPA as adaptations of the English diphthongs Template:IPAc-en and Template:IPAc-en in English loanwords, according to Template:Harvcoltxt, or they replace them with the native German long vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA. Thus, the word Template:Lang may be pronounced Template:IPA or Template:IPA.<ref name="Wiese12">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> However, Template:Harvcoltxt and Template:Harvcoltxt do not recognize these diphthongs as phonemes, and prescribe pronunciations with the long vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA instead.
In the varieties where speakers vocalize Template:IPA to Template:IPAblink in the syllable coda, a diphthong ending in Template:IPA may be formed with every stressable vowel:
- Template:NoteTemplate:Harvcoltxt notes that the length contrast is not very stable before non-prevocalic Template:IPA<ref name="Wiese198">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> and that "Template:Harvcoltxt, following the pronouncing dictionaries (Template:Harvcoltxt, Template:Harvcoltxt) judge the vowel in Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang to be long, while the vowel in Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang is supposed to be short. The factual basis of this presumed distinction seems very questionable."<ref name="Wiese198"/><ref>Also supported by Template:Harvcoltxt.</ref> 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 Template:IPA which is itself vocalized are problematic, in particular if Template:IPA precedes.<ref name="Wiese198"/>
- According to the "lengthless" analysis, the aforementioned "long" diphthongs are analyzed as Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA. This makes non-prevocalic Template:IPA and Template:IPA homophonous as Template:IPA or Template:IPA. Non-prevocalic Template:IPA and Template:IPA may also merge, but the vowel chart in Template:Harvcoltxt shows that they have somewhat different starting points – mid-centralized open-mid front Template:IPAblink for the former, open-mid front Template:IPAblink for the latter.<ref name="Kohler88"/>
- Template:Harvcoltxt also states that "laxing 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."<ref name="Wiese198"/> This leads to Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA being pronounced the same as Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA. This merger is usual in the Standard Austrian accent, in which e.g. Template:Lang 'bog' is often pronounced Template:IPA; this, in contrast with the Standard Northern variety, also happens intervocalically, along with the diphthongization of the laxed vowel to Template:IPA, so that e.g. Template:Lang 'teacher' is pronounced Template:IPA<ref name="moosjipa342">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> (the corresponding Standard Northern pronunciation is Template:IPA). Another feature of the Standard Austrian accent is complete absorption of Template:IPA by the preceding Template:IPA, so that e.g. Template:Lang 'scarce' is pronounced Template:IPA.<ref name="moosjipa342"/>
- Template:NoteAt the end of words only.
Consonants
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 unusual affricate Template:IPA.<ref>For a detailed discussion of the German consonants from a synchronic and diachronic point of view, see Template:Harvcoltxt.</ref>
- Template:IPA can be uvular, alveolar or even dental, a consonant or a semivowel, see below.
- Template:IPA is bilabial–labiodental Template:IPA, rather than purely labiodental Template:IPA.<ref name="MangoldPF">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:IPA are voiceless in Austrian Standard German <ref name="moosjipa341">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> and in most other South German varieties.
- Template:IPA can be apical alveolar Template:IPA,<ref name="coronalsa">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. According to this source, only Template:IPA can be apical alveolar.</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. According to this source, only Template:IPA can be apical alveolar.</ref><ref>See the x-ray tracing of Template:IPA in Template:Harvcoltxt, based on data from Template:Harvcoltxt.</ref> laminal alveolar Template:IPA<ref name="coronalsa"/><ref name="coronalsa-krech">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. According to this source, only Template:IPA can be laminal alveolar.</ref> or laminal denti-alveolar Template:IPA.<ref name="coronalsa"/><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. According to this source, only Template:IPA can be laminal denti-alveolar.</ref><ref name="coronalsa-pl">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>See the x-ray tracing of Template:IPA in Template:Harvcoltxt, based on data from Template:Harvcoltxt.</ref> The other possible pronunciation of Template:IPA that has been reported to occur in unstressed intervocalic positions is retroflex Template:IPAblink.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Austrian German often uses laminal denti-alveolar articulation.
- Template:IPA is always [[clear l|clear Template:IPA]], as in most Irish English accents. A few Austrian accents may use a [[dark l|velarized Template:IPA]] instead, but that is considered non-standard.
- In the Standard Austrian variety, Template:IPA may be affricated to Template:IPAblink before front vowels.<ref name="moosjipa341"/>
- Template:IPA can be laminal alveolar Template:IPA,<ref name="coronalsb">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="coronalsb-krech">Template:Harvcoltxt. This source talks only about Template:IPA.</ref><ref name="coronalsb-pl">Template:Harvcoltxt This source talks only about Template:IPA.</ref> laminal post-dental Template:IPA<ref name="coronalsb"/><ref name="coronalsb-pl"/> (i.e. fronted alveolar, articulated with the blade of the tongue just behind upper front teeth),<ref name="coronalsb"/> or even apical alveolar Template:IPA.<ref name="coronalsb"/><ref name="coronalsb-krech"/><ref name="coronalsb-pl"/> Template:IPA are always strongly fricated.<ref name="coronalsc">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Austrian German often uses the post-dental articulation for Template:IPA.
- Template:IPA are strongly labialized palato-alveolar sibilants Template:IPA.<ref name="MangoldPA">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="KrechPA">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="MorciniecPA">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Template:IPA are fricated more weakly than Template:IPA.<ref name="mangold51">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> There are two variants of these sounds:
- Laminal,<ref name="MangoldPA"/><ref name="MorciniecPA"/> 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.<ref name="MangoldPA"/>
- Apico-laminal,<ref name="MangoldPA"/><ref name="KrechPA"/><ref name="MorciniecPA"/> 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.<ref name="MangoldPA"/> According to Template:Harvcoltxt, this variant is used more frequently.<ref name="MorciniecPA"/>
- Template:IPA has a number of possible realizations:
- Voiced apical coronal trill Template:IPA,<ref name="coronalsd">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="coronalsd-krech">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="coronalsd-pl">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> either alveolar (articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge),<ref name="coronalsd"/><ref name="coronalsd-krech"/><ref name="coronalsd-pl"/> or dental (articulated with the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper front teeth).<ref name="coronalsd"/>
- 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 Template:IPA in the Standard Austrian accent, but a more common alveolar realization is an approximant Template:IPAblink. Even more common are uvular realizations, fricatives Template:IPA and a trill Template:IPAblink.<ref name="moosjipa341342">Template:Harvcoltxt: "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.</ref>
- Voiced uvular trill Template:IPAblink,<ref name="coronalsd"/><ref name="coronalsd-krech"/><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> which can be realized as voiceless Template:IPAblink after voiceless consonants (as in Template:Lang).<ref name="coronalsd-krech"/> According to Template:Harvcoltxt it is often a flap Template:IPAblink intervocalically (as in Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Distribution: Occurs in some conservative varieties—most speakers with a uvular Template:IPA realize it as a fricative or an approximant.<ref name="SOWL225">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> It is also one of possible realizations of Template:IPA in the Standard Austrian accent, but it is less common than a fricative Template:IPA.<ref name="moosjipa341342"/>
- Dorsal continuant, about the quality of which there is not a complete agreement:
- Template:Harvcoltxt describe two fricative variants, namely post-palatal Template:IPA and velar Template:IPA. The post-palatal variant appears before and after front vowels, while the velar variant is used in all other positions.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:Harvcoltxt describe it as a voiced post-velar fricative Template:IPA.<ref name="Morciniec 2005 81">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:Harvcoltxt and Template:Harvcoltxt describe it as a voiced uvular fricative Template:IPA;<ref name="coronalsd"/><ref name="Kohler86">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:Harvcoltxt 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] Template:IPA clearly predominates."<ref name="coronalsd"/>
- 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 Template:IPAblink or voiceless Template:IPAblink).<ref name="moosjipa341342"/>
- Template:Harvcoltxt writes that "the place of articulation of the consonant varies from uvular in e.g. Template:Lang ('red') to velar in e.g. Template:Lang ('kick'), depending on back or front vowel contexts." He also notes that Template:IPAblink is devoiced after voiceless plosives and fricatives, especially those within the same word, giving the word Template:Lang as an example. According to this author, Template:IPA can be reduced to an approximant in an intervocalic position.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Template:Harvcoltxt 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] Template:IPA clearly predominates."<ref name="coronalsd"/>
- Template:Harvcoltxt describe it as a uvular fricative Template:IPA or approximant Template:IPA. The latter is less likely to occur word-initially.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Distribution: Almost all areas apart from Bavaria and parts of Switzerland.
- Near-open central unrounded vowel Template:IPAblink is a post-vocalic allophone of (mostly dorsal) varieties of Template:IPA. The non-syllabic variant of it is not always near-open or central; it is similar to either Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink, depending on the environment.<ref name="Morciniec 2005 81"/>
- Distribution: Widespread, but less common in Switzerland.
- Retroflex approximant [ɻ] realized like the r in Standard American English.
- Distribution: Middle Hessian between the Wetterau region and the Westerwald<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Higher Lusatia.
- Voiced apical coronal trill Template:IPA,<ref name="coronalsd">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="coronalsd-krech">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref name="coronalsd-pl">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> either alveolar (articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge),<ref name="coronalsd"/><ref name="coronalsd-krech"/><ref name="coronalsd-pl"/> or dental (articulated with the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper front teeth).<ref name="coronalsd"/>
- The voiceless stops Template:IPAslink, Template:IPAslink, Template:IPAslink are aspirated except when preceded by a sibilant. Many southern dialects do not aspirate Template:IPA, and some northern ones do so only in a stressed position. The voiceless affricates Template:IPA, Template:IPA, and Template:IPA are never aspirated,<ref name="coronalse">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> and neither are any other consonants besides the aforementioned Template:IPA.<ref name="coronalse"/>
- The obstruents Template:IPA are voiceless lenis consonants Template:IPA in southern varieties. Voiceless lenis consonants Template:IPA continue to contrast with voiceless fortis consonants Template:IPA. The section Template:Slink covers the issue in more detail.
- In Austria, intervocalic Template:IPA can be lenited to fricatives Template:IPA.<ref name="moosjipa341"/><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
- Before and after front vowels (Template:IPA and, in varieties that realize them as front, Template:IPA and/or Template:IPA), the velar consonants Template:IPA are realized as post-palatal Template:IPA.<ref name="wiese-velarpoa">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> According to Template:Harvcoltxt, in a parallel process, Template:IPA before and after back vowels (Template:IPA and, in varieties that realize them as back, Template:IPA and/or Template:IPA) are retracted to post-velar Template:IPA or even uvular Template:IPA.<ref name="wiese-velarpoa"/>
- There is no complete agreement about the nature of Template:IPA; it has been variously described as:
- a fricative Template:IPAblink,<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. The authors transcribe it Template:IPA, i.e. as an approximant.</ref><ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. The author transcribes it Template:IPA, i.e. as an approximant.</ref>
- a fricative which can be fricated less strongly than Template:IPAblink,<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. The author transcribes it Template:IPA, i.e. as an approximant.</ref>
- a sound variable between a weak fricative and an approximant,<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt. The author transcribes it Template:IPA, i.e. as an approximant.</ref> and
- an approximant Template:IPAblink,<ref name="Kohler86" /><ref name="moosjipa340">Template:Harvcoltxt. The authors transcribe it as Template:IPA, i.e. as an approximant.</ref> which is the usual realization in the Standard Austrian variety.<ref name="moosjipa340" />
- In many varieties of standard German, the glottal stop, Template:IPAblink, occurs in careful speech before word stems that begin with a vowel and before stressed vowels word-internally, as in Oase [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, Template:IPA is often omitted, especially when the word beginning with a vowel is unstressed.
- The phonemic status of affricates is controversial. The majority view accepts Template:IPAslink and Template:IPAslink, but not Template:IPAslink or the non-native Template:IPAslink; some<ref>e.g. Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> accept none, some accept all but Template:IPAslink, and some<ref>e.g. Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> accept all.
- Although Template:IPAblink occurs in native words, it only appears in historic clusters of Template:IPAslink + Template:IPAslink (e.g. deutsch < OHG diutisc) or in words with expressive quality (e.g. glitschen, hutschen). Template:IPA is, however, well-established in loanwords, including German toponyms of non-Germanic origin (e.g. Zschopau).
- Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink occur only in words of foreign origin. In certain varieties, they are replaced by Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink altogether.
- Template:IPAblink is occasionally considered to be an allophone of Template:IPAslink, especially in southern varieties of German.
- Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink are traditionally regarded as allophones after front vowels and back vowels, respectively. For a more detailed analysis see below at ich-Laut and ach-Laut. According to some analyses, Template:IPAblink is an allophone of Template:IPAslink after Template:IPA and according to some also after Template:IPA.<ref name="Kohler88"/><ref name="moosjipa341"/> However, according to Template:Harvcoltxt, the uvular allophone is used after Template:IPA only in the Standard Austrian variety.<ref name="moosjipa341"/>
- Some phonologists do not posit a separate phoneme Template:IPAslink and use Template:IPA instead,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> along with Template:IPA instead of Template:IPA. The phoneme sequence Template:IPA is realized as Template:IPA when Template:IPAslink can start a valid onset of the next syllable whose nucleus is a vowel other than unstressed Template:IPAslink, Template:IPAslink, or Template:IPAslink. It becomes Template:IPAblink otherwise.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> For example:
Ich-Laut and ach-Laut
Template:More citations neededFile:Velar fronting after ae.pdf Template:Lang is the voiceless palatal fricative Template:IPAblink (which is found in the word Template:Lang Template:IPA 'I'), and Template:Lang is the voiceless velar fricative Template:IPAblink (which is found in the word Template:Lang Template:IPA the interjection 'oh', 'alas'). Template:Lang Template:IPA is the German word for 'sound, phone'. In German, these two sounds are allophones occurring in complementary distribution. The allophone Template:IPAblink occurs after back vowels and Template:IPA (for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'book'), the allophone Template:IPAblink after front vowels (for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'me/myself') and consonants (for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'fear', Template:Lang Template:IPA 'sometimes'). The allophone Template:IPAblink also appears after vocalized Template:Angbr in superregional variants, e.g. in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'fear'. In southeastern regiolects, the Template:Lang is commonly used here, yielding Template:IPA.
In loanwords, the pronunciation of potential fricatives in onsets of stressed syllables varies: in the Northern varieties of standard German, it is Template:IPAblink, while in Southern varieties, it is Template:IPAblink, and in Western varieties, it is Template:IPAblink (for instance in Template:Lang: Template:IPA vs. Template:IPA vs. Template:IPA).
The diminutive suffix Template:Lang is always pronounced with an Template:Lang Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Usually, this ending triggers umlaut (compare for instance Template:Lang Template:IPA 'dog' to Template:Lang Template:IPA 'little dog'), so theoretically, it could only occur after front vowels. However, in some comparatively recent coinings, there is no longer an umlaut, for instance in the word Template:Lang Template:IPA (a diminutive of Template:Lang 'woman'), so that a back vowel is followed by a Template:IPAblink, even though normally it would be followed by a Template:IPAblink, as in Template:Lang Template:IPA ('to smoke'). This exception to the allophonic distribution may be an effect of the morphemic boundary or an example of phonemicization, where erstwhile allophones undergo a split into separate phonemes.
The allophonic distribution of Template:IPAblink after front vowels and Template:IPAblink after other vowels is also found in other languages, such as Scots, e.g. licht Template:IPA 'light', dochter Template:IPA 'daughter', and the same distribution is reconstructed for Middle English. However, it is by no means inevitable: Dutch, Yiddish, and many Southern German dialects retain Template:IPAblink (which can be realized as Template:IPAblink instead) in all positions. It is thus reasonable to assume that Old High German ih, the ancestor of modern Template:Lang, was pronounced with Template:IPAblink rather than Template:IPAblink. While it is impossible to know for certain whether Old English words such as niht (modern night) were pronounced with Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink is likely (see Old English phonology).
Despite the phonetic history, the complementary distribution of Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink in modern Standard German is better described as backing of Template:IPAslink after a back vowel, rather than fronting of Template:IPAslink after a front vowel, because Template:IPAblink is used in onsets (Template:Lang Template:IPA 'chemistry') and after consonants (Template:Lang Template:IPA 'newt'), and is thus the underlying form of the phoneme.
According to Kohler,<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt and Template:Harvcoltxt, as cited in Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> the German Template:Lang is further differentiated into two allophones, Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink: Template:IPAblink occurs after Template:IPA (for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'book') and Template:IPAblink after Template:IPA (for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'brook'), while either Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink may occur after Template:IPA, with Template:IPAblink predominating.
In Western varieties, there is a strong tendency to realize Template:IPAslink as unrounded Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink, and the phoneme may be confused or merged with Template:IPAslink altogether, secondarily leading to hypercorrection effects where Template:IPAslink is replaced with Template:IPAslink, for instance in Template:Lang Template:IPA, which may be realized as Template:IPA.
Within German dialects, a large variation exists as to the environments which trigger or prevent one realization or the other.Template:Sfnp
Fortis–lenis pairs
Various German consonants occur in pairs at the same place of articulation and in the same manner of articulation, namely the pairs Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA. These pairs are often called fortis–lenis pairs, since describing them as voiced–voiceless pairs is inadequate. With certain qualifications, Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA are also considered fortis–lenis pairs.
Fortis-lenis distinction for Template:IPA is unimportant.<ref name=folemangold>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
The fortis stops Template:IPA are aspirated in many varieties. The aspiration is strongest in the onset of a stressed syllable (such as Template:Lang Template:IPA 'thaler'), weaker in the onset of an unstressed syllable (such as Template:Lang Template:IPA 'father'), and weakest in the syllable coda (such as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'seed'). All fortis consonants, i.e. Template:IPA<ref name=folemangold/> are fully voiceless.<ref name=vlessfortis>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
The lenis consonants Template:IPA<ref name=folemangold/> range from being weakly voiced to almost voiceless Template:IPA after voiceless consonants:<ref name=vlessfortis/> Template:Lang Template:IPA ('kasbah'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('to resign'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('red-yellow'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('dropping'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('intention'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('wooden jalousie'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('to chase away'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('to drop'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('fruit juice'). Template:Harvcoltxt states that they are "to a large extent voiced" Template:IPA in all other environments,<ref name=folemangold/> but some studies have found the stops Template:IPA to be voiceless utterance-initially in most dialects (and word-initially if the preceding sounds are voiceless, see above). In these cases, they still contrast with Template:IPA due to the aspiration of the latter.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Due to this variability, there are disagreements about the phonological nature of the contrast: while some phonologists analyse the lenes stops as underlyingly voiced, others consider the relevant feature to be tenseness or spreading of the glottis (with the fortis stops being tense or articulated with spread glottis.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
Template:IPA are voiceless in most southern varieties of German. For clarity, they are often transcribed as Template:IPA.
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 the syllable onset; sometimes just in the onset of stressed syllables, sometimes in all cases.
The pair Template:IPA is not considered a fortis–lenis pair, but a simple voiceless–voiced pair, as Template:IPAslink remains voiced in all varieties, including the Southern varieties that devoice the lenes (with however some exceptions).<ref>Template:Clarify span can devoice in nearly every place once the word has become common; Template:Lang is devoiced in Template:Lang. On the other hand, the keeping to the variety is so standard that Template:Lang Template:IPA induced the writing "(der) doofe" even though the standard pronunciation of the latter word is Template:IPA</ref> Generally, the southern Template:IPAslink is realized as the voiced approximant Template:IPAblink. However, there are southern varieties which differentiate between a fortis Template:IPAslink (such as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'culpable' from Middle High German stræflich) and a lenis Template:IPAslink (Template:IPA, such as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'polite' from Middle High German hovelîch); this is analogous to the opposition of fortis Template:IPAslink (Template:IPAblink) and lenis Template:IPA.
Coda devoicing
In varieties from Northern Germany, lenis stops in the syllable coda are realized as fortis stops. This does not happen in varieties from Southern Germany, Austria or Switzerland.Template:Refn
Phonologists who believe that the relevant feature behind the fortes-lenes contrast is not phonetic voice<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> have also argued that this cannot be called devoicing in the strict sense of the word because it does not involve the loss of voice.<ref name="uiowa.edu">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> In their view, it can be called coda fortition or a neutralization of fortis and lenis sounds in the coda. Fricatives, on the other hand, are acknowledged to be truly and contrastively voiced in Northern GermanyTemplate:Refn, so they can be said to undergo coda devoicing according to this account as well.<ref name="uiowa.edu"/> 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".<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
Stress
Template:More citations needed section 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 this three-syllable window,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> word stress is put regularly onto the second-to-last syllable, the penultimate syllable.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 (Japanese has 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 of Japanese words in German reveals that none of the words with four syllables has initial stress, confirming the three-syllable-window analysis.
Secondary stresses precede the main stress if at least two syllables are present, as in ̩Bib-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 separable prefixes and inseparable prefixes in verbs and words derived from such verbs:
- Words beginning with Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang and a few other inseparable prefixes are stressed on the root.
- Words beginning with the separable prefixes Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and most prepositional adverbs are stressed on the prefix.
- Some prefixes, notably Template:Lang, Template:Lang, Template:Lang, and Template:Lang, 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 word Template:Lang. As Template:Lang (separable prefix), it means 'to rewrite' and is pronounced Template:IPA, with stress on the first syllable. Its associated noun, Template:Lang is also stressed on the first syllable – Template:IPA. On the other hand, Template:Lang (inseparable prefix) is pronounced Template:IPA, with stress on the second syllable. This word means 'to paraphrase', and its associated noun, Template:Lang is also stressed on the second syllable – Template:IPA. Another example is the word Template:Lang; with stress on the root (Template:IPA) it means 'to drive around (an obstacle in the street)', and with stress on the prefix (Template:IPA) it means 'to run down/over' or 'to knock down'.
Acquisition
General
Like all infants, German infants go through a babbling stage in the early phases of phonological acquisition, during which they produce the sounds they will later use in their first words.<ref name="Meibauer 261">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Phoneme inventories begin with stops, nasals, and vowels; (contrasting) short vowels and liquids appear next, followed by fricatives and affricates, and finally all other consonants and consonant clusters.<ref name="Meibauer 263">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> 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.<ref name="Meibauer 261"/> Early word productions are phonetically simple and usually follow the syllable structure CV or CVC, although this generalization has been challenged.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> The first vowels produced are Template:IPA, Template:IPA, and Template:IPA, followed by Template:IPA, Template:IPA, and Template:IPA, with rounded vowels emerging last.<ref name="Meibauer 263"/> German children often use phonological processes to simplify their early word production.<ref name="Meibauer 263"/> For example, they may delete an unstressed syllable (Template:Lang 'chocolate' pronounced Template:IPA),<ref name="Meibauer 263"/> or replace a fricative with a corresponding stop (Template:Lang Template:IPA 'roof' pronounced Template:IPA).<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> One case study found that a 17-month-old child acquiring German replaced the voiceless velar fricative Template:IPA with the nearest available continuant Template:IPA, or deleted it altogether (Template:Lang Template:IPA 'book' pronounced Template:IPA or Template:IPA).<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
Prosodically, children prefer bisyllabic words with the pattern strong – weak over monosyllabic words.
Vowel space development
In 2009, Lintfert examined the development of vowel space of German speakers in their first three years of life. During the babbling stage, vowel distribution has no clear pattern. However, stressed and unstressed vowels already show different distributions in the vowel space. Once word production begins, stressed vowels expand in the vowel space, while the F1 – F2 vowel space of unstressed vowels becomes more centralized. The majority of infants are then capable of stable production of F1.<ref name="Lintfert 159">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> The variability of formant frequencies among individuals decreases with age.<ref name="Lintfert 138">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> 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.<ref name="Lintfert 160">Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> By about three years old, children command the production of all vowels, and they attempt to produce the four cardinal vowels, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA, 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).<ref name="Lintfert 138"/>
Nasals
The acquisition of nasals in German differs from that of Dutch, a phonologically closely related language.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> German children produce proportionately more nasals in onset position (sounds before a vowel in a syllable) than Dutch children do.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> German children, once they reached 16 months, also produced significantly more nasals in syllables containing schwas, when compared with Dutch-speaking children.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
Phonotactic constraints and reading
A 2006 study examined the acquisition of German in phonologically delayed children (specifically, issues with fronting of velars and stopping of fricatives) and whether they applied phonotactic constraints to word-initial consonant clusters containing these modified consonants.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Additional research<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> has also shown that spelling consistencies seen in German raise children's phonemic awareness as they acquire reading skills.
Sound changes
Sound changes and mergers
A common merger is that of Template:IPA at the end of a syllable with Template:IPA or Template:IPA, for instance Template:Lang Template:IPA ('war'), but Template:Lang Template:IPA ('wars'); Template:Lang Template:IPA ('he lay'), but Template:Lang Template:IPA ('we lay'). This pronunciation is frequent all over central and northern Germany. It is characteristic of regional languages and dialects, particularly Low German in the North, where Template:Angbr represents a fricative, becoming voiceless in the syllable 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 Template:Lang (which corresponds to English -y), the fricative pronunciation of final Template:Angbr is prescribed by the Siebs standard, for instance Template:Lang Template:IPA ('important'), Template:Lang Template:IPA ('importance'). The merger occurs neither in Austro-Bavarian and Alemannic German nor in the corresponding varieties of Standard German, and therefore in these regions Template:Lang is pronounced Template:IPA.
Many speakers do not distinguish the affricate Template:IPA from the simple fricative Template:IPA in the beginning of a word,<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> in which case the verb Template:Lang ('[he] travels') and the noun Template:Lang ('horse') are both pronounced Template:IPA. This most commonly occurs in northern and western Germany, where the local dialects did not originally have the sound Template:IPA. Some speakers also have peculiar pronunciation for Template:IPA in the middle or end of a word, replacing the Template:IPA in Template:IPA with a voiceless bilabial fricative, i.e. a consonant produced by pressing air flow through the tensed lips. Thereby Template:Lang ('drop') becomes Template:IPA, rather than Template:IPA.
Many speakers who have a vocalization of Template:IPA after Template:IPA merge this combination with long Template:IPA (i.e. Template:IPA > Template:IPA or Template:IPA > Template:IPA or Template:IPA). Hereby, Template:Lang ('sheep') and Template:Lang ('sharp') can both be pronounced Template:IPA or Template:IPA. This merger does not occur where Template:IPA is a front vowel while Template:IPA is realised as a back vowel. Here the words are kept distinct as Template:IPA ('sheep') and Template:IPA ('sharp').
In umlaut forms, the difference usually reoccurs: Template:Lang Template:IPA or Template:IPA vs. Template:Lang Template:IPA. Speakers with this merger also often use Template:IPA (instead of formally normal Template:IPA) where it stems from original Template:IPA. The word Template:Lang ('arks') is thus pronounced Template:IPA, which makes a minimal pair with Template:Lang Template:IPA, arguably making the difference between Template:IPA and Template:IPA phonemic, rather than just allophonic, for these speakers.
In the standard pronunciation, the vowel qualities Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, as well as Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, 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 as Template:Lang (instead of Template:Lang) or Template:Lang (instead of Portugal).
In everyday speech, more mergers occur, 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 Template:IPA may be dropped in some cases, and the suffix Template:Lang may be contracted with preceding consonants, e.g. Template:IPA for Template:Lang Template:IPA ('to have').
If the clusters Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, or Template:IPA are followed by another consonant, the stops Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA usually lose their phonemic status. Thus while the standard pronunciation distinguishes Template:Lang Template:IPA ('whole') from Template:Lang Template:IPA ('goose'), as well as Template:Lang Template:IPA from Template:Lang Template:IPA, the two pairs are homophones for most speakers. The commonest practice is to drop the stop (thus Template:IPA, Template:IPA for both words), but some speakers insert the stop where it is not etymological (Template:IPA, Template:IPA for both words), or they alternate between the two ways. Only a few speakers retain a phonemic distinction.
Middle High German
The Middle High German vowels Template:IPA and Template:IPA developed into the modern Standard German diphthong Template:IPA, whereas Template:IPA and Template:IPA developed into Template:IPA. For example, Middle High German Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA ('hot' and 'white') became Standard German Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA. In some dialects, the Middle High German vowels have not changed, e.g. Swiss German Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA, while in other dialects or languages, the vowels have changed but the distinction is kept, e.g. Bavarian Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA, Ripuarian Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA (however the Colognian dialect has kept the original [ei] diphthong in Template:Lang), Yiddish Template:Lang Template:Transliteration Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:Transliteration Template:IPA.
The Middle High German diphthongs Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA became the modern Standard German long vowels Template:IPA, Template:IPA and Template:IPA after the Middle High German long vowels changed to diphthongs. Most Upper German dialects retain the diphthongs. A remnant of their former diphthong character is shown when Template:IPA continues to be written Template:Lang in German (as in Template:Lang 'love').
Loanwords
German incorporates a significant number of loanwords from other languages. Loanwords are often adapted to German phonology but to varying degrees, depending on the speaker and the commonness of the word. Template:IPA and Template:IPA do not occur in native German words but are common in a number of French and English loan words. Many speakers replace them with Template:IPA and Template:IPA respectively (especially in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland), so that Template:Lang (from English jungle) can be pronounced Template:IPA or Template:IPA. Some speakers in Northern and Western Germany merge Template:IPA with Template:IPA, so that Template:Lang (phonemically Template:IPA) can be pronounced Template:IPA, Template:IPA or Template:IPA. The realization of Template:IPA as Template:IPA, however, is uncommon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Loanwords from English
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 Template:IPA are usually pronounced as in RP or General American; some speakers replace them with Template:IPA and Template:IPA respectively (th-alveolarization) e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- English Template:IPA can be pronounced the same as in English, i.e. Template:IPAblink, or as the corresponding native German Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA or Template:IPA. German and Austrian speakers tend to be variably rhotic when using English loanwords.Template:Citation needed
- English Template:IPA is often replaced with German Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- word-initial Template:IPA is often retained (especially in the South, where word-initial Template:IPA is common),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but many speakers replace it with Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- word-initial Template:IPA and Template:IPA are usually retained, but some speakers (especially in South Western Germany and Western Austria) replace them with Template:IPA and Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA or Template:IPA, Template:Lang Template:IPA or Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- English Template:IPA is usually retained, but in Northern and Western Germany as well as Luxembourg, it is often replaced with Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- In Northern Standard German, final-obstruent devoicing is applied to English loan words just as to other words e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA, Template:Lang Template:IPA or Template:IPA, Template:Lang Template:IPA. 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 Template:IPA and Template:IPA are often replaced with Template:IPA and Template:IPA respectively e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- English Template:IPA and Template:IPA are pronounced the same, as German Template:IPA (met–mat merger) e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- English Template:IPA and Template:IPA are pronounced the same, as German Template:IPA (cot–caught merger) e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- English Template:IPA is usually pronounced as German Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
- English Template:IPA is usually pronounced as German Template:IPA e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA or Template:IPA.
- English Template:IPA is pronounced as Template:IPA (happy-tensing) e.g. Template:Lang Template:IPA.
Loanwords from French
French loanwords, once very numerous, have in part been replaced by native German coinages or more recently English loanwords. Besides Template:IPAslink, they can also contain the characteristic nasal vowels Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink, Template:IPAblink and Template:IPAblink (always long). However, their status as phonemes is questionable and they are often resolved into sequences either of (short) oral vowel and Template:IPAblink (in the north), or of (long or short) oral vowel and Template:IPAblink or sometimes Template:IPAblink (in the south). For example, Template:Lang Template:IPA ('balloon') may be realized as Template:IPA or Template:IPA, Template:Lang Template:IPA ('perfume') as Template:IPA or Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA ('orange') as Template:IPA or Template:IPA.
Sample
The sample text is a reading of "The North Wind and the Sun". The phonemic transcription treats every instance of Template:IPA and Template:IPA as Template:IPA and Template:IPA, 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.<ref name="Kohler86"/> 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
Phonetic transcription
Template:IPA<ref>Source: Template:Harvcoltxt. In the original transcription the vowel length is not indicated, apart from where it is phonemic—that is, for the pairs Template:IPA–Template:IPA and Template:IPA–Template:IPA.</ref>
Orthographic version
Template:Lang<ref>Template:Harvcoltxt</ref>
See also
Notes
References
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