Learn German - Lesson 3 - Pronunciation practice:
Stadtbesichtigung
(photo
by digital cat used
under terms of Creative Commons license.)
A.
German : b, d, g and p, t, k
1.
In most cases the symbols: b, d, g and p, t, k represent
the same sounds in German as in English. You probably experience little
difficulty therefore in pronouncing the following words:
Bahnhof |
aber |
Pass |
(Mappe) |
|
danke |
oder |
Taxe |
bitte |
ist |
gut |
sagen |
kann |
Ecke |
Bank |
b,
d, g usually represent what we call voiced sounds: that
is, your vocal cords are vibrating when you make these sounds. p, t, k
represent what we call voiceless sounds: that is, your vocal cords are
not
vibrating, and you are actually whispering when you make these sounds.
2.
However, b, d, g
also represent the voiceless sounds when they occur at the end of a
word or
syllable and when they are followed by other voiceless sounds:
abheben |
"ap-heben" |
bleibt |
"bleip-t" |
hebt ... ab |
"hep-t ... ap" |
glaubt |
"glaup-t" |
siebzehn |
"siep-zehn" |
gibt |
"gip-t" |
sind |
"sin-t" |
und |
"unt" |
Flughafen |
"Fluk-hafen" |
zeigt |
"zeik-t" |
Tag |
"Tak" |
sagt |
"sak-t" |
This
is especially important to realize when considering
verb forms. Since there is an alternation between voiced and voiceless
endings
(-e, -en, -t) many verbs actually have alternate stems which the
writing system
does not show.
bleib- |
or |
"bleip-" |
sag- |
or |
"sak-" |
(bleibe) |
|
(bleibt) |
(sage) |
|
(sagt) |
B.
Pre-vocalic r in clusters.
Practice
1.
Frau |
treffen |
Preis |
Kraft |
Front |
Tropfen |
Probe |
Kreis |
Friede |
Traum |
prima |
Krieg |
|
|
|
|
schreibe |
Strasse |
sprechen |
|
Schramme |
streben |
springen |
|
Schritt |
Strom |
Sprung |
|
As
noted in Unit 2 you may find it easier to break up the
cluster by inserting a vowel between the initial consonant and the r.
This may
be more necessary in the following group where the r is voiced. For
drei try
saying darei for example, and for bringen, baringen, etc.
Practice
2.
drei |
braun |
grau |
dringen |
bringen |
Greis |
Adresse |
Gebrauch |
begraben |
bedrohen |
verbrennen |
ergriffen |
C.
Pre-vocalic r after vowels and initially.
Practice 3.
Bahre |
Maria |
Rat |
Zigarre |
beraten |
reich |
Ehre |
erreichen |
Rind |
ihre |
gerieben |
roh |
D.
The German l.
Pronounce
English "leap" and "believe".
Ask your instructor to pronounce German lieb and belieben. In these
words the l
sound is almost identical in both languages. Remember of course that
the German
ie sound is higher and tenser than the English vowel, and this
difference is
reflected somewhat in the l.
Practice
4
lied |
|
beleben |
lesen |
lösen |
Geleit |
leider |
lud |
gelogen |
Lack |
lügen |
beluden |
Ask
your instructor to pronounce German lieb again slowly
and repeat it after him as slowly as you can, holding the l for a full
second
or more. Then say the l alone just the same way. This is the only l
sound which
occurs in German. It is the same sound before and after vowels. After
vowels
however it occurs almost as a separate syllable. Now ask your
instructor to
pronounce German hohl. You will note that this word does not sound like
English
"hole".
Listen
carefully and see if you can distinguish the two
syllabIes, the o syllable and the l syllable, as your instructor says
hohl
again. In the following exercise try to imitate him exactly.
Practice
5.
viel |
hohl |
Wahl |
viele |
Aale |
Ziel |
wohl |
Zahl |
fehle |
male |
fehl |
Pfuhl |
Maul |
hole |
kühle |
Mehl |
Stuhl |
|
Suhle |
fühle |
Practice
6.
Wille |
will |
wild |
balle |
Ball |
bald |
helle |
hell |
hält |
solle |
soll |
Sold |