8.2.1. Consonants

First published in 1952. This book does not confine itself to German phonetics; it aims rather at showing by what processes and tricks of sound words have been shaped in the course of years; it is therefore a book on phonology as well. It should have a wide appeal to students of German. Moreover, since the treatment of laws and sound processes is comparative, it will be useful to students of other languages, particularly of the Scandinavian group and Dutch.

Knowing that the so-called voiced and voiceless stops in languages like English and German do not always literally differ in voicing, several linguists -- among them Roman Jakobson -- have proposed that dichotomies such as fortis/ lenis or tense/lax might be more suitable to capture the invariant phonetic core of this distinction. Later it became the dominant view that voice onset time or laryngeal features are more reasonable alternatives. However, based on a number of facts and arguments from current phonetics and phonology this book claims that the Jakobsonian feature tense was rejected prematurely. Among the theoretical aspects addressed, it is argued that an acoustic definition of distinctive features best captures the functional aspects of speech communication, while it is also discussed how the conclusions are relevant for formal accounts, such as feature geometry. The invariant of tense is proposed to be durational, and its 'basic correlate' is proposed to be aspiration duration. It is shown that tense and voice differ in their invariant properties and basic correlates, but that they share a number of other correlates, including Fo onset and closure duration. In their stop systems languages constitute a typology between the selection of voice and tense, but in their fricative systems languages universally tend towards a syncretism involving voicing and tenseness together. Though the proposals made here are intended to have general validity, the emphasis is on German. As part of this focus, an acoustic study and a transillumination study of the realization of /p, t, k, f, s/ vs. /b, d, g, v, z/ in German are presented.

Featuring the most complete and up-to-date description of the phonology of German presently available, this book applies recent models of phonological theory, putting particular emphasis on the interaction of morphology and phonology. It focuses on the present-day standard language, but includes discussions of other variants and registers.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 2,7, University of Vechta, language: English, abstract: The linguistic differences between German and English are going to be researched and compared, in order to light upon the reasons for mispronunciations and difficulties for German speakers of English. Learning a language or a skill in general, naturally needs practice and commitment to be able to master it. However, this text is going to leave this aspect aside and will concentrate on differences which emerge from the languages themselves. German and English are two different languages with the same Latin alphabet and different grammar for the naked eye, but beneath the surface are further differences and similarities which can be described in order to understand why German speakers of English seem to produce the same mistakes when no practice for correct pronunciation is given. The importance of English has increased over the past years and is one of the most spoken and important languages. It is needed in business relations, to read manuals, can be used in almost all foreign countries for communication and is generally important for every working citizen in terms of a business language, as former European Commissioner Günther Oettinger stated in his interview with German broadcast channel SWR in 2005. In 2010 a speech of Oettinger was published, which was held in the Columbia University of Berlin and showed, after his contribution in the broadcast, that his English proficiency was not appropriate when considering the circumstances. Especially in terms of politics, an individual wants to be taken seriously and act superior in all tasks given to comply with the role of a representative politician. After Oettinger held his speech, it was naturally connected to what was originally said by him, with the obvious connotation that he failed to meet his own expectations in English acquisition by far, although it was of utmost importance. The English language however can be difficult for foreign speakers. Although being of the same Germanic origin as German, many foreign speakers experience a hard time when trying to achieve native-like pronunciation. Words such as squirrel, all words with a 'th-' and minimal pairs (e.g. hat and had) are often difficult to pronounce and distinguish for foreign learners, due to phonetic and phonemic differences, which cannot easily be translated into the German system due to their non-existence.

Elements of German fills a gap in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate levels of German language study by presenting more advanced concepts of the language in a light intended for practical use rather than theoretical discourse. This text provides a means to improve knowledge and command of grammatically correct German as it is spoken and written. It also introduces methods and tools of linguistic analysis in the areas of phonology and morphology. Unlike books that treat phonology in a cursory way, this text delves into the problems of word formation and the intricacies o ...

The first course book designed to engage students in the pronunciation of modern German by grounding practice in theory An essential introduction to the pronunciation of modern German, this unique classroom text is designed to help mid- to upper-level undergraduate students of German produce more accurate and comprehensible German speech. Written in English in a clear and engaging style and employing a minimum of technical jargon, it is the first German phonetics and phonology text to focus on theory and practice, covering topics ranging from the analysis of one's own speech to historical developments and regional variation. This work includes a wealth of exercises supported by an ancillary website audio program designed to help students perceive and produce sounds and prosodic features more accurately. Addressing topics such as word stress, sentence stress, and intonation as well as the pronunciation of individual sounds, this one-of-a-kind primer provides its users with a solid basis in German phonetics and phonology in order to improve their pronunciation of German.

Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students. Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings—all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible ‘two-dimensional’ structure is built around four sections—introduction, development, exploration and extension—which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained. Revised and updated throughout, this third edition of Practical Phonetics and Phonology: presents the essentials of the subject and their day-to-day applications in an engaging and accessible manner covers all the core concepts of speech science, such as the phoneme, syllable structure, production of speech, vowel and consonant possibilities, glottal settings, stress, rhythm, intonation and the surprises of connected speech incorporates classic readings from key names in the discipline including David Abercrombie, David Crystal, Dennis Fry, Daniel Jones, Peter Ladefoged, Peter Trudgill and John Wells includes an audio CD containing a collection of samples provided by genuine speakers of 25 accent varieties from Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Singapore and West Africa gives outlines of the sound systems of six key languages from around the world contains over a hundred activity exercises, many accompanied by audio material is accompanied by a brand new companion website featuring additional guidance, audio files, keys to activities in the book, further exercises and activities, and extra practice in phonemic transcription New features of this edition include an additional reading on teaching pronunciation, phonetic descriptions of three more languages (Japanese, Polish and Italian), expanded material on spelling/sound relationships, more information on acquiring the pronunciation of a foreign language, additional suggestions for further reading and much new illustrative material. Written by authors who are experienced teachers and researchers, this best-selling textbook will appeal to all students of English language and linguistics and those training for a certificate in TEFL.