Learn German Language from the Best Tutors
Affordable fees 1-1 or Group class Flexible Timings Verified Tutors Search in
Asked by Yogesh Last Modified
Answer 
Abhay
German has a wide range of variation when it comes to dialect. There are 16 Federal States and 3 city-states in Germany, and almost everywhere, one can find a slight variation in the dialect. So, some of the German may pronounce Ä differently than E.
Below is a comment made by a linguistic expert on a website:
“In standard pronunciation, short "ä" is [ɛ], and short "e" is [ə], [ɛ], or [e], where the last one occurs in foreign words ("Methode" [meˈtoːdə]) but rarely in native ones ("lebendig" [leˈbɛndɪk]). That means that most of the time, there is no audible difference between short "ä" and "e". For instance, the vowels in "nässer" and "besser" are the same, namely [ɛ].”
“Long "ä" is [ɛː], long "e" is usually [eː], so the long vowels are clearly distinguished.
“Dialects often differ. Many North Germans, for instance, will consistently replace [ɛː] by [eː], and if I remember correctly, there are South German dialects that make a difference between short "ä" and "e".
“For non-native speakers: Replacing short [e] by [ɛ] is unproblematic. Short [e] is rare, there is no risk of semantic ambiguities, and many people will simply not notice it. Replacing long [ɛː] by [eː] or vice versa can lead to semantic ambiguities ("ich sehe/ich sähe"). It will be noticed and it's considered as a mistake, but it's a mistake that is also common among native speakers, so I think that you will be understood.”
read lessRelated Questions
Now ask question in any of the 1000+ Categories, and get Answers from Tutors and Trainers on UrbanPro.com
Ask a QuestionRelated Lessons
Recommended Articles
Career as a Language Translator
In today’s era of globalization, English as the primary official language has lost much of its sheen. Regional languages are much in demand and with countries like China, Japan and Korea making their presence felt in the international scenario, the career prospects for a Language Translator have increased multifold. Translation...
Read full article >
Job Prospects for German Language Learners
Due to globalization of the Indian economy, the demand for learning foreign languages is on the rise. ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) and Outsourcing have brought a lot of job opportunities paving the way for the learning foreign languages. German is the native language of more than 100 million people in...
Read full article >
Learning foreign language in India
If you think English is enough to communicate with anybody in this world, you are sadly misinformed. Statistically the highest spoken foreign language in the world is Chinese with 20.7%, followed by English at 6.2%. That means that 93.8% of people do not speak English. This makes it necessary to learn another foreign language...
Read full article >
Career Benefits of Learning Foreign Languages
Bilingual candidates are high in demand in multinational corporations around the world. Today, we live in a fast-paced life where business dynamics are changing every day. So organisations need people who have the right language skills and trending technical knowledge to meet and solve business requirements. Candidates...
Read full article >
Looking for German Language Classes?
Learn from the Best Tutors on UrbanPro
Are you a Tutor or Training Institute?
Join UrbanPro Today to find students near youThe best tutors for German Language Classes are on UrbanPro
The best Tutors for German Language Classes are on UrbanPro
10
