{"id":12223,"date":"2021-01-20T23:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T23:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=12223"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:03:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:03:07","slug":"umlauted-vowels-next-to-ordinary-vowels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/umlauted-vowels-next-to-ordinary-vowels\/","title":{"rendered":"Vowels With Umlaut Next To Ordinary Vowels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! Today we\u2019re going to talk about the Umlaut (\u00e4 \u00f6 \u00fc)<\/strong> in German. More specifically, we are going to talk about how vowels with an Umlaut sound and look next to ordinary vowels. Read on to find out more!<\/p>\n

What is an Umlaut?<\/h3>\n

First off, if you\u2019re not yet familiar with the German Umlaut, here is a brief explanation:<\/p>\n

The German alphabet is the same as the English alphabet, except it contains four extra characters. These are the scharfes S (or Eszett) \u2013 \u00df \u2013 and three vowels containing an Umlaut, known as Umlautbuchstaben<\/strong> (\u2018Umlaut letters\u2019) – \u00e4 \u00f6 \u00fc.<\/strong> If this is new to you, then before you get started on this post, I recommend reading the following two posts for a more in-depth introduction to the Umlaut:<\/p>\n

Alternative ways of typing German Umlaute | German Language Blog (transparent.com)<\/a><\/p>\n

How To Use The Umlaut RIGHT | German Language Blog (transparent.com)<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, read on!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

Umlauted Vowels Next To Ordinary Vowels<\/h3>\n

When it comes to words with a single<\/strong> Umlautbuchstabe, the word looks fairly simple and the pronunciation can be easily learnt. Take these examples:<\/p>\n

Die Pr\u00fcfung<\/strong> \u2013 the exam\/test<\/p>\n

Der K\u00e4fer<\/strong> \u2013 the bug<\/p>\n

bl\u00f6d<\/strong> – stupid<\/p>\n

Even if you have to use the keyboard alternatives<\/strong> to the \u00e4 \u00f6 \u00fc (ae, oe, ue)<\/strong>, when quickly writing a text message, for instance, the above words still look fairly straight-forward:<\/p>\n

Die Prue<\/strong>fung \u2013 the exam\/test<\/p>\n

Der Kae<\/strong>fer \u2013 the bug<\/p>\n

bloe<\/strong>d – stupid<\/p>\n

But sometimes, a letter with an Umlaut precedes another vowel. In this case, it can take a second to figure out how the word is pronounced, as its pronunciation is a little different. This happens with \u00e4 <\/strong>when it is followed by u<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Die Tr\u00e4u<\/strong>me \u2013 the dreams<\/p>\n

Die H\u00e4u<\/strong>ser \u2013 the houses<\/p>\n

Das Fr\u00e4u<\/strong>lein \u2013 the young woman\/miss<\/p>\n

So how does the pronunciation of the \u00e4<\/strong> differ in our first word, der K\u00e4fer, compared to the \u00e4 in the above words, when followed by the letter u? The letter \u00e4 on its own is pronounced \u2018eh\u2019<\/strong>, while \u00e4u is pronounced \u2018oy\u2019<\/strong>. Click below to hear the difference, using the examples der K\u00e4fer<\/strong> and die Tr\u00e4ume<\/strong> from the list above.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/12\/German.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope that makes sense! One final thing to note, then, is how words with \u00e4u<\/strong> in them will look written down, if someone is writing them without a German keyboard, using the letter e to symbolise an Umlaut (ae<\/strong> instead of \u00e4<\/strong>). Take a look:<\/p>\n

Die Traeume \u2013 the dreams<\/p>\n

Die Haeuser \u2013 the houses<\/p>\n

Das Fraeulein \u2013 the young woman\/miss<\/p>\n

While the combination of aeu does look a bit strange, and there\u2019s endless technology nowadays to be able to use Umlauts even if you don’t have a German keyboard, it\u2019s still a possibility that this method could<\/em> be used, or that you should need to use it one day. So, if that ever happens, you now know what it looks like, and how to write it!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll leave you with two facts about the Umlaut. Have a great day!<\/p>\n

FUN FACT 1:<\/strong> The word\u2019s rough translation is \u2018around sound\u2019. It was named by Jakob Grimm, of Grimm Fairytales fame.<\/p>\n

FUN FACT 2:<\/strong> In the metal music scene, the Umlaut is sometimes referred to as a \u2018rock dot\u2019 or a \u2018metal umlaut\u2019. Several heavy metal bands over the years have included the Umlaut in their band names: M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce, Blue \u00d6yster Cult, and Mot\u00f6rhead, to name a few.<\/p>\n

Bis bald!<\/p>\n

Constanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! Today we\u2019re going to talk about the Umlaut (\u00e4 \u00f6 \u00fc) in German. More specifically, we are going to talk about how vowels with an Umlaut sound and look next to ordinary vowels. Read on to find out more! What is an Umlaut? First off, if you\u2019re not yet familiar with the German…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":12233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8244,95131,6,376023,551768,12457,1401],"class_list":["post-12223","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-alphabet","tag-german-language","tag-grammar","tag-language","tag-pronunciation","tag-umlaut","tag-words"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t