h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The letter "o" is pronounced a little like "oar" - (without the "r" sound for American pupils)

Take the preposition "von" - try and pronounce this somewhere between "fonn" and "forn"

Two "o"s together are even more elongated. Das Boot - the boat - is pronounced even more drawn out but otherwise similar to the English "bought" - point your lips a little more.

The fairly rare combination "oi" is usually found in words of foreign origin and will be pronounced as in that language. (French "trottoir" - still used in the French-occupied South West for pavement).

There is the charming greeting, indigenous to Hamburg and the Northern coastal areas : "Moin Moin" This means Hello and is pronounced just as it is written, even for English ears.

"o" can also be elongated with an "h" - "Fohle" is a foal, a young horse, and "johlen" - pronounced yaw-len - is to shout in an uncouth way.

The sound "ö" is best described as equivalent to the English sound in the word "burn". This is difficult for English ears, but, as in most cases, it is best not to make too much of a fuss. A German who cannot pronounce "th" for example, can easily disguise this by using "f" but speaking at the same rate all the time. It might take a couple of hours - especially on the phone - before you notice that he is pronouncing it wrong.

A friend's children took a long time to learn the English sound "j" - it wasn't until they were 7 or so that their mother realised they were saying "dr" all the time.

So it just goes to show, pretend you can do it and you will convince others.

Some "ö" words to practice:

- Die Möwe - dee murver ... the seagull
- das Pröbchen (dass prurb-shn) - diminuitive of "Die Probe" - meaning "a sample" - and a common word for the tiny samples of toothpaste or perfume you get given in posh shops (in Germany you invariably get one slipped into the bag when you spend a bit of money at the chemist's - .. that is: die Apotheke. Dee appor-taker.)
- böse - pronounced: burser meaning bad or evil, can also mean cross in the sense of angry.

****

U

U is always pronounced like "oo" in English - with the mouth very tightly pointed and a very closed space inside the mouth. The tongue crimps up a bit , too, I notice, as I sit here "ooo-ing " to myself.

Der Fuß - dair fooss. (means - the foot) Draw it out long and deep and really push your lips forward. It is a deep dark sound - anything less sounds poncy.

Pretend you are a background singer trying to get a dark "oo" sound on a low note.

OK - when saying "computer" the Germans will use the English pronunciation. And believe me, they use it - quite a lot.

There is a slightly shorter version of the letter "u" in words like "muß" - ich muß, I must - eesh mooss. I can't define the difference between "Fuß" and "muß" in writing, but, believe me, the noun, Fuß, is definitely a longer vowel sound.

The Ü sound is the hardest to re-create in writing and for an English person.

1. Relax
2. curl your tongue a little and press it against your palette
3. form a small circle with your lips
4. try and say "ee"
5. still don't tense up

Now try and combine it with other letters in the following words. It varies somewhat, depending upon which letter you have just pronounced.

Say "früh" (meaning early)... Fr eee ... - the "eee" with the mouth in the position above. Following "r", the lips will be not quite so pouted.
Say "müde" (meaning tired) m-eee-der - this is more like the description 1 - 5 above.
Now say "Ich bemühe mich" - ish ber-mee-er mish. Or Ikh (to try and make the CH sound a bit harder - like Ernie laughing -) ber-myu-er mikh. This means, by the way, I am trying.

Ich bemühe mich, Euch Deutsch beizubringen. I am trying / doing my best to teach you German.

Y

The letter "Y" is usually pronounced like "Ü", but a little "darker" - we had the example "Hymne" above - herm-ner is as near as I can get here. Sometimes it is easier to make it sound more like an "I" - such as in the word "Psychologie".

sorry - I forgot to mention that PS when together are both pronounced. So that word would be: P-Sisho-lor-gee (hard "g" here, as in "gone") It means psychology, of course.