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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Austrian |
A a, Ä ä, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g,
H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö P p,
Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v,
W w, X x, Y y, Z z
The Austrian German alphabet consists of the same 26 characters as in English. There is also the addition of a diacritical mark, the "umlaut." Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. Significant minorities of words are derived from Latin and Greek, with a smaller amount from French and English.
Austrian German words are generally accented on the first syllable. Exceptions include words of foreign derivation (Changier, Quadrille) and certain unaccented prefixes: "be-," "ent-," ver-," "ge-," are the most typical.
Austrian German uses a guttural "r," similar to that used by French; not a growling "r" as in English.
Letters not listed are pronounced approximately as in English.
| A, a | - a as in father |
| A, a | - (short a) a as in about (followed by a long consonant, two consonants, or a doubled consonant) |
| E, e | - e as in grey; e as in let |
| I, i | - i as in machine; i as in pin |
| O, o | - o as in note |
| O, o | - (short o) o as in north (followed by a long consonant, two consonants, or a doubled consonant) |
| U, u | - u as in duke |
| U, u | - (short u) u as in put (followed by a long consonant, two consonants, or a doubled consonant) |
| b | - p as in tap when in final position |
| C, c | - c ("ts") as in dance |
| d | - t as in pat when in final position |
| g | - k as in black when in final position (except -ig is pronounced -ich) |
| J, j | - y as in yes (the sound of j in jack is not found in German) |
| S, s | - z as in zip before vowels; s as in sit in all other positions |
| V, v | - f as in far (as English v in foreign words only: television) |
| W, w | - v as in vim |
| Y, y | - oo as in foot; also ue as in gruel (as English y in foreign words only: gymnasium) |
| Z, z | - ts as in bits |
| OTHER SYMBOLS AND DIFFERENCES: | |
| Ä, ä | - a as in bake |
| Ö ö | - ur as in burn (approximate - protrude the lips as if to whistle) |
| Ü, ü | - e as in let (approximate - protrude the lips as if to whistle) |
| Ch, ch | - ch as in loch (gutteral kh) |
| Chs | - x as in box when part of the word stem |
| Ck | - ck s in block |
| Ei, ei | - i as in mine |
| Ie, ie | - ie as in belief |
| Ss, ss | - ss as in lesson |
| Sch, sch | - sch as in schottische (always pronounced with rounded lips) |
| Sp, sp | - shp when in initial position |
| St, st | - sht when in initial pos |
| tion | - pronounced tsion |
| Tz, tz | - tz as in quartz |
| Gn, gn | - gn as in egnogg |
| Kn, kn | - kn as in acknowledge |
| Pf, pf | - pf as in helpful |
| Ps, ps | - ps as in lopsided |
| h | - after a consonant is not pronounced; there is no th sound |
Copyright © 2014 by Dick Oakes