Answers
Jan 19, 2014 - 10:20 AM
That is the correct way to pronounce a final "d" in German - sounding like an English "t". It's just like an opening "v" in German (which is pronounced like an English "f".) You just have to get used to the fact that some letters do not have the same sound between languages.
Jan 20, 2014 - 02:05 AM
Ja, genau. That is why I was surprised that Fluenz even used a mnemonic with the D sound to remember the word. Though I later noticed in the next lesson, lvl 3 session 21, that in the 'repeat the phrase' section that Bild was said with a T sound. So I'm still wondering if that's a regional pronunciation where they are exposing us to both...
Jan 21, 2014 - 04:00 AM
Hi Odessa, the pronunciation of final D in German may vary from speaker to speaker. It has nothing to do with regionality, just with personal preferences. "Officially" D in a final position is supposed to be pronounced like an English "T", but really it doesn't matter that much. The difference to a German ear is minimal, if it exists at all.
I just listened to the pronunciation of "to build" and "built" on
http://www.dict.cc/?s=to+build
and
http://www.dict.cc/?s=built
and interestingly, the difference that strikes me more is in the "i" sound. The "ui" in "to build" is much longer than in "built".
Considering the "i" sound, "built" is indeed closer to German "Bild", than "build", the final D may be either, or even something in between.
I hope this helps!
I just listened to the pronunciation of "to build" and "built" on
http://www.dict.cc/?s=to+build
and
http://www.dict.cc/?s=built
and interestingly, the difference that strikes me more is in the "i" sound. The "ui" in "to build" is much longer than in "built".
Considering the "i" sound, "built" is indeed closer to German "Bild", than "build", the final D may be either, or even something in between.
I hope this helps!
Jan 22, 2014 - 02:44 AM
Vielen Dank Uta! I'm currently an expat in southern Germany, so just when I think I'm making progress in the language I'll run into a cab driver that speaks Schwäbisch and not understand the majority of our conversation. Most of my coworkers speak Hochdeutsch in the office with some Schwäbisch mixed in. My boss told me that when he moved here from northern Germany, from a region where Plattdeutsch is spoken, he could not understand the locals either.
Does anyone have some good resources for learning more about the various German dialects?
Does anyone have some good resources for learning more about the various German dialects?
Feb 05, 2014 - 12:21 PM
Hi Odessa, I'm not aware of any useful English literature on German dialects out there, but I do think the midget dictionaries from Langenscheidt can be quite helpful:
http://www.langenscheidt.de/Langensch...
The other book on the page may be useful to, but it's all in German, so you might not get too much out of it yet.
Let us know how your Schwäbeln goes!
http://www.langenscheidt.de/Langensch...
The other book on the page may be useful to, but it's all in German, so you might not get too much out of it yet.
Let us know how your Schwäbeln goes!