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Why is Stein pronounced Steen?
So, back to your question: -stein is pronounced “stine” in German. The ei combination in English can follow the rule of “two vowels go walking, the first does the talking” – so, “steen”. This is why there are the two variations.
Why do Germans pronounce V as F?
The German language normally uses the letter “f” to indicate the sound /f/ (as used in the English word fight) and “w” to indicate the sound /v/ (as in victory). Originally, in Middle High German, the sound /f/ had been voiced in some dialects and was therefore written “v”.
Does of have an F sound or AV sound?
The unstressed form (of) had a shorter pronunciation and the “f” was pronounced like “v.” The stressed form (aef) was more drawn out, and the “f” was pronounced like “f.” The vowel sounds were different, too. The unstressed form sounded more or less like UV and the stressed form like AHF.
What is the origin of the word Fahrenheit?
It comes from Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, a German scientist born in Poland in 1686. As a young man, Fahrenheit became obsessed with thermometers. This may seem weird, but measuring temperature was a big problem at the time.
How do you pronounce the letters PH in German?
As in English, the letters ‘ph’ are pronounced as an /f/ phoneme in German. In fact, many words that originally contained the letters ‘ph’ have now been Germanified such that they are now spelled with an ‘f’. You would now write Telefon, for example, rather than Telephon, and Fotografie rather than Photographie.
Which city in Germany has the standard pronunciation of German?
This standardised pronunciation was invented, rather than coming from any particular German-speaking city. But the pronunciation that Germans usually consider to be closest to the standard is that of Hanover. Standard German is sometimes referred to as Bühnendeutsch (stage German), but the latter has its own definition and is slightly different.
How difficult is the German consonant ‘f’ for native English speakers?
The German consonant ‘f’ should cause relatively few difficulties for native English speakers. In both languages, the upper front teeth and the lower lip come together to form a narrowing through which the air passes with a trace of a hiss.