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Subject - Verb Agreement
While you were listening to the alphabet, did you notice how the letters are similar and different to English letters? It is the differences that make things interesting!
The vowels in German are very different.
A sounds like ah
E sounds like ae (long English A)
I sounds like ee (long English E)
U sounds like oo as in loose
(how nice that the O sounds like Oh!)
Umlauts
What are the two little "dots" over some letter? They are called umlauts.
Umlauts only go over three of the vowels: ä, ö, and ü. They change the way the vowel sounds. They aren't used in every word containing a, o or u! Listen to the speaker say these six words:
shon already
schön pretty
Apfel apple
Äpfel apples
rund round
rüber over
Now, let's try a bit of a tongue twister to see if you get the idea:
Hans geht über und unter den Apfelbaum mit zwei Äpfel!
Practice saying this until you can do it quickly!
Now let's put things together! Just like in English, the German language sometimes has two letters together. We call them vowel and consonant "blends". Two letters together will change the sound of the letters separately.
Sounds of German
German does not use "th", but it does contain the "ch" blend and uses it often!
It is hard to say correctly, but here is a good way to think about it: Do you know the hissing sound a cat makes when it gets mad? That is what the "ch" sounds like in German! If you make the sound for the letter "k" but let some air go through, you will have it. Practice saying the words below:
ich (I)
mich (me)
hoch (high)
durch (through)
When Germans do say "sh", it is spelled "sch" and pronounced "sh". For example: die Schule. We say skool and the Germans say shooluh school!
Pigs say "Oink!" The "oi" sound in German can be formed one of two ways: eu and äu!
Sounds of German
There is one more vowel combination that might confuse you. Sometimes you will see "ei" and sometimes you will see "ie". They DO NOT sound the same and can lead to some very bad misunderstandings!
What is an ß? (and how do you use it?) This letter is sort of like short hand. It is called the ess tset or scharfes ess. Never confuse this with the letter B!
It probably sounds strange to you now, but you will get better with practice. Come back to this presentation whenever you need a refresher on pronunciation. Always LISTEN to the speakers embedded in the program. They will pronounce new words for you. Practice them often until they "sound right" to you.
