German

Study the whole book, but also pay special attention to the topics outline below. These highlight the common difficulties for native German speakers.

Consonants

Voiced and Voiceless Consonants

Review voiced and voiceless consonants in Chapter Three. There is a tendency for German speakers to change the final voiced consonant into a voiceless one, often at the ends of words.

Word Contrasts for Practice

Make sure you pronounce the following words in each pair differently.

Confusing /s/ and /z/ Sounds

The s in many English words is frequently pronounced as a /z/ sound. Refer to the list in Chapter Four of common words with a /z/ sound. Other words pronounced with a /z/ sound include: husband, design, observe, always, and chose.

Confusing /v/ and /w/

All explanations and exercises for the /v/ and /w” sounds are in Chapter Four.

The /l/ Sound

Make sure you don’t quickly release the tip of your tongue for the l at the end of words. This will cause you to over-pronounce the /l/. The American /l/ sound is softer and longer than the German /l/, and the tip of the tongue is more relaxed. Review the exercises for the American /l/ sound in Chapter Four.

The th Sound

Review Chapters Three and Four to learn the correct pronunciation of this sound. A common mistake is to substitute /t/ or /d/ for th. Some German speakers may also substitute an s or z for th.

Word Pairs for Practice

Make sure that you don’t pronounce the words in each pair the same way:

The /r/ Sound

When it appears at the end of a word or before another consonant, the /r/ sound may pose some difficulties for the native German speaker. Review the explanations and exercises for the /r/ sound in Chapter Four. Make sure you pronounce the final /r/ at the end of words.

Word Pairs for Practice

Make sure you don’t pronounce these pairs of words the same:

Vowels

It is recommended that you study all of the American vowel sounds in detail. (See Chapters One and Two.) However, pay special attention to the vowel sounds highlighted below which are the most problematic ones for German speakers of English.

Confusing /æ/ and /ɛ/

You might have a tendency to confuse /æ/ (as in bad) with /ɛ/ (as in bed.) If so, you will want to review the explanations and many exercises for these sounds in Chapters One and Two. A typical mistake would be to pronounce sand and send the same way.

Word Contrasts for Practice

Make sure you pronounce the words in each pair differently.

The /ɔ/ Sound

Be careful that your /ɔ/ sound (as in saw) is not influenced by the very different British version of this sound. In British English pause sounds almost like “pose,” but in American English it sounds much more like /pɑz/, and has the same /ɑ/ sound as in father or watch.

Word Contrasts for Practice

Make sure you pronounce the words in each pair differently:

The /I/ Sound

You might have a tendency to pronounce /I/ (as in sit) incorrectly. Make sure you pronounce the following words differently:

The /ɘ/ Sound

You might confuse /ɘ/ as in fun, with /ɑ/ as in hop. Practice pronouncing the following words differently:

The /ʊ/ Sound

Do not make the common error of confusing /ʊ/ as in good, with /u/ as in food. Make sure you pronounce the following words differently: