Answers
Jul 03, 2012 - 09:25 AM
Hi Cameron. Trust me, I feel your pain. There are posts throughout this German forum that list German radio stations that you can stream, German movies available for streaming or by DVD on Netflix, Amazon video, etc. It's mainly repetition and listening to it often by different native speakers. I've been practicing mine for a few months now and my German speaking friends think I'm improving quite a bit, but clearly I'm still not fully there - all the time. Argh! I wish you well. Stick with it and it will come!
Jul 04, 2012 - 10:25 AM
""After a, o, u and au, pronounced like the guttural ch in Scottish "loch" - das Buch (book), auch (also). Otherwise it is a palatal sound as in: mich (me), welche (which), wirklich (really). TIP: If no air is passing over your tongue when you say a ch-sound, you aren't saying it correctly. No true equivalent in English. - Although ch doesn't usually have a hard k sound, there are exceptions: Chor, Christoph, Chaos, Orchester, Wachs (wax)""
Jul 04, 2012 - 09:38 PM
practice saying "moechte" while you're brushing your teeth and have a mouth full of foamy toothpaste. it's disgusting - but it also really helps and it works for me (accidentally!) make sure the bathroom door is closed and you're leaning over the sink ;)
Jul 05, 2012 - 01:38 AM
It's like the "sh" sound but at the middle of your tongue, not the front. Start with the sh sound and then shift the arch of your tongue backwards in your mouth while keeping your tongue in the same position relative to the teeth at the front. So, you lower the tip of your tongue and raise the middle toward the roof of your mouth, somewhat constricting the air flow there. I hope that helps.