German phonology

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German phonology describes the phonology of Standard German.

Since German is a pluricentric language, there are a number of different pronunciations of standard German which however agree in most respects.

1 Vowels
2 Diphthongs
3 Consonants
- 3.1 Ich-Laut and ach-Laut
- 3.2 Fortis-lenis pairs
4 Stress
5 Historical sound changes
6 Phonemic mergers
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Vowels

	unrounded		rounded		central		back
	front				central		back
	short	long	short	long	short	long	short	long
close	i¹	iː	y¹	yː			u¹	uː
near-close	ɪ		ʏ				ʊ
close-mid	e¹	eː	ø¹	øː			o¹	oː
mid					ə²
open-mid	ɛ	ɛː³	œ				ɔ
open					a	aː

^1 Short [i y u e ø o] occur only in unstressed syllables of loanwords, for instance in Psychometrie [psyçomeˈtriː] 'psychometry'. They are usually considered complementary allophones together with their long counterparts which cannot occur in unstressed syllables.
^2 The schwa [ə] occurs only in unstressed syllables, for instance in besetzen [bəˈzɛt͡sən] 'occupy'. It is often considered a complementary allophone together with [ɛ] which cannot occur in unstressed syllables. If a sonorant follows in the syllable coda, the schwa often disappears so that the sonorant becomes syllabic, for instance Kissen [ˈkʰɪsn̩] 'pillow', Esel [ˈeːzl̩] 'donkey', besser. Before /r/, this is realized as [ɐ] in many varieties, for instance besser [ˈbɛsɐ] 'better'.
^3 The long open-mid front unrounded vowel [ɛː] is merged with the close-mid front unrounded vowel [eː] in many varieties of standard German. Examples: Ähre [ɛːrə] 'ear' (of wheat, etc.)—Ehre [eːrə] 'honour', and Bären [bɛːrən] 'bear'—Beeren [beːrən] 'berries' are pairs of homophones for many speakers who will use [eːrə] and [beːrən] indiscriminately.—The phonological status of [ɛː] has been the source of much contention in phonological literature for a number of reasons: (1) the insertion of a phoneme /ɛː/ is an irregularity in a vowel system that otherwise has pairs of long and tense vs. short and lax vowels such as [oː] vs. [ɔ]; (2) it has been stated that [ɛː] in High German is due more to a hypercorrective, stage-pronunciation oriented (Bühnendeutsch) view than to a consistent differentiation in actual vernacular—while some dialects (Mundarten) do have an opposition of [eː] vs. [ɛː], there is little agreement across dialects as to exactly which lexical items should be pronounced with [eː] and which with [ɛː]; (3) it is plausible to assume that [ɛː] is "merely" spelling pronunciation (rather than an "original" feature of the language)—that is, an attempt on part of the speakers to "speak as it is printed" (sprechen wie gedruckt) and to differentiate the spellings e and ä (that is, users of the language license the appearance of e and ä in the written by making them distinct in the spoken language); (4) many speakers with an otherwise fairly standard idiolect find it rather difficult to utter longer passages with all the [e:]s and [ɛ:]s in the right places; such persons apparently have to picture the spellings of the words in question which impedes the flow of speech.

The vowels are often analyzed according to a tenseness contrast, /i y u e ø o/ being the tense vowels and /ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ œ ɔ/ their lax counterparts. Like the English checked vowels, the German lax vowels require to be followed by a consonant, with the notable exception of [ɛː] (which is however absent in many varieties). In order to apply the division into pairs of tense and lax to all German vowels, [a] is sometimes considered the lax counterpart of tense [aː].

[edit] Diphthongs

The German diphthongs are /a͡ɪ a͡ʊ ɔ͡ʏ/, for instance in Ei /a͡ɪ/ 'egg', Sau /za͡ʊ/ 'sow', neu /nɔ͡ʏ/ 'new'. Occasionally, these are transcribed as /a͡e a͡o ɔ͡ø/. Instead of the transcription /ɔ͡ʏ/, the transcription /ɔ͡ɪ/ is used as well.

Marginally, there occur some more diphthongs, for instance

[ʊɪ̯] in interjections such as pfui [p͡fʊɪ̯],

and in loanwords, among others, [œɪ̯ ɔʊ̯ ɛɪ̯ o̯a] as in

Feuilleton [fœɪ̯ˈtɔ̃], often [føːiˈtʰɔŋ], [føːjiˈtʰɔŋ],
Homepage [ˈhɔʊ̯mˌpʰɛɪ̯d͡ʒ], often [ˈho:mˌpʰeːt͡ʃ],
Croissant [kro̯aˈsɑ̃], [krwaˈsɑ̃], [krwaˈsaŋ].

Usually, these are not counted among the German diphthongs as German speakers often feel they are distinct marks of ‘foreign words’ (Fremdwörter).

In the varieties where /r/ vowelizes to [ɐ] in the syllable coda (see below), a diphthong ending in [ɐ̯] may be formed with virtually every vowel, for instance in Tor [tʰoːɐ̯] 'gate' or in Würde [ˈvʏɐ̯də] 'dignity'.

[edit] Consonants

With approximately 25 phonemes, the German consonant system exhibits an average number of consonants in comparison with other languages. One of the more noteworthy ones is the unusual affricate /p͡f/.

	Bilabial	Labiodental	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Plosive	p b		t d			k ɡ		ʔ¹
Affricate	p͡f		t͡s	t͡ʃ d͡ʒ²
Fricative		f v³	s z	ʃ ʒ²	ç⁴	x⁴	ʁ⁵	h
Nasal	m		n			ŋ⁶
Approximant			l		j

^1 In the northern varieties, [ʔ] occurs before word stems with initial vowel. It is often not considered a phoneme, but an optional boundary mark of word stems.
^2 [d͡ʒ] and [ʒ] occur only in words of foreign origin. In certain varieties, they are replaced by [t͡ʃ] and [ʃ] altogether.
^3 [ʋ] is occasionally considered to be an allophone of [v], especially in Southern varieties of German.
^4 [ç] and [x] are traditionally regarded as allophones after front vowels and back vowels. For a more detailed analysis see below at ich-Laut and ach-Laut. According to some analysis, [χ] is an allophone of [x] after /a aː/ and according to some also after /ʊ ɔ a͡ʊ/.
^5 [r], [ʁ] and [ʀ] are in free variation with one another. [r] is used mainly in Southern varieties. In the syllable coda, the allophone [ɐ] is used in many varieties, except in the South-West.
^6 Some phonologists deny the phoneme /ŋ/ and use /nɡ/ instead, and /nk/ instead of /ŋk/. The phoneme sequence /nɡ/ is realized as [ŋɡ] when /ɡ/ can start a valid onset of the next syllable whose nucleus is a vowel other than unstressed /ə/, /ɪ/, or /ʊ/. It becomes [ŋ] otherwise. Example:

- diphthong /dɪftɔnɡ/ [dɪftɔŋ] : diphthongieren /dɪftɔnɡirən/ [ˌdɪftɔŋˈɡiːɐn]
- Englisch /ɛnɡlɪʃ/ [ɛŋlɪʃ] : Anglo /anɡlo/ [aŋɡlo]
- Ganges /ɡanɡəs/ [ɡaŋəs] ~ /ɡanɡɛs/ [ɡaŋɡɛs]

The voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ are aspirated except when preceded by a sibilant. The obstruents /b d ɡ z ʒ/ are voiceless [b̥ d̥ ɡ̊ z̥ ʒ̊] in the Southern varieties.

[edit] Ich-Laut and ach-Laut

The term ich-Laut refers to the voiceless palatal fricative [ç], the term ach-Laut to the voiceless velar fricative [x]. In German, these two sounds are allophones occurring in complementary distribution. The allophone [x] occurs after back vowels and /a aː/ (for instance in Buch [buːx] ‘book’), the allophone [ç] after front vowels (for instance in ich [ɪç] ‘I’) and consonants (for instance in Furcht [fʊrçt] ‘fear’) (Kohler 1977, 1990; Wiese 1996: 210).

In loanwords, pronunciation of potential fricatives in onsets of stressed syllables vary: in the Northern varieties of standard German, it is [ç], while in Southern varieties, it is [kʰ] (for instance in China: [ˈçiːna] vs. [ˈkʰiːna]).

The diminutive suffix -chen is always pronounced with an ich-Laut [-çən]. Usually, this ending triggers umlaut (compare for instance Hund 'dog' to Hündchen ‘little dog’), so theoretically, it could only occur after front vowels. However, in some comparatively recent coinings, there is no longer an umlaut, for instance in the word Frauchen [ˈfra͡ʊçən] ‘female dog master’ (a diminutive of Frau ‘woman’), so that a back vowel is followed by [ç], even though normally it would be followed by a [x], as in rauchen [ˈraʊxən] ‘to smoke’. There is even a near minimal pair for [ç] and [x] due to this effect: [kuːçən] Kuhchen ‘little cow’ vs. [kuːxən] Kuchen ‘cake’. This exception to the allophonic distribution is considered by some to be an effect of the morphemic boundary. However, many phoneticians^[who?] believe that this is an example of phonemicization, where erstwhile allophones undergo a split into separate phonemes.

The allophonic distribution of [ç] after front vowels and [x] after other vowels is also found in other languages, such as Scots, in the pronunciation of light. However, it is by no means inevitable: Dutch, Yiddish, and many Southern German dialects retain [x] in all positions. It is thus reasonable to assume that Old High German ih, the ancestor of modern ich, was pronounced with [x] rather than [ç]. And while it is impossible to know for certain whether Old English words such as niht (modern night) were pronounced with [x] or [ç], [ç] is likely (see Old English phonology#Consonant allophones).

Despite the phonetic history, the complementary distribution of [ç] and [x] in modern Standard German is better described as backing of /ç/ after a back vowel, rather than fronting of /x/ after a front vowel, because [ç] is used in onsets (Chemie [çemiː]) and after consonants (Molch [mɔlç]), and is thus considered the basic sound.

According to certain analyses, the German ach-Laut is further differentiated into two allophones, [x] and [χ]. Some say that [x] occurs after /uː oː/ (for instance in Buch [buːx] ‘book’) and [χ] after /ʊ ɔ a aː a͡ʊ/ (for instance in Bach [baχ] ‘brook’), others say that [x] occurs after /uː oː ʊ ɔ a͡ʊ/ and [χ] after /a aː/.

[edit] Fortis-lenis pairs

Various German consonants occur in pairs at the same place of articulation and in the same manner of articulation, namely the pairs /p-b/, /t-d/, /k-g/, /s-z/, /ʃ-ʒ/. These pairs are often called fortis-lenis pairs, since describing them as voiced/voiceless pairs is inadequate. With certain qualifications, /t͡ʃ-d͡ʒ, f-v/ are also considered fortis-lenis pairs.

The fortis plosives /p, t, k/ are aspirated in most varieties (exceptions include Bavarian-Austrian varieties). The aspiration is strongest in the onset of a stressed syllable (such as Taler [tʰɑːlər]), weaker in the onset of an unstressed syllable (such as Vater [fɑːtʰər]), and weakest in the syllable coda (such as in Saat [zɑːtʰ]).

The lenis consonants /b, d, ɡ, z, ʒ/ are voiceless in most southern varieties of German. For clarity, they are often transcribed as [b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, z̥, ʒ̊]. The nature of the phonetic difference between the voiceless lenis consonants and the similarly voiceless fortis consonants is controversial. It is generally described as a difference in articulatory force, and occasionally as a difference in articulatory length; for the most part, it is assumed that one of these characteristics implies the other.

In most varieties of German, the opposition between fortis and lenis is neutralized in the syllable coda, due to terminal devoicing (Auslautverhärtung). A few southern varieties of German, such as Swiss German, present an exception to this.

In various central and southern varieties, the opposition between fortis and lenis is also neutralized in the syllable onset; sometimes just in the onset of stressed syllables, sometimes in all cases.

The pair /f-v/ is not considered a fortis-lenis pair, but a simple voiceless-voiced pair, as /v/ remains voiced in all varieties, including the Southern varieties that devoice the lenes. Generally, the southern /v/ is realized as the voiced approximant [ʋ]. However there are southern varieties which differentiate between a fortis /f/ (such as in sträflich [ˈʃtrɛːflɪç] from Middle High German stræflich) and a lenis /f/ ([v̥], such as in höflich [ˈhøːv̥lɪç] from Middle High German hovelîch); this is analogous to the opposition of fortis /s/ ([s]) and lenis [z̥].

[edit] Stress

Stress in German usually falls on the first syllable, with the following exceptions:

Many loanwords, especially proper names, keep their original stress.
Verbs of the "-ieren" group ("studieren", "kapitulieren", "stolzieren", etc.) receive stress on their penultimate syllable.
Compound adverbs, with her, hin, da, or wo as their first syllable part, receive stress on their second syllable.

Moreover, German makes a distinction in stress between separable prefixes (stress on prefix) and inseparable prefixes (stress on root) in verbs and words derived from such verbs. Therefore:

Words beginning with be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, emp- and a few others receive stress on the second syllable.
Words beginning with ab-, auf-, ein-, vor-, and most other prepositional adverbs receive stress on their first syllable.
Some prefixes, notably über-, unter-, and um-, can function as separable or inseparable prefixes, and are stressed and unstressed accordingly.
Rarely, two homographs with such prefixes are formed. They are not strictly homophones. Consider the word, umschreiben. As um•schreiben (separable prefix), it means "to rewrite", and is pronounced [ˈʊmʃʀaɪbən], and its associated noun, die Umschreibung also receives stress on the first syllable. On the other hand, umschreiben (inseparable prefix) is pronounced [ʊmˈʃʀaɪbən]. This word means "to circumscribe", and its associated noun, die Umschreibung ("circumscription", "circumlocution") also receives stress on the second syllable. Another example is the word umfahren. With stress on the root ([ʊmˈfaːʀən]) it means "to drive around (an obstacle in the street)", and with stress on the prefix ([ˈʊmfaːʀən]) it means "to drive over / to collide with (an object on the street)".

[edit] Historical sound changes

The Middle High German vowel pairs [ei]/[iː] and [ou]/[uː] have merged to [ai] and [au] respectively in modern standard German, although many dialects retain the distinction. For example, while heiß 'hot' (MHG heiz) and Eis 'ice' (MHG îs) rhyme in the standard language, they do not in the Austro-Bavarian dialects (hoaß/äis) and in the Alemannic German dialects (heiß/iis), nor in the Yiddish language (heys/ayz), also a descendant of Middle High German.

[edit] Phonemic mergers

A merger found in many accents of German is that of /ɛː/ (spelled ä(h)) with /eː/ (spelled e, ee, or eh). Some speakers merge the two everywhere, some distinguish them everywhere, others keep /ɛː/ distinct only in conditional forms of strong verbs (for example they distinguish ich gäbe 'I would give' vs. ich gebe 'I give', but not Bären 'bears' vs. Beeren 'berries').

Another common merger is that of /ɡ/ at the end of a syllable with /ç/ (after a front vowel) or, less commonly, /x/ (after a back vowel or /a/). In the case of the ending -ig, this pronunciation is prescribed by the Siebs standard, for instance wichtig [ˈvɪçtɪç]. The merger occurs neither in Austro-Bavarian German and Alemannic German nor in the corresponding varieties of standard German.

[edit] References

Duden. Aussprachewörterbuch. Dudenverlag: Mannheim/Leipzig/Wien/Zürich (2005). ISBN 3-411-04064-5
Kohler, Klaus J. (1977). Einführung in die Phonetik des Deutschen. Berlin: E. Schmidt.
Kohler, Klaus J. (1990). German. Journal of the International Phonetic Association 20:48–50.
Siebs, Theodor. (1898). Deutsche Bühnensprache. Cologne: Ahn.
Wiese, Richard. (1996). The Phonology of German. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-824040-6.