It's a bit more "exaggerated" than English, but most of the letters make the same sounds.
Consonants, if different from English:
- b: usually like English 'b'--"boy"; but like English 'p' if before 's' or 't'--"apt"
- c: usually hard--"cat"; but like English 'ts' if before 'e', 'i', or 'ä'
- ch:
- Following 'a', 'o', 'u' and 'au', a gutteral 'k', like in the Scottish loch
- Following any other letter, or a the beginning of words, an enunciated, lengthened 'h'.
- d: usually like English 'd'--"dog"; but like English 't' if before 's' or 't'--"hits"
- g: usually like hard English 'g'--"gum", but like English 'k' before 's' or 't'--"bark
- when 'ig' occurs at the end of a word, it sounds like an enunciation, lengthened 'h'
- j: like English consonantal 'y'--"yes"
- r: rolled, but not as strongly as in Spanish or French
- s: like English 'z' if before a vowel--"maze"; but like soft English 's' otherwise--"fist"
- sp, st: like English 'sh'--"sheep"
- th: like English 't'--"take"
- v: like English 'f'--"fake"
- w: like English 'v'--"vat"
- z: like English 'ts'--"hits"
In German, short vowels are shorter, and long vowels are longer. Clip the short vowels about halfway though, and over-enunciate the long.
- a: short like English 'o' ("hot"), or long like drawn-out 'ah'
- e: short in "set", or long like in "grey"
- i: short in "pit", or long like English 'ee' ("feet")
- o: short like in "hot", or long like in "cope"
- u: short like in "bush", or long like English 'oo' ("boot")
- ä: short like English 'e' ("set") or long like in "take"
- ö: No English equivalent--somewhere between the English 'ay' and 'oh' sounds.
- ü: No English equivalent--short, somewhere between the English 'ih' & 'uh' sounds; long, sort of like a nasal 'ue'
Digraphs:
- ai: shortened "eye"
- oi: shortened English "oy"
- au: shortened English "ou"
Examples:
- Agathe (f)--"ah-GAH-teh"
- Bettina (f)--"beh-TEEN-ah"
- Cäcilia (f)--"seh-SEE-lee-ah"
- Erhard (m)--"EYR-hahrt"
- Gernot (m)--"GEHR-not"
- Jörg (m)--"YOHRG"
