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Help[Facts] Re: Pronunciation of "Mädchen"
in reply to a message by chazda
"Mäd" is pronounced as the English "mad".
I would prounce the CH in "chen" just like the CH in Charles. CH is pronounced with this soft sound before a soft vowel.
In the beginning and before a hard vowel it is pronouned as K (as in Chaos), apart from loanwords like "champagne". At the end of or in the middle before a hard vowel, there is this special harsh sound, as in Bach, rauchen. Similar sounds like this "ach-laut" are in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese etc. It makes you thirsty to say these sounds, when you are not used to it ;)
"You sought a flower and found a fruit. You sought a spring and found a sea. You sought a woman and found a soul. You are disappointed."
"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (Edith Södergran 1891-1923)
I would prounce the CH in "chen" just like the CH in Charles. CH is pronounced with this soft sound before a soft vowel.
In the beginning and before a hard vowel it is pronouned as K (as in Chaos), apart from loanwords like "champagne". At the end of or in the middle before a hard vowel, there is this special harsh sound, as in Bach, rauchen. Similar sounds like this "ach-laut" are in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese etc. It makes you thirsty to say these sounds, when you are not used to it ;)
"You sought a flower and found a fruit. You sought a spring and found a sea. You sought a woman and found a soul. You are disappointed."
"It does not become me to make myself smaller than I am." (Edith Södergran 1891-1923)
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Replies
I am confused
To me the "ch" in Mädchen and the "ch" in Charles are two very different sounds.
Otherwise, I agree -- the "ch" in Mädchen is the typical German "ch" (like in nicht).
I think this thread calls for our resident Germans, Satu and Andy :).
~ Ivayla,
skillfully disguised as a responsible adult
To me the "ch" in Mädchen and the "ch" in Charles are two very different sounds.
Otherwise, I agree -- the "ch" in Mädchen is the typical German "ch" (like in nicht).
I think this thread calls for our resident Germans, Satu and Andy :).
~ Ivayla,
skillfully disguised as a responsible adult
This message was edited 12/5/2005, 10:24 PM
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You are right, the CH sound in Charles and Mädchen sounds different. There are two CH sounds in German, one is hard (like in "Bach" or "Loch Ness"), one (like in Mädchen) is soft. You would have to lift the back of your tounge almost to your palate to leave just a small gap for the air to slip through. The sound you produce now is voiceless.
This sound is very hard to produce for Americans I found and only few of those who speak very good German really manage it. So CHarles isn't the worst try.
I heard, in Arabic there are five or more CH sounds …
This sound is very hard to produce for Americans I found and only few of those who speak very good German really manage it. So CHarles isn't the worst try.
I heard, in Arabic there are five or more CH sounds …
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