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  • 16-01-2013 8:45pm
    #1
    Lionel Messy
    Site Banned Posts: 612 ✭✭✭


    Is it pronounced "eesh" or "eekh" I have heard conflicting pronouncinations. Does it matter?


Comments

  • #2
    Lawrence1895
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,627 ✭✭✭Lawrence1895


    Lionel Messy wrote: »
    Is it pronounced "eesh" or "eekh" I have heard conflicting pronouncinations. Does it matter?

    It's 'eech', the letters 'ch' are pronounced like a cat hissing, hard to describe.

    But the people in Berlin pronounce it like 'eekke' :D


  • #3
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,921 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    Lars1916 wrote: »
    It's 'eech', the letters 'ch' are pronounced like a cat hissing, hard to describe.

    But the people in Berlin pronounce it like 'eekke' :D
    and in Bayern and some other regions a very short e with no ch or sssh sound.

    That though is the equivalent of expaining how Kerry or Cork people speak - its a regional accent that may be "right" but it wont help you get any better understood.
    Standard german is what you need to be acquiring so Lars description is better than I could come up with.

    Maybe listen to the news as just like in Ireland they have the most neutral and understandable pronounciations
    does this link work in Ireland ? :
    http://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/livestreams/index.html


  • #4
    Alun
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,499 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    In Hessen the 'ch' sound is very soft too, more like 'sch', and the 'g' at the end of words is not too far removed from the same sound either.

    When you live in an area with an accent, it's very hard not to pick up the local pronunciation and dialect, especially if you're a bit of an 'accent chameleon' like I am. So anyone that hears me speak German knows straight away that I learnt it in Hessen, and likewise, if I speak Dutch they know I learnt it in Oost-Brabant. I personally don't have a problem with that, and as long as I don't over do it, and remain intelligible, it's all part of life's rich tapestry and I'm all for it.


  • #5
    syntax1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 61 ✭✭syntax1


    Lionel Messy wrote: »
    Is it pronounced "eesh" or "eekh" I have heard conflicting pronouncinations. Does it matter?

    Different regions have different pronunciations.

    Try to pick up some IPA. It will help when asking questions about pronunciation and discussing issues.

    IPA - voicless palatal fricative and IPA - voicless velar fricative

    See here and here for discussion.

    Audio.


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