German Phonetics and Phonology: Theory and Practice

by Mary Grantham O'Brien, Sarah M. B. Fagan

Overview

The first course book designed to engage students in the pronunciation of modern German by grounding practice in theory

An essential introduction to the pronunciation of modern German, this unique classroom text is designed to help mid- to upper-level undergraduate students of German produce more accurate and comprehensible German speech. Written in English in a clear and engaging style and employing a minimum of technical jargon, it is the first German phonetics and phonology text to focus on theory and practice, covering topics ranging from the analysis of one's own speech to historical developments and regional variation. This work includes a wealth of exercises supported by an ancillary website audio program designed to help students perceive and produce sounds and prosodic features more accurately. Addressing topics such as word stress, sentence stress, and intonation as well as the pronunciation of individual sounds, this one-of-a-kind primer provides its users with a solid basis in German phonetics and phonology in order to improve their pronunciation of German.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300196504
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

Mary Grantham O’Brien is associate professor of German at the University of Calgary in Canada, where she lives. Sarah M. B. Fagan is professor of German at the University of Iowa, where she lives.

Table of Contents

List of Figures xi

List of Tables xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1 Phonetics 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Pronunciation Standards 2

1.3 Phonetic Transcription 3

1.4 The Organs of Speech 4

1.5 Classifying Sounds 7

1.5.1 Classifying Consonants 8

1.5.2 Classifying Vowels 10

1.6 The Phones of German 13

1.6.1 The Consonants 13

1.6.2 The Vowels 17

1.7 Using IPA Symbols 19

1.8 Advanced Topics 20

1.8.1 Consonants 20

1.8.2 Vowels 21

Exercises 22

Chapter 2 Acoustic Phonetics 29

2.1 Introduction 29

2.2 Waveforms and Spectrograms 31

2.3 The Acoustics of German Vowels 34

2.4 The Acoustics of German Consonants 35

2.4.1 The Acoustics of German Obstruents 36

2.4.2 The Acoustics of German Sonorants 37

2.5 Advanced Topics 38

Exercises 40

Chapter 3 Phonology 43

3.1 Introduction 43

3.2 Basic Terms 43

3.3 The Consonant Phonemes of German 46

3.3.1 Phonemic Contrasts 47

3.3.2 Allophonic Variation 48

3.4 The Vowel Phonemes of German 51

3.4.1 Phonemic Contrasts 51

3.4.2 Allophonic Variation 54

3.5 Advanced Topics 55

3.5.1 Nasalized Vowels 55

3.5.2 The Allophones of/R/ 56

Exercises 57

Chapter 4 Syllables and Word Stress 63

4.1 Introduction 63

4.2 Sonority 63

4.3 Phonotactics 64

4.4 Building Syllables 67

4.5 Word Stress 75

4.5.1 Simplex Words 76

4.5.2 Complex Words 76

4.5.2.1 Suffixes 77

4.5.2.2 Prefixes 78

4.5.3 Compound Words 80

4.6 Advanced Topics 81

4.6.1 Ambisyllabic Consonants 81

4.6.2 Syllable Boundaries and Word Boundaries 82

4.6.3 Stress in Compounds 84

Exercises 85

Chapter 5 Prosody 93

5.1 Introduction 93

5.2 Rhythm 94

5.3 Phrasal Stress 96

5.4 Sentence Stress and Focus 97

5.4.1 Broad Focus 98

5.4.2 Narrow Focus 99

5.5 Intonation 101

5.5.1 Intonation Phrases 101

5.5.2 Multiple Intonation Phrases 102

5.5.3 Intonation Contours 104

5.6 Advanced Topics 105

Exercises 107

Chapter 6 Alternations 113

6.1 Introduction 113

6.2 Automatic Alternations 114

6.2.1 Vowel Shortening 114

6.2.2 Final Devoicing 115

6.2.3 Dorsal Fricative Assimilation 115

6.2.4 Spirantization 117

6.2.5 Glottal Stop Insertion 118

6.2.6 Schwa Deletion 119

6.2.7 R-Vocalization 122

6.2.8 Sonorant Syllabification 122

6.2.9 Nasal Assimilation 123

6.3 Morphophonemic Alternations 124

6.3.1 Ablaut 124

6.3.2 Umlaut 126

6.3.2.1 Noun Plurals 128

6.3.2.2 Comparative and Superlative 128

6.3.2.3 Present Tense of Strong Verbs 129

6.3.2.4 Subjunctive II 129

6.3.2.5 Derivation 130

6.4 Advanced Topics 131

6.4.1 Voice Versus Spread Glottis 131

6.4.2 Glottal Stop 133

Exercises 134

Chapter 7 Historical Developments and Regional Variation 141

7.1 Introduction 141

7.2 Types of Sound Change 141

7.3 Sound Changes in the History of German 143

7.3.1 Old High German 145

7.3.2 Middle High German 147

7.3.3 Early New High German 149

7.3.4 Summary 150

7.4 Development of German Spelling 152

7.5 Regional Variation 157

7.5.1 Colloquial German 157

7.5.2 German Dialects 159

7.6 Advanced Topics 163

7.6.1 Germanic Accent Shift 163

7.6.2 Verner's Law 163

Exercises 165

Chapter 8 Phonetics in the Real World 169

8.1 Introduction 169

8.2 Orthography and the IPA: Letters and Sounds 169

8.2.1 Consonants 169

8.2.2 Vowels 177

8.2.3 Advanced Topics 182

8.3 Reading the IPA 183

8.4 Transcription 1: From the Written Word 185

8.5 Pronunciation Similarities and Differences 191

8.6 Pronunciation Practice I 192

8.6.1 New German Consonants 193

8.6.1.1 Perceptual Practice 1 195

8.6.1.2 Production Practice 1 198

8.6.2 New German Vowels 200

8.6.2.1 Perceptual Practice 2 202

8.6.2.2 Production Practice 2 206

Chapter 9 Acoustic Phonetics in the Real World 209

9.1 Introduction 209

9.2 Making Use of Computer Technology 209

9.3 Speech Analysis I: Waveforms and Spectrograms 210

9.4 Analyzing German Vowels 213

9.5 Analyzing German Consonants 217

Chapter 10 Phonology in the Real World 219

10.1 Introduction 219

10.2 Minimal Pairs 220

10.3 Transcription II: From Grapheme to Phoneme 223

10.3.1 Consonants 224

10.3.2 Vowels 230

10.4 Pronunciation Practice II 235

10.4.1 Similar German Consonants 236

10.4.1.1 Perceptual Practice 1 238

10.4.1.2 Production Practice 1 241

10.4.2 Similar German Vowels 243

10.4.2.1 Perceptual Practice 2 245

10.4.2.2 Production Practice 2 247

10.5 Acoustic Analysis: Similarities between German and English 249

10.5.1 Analyzing Similar Consonants 249

10.5.2 Analyzing Similar Vowels 252

Chapter 11 Working with Syllables and Word Stress 257

11.1 Introduction 257

11.2 Syllabification 258

11.3 Determining Word Stress 267

11.3.1 Default Word Stress 268

11.3.2 Affixes and Word Stress 269

11.3.2.1 Suffixes 270

11.3.2.2 Prefixes 272

11.3.3 Stress in Compound Words 275

11.4 Acoustic Analysis: Correlates of Word Stress 278

Chapter 12 Making Use of Prosody 281

12.1 Introduction 281

12.2 Perceiving and Producing Rhythm 282

12.3 Working with Phrasal Stress 284

12.4 Determining Sentence Stress and Focus 285

12.4.1 Broad Focus 286

12.4.2 Narrow Focus 287

12.5 Intonation 289

12.5.1 Intonation Contours in Statements and Questions 292

12.5.2 Other Intonation Contours 293

12.6 Acoustic Analysis: Sentence Stress and Intonation Contours 299

12.6.1 Analyzing Sentence Stress 299

12.6.2 Analyzing Intonation Contours 300

12.6.3 Comparing German and English Intonation Contours 301

Chapter 13 Alternations in the Real World 303

13.1 Introduction 303

13.2 Vowels 304

13.2.1 Vowel Shortening 304

13.2.2 Vowel Centralization 305

13.2.3 Vowel Reduction 306

13.2.4 Schwa Deletion 307

13.3 Consonants 313

13.3.1 Assimilation 313

13.3.2 Deletion 316

13.4 Weak Forms 319

13.5 Acoustic Analysis: Alternations 323

13.5.1 Vocalic Alternations 323

13.5.1.1 Vowel Shortening 324

13.5.1.2 R-Vocalization 325

13.5.2 Consonantal Alternation: Spirantization 325

Chapter 14 Varieties of German 327

14.1 Introduction 327

14.2 Sound Change 328

14.2.1 Cognates 329

14.2.2 German Surnames in English 332

14.2.3 Sound Changes Today: North American English 334

14.3 Modern German Dialects 337

14.3.1 Segmental Differences 337

14.3.2 Prosodic Differences 341

14.4 Acoustic Analysis 342

14.4.1 Final Devoicing 343

14.4.2 Rounded Vowels 344

14.4.3 Affricates 345

Appendix A The Sounds of German 347

Appendix B IPA Symbols 349

Appendix C Affixes and Stress 351

Appendix D Pronunciation of Vowel Letters 355

Glossary 357

Data Sources 371

References 373

Index 379