Help:IPA/Standard German

< Help:IPA

The charts below show the way International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Standard German language pronunciations in Simple Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA letters to Simple Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-de}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

See Standard German phonology and German orthography § Grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences for a extensive look at the sounds of German.

Consonants
DE AT CH Examples English approximation
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. bei;[1] ab (AT, CH)[2] ball
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. ich, durch;[3] China (DE) hue
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. dann; Kleid (AT, CH)[2] done
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. für, von, Phänomen fuss
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. gut; Tag (AT, CH)[2] guest
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. hat hut
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Jahr, Yo-Yo yard
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. kann, cremen, sechs; Tag (DE);[2] China (AT, CH) cold
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Leben last
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Mantel bottle
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Mann must
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. großem rhythm
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Name not
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. beiden sudden
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. lang long
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Person, ab (DE)[2] puck
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Pfeffer cupful
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. reden[4] DE: French rouge
AT, CH: Scottish red
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. lassen, groß, Haus fast
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. schon, Stadt, spitz, Champagner, Ski shall
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Tag, Stadt; Kleid (DE)[2] tall
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Zeit, Platz, Potsdam, Celle cats
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Matsch, Cello match
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. was, Vase[1] vanish
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. nach[3] Scottish loch
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Sie, diese[1] (in Austrian German sparsely used) DE: zebra
AT, CH: soup
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. beamtet [bəˈʔamtət][5] uh-oh!
Non-native consonants
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Dschungel, Pidgin[1][6] jungle
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Motherboard[7] this
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Spray[8] rice
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Thatcherismus[7] think
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Genie, Entourage[1][6] pleasure
Stress
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Bahnhofstraße
[ˈbaːnhoːfˌʃtʁaːsə]
as in battleship /ˈbætəlˌʃɪp/
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found.
Vowels
DE AT CH Examples English approximation
Monophthongs
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. alles, Kalender father, but short
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. aber, sah, Staat father
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Ende, hätte bet
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. spät, wählen[9] RP hair
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. eben, gehen, Meer mate
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. ist sit
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. liebe, Berlin, ihm seed
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. kommen off
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. oder, hohe, Boot story
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. öffnen somewhat like hurt
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Österreich, Möhre, adieu somewhat like heard
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. und push
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Hut, Kuh true
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. müssen, Ypsilon somewhat like cute
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. über, Mühe, psychisch somewhat like few
Diphthongs
ein, Kaiser, Haydn, Verleih, Speyer high
auf vow
ɔʏ Euro, Häuser choice
Reduced vowels
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. ər immer[4] DE, AT: frustration
CH: Scottish letter[10]
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Name balance (but not sofa)[10]
Semivowels
ɐ̯ r Uhr[4] DE, AT: sofa
CH: Scottish far
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Studie yard
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Pointe[11] quite
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Linguist, Gouache[11] would
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Etui[11] somewhat like evaluation
Non-native vowels
ãː Gourmand, Engagement, Restaurant, Chance[12] French Provence
ɛ̃ː Pointe[12] French quinze
ɛɪ Mail[13] face
õː Garçon[12] French Le Monde
ɔː stalken, Motherboard[14] American raw
ɔʊ Code[13] American goat
œ̃ː Parfum[12] French emprunte
œːɐ̯ øːr surfen, Gouverneur[15] roughly like RP bird
Shortened vowels
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. engagieren[12] French chanson
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. impair[12] French vingt-et-un
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Element[16] roughly like dress
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Italien[16] seat
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. originell[16] story, but short
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. fon[12] French Mont Blanc
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Lundist[12] French vingt-et-un
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Ökonom[16] roughly like hurt
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Universität, Souvenir[16] truth
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:IPA symbol/data' not found. Psychologie[16] like meet, but with the lips rounded

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 In Austrian Standard German and Swiss Standard German, the lenis obstruents /b, d, ɡ, dʒ, ʒ/ are voiceless [b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, d̥ʒ̊, ʒ̊] and are distinguished from /p, t, k, tʃ, ʃ/ only by articulatory strength (/v/ is really voiced, and /s/ is the only alveolar fricative). The distinction is also retained word-finally. In German Standard German, voiceless [b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, z̥, d̥ʒ̊, ʒ̊] as well as [v̥] occur allophonically after fortis obstruents and, for /b, d, ɡ/, often also word-initially. See fortis and lenis.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 In German Standard German, voiced stops /b, d, ɡ/ are devoiced to [p, t, k] at the end of a syllable.
  3. 3.0 3.1 [ç] and [x] belong to one phoneme traditionally transcribed /x/. The velar allophone appears after back vowels and /a, aː/ and it may instead be uvular [χ], depending on the variety and speaker. In this guide, the difference between velar and uvular allophones is ignored and both are written with ⟨x⟩.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Pronunciation of /r/ in German varies according to region and speaker. While older prescriptive pronunciation dictionaries allowed only [r], that pronunciation is now found mainly in Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria. In other regions, the uvular pronunciation prevails, mainly as a fricative/approximant [ʁ]. In many regions except for most parts of Switzerland, the /r/ in the syllable coda is vocalized to [ɐ̯] after long vowels or after all vowels (in this guide [ɐ̯] is used only after long vowels, following the pronunciation dictionaries), and /ər/ is pronounced as [ɐ].
  5. The glottal stop occurs in German Standard German. It is not transcribed phrase-initially, where it is just as likely to be used in English as it is in German. Word- and phrase-internal glottal stops are transcribed. Austrian or Swiss Standard German do not have glottal stops ( Krech et al. 2009, pp. 236, 262).
  6. 6.0 6.1 Many speakers lack the lenis /ʒ/ and replace it with its fortis counterpart /ʃ/ ( Hall 2003, p. 42). The same applies to the corresponding lenis /dʒ/, which also tends to be replaced with its fortis counterpart /tʃ/. According to the prescriptive standard, such pronunciations are not correct.
  7. 7.0 7.1 /ð, θ/, occurring in English loans, may be substituted with any of /d, z, v/ and /t, s, f/, respectively.
  8. Used in some loanwords from English, especially by younger speakers.
  9. In Northern Germany, /ɛː/ often merges with /eː/ to [].
  10. 10.0 10.1 As several other Germanic languages, Standard German has mid [ə] and open [ɐ] schwas. Care must be taken to clearly distinguish between the two. In English, the former appears in words such as balance, cannon and chairman and the latter variably in sofa, China (especially at the very end of utterance) and, in some dialects, also in ago and again, but one needs to remember that Standard German [ɐ] has no such free variation and is always open, just as [ə] is always mid. In some English dialects, an unstressed /ʌ/ in words such as frustration and justiciable is a perfect replacement for Standard German [ɐ].
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 /o̯, u̯, y̑/ only occur in certain unadapted or partly unadapted loanwords.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 The nasal vowels occur in French loans. They are long [ãː, ɛ̃ː, õː, œ̃ː] when stressed and short [ã, ɛ̃, õ, œ̃] when unstressed. In colloquial speech they may be replaced with [aŋ, ɛŋ, ɔŋ, œŋ] irrespective of length, and the [ŋ] in these sequences may optionally be assimilated to the place of articulation of a following consonant, e.g. Ensemble [aŋˈsaŋbl̩] or [anˈsambl̩] for [ãˈsãːbl̩] ( Mangold 2005, p. 65).
  13. 13.0 13.1 The diphthongs /ɛɪ, ɔʊ/ occur only in loanwords (mostly from English), such as okay. Depending on the speaker and the region, they may be monophthongized to [eː, oː] (or [e, o] in an unstressed syllable-final position). Thus, the aforementioned word okay can be pronounced as either [ɔʊˈkɛɪ] or [oˈkeː].
  14. The long vowel /ɔː/ occurs only in English loanwords, and is often replaced with the native short /ɔ/ or long /oː/, according to the speaker and where it occurs in a word.
  15. [œːɐ̯] or [øːr] is the German rendering of the English NURSE vowel /ɜːr/ and the French stressed [œʁ] ( Krech et al. 2009, pp. 64, 142).
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 [e, i, o, ø, u, y], the short versions of the long vowels [eː, iː, oː, øː, uː, yː], are used at the end of unstressed syllables before the accented syllable and occur mainly in loanwords. In native words, the accent is generally on the first syllable, and syllables before the accent other than prepositional prefixes are rare but occasionally occur, e.g. in jedoch [jeˈdɔx], soeben [zoˈʔeːbn̩], vielleicht [fiˈlaɪçt] etc. In casual speech short [e, i, o, ø, u, y] preceding a phonemic consonant (i.e., not a [ʔ]) may be replaced with [ɛ, ɪ, ɔ, œ, ʊ, ʏ], e.g. [jɛˈdɔx], [fɪˈlaɪçt] ( Mangold 2005, p. 65).

Bibliography

  • Hall, Christopher (2003) [First published 1992], Modern German pronunciation: An introduction for speakers of English (2nd ed.), Manchester: Manchester University Press, ISBN 0-7190-6689-1
  • Krech, Eva Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz-Christian (2009), Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch, Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6
  • Mangold, Max (2005), Das Aussprachewörterbuch (6th ed.), Duden, ISBN 978-3411040667