PHY231 - RP vs. German I

[@javirezio5]

Sehr interessant! Ich bin ein Spanisch Sprecher und Englisch und Deutsch sind meine fremde Sprachen, so das ist eine fruchttragende, integrierte doppelte Unterricht für mich! Vielen Dank!

[@oer-vlc]

I don't think it would, for one reason: the cot-caught merger requires that the vowels involved are equal in length (which they are in NAE). In RP, by contrast, the difference in quality between /ɒ/ and /ɔː/ is normaly accompanied by a difference in quantity. Since Germans are used to length differences, they don't seem to have problems with these two RP phonemes.

[@markbrookes6441]

Hello Prof Handke!Extremely interesting website/channel and this video has many spot-on observations! I wanted to ask, since it was filmed several years ago: 1) The comparison to Standard Hochdeutsch seems to be made with traditional RP rather than modern RP? In modern RP, almost everyone except elderly speakers now use the long vowel /ɛː/, in words like there /ðɛː(ɹ)/ rather than the diphthong /eə / thereðeər/ 2) Similarly, the short vowel /ɛ /has now become /ɛ/, rather than the closed pronunciation that was used before /e/. 3) Similarly, the new tendency, even though in this case it can be nowadays still at around 50%, is noticeable in the "former" diphthong /ɪə/ (in "here," for example), which is also becoming more of a long vowel /ɪ́ː/ (in "here" /h ɪ́ː/ for example). 3) Your assertion about the long vowels /iː/ and /uː/ in modern RP is very accurate (much more evident in Moder RP than in General American English). In words like "see," for example, the long vowel /iː/ is definitely a diphthong /sɪ́j/ (but the first vowel is a  ɪ́ and then there's an upglide toward j, not vice versa); the long / uː/ has definitely a diphthongal quality vowel /ʉ́w/ too (example "blue" /b l ʉ́w/). 4) Is Standard Hochdeutsch non-rhotic to the same extent as modern RP? It seems so to me, but I'm not sure, as the R before consonants in some words, like "hart," is pronounced by some speakers and not by others, and in German pronunciation dictionaries, it's not only transcribed with the usual vocalic sound replacing R /ɐ̯/, but other times it's actually both pronounced and written in IPA transcriptions [haʁt], even in reputable dictionaries like the Duden. Is Hochdeutsch non-rhotic in a different way from modern RP, where you don't distinguish if the R comes after a long or short vowel, as between "Ohr" and "Herr"? 5) Have you or will you also make a comparison of the sounds of German and Italian? 6) Do you offer lessons in German pronunciation/accent reduction, or could you recommend someone I could work with online? THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[@dacaldha]

Doesn't the post alveolar fricative /ʒ/ really exist in German? As Cruithne1986 already said words like Garage, Journal or Jalousie use that sound. I know that they are loanwords from French but they are well established in the German language and should therefore also count as a reference for the /ʒ/ sound in German.

[@oer-vlc]

As you said, loanwords.

[@dacaldha]

Well, but also as I said *"well established"*. In fact the only synonym for Garage from Duden is "Einstellraum" (www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Garage) and noone says that in German, do they? Also nobody says Autoabstellplatz (maybe Stellplatz, but that is an open air space in most cases). If you google "synonyme für Garage" you won't find a word within the first page of results that is actually used in German. And while the next point might only apply to certain dialects, most of the hessians know the Comedian Maddin Schneider and his iconic *Aschebescher* which uses the /ʒ/-sound twice.

[@apcxpo]

Many native speakers don't voice it and pronounce it just like a "sch"-sound.

[@kzhu4211]

Thanks. It is a very good lecture

[@ArathBenedek]

If the German /ɔ/ is lower than the RP /ɔː/ and higher than the RP /ɒ/, wouldn't that result in a cot-caught merger by German speakers?

[@Cruithne1986]

Mal ne Frage... wie spricht man im Deutschen die Wörter Garage, Gelatine, Genie, Journal, Journalist und Jalousie aus? Ich spreche den Frikativ in allen Fällen stimmhaft aus. Es stimmt zwar, dass dieser Laut nur in Lehnwörtern vorkommt, tatsächlich fehlt er allerdings nur in den Varianten des Deutschen, wo es ganz allgemein eine Neutralisierung der Stimmhaftigkeit gibt, wie z.B. in südlichen Varietäten, wo man eh nicht so genau zwischen /p/ und /b/, /t/ und /d/ usw. unterscheidet...

[@benavraham4397]

Sehr interesant!

[@roydollins]

Great video, I just felt a bit uneasy about that English flag, you could have used the Union Jack instead, which is often used when referring to RP or Standard British English

[@richlisola1]

You felt uneasy? What’s wrong with you? A grown adult felt uneasy about the flag of England representing English? Grow up.

[@KawenaGD]

The Union Jack would represent so many different accents and pronunciations - Scottish pronunciation can differ radically in the pronunciation of vowels from RP!

[@nematube]

Love the worst-case scenario