Say "ah"!
21.10.2009
I've always been irritated by that fact that when I speak German, I change the pronunciation of English words to make them sound German! They're English words, and I am a native speaker of English — but I make English words sound German.
For example, instead of saying
Treffen wir uns im Strandbad oder am Campingplatz?
I'll say:
Treffen wir uns im Strandbad oder am Cempingplatz?
Instead of
Ich hätte gern ein Thunfischsandwich.
I'll say:
Ich hätte gern ein Thunfischsendvidge.
So just let me recap: In English, I say "camping"; in German, "Cemping". In English, "sandwich"; in German, "Sendvidge". Interesting, don't you think?
But after twenty-odd years of speaking German I've had an epiphany, I know why: it's because of received pronunciation. Which means, I'm not making English words sound German, I'm making them sound English! Hello? Are you still awake?
Generations of English teachers have been teaching German speakers to pronounce English according to the rules of received pronunciation. And that, of course, influences the way English words entering the German language are pronounced: as posh as possible.
But just think: if it weren't for received pronunciation, Willi Astor couldn't have written "Dancing in Obermenzing"!
verärgern
Aussprache
(recapitulate) kurz zusammenfassen
über zwanzig
Erleuchtung
etw. beeinflussen
vornehm
- ‹ previous
- 34 of 97
- next ›
"My experience at the hotel was not very Hilton"
"Is something wrong with my pronunciation?"
"Sometimes the best way to say it is in dialect"
"My daughter has standards when it comes to her art"
COMMENTS
Dear Ms. Taylor
First you need to rethink why you would even believe the perceived spelling of your German English pronunciation, as it appears in your article, even comes close to what is actually being said by a German saying those English words. (I know, you are just trying to illustrate it, but it doesn't really work.)
Secondly, being trapped into pronouncing those English words in that way would be your last resort to use on some Germans who don't use their ears when listening anyway.
Lastly, I find it also a bit insulting to the Germans who do have quite good English pronunciation skills, whether they are using those words borrowed by and used in the German language or in English conversation.
I will however at a later date read about Willi Astor and Dancing in Obermenzing just to satisfy my curiosity.
Dear Mrs. Taylor,
maybe I'm a bit dumb, but I can't agree that "camping" sounds differently when spoken in English or in German. To me, it's the same, as most Germans will treat the English "a" as as a spoken "ä" rather than "e". Ms Hodgson is of your opinion, so I'd love to hear your correcht pronunciation fineries by this helpful device on this site to check where I must have missed something about speaking English :-)