Do any speakers of standard German pronounce Ä differently than E, and in which linguistic contexts and/or regional locations/dialects?

Asked by Last Modified  

1 Answer

Follow 5
Answer

Please enter your answer

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...
read more
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 less
Comments
Dislike Bookmark

Related Questions

Will German basics is enough to travel to Germany?
yes
Subromita
I am an Hon. Graduate (Hons. in Journalism and mass communication). Also pursuing b2 in German from Goethe. What will be my job prospects after passing b2?
German language is useful in almost every field and highly in demand these days. In addition after pursuing B2, which is regarded as a very high level... U wont face any problem in finding high status...
Krishnarpan
0 0
6
Hello All, I am interested to teach german language online. Can anyone guide what tools etc are needed apart from Skype ?
goto meeting
Manish
I need a german teacher iin gurgaon for A2 level near sector -4
With us you can complete A2 level in just 1 week by taking extensive longer sessions.
Neha
How many days will take to learn basic German?
One can only learn it either under pressure or out of total love, both give the drive to spend much time with hearing and talking German. There are not just the hours you sit with a teacher to be counted,...
Kiran

Now ask question in any of the 1000+ Categories, and get Answers from Tutors and Trainers on UrbanPro.com

Ask a Question

Related Lessons

Do you know the methods / types of learning?
If you dont know , then this is the time to learn which will make you a real efficient learner. There are Four different learning methods. 1. Visual 2.Auditory 3. Communicative 4. Motor learning. No...
M

Malarvizhy P.

0 0
0
Artikeln: Der, Die, Das
In this lesson, I would like to explain to you why learning articles in German are vital. For that, first, we need to know the three types of articles there are in German. They are:1. Der: Masculine2....

Vartika Mishra

1 0
0
German Made Easy - Gender Rules : A Must For Learners.
We know that there are three genders in the German language: Masculine, Feminine and Neuter. The articles for them are der, die and das respectively. It is important in German you know the gender of a...

Lalita Classes

0 0
0
What level of German should one opt to learn?
Many students seeking a job ask for A 1 level certification coaching. Employers nowadays look for employees with fluent German. This means at least a B1 level. So set yr sights higher and strive for the higher certification level.

Venkatarama Durga P.

0 0
0
Feelings Or Moods
Happy Mood: Prima! - Great. Ausgezeichnet! - Excellent. Sad Mood: Nicht besonder! - Not great. Very sad Mood: furchtbar - Terrible.
D

Deleted U.

0 0
0

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 >

Find Learn German near you
Learn German in Delhi
Learn German in Bangalore
Learn German in Pune
Learn German in Chennai
Learn German in Mumbai
Learn German in Hyderabad
Learn German in Noida
Learn German in Kochi
Learn German in Gurgaon
Learn German in Faridabad
Online German Language Classes

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 you