Lecture on German Pronunciation Rules

Introduction

• Presenter: Johannes
• Topic: Common pronunciation rules for letter combinations in German
• Level: A1 (Beginner)
• Method: Listen and repeat exercises

Pronunciation Rules

1. I and E

• Pronounce the first letter 'I' longer.
  • Examples: lieben (to love), sie (she), beer (berry)

2. E and I

• Pronounced as 'i' like in "ee".
  • Examples: Ei (egg), heißen (to be called), klein (small)

3. A and U

• Pronounced as 'au'.
  • Examples: bauen (to build), laut (loud), Auto (car)

4. E and U / Ä and U

• Pronounced as 'OI'.
  • Examples: teuer (expensive), heute (today), Bäume (trees)

5. Vowel (A, E, I, O, U) + H

• Pronounce the vowel longer.
  • Examples: fahren (to drive), sehr (very), Stuhl (chair)

6. Double Vowels (aa, ee, oo)

• Pronounce longer.
  • Examples: Haare (hair), Leer (empty), Boot (boat)

7. Double Consonants (NN, MM)

• Pronounce shorter.
  • Examples: kommen (to come), offen (open), Wasser (water)

8. SCH

• Pronounced as "sh".
  • Examples: schreiben (to write), schön (beautiful), Deutsch (German)

9. CH

• Pronunciation depends on preceding letters.
  • A, O, U + CH: Deep 'ch' sound.
    • Examples: machen (to make), hoch (high), Buch (book)
  • Consonants, E, I, Ä, Ö, Ü + CH: Softer 'ch'.
    • Examples: ich (I), rechnen (to calculate), Bücher (books)

10. S and P / S and T

• SP at the start: "shp".
  • Examples: sprechen (to speak), Spanien (Spain)
• ST at the start: "sht".
  • Examples: studieren (to study), Straße (street)
• ST at the end: "st".
  • Examples: Obst (fruit), fast (almost)

11. E at the End of a Word

• Pronounced as 'ə'.
  • Examples: Frage (question), Lampe (lamp)

12. IR at the End

• Pronounced as "er".
  • Examples: besser (better), Vater (father)

13. IG

• Pronounce either "ik" or "ich".
  • Examples: vierzig (forty), richtig (correct), König (king)

14. TION

• Pronounced "tsion".
  • Examples: funktionieren (function), Station (station)

15. PF Combination

• Pronounce softly as 'pf'.
  • Examples: pflegen (to care), Pferd (horse), Apfel (apple)

Bonus Tips

CH followed by S

• Pronounced as "ks".
  • Examples: wachsen (to grow), sechs (six)

CH at the Beginning

• Variations in pronunciation:
  • As "sh": chemie (chemistry), Chef (boss)
  • As "tsch": checken (to check), chatten (to chat)

Conclusion

• These are the most important pronunciation rules.
• Practice is key to mastering these rules.
• For more structured learning, additional resources such as online courses and books are available.