Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
Austrian
By Dick Oakes
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