Elements of German: Phonology and Morphology

Elements of German

Elements of German Phonology and Morphology

Elmer H. Antonsen

The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa

The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380 Copyright cr) 2007 Elmer H. Antonsen All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America 00

The paper on which this book is printed meets the miniInum requirements of Atnerican National Standard for Information Science- Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Antonsen, Elmer H. Elements of German: phonology and morphology / Elmer H. Antonsen. p. cm. Incl udes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8173-1583-2 (alk. paper) ISBN-IO: 0-8173-1583-7 (alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-8173-5450-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8173-5450-6 (pbk. :alk. paper) 1. German language- Phonology. 2. German language- Morphology. 3. German language- Textbooks for foreign speakers- English. I. title PF3131.A58 2007 431'5-dc 22 2006051779

CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1 1.1 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 Chapter 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9

1 Phonetics Speech organs Figure 1: The speech organs Speech sounds Obstruents Resonants Table 1: Selected IPA consonant symbols Vowels Table 2: Selected IPA vowel symbols Phonetic reading 1 Phonetic reading 2- English Phonetic transcription-English Phonetic reading 3-German and Low German Tips on German spelling and pronunciation Phonetic transcription-German Phonetic reading 4-German Phonetic reading 5-German

7 7 8 13 16 27 35 36 48 51 52 53 55 56 61 62 63

Phonemics Phonemic contrast (consonants) Table 3: Consonant phonemes of German Phonemic contrast (stressed vowels) Table 4: Vowel phonemes of German Segmental phonemes and allophones of German Phonemic transcription Suprasegmental phonemes Phonemes and German orthography Phonemic reading I-German Phonemic reading 2-German Phonemic reading 3-German

65 65 69 71 72 73 74 75 81 84 85 86

Chapter 3 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11

Morphology

91 Preliminary remarks on syntax 91 Figure 2: Tree diagram of a German sentence 95 Morphological analysis 98 Bound roots 105 Noun morphology 106 Noun inflection 113 114 Table 5: Noun paradigms Adjectival morphology 117 Table 6: Definite article and strong adjective inflection 119 Table 7: Weak adjective/adverb derivation 119 Pronominal morphology 120 120 Table 8: Personal pronouns 121 Table 9: Demonstrative and relative pronouns Table 10: Interrogative pronouns 121 Verb morphology 122 Table 11: Primary inflectional endings 124 Table 12: Secondary inflectional endings 124 Table 13: Verb derivational and inflectional paradigms 127 128 Classification of strong verbs Anomalous verbs 133 Morphological classes in German 133 136 Morphological analysis of a text

Suggested further readings

137

Appendix I: Answers to exercises

139 139 139 140 140 142

Phonetic transcription §1.5 Phonetic transcription § 1.8 Phonemic contrasts §§2.1, 2.2 Phonemic transcription §2.4 Morphological analysis of a text

Appendix II: Clear texts of reading exercises Phonetic reading §1.4 Phonetic, phonemic readings §§1.6, 2.7 Phonetic, phonemic readings §§1.9, 2.8 Phonetic, phonemic readings §§ 1.10, 2.9

147 147 148 149 150

Elements of German

Introduction The objectives of this introduction to the phonology and morphology of German are two-fold: (1) to improve the students' knowledge and command of German, Le., their ability to speak and write grammatically correct German, and by doing so, (2) to introduce stu~ dents to the methods and tools of linguistic analysis in the areas of phonology and morphology, with which every advanced language student should be acquainted. This treatment is not intended to be an exhaustive reference work, nor a review grammar, but merely an aid in striving for these specific goals. We are all familiar with the speech of immigrants in America who have not yet acquired a complete command of English and whose speech can therefore exude a certain charm, or evoke mild amusement, or perhaps cause embarrassing misunderstandings. Sometimes the problem lies in a faulty pronunciation, as when the Cuban professor explained that 'Spanish bowels are different from English bowels' [Le., vowels], or- when the German woman wanted to buy a 'cart-table' [= card-table]. Sometimes improper wordformation can be the culprit, as when a woman complained that a dress had the wrong 'long-itude', which her companion quickly corrected, 'You mean length-itude', whereupon the first lady touchily countered with 'You always know better!' Sometimes the violation of rules of agreement can cause. the problem, as when a Chinese speaker explained, 'My uncle-she was my father's brother- ... '. For English speakers, incorrect word order can create real problems, as in the old saw about the Pennsylvania Dutch farmer who 'threw the horse over the fence some hay'. At other times, the problem may be one of either pronunciation or morphology, and the English speaker must determine which it is, as when a Dutch speaker asked a salesclerk in a greeting-card shop, in otherwise perfect English, 'Do you sell bookses?' The tactful salesclerk asked, 'What kind of book-

2

Introduction

ses would you like?', to which the customer replied, 'The kind you put things in', thereby settling the question. A French-Canadian relating sad tales from his childhood evoked considerable unwanted mirth when he began, 'When I was young boy in Canada, I was drove horses then - me. '

All the above speakers had what might be called 'communicative competence', since they could express themselves in a fashion to make themselves understood by native English speakers, at least after a little prodding. However, anyone learning German with an eye toward using the language in educated circles must aspire to a higher level of achievement. It is assumed that students will have had the equivalent of at least three years of college German. In many instances, students will already have acquired what could be termed a 'fluent' command of German, perhaps through a study-abroad program. Experience has shown, however, that in the case of many, if not of the majority, of these students, even of those with considerable 'communicative competence' (as it is called), there is an insufficient command of the formal aspects of the language, Le., insufficient acquaintance with the structure of the language, to enable them to speak and write grammatically correct German in a fashion acceptable to an educated German speaker. I have seen such students write what would otherwise be quite acceptable compositions, except for the fact that not one adjective phrase had all adjective endings correct, and noun and verb forms betrayed a distressing lack of familiarity with the essentials of declension and conjugation. In other words, their German is often a kind of 'pidgin' that is, perhaps, on the whole comprehensible to native speakers and may even be considered by them to be exotic, and in some ways charming-for a while. Eventually, however, after trying to reconstruct the grammatical relationships intended by the foreigner, but hidden behind incorrect morphological and phonological (not to mention syntactic) formulations, native listeners

Introduction

3

may well acquire a bad headache, or succumb to dazed amusement, or throw up their hands and wonder why this foreigner does not try to acquire a more acceptable command of the language. Incorrect word order, pronunciation, indicators of gender, cases, persons, number, tenses, etc., can create just as much consternation among German native-speakers as the examples cited above did among English speakers. While the highest goal in learning a foreign language is to speak it so well that native speakers cannot detect one's foreign origin, this goal is seldom achievable by adults learning a foreign language outside the area in which it is spoken. The next highest goal, then, is to learn the language so well that a native speaker (while perhaps readily detecting a foreign origin) has no difficulty in understanding what is meant and is not irritated by the manner of expression. The attainment of this goal can be greatly aided by a thorough knowledge of the structure of German, which is indeed a language of considerable regularity in its sound system (phonology) and the latter's representation in the orthography, as well as in the manner in which the language forms and inflects words (morphology). Learning about the language cannot replace intensive practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing it, but it can complement such practice and reduce the time and effort required by an adult to acquire a good command of the language, or at least considerably polish that command. Analyzing the structure of a language is the business of linguistics, which seeks to discover the most sweeping generalities and reduce them to linguistic rules. Many of the rules presented here will already be familiar to you, although they, and others, will be presented in a manner that may be unfamiliar, but very precise. Others will be quite new to you. It is essential that linguistic rules be established with precision, but it is no less essential that the student learn them precisely as they are presented. Merely reordering, omitting, or

4

Introduction

otherwise changing a single element in a rule can render it uselessor worse-totally incorrect, which can have quite deleterious effects on the student's command of the language. We will begin with the basic elements of speech communication, the speech sounds themselves, learning how to analyze and describe them in terms of articulatory phonetics and to represent them using the International Phonetic Alphabet. We will not concern ourselves with neurological, physiological, or physical (i.e. acoustic) parameters of the production of speech sounds, but will confine the discussion to those articulatory facts necessary to achieve our specific goals. After the introduction to articulatory phonetics, we will consider how the individual sounds (phones) we have isolated are organized in German into distinctive phonological units (phonemes) that native speakers of the standard language clearly recognize. We will also see how this phonemic system corresponds to the orthographic system, so that we, as foreigners, can interpret more precisely the clues to pronunciation given to us in the German spelling system. Finally, we will look at the basic structure of German words, including the manner in which they are formed and then transformed when used in coherent utterances, establishing the rules that lie behind the great structural regularities of the language. We will see how all three elements, the phonetic, the phonemic, and the morphological, fit together into a coherent whole, of which you may not yet be fully aware. If you remember your first incursions into German, you probably noted that it seemed to be a very complicated language, with a great many different forms to be learned. That impression was, in fact true, but it is actually mitigated by another fact. Once one learns the rules, the language gets easier and easier to master, unlike French or English, which seem easier in the beginning, but become more and more difficult as one progresses. It is interest-

Introduction

5

ing in this connection to note the impression of a young Korean who had learned both German and English. When asked which language he thought was more difficult to learn, he answered, 'German in the beginning, because there are so many forms to learn for cases, number, persons, and so forth, but then later on English gets harder because there are so many idioms and there seems to be less structure'. It is the goal of this presentation to convince you that German is not really difficult for a foreigner if it is presented properly, and that Mark Twain could not have had proper instruction in German if he really meant it when he said, 'I would rather decline two German beers than one German noun!'

Chapter 1 Phonetics 1.1 Speech organs In order to discuss speech sounds, it is necessary to become familiar with the various parts of the speech tract involved in their production and with the technical terms used to describe them. Figure 1 presents a schematized sagittal section of the head and neck showing those parts of the speech tract that we need to identify for the purpose of describing English and German speech sounds (and occasionally those of other languages). Some of these anatomical parts are quite familiar to you, while others may not be. In some instances, common English terminology is used to refer to these parts; in others, the technical terms may be unfamiliar. We will also give the German equivalents of these terms, so that you may read linguistic texts in German with greater ease of comprehension.

1. The lips (die Lippen) require no discussion except to say that the sounds produced with involvement of the lips are called labial (labial, der Lippenlaut), or when both lips are involved, bilabial (bilabial). If only one lip is involved, it is understood that this is always the lower lip (die Unterlippe). 2. The teeth (die Ziihne) are involved in the production of dental sounds (dental, der Zahnlaut). 3. The alveolar ridge (der Zahndamm) is located directly above the front upper teeth on the inner side. If you move your tongue horizontally back and forth across this ridge, you will notice a 'washboard' effect, Le., there are little vertical bumps. These are called 'alveoli' and give the ridge its name. Sounds

8

Phonetics

involving this ridge are called alveolar (alveolar, der Zahndammlaut).

Figure 1. The speech organs 1. Lips / die Lippen 2. Teeth / die Ziihne 3. Alveolar ridge / der Zahndamm 4. Palate / der Vordergaumen 5. Velum / der Hintergaumen 6. Uvula / das Ziipfchen 7. Velic / das Gaumensegel 8. Nasal Cavity I die Nasenhohle 9. Oral cavity / die Mundhohle 10. Pharynx / der Rachen 11. Tongue / die Zunge

12. Apex / die Zungenspitze 13. Blade of the tongue / das Zungenblatt 14. Front of tongue / die Vorderzunge 15. Back of tongue / die Hinterzunge 16. Root of tongue / die Zungenwurzel 17. Epiglottis / das Kehlkopfsegel 18. Trachea / die Luftrohre 19. Esophagus I die Speiserohre 20. Larynx / der KehlkoPf 21. Vocal chords I die Stimmbiinder 22. Glottis / die Stimmritze

Speech organs

9

4. The front portion of the roof of the mouth (located below the bony structure) is referred to in linguistic works as the palate (der Vordergaumen; sometimes der harte Gaumen). In nonlinguistic contexts it is sometimes called the 'hard palate', but we will use only the term 'palate'. Sounds involving this portion of the roof of the mouth are called palatal (palatal, der Vordergaumenlaut).

5. The rear portion of the roof of the mouth (with no bony structure above it) is called the velum (der Hintergaumen, das Velum; sometimes der weiche Gaumen). In nonlinguistic contexts, it is sometimes termed the 'soft palate', but we will use only the term 'velum'. Sounds produced with its involvement are velar (velar, der Hintergaumenlaut). 6. The uvula (das Ziip/chen) is the fleshy extension dangling from the rear of the velum. English speakers normally make use of it only when gargling. A sound produced by involving the uvula is called uvular (uvular, der Ziip/chenlaut). 7. The velie (das Gaumensegel) consists of the velum and the uvula together. In other words, it is the moveable (rear) portion of the roof of the mouth, which can be raised in order to close off the nasal passage (as we do when swimming underwater without holding our nose). In speaking, the velie is kept raised to close off the nasal cavity, except when producing nasal or nasalized sounds (see 8, below). 8. The nasal cavity (die Nasenhohle) is the passage through which air can pass by way of the nose to and from the throat. It can be (and normally is) sealed off during speech, except to produce a nasal (nasal, der Nasenlaut) or nasalized (nasaliert) sound. In producing a nasal sound, the air from the lungs does not exit by way of the oral cavity, but exclusively through the

10

Phonetics

nasal cavity, whereas a nasalized sound is an oral sound produced with the velie not sealed and consequently with some air passing simultaneously through the nasal cavity.

9. The oral cavity (die Mundhohle) is simply the mouth. Sounds produced in the mouth are called oral sounds (ora!). If a sound is produced by using both the oral and the nasal passages simultaneously, it is nasalized (nasaliert). 10. The pharynx (der Rachen) is what we commonly call the 'back of the throat', the part that becomes enflamed when we have a 'sore throat, a throat-cold' (der Rachenkatarrh). Pharyngeals (pharyngal, der Rachenlaut) are formed in this part of the speech tract, but neither German nor English makes use of such sounds (which are common, for example, in the Semitic languages). 11. The tongue (die Zunge) is involved in the production of a great many speech sounds, called linguals (lingual, der Zungenlaut), and must be divided into distinct parts in order to define these sounds accurately. 12. The apex, or tip of the tongue (die Zungenspitze), refers specifically to the pointed end of the tongue. Sounds produced with this tip are called apical (apikal, der Zungenspitzenlaut). 13. When not pointed, the edge of the tongue along the front and sides, is called the blade of the tongue (das Zungenblatt).

14. The front of the tongue (die Vorderzunge) is the part of the dorsum of the tongue that stretches from behind the tip to about the mid-point of the tongue, i.e. it is approximately that portion that lies immediately below the palate when the tongue is at rest.

Speech organs

11

15. The back of the tongue (die Hinterzunge) is that part of the dorsum behind the mid-point, stretching to the point where the tongue borders on the pharynx, i.e., it is the portion of the dorsum located immediately below the velum. 16. The root of the tongue (die Zungenwurzel) is the remainder of the dorsum opposite the pharyngeal cavity. It is not used in the articulation of German or English speech sounds. 17. The epiglottis (das Kehlkopfsegel) is, strictly speaking, not a speech organ. It is an appendage above the trachea that is closed when food is swallowed. Since no air can flow to or from the lungs when the epiglottis is closed, it must be open during speech. (The admonition of mothers to small children, not to speak with the mouth full, is less a concern for etiquette than for survival!) 18. The trachea (die Luftrohre) is commonly called the 'wind pipe'. It is the air passage from the lungs to the oral and nasal cavities. 19. The esophagus (die Speiserohre) is the 'food pipe', and not a speech organ. We identify it here only to distinguish it from the trachea. 20. The larynx (der Kehlkop/) is the common folk's 'voice box', the cartillage structure behind the Adam's apple containing the vocal chords. Sounds produced through involvement of the larynx are laryngeal (laryngal, der Kehlkopflaut). 21. The vocal cords (die Stimmbiinder) are two membranous folds within the larynx that can close off the trachea wholly (as, for example, when we lift a heavy object), or partly (as when we whisper), and can vibrate to produce voice (die Stimme).

12

Phonetics

22. The glottis (die Stimmritze) is the opening between the vocal cords. Sounds involving the glottis are called glottal (glottal, der Knacklaut).

Speech sounds

13

1.2 Speech sounds Speech sounds are produced, basically, by interfering with the flow of air from the lungs outward.! This interference can occur in a number of ways and at various points in the SPEECH TRACf (from the vocal cords to the lips and/or nose). The manner in which the interference occurs is called the MODE OF ARTICULATION, the place is called the POINT OF ARTICULATION

If the flow of air is (momentarily) completely cut off in producing a sound, as for Eng. p, t, k, we speak of a STOP (der Verschlusslaut) , sometimes referred to as a 'plosive'. If, however, the airflow is continuous, but through a constricted passage, as for Eng. f, th, s, we speak of a FRICATIVE (der Reibelaut), or sometimes a 'spirant'. The combination of a homorganic (= involving the same speech organ) STOP + FRICATIVE, as in Eng. ch, j in church, jury, is termed an AFFRICATE (die Affrikate). These three types of speech sounds: stops, fricatives, and affricates, are grouped together under the term OBSTRUENTS (der Obstruent(en), der Behinderungslaut), since their common characteristic is the obstruction of the airflow. 2 Obstruents are sometimes referred to as 'true' CONSONANTS (der Konsonant(en), der Mitlaut), since they are always consonantal in nature, i.e., they never form syllables by 1 In some languages, certain speech sounds may be produced by inhaling (implosives) rather than exhaling (explosives). In German and English, implosives are not part of the normal speech pattern, although they can be used to express emotions, such as 'great surprise and shock' through an imploded glottal stop, sometimes represented in writing as ugh! We will not deal with these extralinguistic signals. 2

In some languages, notably Bantu, there is another category of obstruents called

CLICKS. German and English use such sounds only as extralinguistic signals, as

for example, in English when we give lateral clicks as a signal for a horse to start moving (elk, elk!), or apical clicks as a sign of disapproval (tsk, tsk!). We will not deal with these sounds, either.

14

Phonetics

themselves, but are always found in the environment of syllabic sounds. A RESONANT (der Sonant(en»), is a sound that can be either CONSONANTAL (konsonantisch) or SYLLABIC (silbisch, silbenbildend), depending upon the environment in which it occurs. If it is preceded or followed by a vowel, like the n in Eng. an, now, it is consonantal, that is, it joins the syllable of which the vowel is the nucleus. If, however, no vowel is pronounced before or after the resonant, then the resonant becomes syllabic, as in colloquial Eng. hittin', bitten (in which the second written vowel is not actually pronounced), that is, it becomes the nucleus of a syllable itself. For this reason, in older works the terms 'semiconsonant' (der Halbkonsonant(en) or 'semivowel' (der Halbvokal) are sometimes used to refer to this group of sounds. Among the resonants, we distinguish: NASALS (der Nasenlaut), which are produced by redirecting the flow of air from the oral cavity into the nasal cavity by lowering the velic and closing the oral cavity at some point, cf. Eng. m, n, ng; TRILLS (der Schwinglaut), formed by causing either the

tip of the tongue, the uvula, or the lips to vibrate, cf. the Scottish pronunciation of r;3 LATERALS (der Seitenlaut), in which the stream of air is directed around the sides of the tongue, e.g., Eng. l; GLIDES (der Gleitlaut), also called 'approximatives' (der Anniiherungslaut) formed by placing the speech organs in a configuration to produce a particular vowel, but instead of pro-

The labial trill is used in German to signal a horse to stop; in English it is used to indicate that the speaker is cold. These are again extralinguistic signals in these two languages.

3

Speech sounds

15

ducing it, these organs 'glide' into a new configuration to produce a different vowel, e.g., Eng. y in you, w in week. A VOWEL (der Vokal, der Selbstlaut) is a speech sound that is always the nucleus of a syllable, like Eng. a in a, an, nan, nanna. The different vowels are produced by varying the configuration of the speech tract in order to form varying resonance chambers. They are classified according to the part of the tongue actively involved: FRONT, CENTRAL, BACK VOWELS (der Vorder-, Mittel-, Hinterzungenvokal), by the height of the tongue: HIGH, MID, LOW VOWELS (der Vokal hoherer, mittlerer, tieferer Zungenhohe), and by the position of the lips: SPREAD, ROUNDED (gespreitzt, gerundet). There are thus three main categories of speech sounds: OBSTRUENTS, sounds that never act as the nucleus of a syllable; VOWELS, sounds that always form the nucleus of a syllable; and RESONANTS, sounds that sometimes form syllables

and sometimes do not. We will now proceed to describe how the individual members of each class of sounds are produced, described, and represented according to the alphabet of the International Phonetic Association (IPA). This alphabet was devised to provide a uniform representation of speech sounds for use with all languages, and such phonetic representations are enclosed between square brackets, whereas the normal spelling is indicated by the use of italics, e.g., Hund = [hunth]. For the most part, we will not concern ourselves with sounds that do not occur in German or English, although from time to time we will need to glance at some particular 'exotic' sound that should be familiar to any educated person, since it can occur in words taken from other languages. You should learn the IPA symbol used to represent each sound, and also the complete phonetic description for it,

16

Phonetics

e.g., the first sound of Eng. bat is a VOICED BILABIAL STOP with the symbol [b]. 1.2.1 Obstruents

The IPA symbols for consonantal sounds (both obstruents and resonants) that we will need to know for German and English are presented in Table 1, arranged according to the MODE OF ARTICULATION and the POINT OF ARTICULATION of each PHONE, Le., speech sound. Blank spaces in the chart indicate nothing more than that we will not be concerned with any phone that might occur in that position. Symbols in parentheses represent phones that do not occur in standard German or English, but are of interest to us for reasons that will be noted when we discuss them. VOICING. In describing obstruents, we will need to distinguish between VOICED and VOICELESS phones. VOICED PHONES are accompanied by a vibration of the vocal cords, which we can produce voluntarily by humming. If we pronounce an English p in isolation (without the vowel of its name), it is not nearly as audible as a b in isolation. If we put a forefinger in each ear and pronounce first a p, and then a b, we hear the humming very distinctly in connection with the b. We can also detect the vibration of the vocal cords by holding the Adam's apple between the thumb and forefinger while pronouncing p (no vibration) and then b. While it seems very natural to us to make a distinction between voiceless p and voiced b, there are many languages which do not have voiced obstruents (among them, various varieties of German spoken in Middle and Southern Germany, in Austria, and in Switzerland), and we will have to address this matter below. Vowels are always voiced in English and German; resonants are normally voiced, but can be devoiced (see § 1.2.2).

Speech sounds

17

FORTIS/LENIS (= strong/weak). In both English and North German standard pronunciation, voiceless sounds are pronounced with noticeably more energy and muscular tension than the corresponding voiced sounds. Since VOICELESS/ FORTIS and VOICED/LENIS are concomitant features in these languages, it is not necessary to specify both features, and we will specify only VOICELESS or VOICED. This situation is not universal, however, since there are languages (e.g., Danish, and South German regional varieties) in which LENIS OBSTRUENTS like b, d, g are not voiced, but are distinguished from the corresponding FORTIS OBSTRUENTS p, t, k only by the differing degree of energy and muscular tension with which they are pronounced. We will not be concerned with such pronunciations in this course, but students should be prepared for them in the speech of Germans from Central and South Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Voiceless b, d, g can be pronounced by closing the glottis (therefore preventing voicing) before closing the oral cavity with the lips, the apex of the tongue, or the dorsum of the tongue. STOPS. With the velie closed, the stream of air can be momentarily stopped completely at various points in the speech tract. (In order to close the velie voluntarily, pretend you are swimming underwater without holding your nose!) All obstruents in English and German are pronounced with the velie closed, so we will not indicate this fact in each individual case. We will begin with the extreme outer position, the lips, and proceed inward in discussing the points of articulation.

Bilabial stops: voiceless voiced

[p] [b)

18

Phonetics

By pressing both lips together, increasing the pressure of the airstream from the lungs, tensing the muscles of the vocal tract, and then releasing the lips, we produce the voiceless bilabial stop found in Eng!. pan [phren], cap [Chreph]; and Ger. Panne [phan~] 'mechanical breakdown', Kappe [khaph~] 'cap'. By decreasing the pressure of the airstream, relaxing the muscles of the vocal tract, and closing the vocal cords enough to produce vibration (humming), while pressing the lips together and then releasing them, we obtain the voiced bilabial stop found in Eng!. ban [bren], cab [chreb]; and Ger. Banne [bane] 'ban', haben [ho:b~n] 'to have'.

Alveolar stops: voiceless voiced

[t] [d]

By placing the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge and the rest of the blade of the tongue along the gums above the upper teeth to close off the flow of air, increasing the pressure of the airstream, tensing the muscles of the vocal tract, then releasing the tongue, we produce the voiceless alveolar stop in Engl. tan [fren], cat [chrer]; and Ger. Tanne [fana] 'fir', hat [haf] 'has'. With decreased air pressure, relaxed vocal-tract muscles, and vibrating vocal cords, while stopping the airflow with the tongue along the alveolar ridge and upper gumline, then releasing the tongue, we produce the voiced alveolar stop in Engl. day [dej], had [hred]; and Ger. du [du:] 'you', wieder [vi:du] 'again'.

Palatal stops: voiceless voiced

[c]

ltl

Speech sounds

19

Native speakers of English and German are normally not aware that they pronounce the two k's of King Kong or of konnen - konnte in different places in the oral cavity, yet such is actually the case, as may be easily determined by pronouncing these two words in succession and noting the position of the tongue in each case. For Eng!. king [ChII)], ken [chen], can [chren]; Ger. Kissen [chIs~n] 'pillow', kennen [ch£n~n] 'to know', kilhl [chy:l] 'cool', Konig [ch~:nI~] 'king', the voiceless palatal stop is produced by placing the front of the tongue against the palate to stop the flow of air (again with increased air pressure and tense muscles,), then releasing the tongue. In the same fashion, but with decreased air pressure, lax muscles, and vibrating vocal cords, the voiced palatal stop is produced in Eng!. give (jIV], get (jeth], gave (jejv], gabby (jrebi]; Ger. gibt (ji:pth ] 'gives', gegen lJe:g~n] 'against', giibe (je:b~] 'would give', Goethe [w;:th~], Gilte fJy:th~] 'goodness'. Note that the palatal stops occur only BEFORE front vowels or [j], otherwise the velar stops always occur.

Velar stops: voiceless voiced

[k] [g]

In producing the voiceless velar stop, the back of the tongue is raised against the velum to stop the airflow, the air pressure is increased, and the muscles tensed, followed by releasing the tongue. This is the stop at the beginning of Eng!. Kong [khoI)], cool [khuwl], coal [khowl], call [khol]; and of Ger. kalt [khalth] 'cold', Kohle [kho:la] 'coal', Kuchen [khu:x~n] 'cake', kauen [khawan] 'chew', Kaufer [kh~jf~K] 'buyer'. All else remaining the same, but with decreased air pressure, lax muscles, and vibrating vocal cords, the voiced velar stop is produced, as in Engl. go [gow], got [goth], ghoul [guwl]; and

20

Phonetics

Ger. gab [gO:ph] 'gave', Gott [g~th] 'God', Gurke [guRkhg] 'cucumber', Gau [gaw] 'district', Giiue [g~jg] 'districts'.

Glottal stop: voiceless [1] By closing the vocal cords, the flow of air is blocked at the glottis, then released, producing a voiceless glottal stop. There is no voiced counterpart, since it is not possible to vibrate the vocal cords when they are closed. In English, the glottal stop is normally used only in attempts to be particularly distinct, as for example for the benefit of a foreigner or for someone who is hearing-impaired, as in a distinct pronunciation of an I old I apple (with interruption between each word) [?gn fold ?rephgl] in order to avoid or clear up a misunderstanding of the sequence as 'a knoll dapple' [?g nol drephgl]. North German standard pronunciation calls for the use of a glottal stop before initial vowels (Le. before vowels 'at the beginning of a word') and between two successive vowels except before [g] or [~] (see § 1.2.3). This abrupt onset of vowels accounts to a large extent for the crispness and clarity of North German formal speech, as in ein alter Apfel, in which the first, second and fourth syllables are preceded by a glottal stop [?ajn ?alth~ ?apfgl]. While every native speaker of English can produce the glottal stop when necessary in a social situation, we are not accustomed to producing it voluntarily. This can be easily learned, however. We automatically close the glottis when trying to lift a heavy object. The speaker need only pretend to lift something heavy between each syllable. Some English speakers from Long Island often pronounce a glottal stop instead of the medial consonant in words like bottle [bo?gl], battle [bre?gl]. ASPIRATED STOPS. In the pronunciation of English and of North German standard, the voiceless stops (and only the voiceless ones) are normally accompanied by a puff of air (in-

Speech sounds

21

dicated by [h]) when they are released before a vowel, and also often when the voiceless stop is in final position, e.g., Eng!. peck = [phekh], Ger. Pappe = [phaph~] 'cardboard'. In some languages (including French and South German regional varieties), the voiceless stops are not aspirated. Try to pronounce Ger. Pappe without aspirating the p's, i.e. as [papg]. It can be done by closing the glottis before pronouncing the bilabial stop. To test whether you are successful in avoiding the aspiration, tear off a small comer of a piece of paper and place it on the back of your clenched fist. Hold your fist up to your mouth so the bit of paper is directly in front of your lips. (Do not breathe through your nose!) Pronounce Pappe without aspiration first. If you are successful, the bit of paper will not move. Then pronounce Pappe with aspiration. Note how the paper flies away! The rules for aspiration in English and in North German standard are the same and can be stated as follows: (1) Voiceless stops are aspirated when FOLLOWED BY A VOWEL, except when the voiceless stop itself is PRECEDED by

another obstruent. (2) In final position, voiceless stops mayor may not be aspirated (free variation).

Engl. peck = [phEkh] or [phEk], but speck = [spekh] or [spEk], optic = ['optIkh] or ['aptIk], Ger. picken [phIkhgn] 'to pick (at)', Speck = [fpekh] or [fpek] 'bacon', optisch ['?~ptIf] 'optic' . Note that before syllabic resonants (see 1.2.2), voiceless stops are not aspirated: Eng. bitten [bIthtn], but [b1tll], Ger. bitten [bIth~n], but [bItfl] 'to request'.

22

Phonetics

FRICATIVES. With the velie closed, the stream of air from the lungs can be restricted at various points in the vocal tract to produce audible friction. We will again begin with the extreme outer position, the lips, and proceed inward in discussing the points of articulation.

Bilabial fricatives: voiceless voiced

([t]) ([6])

By puckering the lips as though to whistle, with tense muscles, and expelling air with force to create friction (as though to blowout a candle), we can produce a voiceless bilabial fricative. This sound is not found in English, although it occasionally is used by some German-speakers as the second element in the combination pi = [pq,], e.g., Pfund [pq,unth ], although more usual is [Pf] (see below). The voiced bilabial fricative is produced in the same manner, but with relaxed muscles, less force, and vibrating vocal cords. This sound is not used in English or German, but it is found, for example, in Spanish, e.g., Habana [ho~ono] 'Havana'.

Labiodental fricatives: voiceless [f] voiced [v] By placing the upper front teeth against the lower lip, with tense muscles, and expelling air forcefully to create friction, we produce a voiceless labiodental fricative, the first consonant in Eng. fish [fIf] and Ger. Fisch [fIf], the medial consonant of Eng. often [Dfin], Ger. offen [?~fgn] 'open', and the final consonant of Eng. off[Df], Ger. auf[?awf] 'on'.

Speech sounds

23

Using the same point and mode of articulation, but with relaxed muscles, less force in expelling the air, and vibrating the vocal cords, we produce the voiced labiodental fricative in Eng. vat [vref], Ger. was [vas] 'what', Eng. love [lgv], Ger. Mowe [m~:vg] 'seagull'.

Dental (flat) fricatives:

voiceless voiced

[9] [0]

With the blade of tongue touching the undersurface of the upper teeth, with muscles tensed, and by expelling air with force, we produce the voiceless dental (flat) fricative in Eng. thick [SIkh], breath [blES]. German does not have this sound. We call the dental fricatives 'flat' because the surface of the tongue, over which the air flows, is flat during the production of these sounds (cf. the 'grooved' fricatives below). With the speech organs in an identical configuration, but with relaxed muscles, less force of air, and vibrating vocal cords, we produce the voiced dental (flat) fricative in Eng. this [OIS], wither [Wlo3'], breathe [blijo]. This sound is also foreign to German.

Alveolar (grooved) fricatives:

voiceless voiced

[s] [z]

With the blade of the tongue touching the gums and sealing off the mouth, but with the tip of the tongue forming a groove adjacent to the alveolar ridge through which air can flow, with muscles tensed, and by expelling air with force, we produce the voiceless alveolar (grooved) fricative in Eng. sit [Slth], hiss [hIS], whistle [h'YIs~t] [WIS~t]; Ger. Wasser [vas-e] 'water', es [1£s] 'it', Straj3e [Jt~o:s~] 'street'. ,ow

24

Phonetics

With the same configuration of the speech organs, but with relaxed muscles and less forceful expulsion of the air, along with voicing, we produce the voiced alveolar (grooved) fricative in Eng. zoo [zuw], his [hIZ], houses [hOWZfZ], booze [buwz], buzzing [bgZIIJ]; Ger. Suppe [ZUphg ] 'soup', Hauser [h~jz~] 'houses'.

Alveopalatal (grooved) fricatives:

voiceless voiced

m l:~]

With the blade of the tongue touching the gums and sealing off the mouth, but with the tip and the front of the tongue simultaneously forming a groove adjacent to the alveolar ridge and the palate through which air can flow, with muscles tensed, and by expelling air with force, we produce the voiceless aiveopalatal (grooved) fricative in Eng. ship [f Iph], fish [fIf], wishing [wIffIJ]; Ger. Schiff [fIf] , Fisch [fIf] , wUnschen [vYnf~n].

With the same configuration of the speech organs, but with relaxed muscles and less forceful expulsion of the air, along with voicing, we produce the voiced alveopalatal (grooved) fricative in Eng. measure [m£33'], azure [re33'] rouge [ruw3]; Ger. Gendarm [3anldaRm] 'state policeman', Garage [gOIRO:3~] 'garage', Page [phO:3~] 'page(boy)'.

Palatal (flat) fricative:

voiceless

[~]

By placing the front of the tongue directly below the palate with only sufficient space to allow air to flow over the flat surface of the tongue to create friction (the tip of the tongue actually touches the back of the lower teeth), with tense muscles, and by forcefully expelling air, we produce the voiceless palatal fricative in Ger. ich [?I~] 'I', Michael ['mI~o?£l], Storch

Speech sounds

25

[ft~R~] 'stork', Milch [mII~] 'milk', Bucher [by:~'B] 'books', Chemie [~e'mi:] 'chemistry'. This sound is basically foreign to English, although it is sometimes heard in a forceful pronunciation of words like Hugh [~uw] for [bJuw] and huge [~uwd3] in place of [hJuwd3].

A voiced counterpart of the voiceless palatal fricative is sometimes heard in certain German pronunciations of words like ja (with a good deal of friction in the consonant), but this is always a variant of the glide U] (see below), and we will not be concerned with it.

Velar (flat) fricatives: voiceless voiced

[xl ([y])

By raising the back of the tongue in close approximation to the velum so that air may flow over the flat surface of the tongue causing friction, with tense muscles, and by forcefully expelling air, we produce the voiceless velar (flat) fricative in German Bach [bax] 'brook', Koch [k\)x] 'cook', Buch [bu:x] 'book', Bauch [bawx] 'belly'. This sound is also foreign to standard English, but is found in Scottish loch [l~x] 'lake'. A voiced counterpart of [x] is found in the pronunciation of g between vowels in Northern regional variants of German, as in Tage [tho:yg] 'days' for standard [tho:gg]. In these areas, final, devoiced g is pronounced [x], as in Tag! [thax] 'hello!' The voiced velar (flat) fricative is pronounced like the voiceless one, but with lax muscles, less force, and of course voicing. We should recognize this sound when we hear it, and not confuse it with the uvular trill [R] or glide [K] (see below). Voiceless unlocalized aspiration: [hl

26

Phonetics

Although we have placed the symbol for aspiration with the fricatives, the heavy breathing we find in Eng. he [hij], hay [hej], how [how], hoe [how], who [huw]; and German hissen h [hIs~n] 'to hoist', Heck [hek ] '(ship's) stem', hacken [hakh~n] 'to hack', hocken [h=>kh~n] 'to squat', hupen [hu:ph~n] 'to toot', is not a true fricative, but rather simply heavy breathing with the speech organs in the position for pronouncing the following vowel, therefore it is 'unlocalized', i.e., it has no specific point of articulation. Notice that in both English and German, this sound occurs only in position before a stressed vowel. While it is possible to voice this aspiration, neither English nor German uses such a sound. AFFRICATES are combinations of a stop + a homorganic fricative (i.e., they must both be pronounced with the same speech organ). While there are many theoretical possibilities for combining homorganic stops and fricatives, we will discuss only those found in English and German:

Voiceless labial affricates: (bilabial) ["] and (labiodental) lPl1, as in German Pfund [~unth] or [Pfunth] 'pound', hUpfen [hypq,~n] or [hyPf~n] 'to hop'. Voiceless alveolar (grooved) affricate: [is], as in Eng. tsetse (fly) ['fSijfSi]; Ger. Zeit [fSajth] 'time', Hitze [hIfSg] 'heat'. Voiced alveolar (grooved) affricate: [dz], as in Eng. adz [redz] (rare, if ever, in German). Voiceless alveopalatal (grooved) affricate: [ij], as in Eng. cheap [ITijph] , hitch [hIrr]; Ger. deutsch [d=>jrr] 'German', Matsch [maUl 'mud'.

Speech sounds

27

Voiced alveopalatal (grooved) affricate: [03], as in Eng. judge [d3gd3J, Geoffrey [d3efJi]; Ger. Dschungel [d3uIJgl] 'jungle', Jeep [d3i:ph]. Voiceless velar affricate: ([n]), found in Alpine varieties of German, when standard German has [k], as in kommen [n:lmgn] for standard [kh:lmgn]. We should recognize this sound, also. J .2.2 Resonants

The RESONANTS make up a class of sounds that are SOMETIMES CONSONANTAL (i.e., nonsyllable-forming) and SOMETIMES VOCALIC (syllable-forming). Because of this dual nature, the resonants are sometimes called SEMIVOWELS or SEMICONSONANTS. We will refer to them only as resonants. Resonants are normally voiced, although when they occur in the SAME SYLLABLE BETWEEN A VOICELESS OBSTRUENT AND A VOWEL, they become DEVOICED. The devoicing of a resonant is indicated by a small circle under (or sometimes over) the appropriate phonetic symbol, as will be seen in the examples below. To observe the difference between a normal voiced resonant and its devoiced counterpart, pronounce Mack [mrekh] and then smack [sqlrekh], or Ger. necken [nekhgn] 'to tease' and then Schnecken [JI}Ekhgn] 'snails'. Note that the sequence kn in German is pronounced with a devoiced [I}], as in kneifen [kI}ajfgn] 'to pinch'. English speakers often fail to devoice the [n], producing what sounds to a German like an extra syllable in *[kgnajfgn]. If a resonant is pronounced with NO VOWEL EITHER BEFORE OR AFfER IT, then this resonant forms a SYLLABLE

28

Phonetics

PEAK, Le., it is VOCALIC ('acts like a vowel'). Vocalic (syllabic) resonants are always voiced and are indicated phonetically by a short vertical line under (or over) the appropriate symbol, as in Eng. colloquial [batt:l] for more formal [bathin] button; or Ger. colloquial [hatt:l] for more formal [hathan] hatten 'had'.

Note that voiceless stops are NOT aspirated before vocalic' resonants; this is the chief means of distinguishing between a syllabic (vocalic) resonant, on the one hand, and a reduced vowel (Eng. [I] or Ger. [a]) + a resonant on the other. According to the modes of articulation, the resonants are divided into the classes of NASALS, LATERALS, TRILLS, and GLIDES, as follows: NASALS. Nasals are pronounced by stopping the flow of air somewhere in the oral cavity, but with the velie lowered, so that the air can flow out through the nasal cavity.

Bilabial nasal: [m], [qt], [qt] The airflow is stopped with both lips, producing the voiced bilabial nasal of English my [moj], him [hIm]; or Ger. mein [majn] 'my', ihm [firm] '(to, for) him'. Between a voiceless obstruent and a vowel in the same syllable, the devoiced bilabial nasal is produced, as in Eng. smack [sqlrekh]; Ger. schmecken [fql£khan] 'to taste'. When no vowel precedes or follows, the voiced syllabic (sometimes called 'vocalic') bilabial nasal is produced, as in Eng. colloquial hoppin' [hopql]; Ger. colloquial haben [ho:bJ1l] for standard [ho:ban] 'have'. Note that in English and German, the syllabic nasals are always homorganic with the preceding obstruent, i.e. they are bilabial

Speech sounds

29

after bilabials, alveolar after alveolars, velar after velars (see below).

Alveolar nasal: [n], [ttl,

[~]

Stopping the flow of air by placing the apex of the tongue against the alveolar ridge and the blade of the tongue along the upper gums, allowing the air to escape through the nasal cavity by lowering the velie, the voiced alveolar nasal is produced, as in Eng. now [now], kin [chIn], many ['meni]; Ger. nun [nu:n] 'now'. Between a voiceless obstruent and a vowel in the same syllable, the devoiced alveolar nasal is produced, as in Eng. snake [sl}ejkh]; Ger. Schnecke [Jl}ekh~] 'snail'. When no vowel precedes or follows, the voiced syllabic alveolar nasal is produced, as in Eng. colloquial cuttin' [kh~t~]; Ger. colloquial hatten [hat~] for formal [hat\)n] 'had'.

Palatal nasal: ([p]) Although neither English nor German uses this nasal (except perhaps in foreign names like Savigny), it is found in many languages, including French and Spanish, and we should be familiar with it. It is produced by closing off the flow of air through the mouth by raising the front of the tongue against the palate and letting the air escape through the nasal passage, as in Spanish nino [nipo] 'boy'.

Velar nasal:

[g], [Jj]

Stopping the flow of air by placing the back of the tongue against the velum, allowing the air to escape through the nasal cavity by lowering the velie, the voiced velar nasal is produced, as in Eng. king [ChII)], long [1~I)], longer [IJI)gj']; Ger. lang [lal)] 'long', langer [lel)-e] 'longer'. (There is no devoiced

30

Phonetics

velar nasal in English or German, because it never occurs in the necessary environment.) When no vowel precedes or follows, the voiced syllabic velar nasal is produced, as in Eng. colloquial bakin' [bejloj]; Ger. colloquial backen [baloj] for formal [bak\Jn] 'to bake'. LATERALS. Laterals are formed by closing the velie and then forcing the flow of air around the sides of the tongue. In English and German, laterals are always alveolar, since the tip of the tongue is placed against the alveolar ridge and the air is allowed to flow out of the oral cavity to each side of the tongue. There is, however, a significant difference between German and English l's, as indicated below.

Alveolar lateral: [I], [t] [I. ] The apex is placed against the alveolar ridge and the back of the tongue is kept flat, while the air proceeds around the sides. This so-called 'pure' alveolar lateral is found in some Southern American varieties of English and always in standard German: Lupe [lu:pa] 'magnifying glass', Glas [glo:s] 'glass', kahl [kho:l] 'bald'. Most Americans learning German must consciously strive to prevent the back of the tongue from rising, as in the General American pronunciation of I (see below). Velarized alveolar lateral: [I], [J], [1] With the apex placed against the alveolar ridge and the back of the tongue raised toward the velum, the air is allowed to escape past the sides of the tongue, as in most Northern varieties of American English: glass [glees], love [lav], hill [hill. This velarized I is not used in standard German (although it occurs in some German dialects).

Speech sounds

31

Palatal lateral: ([Al) With the front of the tongue pressing against the palate, the air is allowed to pass along the sides of the tongue. Although this sound is not found in native words in English or German, it occurs occasionally in foreign loanwords, e.g., Spanish calle [kaAe] 'street', Italian Italia [itoAo], Badoglio [hadoAo]. TRILLS. Trills are produced by causing some speech organ

(other than the vocal cords) to vi brate.

Alveolar trill: [r], [r] (in German, syllabic =[n]) flap [r] The apex of the tongue is placed lightly against the alveolar ridge and the air is ejected forcefully against the apex causing it to vibrate. Scottish English makes use of this sound, and it can also be heard in the speech of some Americans after eel, as in three [epj], through [eruw]. Millions of German speakers use this type of r when a vowel follows or after a 'short' vowel, as in rot [ro:th] 'red',jahren [fo:r~n] 'to travel', Herr [her] 'lord, master', treu [tr~j] 'loyal'. A flap is the single tap found in the General American pronunciation of medial t, tt, as in later [tejf3'], latter [tref3'], pretty [pllfi]. (Note the difference, e.g., between latter and ladder [lred3'] and British [lrethn] latter!)

Uvular trill: [R], [J}.] (syllabic = [n]) The back of the tongue is raised toward the uvula, constricting the passage of air to cause the uvula to vibrate. (Americans normally engage in this activity only when gargling!) To prevent an American-sounding r, it is helpful to force the apex of the tongue against the back of the lower teeth while causing the uvula to vibrate. This type of r is used by mil-

32

Phonetics

lions of other Germans before vowels and after 'short' vowels, as in rot [Ro:th],jahren [fo:Ran], Herr [heR], treu [t~~j] 'loyal'. GLIDES. Glides are produced by placing the speech organs in position to pronounce a vowel or syllabic resonant, but instead of pronouncing that sound with a syllable peak, the speaker glides from the position of the speech organs to the position of a following vowel (ON-GLIDE). Similarly, the glide may occur after a vowel, in which case the speech organs glide to the position for pronouncing a different vowel, but this latter vowel is not actually pronounced (OFF-GLIDE).

Bilabial glide:

[w], ['1] (syllabic = [u])

The lips and tongue are put in position to pronounce the vowel [u], but the vowel is not pronounced. Instead, the speech organs glide to the position of the following vowel, as in Eng. was [waz], or conversely, a vowel is pronounced and the speech organs glide to the position of [u], as in Eng. how [how], bow (tie) [bow], who [huw], quit [kWIth]; Ger. genau [ganaw] 'exact', Maus [maws] 'mouse'. Note that in German, [w] occurs only as an offglide after [a].

Palatal glide: [i],

0] (syllabic = [i])

The lips and tongue are put in position to pronounce the vowel [i], but the vowel is not pronounced. Instead the speech organs glide to the position of the following vowel, as in Eng. yes [jes]; Ger. ja Uo:], or conversely, a vowel is pronounced and the speech organs glide to the position of [i], as in Eng. my [moj], tie [thoj], may [mej], a [ej], boy [boj] , me [mij], cute [C]uwth]; Ger. mein [majn] 'my', Miiuse [m~jza] 'mice', deutsch [d~jijl 'German'.

Speech sounds

Velar retroflex glide: [.I], [01] (syllabic

33

= [~])

The tongue is put in position to pronounce the vowel [3'] (as in bird [b3'd]), but the vowel is not pronounced. Instead the speech organs glide to the position of the following vowel, as in Eng. red [led], shred [fJed] , or conversely, a vowel is pronounced and the speech organs glide to the position of [3'], as in General American Eng. mere [mil], your (jUl], yore [jOl], air [el] , are [01]. In initial position in English, [1] is pronounced with rounded lips! The velar retroflex glide does not occur in standard German!

Uvular glide:

[K], [If] (syllabic =

[~])

The tongue glides from the position of a vowel toward the position to pronounce the vowel [~], but the vowel is not pronounced, as in Ger. mehr [me:K] 'more', fuhr [fu:K] 'drove', mir [mi:K] '(to, for) me'. In formal North German standard, this glide occurs only in final position after a 'long' vowel or [g] (cf. the use of the alveolar or uvular trill discussed above). The uvular glide does not occur in standard Northern American English. Some German speakers use the uvular glide for r in all positions, e.g., rot [KO:th], fahren [fo:Kan], Herr [OCK], as well as in mehr [me:K], fuhr [fU:K], mir [mi:K]. If you cannot trill either the apex or the uvula, you may use this uvular glide for German r, but be sure to press the apex against the gums behind the lower teeth! The obstruents and resonants we have discussed are given in Table 1. Note that VOICELESS STOPS are aspirated ([ph th ch kh ]) before vowels EXCEPT when the voiceless stop itself is preceded by another obstruent; in final position, voiceless stops

34

Phonetics

may be aspirated or not (free variation). PALATAL STOPS occur only BEFORE front vowels and U]; VELAR STOPS occur everywhere else. IN GERMAN: the VELAR FRICATIVE [x] occurs only AFTER a 0 u au; PALATAL [~] occurs everywhere else. RESONANTS are devoiced AFTER voiceless obstruents ([IV l} lo} etc.); they are syllabic ([qt ~ 1.] etc.) when a vowel neither precedes nor follows them. TRILLED [r] and [R] occur (in free variation) BEFORE a vowel and also after a lax vowel (except [~]) when no vowel follows; the GLIDE [K] occurs everywhere else. German speakers who trill use either the apical (alveolar, tongue-trilled) [r] OR the uvular [R], but normally not both.

[v]

Cpt]

([~])

[~]

em]

AFFRICATES vel. ved.

NASALS

[f] [3]

GLIDES

[w]

[j]

[r]

TRILLS

FLAP

([AJ)

[1]

[~]

LATERALS

[IT]

[d31

[fs] [dZ]

GROOVED

[s] [z]

([riD

[8] [0]

en]

FRICATIVES vel. ved.

GROOVED

[j]

FLAT

[e]

[t]

alveo- palatal

[d]

alveolar

[I)]

([fiD

([y])

[xl

[g]

[k]

[l]

[R]

[t]

[K]

velar uvular

velarized

POINT OF ARTICULATION

[p]

dental

[b] [f]

vel. ved.

bilabial labiodental

([+D

STOPS

MODE OF ARTICULATION

Table 1. Selected IPA consonant symbols

[1]

[h]

glottal unloealized

t...N Vl

~

~

cI:."'.l

~

~ ~

~ ~

36

Phonetics

J .2.3 Vowels

The third large class of phones are those that always form a syllable peak, the VOWELS (der Vokal, der Selbstlaut), which are therefore by definition SYLLABIC (silbenbildend, silbisch). Any combination of two or more (phonetic) vowels must therefore represent two or more syllables, as e.g., in Laokoon = Ger. [lo'?o:ko?:Jn] or Eng. [lej'okowon]. Note that in North German standard, vowels in succession are separated by a glottal stop (except before [g]), whereas in English, we introduce a very noticeable glide ([j] after spread vowels, [w] after rounded vowels). Since a vowel always connotes syllabicity, the representation of diphthongs by means of two vowel symbols, as is commonly done in phonetic textbooks (e.g., Ger. Zeit = *[tsaIth], Eng. house = *[hous]) should be avoided, since these words clearly consist of single syllables and the second elements of the diphthongs are phonetically not vowels, but nonsyllabic glides (see below). TONGUE POSITION. In describing vowel sounds, which

are

produced

by

changing the configuration of the RESONANCE CHAMBER (der Resonanzraum) within the VOCAL TRACf (das Ansatzrohr) with concomitant voicing and little or no friction, we use the POSITION OF REST (die Ruhelage) of the tongue [g] (as in Eng. but) as the starting point and then describe the movement of the tongue away from this position, either toward the front and higher/lower, toward the back and higher/lower, or centrally higher/lower (see Table 2). LIP POSITION. We must also describe the position of the lips as spread, rounded, or neutral. In English, BACK VOWELS are normally ROUNDED, while FRONT VOWELS are normally SPREAD, whereas the CENTRAL VOWELS are neither, or NEUTRAL, and therefore will be undesignated for lip position.

Speech sounds

37

In German, BACK VOWELS (der Hinterzungenvokal) are normally rounded, CENTRAL ones (der Mittelzungenvokal) are NEUTRAL (neutral) and therefore undesignated for this feature, and the FRONT VOWELS (der Vorderzungenvokal) can be either SPREAD (gespreizt) or ROUNDED (gerundet). Some languages have back spread vowels, or central rounded ones, but these are lacking in German and English (with one exception each, to be noted below). German vowels are more noticeably rounded or spread than the corresponding English vowels. TENSENESS. It will also be necessary to determine whether the muscles of the tongue and vocal tract are TENSE (gespannt) , as in Eng. beet, Ger. bieten 'to offer', or LAX (ungespannt), as in Eng. bit, Ger. bitten 'to request'. In general, German tense vowels display greater tenseness than corresponding English tense vowels, and for these German tense vowels, the speech organs remain in the same position throughout their duration, whereas in English the speech organs tend to glide toward the position of [j] in the case of the higher front vowels and toward [w] in the case of the higher back vowels when stressed (see below). This tendency toward producing offglides is more pronounced in British English and some East Coast varieties of American English than in General American, but it should be avoided in pronouncing German tense vowels. Since the jaw is opened more for the higher lax than for higher tense vowels, some phonetic descriptions speak of 'open' and 'close' vowels, rather than lax and tense. In German and in English, it is understood that higher lax vowels are open, while higher tense vowels are close, therefore we will not use the terms 'open' or 'close'. In the case of low vowels, the tense ones are more open than the corresponding lax ones. In other words, tense vowels are farther removed from the position of rest than corresponding lax ones.

38

Phonetics

LENGTH. We commonly speak of 'long' and 'short' vowels in English and German when, in fact, we are referring to a distinction in vowel quality, as in English 'short i' in hid and 'long i' in hide, or in Ger. 'short i' in Mitte 'middle' and 'long i' in Miete 'rent'. We must learn not to confuse actual phonetic length with a difference in vowel quality. VOWEL LENGTH (die Vokalliinge) is indicated by placing a colon [:] after the vowel in question, e.g., Ger. bieten = [bi:t\Jn]. In general, German vowels are longer or shorter, respectively, than corresponding English vowels. In English, the length of a vowel is largely determined by the nature of the following consonant, i.e., it is longer before voiced consonants than before voiceless ones, e.g., the vowel of had, ladder is longer than that of hat, latter, and those of hid, bead are longer than those of hit, beat. We will not be concerned with vowel length in our transcriptions of English vowels. In German, only tense vowels can be long, and then only when they have strong stress (words pronounced in isolation have a strong stress on the accented syllable; this will be discussed below, §2.2). In other words, in GERMAN, LAX VOWELS ARE ALWAYS SHORT; TENSE VOWELS ARE LONG, EXCEPT WHEN WEAKLY STRESSED. In English, on the other hand, the higher tense vowels normally have an offglide, as indicated above. To give a complete phonetic description of a vowel for our present purposes, then, it will be necessary to indicate (see Table 2): (1) TONGUE HEIGHT: high, mid, low (Vokale hoherer, mittlerer, niedriger Zungenhohe); (2) PART OF THE TONGUE INVOLVED: front, central,

back (Vorder-, Mittel-, Hinterzungenvokale); (3) POSITION OF THE LIPS: spread, rounded, neutral (gespreizt, gerundet, neutral);

Speech sounds

39

(4) TENSENESS: tense (gespannt) or lax (ungespannt);

(5) LENGTH: long (lang) or short (kurz). FRONT SPREAD VOWELS. The lips are SPREAD (more so in German than in English), and the front of the tongue moves up and forward away from the position of rest.

High front spread: tense lax

[i] [I]

The jaw is only slightly opened and the front of the tongue nearly touches the palate, with the muscles of the tongue and speech tract tense, producing the high front spread tense vowel in Eng. beet [bijth], seat [sijth], eke [ijkh], he [hij], replete [li'p!ijth]; Ger. bieten [bi:th~n] 'to offer', wie [vi:] 'how', mir [mi:K] '(to, for) me'. The jaw is opened slightly farther, the front of the tongue is slightly lower, Le., farther from the palate, and the muscles of the tongue and speech tract are relaxed, producing the high front spread lax vowel in Eng. bit [blth], sit [Slth], bid [bId], big [bIg], bib [bIb]; Ger. bitten [blth~n] 'to request', sitzen [zltsgn] 'to sit', schick [Jlkh ] 'stylish'.

Mid front spread: tense [e] lax [e] The jaw is opened farther than for the high vowels and the front of the tongue is about midway between the high position and the position of rest. The muscles of the tongue and speech tract are tense, producing the mid front spread tense vowel in Eng. made [mejd], lay [lej], late [lejth], gaze ljejz], face [fejs];

40

Phonetics

Ger. beten [be:th~n] 'to pray', legen (je:~n] 'to go'.

[le:g~n]

'to lay', gehen

Opening the jaw slightly farther still, with the front of the tongue slightly lower and the muscles of the tongue and speech tract relaxed, we produce the mid front spread lax vowel in Eng. wed [wed], head [hed], let [leth], bell [bel]; Ger. Bett [beth] 'bed', hiitte [heth~] 'would have', Siicke [zekhg] 'sacks'. In German, there is also a lower mid front spread tense vowel [e:], which occurs in the speech of certain, mostly highly educated, speakers of formal North German standard in words like Viiter [fe:thu] 'fathers', giibe fje:ba] 'would give', Sage [ze:g~] 'saw'. It is produced by putting the speech organs in position to pronounce the lax vowel [e], but at the same time tensing the muscles of the tongue and vocal tract. It should be noted that this vowel occurs only when the spelling uses a, which indicates it is actually a spelling pronunciation, and then only when it is stressed and in an open syllable (Le., the syllable ends with this vowel). It is always long. In all cases, the normal mid front spread tense vowel [el may be substituted for this lower variety, i.e., Vater, gabe, Sage may be pronounced [fe:thu], (je:bg], [ze:gg].

Low front spread: lax [re] By opening the jaw wide and pushing the front of the tongue down as far as it will go (so that the apex is actually higher than the front of the tongue and touches the bottom of the lower teeth or the gums just below them), with relaxed muscles, we produce the low front spread lax vowel of Eng. cat [khreth], mad [mred], lamb [lrem], slab [streb]. This vowel is unknown in German (note that Germans have great difficulty differentiating between leather [l£o3'-] and lather [lreo3"]).

Speech sounds

41

BACK ROUNDED VOWELS. The lips are ROUNDED (more so in German than in English), and the back of the tongue moves up and backward away from the position of rest.

High back rounded: tense [u] lax [u] The jaw is only slightly opened and the back of the tongue nearly touches the velum, with the muscles of the tongue and speech tract tense, producing the high back rounded tense vowel in Eng. boot [buwth], suit [suwth ], who [huw], repute [li'pJuwth]; Ger. BujJe [bu:s~] 'penance', Kuh [khu:] 'cow', Buch [bu:x] 'book', nun [nu:n] 'now'. The jaw is opened slightly farther, the back of the tongue is slightly lower, Le., farther from the velum, and the muscles of the tongue and speech tract are relaxed, producing the high back rounded lax vowel in Eng. put [phuth], soot [suth], hood [hud], sugar [Jug~]; Ger. Kuss [khus] 'kiss', Zucker [fSuk~] 'sugar', Lust [lust] 'pleasure', Pfund [Pfunth] 'pound'.

Mid back rounded: tense: [0] lax [3] The jaw is opened farther than for the high vowels and the back of the tongue is about midway between the high position and the position of rest. The muscles of the tongue and speech tract are tense, producing the mid back rounded tense vowel in Eng. mode [mowd], mowed [mowd], low [low], coat [khowth], goes [gowz], toast [thowsth], ghost [gowst]; Ger. boten [bo:th~n] 'offered', logen [lo:g~n] 'lied', so [zo:] 'thus, so', Pfote [pfo:th~] 'paw'.

42

Phonetics

Opening the jaw slightly farther still, with the back of the tongue slightly lower and the muscles of the tongue and speech tract relaxed, we produce the mid back rounded lax vowel in Ger. Gott [g~th] 'God', kommt [kh~mth] 'comes', Socken [z~khgn] 'socks', Koch [k\)x] 'cook'. This vowel is also found in British English hot [h:)th], pot [ph:)th], socks [s:)ks], but NOT in American English, which substitutes [0] or [0] (see below).

Low back rounded: lax [0] By opening the jaw wide and pushing the back of the tongue down as far as it will go (so that the apex is actually higher than the back of the tongue and touches the bottom of the lower front gums), with relaxed muscles, we produce the vowel of Eng. caught [k!'oth], Maud [mod], lawn [Ion], slaw [s}o] , dog [dog]. In some types of Midwest and Southern speech, this vowel is also found as the pronunciation of 'short 0' before voiced consonants, as in hog [hog], closet [ktOZlth], where General American has [0] (see below). This low back rounded vowel is foreign to standard German, although it can be heard in a number of German dialects and in South German regional colloquial speech. FRONT ROUNDED VOWELS. In German, in addition to the front spread vowels, we also find a series of FRONT ROUNDED vowels that are foreign to English and therefore require special attention. It is important to distinguish between the tense and lax vowels of this series, even though it may be difficult for English-speakers to hear the difference at first; compare the importance for a German to learn to hear the difference between leather and lather. It is just as important for English-speakers to learn to hear and reproduce the difference between Hille 'hats' and Hutte 'hut'; Goethe and Gotter 'gods'.

Speech sounds

43

High front rounded: tense [y] lax [v] By configuring the speech organs to pronounce high back rounded tense [u) and holding the lips in that protruded and rounded position while otherwise pronouncing high front spread [i), we produce the high front rounded tense vowel in Ger. Gute [jYith~] 'goodness', Hute [hy:th~) 'hats', Bucher [by:~~] 'books', Fuj3e [fy:s~] 'feet', siifJ [zy:s] 'sweet', Kuhe [Chy:~] 'cows'. Similarly, by preparing to pronounce the high back rounded lax [u] and keeping the lips in the rounded position while attempting to pronounce the high front spread lax [I], we produce the high front rounded lax vowel in Ger. Hutte [hyt\;)] 'hut', Flusse [fJYS~] 'rivers', Kusse [ChyS~] 'kisses'.

Mid front rounded: tense [0] lax: [re] With protruding and rounded lips, as for [0], the other speech organs are put in position to pronounce [e], thereby producing the mid front rounded tense vowel of Ger. tonen [th(lj:n~n] 'to resound', Goethe [j(lj:th~], gewohnen [g~'v(lj:n~n] 'to accustom', romisch ['r(lj:mlf] 'Roman'. Similarly, but substituting lax [~] for tense [0] and lax [e] for tense [e], above, we produce the mid front rounded lax vowel of Ger. Gotter [jreth~] 'gods', Topfe [threPf~] 'pots', Koche [chre~~] 'cooks'. CENTRAL VOWELS. All of the central vowels in English and German are NEUTRAL as to lip position, i.e., the lips are NEITHER ROUNDED NOR SPREAD. These central vowels are

44

Phonetics

formed by raising/lowering the mid section of the tongue (one could also say that both the front and the back of the tongue are raised/lowered simultaneously). High central: lax: [I] This English vowel (not found in German) is encountered only in weakly stressed syllables. It has the approximate tongue height of high front spread lax [I], but is central rather than front. Compare the two vowels of district ['dISUtkth] or distinct [dl'stII)kth], in which the stressed vowel is high front spread lax, while the weakly stressed one is high central lax, as we also find in commitment [kh~'mltmlnt], dividend ['dIvidend], divinity [dt'VInlthi], hostage ['hastld3]. Compare the pronunciation of stressed gist [d3Isth] with weakly stressed just [d3tsth] in a sentence like I just couldn ~t get the gist of it! This vowel does not occur in German.

Mid central: lax Mid central: lax retroflex:

[3] [~]

Again in English, but not in German, we have central vowels with the approximate tongue height of the mid front spread lax [E]. These two vowels, however, are found in both strongly and weakly stressed syllables, as in bird, heard, word, further, which in the so-called r-Iess dialects of some parts of the East and South of the United States and of England are pronounced with the pure mid central lax vowel produced by keeping the tip of the tongue forward and down below the lower teeth and the rest of the tongue approximately flat, i.e., [b3d], [h3d], [w3d], ['f303] (cf. [bEd] bed, [hed] head, [wEd] wed, ['fE03] feather). In the General American speech of most of the United States, however, a mid central lax retroflex vowel [~] is used,

Speech sounds

45

which is produced in the same fashion as [3], but the tongue is retracted with the tip bent up toward the roof of the mouth, as in bird [b.=r-d], heard [h3'd], word [w3-d],jUrther ['f3'o3-] (cf. again [bed] bed, [hEd] head, [wed] wed, ['feo3'] feather). Neither of these mid central vowels occurs in German.

Central lax vowel in the position of rest:

[a]

In ENGLISH, this vowel occurs in both strongly and weakly stressed syllables. By keeping the speech organs relaxed and in a position of rest with the lips and jaws open only enough to allow free passage of the airstream, we produce the central lax vowel in the position of rest [~], which is the sound produced by a sudden expulsion of air from the lungs, as when someone is hit in the stomach (ugh! [?~h]). This is the vowel of American English but [b~th], cut [kh~th], bug [b~g], tough [th~f], love [l~v]. The same vowel occurs in weakly stressed syllables in words like sofa ['sowf~], China ['ITojn~], and commonly in others like supplement ['s~pl~minth], contradictory [khontl~­ 'dIkt3'li]. In GERMAN, this vowel occurs only in weakly stressed syllables and is always spelled with an e, e.g., eine [?ajn~], einem [?ajngm], einen [?ajngn] 'one', Loffel [lrefgl] 'spoon', bessere [besgRg] 'better'. There is considerable variation in the tongue height of this central vowel in German, but it is conventional to ignore this variation, i.e., 'unstressed e' is always transcribed as [~], except before final r, in which case we have a different vowel (see en], below).

46

Phonetics

Low central: tense [0] lax [a] By opening the jaws wide and lowering the center of the tongue as much as possible while tensing the muscles of the tongue and vocal tract (as when a doctor asks a patient to say ah!), we produce the low central tense vowel of General American got [goth], hot [hath], father [fa0'3"] , bother [0003'] closet [k}OZlth], and Northeastern American hog [hog], fog [fog]; Ger. Vater [fo:thR] 'father', baden [bo:dan] 'to bathe', kam [kho:m] 'came', Glas [glo:s] 'glass'. With the jaws slightly less open, the center of the tongue lowered slightly less, and the muscles of the tongue and vocal tract relaxed, we produce the low central lax vowel of German hatte [hatha] 'had', Mann [man] 'man', Katze [khafSa] 'cat', Mappe [mapha ] 'briefcase', ab [?aph] 'off'. Note that this vowel is much shorter than its tense counterpart. The low central lax vowel does not occur in General American speech, although some Northeastern variants have it in words like path [phae] (instead of [phree]). BACK SPREAD VOWELS. By reversing the process described above for pronouncing front rounded vowels, it is possible to produce back spread vowels. This type of vowel is uncommon in English and German, but nevertheless each language can lay claim to one. The speech organs are configured to produce a front spread vowel, but while keeping the lips spread, the corresponding back vowel is pronounced, resulting in a back spread vowel.

Speech sounds

47

Mid back spread: lax ([A]) In certain varieties of BRITISH ENGLISH, the vowel of words like pumps (which in General American is [phgmps]), is pronounced with spread lips and the back of the tongue in approximately the position for pronouncing [~], which results in a mid back spread lax vowel, [phAmps]. It is this pronunciation that German borrowed and adapted to [phremps] Pumps 'pumps (shoes)', substituting the nearest available German vowel. (Had the word been borrowed in its American pronunciation, it would undoubtedly have become *[phamps].)

Low back spread: lax [e] With the back of the tongue slightly lowered to approximately the position for pronouncing [0], with the muscles of the tongue and vocal tract relaxed, but with the lips slightly spread, we produce the low back spread lax vowel found in the final syllable of German einer [?ajnR] 'one', Mutter [muthR] 'mother', Feuer [f~jR] 'fITe', Gartner (jERtnR] 'gardener'. This German vowel occurs only in final, weakly stressed position and is always spelled -er. It is also found in the so-called r-Iess dialects of some parts of the East and South of the United States and of England, but not in General American English.

48

Phonetics

Table 2. Selected IPA vowel symbols

Front Central Back Spread Rounded Spread Rounded tense

[i]

[y]

lax

[I]

[v]

[e] tense Mid (lower tense) [E:] [e:] lax

[f3]

[u]

High

(position of rest) lax

[re]

[u]

[I]

[0] RETROFLEX [3] [3"] [A]

[

~]

[~]

[re]

[a]

[n]

[0]

Low tense

[0]

DIPHTHONGS. Dipththongs are combinations of a vowel and a glide in the same syllable. While it is common in linguistic works to find references to both RISING DIPHTHONGS (glide + vowel, like [je] in Eng. yes, uo:] in Ger. ja) and FALLING DIPHTHONGS (vowel + glide, like [oj] in Eng. my, raj] in Ger. mein), we will use the term DIPHTHONG only to refer to the falling diphthongs, i.e., to a sequence of vowel + glide.

Tense-vowel diphthongs. In ENGLISH, all dipththongs are formed with tense vowels: [oj]: I [oj], my [moj], lie [loj], guy [goj], sigh [soj]; [ow]: how [how], now [now], brown [blown], cow [khow];

Speech sounds

49

[oj]: boy [boj], ploy [ptoj],joil [fojl], hoist [hojsth]. These diphthongs differ from the tense vowels in English by virtue of the fact that in the case of the diphthongs, the glide is always present in standard English pronunciation, including in relatively weakly stressed syllables, e.g., decoy ['dijkhoj], whereas in the case of the tense vowels [i, e, 0, u], the offglide is absent in weakly stressed syllables, e.g., decide [di'sojd]. In other words, the TENSE vowels in English are DIPHTHONGAL only if strongly stressed; cf. constitution [khonstht'thuwftn] vs. constituted [,khonsthtthuthtd].

Lax vowel diphthongs. In GERMAN, all diphthongs are formed with lax vowels: [aj]: Ei [?aj] 'egg', mein [majn] 'my', Saite [zajthg] '(instrument's) string', bayrisch ['bajriJ] 'Bavarian', ey! [?aj] 'oh!', Meier [maJB] 'dairy farmer'; [awl: Tau [thaw] 'dew', automatisch [?awtho'mo:thIf] 'automatic', kauen [khawgn] 'chew'; [:lj]: Eule [?:ljIg] 'owl', Biiuche [f:lj~] 'fire'.

[b~j~g]

'bellies', Feuer

German diphthongs are much shorter than the corresponding English clusters, which is a consequence of the fact that lax vowels in German are always short. Notice the difference between the diphthongs in Eng. house [haws], cowboy ['khowboj] and Ger. Haus [haws], Cowboy ['khawb:lj]. Note also that in German, the glide of the diphthong always belongs to the preceding syllable, e.g., Feier [faj-~] 'celebration', Feuer [f~j-~] 'fire', Pjaue [pfaw-g] 'peacocks', whereas in English, the glide

50

Phonetics

carries over to the following syllable, e.g., fire ['foj3'], foyer ['foj3'], cower ['khow3']. NOTE: In German: LAX vowels are ALWAYS SHORT; TENSE vowels are LONG WHEN STRONGLY STRESSED, otherwise they, too, are short. German tense vowels do not have offglides, i.e. for the entire duration of the vowel, the tongue and lips do not move. Learn to distinguish between tense and lax front rounded vowels, e.g.: Hille

= [hy:th~]

Goethe

=

'hats' BUT

(wj:th~]

BUT

Hillle = [hyth~] 'hut, cabin'; Gotter = [jrethu] 'gods'

Remember: German diphthongs have LAX vowels, whereas in American English, diphthongs have TENSE vowels, i.e., mein = [majn], but Haus = [haws], but Hauser = [h~jzu], but

mine = [mojn], house =[hows], noise = [nojz].

The vowels [re, D, 3, 3' I] occur in ENGLISH, but NOT in GERMAN; the LAX HIGH CENTRAL VOWEL [I] occurs only in unstressed syllables in English; the CENTRAL VOWEL [~] can occur IN STRESSED AS WELL AS UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES IN ENGLISH, but only in UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES in GERMAN; the LAX LOW BACK SPREAD VOWEL [u] occurs only in unstressed syllables in German, as well as British English and some East Coast American. It represents the sound written -er when no vowel follows. In some varieties of British English, a LAX MID BACK SPREAD vowel [A] is pronounced in words like pump = [phAmph]. American English has [ph~mph]. Note further that

Speech sounds

51

British English has the LAX MID BACK ROUNDED vowel [~] in words like hot [h~th], pot [ph~th], fog [f~g]. cog [kh~g], etc., whereas American English has [0], or before voiced sounds [0], Le., [hoth], [photh], [fag] or [fog], [khog] or [khog].

Nasalized vowels: [e], [0], [0] German borrowings from French often contain nasalized vowels. These are pronounced with nasalization by educated speakers, Le., the appropriate vowel is pronounced with the velie open to allow some of the air to pass through the nasal passage, e.g., Terrain [tER'e] 'terrain', Chance ['fos~] 'chance', Balkon [bal'ko] 'balcony'. In colloquial speech these are often pronounced as a lax vowel followed by [I)], Le., [tER'EI)], ['fal)s~ ], [balk'~I)].

1.3 Phonetic reading 1 Pronounce the following items as accurately as you can as they are transcribed. (Do NOT be misled by how you think they ought to be pronounced!) [phaf]

[oas]

[ze:rg]

[dax]

[fal)]

[he:K]

[zakh]

[Raph]

[(>a8]

[d3i:ph]

[VE~]

[ji:p]

[thai]

[?aph]

[Aamma]

[go:th]

[lre:d]

[ftI)g]

[pam]

[RO:th]

[thuwi]

52

Phonetics

[day]

[tJoo:]

[tsuk~]

[thak]

[wI6]

[hER]

[ma:g]

[mEo]

[fi:f]

[1a}al]

[6ruw ]

[hatth~]

[ITaITa]

[buthu]

[kxlnt]

1.4 Phonetic Reading 2-English 1.

[~

f}ij

1) ~

f}oj

1) ~

fJuw

w~ impJlzind, sow h'Y~t khud oej duw?

sEd o~ t]oj, leth~s f}ij! sEd Og fJij, leth~s ijoj! sow oej ijed 6JUw g f}o in

2.

O~

fJuw!]

fog lejn, it lejni6 on Og d3gst, ~ olso on Og ~nd3~st fel~, b~t ijijtli an O~ d3~st, bikhoz oi ~nd3~st stijlz o~ d3~sts ~mblEI~!]

3.

[oel w~z ~ j~1) felow nejmd hoi, huw fel in ~ SPill) in og fol. t\yudgv ben ~ sred 61l), ifijd dojd in o~ SPJIIJ, b~t hij dld1)t, hij dajd in o~ fol!]

Phonetic reading - English

4.

53

[hilz thu o~ IT Ig3' orets nat eni blg3' oren O~ hed ~v ~ veli srpol ph1n, b~t O~ l~mph cretIj lejziz, it IITiZ lajk blejziz, ren oelZ hWel o~ l~b kh~mz In!]

1.5 Phonetic Transcription-English In order to understand the gap between written and spoken language, it is helpful to transcribe one's own speech phonetically. Transcribe the following items as you would normally pronounce them in a formal situation. (If you would pronounce them differently among close friends, give that transcription, too.) sergeant

thirteen

thence

clean

girl

flurry

plumage

jeans

toy

cougar

courage

blue

towel

short

church

house

cheap

battle

column

houses

jeep

pretty

museum

bearded

sugar

cubic

knight

couch

tough

measure

pain

striped

through

where

sweat

learned

thin

thither

sure

our

54

Phonetics

hour

feature

divine

putty

clutch

orchestra

lightly

petty

brakes

character

slightly

pitty

broken

sloppy

cupful

pudding

fractured

slippery

pulley

snack

stuck

hired

cite

enough

knock

coot

sight

cough

word

cute

site

laugh

ford

keep

similar

frugal

forth

cape

closed

fragile

toward

ketch

fringe

assured

curds

catch

fate

azure

whey

scotch

weight

uh-oh

heard

scope

fraught

Phonetic reading - 3

55

1.6 Phonetic reading 3-German and Low German 1. 'Herbsttag' by Rainer Maria Rilke [heR, ?es ?Ist tsajth! deK z~m~ yaK zeK gRO:S! le:kh dajnan fat~ fawf di z~n~n?uRan funt ?awf den iju:Ran las di vlnd~ lOis! b~fi:l den l£tst1). f~y~tJ] f~l tsu zajn! jip ?i:n~n nJx tsyaj Zy:tll~~R~ thO:g~! dRel)~ zi tSUK fJl?enduI) hln funt jo:g~ di letst~ zy:s~ fIn den fye:R~n vajn! veK jetst khajn haws hat, bawt Zl~ khajn~s me:K. veK jetst falajn1st, viKtl l~s laI)~ blajb~n, viKt vaxlJl , le:z~, laI)~ bRi:f~ fI}ajb~n, funt viKthln den ?ale:~n hlnunt he:K ?unRu:I~ vand~n, ven di bleth~ t~ajb~n.] The following poems are in Low German. Can you understand them? (See Clear text on page 138.)

2. 'Min Jehann', by Klaus Groot [?Ik vul, vi ve:Kn n~x klein, d3ahan! do ve:K d~ velt zo gro:th! vi ze:tJ] tup111 ste:n, d3~han, seten 'sat' ve:st n~x, bi no:v~s zo:th? Nawers Soot 'neighbor's pond' tan he:b111 zajl d~ stlla mo:n, vi ze:gIj, yo: he le:p\ segen 'saw' tun sIJakIj, yo: da hlmal ho:x, fun yo: d~ zo:t vul de:ph!]

56

Phonetics

3. 'Oewer de stillen Straaten', by Theodor Storm [{re:v'B d~ stII~n stro:tQ. gajt kJO:K d~ kJ~laj sJax. go:da naxt, din ho:t vII S)O:pql, fun m~KgIj {IS ?o:kIj dax!

din chInt II~t {In d~ ve:gIJ, {un fIk byn ?o:k bi dh. din Z~KglJ (un din Ie:vl). {IS ?aIans fym fun bi:.

n~x

e:nmol Io:th fUS sPJClaj, go:dQ. {o:bQ.t, go:d~ naxt! d~ morn Ji:nt fUp d~ dektj, u:s heKg~t hreit da vaxt!] 1.7 Tips on German spelling and pronunciation German spelling is, on the whole, an excellent guide to pronunciation, provided one understands the system used. In German pronunciation, it is important to distinguish between tense and lax vowels (less accurately called 'long' and 'short' vowels in most beginning textbooks). The spelling system uses the same symbols for each pair of tense vs. lax vowels, e.g., e = both [e] and [e], 0 = both [0] and [~], etc., so the distinction between tense and lax vowels must be made in other ways. German does not have true long (double) consonants within words, but writes double consonants to indicate that the PRECEDING VOWEL IS LAX: Mutter [mut~] 'mother', but mutig [mu:fI~] 'couragious'; Flamme [fJ.am~] 'flame', but Vlame [fJo:m~] 'Fleming'. This system corresponds to the fact that in closed syllables (syllables that end in a consonant), the vowel is lax, as in Mut-ter, Flam-me, but in open syllables (those that end in a vowel), the vowel is tense, as in mu-tig, Via-me. Note that in German, words are hyphenated BEFORE a single consonant, but BETWEEN more than one consonant (including between WRITTEN double consonants). A single con-

Tips on German spelling

57

sonant between vowels always belongs to the syllable that follows it. The writing of single or double consonants is therefore a means to indicate the quality of the preceding vowel (cf. English hatter vs. hater!): kom-men = [kh~m~n], but Ko-ma = [kho:ma]. Note the tense vowels in open syllables in La-o-ko-on = [lal?o:~o?~n], Ko-ni-ge = [ch~;:nig~], but the lax [I] in the closed (unstressed) syllable of Kf/J-nig = [ch~:nI~]; also kos-ten = [kh~st~n], Mun-ze = [mYnts~], with lax vowels before more than one consonant, i.e. in closed syllables. AN IMPORTANT PROVISO: The final consonant of a monosyllabic word that can be inflected (nouns, verbs, determiners. adjective/adverbs) is written with a single letter when the vowel is tense, but with double letters when the vowel is lax, e.g. der Schrot

[J~O:th],

des Schrotes

[J~O:th~S]

'buckshot',

[f~~th~S]

'scrap-iron';

but:

das Schrott

[f~~th], des

Schrottes

also der Weg [ve:kh], des Weges

[ve:g~s]

'path, way',

but:

weg

= [vekh] 'away' (the adverb cannot be inflected).

In other words, the basic rule in German that 'open syllables have tense vowels and closed syllables have lax vowels' is abrogated in the case of monosyllabic words that belong to an inflectional paradigm, e.g., Tag (Tages, Tage), grun (gruner, grune), or gab (gaben) , etc. According to the basic rule, we would expect the forms with one syllable to have a lax vowel (since the syllable ends in a consonant) and those with more than one syllable to have a tense vowel (note that there is only

58

Phonetics

one consonant written between the syllables!). In North German colloquial speech, this is often actually the case (e.g. Tag = [thax], but Tage = [thO:Y~]). In the standard language, however, there is a higher-level rule that requires the vowel of the root syllable to remain either tense or lax throughout the paradigm in question, and since among the nouns and adjective/adverbs the paradigm contains more forms with open syllables (i.e. more forms of more than one syllable) than with closed (i.e. with only one syllable = in nouns, only the nominative and accusative singular), the tense vowel is also used in the few forms with closed syllables. In order to indicate this fact in writing, those monosyllabic forms with a lax vowel are written with a double consonant, e.g., Fall, Kamm, Mann, Gott, dick (with ck =kk), vol!. Note that in the case of the verbs, there are different paradigms for different tenses and moods, e.g., kommen (with a lax vowel)-komm!, but kam (with a tense vowel). For further discussion, see the appropriate morphology sections. Many of the so-called 'little words' (prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions) have lax vowels, but they are written with single consonants because of the closed-syllable rule (there are no inflected forms with more than one syllable): ab, an, in, ob, mit, hin, um, etc.= [?aph, tan, tIn, ?Jp\ mIt\ hIn, tum], but note that those ending in r have a tense vowel, e.g., jilr, vor, her = [fy:K, fO:K, he:K]. In the case of determiners and pronouns that remain monosyllabic when inflected, e.g., der - des - dem den, ich - mich - mir, it should be noted that the ones ending in nasals or r) have tense vowels, e.g.. , der, dem, den, wer, er, mir, wir, = [de:K, de:m, de:n, ve:K, te:K, mi:K, Vi:K,]; those ending in obstruents have lax vowels, e.g.. , das, des, es, ich, dich = [das, dES, lES, lI~, dI~,]. Note also that the inseparable prefixes ending in r also have tense vowels: er-, ver-, zer- = [eK-, feK-, tseK-].

Tips on German spelling

59

NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

1. Before the spelling reform of 1996, German had a spelling rule that said 'never write ss at the end of a word or before a consonant; write jJ instead', e.g., milssen, but mujJ, mujJte; die Passe, des Passes, but der PajJ, even though the vowel is lax in all of these forms. Therefore, when a word displayed jJ in final position or before a consonant, one had to know whether a form with a following vowel (e.g., the plural, or the genitive singular, or the infinitive) was written withjJ or ss in order to determine whether the preceding vowel was tense or lax. Nonnative speakers of German could determine that der FujJ had a tense vowel [fu:s] only if they knew that the genitive was des FujJes [fu:s~s] or that the plural was die FiljJe [fy:s~]. They also knew that der FlujJ had a lax vowel [fJus] because the genitive was des Flusses [fJus~s], the plural was die Flilsse [fJYS~]. Similarly, hajJte (withjJ before a consonant) had a lax vowel [hast~] because it was derived from hassen [has~n]. Students still need to be aware of this rule, since it is used in everything printed in standard German before the spelling reform. Learners of German take heart! The new rule requires that voiceless /s/ always be written ss after a lax vowel, and always jJ after a tense vowel, therefore: der Pass, des Passes, die Passe; milssen, muss, musste; der Fluss, des Flusses, die Flilsse; but der FujJ, des FujJes, die FiljJe; siljJ, siljJer, siljJlich; das FlojJ, des FlojJes, die FlojJe, etc. 2. The addition of inflectional endings (e.g., gen. sg. -s to nouns, or -st, -t to verbs) has no effect on the vowel in the root: des Tag-s [tha:ks], los-t [19>:st]. This means that if the infinitive of a verb has a tense vowel, e.g., geben (je:ron], the vowel in all the PRESENT-TENSE forms will also be tense: du gibst [ji:pst], er gibt [ji:pt], ihr gebt (je:pt]. There are only two verbs that do not follow this rule: nehmen and treten have lax vowels

60

Phonetics

in the 2d and 3d sg. pres. ind.: nimmst, nimmt and trittst, tritt (note that the spellings indicate this change by writing the consonants double in these forms). 3. Because ch can never be doubled, we cannot predict whether the vowel before ch is tense or lax; cf. hoch [ho:x], but Loch [l~x]. In the vast majority of cases the preceding vowel is lax, e.g., Koch, Kiiche, doch, mich, sicher, Woche, Lech, ach, Bach, machen, Frueht, Licht, Ochse, etc., all with lax vowels; but Buch, Tuch, suchen, etc. with tense vowels. Note that wachsen and waschen have a lax vowel in the present tense [vaksen, vaf~n], but in the past tense they have tense vowels wuchs [vu:ks], wusch [vu:f]. Note also essen [1£s~n], but afJ ,..; afJen [10:s ,.., ?o:s~n]; sprechen [Jp~£~~n], but sprach [sp~o:x ,.., sp~o:x~n], etc. (See §3.8). 4. The SPELLING COMBINATION e + rd represents an exception to the general rule; we would expect the vowel to be lax here, since it is followed by more than one consonant, but the e is tense before the SPELLING rd, e.g., Erde = [?e:Kd~], h Pferd = [pfe:I~t ]. 5. The SPELLING COMBINATION chs (in which the s always appears together with the ch in a given word) is pronounced [ks], e.g., wachsen = [vaks~n], Ochse = [?~ks~]. (But note that when the -s is added as an inflectional ending to a word ending in ch, the ch continues to be pronounced as a fricative: das Buch [bu:x], des Buchs [bu:xs]. 6. In German, all voiced obstruents in final position or before a voiceless obstruent become devoiced, so that [b, d, g, v, z] become [p, t, k, f, s], but the spelling of the obstruent stays the same: die Tage [thO:g~], but der Tag [tho:kh]; tagen [tho:g~n], but tagt [tho:kt

Phonetic transcription-German

61

1.8 Phonetic Transcription -German Transcribe the following items as they should be pronounced:

deutsch kaufen borgen vor Abkommen Mutter NUrnberg Ankunft Hamburg nehmen glUhen suchen FUchse Apfel Wolfe Madchen haufig Ubung Journalist Kuba chemisch MUnchen Ober sitzen Orchester lost zu

zerreiBen ehemalige mehrere Hand Handschuh quetschen bequem mitteilen miteilen Buch BUcher Loch Locher Aue Beute StraBe Pass Passe anmaBen Stadt Wamung Erde Grenze Gipfel und zum

zur schmal HUte HUtte Sense Pfeile Feile reiten reizen reisen reiBen Saite weg Weg zwischen Konig Konige koniglich Wasser Zapfchen drucken drticken pflticken Mauschen Firma rot beginnen

Schwamm Schwan gerungen Runen Ruinen FuB Fluss Kuss GruB Russ raten Riitsel Mappe Akten Tasche Elisabeth Theater vollen Fohlen vollig fUllen Flasche Suche Tuchs Fuchs

62

Phonetics

1.9 Phonetic Reading 4-German (The symbols

3 2 1

indicate pitch levels, ,,,,, stress, and

~

f ~ pitch change at

the end of an utterance, Le., of a breath-group; see §2.5. For the present, simply breathe only at a break indicated by an arrow and ignore the pitches and stresses.)

From'Der Wolf und die sieben Gei6lein' ['2?es 3v6:K ?ajnmaI2~2?ajn~ 3?alt\;} 2gajs~3di hath~2-+3zi:b~n jung~ 2gajslajn2-+2runth hath~ zi 3Ii:ph2-+ 2w1 ?ajng 3mOthn ?Irg 2chindn lli:ph hatht ~ 3?ajngs 2th6ggs2-+2v3Ith~ zl in den 3valth jegn2-+2runth 3futhn holgn l ~3do: 2r1:f zi 2-+3?aJg 2zibgn heK lbaj2 vII tin den Ivalthl ~3zajth ?auf ?3jrn 2huth2 -+2foK dem 3v6lfl ~ 2vEn ?eK her3ajn kh:'mt2-.3f(ist teK 21:,jx l1alg2-+2mlth 3hawth mnth 2h6:K 1 ~ 2dCK 3b6:zgvixth2~2fcK3stElth zix ?3ft2-+2?ab"e lan zajn"e 3rawgn 2stimg2-+ 2?Unth lan zajnen 3syartsgn 2fU:sgn2-+2veKdgth tiK tin 3gla jx leK2chEn~nI~ -+2 runt

3spr6:x2~

3li:bg

2chjndn2~2?ix

2?ES daw~Kthg 3n ixt 2Iang~2-.2zo 3kJ5Pfthg jemanth tan deK 2hawsthtlK2-.2?unth 3rI:f-.2maxt3?awf2-.2?iK 3li:bgn 2chfndn2~2?3jrg 3mOthn fist 2d6: 2-+2runth hath 3jedgm f~n 2?6jx2-+2?E:fvas 3mfthg~broxtI~2?abn di 3gaisn~in2-+2h6:Kthgn2-.2?an deK 3raw~n 2stim~2

-+2das ?E:S deK 3vSlf VUK I~2viK maxgn 3nixt 2?awf2-.3ri:f~nzIt ~3dii: bist runzgrg 2muthn nixt2-+3dI1 hath tajng 2fajng2-.2?unth 3Ii:phIIX~ 2stfmg2-+2?obn 3dajng stIm~ lIst 2raw 1 ~3dii: bist der 2vSlf ~3do: ging deK v~lf 2f6rth2 -+2fsu ?ajngm 3krE:mn2-+2?unt 3khawfth~ zIx ?ajn 2grosgs sttikh llqajdg 1 ~ 3d!: 216:s leK2-+21unth maxtg zajng 3stlmg 2fajn 1 ~ 3dan kom ?eK tSu2rUkh2 -. 3kJ5Pfthg tan deK 2thU:ff2-.2?unth 3rI:f2-.2maxt 3?awf liK II:bgn 2chfndn 1 ~2?~jrg 3mOth~ lIst 2dd: 2 -+2?Unt hath 3je:dgm f~n 2?Sjx2-.2?E:thvas 3mithg~braxtl ~2?ubn deK 3vSlf2-.+2hathg zajng 3syariS~ 2Pfo:thg2-.+2?In das 3fEnstgr gg2le:gth1 ~3das 2s0g n di

lchfnd~r2-+2?unth

3r i:fgn2-+2vIK

max~n

3n1xt

Phonetic reading 5-German 2?awfl ~ 3?Onz~r~

2muth~2-.2hath

3kajnen

2syarts~n

63

lfllis 2-.2wi 3du: 1 ~

3du1 bIst deK 2y 61f1 ~]

1.10 Phonetic reading 5-German From Grimmelshausen's Simplizius Simplizissimus. (For a translation of the material in the Upper Hessian dialect, see the Clear text, p. 149.)

[2?eK

b~3g6:pt~ mI~2

-. 2mIt deK

3hErlI~st~n

dIgni2the:t2 --+ 2Z0

ZI~

h 3ni~t a 21ajn baj zajn~ Ih6:fbalt UlJ2 --+ 2z3nd~n 3?awx ?In deK 2ganfs~n IYelt b~fanth2 -+ 3ne:mlI~2 -+ 2mI t d~m 3hfrth~n?amthl ~ 2?eK

feKtrawth~

2tsi:g~n2 ?I~

miK 3?e:KstlI~ zajn~ 2z6j2 --+ 3tsyajt\lns zajn~ --+ 2mnt tsu3lEtSth2 -. 2zajn~ 3gants~ 2heKt 1f6:£2 --+ 2das

ZElbig~

3hy:th~n2

-+3Yajd~n2

-+ 2?unt feKmIt\:,lst majn~ 2vEl~~ 3kJaIJ2 -+ 3?o:n~2das2 --+ 2y1 3ftfo.:bo 2fr3.jbath2 --+ 2di 3Jo.:f unt 21em-e (In ?olr6:bio2 --+ 3f£t maxth2 --+ 2foK d~m 3v51f b~2fYts~n z31th~1 ~ 3d6:mols2 --+ 3g1aj~~th~ ?I~ vol dem 2d6:Vlthl ~ 2?awse das 3je:ne2 -.2?anftat deK 3zakp.pajf~2 -+ 3nu:I~ h (ajn~ 2harf~ hat\)2 --+ 2YEl~~s 3k ajn 2fJIm~ lanfaIJ2 -+2 z3nden ?ajn 3zakp.pajfan2 -+

3gu.:th 2?6:mtn fyK mI~ YOK 2 -+ 2das ?I~ n3x mIt del! 3tsajth2 -+ 2(ajn 3vElthb~rymth~ 2man YeKd~n z~lth~l ~ 2den 3ro:mulus unt 2re:mus2 -+ 2zInt 3z£lpsth 2hfrth~n g~vez~nl ~ 3fparthokhus2 -+ 2foK YEI~~m

di

Imaxth2 -+ 2Z0 3ho:x ?ent2zEts~th2-+ 31i:smo?£1 2z6:fi: 2 -+ 2?ajn 3phErzIJ~ 2ch~:nI~2

3ganfs~ 2r~:mIJg

2VOK ?ajn 3hfrth1 ~

2das 3fi: g~2hy:t\Jth2 h h2 --+ 2?alzo das 3fi:lo deK 2jU:t -+ 2?In 3Yl:t o 2m6:ZIS2 --+ 3trEflI~ 2v6:l f3n deK zax red~th2 -+ 2VEn ?eK 3z6:xth2 -+ 2das 3hfrth~n?amth2 -+ 2zaj ?ajn~ 3f6:KbgrajthulJ 2 -+ 2unth 3?anfalJ tsum reji2mEnthl ~ --+2hat ?In zajne

3ju:g~nth2--+ 3?e:bgn2me:SI~2 -+

64

Phonetics

di bEli2kh6:za2 -+ 2unth martsi 37o:lio 7In2.¢:ni02 -+ 3?e:Kstll~ 7awf deK 2jakth2 -+ 2g~37y:pth 7unt 27anggfyKt veKd~n2 -+ 37arz6: 2 -+ 2z3l man 7awx 3di: jenig~n2 -+ 2Z0 tsum reji3mtnth 2dEn

3ghij~vl

ggtsog~n z3l~n veKd~n2

--.. 3e:Kstll~2 -+ 27in dem 3li:pll~gn2 -+ h 27unt 3fr6jntli~gn 2hirt gn?amth ?anlajthgn 1 ~ 2vel~gs 27algs majn 2kQ6:n2 -+3v6l feK2ftand~n hobgn mus 2 -+ 2mnt miK bis 7awf 3di:zg 2ftunth2 -+ 3khajn~ gg2r lI)g IhSfnuI) 2 -+ 2fsu 3chYnftigR maxthl ~ 270bR 7In3desgn vldR tsu majnR 2he:Kt tsu kh3mgn2 -+ 2Z0 3v isgth2 -+ 2das 7I~ den 3v5lf 27ebgnzoVenI~ lkhanthg2 -+ 27als majng 3ronvls~nhajt 2z£lpsthl ~ 3de:ro2ve:ggn2 -+ 2vOK majn 3kQo:n2-+ 2mlt zajnR 7instruk3iSi6:n2 -+ 3desto 2ijajsIgR1i 27eK 2h£rll~khajt

3Z 0: xtg 2

-+

3bu.:p2 -+ 3bis 2fJa:sI~1 ~ 2100 di 3ffi:f nIt ts~ 2wi:t f3n ~nDI)R lafgn2 -+ 2un fpIl 3wokR uf dR 2zoktJq>ojfg 2 -+ 2dos dR 3wSlf nIt kh3m2 -+ 2un 3f6:do dow l i 2den he IS ~ Iftlm2 -+ 2un 3di:p2 -+ 2dR 3menfo un 2fi:o frlst2 -+2un WEn dow OWR 3f6:B'lEsi blst2 -+ 2z6 wil 3z5l~R 2fojB'banI~tR

2o:rowmgl i h 27I~ 37antvort gt g2 -+ 2mI t 3glaj~R 2hSltzelI~khajth2 -+ 3kQo:no2 -+ 3zfi:x mir ~a:2 -+ 2woj dR wolf 3zojgt l i oj~

diB' dg

3bOg~1

h

2oj~

hun n~x 31C'a:n 2w3lf g~lzi:nl i 36: 2 -+ 2dow 3gr6:bR 2e :zglkhop2 -+ 2rep]i3fsl:B't feB' hln2vi:dR 2 -+ 2dow 3bl6.jwgst2 -+ 2dajn 3le:wgloI) g 2nor l ~ 3gdjt moj~ 2wunR2 -+ 3was ows 3diK w£rg wirt l ~ 2bist fun 3zft: g 2grusR Id£lp~12 -+ 2un 3wdjst n~x 2n it2 -+ 2WOS dR 33 wSlf2 -+ 2fir g 3fdjKfojsigR 2ftlm lsI

~

Phonetic reading 5-German

65

3me :K ?Unth~2vajzuIJ~n2 -+ 2?Unth vurd~ fsu 31etst 2mnvIII~2 --+ 2mos~n eK mIt ?ajn~m g~3brYm~1 2fSrtJIIJ 2 --+ 2vajl eK ZI~ b~3dYIJkh~n 11s2 --+ 2majn 3gro:b~ feK 2Jtanth2 --+ 2c\~~nth~ 2?eK goph miK

n~x

zajn~ zup3tl:1~n ?unth~2vajzuIJ~n nI~t Ifas~nl ~]

Chapter 2 Phonemics So far, we have been dealing with the phonetic 'raw materials' of German. This is very necessary for a foreigner learning the language. However, a native speaker is usually not aware of finer phonetic differences, but rather pays attention only to distinctive phonological units called phonemes. Each language has its own set of phonemes, and we will now attempt to determine those of German. In establishing phonemes, we ignore all phonetic differences that are either predictable or in free variation with each other, e.g., [k] and [c] or [kh] and [k]. In other words, we are looking for those phonetic features which differentiate one phoneme (distinctive sound unit) from another. 2.1 Phonemic contrasts (consonants) The pairs of German consonants given on page 67 represent sounds that are closely related phonetically and therefore mayor may not be phonemically distinct. To determine a possible phonemic contrast, select from the list on page 68 a minimal pair that represents a difference in meaning in each position called for: initial, medial, and final position, as is shown for the pair of phones [m : n]. If no minimal pair can be found for a certain position, write 'None' in the appropriate space. Remember: We are concerned here only with pronunciation; spelling is entirely irrelevant, except that it is usually a good indication of the standard pronunciation, provided we know the rules. If you are not sure of the correct pronunciation of an item, check with Siebs or a good bilingual dictionary, such as Cassel's or Langenscheidt's. Note that in a minimal pair, all phones must be identical except for the ones under immediate consideration, and there must be a difference in

68

Phonemics

meaning between the two words. If you are not certain of the meaning of a word, look it up! After you have found a minimal pair for as many pairs of phones and positions as you can, answer the following questions: For those instances in which you have written 'None': (1) Can you explain, on the basis of your knowledge of the rules of German pronunciation, why we should, or should not, expect to find a contrast here? (2) For which pairs of consonants were you unable to find a minimal pair in any position? What does this fact imply? (3) Does the absence of a minimal pair always indicate a lack of contrast between the sounds in question (Le., that a German-speaker cannot hear the difference)?

Phonemic contrasts (consonants) INITIAL

MEDIAL

69

FINAL

[p: b]

[t : d] [k: g] [f: v]

[8 : z] [m: n] [n : 1)] [r : 1] [r :R] [r : K] [R: K]

[k : k h] [kh : ch ] [g : j] [g : j] [8 : J] [J: 3] [k: x] [k: ~] [g : x] [g : ~] [x : ~]

[Pf: p] [Pf: f] [ts : t] [fs : s]

Miete : Niete

kiimmen : kennen

wem : wen

70

Phonemics

ach Arger Bache Backe backen Bogenlinie Bojenlinie brauchen Buch Bug Chemie Deich ehrende elende Erker Falter Falzer fauchen Fee feil Frauchen gar Garten hallen harren hasch (ihn)!

hass (ihn)! hell Herr hoffen Hopfen ich Jahr Jour kammen karg Karten kennen knall! knarr! kriechen kriegen Leder leid leiden leiten Lob Lowe Masche Masse Meer Mehl

Miete Mowe Niete packen Panne Pfanne Pfeil Preis Quabbe quaken Quappe rang rann rechen recken Reeder reichen reisen reiBen reizen Ritt Ritz Rochen Roggen Rumpf Saison

Schecks SchluB Schur Schuss Schutt Schutz sechs seit Sex singen sinnen stopfen stoppen Strich Strick Stump Stumpf Teich Tier Tuff Tupf Weh wem wen Zeit Zipfel

Phonemic contrasts (consonants) 71 TABLE 3.

Consonant phonemes of German POINT OF ARTICULATION

apieodorsal

dorsal unloealized

labial

apical

vel.

/pl

It/

/k/

ved.

fbI

Idl

Igl

FRICATIVESvel.

IfI

lsI

lsI

vcd.

Ivl

Izi

IiI

Iml

Inl

MODE OF ARTICULATION

STOPS

NASALS LATERALS

/11

TRILLS

Ir

-

Ixl

/hi

rl

The labial phonemes Ipl, Ibl, IfI, lvi, Iml are those formed by involving the lips, whether they are bilabial or labiodental. The apical phonemes It!, Idl, lsi, Izl, In!, Ill, Irl are those formed by involving the tip of the tongue (apex), whether they are alveolar or dental. The apico-dorsal phonemes lsi, IiI are those formed with the apex and the dorsum simultaneously. Note that the symbols are different from those used in phonetics. The dorsal phonemes Ik/, Igl, lxi, Irl are those formed with the dorsum, whether they are palatal, velar, or uvular. Therefore, /k/ = [c-k] , Ig/ = [j-g], Ixl = [~-x], Irl = [R-r-K],

72

Phonemics

according to the rules you have learned for the distribution of these allophones (see Table 1, above). PREDICTABLE VARIANTS OR ALLOPHONES OF THE CONSONANTALPHONEMES:

h h VOICELESS STOPS are aspirated, Le., Ip, t, k/ = [ph, t , c h k ] before vowels EXCEPT when the voiceless stop itself is preceded by another obstruent, e.g., optik I~ptlk/ = [~ptlkh]; in final position, voiceless stops may be aspirated or not (free variation; see Table 1). RESONANTS are devoiced AFTER voiceless obstruents ([rp. ([~ ~], etc.) when a vowel neither precedes nor follows them (see Table 1).

I}], etc.); they are syllabic

TRILLED [r] and [R] occur (in free variation) BEFORE a vowel and also after a lax vowel (except [a]) when no vowel follows; the GLIDE [K] occurs everywhere else (see Table 1), except that I-ar/ [-~] when no vowel follows.

=

The VELAR NASAL [1)] is analyzed as Ingl (it is of long duration and never allows tense vowels before it); but the cluster [1)k] is analyzed as Inkl, e.g., [baI]k] = !bank!; SYLLABIC [~, ~, Ij] are always (assimilated) allophones of Inl, e.g., [haplll] = /hapanl Happen 'morsel', [hatQ.] = /hat~nl hatten, [hakIj] = /hakanl hacken. The BILABIAL GLIDE [w] and the PALATAL GLIDE [j] ARE NOT PHONEMIC, but allophones of the vowel phonemes luI and

Iii, respectively (see Table 4). The GLOTTAL STOP [?] IS NOT PHONEMIC, since its occurrence is always predictable (between open juncture and a vowel).

Phonemic contrasts (consonants) 73 NOTE FURTHER: We will consider the affricates in German to be clusters of phonemes (stop+fricative), e.g., /pf/, Itsl, Itsl, Idz/, therefore there are no affricate phonemes.

2.2 Phonemic contrast (stressed vowels) From the list that follows, enter minimal pairs for any phonemic contrasts between the following sets of vowels in stressed position. [~ I u] [u: I y:] [u I y] [0: 10:] [~ Ire] [y: 10:] [y Ire]

[i: I I] [e: 1£] [a: I a] [0: I~] [u: I u] [y: I y] [0: I re] [i: Ie:] [I IE] [e: I a:] [a I E] [a: 10:] [a 1 ~] [0: I u:]

Beet beten Bett bieten bitten BowIe Buhle dorre Durst Dtirre

raw Iaj] raj J ~j] [~j law]

[e: 1 e:] [E: IE]

falle falle fUhlen ftillen gabe Gabel gebe hole Hohle hold

Holle Holle Huld Kahn kame Kamm Kamme komm lahm Lehm

Mutter MUtter rauhe Reue Reihe Saale schon schon seIber Silber

74

Phonemics

Sohle Sohne Stihne

Stuhle Sttihle Stulle

Staat Stab Stadt

What is the nature of the contrast represented by each of the first seven pairs? Table 4: Vowel Phonemes of German Front Central Spread Rounded

Back Rounded

tense

IiI

lui

luI

lax

III

101

luI

101

101

151

I~I

High

tense lei Mid(lower tense) (/0/) lax lei Position of rest

lal

lax

Ia!

tense

/0/

Low

NOTE: Each TENSE vowel phoneme has four allophones, e.g.,

IiI = [ti:] initially when strongly stressed, [til initially when not strongly stressed, [i:] noninitially when strongly stressed, but [i], when not. LAX vowels are always short: III = [tIl initially, [I] noninitially. German tense vowels do not have offglides, but for the entire duration of the vowel, the tongue and lips do not move.

Suprasegmental phonemes 75

Learn to distinguish between tense and lax front rounded vowels, e.g.:

Hate Goethe

= =

/hlit~1 'hats' BUT Ig6t~1 BUT

Hatte = /h6t~1 'hut'; Gotter = Ig5t~rl 'gods'

NOTE that there are no glide phonemes in German. The phonemes (unaccented) IiI and luI have nonsyllabic allophones, U] and [w], which occur whenever an (accented) vowel immediately follows IiI, as inja lidl = fjd:] 'yes',je liel = lie:] 'ever', jucken liukanl = [jukhan] 'itch'; or when IiI or lui are preceded by an accented lax vowel (before IiI, the possibilities are lal, 161, or lui; before luI only la/):

mein Hauser pfui!

Haus

= = = =

Imainl /h6izarl /pfui/ /hauzl

=

[majn], [h6jzu], [PfUj].

=

[haws],

(The syllable-bearing vowel carries the root accent, which will be discussed later.) NOTE that the vowel [u] is the phonetic realization of the phoneme-cluster l:Jrl when no vowel follows. Therefore [h6jzu] = /h6iz~r/, etc.

2.3 The segmental phonemes and allophones of German Obstruents:

fbi = [b], [p], [ph] Idl = [d], [t], [th] Igl = [j], [g], [k], [kh],

IfI

=

[f]

lsI = [s] lsi = [f]

Ixl = [x],

[~]

/hI = [h]

[~]

76

Phonemics

Ivl =[v], [f] Izl = [z], [s] IiI = [3], [1] Note that /g/ has the allophone [~] in the suffix /-ig/ when final, e.g., Konig =/konig/ = [ch~:nI~].

Resonants:

Iml

=

[m], [qI]

Inl = [n], [I}],

[~],

[qt], [1)],

[til

III

=

Irl

= [r], [r], [R], [~], [K], [~]

[1],

f1], [1,]

Vowels: All vowels have an allophone preceded by [f] after open juncture, e.g., 1+01 = [70].

Iii

= [?i], [fi:], [i], [j],

fJo ]

luI = [fU], [fU:], [u], [w], [\Y] All tense vowels have an additional long allophone when strongly stressed, e.g., 1°6/ = [6:] or [0:]. (The 'strange vowel' 101 occurs with strong stress only, i.e., with syntactic accent, e.g., til = [e:].or [e:]. It can always be replaced by leI.)

r

2.4 Phonemic transcription. Transcribe the following using the appropriate phonemes: Then give a phonemic transcription of the items in 1.8 Phonetic transcription.

Segmental phonemes and allophones 77

1. [Pfff~lIIJ] 2. [fax] 3. [mYn~~n] 4. [bRawthpho:K] 5. [ts6jkh ] [f~y:lIl)]

6.

7. [thungl] 8. [?al)khl1]

9.

[?ankh~mgn]

10. 11. 12. 13.

[hajs] [kyolithe:th]

[fy:sg] [ijYSg]

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

[ij~:s~]

[fJresg] [fUK~t]

[bRaWXgn] [f~aw~In]

[chy:g] [li:ph] [ze:lg] [?enduI)gn] [t~6jmgn]

[fu:phlodg] 25. [Ju:platl-e] 26. [?ajnI~khajth]

2.5 Suprasegmental phonemes If we consider the difference between the following two English sentences: (1) A black board is not necessarily a blackboard. /g+oblrek+ob6rd--+fz+ondt+nEsIoserIli~g+oblrek+b6rd~/ (2) A blackboard is not necessarily a black board. jg+oblrek+b6rd ~f z+On6t+n£s IOselIli ~ g+Oblrek+Ob6rd ~ j, native speakers have no trouble distinguishing between them, since they differ distinctively in STRESS and PITCH, which are part of the SUPRASEGMENTAL system of the language. You will note that IOblrek+ob6rdl has two strong stresses (indicated by the two syntactic accents 1°/), whereas IOblrek+b6rdl has only one (on the first syllable). You will also note that the second syllable of IOblrek+ob6rdl has a different pitch level from the first syllable, and like the first syllable also displays a strong stress, whereas the second syllable of IObhik+b6rdl has the same pitch

78

Phonemics

as the first syllable and is not strongly stressed. Fortunately for the majority of American speakers, the system of suprasegmentals for North German standard speech is very much the same as in General American. We will now describe the various phonemes in the suprasegmental system of German. (1) / // 'ROOT ACCENT' occurs on the syllable within a (native or loan-) word that carries the lexical meaning, e.g., Rose /+r6z':J+/, Roschen /+r5z+xfn+/, sagen /+zoggn+/, sagte /+zogtg+/, gelaufen /+gg+hiufgn+/. (Note that so-called 'heavy affixes' are actually BOUND ROOTS and therefore have ROOT ACCENT and are preceded by OPEN JUNCTURE; cf. the second syllable of Ros-chen, above, and see the listing of bound roots (§3.2). Syllables with only a root accent (i.e., without a syntactic accent in addition) have a phonetic tertiary stress ['], unless that syllable immediately precedes one with a strong stress (primary [/] or secondary [A], see below), in which case the root accent will have only weak stress [ ].) (2) /+/ 'OPEN JUNCTURE' occurs before every stem and before every root (stressed syllable within a word; on the terms stem and root, see §3.1), therefore: INITIAL POSITION

=the position AFTER open juncture, e.g.,

acht /+axt/ = [?axt ]; geachtet I +g':J+axtgtl = [gg?axt':Jth]; veriichtlich /+fer+£xt+lfx/ = [feK?£~tII~]. h

FINAL POSITION = the position BEFORE open juncture, e.g., Hand /hand+/ = [hanf], handlich /hand+lfx+/ = [hantII~], eigenhiindig /aiggn+h£ndIg+/ = [?ajggnh£ndI~].

Suprasegmental phonemes

79

the position with no open juncture before or after it, e.g. the b of Gabe /+g6b~+/ = [g6:b~]. MEDIAL POSITION =

(3) /0/ 'SYNTACTIC ACCENT' is a means of indicating which words in an utterance are new and significant, or which words the speaker wishes to emphasize. Syntactic accent is normally realized as a combination of STRESS and PITCH in that each syllable with syntactic accent will display a significant pitch change and increased stress, as in the following patterns. There is at least one, but no more than three, syntactic accents in any complete utterance (i.e., 'between terminals').

Stress: There are four degrees of phonetic stress: primary ["], secondary [A], tertiary ['], and weak [ ]. Normally, the LAST SYNTACTIC ACCENT in an utterance (and this includes a single one in an utterance) has primary stress ["]; the FIRST OF MORE THAN ONE SYNTACTIC ACCENTS in an utterance has secondary stress [A]; the MIDDLE ONE OF THREE SYNTACTIC ACCENTS in an utterance has tertiary stress (']. Only primary and secondary stresses are considered 'strong stresses'. Root syllables without syntactic accent normally have tertiary stress, except immediately before a syllable with strong (primary or secondary) stress, in which case they have weak stress. Pitch: EACH SYNTACTIC ACCENT normally displays a SIGNIFICANT PITCH CHANGE. There are three relative pitches for any given speaker's voice: HIGHER, NEUTRAL, and LOWER, in other words, the different pitches apply equally to a soprano as well as to a bass voice. Unlike music, phonetic pitch is only relative. The basic pitch of the voice is designated as neutral = [2] and any rise is designated as [3], a lowering as [1], no matter what the degree of the change. In emotional speech, the amount of change (both up or down) is much greater than in calm speech. Utterances begin at the neutral level [2], unless the first syllable has syntactic accent. The pitch of the FIRST SYLLABLE

80

Phonemics

WITH SYNTACTIC ACCENT is normally RAISED [3], the SECOND one is NEUTRAL [2], and the THIRD is LOW [1]. In certain situa-

tions, the order may be reversed, so that the FIRST is [1], the SECOND is [2], and the THIRD is [3]. There is therefore a great deal of variation possible in the actual realization of utterances. The resulting patterns are:

lch bin sicher. lix+bfn+ozfxgr~/

[2I~

bIn

3zf~Ul~]

[2I~

(or)

bIn

Izf~uI~]

So etwas sagt man nicht. /z6+et+vas+ozakt+man+onfxt~/

[2Z0+Et+vas+3zakt+man+2nfxt 1 ~ ] [2z0+Et+vas+ lzakt+man+ 2nfxt 1 ~]

Wer hat das gesagt? o

1 ver+hath + das+gg+ zagt ~I o

0

[3ver+hath+2das+g~+lz6gtl~]

[Iver+hath+2das+g~+3z6gtl~]

Note that there is always an open juncture between any two syntactic accents within an utterance. Also, either pitch or stress alone is capable of indicating the placement of a syntactic accent within an utterance, e.g., both [3du: 2bist In£th2~] and [2du: 2blst 2n£th2~]

=

1+ du+ bfst+onEt~/. o

If both all the pitches and all the stresses remain identical, then the listener hears a sequence of disjointed utterances, e.g.,

Suprasegmental phonemes

81

(4) /~/ 'SUSTAINING TERMINAL' maintains a level pitch and indicates that the speaker is not finished, that there is more to come, e.g., in the first utterance of: /0 f6ter+unt+ °zan~zfnt+ °gestern+ °aus+ge+gangen ~ / [3fo:te mnt 2zo:n2-+2zInt 3gEst~m 2?awsg~gaIJ~nl ~] Vater und Sohn sind gestern ausgegangen. (5) / ~/ 'FAL~ING TERMINAL' is realized as a fall in pitch indicating that the speaker is finished for the moment, as in the second utterance of the example in (4) above. After utterances with an interrogative (or 'question-word'), the speaker expects a reply, as in: fve:n+hasJ+du+gg+oze:an~/

[3ve:n hast dil g~2ze:~nl ~ ]

Wen hast du gesehen? (6) / t/ 'RISING TERMINAL' is realized as a rise in pitch and indicates that the speaker is finished and expects a 'yes or no' reply: /der+°f6ter+unt+zajn+°zan t / [ 2d~r+3foter+unt+zajn+ 2zon3 i] Der Vater und sein Sohn?

Repetition of a question with an interrogative (as in disbelief) ends in a rising terminal: fve:n+hasJ+du+gg+ze:gn t]/ eve:n hast dil g~ze:~n3i] Wen hast du gesehen? Note that these three terminals are a type of 'juncture', so it is not necessary to indicate open juncture /+/ where these termi-

82

Phonemics

nals occur. They have the same effect as open juncture on preceding and following phonemes. Also note that everything between arrows is considered an 'utterance' and breathing occurs only when an arrow appears. Normally, the subject and predicate of a 'sentence' are two separate 'utterances', as in (a) below. Consider the nuances that arise from the placement of suprasegmental phonemes in the following utterances, which would be written as the same 'sentence' in normal German orthography: Ein Gilterzug mit neuen Autos ist gestern Abend aus Wolfsburg angekommen. (a) A straightforward statement with nothing having been previously mentioned: /ain+OgUt~r+tsug+mit+on6i~n+oautos--+ist+gEst~m+o6b~nd+ aus+ovolfs+b6rg+oan+ga+k6m~n~/

[2a jn 3jy1thutsukh mIt 2n~j~n lawthos2 --+ 2l sthjEsten aws 2v~lfsburkh lang~kh~m~nl ~]

3a.b~nth

(b) With nothing having been previously mentioned, but with emphasis on neuen Autos: /ain+OgUtar+tsug~mft+on6i~n+oautos ~fst+g£stam+odband ~ aus+ov61fs+b6rg+oan+ga+k6man~/

[2a jn 3j y1thutsukh ~mlt 3n5j~n 2awthos2--+2l:sth jEstun aws 2v~lfsburkh lang~kh~m~nl!]

30~nth

(c) Everything has been mentioned before, but now with emphasis on neuen and angekommen: /ain+gUtar+tsug+mft+on6ian+autos ~ist+gEstam+6bgnd+ aus+v61fs+b6rg+oan+gg+k6mgn~/

[2a jn 2j)1:hutsUkh mIt 3n6j~n awthos2--+ 2Isth jEstun aws v~lfsburkh 3ang~kh~m~nI!

ob~nth

Phonemic reading 3-German

83

In a phonetic transcription, it is necessary to indicate the pitch at the beginning of the utterance, before each syllable with syntactic accent, and at the end of the utterance.. The initial pitch is normally neutral [2], unless the first syllable has syntactic accent, in which case it will be raised [3] or lowered P].. The end pitch is dependent on the nature of the terminal: before [--+] it is normally [2]; before [~], normally [1]; before [1], normally [3] . (See Phonemic readings, §§2.. 7-2.. 9.. ) 2.6 Phonemes and German orthography It is sometimes maintained that German spelling is 'phonetic', but if we glance at a phonetic transcription like that in §1 . 9, it is obvious that there is an 'overkill' in the designation of minute details that native German speakers are not consciously aware of, although foreign students of the language need to know them.. When we look at a phonemic transcription such as that in §2.. 7, we have all the information we need to understand and to reproduce the text. It is obvious that this type of transcription is much closer to the German writing system, since we can establish an almost one-to-one correspondence between the features of the two systems. You will notice that German spelling is often reflective of word structure.. GERMAN DISPLAYS A CONTRAST BETWEEN TENSE AND LAX VOWELS. German marks the distinction in general by

writing double consonants (or more than one different consonant) after lax vowels and single consonants after tense ones.. Tenseness is also sometimes redundantly indicated by a silent h after the vowel, e.g., Mehl 'flour', or by ie, e.g., giejJen 'to pour'. (Note that vowel length is entirely predictable: only tense vowels with strong stress are long; lax vowels are always short). The special German symbol jJ is a single consonant, therefore (in the new orthography) a vowel preceding it is

84

Phonemics

always tense. The symbol a is an anomaly; before more than one consonant, it is pronounced like e, Le. lEI, e.g., fallen IfElan! 'to fell', but before a single consonant it may be the same as e = lei, e.g., kiimen = Ikem;}nl 'would come', or it may be Ia! = [e:], e.g., /kornan/. The latter pronunciation is only possible when spelled a, which indicates it is a spelling pronunciation! A vowel followed by a single consonant is tense, and this also applies to words like Tag or kam with inflectional and derivational forms. Exceptions to this rule are monosyllabic words that never change through inflection or derivation, Le., prepositions, adverbs, and conjunctions, which have lax vowels, but because of the so-called 'closed syllable rule' are spelled with single consonants, e.g., weg 'away', ab, an, in, hin, mit, naeh, ob, urn, von. Most German consonants can be doubled, but not k and eh, seh. For double k, Germans write ek. The spellings eh and sch are never doubled, so there is no way to distinguish between tense or lax vowels before them. In general, vowels are lax before ch, e.g., Koch IkSx/, except for u, which is tense, e.g., Buch Ibux/. Vowels are usually lax before sch, e.g., wischen IVIsan/, but cf. wuseh Ivlls/. The spelling ng designates the phoneme cluster Ingl, which is always pronounced long [I)] (as in Eng. singer), the result of assimilation of the two elements to each other. Before k, [I)] is spelled n, Le., nk =Ink! [IJk], because the velarity is indicated by the k. The combination Iksl with noninflectional lsi is spelled ehs in German, as in Oehse 'ox', but if the lsi is inflectional,

Phonemic reading 3-German

85

this spelling represents the combination Ixsl, as in Buchs 'book's'. The spelling combination e+rd has a tense vowel in spite of having more than one consonant after the vowel. Notice that Pferd is pronounced [pfea~th] in spite of the fact that the final consonant is pronounced [th]. Although voiced consonants in final position or before a voiceless consonant are pronounced like their voiceless counterparts, they continue to be spelled with the voiced letter in words that have alternating forms, e.g., Zug [tsu:kh], but Ztige [tsy:g~], since the contrast voicedlvoiceless is neutralized finally or before a voiceless consonant. It is apparent that German orthography ignores all those phonetic features which are either predictable or occur in free variation. Note that to a German, an Irl is simply an Irl, regardless of whether it is a uvular or alveolar trill or a uvular glide, and likewise the difference in pronunciation of ich lixl = [?f~] and ach laxl [tax] is totally predictable and therefore unmarked. Like phonemes and allophones in the sound system, the writing system of German also has variants. The phoneme IfI is written v in initial position in certain words, like Vater and von. We can understand why German schoolchildren sometimes write *Fater! The symbol s represents lsi initially before p and t, as in Speck Ispeckl and Stock Ist6k1, but Iz/ before vowels, as in See Ize/, Miiuse Im6iz~/, and lsi in final position and before noninitial voiceless consonants, as in Maus Imausl and beste Ibest~/.

It is also the case that the German spelling system (like those of most languages with alphabetic writing) does not ade-

86

Phonemics

quately cover suprasegmental contrasts, although a rudimentary attempt is made through the use of punctuation like commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation points. Note that the question mark designates rising intonation at the end of questions without an interrogative, like Gehst du heute in die Stadt?, but does not do so when the question is repeated, or is introduced by a question word: Wann kommst du wieder? But note that the latter question receives rising final intonation when repeated in disbelief! This lack of adequate indication of suprasegmental phonemes accounts, for instance, for the unnatural intonation of children just learning to read, as well as for the different possible interpretations of a poem.

2.7 Phonemic reading I-German (Remember, these texts are one person's interpretation!) Rilke 's 'Herbsttag' /oher~es+ fst+°tsait ~

der+ °z6m~r+ v6.r+°zer+°gros ~ °leg+dain~n+osatn~auf+di+oz6n~n+ur~n~

unt+auf+den+ °flur~n~las+di +°vfnd~+ °los ~ b~ofil+den+oletstn+QfrYxtn~Qf:51+tsu+zain~

°gib+in~n~n:5x tsvai+QzYd+lfx~r~+Ot6.g~~ °drEng~+zi+tsur+f:51+oendung+ohfn~unt+oi6.g~~

di+oletst~+ozys~~fn+den+osver~n+ovain~

ver+°ietst+kain+°haus+hat--:°baut+zfx--+°kain~s+omer ~

ver+Qietst+aloain Ist--:-virt

~s+olang~+obhlib~n~

virt+ovaxn--+°lezt:l~lang~+obrifg+osraibgn--+

unt+ovirt

In+den+aole~n~ohfn unt+oher~

°un+rUIx+ovand~rn--+ven+di+obletgr+Otraib~n~/

Phonemic reading 2-German

87

2.8 Phonemic reading 2-German From 'Der Wolf und die sieben Geislein' /Es+ovaK+ain+mj] [~j law]

[e: Ie:] [e: Ie]

hold: Huld Stuhle : StUhle Mutter: MUtter schon : schon Holle: Holle SUhne : Sohne DUrre:dorre rauhe : Reihe Reihe: Reue Reue: rauhe

gebe : gabe kame: Kamme

Answer to question: The distinction is one of tense vs lax vowels.

Phonemic transcription §2.4

/+Opfifgr+ling+/ /+osax+/ /+omUnxgn+/ /+°braut+p