Answers
Jun 27, 2014 - 06:40 AM
Hi Jeff
I know the sound is hard to make out here. But when you face people on the streets you'll find that people tend to bundle sounds together and not make out every syllable. So what is confusing here is first of all that both words have the same amount of syllables and sounds. The final "r" of "wir" would not really be pronounced here either making the ending sound like a long "eeeee" just like in "sie". And both sounds "s" and "w" can be made with the lips (almost) touching. If the pronoun had been in the middle of the sentence you would have had the previous sounds as a reference and the pronunciation would probably be clearer but at the beginning of the sentence sounds are often muddled especially when said very fast and if the emphasis is on another part of the sentence. Again, I know it's frustrating but good practise to understand people on the street. As for the meaning: she is referring to the shop and not to herself and her friend as in:
They (the shop) has a lot of jackets and bags
So it's definitely:
Sie haben dort viele Jacken und Taschen
I hope this helps!
I know the sound is hard to make out here. But when you face people on the streets you'll find that people tend to bundle sounds together and not make out every syllable. So what is confusing here is first of all that both words have the same amount of syllables and sounds. The final "r" of "wir" would not really be pronounced here either making the ending sound like a long "eeeee" just like in "sie". And both sounds "s" and "w" can be made with the lips (almost) touching. If the pronoun had been in the middle of the sentence you would have had the previous sounds as a reference and the pronunciation would probably be clearer but at the beginning of the sentence sounds are often muddled especially when said very fast and if the emphasis is on another part of the sentence. Again, I know it's frustrating but good practise to understand people on the street. As for the meaning: she is referring to the shop and not to herself and her friend as in:
They (the shop) has a lot of jackets and bags
So it's definitely:
Sie haben dort viele Jacken und Taschen
I hope this helps!
Jun 27, 2014 - 05:55 PM
Thanks. It's not frustrating. I'm sure I'd get if/when I hear it more. I realize people (regardless of language) don't always enunciate well. Which doesn't help the beginner like me, but will come eventually. Thoroughly enjoying myself in learning German.