German Pronunciation
Mastering German pronunciation takes time and practice. In general, both American and British English speakers find that they need to exaggerate their facial, mouth, and throat muscles in order to achieve an authentic German accent. Vowels, for example, often require you to open your mouth much wider than usual and to put your tongue either further back or higher up than you may be used to. Consonants, on the other hand, are often shorter than in English, requiring quicker bursts of air that may happen at different points than your normal accent. It is not unusual for new German speakers to feel a bit tired and even sore after trying to speak correctly, but, as with all exercise, it quickly becomes easier.
German vowel sounds are much more rigid than English vowels. In English, our vowels often tend to slide around, making it easier to move from one sound to another. In German pronunciation, however, vowel sounds are either simply long, short, or part of well-defined dipthongs (or vowel combinations). Short vowel sounds are pronounced very quickly as in “Mann” where the “a” sounds a very brisk “ah” sound. (There is a stark difference between “Mann” and English “man” where the “a,” while still short, can slide slightly at the end as if saying “maa-in.”) Long vowel sounds are also more pronounced and elongated than in English. Our “food,” for example, sounds rather casual, but German “Boot” has a much more pronounced and recognizable vowel sound.
The most complicated vowels in German pronunciation are the umlaut vowels “ö” and “ü.” (There is also an “ä,” but English speakers usually have little difficulty with this sound pronounced like the “ah” in “hay.”) Umlaut vowels require lip and tongue positions which simply do not occur in the English accent. Perhaps the best way to imitate these sounds when you are first learning is to make an “o” or “u” shape with your lips, but then say a long “e” sound (as in “feet”) without changing your lips. It will feel unnatural at first, but it can soon become second-nature.
While German consonants are often shorter, harsher, and more guttural (using the back of the mouth and throat) than English, they are easier to learn than the vowels. The first step is learning how certain letters make slightly different sounds than in English. “S,” for example, makes a “z” sound rather than “ess.” The softer “ess” sound is reserved for either the letter ß (or ess-zet) or more commonly “ss.” “Z” has a harsher sound, sounding in English more like “ts.”
One of the most distinct consonant sounds in German pronunciation is the “ch” sound commonly used in words using “-ach” and “-ich.” This is the sound of German that many people parody by making throat-clearing sounds. However, the sound itself is akin to a soft “k” produced at the back of the tongue, not actually in the throat. Mastering this sound can help you sound like a native speaker.
Finally, one of the most common ways that native German speakers will know that you are an American or Candian speaker is how you pronounce your “r” and “l” sounds. The American “r” is pronounced by spreading the tongue and slightly pursing the lips, giving it a pronounced sound. In German, however, the “r” is either a slight gargling sound or rather a dropped vowel sound like a British “r” in “here” (“hee-uh”). The German “l” is also less pronounced, similar to saying “billion,” but touching the tongue to your palate instead of your teeth.