GERMAN
RONUNCIATION
BY
WILHELM VICTOR
THE LIBRARY
OF
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OF CALIFORNIA
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a Nose. 6 Hard Palate, c Soft ;Palate. d Month. « Tongue. / Pharynx
g Hyoid Bone. It Epiglottis. < Glottis, ft Vocal Chord. { Thyroid Cartil-
age, m Larynx, nn Cricoid Cartilage, o Windpipe, p Gullet.
SCHEMATIC VIEW OF THE ORGANS OF SPEECH.
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION:
PRACTICE AND THEORY.
THE BEST GERMAN - GERMAN SOUNDS, AND HOW THEY
ARE REPRESENTED IN SPELLING — THE LETTERS OF
THE ALPHABET, AND THEIR PHONETIC VALUES — GERMAN
ACCENT - SPECIMENS.
BY
WILHELM VIETOR,
PH. D., M. A. (MARBURG),
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY, MARBURG UNIVERSITY ; FORMERLY
LECTURER OH TEUTONIC LANGUAGES, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE,
LIVERPOOL.
FIFTH EDITION, REVISED.
LEIPZIG.
0. R. REISLAND.
1913.
PF
Vfc?&3
PREFACE TO THE FffiST EDITION.
THERE are two opinions frequently expressed
with regard to German pronunciation, the one
directly opposed to the other. People who know
very little about it generally think it easy enough
to acquire a correct German pronunciation from
the ordinary spelling and the indications con-
tained in any German school grammar, or, at all
events, with the aid of a native, if possible Hano-
verian, teacher. Those who have looked into the
matter more closely are, on the contrary, inclined
to consider it a hopeless task to try to arrive at
reliable results, where there seems to be nothing
but uncertainty and contradiction amongst the
Germans themselves. In the following pages I
have endeavoured to show that neither of these
views is correct, but that, with some care and
good will, a standard German pronunciation may
indeed be pointed out to, and acquired by, Eng-
lish learners of our language. Readers who wish
for fuller information as to phonetic and dialectal
peculiarities, and the history of Modern German
rv
•
sounds, I beg to refer to my Element? der Phonetik
und Orthoepie des Deutschen, Englischen und
Franzosisclien (Heilbronn : Gebr. Henninger, 1884),1
in which due regard has been paid to the works
of the leading English phoneticians, Messrs. A.
J. Ellis, A. M. Bell, H. Sweet, and W. R. Evans.
The pronunciation of about 2,400 German words,
indicated by means of the sound-notation used
in the present little volume, will be found in a
pamphlet which I am preparing for the press:
Die Aussprache der in dem " Worterverzeichnis
fur die deutsche Rechtschreibung zum Gcbrauch
in dm preufsischen Schulen" enthaltenen Worter
(same publishers).2
The German spelling adopted here is that
given in the official Rules and Word -list for
Prussian schools.
I have to thank Mr. W. B. Evans, of Lon-
don, and Herr F. Franke, of Sorau, for the kind
and valuable assistance they have rendered me
in the revision of the proof-sheets.
MARBURG A/L., October 1884.
1 Sixth edition in the press. Leipzig: 0. R. Reisland.
•Eighth edition : Die Aussprache des Schriftdeutschen.
Mit dem "Worterverzeichnis fur die deutsche Recht-
schreibung zum Gebrauch in den preufsischen Schulen"
in phonetischer Umschrift sowie phonetischen Tcxten.
Leipzig: 0. R. Reisland, 1911.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
WHILST the general plan of this little book
remains unaltered in the present edition, I have
taken advantage of this opportunity to introduce
a number of minor improvements and corrections,
not a few of which are due to the valuable ob-
servations contributed by Miss Laura Soames, of
Brighton, who has kindly read the proof-sheets.
The chapter on German Accent has been
re-written and considerably enlarged, on the lines
followed in the corresponding chapter of the
Dutch edition (De Uitspradk van het Hoogdmtsch.
Voor Nederlanders bewerkt door W. Victor and
T. G. G. Valette. Haarlem : De Erven F. Bohn,
1889), * where the subject is treated still more
elaborately.
MAKBURG A/L., October 1890.
1 Second edition, 1902.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
IN the present third edition the text of this
book has again been revised and partly re-
written. The German spelling is the new official
one of 1902, the phonetic notation that of the
Association Phone'tique Internationale (as employed
in Le Maitre Pkon&ique, edited by Dr. Paul
Passy, 20 rue de la Madeleine, Bourg-la-Reine,
France). For a number of corrections I am
indebted to Dr. E. R. Edwards, of the University
of London, who has kindly assisted me in seeing
this new edition through the press.
MARBURG A/L., August 1003.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION.
THE fourth edition (1909) did not call for
any special remarks. I have taken the opportunity
offered by the present reprint in order to intro-
duce further corrections, and to supply the List
of Symbols which had inadvertently been omitted
in the two previous editions. Most of the mis-
prints, &c., now corrected were kindly pointed out
to me by Mr. R. H. Cheatle, Prof. D. L. Savory,
Fraulein M. Taubner, and Mr. H. B. Walker.
MARBURG A/L., September 1912.
W. VlfiTOR.
CONTENTS.
Page
Prefaces I
List of Symbols VIII
The Best German 1
German Sounds, and how they are Represented in
Spelling 7
1. Vowels 7
Front Vowels 8
Back Vowels 21
Mixed Vowels 30
Diphthongs 32
Nasal Vowels 35
2. Consonants 36
Lip Consonants 37
Point and Teeth Consonants 41
Front and Back Consonants 52
Throat Consonants 59
The Letters of the Alphabet, and their 1'honetic Values
in German 62
German Accent, and Other Peculiarities of German
Pronunciation 98
Mode of Articulation 98
Laws of Sound 99
Stress and Emphasis 101
Tone (Pitch) 112
Specimens . 115
vin
LIST OF SYMBOLS USED IN PHONETIC
SOUND NOTATION,
a = short of a:,
a: = (nearly) a in father.
fl == ail in Fr. an.
ai — ei in G. oei.
aii= at* in G. Uau.
b = 6 in be.
c. = e// in G. ich.
d — (nearly) d in do.
e: = ee in G. See.
e = (nearly) e in let.
e: = long of £.
e = in in Fr. vin.
9 -= e in G. alle.
f — f in fee.
g = g in go.
y g = occasional g in G.
Tagc.
h = (nearly) h in he.
i: = i in G. mir.
i = t in it.
j — (nearly) y in yes.
k = k in kind.
1 = I in low.
m = m in me.
n = n in no.
rj = «# in n'ng.
o: = o in G. so.
o = o in G. o&.
5 = on in Fr. 6on.
oy -= eu in G. Heu.
e: = 6 in G. scTion.
oe or e = 6 in G. Holle.
oe or a = un in Fr. un.
p = p in ptif.
r = trilled r.
s == s in see.
j1 == sh in shy.
t = t in tu>o.
u: = u in G. du.
D = « in put.
v = i? in vte.
x = ch in G. ach.
y: = ti in G. fur.
T = ii in G. Hutte.
z — £ in zea/.
3 = s in pleasure.
? = throat stop (very
slight cough).
' = stress (precedes
stressed syllable).
: = length.
= French nasality.
THE BEST GERMAN.
WHEN Luther began to write, there was no
generally acknowledged, truly national German
language. Low German was used in conversation
and literature throughout the North German plain,
and High German in the mountainous regions
of the South. Every province, and as far as the
spoken language was concerned, every town or
village, presented its own variety of idiom and
pronunciation. But High German had long been
in the ascendant, and many Low Germans were
able to read and understand, if not to speak and
write it. Luther wished to be read and under-
stood all over Germany. To arrive at a "common
German speech," as he himself remarks, he had
only to be guided by the practice of the "Saxon
Chancery," and indeed of "all the princes and
kings in Germany," viz., to employ a High German
freed as much as possible from all local and
dialectal influences.1
1 Bearing in mind that, according to Grimm's Law,
Sharp Mutes, Aspirates (Spirants, etc.), and Flat Mutes in
Low German (of which English will be even a better repre-
VT*TCB, German Pronunciation, 5«> ed. 1
2 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
During the latter half of the sixteenth, and
the first half of the seventeenth century, "Upper
Saxon" (Obersachsisch) , as his language used to
be called, gradually absorbed the Low German
literary dialects of the protestant northern half
of the country; and by about the year 1700
Modern High German had not only firmly esta-
blished itself as the common language of religion,
of education, and of public business, but was
also, in North German society, considered a more
refined medium of intercourse than the Low
German vernaculars. Yet even in our own times
Plattdeutsch is far from being extinct as a collo-
quial language, and has been successfully used
sentative than the present Low German of Germany) ought
to appear as Aspirates (Spirants, etc.), Flat Mutes, and
Sharp Mutes respectively in High German, it will be easy
to see from the following examples that Modern High
German, though indeed clearly High German, does not
carry the High German sound-shifting so far as some of
the old Upper German dialects did, but distinctly betrays
its Midland origin by taking an intermediate phonetic
position.
^English: — jp\pe (over Md.
\Low German: — {Pipe \a«?er <6idden
High German: — Pfe'ife ii&er l&itten
f English: — (town, sweetf broker Daughter
\Low German: — (.Tun, s6t fBroder \Dochter
High German: — Zaun(e=ts), &u/* \Bruffer Tochter
f English: — (coofc ) f goose
\Low German: — Jfcafren / <<7os
High German:— Uoc/ten u?ans
THE BEST GERMAN. g
for literary purposes by such authors as Fritz
Renter and Klaus Groth.
In Middle and South Germany, the language
of Luther was universally recognized as standard
only after the year 1750; and a great number of
spoken High German dialects are still flourishing
by the side of the more or less closely allied
language of literature.
It is only natural that, whenever Modern High
German, the common language of the country, is
employed orally, all the local peculiarities of dia-
lectal utterance should be faithfully reflected in its
pronunciation, in so far as they are not clearly
interdicted by the spelling. As a matter of fact,
it requires but little practice to distinguish, not
only a North German from a South German, but
a Hanoverian from a Westphalian, or a Bavarian
from a Suabian, by hearing them read a single
sentence from a book or newspaper.
Now, should the Germans themselves prefer
this state of things to continue, every one, to use
a popular phrase, talking wie Him der Schnabel
gewachsen ist, they are, of course, at liberty to
do so. But this will not do for a foreigner who
wants to acquire the language, and who certainly
has a right to inquire where "the best German"
is spoken.
English students of German, and English
people in general, have put this question over
and over again to the Germans they had nearest
± GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
at hand, viz., the Hanoverians, and, naturally
enough, they have just as many times been told
that the best German is spoken in Hanover.
What could they do but believe it? Yet it is a
fact worth knowing that in Germany this belief
is held only by the Hanoverians themselves.
Why indeed should any German think any
other of the provincial pronunciations superior to
his own? The best German, no doubt, ought to
be better than any of them. In other words,
we must have a spoken language which, like the
written language of Luther, shall be superior to
all dialects. We want something analogous to
his "Saxon Chancery."
This we find in the language used on the
German Stage, in which, although the same ten-
dency to provincialism has always existed as in
private life, the process of softening down and
assimilating the different local modes of pronun-
ciation has naturally been far more rapid. An
actor whose Saxon pronunciation might appear
quite the proper thing to an exclusively native
public (which, of course, he would not have) at
Dresden, would shock his hearers by speaking
his part with the same pronunciation in Berlin or
Vienna. Besides, any audience would be struck
with the ludicrousness of a performance, say of
Goethe's Iphigenie, with an Iphigenia from Pome-
rania, an Orestes from Friesland, a Pylades from
the Tyrol, and so on. — On the stage, then, we
THE BEST GERMAN. 5
have the best German in practical use. There
are certainly even there moot points, which admit
of, and even' demand, philological interposition;
but as far as it is settled, the language of the
theatre must be taken as the standard of German
pronunciation.
Now, if in the contest about the language of
literature the South has gained the victory over
the North, it is gratifying to see that with regard
to pronunciation the converse has taken place, the
Northern practice of distinguishing "voiceless" and
"voiced," instead of the Southern "hard" and "soft"
consonants, having been unanimously adopted on
the stage. Thus, as lingua toscana in bocca ro-
mana is considered the model spoken Italian, the
standard "common German speech" may be de-
scribed as "High German word-forms pronounced
with Low German speech-sounds."
The High German word -forms being pretty
well fixed in the written language, whereas the
Low German speech-sounds have as yet found but
very little opportunity of making themselves pal-
pable to the Southern population, German pronun-
ciation, as a matter of course, will on the whole
be less removed from the standard in the North
than in the South of the country.
So far Hanoverian German is no doubt better
than that e. g. of Munich or Stuttgart. Yet it is
by no means free either from Low German mis-
interpretations of the High German spelling in
g GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
which the written language is set down, or from
other strongly marked provincialisms. l A Hanove-
rian who should carefully avoid everything that
is peculiarly Hanoverian in his speech, would be
as good a model as any other.
Speaking generally, I would call him the best
speaker who most effectually baffles all efforts to
discover from what town or district he comes.
1 The most noteworthy points are the following (for
phonetic notations compare List of Symbols, page VIII): —
1. Initial Low German [sp-], [st-], instead of ftp-], [Jt-],
for sp-, st-, as in spitz, stehen. — 2. Inconsistent use of
[g] for medial -g-, and of [9] or [xj for final -g, as in
Siege, Sieg; Tage, Tag. — - 8. Shortening the radical
vowel in monosyllables like Sad, Lob, etc. — 4. Mispro-
nunciation of a as [ae:] instead of [a;], as in Voter. -
5. Mispronunciation of ei, or at, and au, as [aa;] and [aa],
both almost sounding like [a:], instead of [ai], [au], e. g.
in mein, Haus. — 6. Use of [g] instead of [r] for r, as
in er, waren, etc. — 7. Slurring over the vowel [a] in
the unaccented terminations -em, -en, at the same time
allowing the [n-]sound to assimilate with the preceding
consonant, e. g. lieben [li:bm] instead of [liiban], etc.
GERMAN SOUNDS,
AND HOW THEY ARE REPRESENTED IN SPELLING.
1. VOWELS.
VOWELS, in German, as in English and other
languages, are voice-sounds, consisting of a series
of explosive puffs of air, from the glottis, acting
on some definite configuration of the superglottal
passages (mouth, throat, etc.). Vowel differen-
tiation mainly depends, 1. on the position of the
tongue, 2. on the shape of the lip aperture.
In the following diagram, the dotted line
represents the roof of the mouth, the top line of
the triangle connecting the centre of the hard pa-
late with the centre of the soft palate. The po-
sitions of the letters [i], [u], etc. mark the positions
of the articulating part of the tongue when pro-
nouncing the vowel-sounds indicated by those
letters in our table of phonetic sound-notation and
presently to be described. Small parentheses in
the diagram denote lip-rounding ; a colon, length.
(Hard Palate) " - (Soft Palate)
i:;!'?;) Jj(n:)
(Teoth) ^ "<-v *f (UTnla)
A°
g OBRMAN PRONUNOLA.TIOM.
FRONT VOWELS.
HIGH-FRONT-NARROW VOWEL : l long, [i:] ; short-
ened, [i]. (See table of phonetic sound-notation,
p. VIII.) — If the tongue be raised as high and
as close to the middle of the hard palate as is
possible without causing friction, the vowel-sound
produced will be the high-front-narrow vowel,
or "close *" = [i].
Broadly speaking, English i in machine, or
e in he, may be given as an instance of long
close [i] = [i:]. In the London and South of
England pronunciation it is generally, however,
rather a diphthong, beginning with a somewhat
more "open" i-sound, and only finishing with the
close [i] in question, or even with the consonant
[j], he thus being = [hi:I], [hi:j], not [hi:].
In French, all «'s, irrespectively of quantity,
have this close sound.
In German, close [i] appears as a simple long
vowel, and is spelt in the following ways: —
1. i; e. g. mir [mi:r], me, to me.
2. ie; e. g. sie [zi:], she.
3. ih; e. g. ihn pi:n], him.
4. ieh; e. g. Vieh [fi:], cattle.
5. y, in a few proper names ; e. g.Schwye[fviit&].3
1 Adopting the terminology of Mr. A. M. Bell, which
I find it possible to use, although I can only partly ac-
cept his analysis of vowel-articulation.
8 So also unaccented final y in words borrowed from
the English; e. g. Sherry [j«ri:], sherry.
GERMAN SOITNDS. 9
6. ee, in a few words from the English;
e. g. Spleen [spli:n], or [Jpli:n], spleen.
If this sound occurs in "open" unaccented
syllables, l it is more or less shortened, without,
however, losing its close quality; e. g. Militar
[mili'tcrr] , military, army; die gute [di quite],
the good (fern, sing.)- In very slow and distinct
enunciation, secondary stress may preserve the full
length of the vowel ; e. g. [mi:li't€:r], [di: gu:ta].
It could, indeed, hardly he called incorrect to re-
tain [i:] everywhere, but it would certainly sound
rather pedantic in conversation or informal read-
ing. When final, [i:] retains its full length, e. g.
Alibi [?a:libi:], alibi: Pauli [pauli:], of St. Paul
(also a surname); as also when a simple word
whose principal accent falls upon that sound is
used as part of a compound, so that the principal
accent becomes a secondary one; e. g. Ldebe
[liibe], love; Vorliebe [fo:rli:ba], predilection.
*** 1. Take care n<?t to make German [i:]
a diphthong, as e, ee, etc. in English; nie =
[ni:], not [ni:I], [m:j], as English knee.
2. Avoid lowering the sound before final r,
which in careful pronunciation is not an in-
distinct vocal murmur, [e], as in English, but
trilled [r] ; mir thus being differently pronounced
1 Compare the following chapter, on Letters and
their Values.
10
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
from English mere , which may be [mi;a] , with
open [i:] , and is pronounced [mi:r] , [mi:r] only
by provincials.
3. Do not let [i:] be shortened by the influence
of a following "sharp" or breath consonant, as
is done in English, fee being [fi:j], and feel [fnjl],
but feet rather [fijt]. In German, the [i:] in
Gebiet [gabi:t], territory, is quite as long as the
[i:] in Vieh [fi:], or in viel [n':l], much.
4. Where [i:] in German is shortened, on
account of not bearing the accent, do not sub-
stitute open i = [i] , or especially [a] , for it,
but simply reduce it in quantity; e. g. direkt
[di'rekt], not [direkt], with open [i], or [da'rtkt],
as direct is occasionally pronounced in English.
HIGH-FRONT-NARROW-ROUND VOWEL: long, [y:];
shortened, [y]. — Pronounce the preceding vowel,
[i:], at the same time rounding the lips, rather
more than is the habit in pronouncing English oo,
almost as in whistling, and the result will be
the high-front-narrow-round vowel, or "close u"
= [y:].
This sound does not occur in English speech.
In French, all M'S are pronounced "close." —
Welsh u in du, black, or y in ty, house, is not
the same sound, but a "mixed" instead of a
"round" vowel, i. e. articulated with a tongue-
position intermediate between those for [i] and [u].
GERMAN SOUNDS. \\
Its acoustic effect also is only similar to, not
identical with, that of [y:].
In German , [y] is , like [i] , used as a long
vowel only, and represented in spelling by: —
1. u; e. g. fur [fy:r], for.
2. tih;1 e. g. Mhn [ky:n], bold.
3. y, in originally Greek words; e. g. Asyl
[Vzyil], asylum, refuge.
4. u, sometimes followed by mute e, in words
borrowed from the French ; e. g. Apergu [?aper'sy:],
sketch, summary; Revue [ra'vy:], review.
This sound hardly occurs in unaccented open
syllables, unless in words from the Greek or
French. It is then shortened, like [i:]; e. g.
Tyrann [ty'ran], tyrant; Bureau [by'ro:], office.
As to the pronunciation of y, many speakers
treat this letter as if it were i. As, however,
persons acquainted with Greek generally give it
the same sound which the Greek letter v has
in the German school pronunciation of Greek,
viz. [y:], "good usage" certainly is in favour of
the latter sound. Still, in words in common use,
such as Cylinder, cylinder, but also meaning a
tall hat, or a lamp chimney, the y, especially
when unaccented, is almost universally pronoun-
ced [i:], [i]; e. g. [tsi'Jmdar]. Compare the mo-
1 If the word-stem contains a t, the h is (in proper
names) written after the t, e. g. Thiiringen, Thnriugia.
Similary with other vowels.
J2 GERMAN PltOMJNCIATION.
dern spellings, Crips, gypsuin; Silbe, syllable;
Kristall, crystal. The above remarks equally
apply to short open y = [Y].
In the Middle and South of Germany, the
lip-rounding is often neglected in pronouncing
[y:], and [y:] is thus converted into [i:]. This
pronunciation is provincial. In poetry indeed
ii, etc. is frequently made to rhyme with i, etc.,
but in correct pronunciation each retains its
proper sound, and rhymes such as grufsen : fliefsen,
i, e. [gry:sen] : [fliisan], although quite allowable,
are imperfect rhymes. The same may be said
with regard to short open [Y] and short open [i].
%* 1. Do not confound [y:] with English
[ju:], or rather [ju:w], as pronounced in muse,
new, etc. — [y:] is a simple sound, in which the
tongue-position of [i:] and the lip-rounding of [u:]
take place simultaneously.
2. The [y:]-sound must not be lowered before
r [r]; e. g. in fur.
3. It must not be shortened before breath
consonants; e. g. in sufs.
HIGH-FRONT-WIDE VOWEL, [i]. — By slightly
lowering and retracting the front of the tongue
from the [imposition , we arrive at the position
for the high-front- wide vowel, or open * = [i].
An open i-sound is used in English for
"short »," as in bit.
The German [i], which is also and exclusi-
GERMAN SOUNDS }g
vely short, is perhaps, in careful pronunciation,
a shade less open than the common English
"short i" but practice varies, and the difference
may be disregarded. In spelling, German [i]
appears as: —
1. i; e. g. mit [mit], with.
2. ie , in a few words ; e. g. viereehn [firtsem],
fourteen.
3. y, in some proper names and foreign
words; e. g. Hyrtl [hirtal] (proper name).
*** 1. This sound is to be pronounced dis-
tinctly even in unaccented syllables; e. g. Konigin,
queen, must not be confused in pronunciation
with Konigen, (to) kings, the former being
[k0:ni9/jin], * the latter [k0:m9/jOn].
2. Final r [r] must have no influence on [i] ;
Hirt [hirt] has an [i-]sound just as distinct as
the one in mit [mit]. Avoid therefore any ap-
proach to [ha:t], as English hurt (compare dirt)
is pronounced.
HIGH-FRONT-WIDE-ROUND VOWEL, [Y]. — If the
lips are rounded in pronouncing [i], the sound is
changed to the high-front-wide-round vowel, or
open « = [Y].
This also is not an English sound.
In German, [Y] is the short correspondent
of [y:], as [i] is of [i:]. It is spelt: —
1. u; e. g. Hutte [hYta], hut.
1 [9/j] = either [g], or [ft
14 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
2. y, in words originally Greek ; e. g. Myrte
[nrrrte], myrtle.
3. u, in some loan-words from the French;
e. g. Budget [bY'dse:], budget.
See the remarks on [y:], page 11.
%* The sound remains the same when fol-
lowed by r [r].
MID-FRONT-NARROW YOWEL: long, [e:]; shortened,
[e]. — On the articulating part of the tongue
reaching about one third of the way from the
position for [i] to the position for [a], the mouth
cavity will serve as a resonance chamber for the
mid-front-narrow vowel, or close e — [e].
This sound is not used in English, except,
by some speakers, as the first element of the
diphthong [e:!], for the "long a" in pale, etc.,
where others employ a more open [e]-sound,
making the diphthong = [sil]. Scotch ay in day.
In French, e ferme, often written 6, is the
sound in question.
In German, long [e], i. e. [e:], is the sound
given to "long e" spelt: —
1. e; e. g. schwer [Jve:r], heavy, difficult.
2. ee; e. g. Beet [be:t], flower-bed.
3. eh; e. g. Eeh [re:], roe.
4. e, in words from the French, and some-
times in German proper names; e. g. Carre,
now spelt Karree, [ka're:], square, squadron.
In unaccented open syllables, except those
GERMAN SOUNDS. \§
where [9] is employed (see page 30), [e:] is short-
ened, but not changed to open [e] ; e. g. Sekretiw
[zekre'te:r] , secretary. Final [e:] , occurring in
names originally Greek, etc., as in Athene
pa'teme:], is again excepted. Likewise [e:] origi-
nally accented, when occurring in a portion of
a compound not bearing the principal stress, still
retains its length; e. g. geben [qe:ban], give;
ausgeben pausge:ben], spend.
In a large part of Germany, long e, ee, or
eh, is not always pronounced as [e:], but in
certain words more or less open, = [e:]. These
distinctions are, as a rule, accounted for by
etymology ; usage, however, is greatly at variance
in the different localities, some districts retaining
more of the older open sounds, others less. The
modern tendency, which already prevails in some
provinces, as also in Berlin, is certainly in
favour of a uniform [e:], and this is the only
pronunciation which can be recommended.
English students of German not trained in
phonetics generally fail to perceive the difference
between [e:] and [e:] , which , however , is quite
distinct to continental ears, and must not be
disregarded.
%* 1. Do not think you can substitute
English "long a," i. e. [e:l], or [e:I], for German
[e:]. The finishing [i]-sound must be carefully
avoided. Compare German Reh [re:] with Eng-
lish ray [re:I] or [r«:l].
Ig GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
2. The finishing [f]-sound is omitted also in
English before final r [o], but then the e-sound
itself is never [e:], but opener, [«:], if not [ae:],
the long of a in cat; fare thus being pronounced
[fe:a], or [fse:8]; ere [«:a], or [se:a], etc. Parti-
cular care must therefore be taken not to lower
[e:] before r [r] in pronouncing German.
3. Allow the [e:] to retain its full length
before breath consonants. There is no such diffe-
rence in quantity between the vowel in fehl,
amiss, [fe:l], and that in gehst, goest, [ge:st], as
there is between the [e:I] in fail [fe:fl], and the
[el] in graced [grelst].
MlD-FRONT-NARROW-RODND-VOWEL ! long , [0:] ;
shortened, [0]. — Round the preceding vowel,
[e:], to get the mid-front-narrow-round vowel,
or close o = [0:].
This again is not an English vowel. The
nearest approximation to it in English is the
vowel-sound in her, bird, surd, etc., as pro-
nounced by many speakers. But this is at best a
"mixed" instead of a "front-round" vowel, the
middle instead of the front of the tongue being
raised, without the "rounding" of the lips essential
to German [0:].
[0] is the French eu ferine" , as in Meuse
(long), Europe (short).
In German, long 6 is pronounced [0:]. It is
written: —
GERMAN SOUNDS.
17
1. 6, in a few originally foreign words
followed by niute e; e. g.schon [J0:n], beautiful;
Diarrhoe [dia'ro:], diarrhoea.
2. oh; e. g. Sohle [h0:la], cave.
3. eu, sometimes followed by mute e, in
words from the French: e. g. adieu padl'0:],
pa'dj0:], adieu, good bye; Queue [k0:], cue.
4. oeu, also in French words (French spelling
<EW); e. g. Coeur [k0:r], hearts (in cards).
It occurs in unaccented syllables in loan-
words only. It is shortened in the same way
as [i:J, [y:], etc.; e. g. Bootien [b0'o:tsfeii].
Boeotia.
In the provincial pronunciations of Middle
and South Germany, [0:] is replaced by [e:], its
unrounded correspondent, as [y:] is by [i:]. In
correct usage, these sounds are always distin-
guished, even when they are made to rhyme in
poetry; as Hohle: Seele, soul; i. e. [h0:10] : [ze:la].
The same remarks hold good with regard to
short open [03] and the corresponding unrounded
sound [e].
%* 1. Keep the [0:] distinct from [y:], and
do not confuse it with English [a:], as in her,
bird, surd, etc.
2. See that the [0:] is not influenced by
final r [r] following it. The vowel in hort [h0:rt],
hears, etc., must be identical with the one in
Hohle [h0:la]. This also applies to eur (oeur)
in words originally French, where open [oe:] is
VICTOR, German Pronunciation 5"» ed. 2
18
OKRMAN PRONUNCIATION.
the French sound; e. g. Redakieur [redak't0:r],
editor.
MlD-FKONT-WIDE VOWEL, [e]. — If the tOngUC
is further lowered and drawn back in the direction
of the line connecting the positions for [i] and
[a], so that the position of the highest part of
the tongue is at the centre, or not further back-
wards than the end of the central third of this
line, the sound produced will be a mid-front-
wide vowel, or a more or less "open e" = [e].
An open e-sound, = [e], is used in English
for e in bet (short), whilst a in care, or e in ere
(long), is lower (low-front-narrow).
Both [ei] and [e] are employed in German.
Long "open e" = [ei], is the sound given to: —
1. a; e. g. saen [ze:an], sow.
2. ah; e. g. mahen [me:an], mow.
3. ai, in words originally French; e. g.
Pnlais [pa'le:], castle.
4. e, before r [r], also in French words;
e. g. Dessert [deV:«:r], dessert.
In unaccented open syllables, where [e:] hardly
occurs in genuine German words, the sound is
reduced in quantity, as other long vowels are;
e. g. plaidieren [ple'di:ran], to plead.
There is a tendency to pronounce [e:] for
[«:] , in different parts of the country , also in
Berlin; but this must still be considered as
dialectal.
GEBMAN SOUNDS. 19
*** Give all German [e:]s, whether followed
by r [r] or not, the vowel -sound of e in bet
lengthened.
Short open e = [e], is used for: —
1. e; e. g. fest [fest], fast, firm.
2. a; e. g. Hdnde [henda], hands (plur.).
There is no difference between "short e"
and "short a" in correct German pronunciation,
although an artificial distinction is sometimes
attempted by schoolmasters and others who are
misled by the spelling and the analogy of "long
e" and "long a." In fact, the a (for the short
vowel) is only a comparatively modern spelling,
based on etymological grounds, but by no means
consistently carried out. In Middle High German.
hende was written for Hande, and the old spelling
is retained in the modern behende, "nimble,"
which is formed from the same stem. — Geld:
fdllt, and the like, form perfect rhymes —
[gelt] : felt], etc.
%* 1. Pronounce "short e" and "short a"
both as "short e" in Northern English = [e],
and do not think a ought to be made like "short
a" in fat, etc. — Gaste [gesta], guests, has the
same vowel as English guests, etc.
2. Do not let [e] in any way be influenced
by final r [r] following it. Herr, the German
for Mr., sir, may be pronounced [ha:], as English
her, in an English context, but this is by no
means the German pronunciation of Herr; it is
2*
20 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
[her], with distinct short [e] and the usual final
[r]. So Hens, heart = [hcrts], Erbe, heir =
Perba], etc. The substitution of [a:] as in her,
bird, etc., for [er] and [ir] being one of the
mistakes to which English speakers of German
are most liable and to which they adhere most
pertinaciously, particular care ought to be taken
to avoid it.
MID-FRONT- WIDE-ROUND VOWEL, [03]. l This is
the rounded form of [«].
In English it does not occur, the "mixed"
[a:] used for the vowel in her being only similar
to it, and, indeed, more similar to this open [oe]-
sound than to the close [0:]. See remarks on
[0:], page 16.
In German, [oe] is only used as a short
vowel, and is always spelled:
0; e. g. Grespott [ga/poet], mockery.
As to dialectal South German pronunciation
and use in rhyme, compare [0:], page 17.
%* 1. Do not substitute [a:] as in her, etc.
for German [oe], which above all must be pro-
nounced short.
2. If followed by final r [r], [oe] must re-
main the same in quality and quantity as in
other cases.
1 Another phonetic symbol is [e].
GERMAN SOUNDS. 21
BACK VOWELS.
Low - BACK - (WIDE) VOWEL, [a]. — A vowel-
sound produced with the tongue in a position
twice as far from the centre of the hard palate
as from that of the soft, will be the low-back-
(wide) vowel, [a], which, in acoustic effect, is
equally remote from [i] and [u], or from [e] and
[o], etc.
This is the sound used for the a in father
by South of England speakers, the Northern
pronunciation verging towards the a in all.
French a in rare is almost a front vowel;
a in pas is practically the unrounded form of
English a in all, though certainly not sufficient
to identify it with the latter sound, as is done
by some English speakers of French.
The a in all used to be be called the "Ger-
man a" by older English grammarians, in oppo-
sition to the a in father, named the "Italian o."
In point of fact, there is no such sound as this
so-called German a in received German pronun-
ciation, all German a's, whether long or short,
being pronounced as Italian a's, i. e. as "pure"
[a:], when long, and [a], when short.
The long sound, in German spelling, has
the following symbols: —
1. a; e. g. da [da:], there.
2. aa; e. g. Aal pa:l], eel.
3. ah; e. g. nah [na:], near.
22 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
4. aw; in the originally English word Shawl
[Jail], now spelt Schal, shawl.
5. i, as the second element of the originally
French diphthong oi, in French pronounced [ua:j,
but in German [oa:] ; e. g. "Boudoir [budo'air],
boudoir.
In the South of Germany generally the sound
is slightly lower, not quite so clear, but still
does not approach the a in all so much as does
the North English a in father. Not a few Ger-
man dialects, as those of Thuringia, Saxony,
Bavaria, and Austria, indeed, employ a broader
"long a," a sound similar to, or identical with,
English a in all. But any such pronunciation,
except where comical effects are intended, would
be quite inadmissible on the stage. Hanoverian
pronunciation sins in the opposite direction by
giving the "long a" a mincing sound, like the
one often heard for a iupath, — Vater, father,
almost being [fse:t8r], etc.
Long [a:] in unaccented open syllables is
shortened; e. g. Kanone [ka'no:n9], canon; but
not when [a:] is final; e. g. Anna pana:], Ann,
with fully long [a:]; nor is [a:] in secondarily
accented parts of a compound thus reduced in
quantity, if the [a:] has the primary accent when
the word is used by itself; e. g. Art pa:rt], kind,
species; Abart [?ap?a:rt], variety.
%* 1. Let [a:] everywhere have the clear
GERMAN SOUNDS. 28
sound of a in far, and avoid any approach either
to a in all or to a in care.
2. If [a:] is followed by a vowel, either in
the same word or in the beginning of the follow-
ing word, take care not to insert an [r]-sound,
as you may feel tempted to do from your Eng-
lish practice of saying e. g. [fa:] for far, when
not followed by a vowel, but [fair], when follow-
ed by one; as, is it far? [iz it fa:?], but: how
far is it? [hau fair iz it?]. Of course, if [a:]
in German is followed by r, this must be pro-
nounced as [r].
3. Do not convert unaccented [a:] into the
indistinct vowel -sound [9] used for unaccented
back vowels in English, as in [papa:], for papa.
In German the sound, although unaccented,
retains its quality, e. g. Papa [pa'pai], and when
final, also its quantity; Anna as stated above,
being pana:] , not pana] , and still less Pane],
which would be taken for Anne (a form of the
name also in use).
Short [a], the same sound as [a:], only short-
ened, is spelt: —
1. a; e. g. ab pap], off.
2. i, as the second element of the diphthong
oi in some French loan-words; e. g. Octroi
poktro'a], excise.
As to dialectal varieties of [a], compare re-
marks on [a:].
%* 1. Do not confuse this sound with the
24 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
"short a" in at, mem, which is not a pure a-
sound, but intermediate between [a] and [e].
Simply shorten the vowel in far, father.
2. Avoid lengthening [a] before r [r] ; hart,
hard = [hart], with short [a] followed by [r],
not [ha:9t], [ha:t], like English hart, or heart.
3. Keep the [a] distinct, also, when not
accented. German [a] is never slurred over like
unaccented a in Arab, metal, pronounced paerab],
[metal], but retains its distinct sound; e. g. nie-
mand [niimant], nobody, not [niimant]; Islam
pislam], Islam, etc.
Mm -BACK -WIDE -ROUND VOWEL, [o]. — Raise
the back of the tongue in the direction of the
middle of the soft palate, so that at least one
third or even one half of the distance between
the tongue - height for [a] and that for [u] is
reached, at the same time rounding the lips
rather more than in pronouncing o in note. The
sound produced will be the mid-back-wide-round
vowel, or open o = [o].
Many English speakers employ this sound
as the first element of the diphthong [ou], pro-
nounced for o in note, others making the o-
element either closer or more open. Provincial
oo in door may occasionally be the same sound
(long), but it is closer in the North of England,
and very much opener in the received Southern
pronunciation, as is English "short o" in not.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 25
French "open o," in noce (short), nord (long),
is usually considered the same sound as the
German [o], but seems rather lower — though
narrow — and more "advanced".
German [o] is only used short, and always
spelt: —
o; e. g. ob pop], if, whether.
In some German dialects it becomes almost
"close o" = [o], whilst others make it nearly
as open as the English o in not.
*** 1. Remember that English o in not is
a much opener sound than German [o], and there-
fore must not be used instead. It reminds a
German ear of [a].
2. Let [or], wherever it occurs, remain distinct
short [o] followed by [r]; fort, forth [fort], not
[fo:9t], [fo:t], as English fort.
3. In unaccented syllables the sound does
not become indistinct [a], as o in Jacob, allot
in English, but retains its quality; e. g. Jacob,
Jacob, James [ja:kop], not [ja:kop], etc. This
applies also to unaccented [or], as in Doctor
[doktor], doctor.
MID-BACK-NARROW-ROUND VOWEL, [o]. — If the
articulating back of the tongue be raised still
more towards the middle of the soft palate, so
as to reach the end of the central third of the
way from the [a]-position to the [u]-position,
OH HERMAN
&v
whilst the lips are rounded, we get the mid-
back-narrow-round vowel, "close o" = [oj.
A similar sound is sometimes used as the
first element of the diphthongal sound given to
o in no in English, but as a rule the English
sound is more open. The same may be said of
a provincial or antiquated close pronunciation
of the oo in door. See remarks on [o].
The French "close o" in dos is the sound
meant.
Also "close o" in German is as a rule more
distinctly rounded than English o-sounds. Ac-
cented, it occurs long only, bearing the same
relation to short [o], as [0:] does to [oe]. The
following spellings are in use for it: —
1. o; e. g. so [zo:], so.
2. oo ; in very few words ; e. g. Soot [bo:t], boat.
3. oh; e. g. roh [ro:], raw, rude.
4. oe, in Low German names; e. g. Soest
[zo:st]; Itzehoe pitseho:].1
5. oi, also in Low German names; e. g.
Troisdorf [tro:sdorfj. 2
6. ow, in Low German names, and in some
English words; e. g. Grabow [graibo:]; Bowie
[bo:la], claret cup.
1 Schiller makes it rhyme with Muqjeh, as if
pronounced pitsaha:].
8 Now often pronounced [tnf sdorf], by railway offi-
cials, etc.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 27
7. aw, in words originally French; e. g.
Sauce, now also spelt Sofse, [zo:sa], sauce.
8. eau, also a French spelling ; e. g. Plateau
[pla'to:], plateau.
9. oa, in some English loan-words; e. g.
Toast [to:st], toast.
In some parts of Germany the "long o" is
made too open. There is no long open o in re-
ceived pronunciation.
If unaccented, [o:] is shortened, still re-
taining its close sound. Final [o:] always re-
mains long. E. g. Salomo [zailomo:], Solomon.
%* 1. Do not make German [o:] a diphthong,
as English o in no, which = [o:u]. So = [zo:],
but English so = [so:u], or [so:u].
2. Do not shorten the sound before voice-
less consonants, as [o:u] becomes [ou] in English
note, whereas node has full [oiu]. Compare Not
[no:t], need, and English note [notit].
3. Keep the sound close before final r [r];
Ohr, ear, being po:r], and not identical with
English or [0:9], [»:].
HIGH -BACK -WIDE -ROUND VOWEL, [u]. — Let
the back of the tongue be raised to the middle
of the remaining distance between [o] and [u],
and it will be in the position for the high-back-
wide-round vowel, or "open M," [u], in pro-
nouncing which the lips must at the same time be
rounded.
2g GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
English u in put and oo in poor are open
w-sounds.
The German open [u], which is only used
short, is perhaps rather less open than English
u in put, and more decidedly rounded. It is
written: —
1. u; e. g. Kunst [kunst], art.
2. ou, in a few French words; e. g. Ressource
[rfi'sursa], resource.
South German "short u" is almost a close
w-sound.
%* 1. Let final r — [r] following [u] have no
influence on it, either in quality or in quantity.
Urne purna], urn, must have the same vowel-
sound as Kunst; there is no approach whatever
to the English pronunciation of urn [a:n].
2. Unaccented [u] must not be made [a],
the indistinct vowel used for u in English focus ;
the German Fokus being pronounced [fo:kus],
with distinct [u].
HIGH-BACK-NARROW-ROUND VOWEL, [u]. — Ap-
proach the back of the tongue as near to the
middle of the soft palate as is possible without
converting a vowel-sound uttered under these
circumstances into a buzzed consonant, at the
same time round the lips, to get the position
for the high-back-narrow-round vowel, or "close
u" = [u].
GERMAN SOUNDS. 29
English "long oo" in pool is commonly con-
sidered as long [u] = [u:], but it is rather diph-
thongal [u:w], beginning with more open [u] and
only finishing with [u] , or even [w] . just as ec
in feel is rather [i:I], [i:j], than [i:].
In German, "long u" is always [u:], being
the long correspondent of short [u], as [i:] is of
short [i], etc. The German spellings for [u:] are: —
1. u; e. g. du [du:], thou.
2. uh; e g. Kuh [ku:], cow.
3. ou, in some words from the French; e.
g. Tour [tu:r], tour.
In unaccented syllables [u:] is shortened to
[u], but not when it is final; e. g. Mulatte
[mu'lata], mulatto, but Kdkadu [kakadu:], cocka-
too. If the principal accent is lost on account
of composition, the length of the [u:] remains
unimpaired; e. g. Zug [tsu:k/x], pull, etc.; Ab-
zug paptsu:k/x], deduction, etc.
%* 1. Try to make [u:] in German strictly
monophthongal , distinguishing , e. g. du [du:],
and English do [du:w].
2. Do not shorten this sound before voice-
less consonants, as [u:w] is then reduced to [uw]
in English; e. g. goose [guws].
3. Do not sink fu:] to [u:], still less to [o:]
or [o:], before final [r], as English "long oo" is
often pronounced when followed by r [9], as in
poor [pu:a], [po:a], etc. Compare with this, Ger-
man Tour — ftu:r]. .
30
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
MIXED VOWEL.
MID -MIXED VOWEL, [0]. — By combining a
relaxed [e] front, and a still more relaxed [D] back
elevation of the tongue, the organs will be in
the position for the mid-mixed vowel, generally
called in German "unaccented e" [a].
English u [A] in but is often pronounced in
a similar way, and still more frequently ur [a:]
in burn; but the "indistinct vowel" [a] in un-
accented syllables, e. g. a in drama, er (mute r)
in letter, o in abbot, etc., comes perhaps nearest
to the [9-] sound in acoustic effect, although it
is less distinctly articulated than German [a],
and especially wants the definite [e] -element.
French e in de is not identical with the
German "unaccented «," the French sound being
rounded.
The only spelling used for German [a] is : -
e; e. g. Gebote [gabo:ta], commandments,—
except when I is written for el in proper names,
e. g. Vogl, pronounced as Vogel, bird [fo:gal].
In similar word-endings, viz., — el, em, en, er,
it is indeed not easy to distinguish [al], [am],
[an], [ar], from the simple sonsonants, [1], [m],
[n] , [r] , in "syllabic" function , which are con-
sidered by many as the correct oral equivalents
of the written syllables el, em, etc., and which
are certainly very often substituted for [al],
[em], etc. At all events, the [n-]sound ought
GERMAN SOUNDS. 3J
to be kept distinct in the termination en, and
such pronunciations as [le:bm], [le:bm], or [le:m:],
[le:m:], with long [m], for leben, live, [ne:m:] for
nehmen, take, [trrgkij] for trinJcen, drink, [zirj:]
for singen, sing, as well as [zini] for sinnen,
reflect, cannot pass for "correct" as long as
[leiban] or [le:bn], [ne:man] or [neimn], [trirjkan]
or [trirjkn], [zirjan] or [zii)n], and [zinan] appear
perfectly natural and convenient forms to a vast
number of speakers.1
"Unaccented e" is not pronounced uniformly
throughout Germany. Instead of the [a] de-
scribed above , [e], or almost [e], may be heard
in South Germany, and in Silesia, whereas pro-
nunciations verging towards [a] or [o] are met
with in the Northern half of the country.
%* 1. Do not use a distinct e-sound for
final [a], as also some English speakers of Ger-
man are inclined to do.
2. Carefully avoid putting in an [r]-sound
between final German [a] --or rather English
[e], which you may have substituted for it —
and a vowel-sound beginning the following word,
as you say [beta] for better, but [betar an beta]
1 Assimilations like [le:bm], [l«:bm], [le:m], [U:m],
etc., are by no means so general as is sometimes asserted,
nor do they represent one of the characteristics of
modern sound development, such forms as lebm, live,
gebm, give, or puechstam, letter, occurring as early as
1542 and 1477.
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
for better and better, or [a*di:o] for idea, but
perhaps [noiti aldiiar av it] for no idea of it, in
English. To say [hatar icj instead of [hata icj
for hatte ich, or [zaik/xt8r e:r], l instead of [za:k/xte
e:r], for sagte er, is altogether un-German.
DIPHTHONGS.
A diphthong is the combination of a full
vowel with a semivowel, i. e. a vowel sub-
ordinated to the other by diminution of force, and
often also reduction in quantity.
In German there are three diphthongs, all
of them decrescendo diphthongs, i. e. with the
full vowel preceding the semivowel. They are,
[al], [aii] and [oy] or [ol].
The first diphthong, [al], is commonly identi-
fied with English i in mine, which, however, as
a rule consists of a "mixed" vowel, perhaps more
like u [A] in but than like the short of a [a:] in
father, followed by [i], or rather a "high-mixed"
sound, the middle of the tongue being raised
instead of the front.
The German [al], the second element of
1 Supposing the remaining sounds to be pronounced
correctly. But I have heard [haeter ic], [ssegter e:], and
the like.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 33
which is often more or less "lowered," is re-
presented in the received spelling in the following
ways: —
1. ei; e. g. Ei pal], egg.
2. ai, in some German words, and in foreign
words; e. g. Mai [mal], May; Detail [de'tal],
detail.
3. ey, in proper names; e. g. Meyer [malar].
4. ay, likewise in proper names; e. g. Bayern
[batern], Bavaria.
5. i, in a few English loan-words; as Strike,
now usually written Streik [Jtralk], strike.
The pronunciation [«!], [ael], for [a!], heard
in parts of North as well as South Germany,
is dialectal.
%* The first element of the English diph-
thong [al] or [ai] = i in mine appears shorter
even than usual when this diphthong is followed
hy a voiceless consonant, as in ice = [als], [als].
German [al] must not be allowed to be thus
affected, Eis, ice, being pronounced pals], with
the same [al] as heard in Ei pal].
The second diphthong, [au], may without
any great inexactness be taken as phonetically
identical with English ou in loud, although here
again the first element in the English diphthong
seems usually to be rather a "mixed" vowel-
sound, perhaps somewhat lower or opener than
YlfiTOB, Gterman Pronunciation, 5th ed. 8
34
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
the first element of * [al] in mine , l whilst in
the second element the tongue-back will hardly
reach the elevation required for [u].
In German as well, the second element is
often "lowered," even by good speakers, but
[au] is to be considered the "correct" sound.
It is invariably spelt: —
au; e. g. Au pau], mead, meadow.
There is a provincial pronunciation [ou],
for [au], corresponding to the [d], [ael] used
instead of [al].
*** 1. Avoid substituting either a mixed
vowel of the [9]-type, as u in but, or any other
sound, for the first element of [au], but use the
short of [a:], as pronounced in father.
2, Do not let the [a] of [au] be shortened
through the influence of a voiceless consonant
following it, as may be the case in English,
the [a] of [au] in out [aut] being shorter than
in loud [laud].
The third diphthong, [oy], [ol], is similar
to English oi in oil, but the o in the latter is
a more open vowel, and the second element
is rather a mixed vowel, the same as the second
element of i in mine.
In German , instead of [oy] or [oi] , [00] or
1 The Cockney pronunciation approaches [aeu], with
I se] = a in hat.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 35
[06] is frequently pronounced; see remarks on
[al]. There is another pronunciation, [rey], [03!],
heard in the North -East and other parts of
Germany, but [oy], [oi] is the more usual form.
Other varieties of this third diphthong occur
in provincial pronunciation; e. g. [ay], [aey].
The spellings used for this diphthong are:
1. eu; e. g. Heu [hoy], hay.
2. au; e. g. glaubig [gloybi*^], believing.
3. oi, in originally Low German words; e. g.
Boi [boy], buoy.
%* Take care not to make the [o] of [oy]
very open, nor to prolong it, as in English
oi in oil. In the German [oy] the [o] should be
short and only moderately open.
NASAL VOWELS.
Any vowel may be made nasal, by lowering
the uvula during its articulation and thus allow-
ing the nose to serve as a resonance chamber
in addition to the mouth cavity. Nasal vowels
are not used in genuine German words, but
occur in words borrowed from the French language.
Although they are very generally replaced by a
"pure" oral vowel followed by the nasal con-
sonant [rj] = ng in ring, 1 especially in the
North of Germany, careful speakers will retain
1 The same is commonly done in English.
3*
gg GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
them. They are however all pronounced long,
whatever may be their quantity in French.
The French spelling is always preserved;
e. g. Ballon [ha'15:], balloon, Chance [Ja:sa], chance,
Bassin [ba'se:], basin, Vingt-un [v«:'tce:], rather
than [ba'lorj], [Jarjsa], [ba'serj], [ver/tcerj].
%.* English speakers of German must be
careful to give these nasal vowels their proper
values, apart from the nasality, and especially
not to confuse [a:] and [5:], which are kept quite
as distinct in German as they are in French.
2. CONSONANTS.
CONSONANTS are speech-sounds produced by
either squeezing or stopping the outgoing breath
in some part of the mouth or throat. Squeezed
consonants are called "continuants;" stopped
consonants, "stops," or "explodents."
A voice-sound (vocal murmur) may be com-
bined with any consonant of either class. Thus
we have to distinguish between voiceless (or
"breath") stops or continuants, and voiced (or
"voice") stops or continuants. Voiceless con-
sonants are, as a rule, pronounced more forcibly
than voiced ones; so the former are commonly
called "sharp," and the latter, "flat."
Voiced consonants, except liquids and nasals,
do not occur final in German pronunciation.
If, whilst assuming any "stop" articulation,
GEBMAN SOUNDS. 37
we allow the air to pass out through the nose,
by lowering the uvula, we obtain the correspon-
ding "nasal" consonant.
The following diagram, which should be
compared with the one given on page 7, shows
the places in which the various stops and friction
channels are formed.
Front and Back Consonants
qk-n
(Hard Palate) (Soft Palate)
Point- dt-nlr '"••-.. /^ (Urula)
Col
sonants
LIP CONSONANTS.
LEP- STOP -BREATH, [p], — This consonant is
formed by closing and reopening1 the lips.
It is the sound of English p in pea, lip.
The German [p] is the same, except in the
combination [pfj, when the [p]-stop is usually,
because more conveniently, effected by pressing
the lower lip against the upper teeth, the follow-
ing continuant [f] having this lip-teeth articu-
lation. Initial [p] preceding an accented vowel,
or final [p] following one, is aspirated, i. e. pro-
nounced with a forcible emission of breath,
1 Sometimes closing or opening only, according to
the position in which the [p] ocean.
38
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
almost as [p H- h] ; and this is often the case in
English also.
German [p] is spelt: —
1. p, e. g. Paar [pair], pair.
2. pp, after short vowels; e. g. Eappe [rap9],
black horse.
3. b final, i. e. followed by no other letter,
or by consonants only, e. g. ab pap], off.
In the Middle and South of Germany, [p]
is as a rule used in conversation, etc., in the
beginning of a certain number of words only,
whilst in all other cases Middle and South Ger-
man speakers substitute for [p] their flat but
voiceless [b]-sound, = [tyj, mentioned in the
following section ; and similarly with other stops.
In some parts of the country (e. g., the kingdom
of Saxony) the confusion is still greater.
The confusion in the pronunciation of con-
sonants made by many German speakers of Eng-
lish, and so amusingly illustrated in "Punch"
and other comic papers, is explained partly by
these dialectal peculiarities, and partly by the
well established German sound-law, by no means
a dialectal one, that all final consonants, except
liquids and nasals, are pronounced voiceless and
sharp (page 36).
LIP -STOP -VOICE, [b]. — Same as preceding
sound, only pronounced voiced and flat.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 3Q
English b in be, rib.
German [b], which, like other voiced conso-
nants, does not occur at the end of a word, has
only two spellings: —
1. b, e. g. Sahn [ba:n], track, railway.
2. bb, in Low German and other loan-words;
e. g. Ebbe p«b9], ebb.
The Middle and South German b, = [b], is
voiceless, and might almost be described as a
very weak [p]. This sound is also often used
instead of [p], as has been remarked in the
preceding section. For b medial, the lip-lip
continuant alluded to on page 40, is generally
heard in Middle and South Germany; e. g.
lAebe liiva.
LIP-STOP-VOICE-NASAL, [m]. — English m in
me, am.
German [m] is identical with the English,1
only when final after a short vowel , it is pro-
nounced shorter than English [m]. This remark
applies to all German and English consonants;
but only in the "liquid" sounds [m], [n], [ij],
[r], [1] need the difference be particularly in-
sisted upon.
German [m] is spelt: —
1. m, e. g. mir [mi:r], (to) me.
1 mpf, as in Kampf, fight, is often [mf] with lip-
teeth [m].
40
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
2. mm, after short vowels; e. g. Lamm
[lam], lamb.
%* Pronounce [m] final abruptly after a short
vowel, as in Lamm.
LlP -TEETH -CONTINUANT -BREATH, [f]. — In Ut-
tering this "labio-dental" sound the lower lip is
pressed against the upper teeth. English /"in fee, if.
The following spellings occur for [fj: — ,
1. f, e. g. Fall [fal], fall.
2. ff, after short vowels ; e. g. Schiff [/if], ship.
3. v, e. g. viel [fi:l], much.
4. ph, mostly in words originally Greek;
e. g. Philosoph [filo'zo:f), philosopher.
5. pph, in the Greek name Sappho [zafo:].
LlP -TEETH -CONTINUANT -VOICE, [v]. — Same
sound, flat and voiced.
German [v] is like English v in very, but
less distinctly buzzed. It is spelt: —
1. «;, e. g. wohl [vo:l], well.
2. v, only in foreign words; e. g. Vase
[va:za], vase.
3. M, in the combination qu; e. g. Qua!
[kva:l], torture.
4. wh, in the English word Whist [vist], whist.
In Middle and part of South Germany the
lip-teeth continuant [v] is replaced by a lip-lip con-
tinuant [v], which indeed hardly deserves the name
of continuant, as it is pronounced very rapidly,
GERMAN SOUNDS. 4J
so that, as a rule, also its vocal quality is lost,
or becomes indistinct (= v).
In the combinations qu and schw, that is to
say after the sounds [k] and [J], the lip-lip [v]
is generally resorted to also by North German
speakers, the sound, as a rule, becoming at the
same time voiceless, on account of its close con-
nection with the voiceless [k] or [J] preceding it.
Also when voiced, both the North and the
South German lip-lip continuant are quite distinct
from the sound of English w in we, or u in
queen, as neither are the lips rounded nor is the
back of the tongue raised in their pronunciation.
%* 1. Buzz German [v] less strongly than
English [v].
2. Do not confuse German qu in pronun-
ciation with English qu, nor pronounce German
schw as you would pronounce shw in English.
Compare Quell [kt>«l], well, with English quell
POINT AND TEETH CONSONANTS.
POINT-STOP-BREATH, [t]. — German [t] is pro-
nounced by pressing for a moment either the
tongue-point or else part of the tongue-blade (the
upper surface of the tongue-front immediately
behind the point) against the roots of the upper
teeth. The former mode is used in the North,
the latter in the South of the country.
In pronouncing English [t], the tongue point
42
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
is in a similar position to that of North German
[t], but at the same time a portion of the hard
palate appears to be covered by the tongue-blade.
Thus English [t] approaches a front-stop con-
sonant, or forward [k],1 and has a decidedly
"thicker" effect than German [t].
As to "aspirated" [t], see page 37, on [p].
For [t] we have the following spellings : —
1. t, e. g. Tau [tau], rope.
2. tt, after short vowels ; e. g. fett [fet], fat.
3. th, e. g. Thron [tro:n], throne.
4. d final, e. g. Hand [hant], hand.
5. dt, only rarely; e. g. Stadt [Jtat], town.
South and Middle German practice generally
replaces [t] by "voiceless [d]" = [dj. See follow-
ing section and remarks on [p], page 37.
*** In pronouncing German [t], try to form
the stoppage between the tongue-point and the
teeth-roots only. It is almost a stopped [6] =
th in thin.
POINT- STOP -VOICE, [d]. — Same sound, flat
and voiced.
German [d] is represented by: —
1. d, e. g. du [du:], thou.
2. dd, after short vowels, in Low German
or foreign words ; e. g. Kladde [klada], waste-book.
1 It is not always easy to keep English [t] and [k]
distinct; at least will sound like ac least, clay like tlay,
etc. No such difficulty is experienced in German.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 43
As to South and Middle German "voiceless
[d]" = [d], compare remark on [h], page 39.
POINT -STOP -VOICE -NASAL, [n]. — The mouth-
closure is the same as in German [t] or [d].
See also remarks on [m], page 39.
German [n] appears in spelling as: —
1. w, e. g. nie [ni:], never.
2. nn, after short vowels; e. g. Mann
[man], man.
%* Pronounce [n] final short after a short
vowel as well as in other positions.
TEETH -CONTINUANT -BREATH (THIN), [s]. — In
producing this sound, the breath is directed on
to the teeth, by means of a narrow channel
running in the longitudinal central line of the
tongue - blade. The latter (in North German
pronunciation a more forward part than in South
German pronunciation) approaches the gums just
behind the upper teeth, but the sound owes its
sibilance to the friction which the breath under-
goes in passing out between the upper and lower
front teeth.
English [s] is very similar to North German
[s], but probably rather "wider" in its tongue
articulation.
German [s] is written: —
1. s (in Gothic — or "German" — characters
8 ; and f before consonants, except initial sp and
st, where s = [/]), e. g. List [list], stratagem.
44 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
.2. ss (represented by ff in Gothic caracters),
after short vowels; e. g. Kasse [kasa], cash.
3. fs (still frequently printed ss; Gothic
equivalent, jj, not ff), e. g. Fufs [fu:s], foot.
4. c and $ , in words from the French ; e. g.
Annonce [Vnoisa], advertisement, Fa$on, now
Fasson, [fa'so:], shape.
Besides ts, its, etc., the combination [ts] is
also spelt in the following ways: —
1. s, e. g. zu [tsu:], to, too.
2. tz, after short vowels; e. g. Satz [zats],
sentence.
3. c, before front vowels, in foreign words*
e. g. Cis [tsis], C sharp.
4. t, before unaccented i, in foreign words;
e. g. Nation [natsl'om], nation.
5. eet in some Italian words; e. g. Skizze,
[skitsa], sketch.
For [ks], besides Jcs, chs, etc., we also have
the spelling: —
a:, e. g. Axt pakst], axe.
In Middle and South Germany , [s] is pro-
nounced less strongly than in the North, and in
no way differs from the sound used for North
German [z]. See the following section.
%* Bear in mind that, although the same
letter as English e, German z, apart from a few
loan-words, has quite another phonetic value,
i. e. [ts], the [t] and the [s] closely connected,
but both pronounced strongly and distinctly *=
GERMAN SOUNDS. 45
ft] and [s]. To pronounce German z = [z],
like English #, is utterly wrong; and the com-
promise tried by many English speakers of Ger-
man, to make it = [dz], is not much better.
Compare: — English zeal [zi:jl], German Ziel
[tsi:l], aim.
TEETH- CONTINUANT-VOICE (THIN), [z]. — Same
sound, flat and voiced.
English z in zeal, or s in lose.
In German it is spelt: —
1. s (always \ when Gothic characters are
used), only before vowels or liquids; e. g. so
[zo:], so.
2. z, only in some foreign words : e. g. Gaze
[ga:z9], gauze.
This voiced sound is generally recognized
only in the North of Germany, and in a large
part of it [sz] is heard for initial [z].
In the Middle and South both for this and
the preceding sound, a rather flat [s]-sound is
used indiscriminately, which might be defined
as "voiceless [z]." 'Middle and South German
poets, Goethe and Schiller not excepted, therefore
de not object to rhymes such as Grofse : Getose.
Between vowels, however, this [z] frequently be-
comes voiced, no matter whether it stands for
the North German [z], or [s].
On the stage [.>] and [z] are kept distinct.
46
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
TEETH -CONTINUANT -BREATH (BROAD), [/]. —
The "broad" sibilant in German is formed by the
breath escaping in a broad current between the
upper and lower teeth-rows, whilst the lips are
protruded, in order to increase the resonance of
the hissing sound produced by the friction of
the breath passing over the edges of the teeth.
English [/], the sound of sh in shy, has a
different articulation, the blade of the tongue
being retracted and approached to the hard
palate, thus forming a second friction channel
in addition to the one supplied by the teeth;
protrusion of the lips, on the other hand, is
dispensed with.
For German [/] the following spellings are
used: —
1. sch (fcfj in Gothic characters), e. g. scharf
[Jarf], sharp.
2. s initial before p or t (fp, ft in Gothic
characters), e. g. sprechen [Jpr«c,9n], speak, stehen
[Jteian], stand.
3. ch, only in French words; e. g. Chef
[Jefj, head, principal.
4. c, in Italian words, e. g. Cello [/do:],
violoncello.
5. sh, in English words; e. g. Shawl [Jail],
shawl.
6. a?, in Don Quixote, which is generally
pronounced after the French fashion — [d5:ki/ot].
GERMAN SOUNDS. 47
Besides tsch, [tf] is also spelt: —
ch, in foreign words; e. g. Guttapercha
[gota'pertfa:], gutta percha.
In large districts of the originally Low Ger-
man part of the country, and also in Hanover,
initial s preceding p or t, as in sprechen, stehen,
is pronounced [s], in accordance with the spelling.
This provincialism is to be explained in the
following way.
In Middle High German, not only the present
initial sp and st (corresponding to sp and st in
the cognate English words, e. g. sprechen =
speak, stehen = stand) but also the modern
initial schl, schm, schn, and schw (corresponding
to English si, sm, sn, and sw, e. g. schlagen =
slay, Schmerg = smart, Schnee = snow, schwim-
men = swim) were spelled with s, the pronun-
ciation everywhere being [s].
From explicit statements of grammarians
writing in the first half of the sixteenth century,
we know, however, that in all these cases, sp
and st included, the s had in their time come
to be pronounced the same as sch, and that sch
instead of s was often, as now regularly, written
before I, m, n, and w, but rarely before p and
t, where the old habit of writing s prevailed in
the end.1
1 Probably on account of the frequent occurrence
of medial and final sp and st in German, as well as of
48
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
When the Low Germans, in learning the
literary High German, came across such spellings
as sprechen and stehen, they pronounced the sp
and st all the more readily [sp] and [st], as
initial sp or st never had — and, in fact, never
has, up to the present day — been pronounced
otherwise in the corresponding Low German
words, with which they had hitherto been, and
continued to be, familiar.
Thus [spregan] and [steian] etc., for [Jpr£C.8n]
and [Jteian] clearly are hybridisms, which cannot
be admitted in good pronunciation, and have
deservedly been banished from the stage, even
in the town of Hanover itself.
%* 1. Try to pronounce German [/] without
pointing the tip of the tongue towards the gums
or the hard palate.
2. Remember that initial sp and st stand
for schp and scht, and that to pronounce [s], in-
stead of [J], in these combinations, would be
substituting a Low German and English for the
correct High German sound.
TEETH-CONTINUANT-VOICE (BROAD), [3]. — Same
sound, flat and voiced.
English [5] = s in pleasure differs from
German [5], as English [J] does from German [J].
initial sp and st in Latin. Moreover, sclipr, schtr (the
other combinations, si, sm, etc., do not occur before r,
or any other consonant) would have looked very ungainly.
UJSKMAN SOUMD8. 49
This sound is not a genuine German sound,
but has been borrowed from abroad, together
with its spellings: —
1. j, mostly in French words; e. g. Journal
[gur'na:!], journal.
2. g, and ge, in words originally French,
Italian, etc. ; e. g. Logis [lo'gi:], lodging, Sergeant
[zer'sant], sergeant.
The combination [ds], which also does not
occur in originally German words, is spelt in
the same ways: —
1. j, in a few English words; e. g. Joe/key
[dsakal], jockey.
2. g, also in English loan-words; e. g.
Gentleman [dsentalmen], gentleman.
The [d] is, however, often omitted, [djokal],
[djentalman] thus becoming [jokal], [5«ntal-
man], etc.
In the Middle and South of Germany, the
[3]-sound is not recognised, and [3], [ds] are
pronounced as if spelled sch, tsch, only not so
strongly as North German [J], [tf], - - voiceless,
but flat. See remarks on [z], page 45.
POINT-CONTINUANT-VOICE (TRILLED), [r]. — Ger-
man lingual [r] is formed by bringing the tongue-
point loosely against the gums and causing it to
vibrate by means of the outgoing breath. It is,
as a rule, voiced, but occasionally it becomes
Vis-roc, German Pronunciation. 5th ed. 4
50 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
partly voiceless when closely connected with
breath-consonants.
English [r] (initial or medial) has a similar
tongue-position, but is not trilled, or trilled very
slightly, except in provincial (Scotch, Irish, etc.)
pronunciation.
German [r] is represented by: —
1. r, e. g. rauh [rail], rough.
2. rr, after short vowels ; e. g. Narr [nar], fool.
3. rh, and rrh, in words originally Greek;
e. g. Rhabarber [ra'barbar], rhubarb; Katarrh
[ka'tar], catarrh, cold.
Tongue-point [r] is still the only one ad-
mitted in artistic singing, and in the stage-
language, apart from farcical comedies and the
like. In general use it is, however, rapidly
losing ground before the "uvular" or "guttural"
[R] (uvular trill), in England known as the
"Northumbrian burr," which already prevails in
large districts, both in North and South Ger-
many, especially the larger towns.
This is to be regretted, as the guttural [R]
is certainly a less pleasing sound than the lingual
[r], and if not distinctly trilled, is very apt to
clash with the back-continuants [g] and [x], thus
Waren, goods, sounding like Wagen, carriage,
wart, (you) were, like wagt, ventures, etc.
Final r = [r], and er = [ar], are mostly
weaker. They have, with a vast number of speakers,
entirely lost their [r]-sound, and have become
GERMAN SOUNDS. 5J
an open vowel, mostly some kind of [a]. Thus a
native of Berlin will call himself, not a [ber'limar],
but a [bea'li:na] ; hier, here, is pronounced [hi:a],
sehr, very, [ze:a]; vor, before, [fo:a], nur, only,
[nu:a]; war, was, [va:] or [va:a]; Kinder, children,
[kmda], etc.; just as English here has become,
at least in the South, [hi:a], there, [feia], poor,
[puia], far, [faia] or [fa:], better, [beta], except when
immediately followed by another word beginning
with a vowel, when final r in English (not in
German) recovers its [r]-sound.
But the final "vocal" r = [a], etc., is not
yet considered as belonging to "correct" German
pronunciation, and can, therefore, just as little
be recommended to English speakers of German,
as can the "guttural" r = [R].
*+* Pronounce r (rr, rh, rrh) wherever it
occurs in German spelling, also when final, as
tongue-point [r]; also avoid lengthening an ac-
cented short vowel preceding final r as in hart,
hard, which is pronounced [hart], and not with
long a, as e. g. in zart, tender, = [tsairt].
POINT-TEETH-CONTINUANT-VOICE (DIVIDED), [1]. —
Whilst the tip of the tongue forms a centre
stop against the gums, the breath is allowed
to escape between the sides of the tongue and
the teeth. The back of the tongue is not raised,
as it is in pronouncing English [1], which by
52
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
this receives a guttural character. Like [r], [1]
is regularly voiced.
There are only two spellings for German [1] :
1. I, e. g. lahm [la:m], lame.
2. II, after short vowels; e. g. voll [fol], full.
%* The back of the tongue must be kept
down in pronouncing German [1], especially when
final, to avoid gutturality.
FRONT AND BACK CONSONANTS.
BACK- STOP-BREATH, [k]. — This stop is formed,
as in English, between the back of the tongue
and a more or less forward part of the palate,
according to the sound following or preceding
the [k]-sound. In articulating German [k],
however, a smaller portion of the palate is
covered, and it is therefore less "thick" in its
acoustic effect than the English sound. The
spelling varies greatly: —
1. k, e. g. Tcdhl, [kail], bald.
2. ck, after short vowels ; e. g. dick [dik], thick.
3. ch, in a number of German words, when
followed by s = [s]; e. g. Achse paksa], axle;
also in many foreign words, names, etc., e. g.
Chor [ko:r], choir.
4. q, always followed by u = [v] (or [v],
page 41); e. g. Quelle [kvda], well, spring; in
foreign words sometimes preceded by c, which
is not pronounced separately; e. g. Acquisition
Pakvizitsfom], acquisition.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 53
5. e, in foreign words; e. g. Cognac, now
spelt Rognak, [konjak], cognac.
6. cc, also in foreign words; e. g. Accord,
now AkJcord, [9a'kort], accord.
7. g final; (a) used alternatively with [cj,
after front vowels, and after consonants; e. g.
Sieg [zi:k] or [zi:cj, victory, Berg [berk] or [berg],
mountain , and with [x] , after back consonants,
e. g. Tag [ta:k] or [ta:x], day, zog [tso:k] or
[tso:x] , drew (sing.) ; (6) regularly , followed by
s, in flugs [fluks],1 quickly, as also in a few
foreign words, e. g. Log [lok], log.
8. gg final, in a few foreign words; e. g.
Brigg [bnk], brig.
BACK -STOP -VOICE, [g]. — Same sound, flat
and voiced.
English [g], as pronounced in go, beg, differs
from German [g], as English [k] does from
German [k].
The German spellings are: —
1. g; (a) medial,2 used alternatively with
[j], after front vowels, and after consonants,
e. g. Siege [zi:ga] or [zi:ja], victories, Serge
[bfirga] or [berja], mountains, and with [g], after
1 Originally genitive case of Plug, flight, which
was vluc = fflck] in Middle High German, but is
now [flu:Vx].
8 i. e., in the interior of the word, including in-
flections, but not suffixes, such as -nis, -lich, etc.
54 OEBMAN PRONUNCIATION.
back vowels, e. g. Tage [ta:ga] or [taiga], days,
zogen [tso:gan] or [tsoigan], drew(plur.); (6) initial,
regularly; e. g. gut [gu:t], good, also after pre-
fixes, like be-, ge-, ver-, eer- etc., and in com-
position; e. g. vergehen, pass away, [fer'ge:8n],
dbgehen, go away, papgeian], a,$gehen, go, [geian];
or, in foreign words, in the beginning of the
accented syllable, e. g. regieren [re'giiran], reign,
Kongress [kon'gres], congress.
2. gg, after short vowels, in Low German
loan-words, etc.; e. g. Flagge [flaga], flag.
3. gu, in foreign words, e. g. Guinee
[gi'ne:], guinea.
In North German provincial pronunciations,
the corresponding continuants, jj], [g], [$], or
[x] are used instead of initial [g]; e. g. [j] in
Berlin gut [ju:t], [x] in Westphalian gut [xu:t].
BACK-STOP-VOICE-NASAL, [g]. — The mouth-
closure is the same as for [k] or [g]. English
ng in singer.
See remarks on [m], page 39.
This sound, which, as in English, does not
occur at the beginning of a word, is represented by:
1. ng, e. g. singen [zirjan], sing, lang [lag], long.
2. n, before [k] or, in foreign words, [g];
e. g. Dank [darjk], thanks, Albalonga [?alba>
logga:] (name).
Final ng, as in lang, is pronounced [gk], in-
stead of [g] simply, in a great part of North
GERMAN SOUNDS. 55
Germany; [gg] instead of [g] = medial ny, as
in singen, is heard in Westphalia only. These
provincialisms are gradually retreating before
the simple [g]. On the other hand, [gn] instead
of [gn] in foreign words, such as Agnes pagnes],
pagnes] (name), is still very frequent.
*** (?]> which is only found after short
vowels, must be pronounced abruptly.
FRONT -CONTINUANT -BREATH, [<jj. — This con-
sonant, the so-called "tcA-Laut," is formed be-
tween the front of the tongue and the middle
of the hard palate, in the same place where the
vowel [i] is articulated.
It is not a regular English consonant, but
sometimes occurs as the initial sound of hue,
hew, etc.
In German, we have the two spellings: —
1. ch, after front vowels, and after con-
sonants; e. g. ich pig], I, solch [zolcj, such;
also initial ch in many foreign words; e. g.
Charon [c,a:ron] (proper name).
2. g final, after front vowels, and after con-
sonants (used alternatively with [k], see page 53);
e. g. Sieg [ziicj, victory, Berg [berg], mountain.
The suffix -ig, as in Konig, king, is pronounced
[ic,] by many speakers who generally use [k] for -g.
In certain districts, this sound approaches
[J], especially English [J], for which see page 46.
56
OBBMAN PRONUNCIATION.
In good pronunciation, the two sounds are kept
distinct. Instead of [cj, in the North-East the
back continuant [x] is used before back vowels,
as in Charon.
%* 1. Take care to keep [cj distinct as
well from [/] as from the back-continuant or
"acA-Laut," [x], which is quite a different sound.
Compare the diagram on page 37, and the re-
marks on [x], page 58.
2. Pronounce final g after front vowels, etc.,
either exactly the same as k, or exactly the
same as ch in ich, i. e. as a sharp voiceless
consonant, and not as a voiced, or half-voiced
one, as Englishmen are inclined to do. Final
[gL or [j]» °r [§]» although not unfrequently in-
sisted upon by professors of singing and elo-
cution, and prescribed in their text -books,
are undoubtedly wrong, being in direct con-
tradiction to the general sound-law that voiced
consonants (except liquids and nasals), when
terminating a word, become voiceless.
FRONT-CONTINUANT-VOICE, ft']. — Same sound,
flat and voiced.
English y in yes, you, if distinctly buzzed,
may be identified with German [j].
German [j] is spelt: —
1. j, only initial in genuine German words ;
e. g. ja [ja:], yes, Major [ma'jo:r], major.
GERMAN SOUNDS. 57
2. y, in foreign words; e. g. Tukatan [ju:-
katan] (name), loyal [lo'jarl], loyal.
3. not represented in words originally French
such as Bouteitte [bu'tdje], bottle, Mignon [mm'jo:]
(name),1 etc.
4. g medial, after front vowels, and after
consonants (used alternatively with [g], see
page 53); e. g. Siege [ziija], victories, Serge
[bcrja), mountains, regnen (stem, regn-) [reijnan],
rain. In the suffix ig, followed by some in-
flectional termination, as e. g. in heiliger, or,
with i omitted, heiTger, g is pronounced [j] even
in some districts where medial [g] generally
prevails.
In Middle and South Germany, [j], except
when represented in spelling by g, is replaced
by [I].
When = g in spelling, it is in Middle Ger-
many not distinguished from ch = "*cA-Laut."
This must not be imitated.
BACK-CONTINUANT-BREATH, (x). — This sound,
the "acWLaut," is articulated between the back
of the tongue and the middle of the soft palate,
where also the vowel [u] is formed.
1 Unaccented », otherwise pronounced P], often
becomes [j] in such words as Familie [fa'mirlja], family,
Spanien Qpamjan], Spain, etc.
58
OEKMAN PRONUNCIATION.
It may be heard in Scotland, for ch in
loch, or for the initial sound of wh in what,
where however it is "labialized," the lips being
rounded as in pronouncing [u].
The German [x] has the following spellings
(compare "i'cA-Laut," page 55): —
1. ch, after back vowels; e. g. ach pax],
ah, Buck, [bu:x], book.
2. cch, in some Greek or Latin names; e.
g. Bacchus [baxus].
3. g final, after back vowels (used alterna-
tively with [k], see page 55); e. g. Tag [ta:x],
day, eog, [tsoix], drew (sing.).
BACK-CONTINUANT-VOICE, [g]. — Same sound,
flat and voiced.
[g] has the same relationship to [g] as [x]
has to [k].
In German it is represented only by: —
g medial, after back vowels (used alternati-
vely with [g], see page 57); e. g. Tage [taiga],
days, zogen [tsoigen] drew (plur.).
In Middle Germany, the "oe^-Laut" is
wrongly used instead of [g].
As to the alternative pronunciations of
medial g as either [g] or [j] and [g] , and of
final g as either [k] or [$] and [x] , the former
is used in the South of Germany and in Silesia,
as also on the stage and in the concert room all
GERMAN SOUNDS. 59
over the country; the latter in the Midland
and in the North.1
The second mode is still the one followed
by the majority of speakers, but has been losing
ground for the last ten or fifteen years, the
simpler and more consistent "stop" pronunciation
of g, especially medial [g], being gradually
adopted in schools. Moreover medial [g] by the
side of final [c,] and [x], e. g. in Siege [ziiga],
Sieg [zi:c.], has long been employed in Hanove-
rian pronunciation.
THROAT CONSONANTS
THROAT-STOP-BREATH, [?]. -- This sound, the
"glottal stop," is produced by closing and
reopening the glottis with an explosion of breath,
in the same manner as in coughing, only less
forcibly.
The glottal stop, which is not used in Eng-
lish, in German regularly precedes every initial
vowel, in compounds as well as in simple words.
In the usual spelling it is not represented.
E. g. all [?al], all, uberall [*?y:b8r"?al], every-
where, irren, piran], err, abirren, paptoan],
swerve.
Only where a compound is no longer felt as
1 In the language of the stage , -ig is pronounced
[15], except when followed by -Uch\ -ige etc. being
[ige] etc., 'ge etc. (e. g. in heil'ge), [ja] ete.
60
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
such, the glottal stop is omitted, e. g. atiein
pa'lam], alone, from all pal], all, and ein pain],
one. So also Obacht poibaxt], heed, Einode
Pam0:da], desert, daraus [dai'raus], heraus [he'raiis],
Jiinaus [hi'naus], out of it, and similar adverbs
compounded with dar, her, hin, etc.
When a word, in speaking rapidly, is closely
connected with the preceding one, it frequently
loses its initial [?]; especially unaccented little
words such as ich, er, es, etc., e. g. mil ich
[vil icj, hat er [hat ar], mufs es [mus as], instead
of [vil ?IQ], [hat ?e:r], [mus ^es].1
In various, especially South German, pro-
vincial pronunciations, the glottal stop is not used.
%* Be careful to employ the [?] before
every initial not altogether unaccented vowel in
German. Say pap'iran], not papiran], still less
pabiran], etc.
THROAT- CONTINUANT- BREATH, [h]. — This sound,
the so-called "aspirate," is formed in emitting
breath through the glottis, whilst the vocal
chords are sufficiently approached to each other
to cause friction.
In English, the emission of breath forming
the [h] is not very strong, and sensibly diminishes
before the following vowel commences; whilst
1 So often '« ist [zist], it is, 'tis, instead of es ist
GERMAN SOUNDS. ft\
German [h] is pronounced forcibly and is imme-
diately connected with the following vowel, which,
as may be inferred, must have some (not ne-
cessarily primary) accent.
Between vowels, in German as well in Eng-
lish, [h] becomes voiced, the breath passing only,
through the cartilage glottis, whilst the chord
glottis is closed for producing voice.
The German [h]-sound is never "dropped,"
even by the most vulgar speakers.1
It is always represented by: —
h, e. g. Hand [hant], hand, Ahorn paihorn],
maple-tree.
%* Pronounce German [h] strongly and
shortly, avoiding the decrescendo effect of Eng-
lish [h]. Compare English hand [h>aen:d] with
German Hand [hant].
1 The written letter h, however, is very often
"mute," or only serves to indicate that the following or
preceding vowel is long. See the following chapter,
and also the examples given on pages 8, 11, 14, 17, 18,
21, 26, 29.
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET
AND THEIE PHONETIC VALUES IN GERMAN.
Having in the preceding chapter considered
the German speech-sounds and their spellings,
we may now try to determine in detail when a
certain letter or letter-combination is to have
one or another of the various pronunciations
for which it may stand.
It will be useful to premise the following
remarks with reference to German spelling and
syllabication.
A syllable is "open," when it terminates in
a vowel; it is "closed," when the last sound (or
letter) is a consonant. In German syllabication,
simple consonants between vowels are allotted to
the second syllable, the former syllable thus re-
maining "open." fs, ch, and sch, ph, th, dt, ng,
where they represent one sound only, are treated
as simple consonants.
Double consonants, and two different con-
sonants, are divided between the two syllables,
and thus the former syllable becomes "closed."
For kk, ck is written (divided k-k).
Digraphs and trigraphs are never doubled,
eh, sch, etc.. being sometimes equivalent to chch,
GERMAN SOUNDS. gg
schsch', ng, when not = n-g , always stands, so
to say, for ngng.
In an open syllable, if not unaccented, the
vowel is pronounced long; in a closed syllable,
not being the last, it is pronounced short.
When a closed syllable is the last, its vowel
is short if followed by more than one consonant
sign, but long if followed by one only, because it
becomes open as soon as an inflectional ter-
mination beginning with a vowel is added ; e. g.
gut, good, gu-te.
Final fs = fj is in many words to be read
as ss = ff, which is not used at the end of a
word ; e. g. Eofs, horse, dative case, Eos-se ; but
Flofs, raft, dative case, Flo-fse.
In word-forms that can take no inflection,
and in some few that can be inflected, simple
final consonants are written also after short
vowels; e. g. mit, with.
Older loan-words from Greek and Latin on
the whole comply with these rules. Stop -f- 1 or
r, as well as f + r, generally both belong to the
following syllable, e. g. Atreus = A-treus.
Many younger loan-words, however, especially
those retaining their original spelling, form ex-
ceptions.
a.
1. = [a:] in open syllables, e. g. da, there,
laden, load; and before simple final consonants:
e. g. war, was.
64 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION
Before fs (when it does not stand for ss,
but remains fs before terminations beginning
with a vowel) = [s] in: —
afs, ' ate, frafs, ate, Frafs, food, mafs, mea-
sured, Mafs, measure, safe, sat, Spafs, fun,
vergafs, forgot.
Before ch (which consequently does not stand
for ckck) = [x] in: —
brack, fallow, brack, broke, nach, after,
Sckmack, disgrace, sprack, spoke, Sprache,
language, stack, stung.
Often before sck = [J] in drasck, thrashed.
EXCEPTIONS. — Short [a] in open syllable,
in interjections : da, there ! ja, why ! indeed !, na,
well! and in loan-words such as: —
Ardber,2 Arab, AttA.gue, attack, Claque,
claque, Fialcer,8 cab, GtJa, gala, Grammtdik,
grammar, grammhtisch, grammatical, Kbkadu,
cockatoo, Kknapee, sofa, K&nevas, canvas,
Metapher, metaphor, Paletot, paletot, Sapkir,
sapphire, Tsckdko, shako.
Also short vowel in Atlas, Sfifran.
Short [a] before simple final consonant,
mostly in words that cannot be inflected, and
loan-words: —
1 Compounds, derivatives, etc., always included.
> parabar]. But, arabisch ['a'ra:bifl.
* [fi'akar]. Also pronounced ffi:akar].
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. Q£
db, of, am — an dem, at the, an, at, on,
As, ace, A flat, Bamberg (name), Dam-, in Dam-
hirsch, fallow deer, das, that, the, Hani, Ham
(name), Hamburg (name), hat, has, man, one,
Mar-, in Marstall, (royal) mews, Marbach, Mar-
burg (names), Wai-, in Walnufs, walnut, Wal-
fisch, whale, was, what.
In unaccented syllables, in Nektar, nectar,
Seraph, seraph, TombaTc, pinchbeck, Vivat, cheer,
and generally in Bisam, musk, Brautigam, bride-
groom, Eidam, son-in-law, Islam, Islam.
2. = [a] in closed syllables (page 62) ; e. g.
warten, wait, all, all.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [a:] in closed syllable1 in:
Arlberg* (name), Arnsberg2 (name), Art, manner,
Arzt, physician, Bart, beard, Bratsche, viol, Glatz
(name), Gratz (name), Hardt (name), Hare, resin
(also name), Jagd, hunting, Kap, cape, Kladdera-
dfitsch (name of comic paper), Karb^tsche, lash,
Magd, maid, Papst, pope, Quarz, quartz,
Schwarte, skin of bacon, Starnberg* (name),
Start, start, eart, tender.
Unaccented in Hoffart, haughtiness.
1 Also in Adler, because rather = A-dler, than
Ad-ler,
2 Short [a], where the correct local pronunciation
is not known. Also in most of the other words short [a]
frequently heard. Always [a:] in Papst.
VifiTOB, German Pronunciation, 5«> ed. 5
QQ GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
aa.1
1. Regularly = [ai] : —
Aal, eel, Aar, eagle (and name), Aas, carrion,
Haar, hair, Paar, pair, (ein) paar, some, Saal,
hall, Saat, seed, Staat, state.
2. =- [a], sometimes in Isadk [9i:zak], Isaac.
ah.
Always = [a:]; e. g. nah, near, fahnden,
search.
ai.
1. = [ai] in German words and naturalized
loan-words:
Bai, bay, frith, Hai, shark, Hain, grove,
Kaiser, emperor, Laib, loaf, Laieh, spawn, Laie,
layman, Ldkai, lackey, Mai, May, Maid, maiden,
Mais, maize, Maisch, mash, Rain, ridge of laud,
Saite, string, Waid, woad, Waise, orphan;
also in German or Germanized names, as
Mailand, Milan, Main, Maicr, etc., and followed
by mute I, in French words in -ail, where [ai]
is very nearly the original pronunciation; e. g.
Detail, detail; similarly -ailles in Versailles
(name).8
1 i. e. aa as a digraph. No notice is taken of
words like Saal (name), Barlaam (name), where either
a has its separate value. Similarly in the following
sections.
8 Yet, as French "I mouilte" is generally taken for
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. gy
2. = [«:], in French words, where ai is thus
pronounced in French; e. g. Palais, palace.
•
ain.
Pronounced [?:] in French loan-words such as
Train, baggage (of an army). North German
— not, however, stage — pronunciation, [eg].
am, an.
Pronounced [a:] in French loan-words such
as Chance, chance. North German pronun-
ciation, [arj].
Not when am is followed by a lip-stop, or
an by a point-stop: — Champagner [Jarn'panjar],
champagne ; Gouvernante [guver'nanto] , gover-
ness; G-irlande [gir'landa], garland. — Bankier
[barjk'jei], banker.
an.
1. = [att] in all really German words; e.
g. Au, lea.
2. = [o:] in French loan-words; e. g. Sauce,
now also Sofse, sauce.
aw.
Pronounced [a:] in the English loan-word
Shawl, now Schal, shawl.
[Ij], and final voiced [j] becomes voiceless [$] according
to a German sound-law mentioned before, [de'talcj, [vtr-
'zalc.], instead of [de'tal], [ver'sai], etc., are frequently
heard, especially in the North. This must not be imitated.
5*
68
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
ay.
1. = [al], only used in names; e. g. Bayern,
Bavaria, Mayer (name).
2. = [a:] in loan-words such as Essay, 1 essay.
a.
1. = [«:] in open syllables ; e. g. saen, sow ;
and before simple final consonants; e. g. Bar,
bear.
Before fs final (not standing for ss) = [s] in :
Gefafs, vessel, Gefrafs, food for beasts, gemafs,
according to, Gesafs, seat, bottom.
Before ch (not standing for chch) = [x] in
Gesprach, conversation; also in nachst (stem,
nach), next.
Before At = [t] in Stadte, towns. As the
singular Stadt is invariably pronounced with short
[a], the Middle and South German short [s] in
Stadte seems more correct than the North Ger-
man [«:], which, however, prevails on the stage.
2. = [e] in closed syllables; e. g. Hande,
hands.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [e:] in closed syllable in:
gratschen, straddle, hatscheln, caress, Kar-
datsche, card (comb), Kartatsche, cartridge,
tratschen, prate.
1 Pronounced [9eae:]; by many speakers, [Vst:],
[Vse:].
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. 59
ah.
Invariably = [e:] ; e. g. mahen, mow ; Ahre,
ear (of corn).
an.
Always = [o£j; e. g. glaubig, believing,
Bdume, trees.
b.
!• = [b]> initial or medial, i. e. followed by
a vowel, or by a liquid consonant (I, m, n, r)
forming part of the stem of the word, an un-
accented e = [a] generally being omitted before
the liquid; e. g. Bahn, track, Liebe, love, ubler
(stem, ubl, tibel), worse.
2. = [p], final, also when followed by a li-
quid not belonging to the stem, or by any other
consonant; e. g. ab, off, liebt, loves, ublich (stem,
ub) customary. There is another word ublich,
sickly, standing for ubellich, where 6 is pro-
nounced [b], (see under 1).
bb.
Pronounced [b], preceding vowel short; e. g.
Ebbe, ebb.
c.
1. Regularly = [ts] before front vowels;
e. g. Cis, C sharp.1 So also before Jc in Polish
names, as Potocki.
1 So also in Officier (= Offizier), officer. There is
an affected pronunciation, = ['ofi'siir], which must be
avoided.
70
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
2. Regularly = [k] in other eases, i. e. be-
fore back vowels, before consonants, and final;
e. g. Cognac, or Kognak, cognac.
3. == [s] before front vowels, in French
words ; e. g. Annonce [Vn5:sa] , advertisement.
4. = [tj] before front vowels, in Italian words;
e. g. Cicerone,1 cicerone. In Cello, Violoncell,
violoncello, Cellist, violoncellist, c is commonly
pronounced [/]: [Jelo:], [viol5:'Jel], [/e'list].
cc.
1 . =• [kts] before front vowels ; e. g. Accent,
or Akzent, [?ak'ts«nt], accent. New spelling, Ice.
2. = [k] before back vowels; e. g. Accord,
or Akkord, [?a'kort], accord. New spelling, Tck.
cch.
Pronounced [x] in some Greek and Latin
words; e. g. Bacchus, Gracchus.
cci.
Pronounced [tj] in a few Italian loan-words ;
e. g. Kapriccio, capriceio; often, however, the
» is pronounced separately, = [I], [j].
ch.
1. = [cj after front vowels, and after con-
sonants ; e. g. ich, I, solch, such, manch, many a,
Pferchj fold, pen; and always in the derivative
syllable chen; e. g. Papachen, dear papa, Frau-
chen, little woman.
J [tJitjVrome] ; but [tsitse'rome] is frequent.
THE LETTEKS OP THE ALPHABET.
71
Also initial, in the following and similar
foreign words: —
Chalcis, Chalcis, Chares (name), Charts (name),
Charon (name), Charonea, Chseronea, Charybdis,
(name), Chauker, Chauci, Chemie, chemistry,
Cheops (name), Cherson (name), Chersonnes,
Chersonesus, Cherub, cherub, ChemsTcer, Cherusci,
Chiasma, chiasma, Chimare, chimera, China,
China, Chios (name), Chiron (name), Chirury,
surgeon, Chlamys, chlamys, Chrie, chria, Chry-
sostomus, Chrysostoin, chthonisch, chthonian.
In the Old German names Childerich, Chil-
perich, ch is also pronounced [c.].
2. = [x] after back vowels, e. g. ach, ah,
rauchen, smoke.
3. = [k], when followed by radical s = [s],
in the following German words: -
Achse, axle, Achsel, shoulder, Sucks, in Buchs-
baum, boxwood, Buchse, box, rifle, Dachs, badger,
Deichsel, pole, drrechseln, turn (on a lathe), Ei-
dechse, lizard, Fechser, layer, bud, Flachs, flax,
Flechse, sinew, Fuchs, fox, Lacks, salmon, Luchs,
lynx, Ochse, ox, Sachse, Saxon, seeks, six (not in
sechzehn, sechzig), wachsen, grow, wechseln, change,
Weichsel, Vistula, Wichse, blacking.
Also in Chatten, Chatti, CJiemnite, Chlodtvig,
Chur (names), and the following and some other
words, not originally German:
72
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
Chalcedon,1 chalcedony, Chaldda, Chaldsea,
Chamdleon, chameleon, Chan (also Khan), khan,
Chaos, chaos (or [c.a:os]), Character, character,
Chloe (name), Chlor, chlorine, Chlorus (name),
Cholera, cholera, Chor, choir, Chrestomathie,
anthology, Chrysam, chrism, Christ(us), Christian,
Christ, Chrom, chromium, Chronik, chronicle.
So also in Italian loan-words; e. g. Scherzo,
scherzo.
4. = [/] in French loan-words, of which the
following are among the most common, with ch
initial: —
Chaine, chain, Chaise, carriage, chamois, cha-
mois, Champagner [Jam'panjar] , champagne,
Champignon, champignon, Chance, chance, chan-
gieren, change, Charge, commission, Charlatan,
charlatan, Charlotte (name), charmant, charming,
Charpie, lint, Chaussee, high road, Chef, prin-
cipal, Chemisett, shirt-front, chevaleresk, chival-
rous, Chicane (= Schikane), chicane, Chiffre,
cipher, Chignon, chignon, Chimare (= Schimare},
chimera, Chock, shock.
5. = [tf], in a few foreign words; e. g.
Guttapercha, guttapercha [guta'pertfa:] , often
however [guta'perc.a:j.
ck.
Pronounced [k], after short vowel; e. g.
dick, thick.
— = [kal'tse:don ]. When name of town,— [$al'tse:donl.
THB LBTTKE8 OF THE ALPHABET. 73
cqu.
Pronounced [kv]; e. g. Acquisition, acqui-
sition. New spelling, kqu.
5-
Always = [s] in French loan-words; e. g.
Fagon, shape.
d.
1. = [d], initial and medial; e. g. du, thou,
drei, three, Hdnde, hands.
2. = [t], final; e, g. Hand, hand, handlich,
handy.
3. Mute in French words such as Fonds,
fund.
dd.
Pronounced [d], after short vowel, e. g.
Kladde, rough note-book.
dt.
Pronounced [t]; e. g. Stadt, town, wandte,
turned.
e.
1. = [e:] in open syllables (apart from cases
mentioned under 4); e. g. ade pa'de:], farewell,
JREdfe, speech ; and before simple final consonants ;
e. g. schwer, heavy.
EXCEPTIONS. — Short [e] before ph = [f] in
Stephan, Stephen, and before simple final con-
sonant in: —
74
OERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
Billet, l note , Bouquet, l bouquet , Chef, head,
principal, Des, D flat, des, of the, etc., es, it,
Gebhard (name), gen, towards, Hotel, hotel, LEWI-
berg (name), Reb-, in Rebhuhn, partridge, Relief,
relief, Sem, Shem, weg, away, wes, of what, etc.,
and other foreign words, similar to those quoted.
In unaccented final syllables, in: —
Achilles (name), etc., amen, amen, Debet, debet,
Elen, elk, Joseph (name), Requiem, Requiem,
Tibet, Thibet.
2. = [e:] in French words where this is the
French sound; e. g. Dessert, dessert, Karriere,
career.
3. = [«] in closed syllables (apart from cases
under 4); e. g. fest, fast.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [e:] in closed syllable in:
Beschwerde, trouble, Dresden (name), Ems
(name of town),2 Erde, earth, erst, first, Erz,
ore, Esthen, Esths, Estland, Esthonia, Ge-
berde, gesture, Hedwig (name), Herd, hearth,
Herde, flock, Kebs-, in Kebsweib, concubine,
Krebs, crayfish, Mecklenburg (name), nebst,
1 = [bxl'jet], [bu'ket], now 8Pelt Bittett, Bukett. In
most words in et the et is pronounced [eit]; e. g. Pakei
[pa'keit], packet, etc. For Budget, budget, see page 14.
2 By North Germans wrongly pronounced ['ems],
like the name of the river Ems in Hanover. This ha
heen of late foolishly imitated by the inhabitants them
selves.
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. 75
together with, Pegnitz (name), Pferd, horse,
Quedlinburg (name), Schwedt (name), Schwert,
sword, Schwete (name), stets, always, Teplitz
(name), Verden (name), Werden (name), werden,
become, wert, worth, dear, -worth, in Kaiserswerth
(name), etc.1
4. = [9] in the unaccented prefixes be- and
ge, and in the unaccented derivative or inflectional
suffixes e, 2, el, em, en, end,3 er, ern, es, est, et,
also combined, ele, etc.; e. g. habe, have, Vogel,
bird, Atem, breath, lieben, love, rasend, furious,
Vater, father, eisern, iron, alles, all, leidet, suffers,
ich handele, I act, etc.
Similarly, unaccented e in cases like Kar-
neval, carnival, etc. becomes [9].
The e in der, the, dem, (to) the, den, the,
des, of the, es, it, when unaccented, is also pro-
nounced [9].
ean.
Pronounced [o:] in French loan-words; e. g.
Plateau, plateau.
1 In many of these words also [«] is in use.
2 Also "mute" final e French loan-words which in
German are of the masculine or of feminine gender (except
after vowels); e. g. Chance, chance.
3 Not in ElenA, misery, eknd, miserable, which both
= pe:l«nt]. As to el, em, en, es, see exceptions under
e 1, page 74 f.
7(J GERMAN PBONUNCIATION.
ee.
1. = [e:]; e. g. Beet, flower-bed.1
2. = [i:] in English loan-words ; e. g. Beef-
steak,* beef-steak.
eh.
Apart from provincial pronunciations inva-
riably = [e:]; e. g. Beh, roe, stehlen, steal.
ei.
1. = [al]; e. g. Ei, egg, Seil, rope.
2. = [el], with mute I, in French words in
eil, such as Conseil, council.8
ein.
Pronounced [e:] in French loan-words such
as Pleinpouvoir, liberty of action.*
em, en.
Pronounced [a:] in French loan-words such
as Trente-et-un, trente-et-un. 5
1 Unaccented in the naturalized loan-word Kaffee
[kafe:], coffee. But Caft [ka'fe:], coffee-house.
* Perhaps most commonly pronounced [birfstek]; but
there are many variations.
8 North German pronunciation, [«lcj.
4 North German pronunciation, [«jj],
8 Also in Pension [pa:s'Io:n], pension, boarding-house.
But ennuyiren ['any'jirren], tire. North German pro-
nunciation [arj].
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET. 717
eu.
1. = [oy]; e. g. Heu, hay, Leute, people.
2. = [0:] in French loan-words : e. g. adieu,
good bye, Redakteur, editor.
ey.
Pronounced [al] in names; e. g. Meyer.
Always = [e:] ; only used in foreign words,
for the modern ee, and in secondarily accented
syllables of names where simple e would be read
as [a] ; e. g. Junge".
f.
Invariably = [f] ; e. g. Fall, fall, Lauf, run.
ff.
Always = [f] , after short vowels ; e. g.
Schiff, ship, hoffen, hope.
1. = [g], initial, and in foreign words when
beginning the primarily accented syllable; e. g.
gut, good, regieren, reign, Regress, regress.
2. = [g] or [j], medial, after front vowels,
and after consonants; e. g. Siege, victories,
JBerge, mountains, regnen, rain.
3. = [g] or [g], medial, after back vowels;
e. g. Tage, days, mogen, drew.
78
GEKMAN PRONUNCIATION.
4. = [5], initial and medial, in the follow-
ing and some other loan-words: —
Adagio,1 adagio, Agio,1 agio, arrangieren,
arrange, Baggage, luggage, Bandage, bandage,
changieren, change, Charge, commission, rank,
Doge, doge, Eloge, praise, eulogy, G-age, salary,
Gelee, jelly, Gendarm,* constable, generos, gene-
rous, Genie, genius, ingenuity8, genieren, constrain,
Genre,4 kind, Ingenieur,5 engineer, Neglige, ne-
gligee, Orange, orange, Page, page (boy), Regie, 6
administration, voltigieren, vault.
5. = [ds], often simply [3], initial, in Eng-
lish and Italian words; e. g. Gentleman, Giro, giro.
6. = [k], final in flugs, quickly, and in
foreign words such as Log, log.
7. = [k]or [cj, final, after front vowels, and
after consonants ; e. g. Sieg, victory, Berg, moun-
tain, regsam, active.
8. — [kjor [x], final, after back vowels; e. g.
Tag, day, zog, drew, Wagnis, perilous enterprise.
gg-
1. = [g], medial; e. g. Flagge, flag.
2. = [k], final; e. g. Brigg, brig.
tasXoi]. The PQ is better omitted.
2 [san'darm].
8 Not in genial, full of genius, Genius, genius, spirit,
where g = [g].
4
6 Not in regieren, reign (see page 77).
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. 79
ggi-
Pronounced [dg] in Italian words such as
Arpeggio, arpeggio. Often =
ge.
Pronounced [5] in French loan-words such
as Flageolett, flageolet, Sergeant, sergeant.
Besides [gn], [jn], [gn], and [c,n], [xn] (for
which see pronunciation of g): —
1. Often = [ijn], in words originally Latin,
or treated as such ; e. g. Magnat, magnate, Agnes
(name), Otherwise [gn].
2- = [nJL in words originally French ; e. g.
Miynon (name). *
gu-
Pronounced [g] in the following and some
other foreign words:
Guerilla,2 guerilla, Guido, Guy, Guillotine,
guillotine, Guinea2 (name), Guinee,2 guinea,
Guipure, guipure, Guirlande,z garland, Guitarre,
guitar (the l&st three now spelt with g);
and in French loan-words in gue\ e. g. Drogue,
drug, Intrigue, intrigue 8 (both now spelt with g).
1 Also in Compagnon [kompan'jSi], partner, but not
in Compagnie (= Kompanie) [koinpa'nii], company.
8 [ge'nljaij, [giljo'time], [gi'neiai], [gi'nei], [gir'lande].
8 [dioiga], ['m'triigej.
80
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
h.
Pronounced [h] when followed by a vowel
that does not commence a suffix, and when not
forming part of a digraph such as ch, th, etc.
E. g. Hand, hand, Ahorn, maple-tree. Compare
also ha, etc.
ha Ih-a) etc.; new spelling, a.
After t, instead of ah, etc., ha (h-a), etc.
are written; e. g. Thai, valley, Thr an, train-oil,
Thor, fool, gate, etc. The pronunciation is the
same as that of ah, etc. See also th.
i.
1. = [i:] in open syllables ; e. g. Igel, hedge-
hog; and before simple final consonants; e. g.
mir, me.
Before sch (which consequently is not meant
for schsch) — [J], in Nische, niche.
EXCEPTIONS. — Short [i] mostly pronounced
in open syllable in Clique, clique, and always in
Kapitel, chapter, Zither, (musical instrument).
Short [i] before simple final consonant in:
April, April, bin, am, bis, till, as far as, Cis,
C sharp1, Him-, in Himbeere, raspberry, hin,
thither, mit with, im = in dem, in the; in, in,
Ir-, in Irland, Ireland, Krim, Crimea, Limburg
(name), Schwib-, in Schwibbogen, vaulted arch,
Sin-, in Singrun, periwinkle, Winfried (name);
1 And similar musical terms: Dis, D sharp, etc.
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET g j
also in the unaccented suffixes ib (Wittib —
Witwe, widow), ich (Uch, rich}, ig, in, is, isch,
and nis;1 e. g. Sottich, vat, Kafig, cage, Koni-
gin, queen, Firnis, varnish, Harnisch, armour,
Ereignis, event; and in unaccented iJc, ir, it;
e. g. Poetik,2 art of poetry, Deficit, deficiency,
Saphir, sapphire.
Mostly also im in Pilgrim, pilgrim, and al-
ways in names such as Joachim, Arnim.
2. = [i], in closed syllables; Kiste, chest.
3- = PQ, [j], before [a]; e. g. Familie, family,
Spanien, Spain.
Compare ai, ei, oi, ui, etc.
ie.
1. = [i:]; e. g. sie, she, Liebe, love. So
also in many words of foreign origin in ie, mostly
abstract nouns, names of sciences, etc. from
French; e. g.: —
Akademie, academy, Anarchic, anarchy, Ana-
tomic, anatomy, Aristocratic, aristocracy, Artillcrie,
artillery, Astronomic, astronomy, Democratic,
democracy, Energie, energy, Epidemic, epidemic,
Gallerie, gallery, Garantie, warranty, Genie,
1 In the plural the n or 8 is doubled, according to
the general rule; e. g. Koniginnen, Ereignisse.
2 Provincially (in the Middle and South of Germany)
also accented ik, ip, it, iz, as in Musik, music, Prinzip,
principle, Granit, granite, Hospiz, hospice, etc., are pro-
nounced with short [i] instead of [i:].
VICTOR, German Pronunciation. 5th ed. 6
82
OEllMAN PRONUNCIATION.
genius, Geographic, geography, G-eometrie, geo-
metry, Harmonic, harmony, Industrie, industry,
Infanterie, infantry, Kolonie, colony, Kompanie,
company, Kopie, copy, Lotterie, lottery, Melodic,
melody, Orthographic, orthography, Partie, party,
part, Phantasie, phantasy, Philologie, philology,
Philosophic, philosophy, Poesie, poetry, Symmetric,
symmetry, Sympathie, sympathy, Telegraphic,
telegraphy, Theologie, theology, divinity, Thcorie,
theory ;
in all verbs ending in ieren, e. g. : —
rcgieren, reign, spaziercn, go for a walk;
and in most nouns in ier, e. g. : —
Sarbier, barber, Kanonier , gunner, Klavier,
piano, Manier, manner, Quartier, quarter.
2. = [i:a], but often only [i:], in: —
Marie, Mary, Sophie, Sophia.
3. = [la], [ja]; in many nouns in ie, mostly
taken from Latin; e. g. : -
Aktie, share, Familie, family, Furie, fury,
Glorie, glory, Grazie, grace, Historic, history,
Injurie, insult, Kurie, curie, Linie, line, Materie,
matter, Mumie, mummy, Pramie, premium,
lieliquie, relic;
in names of plants such as
Cichorie, chicory, Fuchsie, fuchsia;
in Christian names such as
Anialie, Amelia, Emilie, Emily, Liicie, Lucy;
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET. $3
in names of countries in ien, e. g. : —
Belgien, Belgium, Indian, India, Spanien,
Spain, etc.,
(so also: —
Belgier, Belgian, Spanier, Spaniard, etc.),
and in nouns in ien only used in the plural, e. g. : —
Ferien, holidays, Mobilien, furniture, etc.
4. = [Ie:], [je:], in foreign words such as
Diego (name), Gabriele, Gabriella, Hygiene,
hygiene ;
also in French words in ier where ier retains
its French pronunciation (r silent), e. g. : -
Atelier, studio, Barikier, banker, Metier, trade,
Portier, porter.
5. = [Ie:], [je:], in French words where ie is
the French spelling; e. g. : —
Barriere, barrier, Karriere, career, Tantieme,
royalty, share.
6. = [Ie], [je], in foreign words such as
Patient, patient, Audiene, audience, speniell,
special, Serviette, napkin, Triennium, space of
three years.
7. = [i], in: -
Viertel, quarter, fourth, vieraehn, fourteen, vierzig,
forty ;
also sometimes unaccented in vielleicht, perhaps.
ieh.
Always = [i:] ; e. g. Vieh, cattle, stieJilt, steals.
6*
g^ (1EKMAN PRONUNCIATION.
ieu.
Pronounced [oy] in Lieutenant (new spelling,
Leutnant), lieutenant.
ih.
Pronounced [i:] in: —
ihm, ihn, him, ihnen, them, ihr, her, their ; you,
ihrer, of her, of them, ihrig, hers, theirs.
il.
Pronounced [I] in French words such as
Detail, detail, Fauteutt, easy-chair.1
ill (11).
Pronounced [Ij] in French words such as
Bouteille, bottle, Medaillon, medallion, PostUl(i)on,
postillion 2.
iin, in.
Pronounced [ei] in French words such as
Bassm, basin.8
j.
1. Regularly = [j]; e. g. ja, yes, Major,
major.
2. = [5], in the following and some similar
words: —
1 North German pronunciation, [de'tal$], [fo'toel9|.
8 [bu'ttlja], [medal'jS:], [postil'jo:n].
8 North German pronunciation, [ba's«g].
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET.
85
Jalousie, Venetian blinds, Jargon, jargon,
Jenny (name), Journal, journal, Don Juan1 (name).
Jasmin, jasmine, has mostly (j) in North
German pronunciation.
3. = [dj], for which, however, [5] is com-
monly substituted, in a few English words: -
Jockey, jockey, Jury, jury,
the latter often being pronounced in the German
way, with j = [j].
k.
Invariably = [k] ; e. g. Jcahl, bald.
1.
Pronounced [1]; e. g. Idhm, lame. See «Z.
11.
Pronounced [1]; e. g. vott, full. See ill.
m.
Pronounced [m]; e. g. mir, me. See am,
em, etc.
mm.
Invariably = [m]; e. g. Lamm, lamb.
n.
1. = [n]; e. g. nie, never, an, at. See
an, etc.
2« = [9J. See ng and nk.
[d5:3ua:]. North German pronunciation,
86
GEKMAN i'UONUNCIATION.
!• = [*)]; e- g- singen, sing, lang, long.
2. = [ijg], when ng is followed by a vowel
other than e = [9] or by a consonant and
such a vowel; mostly in Old German or foreign
names; e. g.
Ingo, Albalonga, Ganges, l Ingrdban.
iik.
Pronounced [rjk]; e. g. siriken, sink, Dank,
thanks.
nn.
Pronounced [n]; e. g. Mann, man. See en.
o.
1. = [o:] in open syllables; e. g. so, so,
Rose, rose; and before simple final consonants;
e. g. Gebot, commandment
Before fs (when it does not stand for ss)
= [s] in: —
blojs, bare, Flo/s, raft, grofs, great, Klofs,
dumpling, Sto/s, thrust.
Before ch (not standing for chch) = [x] in
hoch, high.2
1 =[gar)g«s], the river Ganges; but Ganges, geni-
tive of Gang, = [gagas].
* But Hochzeit, wedding, HocKheim (name), with
short [o].
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET. gy
EXCEPTIONS. — Short [o] in open syllable in
loan words, such as Berloque, now BerlocJce,
trinket, Joli (name of dog).
Often [o] in syllables preceding the accented
one, e. g.: —
Kolofs, colossus, Komitee, committee, Pomade,
pomatum, Pomeranzc, orange, Promenade, prome-
nade, Volontar, volunteer.
Short [o] before simple final consonant in : -
Brom-, in Brombeere, blackberry, Bromberg
(name), Chok, shock, Don, don (also name),
grob,1 coarse (often), Grog,2 grog, Gros, gross, Jot,
letter J, Lor-, in Lorbeer, laurel , Mob,2 mob, .
ob,s if, Top, top, vom = von dcm, of the, von,
of, vor in Vorteil, advantage,
and in unaccented final syllables; e. g. Jakob,
Jacob, Nabob, and many words in or, os; e. g.
Doldor, doctor, Chaos, chaos.
2- = [o]i in closed syllables; e. g. Gott,
God.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [o:] in closed syllable
in: -
Jost (name), Kloster, convent, Lotse, pilot,
Mond, moon, Obst, fruit, Ostern, Easter, Propst,
1 Also in Grobheit, coarseness, Grobschmid, black-
smith. Not, however, in grobe, etc., Grobian, brute.
a Pronounced [grok], [mop].
8 But Obacht, heed, beobachttn, observe = ['o:baxt],
[ba'oibaxtan].
88
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
provost, Thorn (name), Trost, consolation *, Vogt,
bailiff, reeve.
Also in Fort, fort, Eessort, department,
with mute t, and similar French loan-words.8
oa.
Pronounced [or] in English words, as Toast,
toast, sometimes pronounced [to'ast]. Also in
Cooks, new spelling, KoJcs, coke.
oe.
Pronounced [o:] in Low German names ; e. g.
Koesfeld, Soest; unaccented in Iteehoe.
oeu.
Pronounced [0:] in the French loan-word
Coeur, hearts (at cards).
oh.
Invariably = [o:] ; e. g. roh, raw, Ohr, ear.
oi.
1. = [oy] in a few words originally English
or Low German ; e. g. : —
ahoi, ahoy, Boi, buoy, Boizeriburg (name).
2. = [oi] in Low German names; e. g.: —
Greveribroich, Troisdorf, Voigt (Voigtland).
1 Often also in Host, grill (not in Host, rust).
2 Observe, however, Lord, lord, = [lort].
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET. gg
3, = [oa:] in French loan-words ; e. g. Bou-
doir, boudoir;1 = [oa] in chamois, chamois.
oin, on.
Pronounced [5i] in French words such as
JJatton, balloon.2
00.
Pronounced [o:] in: —
Soot, boat, Moor, moor, Moos, moss.
Oil.
Used in French words and pronounced the
same as German u: —
1. = [ui] in open syllables; e. g. Route,
route; and before simple final consonants; e. g.
Tour, tour.
2. = [u] in closed syllables ; e. g. Ressource,
resource. Douche, now Dusche, douche, rather
with [u:].
6.
1. = [ce:] in open syllables; e. g. ode, desert;
and before simple final consonants; e. g. schon,
beautiful.
2. = [IB] in closed syllables; e. g. Mdrder,
murderer.
1 Comptoir(= Kontor) is mostly pronounced [kon'toir],
• North German pronunciation, [orj]. Not [5:] in
feminine words in ion, such as Nation, nation, where on
is pronounced [o:n]. So also e. g. Bataillon = [batal'jo:n],
batallion, Eskadron = peska'drorn], squadron.
g0 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [0:] in closed syllable
in: —
Behorde, authority, -forde, in Eckernforde
(name), etc., Floe, layer, stratum, Osterreich,
Ostreich, Austria, Worth (name), also in Donaur
worth, etc.
oh.
Invariably = [0:]; e. g. Hdhle, cavern.
ow.
Pronounced [o:] in the loan-word Bowie,
bowl, and unaccented in Low German (originally
Slavonic) names in ow, as Sulow, Grabow.
P-
1. Regularly = [p]; e. g. Paar, pair.
2. Mute in French loan-words such as Cowp,
coup.
ph.
Pronounced [f] in words originally Greek;
e. g. Philosophic, philosophy.1
pp.
Invariably = [p] ; e. g. Rappe, black horse,
Trupp, troop, hord.
pph.
Pronounced [f] in the Greek name Sappho.
1 The G 'rmau word Epheu, ivy, is now spelt Efeu.
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET. QJ
qu.
t 1. Regularly =.[kv]; e. g. Quette, spring,
bequem, convenient.
2. = [k], in some French and other loan-
words; e. g. Claque, claque, Clique, clique,
Marquis, marquis.
r.
1. Regularly = [r] ; e. g. rauh, rough, hier,
here.
2. Mute in French words in er such as
Diner, dinner, and some words in ier (see ie).
rh.
Pronounced [r], in Greek words; e. g. Eha-
barber, rhubarb.
IT.
Always = [r], after a short vowel; e. g.
Narr, fool, verwirren, confound.
rrh.
Pronounced [r], the preceding vowel short;
in Greek words; e. g. Katarrh, cold.
8.
1. = [z], initial before vowels, and medial
before vowels, or liquids originally preceded by
e = [9]; e. g. so, so, Hose, rose, winsle (=
wnsele), whine.
92
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
2- = [s], initial before consonants, medial
before (most) consonants, and final ; e. g. Skiaae,
sketch, ist, is, Hals, neck.
3. [J], initial, in the combinations sp and st,
and also when preceded by German prefixes ; e. g.
sprechen, speak, (bespreclien, speak about), stehen,
stand, (verstehen, understand), spekulieren, specu-
late, studieren, study.
In naturalized loan-words [Jp] and [J"t] are
frequently used also after foreign prefixes; e. g.
in Inspektor, inspector, konstatieren, state, affirm,
etc., but this cannot yet be recommended.
In modern foreign names, except familiar
ones such as
Spinoza, Staffa, Stambul, Stuart,
initial sp and st are pronounced [sp] and [st].
4. Mute in French words such as Marquis,
marquis.
seh.
1. Regularly = [/]; e. g. scharf, sharp,
mischen, mix.
2. = [sk] in Italian words, e. g. Scherzo,
scherzo.
sh.
Pronounced [/] in English words; e. g.
Shawl, [Ja:l], shawl, Sherry, sherry; also in
S(c)hlips, neck-tie.
THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. 93
fs (fe), 88 (|f).
Both invariably = [s]; e. g. Fufs, foot,
Kasse. cash.
t
1. Regularly = [t] ; e. g. Tau, rope, warten,
wait, mit, with.
2. = [ts] before unaccented t followed by
an accented vowel in words originally Latin;
e. g. Nation, nation, Patient, patient; followed
by unaccented e = [a] in Aktie, share,1 and
en = [en], as in Bootien, Boeotia.
3. Mute in French words such as
Depot, depot, Budget, budget, Arrangement,
arrangement.
th.
Always = [t]; in German words formerly
occurring through transposition of the letter h when
used to indicate length of a neighbouring vowel,
e. g. Thai (compare Zahl), valley, now only
used, for historical reasons, in some German
names; e. g. : —
Gunt(h)er, Lothar, Lothringen, Lorraine,
Mathilde, Matilda, Walt(h)er, Walter.
th = [t] is also written in Greek and other
foreign words, e. g. Theater, theatre, T(h)ee, tea.
1 In other words e is written instead of t when
unaccented e follows; e. g. Grazie, grace. When pre-
ceded by s, t = [t]; e. g. Hostie, host.
£4 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
tt.
Invariably = [t] ; e. g. fett, fat, bitter, bitter.
tz.
Always = [ts]; e. g. sitzen, sit, Sats, sen-
tence.
a.
1. = [ui] in open syllables; e. g. du, thou,
rufen, call; and before simple final consonants;
e. g. gut, good.
Before final fs (when not standing for ss)
= [s] in: —
Fufs, foot, Crrufs, greeting, Rufs, soot.
Before ch (which does not stand for chch)
= [x] in: —
Bruch, fen,1 Buck, book, Buche, beech, Fluch,
curse, Kuchen, cake, ruchbar, notorious, suchen,
seek, Tuck, cloth, Wfcdbr, usury.
Often before chs = [ks] in
Wuchs, growth, wuchs, grew,
and before sch = [J] in wusch, washed.
EXCEPTIONS. — Short [u] before simple con-
sonant, including ih, in: —
Klub,* club, plus, plus, Luther (name), Bum,
rum, wn, round, about, Ur-, in Urteil, verdict,
gum = eu dem, to the, eur — eu der, to the,
1 Not in Uruch, break, rupture.
- Pronotmced in the German way, — [klcp].
THE LETTERS OP THE ALPHABET.
95
and unaccented in loan-words; e. g. Modus, mode,
Sirup, syrup.
2. = [u] in closed syllables; e. g. Mutter,
mother, Kunst, art.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [u:] in closed syllable
in: —
Geburt, * birth, Hasten, cough, Ludwig, Lewis,
pusten, pant, Schuster, shoemaker, Wust, chaos,
trash.
3- = [yO in open syllables, in French loan-
words; e. g. Aperfu, sketch.
4. = [T] in closed syllables, in French loan-
words; e. g. Budget, budget.
5. = [v] in the combination qu. See qu.
uh.
Invariably = [u:]; e. g. Kuh, cow.
ni.
Pronounced [ul] in hui, ho, pfw, fie.
urn, an.
Pronounced [tei] in French words such as
Parfum, perfume, Vingt-un.*
ft.
1* == [y:li in °Pen syllables; e. g. mudc.
1 Rarely pronounced [u]; but always short [y] in
geburtig, native.
2 North German pronunciation, [oeqj.
gQ GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
tired; and before simple final consonants; e. g.
fur, for.
Before fs = [s] in sufs, sweet.
Before sch = [/] in Eusche, ruche.
2. = [Y] in closed syllables; e. g. Huttc,
hut, Burde, burden.
EXCEPTIONS. — Long [y:] in closed syllable
in: —
duster, gloomy, Nuster, nostril, Busier, elm.
wust, waste.
flh.
Invariably = [y:]; e. g. Mhn, bold.
T.
1. = [f] in German words; e. g. viel, much;
also in the old loan-words
Veilchen (VeieT), violet, Veit, Vitus, Guy,
Vers, verse, Vogt, governor;
and always when final; e. g. Motiv, motive.
2. = [v] in foreign words, mostly of Latin
or Romance origin; e. g. Vase, vase, oval, oval.
Regularly pronounced [v]; e. g. wohl, well.
For ow = [o:] see ow.
x.
1. Regularly pronounced [ks]; e. g. Axt,
axe, Index, index.
THE LETTEKS OF THE ALPHABET. 97
2. — [J] in Don Quixote1 (name).
3. Mute in French forms such as Bureaux, 8
offices.
y.
1. = [y:], rather than [i:], in open syllables;
e. g. Mythe, myth; and before simple final con-
sonants; e. g. Asyl, refuge.
2. = [T], rather than [i], in closed syllables;
e. g. Myrte, myrtle.
Also in unaccented yr, as in Satyr, satyr, etc.
3. = [i:] in names, e. g. Schwyz.
4. = [i] in names, e. g. Hyrtl.
5- = LJ], initial or medial; e. g. loyal, loyal.
z.
1. Regularly = [ts]; e. g. zu, to, too.
2. = [z] in a few foreign words; e. g.: —
Gage, gauze, Vezier (= Wesir), vizier.8
zz.
Pronounced [ts] in Italian loan-words ; e. g. —
Sltizze, sketch, Strazze, rough note book.
i = [d5:kijot] — North German pronunciation,
[donkijot] — , as if spelt in the French way, Don
Quichotte. Rarely = [donki'xo:ta].
8 But Bureaus, which is also used, = [by'ro:s].
8 Bronze, bronze, is generally pronounced [broiso];
North German, [brorjse].
VlftTOR. German Pronunciation. 6th ed.
GERMAN ACCENT,
AND OTHER PECULIARITIES OF GERMAN
PRONUNCIATION.
IT has often been remarked that a person
may speak a language with perfect correctness
and fluency, and yet be detected as a foreigner,
because he has not yet acquired the native accent.
It will usually be found, however, that, al-
though grammar and idiom may be faultless,
yet either the general mode of articulation or
the laws of sound peculiar to the language have
been imperfectly mastered. Apart from these
points, what is commonly called accent still
comprises two very different things, viz. stress,
and pitch or tone.
MODE OF ARTICULATION.
The German mode of articulation, as differ-
ing from the English, may be said to be cha-
racterized by the formation of the vowels, espe-
cially the round vowels, and of the dentals, as
described above (see chapter on German Sounds),
the tongue-articulation being more forward and
GERMAN ACCENT. 99
determined, and the lips freely used in the for-
mation both of vowel and consonant-sounds. To
German ears, spoken English, as well as German
pronounced in the English way, sounds to a
certain degree unarticulated.
LAWS OF SOUND.
Of German sound-laws (which mainly result
from the peculiarities of German articulation
and accentuation), the following are the most
important for English speakers. Several have
previously been alluded to.
1. Initial vowels, unless almost unaccented
and closely connected with the preceding word,
are preceded by the glottal stop, p], even when
occurring in the interior of compound words;
e. g. all [?aZ], uberdll py:ber'?al] , everywhere.
2. Final vowels, except unaccented e — [a],
and the vowel a in the interjections da [da],
there, na [na], well, etc., are long, whether pri-
marily accented or not; e. g. du [du:], thou,
Kakadu [kakadu:], cockatoo.
3. Long vowels are strictly simple vowels,
and not diphthongal as English oo = [u:w] in
fool, etc. (see examples under 2).
4. Final consonants, except liquids (I, m,
n, ng, r), are voiceless and sharp, even when
spelt b, fl, g; e. g. db [?ap], off, Sieg [zi:%],
victory.
7*
100
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
5. Final consonants, liquids included, are
short, even after short vowels ; e. g. Quell [kvel]
well, Hand [hant], hand.
6. Long consonants only occur instead of
double consonants, either in composition, or
where two words are closely connected ; e. g. mit-
teilen [initiation], communicate, not tun [no:t:u:n],
be needful, with long [t], — only when particular
distinctness is intended, [no:t tu:nj.
In rapid speech, the simple short consonant
is generally pronounced: [mitallan], [no:tu:nj.
7. If final voiceless consonants are closely
followed by their voiced correspondents, the
following vowel not bearing a principal accent,
the voiced sound is generally omitted ; e. g. hast
du [hastu:], instead of [hast du:], hast thou,
mufs sich [music.], instead of [mus zicj, must . . .
itself.
8. Initial [z] preceded in composition by a
voiceless consonant often becomes [s]; e. g. Ab-
sicht papswjt], intention, instead of the normal
The following changes commonly take place
and may be tolerated in fluent conversational
German, not, however in public speaking, in
reading, etc.
9 [p] in [mp] followed by a third consonant,
especially by [f], is often omitted; e. g. Kampf
[kamf], instead of [kampf], combat.
GERMAN ACCENT. |QJ
For initial [pf], simple [f] is frequent; e. g.
Pferd [fe:rt], instead of [pfeirt], horse.
10. [t] in [nt] followed by a third consonant,
especially by [s], is similarly often omitted; e. g.
gam [gans], instead of [gants], whole.
11. [en] often becomes either [n] ; or else, in
rather slovenly speech, [m] after labials, [n] after
dentals, [g] after gutturals (see pages 30 seq.).
STRESS AND EMPHASIS.
STRESS.
As in English, the diiferent syllables of
words of more than one syllable are pronounced
with different degrees of force. As the accen-
tuation is in most cases correctly indicated in
dictionaries, and partly in grammars in ordinary
use, it will here be sufficient to point out the
leading principles.
SIMPLE WORDS.
Genuine German Words.
In genuine German words, the radical syl-
lable, which is also the first syllable of the word,
has the principal accent or stress, the remaining
syllables weaker stresses,1 only prefixes and suf-
fixes with e = [a] being altogether unaccented;
e. g. EIM, one, Eiwe, one (fern.), Eim<7, at one,
1 Only the principal stress is marked in the follow-
ing examples.
102 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
Einigen, unite, Emigung, agreement, VerEin, asso-
ciation, geEinigt, united, Vermnigung, union, etc.
EXCEPTIONS: ForElle, trout, lebmdig, alive;
mostly also luthErisch, Lutheran.1
German words with terminations of foreign
origin which are regularly accented, are not
really exceptions. Such endings are: ei, e. g.
Bcttehi, beggary; ieren, e. g. hausmren, peddle;
«r, e. g. Glasur, glazing; enser, ensisch, e. g.
BadEnser, inhabitant of Baden, badEnsisch, be-
longing to Baden (cp. AtheniEnser, athenmisisch,
Athenian, etc.).
Loan -Words.
Loan-words, except those which have be-
come perfectly naturalized, as a rule retain their
original accent.
Such loan-words as were incorporated into
the language in the Old High German period
(before 1100 A. D.) are no longer foreign in form,
and are accented in the German way. They are
mostly of Latin origin. E. g. MVnze, mint,
FEnster, window. — Unsettled (in sing.) : Altar,
Alter, altar.
In the Middle High German period (down
to about 1500 A. D.) many French words found
1 In lihundifj, the stress has been shifted to the
following heavy syllable; Fondle and luthnrisch may
have been influenced by loan-words such as KapvJle,
chapel, atltKrisch, ethereal.
GERMAN ACCENT.
their way into German. They have partly sub-
mitted to German accentuation, and are quite
German in appearance, e. g. Abenteucr, adven-
ture, Dvlzend, dozen ; partly the French stress is
preserved, e. g. PartEi, party, turnivren, joust. —
Doublets : Banner — Panivr, banner, Dzmant —
Diam&nt, diamond.
Words received into the language in the
Modern High German period mostly retain their
foreign accent, as also other traces of their
foreign origin ; e. g. adiEV, good-bye, Hotel, hotel.
— Latin-French doublets with regard to stress:
Pkanomen, Phanomm [-'mem], phenomenon, etc.
Of words in ik, some follow the Latin accen-
tuation, others the French. To the latter class
(with stress on ik) belong: — Fabnk, works,
Katholik, catholic, Kritik, critique, Politik, po-
litics, Eepublikj republic, pullik, public, and
mostly also : Arithmetik, arithmetic, Mathema-
tik, mathematics, Musik, music, Physik: physics.1
On words in ie see pages 81 seqq.
Words in or are mostly taken from the Latin
and accentuated accordingly; e. g. A.utor, author,
Doktor, doctor, etc., the stress shifting to the
termination in the plural; e. g. Autoren, with o
= [o:].2 So also D'Lmon, demon, plur. Damonen.
1 But Latin accent in Kntiker, critic, Politiker,
politician, Mathcm^tiker, mathematician, etc.
2 Stress on or = [o.-r] also in the sing. e. g. in
Humor, humor, Meteor, meteor, Tenor, tenor voice.
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
There is similar shifting of stress in 'kfhery
ether — athErisch, etherial, B. \lsam, balsam,
halm — lalskmisch, balsamic, etc.
In words of like termination that are fre-
quently used in juxtaposition the stress is often
drawn back on the first syllable, e. g. Nominativ,
nominative, Gmitiv, genitive, etc.
Of names accented on the final syllables,
besides Athvn, Athens, Flormz, Florence, Konnth,
Corinth, Pans, Turin, may be mentioned : Merin,
Tirol, and North German (originally Slavonic)
names of towns in in, e. g. Berlin, Stettin.
Observe German stress in Koblenz, Coblence,
Konstanz, Constance.
COMPOUNDS.
General Remarks.
1. In compounds the first part of which is
a nominal stem, the radical syllable of the first
component (this being in most cases the indivi-
dualizing part of the whole word) as a rule
bears the principal stress, the radical syllables
of the remaining components weaker stresses (>);
e. g. Hwsherr, master of the house, HAVsherrn-
wurde, the dignity of being the master of the
house.
If, however, the last component is the indi-
vidualizing one, it in its turn receives the stress
(<) ; e. g. Jahrhvndert, century ; but again, e. g.
P&stjahrhundert, century of the plague.
GERMAN A.CCENT.
Equal stress (=), as in English steel-pen,
twenty-one, only rarely occurs in German, and
mostly serves to emphasize the meaning of the
second part of the compound; e. g. sfainrEich,
enormously rich.
2. It is necessary to distinguish between
independent compounds, and compounds derived
from such. E. g. in UbertrEibung, exaggeration,
the stress is on the second part, because the
word is not compounded of uber, over, and "Trei-
bung" (as, e. g. IJbenna/'s, excess, is of uber,
and Mafs, measure), but derived from the verb
ubertrEiben, exaggerate.
3. The prefixes be, emp, ent, er, ge, ver,
eer are unaccented, unless the accent be shifted
on to them for the sake of contradistinction;
e. g. vErgehen, perish — mrgehen, dissolve.
Special Remarks.
I. Nouns.
1. The second part of the compound, instead
of the first, is accented: —
(a) In loose compounds consisting of adjective
and noun; e. g. (der) HohepriEster, high-priest.
(6) In most compound geographical names the
first part of which is an adjective or a geni-
tive case; e. g. LangensAlma, Konigswinter.1
1 Names in born, bronn, bruck, brunn, f&rde, grdtz,
hall, mwuJe, reuth, rode, walde, werih, worth regularly
IQQ GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
(e) In compounds denoting a period of time, the
first part being a genitive case ; e. g. Tages-
Anfang, beginning of the day. So also Jcihr-
hundert, century, and similar terms.
(d) In compound names of holy days; e. g.
Palmsonntag, Palm Sunday.
(e) In some compounds, the second part of which
is itself a compound, as long as, or longer
than the first ; e. g. Generalpostmeister, post-
master general.
(/) Sometimes in Neuj&hr, New Year, Burger-
mmster, mayor.
2. Both parts of the compound have equal
stress: —
(a) In double names forming loose compounds,
such as HESsen-N^ssau.
(b) In compounds the first part of which only
serves to emphasize, not exactly to qualify,
have this accentuation; e. g. Paderborn, Heilbronn,
Osnabr'vck, Reinhardsbrunn , EckernfQrde, Kdnig/jrUz,
Reichenhdl, Swinemunde, G-ailenrRvth, Ebersicdde, Kaisers-
WErth, Donauworth. Other names, however, in spite of
their being compounded with an adjective or genitive
case, are treated like simple words; e. g. Qberndorf;
KArhbad, Karlsruhe, Lindshut. So also GrrKifswald in
the correct local pronunciation; but like Strdsund, it is
frequently misspronounced with stress on the second (the
latter e. g. in Schiller's Wattensteiri). Observe the German
pronunciation of Hannover, Hanover, with stress on o,
the word being originally a compound (= hohen Ufer,
high bank). — Again : ElberfEld.
GERMAN ACCENT.
the meaning of the second; e. g. Erzschtilm,
arch rogue.1
(c) In long compounds both parts of which are
again compounded ; e. g. VordergaumenrEibe-
laut, palatal continuant.
3. Shifting of stress pretty frequently
occurs when the first portion is itself com-
pounded and the second word of it might
possibly form the first word of the second por-
tion; e. g. Landgenchtsdirektor , as if com-
pounded of Lund and Genchtsdirektor, although
really = Lkndgerichts 4- Dirvktor.
II. Adjectives and Adverbs.
1. The second, instead of the first part,
bears the principal stress: —
(a) In leibEigen, held in thraldom, herzvigen,
most beloved, vollJcQmmen, perfect, will-
Jcommen, welcome, where the first part is
no longer felt as qualifying the second.
(6) In the adjective ausgezEichnet , excellent, as
distinct from the p. p. wsgezeichnet. So
also mostly fortw'Ahrend (adj. and adv.), con-
tinual(ly), ausmhmend (adv.), uncommonly.
(c) In compounds the first part of which is all,
only serving to generalize or emphasize the
1 But Judas der Ersschelm (= miscreant), just as
Erzbischof, archbishop; etc.
108
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
meaning of the word; e. g. allgevmin, ge-
neral : so also in compounds with hoch ; e. g.
hochwtirdig, reverend.
(d) In compounds the first part of which forms
an attribute of a following substantive stem ;
e. g. hoh&priEsterlich, pontifical.
(e) In loose compounds such as menschenmQg-
lich, within the power of man.
(/) In some adjectives in lick : —
dbschEulich, abominable, absonderlich, parti-
cular, augeriblicklich , instantaneous, augen-
schEinlich, evident, ausdrticklich, express,
ausfOhrlich, detailed, aufserordentlich, extra-
ordinary, eigenffimlich, peculiar, handyrEiflich,
obvious, hauptslchlich , principal, ursprting-
lich, original, vornehmlich, especial(ly), vor-
trEfflich, excellent, vorzVglich, exquisite,
wahrschwnlich , probable; often also in ab-
sichtlich, intentional.
(g) In some adjectives in ig: — barmhErzig,
merciful, dreiEinig, dreif \ltig, triune, herz-
mnig, heartfelt; mostly in wahr~hkftig , true
(always when adv.), aukVmftig, future; often
in armsElig, miserable, aufnchtig, sincere, frei-
willig, voluntary, holdsElig, most lovely, in-
brVnstig, ardent, notwmdig, necessary.
(7t) Mostly in offeribur, manifest.
(t) In compounds with alt, such as altEnglisch,
Old English, altmrdisch, Old Norse, Ice-
GERMAN ACCENT.
landic, etc., because they are often used in
juxtaposition.1
(k) In compounds with un, if the second part
of the compound is a verbal adjective, — the
radical syllable of the verb bearing the stress;
e. g. unerhorbar , inaudible, undb'Lnderlich,
unalterable;2 if the second part is a p. p.
with accented prefix, the latter retains the
accent; e.g. unAngemeldet, not announced. —
Other adjectives, not derived from verbs:
ungehEUer, immense (but subst. = Mngehcuer,
monster), ungemem, uncommon.
2. Both parts of the compound have equal
stress : —
(a) In compounds the first part of which only
serves to emphasize the second; e. g. wz-
dvmm, very stupid, brainless, blut&rm, very
poor, penniless;8 etc.
(6) In very long compounds such as unwiederbnng-
licli, irrecoverable, instead of unw iederbnng-
lich (cf. 1. &)•
III. Verbs.
1. The second part of the compound is
accented : —
1 Mostly however jJtdeutsch, xlthochdeutsch , as
opposed to nKv(hoch)dei(t8ch ; so also jJtfrdnJnsch = xlt-
modisch, old-fashioned.
2 So also unmQglich, impossible; moglich being
derived from mogen (= vermdgeri), to be able.
8 But blutarm, anemic, with stress on the first part.
GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
(a) In compounds the first part of which is the
inseparable prefix mifs; e. g. mifsbriMchen,
abuse.
(b) In compounds with the inseparable prefix
voll\ e. g. volfanden, complete (not where
voll is a separable adjective, as in vollgie/sen,
to fill to the brim).
(e) In compounds with the inseparable prefixes
durch, hmtcr, uber, um, unter, wieder^ e. g.
durchdnngen , permeate , fill , hintcrbrmgen,
communicate (secretly), ubersvtzen, translate,
umziEhen, enclose, unterstEllen, presuppose,
wiederkolen, repeat (not where durch, hinter,
etc., are separable adverbs = hindurch, da-
hmter, etc.; as dvrchdringen, force one's way
through; etc.).
IV. Particles.
Compound particles as a rule are accented
not on the first, but on the second part; e. g.
bergwf, up hill, alsbidd, forthwith.
The following words are, however, accented
on the first part : — Also, consequently, dmnoch,
nevertheless, wiEderum, again, which are no
longer looked upon as compounds; so also fre-
quently vorher, before, nkchher, afterwards,
grkdaus, straight on, bsinah, bEinahe, almost,
wfserdem, besides, trotedem, nevertheless; AV/ser-
halb, outside, obcrhalb, above, etc.; Einerlei, of
one kind (but emcrlm, no matter), zwzierlei, of
GERMAN ACCENT.
Ill
two kinds, different, dvrlei, of that kind, etc.;
Einmal, once, a single time (but einm\l, once ==
some time), zwEimal, twice, etc.;1 dirndls, then,
niEmals, never, etc. ; hmterrucks, backwards, from
behind; diEsseits, on this side, JEnseits , on the
other side; AU/ 'warts, upward, vorwarts, forward ;
krEVzweis, crosswise, pk^rweis, in pairs, etc.;
mostly diEsfalls, in that case, glEichfatts, likewise,
etc. ; fErnerhin, for the future, etc. ; mEinetwegen,
mEinethalben, on my account, for aught I care,
etc.; mEinesteils, for my part, etc.
EMPHASIS.
Sentence-stress, or emphasis, is, as the word-
stress, on the whole logical in German, the most
important word bearing the strongest accent,
whilst other words receive weaker stresses , or
are comparatively unaccented. The predicate
or, if there is any, the object being as a rule
the individualizing word in the sentence, the
predicate or the object is generally the accented
word ; e. g. ich schrEibe, I write, der Hund bEllt,
the dog barks, er ist kr^nk, he is ill, ich schreibe
einen BriEf, I write a letter. Attributive ad-
jectives in most cases have a somewhat weaker
stress than the word which they qualify, e. g.
die kindliche LiEbe, filial love; but des Kindes
1 If used emphatically, often with level stress:
vorhxr, n^chh^r, gr \dius, etc.; smnuZ, zwsimjj, etc.
H2 GERMAN PRONUNCIATION.
die Lw.be des Kmdes, die LiEbe eu dem
Kinde. —
In English, sentence- stress is very similar.
English speakers of German, however, are in-
clined to accent too strongly the verbal forms
following the object, in such clauses as einen
BriEf schreiben, to write a letter, einen BriEf
geschrieben haben, to have written a letter, wenn
ich einen BriEf schreibe, when I writte a letter.
TONE (PITCH).1
All voice-sounds used in speech (vowels and
voiced consonants) must have a certain pitch,
and may, therefore, also be considered as tones.
In speaking, the voice only rarely dwells on one
note, but is constantly gliding upwards or down-
wards. There are three simple, or primary, in-
flections of tone: level (— ), rising (/), and falling
(\). Rise and fall can be varied indefinitely
according to the interval through which they pass.
Relations of tone have as yet been only im-
perfectly studied, and they probably offer the
greatest difficulty in the practical acquisition of
a foreign language. In English and German,
tones, however, are similar. In either language
1 Compare Sweet, Handbook of Phonetics, pages
93 seqq. (corresponding to the same author's Primer of
Phonetics, 2nd ert., pages 68 seqq.), whence the above
more general remarks are mainly drawn.
GERMAN ACCENT.
they are sentence - tones , i. e. they modify the
general meaning of the whole sentence, the rising
tone being employed in questions and antece-
dents, the falling tone in answers and state-
ments of facts.
As in Scotch and in American English, pe-
culiarities of inflection, apart from sentence-tone,
are met with in provincial German pronuncia-
tions, especially in Saxony and on the Lower
Rhine. — English speakers must be careful not
to place a high tone (a fourth?) on the first of
two words with equal stress (Ehre und Ruhm),
or on words with secondary stress preceding the
primarily accented one, e. g. an adjective pre-
ceding its substantive (die kindliche Liebe), the
subject preceding the predicate (der Hund belli),
or the predicate preceding the object (ich schreibe
einen Brief), as is the rule in recitation, espe-
cially in pathetic passages, in English.
VifiTOK, ti»rnian Pronunciation. 5th ed.
SPECIMENS.
V* In these Specimens 8 is used for oe (open d).
116 Proben.
HABE nun, ach! Philosophie,
Juristerei und Medizin,
Und, leider! auch Theologie
Durchaus studiert, mil heifiem Bemuh'n.
Da steh' ich nun, ich armer Tor!
Und bin so klug, als wie zuvor;
Heifie Magister, heifie Doktor gar,
Und ziehe schon an die zehen Jahr,
Herauf, herab und quer und krumm,
Meine S chiller an der Nase herum —
Und sehe, dafi wir nichts wissen konnen!
Das will mir schier das Herz verbrennen.
Zwar bin ich. gescheiter als alle die Laffen,
Doktoren, Magister, Schreiber und Pfaffen;
Mich plagen keine Skrupel noch Zweifel,
Fiirchte mich weder vor Holle noch Teufel -
Dafur ist mir auch alle Freud' entrissen,
Bilde mir nicht ein, was Recht's zu wissen,
Bilde mir nicht ein, ich konnte was lehren,
Die Menschen zu bessern und zu bekehren.
Auch hab' ich weder Gut noch Geld,
Noch Ehr' und Herrlichkeit der Welt;
Es mochte kein Hund so langer leben!
Drum hab' ich mich der Magie ergeben,
Ob mir durch Geistes Kraft und Mund
Nicht manch Geheimnis wiirde kund,
Dafi ich nicht mehr, mit saurem Schweifi,
Zu sagen brauche, was ich nicht weifi,
Proben. 117
(Langsam abgemessener Vortrag.)
ha:b9 nu:n, '9ax! fi:lo-zo''fi:,
ju:nst9'rai 9unt me:dr'tsi;n,
9unt, Iaid9r! 9aux te:olo''gi:
dur9'9aus Jtu*'di:rt, nut 'hais9m b9'my:n.
da: 'Jte: ^i?1 nu'n> ?I9 '9arm9r "to:r!
9unt bin zo: 'klu:k, 9als vi: tsu:'fo:r;
hais9 ma''gist9r, hais9 "doktor ga:r,
9unt 'tsi:9 /o:n 9an di: 'tse:9n 'ja:r,
he'rauf, he'rap 9unt 'kve:r 9unt 'krum,
main9 'Jy:l9r ?an der 'na:z9 herum —
9unt 'ze:9, das vi:r 'ni9ts "vis9n ken9n!
das vil mi:r Ji:r das 'herts fer'bren9n.
tsva:r bin 919 g9'Jait9r 9als '9al9 di: 'lafon,
dok'to:r9n, ma*'gist9r, 'fr&ibQr 9unt 'pfafen,
'pla:g9n kaino 'skru:p9l nox 'tsvaifel,
019 ve:d9r fo:r 1i8l9 nox 'toyf9l —
da:fy:r 9ist mi:r 9aux 9al9 "froyt 9snt'ns9n,
bild9 mi:r ni9t '9ain, vas 're9ts tsu: "vis9n,
bild9 mi:r ni9t '9ain, 919 kent9 vas "Ie:r9n,
di: 'men/9n tsu: "bes9rn 9unt tsu: b9"ke:r9n.
9aux ha:p 919* ve:d9r 'gu:t nox 'gslt,
nox '9e:r 9unt 'herl^kait der Vslt;
9es m89te kain "hunt 'zo: lei)9r 'le:bon!
drum ha:p 919 2 mi9 dsr ma:"gi: 9erge:b9n,
9op miir dur9 "gaist9s 'kraft 9unt 'munt
ni9t inaii9 g9'haimnis vird9 'kunt,
das 919 ni9t 'me:r, nut zaur9m 'Jvais»
tsu: 'za:g9n braux9, vas 919 ni9t 'vais,
1 Oder: r?te:-icl 2 rha:b-iol
118 Proben.
Dafi ich erkenne, was die Welt
Im Innersten zusammenhalt,
Schau' alle Wirkenskraft und Samen,
Und tu' nicht mehr in Worten kramen.
0 sahst du, voller Mondenschein,
Ziun letztenmal auf meine Pein,
Den ich so manche Mitternacht
An diesem Pult herangewacht :
Dann, iiber Btichern and Papier,
Triibsel'ger Freund, erschienst du mir!
Ach! konnt' ich doch auf Bergeshoh'n
In deinem lieben Lichte gehn,
Um Bergeshohle mit Geistern schweben,
Auf Wiesen in deiuem Dammer weben,
Von allem Wissensqualm entladen,
In deinern Tau gesund mich baden!
GOKTHE, Faust.
Durch diese hohle Gasse mufi er kommen;
Es fahrt kein andrer "Weg nach Kiifinacht — hier
Vollend' ich's — die Gelegenheit ist giinstig.
Dort der Holunderstrauch verbirgt mich ihm;
Von dort herab kann ihn mein Pfeil erlangen;
Des Weges Enge wehret den Verfolgern.
Mach deine Rechnung mit dem Himmel, Vogt!
Fort mufit du, deine Uhr ist abgelaufen.
Ich lebte still und harmlos — das Geschofi
War auf das Waldes Tiere nur gerichtet,
Proben. 119
das 919 9er'ken9, vas di: Velt
Vim '9in9rst9n tsu:'zamonh.elt,
'Jau '9al9 'virkenskraft 9unt 'za:men,
9unt tu: ni9t me:r 9m Vorten kraiman.
'9o: 'zeist du:, Toler 'moindenjain,
tsum Istst9nina:l 9auf maine 'pain,
de:n 919 zo: 'man99 'miternaxt
9an diizom 'pult hs'rangavaxt :
'dan, 9y:ber loyi^Qm 9unt pa*'pirr,
'try:pze:lger l 'froynt, 9er'ji:nst du: mi:r!
'9ax! kent 919 dox 9auf 'bergeshem
9m dainem 'liiben Ii9t9 gem,
9um 'bsrg9sh0:l9 nut 'gaist9rn Jve:b9n,
9auf Vi:z9n 9m dain9m 'dem9r ve:b9n,
fon '9al9m 'vis9nskvalm 9sntla:d9n,
9in dain9m 'tau g9"zunt mi9 ba:d9n!
'ge:t9, Taust.
(Langsamer Vortrag.)
'diiz9 'ho:l9 'gas9 'mus 9e:r 'kom9n;
9es fyirt kain '9andr9r Ve:k na:x 'kvsnaxt — 'hi:r
fo'lent 9193 2 — di: g9'le:g9nhait 9ist 'gYnsti9.
'doit der ko'lund9rftraux fer'birkt mi9 9i:m-,
fon 'dort he'rap kan 9i:n main 'pfail 9sr'lan9n;
des Ve:g9s '9el)0 Ve:r9t den fer'folg9rn.
max dain9 fre9nui) mit dem 1iim9l, Toikt!
'fort 'must dui, dain9 '9u:r 9ist '9apg9lauf9n.
919 'Ie:pt9 'Jtil 9unt 'harmlois — das g9f/os
va:r 9auf des Vald9s 'ti:r9 nu:r
1 Bdhnenaussprache : [-jar]. 2 Oder: [fo'l£nd-i9s~|.
120 Proben.
Meine Gedanken waren rein von Mord —
Du hast aus meinem Frieden micli heraus
Geschreckt; in garend Drachengift hast du
Die Milch der frommen Denkart mir verwandelt;
Zum Ungeheuren hast du mich gewohnt —
Wer sich des Kindes Haupt zum Ziele setzte,
Der kann auch treffen in das Herz des Feinds.
Aut' dieser Bank von Stein will ich mich setzen,
Dem Wanderer zur kurzen Ruh' bereitet —
Denn hier ist keine Heimat — jeder treibt
Sich an dem andern rasch und fremd voriiber
Und fraget nicht nach seinem Schmerz — hier geht
Der sorgenvolle Kaufmann und der leicht
Geschiirzte Pilger — der andacht'ge Monch,
Der dtistre Rauber und der heitre Spielmann,
Der Saumer mit dem schwer beladenen Rofi,
Der feme herkommt von der Menschen Landern —
Denn jede Strafie fuhrt ans End' der Welt —
Sie alle ziehen ihres Weges fort
An ihr Geschaft — und meines ist der Mord I
SCHILLER, Wilhdm Tell.
Romer! Mitburger! Freundo! Hort mich meine
Sache fuhren ; und seid still, damit ihr horen moget.
Glaubt mir um meiner Ehre willen, und hegt
Achtung vor meiner Ehre, damit ihr glauben mogt.
Richtet mich nach eurer Weisheit, und weckt euro
Proben. 121
maine ge'darjken va:ren 'rain fon 'mort —
'du: hast 9aus mainem 'friiden mi9 he'raus
gejrekt; 9in 'geirent 'draxengift hast du:
di: 'milQ der Tromen 'dei)k9a:rt mi:r ferVand9lt ;
tsum 9ungo'hoyren hast du: mi9 g9'v0:nt -
ve:r zi9 des "kind9s 'haupt tsum 'tsi:le zstst9,
de:r kan 9aux 'trsfen 9m das 'herts des "faints.
9auf diizer 'bank fon '/tain vil £19 mi9 'zetson,
de:m Vanderer tsur 'kurtsen 'ru: baraitet -
den hi:r 9ist 'kaine "haima:t - 'je:der traipt
zi9 9an dem '9andern 'raj 9ont 'fremt fo:'ry:bor
9unt 'fra:g9t ni9t na:x zainom 'Jmsrts — hi:r ge:t
der zorgenfole "kaufman 9unt der Iai
ge'jyrtste "pilger — der '9ande9t
der 'dy.stre "roybor 'unt der 'haitre "Jpi:lman,
der "zoymor nut dem 'Jve:r be'la:dnen 'ros,
de:r Terne 'he:rkomt fon der 'men/en 'lendern —
den 'je:de 'Jtra:s9 fy:rt 9ans '9ent der 'velt —
zi: '9al9 'tsi:9n 9i:ros Ve:g9s fort
9an 9i:r g9'Jeft — 9unt 'main9s 9ist der "mort!
"Jil9r, 'vilhelm "tel.
(Langsamer Vortrag.)
're:m9rl "mitbYrgor! "Troynd9l 'heat mi9 main9
'zax9 fy:r9n; 9unt zait 'Jtil, da:'mit 9i:r 'he:r9n me:g9t.
'glaupt mi:r 9um main9r '9e:r9 vil9n, 9unt he:kt
'9axtui) fo:r main9r 9e:r9, dafmit 9i:r 'glaub9n me:kt.
na:x 9oyr9r Vaishait, 9unt 'vekt 9oyr9
Btthnenaussprache : [-je],
122 Proben.
Sinne, um desto besser urteilen zu konnen. 1st De-
mand in dieser Versammlung, irgend ein herzlicher
Freund Casars, dem sage ich: des Brutus Liebe zum
Casar war nicht geringer als seine. Wenn dieser
Freund dann fragt, warum Brutus gegen Casar
aufstand, ist dies meine Antwort : nicht, weil ich
Casarn weniger liebte, sondern weil ich Rom mehr
liebte. Wolltet ihr lieber, Casar lebte und ihr stiirbet
alle als Sklaven, als dafi Casar tot ist, damit ihr alle
lebet wie freie Manner? Weil Casar mich liebte,
wein' ich um ihn ; weil er gliicklich war, freue ich
mich ; weil er tapfer war, ehr' ich ihn, aber weil er
herrschsuchtig war, erschlug ich ihn. Also Tranen
fur seine Liebe, Freude fur sein Gliick, Ehre fur
seine Tapferkeit, und Tod fur seine Herrschsucht.
Wer ist hier so niedrig gesinnt, dafi er ein Knecht
sein mb'chte? 1st es jemand, er rede, denn ihn
habe ich beleidigt. Wer ist hier so roh, dafi er
nicht wiinschte, ein Romer zu sein? Ist es jemand,
er rede, denn ihn habe ich beleidigt. Ich halte
inne, um Antwort zu horen.
SHAKESPEARE, Julim Casar,
Ubersetzt von A. W. T. SCHLKQEL.
Wohltatig ist des Feuers Macht,
Wenn sie der Mensch bezahmt, bewacht,
Und was er bildet, was er schafft,
Uas dankt er dieser Himmelskraft ;
Doch furchtbar wird die Himmelskraft,
Proben. 123
'zme, 9um dssto: 'besor '9urtailen tsu' ken9n. '9ist 'jei-
mant 9m diizer fer'zamlui], '9irg9nt 9ain 'hertsli^er
"froynt"tse:zars,'de:m'za:go?i9:des"bru:tus'li:b9tsum
'tseizar va:r ni^t g9'ni)9r 9als "zain9. ven di:z9r
Troynt dan 'fraikt, vai'rum 'bruitus ge:g9n 'tssizar
"9auf Jtant, 9ist 'diis inain9 '9antvort : 'ni9t, vail ^19
'tseizarn "ve:mg9r Ii:pt9, zond9rn vail ^19 'ro:m "me:r
Ii:pt9. volt9t 9i:r Ii:b9r, 'tssizar "Ie:pt9 9unt '9irr JtYrb9t
'9al9 9als "skla: V9n, 9als das 'tssizar "toit 9ist, daimit'9i:r
'9ale "Ie:b9t vii 'frai9 "men9r? vail'tss:zarmi9'liipt9,
Vain 919 l 9um 9i:n ; vail 9e:r 'glykli9 vair, 'firoy9 919
mi9 ; vail 9e:r 'tapfbr vair, '9e:r 919* 9im, 9aib9r vail 9eir
"HsrJzY9ti9 vair, 9er"Jluik 919 9im. 9alzo: ftrein9n
fy:r zain9 'Ii;b9, 'froyd9 fyir zain 'glik, '9e:r9 fy:r
zain9 'tapf9rkait, 9unt "toit fyir zain9 "herjzuxt.
veir 9ist hiir zoi 'niidri9 g9zint, das 9e:r 9ain 'kne9t
zain m.89t9 ? '9ist 9es jeimant, 9eir 'reid9, den '9i:n
haibe 919 b9'laidi9t. Veir 9ist Mir zoi 'roi, das 9eir
11191 'v¥njt9, 9ain 'ro:m9r tsu' zain? '9ist 9es jeimant,
9eir 'reid9, dsn '9i:n haib9 919 b9'laidi9t. 919 halt9
'9in9, 9um '9antvort tsu* h.eir9n.
"Jeikspiir, juillus "tseizar,
t fon '?ai 've: (''august 'vilhslm) fon "Jlegel.
(Im ganzen: langsamer Vortrag.)
"voilts:ti9 9ist des "foygrs 'maxt,
ven zi: der 'inenf b9"tseimt, b9"vaxt,
9unt 'vas 9eir 'blldat, Vas 9e:r '/aft,
das 'dagkt 9eir 'diiz9r "him9lskraft ;
dox "fur9tbair virt dii 'him9lskraft,
1 Oder: |'vain-i<?]. - Oder:
1 24 Proben.
"Wenn sie der Fessel sich entrant,
Einhertritt auf der eignen Spur,
Die freie Tochter der Natur.
Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen,
Wachsend ohne Widerstand,
Durch die volkbelebten Gas sen
Walzt den ungeheuren Brand 1
Denn die Elemente hassen
Das Gebild der Menschenhand.
Aus der Wolke
Quillt der Segen,
Stromt der Regen,
Aus der Wolke, ohne Wahl,
Zuckt der Strahl!
Hort ihr's wimmern hoch vom Turm?
Das ist Sturm!
Rot, wie Blut,
Ist der Himmel,
Das ist nicht des Tages Glut!
Welch Getiimmel
Strafien auf!
Dampf wallt auf!
Flackernd steigt die Feuersaule,
Durch der Strafie lange Zeile
Wachst es fort mit Windeseile.
Kochend, wie aus Ofens Rachen,
Gliihn die Liifte, Balken krachen,
Pfosten stiirzen, Fenster klirren,
Proben. 125
ven zi: der 'fesel ziq 9snt"raft,
9ainTie:rtrit 9auf der '9aignen 'fouir,
di: 'fraie 'toxter der na*'tuir.
"ve:e, ven zi: 1o:sgelasen,
'vaksent 9o:no 'vi:d0r/tant,
dur9 di: Tolkbele:pten 'gasen
Veltst den PungQ'hoyren "brant I
den di: 9e:l9'msnt9 "hasen
das geTDilt der 'menjenhant.
9aus der Volke
'kvilt der "ze:gen,
'Jtro:mt der "re: gen,
9aus der Volke, 9o:ne Vail,
'tsukt der "Jtra:l!
'he:rt 9i:rs Vimern 'ho:x fom 'turm?
das 9ist '"Jturm!
'ro:t, vi: 'blu:t,
9ist der Tiimel,
das 9ist ni9t des "ta:ges 'glu:t!
vel9 ge'timel
'/tra:sen '9auf !
"dampf Valt '9auf !
'flakernt 'Jtaikb di: "foyerzoyle,
dur9 der 'Jtra:se lage 'tsaile
Vekst 9es Tort nut Vindes'9aile *.
'koxent, vi: 9aus '9o:fens raxen,
'gly:n di: lyfte, 'balken 'kraxen,
'pfosten '/tYrtsen, Tenster 'kliren,
1 Auoh: ['vmdes'aiJe].
12(5 Proben.
Kinder jammern, Mutter irren,
Tiere wimmern
Unter Triimmern,
Alles rennet, rettet, fluchtet,
Taghell ist die Nacht gelichtet.
Durch der Hande lange Kette
Um die Wette
Fliegt der Eimer, hoch im Bogen
Spritzen Quellen "Wasserwogen.
Heulend kommt der Sturm geflogen,
Der die Flamme brausend sucht.
Prasselnd in die diirre Frucht
Fallt sie, in des Speichers Raume,
In der Sparren diirre Baume,
Und als wollte sie im Wehen
Mit sich fort der Erde Wucht
Reifien in gewalt'ger Flucht,
Wachst sie in des Himmels Hohen
Riesengrofi !
Hoffnungslos
Weicht der Mensch der Grotterstarke
Mtifiig sieht er seine Werke
Und bewundernd untergehen.
SCHILLER, Lied von der Glocke.
Cber alien Gipfeln
Ist Ruh',
In alien Wipt'elc
Proben. 127
lander jamsrn, 'mrter '9iron,
'tiire Vimern
9unt9r 'trYmorn,
'9al9s rsnet, 'rstet, '
"ta:khel 9ist di: 'naxt
dur9 dsr 'hende 'lage 'kete
9um dii Vst9
'fliikt dsr Calmer, Tioix ?im I)o:g9n
'Jprits9n *kvel9n Vas9rvo:g9n.
lioylent komt der '/turm g9flo:g9n,
de:r di: 'flam9 'brauz9nt 'zuixt.
'pras9lnt 9m di: 'dyr9 Truxt
'felt zi:, 9in des 'Jp^srs 'royme,
9m dsr 'Jpar9n 'dyr9 'boym9,
9unt 9als volt9 zi: ?im Ve:9n
mit 219 Tort dsr '9e:rd9 Vuxt
'rais9n 9m ge'valtggr1 'iluxt,
Vskst zi: 9m dss rhim9ls 'he:en
"ri:z9ngro:s !
Tiofnui)slo:s
Vai9t dsr msnj" der 'get9rjtsrk9,
'my;si9 z^:* ^e:r zain9 'verk9
9unt be'vund9rnt '9unt9rgei9n.
"Jiler, 'li:t ton dsr "glokd.
(Langsaraer Vortrag.)
'9al9n "gipf9ln
9ist "ru:;
9m '9alen "
1 Biihnenaussprache: [-jar].
128 Proben.
Spttrest dn.
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vogelein schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur! Balde
Ruhest du auch. Gk)ETHE
Du bist wie eine Blume
So hold und schon und rein;
Ich schau dich an, und "Wehmut
Schleicht mir ins Herz hinein.
Mir ist, als ob ich die Hande
Aufs Haupt dir legen sollt',
Betend, dafi Gott dich erhalte
So rein und schon und hold.
HEINE.
Es ist doch gewifi, dafi in der Welt den Men-
schen nichts notwendig macht als die Liebe. Ich
fuhl's an Lotten, dafi sie mich ungern verlore, und
die Kinder haben keine andre Idee, als dafi ich
immer morgen wiederkommen wurde. Heut war
ich hinausgegangen, Lottens Klavier zu stimmen;
ich konnte aber nicht dazu kommen, denn die
Kleinen verfolgten mich um ein Marchen, undLotte
sagte selbst, ich sollte ihnen den Willen tun. Ich
schnitt ihnen das Abendbrot, das sie nun fast so
gerne von mir als von Lotten annehmen, und er-
zahlte ihnen das Hauptstuckchen von der Prinzessin,
die von Handen bedient wird. Ich lerne viel dabei,
das versichr' ich dioh, und ich bin erstaunt, was
Proben. 129
'Jpyirest du:
'kaum 9ainan ''haux;
di: 'fo:golain "Jvaigen 9im valde.
Varte nu:r! 'balde
"ra:9st 'du: "9aux.
(Vortrag.)
du: bist vi: 9ain9 "blu:m9
zo: 'holt 9unt 'Je:n 9unt 'rain;
919 Jau di9 '9an, 9unt "ve:mu:t
Jlai9t mi:r 9ms 'herts hmairi.
mi:r '9ist, 9als 9op 919 di: 'hende
9aufs 'haupt di:r le:gen zolfc,
Tt)e:t9nt, das 'got di9 9er"halt9
zo: "rain 9unt "Je:n 9unt "holt. hain9.
(Gespracheton, grofitenteils ruhig erzahlend.)
9es 9ist dox go'vis, das 9m d9r velt den 'men-
/9n 'ni9ts 'no:tvsndi9 maxt 9als di* "Ii:b9. 919
fy:ls 9an loton, das zi* mi9 '9ungern fer'le:ro, 9unt
di* 'kmd9r ha:b9n kain9 '9andr9 9r'de:, 9als das 919
9im9r 'morg9n 'vi:d9rkom9n vird9. hoyt va:r
919 hi'nausg9gag9n, Iot9ns kla*"vi:r tsu' Jtim9n;
919 'kont9 9a:bar ni9t da:tsu' 'kom9n, dsn di'
'klain9n ferfolkt9n mi9 9um 9ain "ms:r99n, 9unt Iot9
za:kt9 'zelpst, 919 zolt9 9i:nen d9n Vilon tu:n. 919
'/nit 9i:n9n das '9a:b9ntbro:t, das zr nu:n 'fast zo'
gern9 fon 'mi:r 9als fon 'Iot9n 9anne:m9n, 9unt 9sr-
'tss:lt9 9i:n9n das 'haupt'Jtik99n fon der prin"tsssm,
di: fon "hend9n bo'dimt virt. 919 lemo 'fi:l da:bai,
das fer'zi9r-i9 di9, 9unt 919 bin 9er'Jtaunt, vas
VittTox, German Pronuuctation, 5tb ed. Q
130 Proben.
es auf sie fur Eindrucke macht. Weil ich manchmal
einen Inzidenzpunkt erfinden mufi, den ich beim
zweiten Male vergesse, sagen sie gleich, das vorige
Mai war's anders gewest, so dafi ich mi(h jetzt
iibe, sie unveranderlich in einem singenden Silben-
fall an einem Schnurchen weg zu rezitieren. Ich
habe daraus gelernt, wie ein Autor durch eine zweite
veranderte Auflage seiner Geschichte, und wenn sie
noch so poetisch besser geworden ware, notwendig
seinem Buche schaden mufi. Der ersto Eindruck
findet uns willig, und der Mensch ist so gemacht,
dafi man ihm das Abenteuerlichste tiberreden kann ;
das haftet aber auch gleich so fest, und wehe dem,
der es wieder auskratzen und austilgen will!
GOETHE, Die Leiden des jungen Wcrthers.
Es zogen drei Bursche wohl iiber den Rhein,
Bei einer Frau Wirtin, da kehrten sie ein:
wFrau Wirtin! hat sie gut Bier und Wein?
Wo hat sie ihr schones Tochterlein?"
BMein Bier und Wein ist frisch und klar.
Mein Tochterlein liegt auf der Totenbahr."
Und als sie traten zur Kammer hinein,
Da lag sie in einem schwarzen Schrein.
Der erste, der schlug den Schleier zuriick
Und schaute sie an mit traurigem Blick:
»Ach, lebtest du noch, du scheme Maid!
Ich wurde dich lieben von dieser Zeit."
Proben. 131
Pes Pauf zi: fy:r 'Paindnke maxt. vail Pi9 man^ma:!
Pain9nPmtsi''dsntspui)ktPer'fmd9n mus, dem Pi9baim
'tsvaiten ma:l9 fer'gsse, 'za:gen zi' glai9, das Toingo
ma:l ve:rs 'Panders g9ve:st, zo* das Pi9 11119 jetst
>9y:b9, zi'Punfsr'Pend9rli9 PmPain9m'zin9nd9n 'zilb9n-
fal Pan 'Pain9m 'Jny:r99n vek tsu* re'tsi''ti:r9n. 919
ha:b9 dairaus g 9lsrnt, vi: Pain 'Pautor dur9 Pain9 'ts vait9
fsr'Psnd9rt9 'Paufla:g9 zainor g9f/i9t9, Punt ven zi*
'nox zo' po^'eiti/ T3ss9r g9vord9n vs:r9, 'no:tvsndi9
zain9m bu:x9 'Ja:(^9n mus. d9r 'Peirst9 'Paindruk
fmd9t Puns Vili9, Punt d9r 'msnj Pist 'zo: ge'maxt,
das man Pi:m das 'Pa:b9ntoy9rli9ste Py:b9r're:d9n kan -.
das 'haft9t Pa:b9r Paux glai9 'zo: Test, Punt Ve:9 'de:m,
de.T Pes vi:d9r 'Pauskratsen Punt 'austilg9n vil!
di* Iaid9n d9s jugen "ve:rt9rs.
(ErzShlend; natftrlich, aber mit Ansdruck.)
Pes 'tso:g9n drai Tbur/9 vo:l Py:b9r d9n 'rain,
bai Painer frau Virtm, da: ke:rt9n zi* 'Pain:
,,frau Virtm! hat zi' 'gu:t l)i:r Punt Vain?
vo: hat zi* Pi:r 'Je:n9s "t89t9rlain?"
nmain *bi:r Punt 'vain Pist 'fhj Punt 'kla:r.
main "t89t9rlain liikt Pauf d9r "to:t9nba:r."
Punt Pals zi* tra:t9n tsur 'kam9r hinain,
da: la:k zi: Pin Pain9m Jvarts9n '/rain,
dsr 'Pe:rst9, de:r Jlu:k d9n 'Jlai9r tsirnk
Punt Jaut9 zi* 'Pan mit 'trauri(j9m T^lik:
n'Pax, le:ptest du* nox, du* 'Je:ne 'maitl
Pi9 vird9 di9 'li:bon fon 'di:z9r tsait."
9*
132 Proben.
Der zweite deckte den Schleier zu
Und kehrte sich ab und weinte dazu:
,,Ach, dafi du Iieg8t auf der Totenbahr!
Ich hab' dich geliebet so manches Jahr."
Der dritte hub ihn wieder sogleich
Und kufite sie an den Mund so bleich:
,,Dich liebt' ich immer, dich lieb' ich noch heut
Und werde dich lieben in Ewigkeit."
UHLAND.
v. TELLHEIM. Ah! meine Minna! —
DAS FRAULEIN. Ah! mein Tellheim! —
v. TELLHEIM. Verzeihen Sie, gnadiges Fraulein,
— das Fraulein von Barnhelm hier zu finden —
DAS FRA'ULEIN. Kann Ihnen doch so gar uner-
wartet nicht sein? — Ich soil Ihnen verzeihen, dafi
ich noch Ihre Minna bin ? Verzeih Ihnen der Himmel,
dafi ich noch das Fraulein von Barnhelm bin ! —
v. TELLHEIM. Gnadiges Fraulein —
DAS FRXULEIN. Mein Herr —
v. TELLHEIM. Wenn wir uns beiderseits nicht
irren —
FRANZISKA. Je, Herr "Wirt, wen bringen Sie
uns denn da? Geschwind kommen Sie, lassen Sie
uus den Rechten suchen.
DER WIKT. 1st es nicht der Rechte ? Ei ja doch !
FRANZISKA. Ei nicht doch ! Geschwind kommen
Sie ! Ich habe Ihrer Jungfer Tochter noch keinen
guten Morgen gesagt.
Proben. 133
der 'tsvaite dekte den Jlaier 'tsu:
9unt keirte ZIQ '9ap 9unt Vaint9 dartsu::
,/9ax, das dir liikst 9auf dor 'to:tenba:r!
919 ha:p di9 ge'li:bet zo* 'man99s ja:r.u
der 'drite Tiuip 9i:n viidor zo*'glai9
9unt 'kiste zi: ?an den 'munt zo' I)lai9:
ndi9 'li:pt 919 '9im9r, di9 fli:p 919 ! nox 'hoyt
9unt Ve:rd9 di9 liiben 9m "9e:vi9kait.".
9u:lant.
(Gesprachston ; verschiedene Grade der Bewegung.)
fon 'telhaim. '9a:! main9 'mina! —
das 'froylain. '9a: ! main 'telhaim ! —
fon 'telhaim. fer'tsaien zi:, gneidiges 'froylain,
— das froylain fon "barnhelm hi:r tsu' fmd9n —
das 'froylain. kan (9)i:nen dox zo* 'ga:r 9un9er-
Vartet ni9t zain? — 919 zol (9)i:nen fer'tsaien, das
(9)19 nox (9)i:re 'mma: bin ? fertsai '(9)i:n9n d9r 'him9l,
das (9)19 nox das froylain fon 'barnhelm bin! —
fon 'telhaim. gne:dig9s 'froylain —
das 'froylain. main 'her —
fon 'telhaim. ven vi:r 9uns 'baidorzaits ni9t
"9iren —
fran'tsiska:. 'je:, her virt, vein 'bngen zi*
(9)uns den da:? ge'/vint 'komen zi:, lasen zi* (9)uns
den 're9ten zu:xen.
der 'virt. 9ist es 'ni9t der re9t9? 9ai "ja: dox!
fran'tsiska:. 9ai 'ni9t dox ! ge'JVmt 'komen zi: !
919 haibe (9)i:rer jugfer 'toxter nox kainen gu:ten
'morgen geza:kt.
Oder:
134 Proben.
DEK WIRT. 0! viel Ehre —
FRANZISKA. Kommen Sie, wir wollen den
Kuchenzettel machen. — Lassen Sie sehen, was
wir haben werden —
DER WIRT. Sie sollen haben; furs erste —
FRANZISKA. Still, ja stille ! Wenn das Fraulein
jetzt schon weifi, was sie zu Mittag speisen soil,
so ist es um ihren Appetit geschehen. Kommen
Sie, das miissen Sie mir allein sagon.
LESSING, Minna von Barnhelm.
Jetzt war es entschieden , kein Zweifel iiiehr
moglich, Fink hatte das Buch. Die braunen Bander
rauschten auseinander, die Partei gh'ch einem
Schwarm entsetzter Kiichlein, unter welche der
Habicht stofit. Nur Lenore nahm sich zusammen
nnd trat entschlossen auf Fink zu. nSie haben das
Buch, Herr von Fink, eine meiner Freundinnen
hat es verloren und ist sehr ungliicklich dariiber.
Sein Inhalt ist nicht fur fremde Augen, er kann
in dieser Gesellschaft grofien Arger verursachen.
Ich bitte, dafi Sie mir das Buch zuriickgeben."
,,Em Buch?a frug Fink neugierig, nwas fur
ein Buch?"
^Verstellen Sie sich nicht", sagte Lenore, Bes
ist uns alien deutlich, dafi Sie es haben. Ich
kann nicht glauben, dafi Sie es nach dem, was
ich Ihnen fiber die Folgen gesagt habe, noch einen
Augenblick behalten konnen."
nloh kOnnte es behalten", nickte Fink. rSie
Proben. 135
d9r Virt. 9o: ! 'fill '9e:re —
fran'tsiska:. 'komen zi:, vi:r volen den 'ki99n-
tsetel maxen. — lasen zi' ze:9n, vas vi:r Tia:ben
veirden —
der 'virt. zi* zolen 'haiben; fyirs '9e:rst9 —
fran'tsiskai. ^'Jfali Ja: 'filial ven das froylain
'jetst Join vais, vas zi' tsu' 'mitak Jpaizen zol, zo:
ist es um iiren (9)ape'ti:t go'Jeron. 'komen zi:, das
mYson zi' (')mi:r 9a'lain za:gon.
"lesii), 'mina: fon "barnhelm.
(Erzfthlung und Gesprach; vmbefangen, z. T. lebhaft.)
jetst va:r 9s ?ent'Ji:d9n, kain 'tsvaifel me:r
me:kli9, 'fii)k 'hate das bu:x. di* braun9n fbend9r
ran/ton 9aus?ai'nander , di* par'tai gli9 (9)ain9m
Jvarm 9ent'zstst9r 'ky^lain, 9unt9r vslQe d9r 'ha:bi9t
Jte:st. nuir le'noire na:m zi9 tsu'zam9n 9unt
trait 9ent'Jlos9n ?auf figk 'tsu:. a'zi: 'haib9n das
buix, her fon Tiijk, 9aine mainer 'froyndmen hat
es ferloiren 9unt (9)ist zeir '9unglYkli9 da'ryiber.
zain '9mhalt (9)ist ni9t fyir 'fremd9 9aug9n, 9er kan
(9)m diizer ge'zel/aft groisen '9erger fer9u:rzaxen.
919 Taite, das zi* miir das buix tsu'rikgeiben."
n9ain l)u:x?u fruik 'figk 'noygi:ri9, fl'vas fyir
(9)ain buix?"
afer'/teton zi' 219 ni9t,a za:kt9 Ie''noir9, n9es ist
(9)uns '9al9n 'doytli9, das zr 9s Tiaiben. 919 kan ni9t
'glaub9n, das zi* 9s na:x 'deim, vas 19 (9)i:n9n 9y:ber
di' Tolgen gezaikt haibe, nox (9)ain9n '9augenblik
be'halten kenen.
M9i9 'kente es b9halten,': nikte 'figk. ,,zi xmt
136 Proben.
sind zu giitig, wenn Sie mir ein solches Zartgefiihl
zutrauen."
nDas ware mehr als unartig", rief Lenore.
MEs wiirde mir das grofite Vergniigen machen,
mehr als unartig zu sein, wenn ich das Buch hatto.
Ein Buch, das Ihnen oder einer Ihrer Freundinnen
gehort, das moglicherweise Ihre Handschrift oder
eine andere Erinnerung an Sie enthalt, das werde
ich Ihnen in keinem Fall zuriickgeben, wenn ich
es finde ; und wenn ich erfahre, wo es liegt, werde
ich es stehlen. Und wenn ich es habe, werde ich
es Zeile fur Zeile auswendig lernen. Ich werde
Ihnen dadurch zu gefallen suchen, dafi ich Ihnen
einige Stellen daraus vortrage, so oft ich die Freude
habe, Sie zu sehen."
Lenore trat ihm einen Schritt naher, und ihre
Augen flammten. BWenn Sie das tun, Herr von
Fink", rief sie, Bso werden Sie als ein Unwiirdiger
handeln."
Fink nickte ihr freundlich zu. ,,Der Eifer steht
Ihnen allerliebst, Fraulein; aber wie konnen Sie
Wiirde von einem lustigen Vogel verlangen, wie ich
bin? Die Natur hat ihre Gaben verschieden aus-
geteilt; manchemhat sie verliehen, Verse zu machen,
andere zeichnen kleine Bilder, ich habe von ihr
einen spitzen Schnabel erhalten, den gebrauche ich.
Haben Sie je einen wiirdigen Zeisig gesehen?" Er
wandte sich lachend ab, fafite Benno Tonnchen
beim Arm und ging mit ihm nach der Tiir.
G. FREYTAG, Soil und Haben.
Proben. 137
tsu 'gy:ti9, ven zi' mi:r (9)ain 201993 'tsairtgefyil
tsu:trau9n."
ndas ve:r9 'me:r (9)als "9un9a:rti9," ri:f Ie''no:r9.
a9es vrrde mi:r das 'gre:ste fer'gnyigen maxen,
'me:r (9)als '9un9a:rti9 tsu zain, ven 19 das bu:x 'hete.
9ain 'bu:x, das '9i:n9n 9o:der 9ain9r 9i:r9r'froyndin9n
g9he:rt, das fme:kli99r Vaiz9 '9i:r9 'hant/rift 9o:d9r
9ain9 '9and9r9 9er'9in9rug 9an 'zi: 9enthelt, das ve:rd9
19 (9)i:n9n (9)m 'kain9m Tal tsu'rYkge:b9n, ven 19
9s Tmd9 ; 9unt ven 19 (9)er'fa:r9, vo: 9s 'li:kt, ve:rd9
19 9s 'Jte:l9n. 9unt ven 19 9s 'ha:b9, ve:rd9 19
9s 'tsail9 fyir 'tsail9 '9ausvendi9 Iern9n. 919 ve:rd9
(9)i:n9n da:dur9 tsu' g9ffal9n zu:x9n, das 19 (9)i:n9n,
(9)aimg9 'Jtslen dairaus To:rtra:g9, zo' '9oft 19 di*
'froyd9 haibo, zi: tsu' 'ze:9n."
Ie*'no:r9 tra:t (9)i:m (9)ain9n Jnt 'ne:9r, 9unt(9)i:r9
'9aug9n 'flamt9n. n(')ven zi' 'das 'tu:n, her fon 'fink",
'ri:f zi:, nzo' ve:rd9n zi* (9)als 9ain '9unvirdig9r
hand9ln."
'fink mkt9 (9)i:r froyntli9 'tsu:. nde:r '9aif9r Jte:t
(9)i:n9n 9al9r'li:pst, 'froylain; 9a:b9r vi: keuen zi'
Vyrd9 fon (9)ain9m lustiggn To:g9l ferlag9n, vi* '919
bin? di' na'tu:r hat (9)i:r9 ga:b9n fer'Ji:d9n 9aus-
g9tailt; 'man99m hat zi* ferli:9n, 'ferz9 tsu' maxon,
'9and9r9 tsai9n9n klain9 'bild9r, '919 ha:b9 fon (?)ia*
(9)ain9n Jpits9n 'Jna:b9l 9erhalt9n, de:n g9'braux9 (9)19.
ha:b9n zi' je: (9)ain9n Vyrdig9n 'tsaizi9 g9ze:9n?"
9e:r (')vant9 zi9 'Iax9nt '9ap, (')fast9 'bsno: 'ten99n
bairn '9arm 9unt Ogig mit (9yi:m na:x d9r 'ty:r.
'ge: ('(justa:f) "fraita:k, 'zol 9unt "ha:b9n.
Verlag von O. R. REISLAND in Leipzig.
Die praktische Spracherlernung
und der Physiologic der Sprache dargestellt von Felix Franke.
Vierte Auflage bevorwortet von Otto Jespersen. 1908.
43 Seiten 8°. M. —.60.
Phrases de tous les fours. Diaio™ journaiiers
" mi | , avec transcription
phonetique. Par Felix Franke. Dixieme edition. 1912. IV,
60 Seiten. 8°. M. —.80, kart, M. I.—.
Erg'&nzung'Sheft zu ,,Phrases de tous les jours".
Von Felix Franke. Siebente Auflage. 1910. 56 Seiten.
8°. M. —.80, kart. M. 1.—.
Spoken English.
Master, Harris Academy, Dundee, and Otto Jespersen, Ph.
D., Professor at the University of Kopenhageu. Seventh edition.
1908. IV und 60 Seiten. 8°. M. —.80, kart. M. 1.—. Englische
Ubersetzung und Bearbeitung von Franke, Phrases de tous les
jours, englischer Text mit phonetischer Umschreibung.)
Erganzung'Slieft zu nSpoken English". Von Otto
Jespersen. Dritte Auflage. 1910. 4'/4 Bogen. 8°. M. — .80,
kart M. 1. — .
Mit phonetischer Einleitung und
. Umschrift v. Ernst A. Meyer,
Dr. phil., Lektor der deutschen Sprache an der Handelshochschule
in Stockholm. Zweite Auflage. 1912. IV und 105 Seiten.
M. 1.60, kart. M. 1.90.
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'Itflli^nA Pjlfljlffl Frasiusualigiornalierecontrascrizione
L UdlldliU I dridlU.fonptica digpederico Ktirschner,
professore di lingue moderne e delle scienze commerciali, autore
della tachistenografia universale. 1898. X u. 73 S. 8°. M. — .80.
Le Frangais parle.
Passy. Sixieme edition. 1908. VIII, 121 S. 8°. Kart. M. 1.80.
Abrege de Prononciation f rangaise
avec un glossaire des mots coutenus dans le 'Francais parl«5' par
Paul Passy. Troisieme Edition. 1906. SVaBg.8". Kart. M. 1.— .
Verlagr von O. R. REISLAND in Leipzig.
Englische Philologie.
Anleitung zum wissenschaftl. Studium der engl. Sprache.
Von Johan Storm,
ord. Prof. d. Roman, u. d. engl. Philol. a. d. Univ. Christiania.
Zweite, yollst&ndig umgearbeitete und sehr yermehrte Auflage.
I. Teil: Die lebende Sprache.
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Inhalt: Geschichte Englands. — Abriss der Geschichte Irlands. — Abriss
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