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Vowels
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Vowels
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| German has long and short vowels. Although the long vowels may seem similar to certain English vowel sounds, they are significantly different, in that they are "pure" sounds, with no off-glide from one vowel sound to another. The short vowels are pronounced in a very clipped manner. German diphthongs (vowels which do glide from one vowel sound to another) are also pronounced in a clipped manner, never drawled. The most difficult German vowel sounds for native speakers of English to produce are the Umlaut-vowels ö and ü. They require a combination of tongue placement and lip rounding used by no sound in English. Thus you should make a special effort to learn how to pronounce them correctly. |