warning: listening to this could be damaging to your health

German questions that can drive one crazey.

Why do some, but not all germans mispronounce "ch" as "sch"?

When a word starts with "S", why do many germans pronounce it as "sch"?

And in both cases above, is it corect, or a mispronunciation?

Originally Posted by Catfish

But ... as you all know, the Saxons and the Angles (both german tribes)went to, and conquered, a land that was yet to be called Anglo-Saxony, or Angle-Land, which then became England. So i find that speaking saxon, or anglish in its original form, is indeed the badest of all accents

Ahem.
Greetings,
Catfish

Don't forget the danes, who also left quite a mark on the english language.

[Skybird]

Great reading of a great poem, by Dylan Thomas.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

German questions that can drive one crazey.

Why do some, but not all germans mispronounce "ch" as "sch"?

When a word starts with "S", why do many germans pronounce it as "sch"?

And in both cases above, is it corect, or a mispronunciation?

Examples?

Originally Posted by Skybird

Examples?

Pronouncing "Isch" instead of "Ich".

Pronouncing "Schteiger" instead of "Steiger".

[Schroeder]

If a S is followed by a T or a P the S is pronounced like a Sch.
Examples:
Sturm -> pronounced Schturm
Spiel -> pronounced Schpiel.

If the S is followed by any other letter it remains a S.

Isch instead of Ich is what a lot of foreigners say who don't have German as their motherlanguage. I'm not aware of a regional German dialect that would pronounce ich like isch (although I think people who speak Swabian might do that....but I'm not sure...).

[Skybird]

^

What he said.

I can only add that for English speakers it is not only "ich" getting pronounced like "isch", but - as Lance even wrote it - getting pronounced as "ik/ick" ("ick liebe dick"). In retaliation for that cruelty, many Germans not too familiar with speaking English, pronounce the English "th" as a soft "s" or "ds", or even as - maximum penalty! - "z".

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, you know.

[frau kaleun]

In retaliation for that cruelty, many Germans not too familiar with speaking English, pronounce the English "th" as a soft "s" or "ds", or even as - maximum penalty! - "z".

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, you know.

[Letum]

In retaliation for that cruelty, many Germans not too familiar with speaking English, pronounce the English "th" as a soft "s" or "ds", or even as - maximum penalty! - "z".

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, you know.

And then there is 'W' and 'V'.

Originally Posted by Schroeder

If a S is followed by a T or a P the S is pronounced like a Sch.
Examples:
Sturm -> pronounced Schturm
Spiel -> pronounced Schpiel.

If the S is followed by any other letter it remains a S.

Isch instead of Ich is what a lot of foreigners say who don't have German as their motherlanguage. I'm not aware of a regional German dialect that would pronounce ich like isch (although I think people who speak Swabian might do that....but I'm not sure...).

@Skybird also.
Thank you for the valuable clarifications.

German is even more complex than english. Especialy the grammer. (Rocket science!)
However, it does seem to have the most perfect match between written and spoken.
While danish leaves enough room for spelling errors based on pronunciation, english is a disaster.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

@Skybird also.
Thank you for the valuable clarifications.

German is even more complex than english. Especialy the grammer. (Rocket science!)
However, it does seem to have the most perfect match between written and spoken.
While danish leaves enough room for spelling errors based on pronunciation, english is a disaster.

Yes, German grammar is more complex and difficult than English. But French is even worse. Of these three (and most other european languages) , English is the easiest-to-learn language.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

@Skybird also.
Thank you for the valuable clarifications.

German is even more complex than english. Especialy the grammer. (Rocket science!)
However, it does seem to have the most perfect match between written and spoken.
While danish leaves enough room for spelling errors based on pronunciation, english is a disaster.

This is very true.

I was lucky enough to learn to read before I started school, and not in the way they taught reading/writing/spelling in school at least where I was. Looking back I can't believe the way they tried to teach us the basics of English spelling and reading and pronunciation. It boiled down to learning the letters of the alphabet and the sounds associated with them, and then trying to "sound out" words based on their spelling.

In another language where pronunciation of each letter or letter combo is far more standardized and there are few exceptions to those rules, that would make sense. In English? Not so much. There is no *standard* way of pronouncing based on spelling that guarantees you'll get it right, or of figuring out how something must be spelled based on the way it sounds. Every "rule" we were taught seems to have numerous exceptions.

I would NOT want to learn English as a second language, lol. Maybe just to speak it, sure, but to read and write it? Yikes.

[Oberon]

What d'he say?

Originally Posted by Oberon

What d'he say?

I dunno.