The reading rules in the German language are quite specific, but not as complex as it might seem. In fact, you just need to remember the pronunciation of some letter combinations, and subsequently just put them into practice.
Vowel sounds
The first step is to learn the German alphabet. There will be no problems with pronunciation if you initially practice the letters.
Perhaps you should start with vowels. In this language, letters related to this species are divided into two types - short and long. It is interesting that the interpretation of the word also depends on longitude. For example, the words offen - ofen. In the first case, a short “o” is pronounced, in the second it is extended. And the translation will be different, 1 - “open”, 2 - “oven”. As you can see, this is important.
It should be noted two vowels that are not in our language. These are ö and ü, points over which are called umlauts. Everything is simple here - in the first case, the pronunciation results in a cross between “o” and “e”, and in the second, between “y” and “y”, respectively. To be able to correctly pronounce these sounds, you need to slightly round your lips and make sounds not as usual, but as if deep into, closer to the palate. It is important to learn how to pronounce these sounds correctly. For example, if you pronounce not “du bist schön”, but “du bist schon”, you will get not “you are beautiful”, but “you already”.
You just need to remember that reading rules in German are similar in principle to Russians. Only in our country this is relevant in the case of the arrangement of stress and spaces between the words: “for the cause!” - “hurt”, “castle” - “castle”. By the way, there is still the letter “ä”. It’s easier here - it reads like “e.” In general, it is worth learning the alphabet of the German language - then there will be less problems with pronunciation.
Consonant sounds
It is worth noting that in German there is one consonant letter, which is not in the rest. ß - it is pronounced as “escet” in solo performance, and in words, as a slightly elongated “c”. Sometimes it is replaced by the letter “ss”. For example, both “fußball” and “fussball” are translated as “football”, and in both cases are correct. But that's not all with consonants. Reading rules in German state that letters such as “p”, “t” and “k” at the end should be accompanied by exhalation, or rather, aspiration. They are deaf consonants, and they will remain so in any word. But voiced at the end of syllables or words are completely stunned.
Endings and diphthongs
There are some more features that distinguish the German language. The pronunciation of the endings is what you should pay special attention to. So, take, for example, the word “zwanzig”. This number is 20. The Germans pronounce the ending very gently. According to the idea, the letter “g” = “g”. But when it is put at the end of a word, it is pronounced as “x”, but not clearly, but as if smoothing the ending. However, this already comes with language experience, and often people themselves do not notice how they begin to say so - simply as a reduction, of which there are quite a lot in Russian. Also worth mentioning is diphthongs. This is a combination of two vowels, which are pronounced in a very special way: ei (ay), au (ay), eu (ay). That is: nein [nayn] - no, Frau [frau] - lady, neue [noye] - new, etc.
Pronunciation of consonants
A certain difficulty in learning German for foreign-speaking people is the lack of softness in it in consonants. Except with the above g ending example. Perhaps the most unyielding sound can be considered “c”, which is indicated on the letter as “ch”. Reading rules in German suggest pronouncing it as something between a combination such as “b” and “b”. This letter designation can be found after vowels with umlauts, as well as after i. Other combinations of consonants make some suffer, especially when a topic such as learning to read in German comes up. And now we are talking about “tsch”, “tzsch” - “h” and “tsh”. The fact is that in the German language there is no single letter that would be pronounced as one of the mentioned combinations. So, for example, “z” reads as “c”, “s” as “z”, and “j” in general as “y”. The easiest way to remember the pronunciation of the combination “tsch” by the word “Deutschland” is “Germany”. It quite often catches the eye, and even with all people, even if they don’t learn German, everyone knows “Deutschland”.
Dialects and conversational practice
In Germany - 16 federal states. And, I must say, the dialects spoken by the inhabitants of each of them differ from each other quite strongly. For example, Bavarians find it difficult to understand people from Bremen, and Berliners need to strain to make out the speech of the residents of Stuttgart. For example, in the Berlin dialect consonants such as t and d are pronounced, as in British English - alveolar. By the way, one more nuance should be noted. The German language is characterized by a fuzzy, soft pronunciation of this letter. For a better understanding, it is recommended to listen to real German speech - listen to audio lessons, songs, interviews with Germans. Only in this way will it be possible to understand how to pronounce this letter, and lose the idea of ​​unpleasant burr. The German language, in fact, is very pleasant, and what they say about it is, in the vast majority of cases, stereotypes. In general, to learn it is real. You only need to regularly study German, learn the rules, train and, most importantly, read, practice.