Modern German Pronunciation An Introduction for Speakers of English

by Hall, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9780719066894
• ISBN10: 0719066891
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-29
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

This revised and updated edition ofModern German Pronunciationoffers the most complete guide to the correct pronunciation of German for native speakers of English. It begins with an introduction to the problems of pronunciation and the basic concepts of phonetics. The following chapters take each aspect of pronunciation in turn: consonants, vowels, stress and intonation, and the conversational pronunciation of German with its many reduced or "weak" forms. The text is comprehensively illustrated with clear pronunciation and intonation diagrams and the emphasis is on the problems that speakers of English are known to encounter when learning to speak German. This second edition has been revised and updated, taking into account comments and suggestions from readers and adapting the German texts to the new official spelling. A significant new feature is the discussion of English-speaking learners of German has been extended to include American learners, reflecting the use world-wide of the first edition of this volume.

Author Biography

Christopher Hall is Professor of German at the University of Joensuu in Finland.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
Preface to the second edition	xii
Acknowledgements	xiii
Acknowledgements for the second edition	xiv
List of phonetic symbols	xv
Introduction	1	(9)
Why pronunciation?	1	(1)
Regional variation and standard pronunciation	2	(3)
Stylistic variation	5	(2)
Social and individual variation	7	(1)
Learning the sounds of language	8	(2)
The production and description of speech sounds	10	(13)
Articulatory, acoustic and auditory phonetics	10	(1)
The organs of speech	11	(4)
Letters, sounds and phonemes	15	(5)
Coarticulation and assimilation	20	(1)
Basis of articulation	21	(2)
The German consonants	23	(49)
The description of consonants	24	(6)
Manner of articulation	25	(1)
Place of articulation	25	(1)
Voice	26	(2)
Lenis and fortis	28	(1)
Auslautverhartung	28	(1)
Three-term labels	29	(1)
The description of individual German consonants	29	(1)
Plosives	30	(7)
/p/ and /b/	32	(1)
/t/ and /d/	33	(1)
/k/ and /g/	34	(3)
Fricatives	37	(13)
/f/ and /v/	37	(2)
/s/ and /z/	39	(1)
/f/ and /3/	40	(2)
/x/	42	(6)
/j/	48	(1)
/h/	48	(2)
Nasals	50	(6)
/m/	50	(1)
/n/	51	(1)
/n/	52	(2)
Nasal plosion	54	(1)
Syllabic nasals	55	(1)
Laterals	56	(4)
/I/	56	(3)
Lateral plosion	59	(1)
Syllabic /I/	59	(1)
/r/	60	(6)
The uvular trill	60	(1)
The uvular fricative	61	(2)
The apical trill	63	(1)
Vocalic r	64	(2)
Affricates	66	(3)
[pf]	66	(1)
[ts]	67	(2)
The glottal stop	69	(1)
Summary and comparison of German and English consonant articulations	70	(2)
The German vowels	72	(37)
The description of vowels	72	(3)
The vowels of German	75	(2)
Tenseness and laxness	76	(1)
Vowel length	76	(1)
Non-syllabic vowels	77	(1)
The German monophthongs	77	(25)
/i:/	77	(2)
/I/	79	(1)
/e:/	80	(2)
/ε/	82	(1)
/ε:/	83	(1)
/a:/	84	(2)
/a/	86	(1)
/u:/	87	(2)
/ /	89	(1)
/o:/	90	(1)
/c/	91	(1)
/y:/	92	(1)
/Y/	93	(2)
/ø:/	95	(2)
/œ/	97	(1)
/e/	98	(2)
[a]	100	(2)
The German diphthongs	102	(4)
/aI/	103	(1)
/a /	104	(1)
/cY/	105	(1)
Nasal vowels	106	(1)
Summary and comparison of German and English vowel articulations	107	(2)
Stress and intonation	109	(29)
Word stress	109	(6)
Native German words	110	(1)
Foreign words	111	(2)
Compounds	113	(2)
Sentence stress and rhythm	115	(1)
Intonation	116	(22)
Tone groups	118	(1)
The nucleus	119	(1)
The structure of the tone group	120	(2)
The intonation patterns of German	122	(9)
The heads	131	(2)
The placement of the nucleus	133	(1)
English intonation patterns to be avoided in German	134	(4)
Words in connected speech: formal and conversational pronunciation	138	(20)
Assimilation	140	(5)
Assimilation of place	141	(2)
Assimilation of manner	143	(1)
Assimilation of voicing	144	(1)
Elision	145	(3)
Elision of /e/	145	(1)
Elision of /t/	146	(1)
Reduction of double consonants	147	(1)
Vowel reductions	148	(7)
Weak forms	148	(2)
List of weak forms	150	(4)
The use of weak forms and strong forms	154	(1)
Other features of conversational pronunciation	155	(2)
/r/	156	(1)
The glottal stop	156	(1)
Reductions in common expressions	157	(1)
Exercises	158	(29)
Sources and further reading	187	(3)
Glossary	190	(5)
List of German phonetic terms	195	(3)
Bibliography	198	(2)
Index	200