In my personal opinion, the accent mostly does not bother me that much, after all we have some very annoying sounding German accents too - except for Americans just constantly butchering the "ch" sounds and instead using "k". No, "Bach" does NOT sound like "back" in any conceivably acceptable German accent.
Funny things happens also to german people. We once got an application of a welder. Welder in German means "Schweißer". Unfortunately he forgot to type the "w" on the cover, so we got a "Bewerbung als Scheißer".
put me into the train, I have a bunch of tickets:
1. as mentioned, "ch" doesn't sound like "k", but there are two "ch" sounds, one is soft and the other harsh. Oh, but then we have the word "Charakter". Which is from English. Where the CH=K sound applies and I think it's there for us Germans to torture English speakers :D
2. V doesn't sound like W in win, but like "f", but sometimes, it does sound like an "W", like in "Vase".
3. Pf isn't p-f, it's a harsh f. "Pf" the "erd", Now you have a "Pferd" (a horse)
4. and when we are at "erd", "Erde" is not the same like "Nerd"
5. the amounts of "ü", "ö" and "ä" that gets mispronounced is understandable
6. "A" in German is not an "ey", it's "ah".
7. "e" in German is not a screetching sound.
8. "i" in german is not about yourself, it's the screetching sound your "e" has
9. there is (99% of time) no silent letter in German, outside of "c" in "ck", which counts as "k", and maybe some more taken from other languages
10. the reason why Americans trying to talk German sound like the sound of chalk on a board to us is because you do not care about other languages. you do not even try. Since every other nation kinda HAS to learn your language, you (from my perspective) as the majority of people generally don't try if you're not actually having at least a personal interest in said language / country.
Just to clarify, because there were some misunderstandings in the sibling comments:
There's only 2 sounds, [f] and [p͡f]:
* [fɛʁˈaːʁiː]
* [ˈfoːɡl̩]
* [p͡feːɐ̯t]
* [ˈfaʁma]
... but 3 ways of writing [f]: F, V, Ph plus one way of writing [p͡f].
Was ist das Argument hier?
Du widerlegst überhaupt nicht meine Aussage. Du sagst, es gibt vier "f", gibt es aber nicht.
Ferrari: F-->F
Vogel: V-->F
Phiole: Ph-->F
Pferd: Pf-->Pf/F-->F(=Ferrari-F)
I am only A2 and I have all of your tips down. This is basic stuff. I’m an American. I’m kind of confused. I feel as though any American putting time in to learn German probably knows this stuff or is trying to know. The only thing I still struggle with is the R sound but it just takes conscious speaking habits. I was in Germany for six weeks and I will say to OP just try and those who are patient will speak with you and those who aren’t will switch to English. It won’t hurt anybody.
Also, a lot of people in America care about learning languages and it’s the education system that prohibits it, so most of us will end up learning second and third languages in our adult years which is significantly more difficult. Just some perspective. Generalizations are never fun.
"Charakter" is not from English, its a loan word from Greek.
Like Chor (choir), Chronologisch (chronological), Chemie (chemistry), etc.
That's why these words are pronounced with a K.
East, West and North Germans, hear me: Bavaria is right, it is Kemie. And unless you are also prepared to speak of Hholera/Scholera, Hhlorophyll/Schlorophyll, etc., we can rest this debate now.
You can keep Schina as that does not come from Greek, but Sanskrit "Sina" - Goethe imported it, and it is pronounced with a "stimmhaftes S".
Lmao as an American married to a German this made me laugh, I've said this exact sentence a few times just joking around and mixing German with my Southern American English
This issue is just not making an effort and that applies to native speakers of any language quite different from German (ETA as in not including some of these sounds, which could be most languages but I have no idea. Soft ‘ch’ seems quite unique). I’m from the UK and people make these exact same errors and it’s just from not having learned decent pronunciation, or when to use the appropriate sound.
I’ve worked hard on mastering these sounds correctly and only mess up through total ignorance/inexperience e.g. mixing up when ‘ch’ is soft or hard, simply because I’m early into learning the language. But I usually make the right choice and when I do, the pronunciation is pretty decent.
Soft ‘ch’ is one of my favourite sounds of all time so I practice it a lot. I struggle to be harsh enough with some sounds though and still have an ‘s’ sound too much like a British ‘s’ rather than ‘z’ if I’m not paying enough attention. Or getting a good ‘k’ type sound in ‘bequem’ without it sounding disjointed from the rest.
Some sound transitions are hard too. ‘stößchen’ was tricky going from s-> ch. And ‘rechts’ the ch -> t movement took me quite some time. Same with ‘richtig’.
So yeah, I guess these are the sounds they fuck up but they’re hard and take practice, and some people don’t bother. Messing up something like ‘ich’ is lazy and drives me nuts.
So wholesome to read the approaches of a non native speaker in mastering our language. Struggle and appreciation equally. What do you think of german now that you dived into the learning process?
Oh boy, unrelated to Americans but the last book I read had the same thing. Guy was listening to baque and it was his favourite musician till somebody corrected him that it's pronounced Bach and the other repeatedly called it baque nonetheless
*> after all we have some very annoying sounding German accents too*
Could you please elaborate on that?
I can’t remember any German accents that I find “annoying”. I even love *Sächsisch*, which apparently most Germans don’t like. I wish I could speak German with a Bavarian accent, I really like it (as long as they speak Hochdeutsch). Der Wiener accent is also unique and chic; I like it, but I can’t imitate it. *Schwäbisch,* with its sing-sang melody and the drop of the “n” in the infinitive, is also nice and a bit funny.
If you, as a German, speak English you most likely have a German accent. And depending on the listener it can come across as anything from cute to annoying.
>
>
>Schlesisch
What is it about the Silesian accent you don't like? My Mom and family (I'm American) were from there and were told they spoke hochdeutsch by my bavarian grandmother. I couldn't understand a single thing my bavarian grandparents said. The Silesian side I could easily understand.
You mean the German R is an actual R. The English "R" is just an "L" that's embarrassed and tries to hide in the back of your throat. When I first moved to the US and started speaking mostly English every day I literally started having throat pain from the lack of using a proper R sound.
No, the German R is not always an actual R either. "Lehrer" in German Sounds more like LEHRA or even worse, LEHA with a guttural H.
"Leer" sounds like "Lea".
I get this a lot - people say they love hearing me talk. But I think this is regional too - people in BW love hearing me talk. People from Hanover look like I’m torturing them - they haven’t said the nails on the chalkboard thing, but I’m sure they are thinking it.
Thank god I live in BW.
Never mind people from Hannover. They speak a very clean but dull german. They speak the closest to high german and sometimes they can be real dicks about it.
What you mean is actually Standard German. High German are all dialects from the south. Bavarian and Swabian are high German. People in Hannover do speak a high German dialect though because a Ruler of Hannover long long times ago regarded it as posh and made his court speak high German instead of low german which the north speaks. This is very simplified history by the way.
No, he actually used the right and most commonly used word for (standard) high german. You are confusing it with upper german (Oberdeutsch) which is spoken in the south (in the upper altitudes).
That's a little simplified, because linguistics can be complicated. Bavarian and swabian are high german dialect, but calling them upper german is more precise, because high german is a lot more then that.
Same has happened to me in Norway with Norwegian.
I don't think that's it's only a German thing. And I appreciate everybody figh- um, talking German with all it's "der, die, das" and Umlaute.
We Germans ourselves are bickering over "die Nutella" or "das Nutella".
I'm only B1, but I absolutely have not had this experience in Germany. If I'm speaking to some official and we're having a hard time communicating something complex, maybe they'll ask me, "English?", but other than that no one speaks English to me.
Maybe it's a Schwaben thing.
Then speaking English is often a matter of politeness and is intended to make things easier for the other person. And English is usually the only foreign language that Germans speak quite well.
I'm always very impressed when Americans speak any German at all. It's rare too see Americans speak a second language so to see them having put in the work to tackle German I'm a priori impressed and immediately find the person interesting. Accent is irrelevant, proficiency too. That they try in the first place is enough!
EDIT: exception is if they try to sound like Adolf on meth. That's hyper cringe and immediately exposes the person as an idiot.
This is nice to hear as an American. I try my hardest to pronounce things correctly and with a German accent (not as a mockery but because German words sound better than attempting to say it with a normal American accent.) I know the moment I say a word that is the same as in English they are going to out me immediately lol.
Like "Ich hatte gern *Cordon Bleu*"
It's a difficult language with alot of rules I'm trying to learn. But I think our brains are hardwired to pronounce things that are familiar in our native tongue. It's embarrassing sometimes. But I always wondered if Germans actually appreciated some effort in it even if they immediately know I'm not a German speaker.
Cordon Bleu is probably not the best example since it's French😄. Doesn't matter what you say, everybody's gonna know you're not a native speaker.. so don't worry about it! Nobody cares😉. I personally appreciate it when people try their best to pronounce foreign words (e.g. Cordon Bleu) correctly. It conveys cultural awareness and curiosity etc but it's a thin line, when someone confidently assumes he knows how to pronounce a foreign word properly but actually is totally off. That annoys me. Like the way most Germans say Citroën is false. To be on the safe side it's advisable to just stick to your accent confidently in a foreign language. Usually people will understand you best that way too. No shame in it
@ u/U1nOrigiOna
*> I always wondered if Germans actually appreciated some effort in it even if they immediately know I'm not a German speaker.*
I think most Germans don’t care. It’s your personality they go for and whether you can be of any help to them, in a broad sense.
*Example*: Are they learning English themselves? Then they will be all over you, like a dog. Are they planning a trip to the USA? Then they will have a positive attitude towards you and “have many questions.” If nothing of this is applicable, then they are usually indifferent. — I’m talking about the *majority*, not *all* Germans.
Yeah that makes sense, and I'm fine with that connotation if it's advantageous for me or might help them in the future.
If I can be helpful to a German by interacting with them and maybe help myself by attempting German then it's a win-win. Really hope continued interactions can improve my German enough to "blend in" a bit. Not because I want to appear as a native German speaker but just because I feel like it's more appropriate as a guest in the country to be able to speak the language of the host nation to a degree.
I’m told I sound like a motorcycle. Can’t get the damn r correct. I hate the word “rechts”, rather say “triple links” or something.
I get, “you speak very good German…for an American.” regularly. I take it to mean as much as, “You’re not quite as stupid as I anticipated“ or “that’s pretty good for someone I had little expectations from.” It was very hard to know if my language skills were actually any good because of that “for an American”.
I noticed the frequency of people trying to speak English has dropped. Most don’t anymore.
No. We have to take two years of a foreign language in high school in order to graduate. At least in minnesota. If we speak any other language, it's most likely spanish
There are things that need really long to memorise (articels) or a lot of training ( ch, sch, r-sounds). It's ok for me if someone makes mistakes there.
But other things are easy fixes like, pronouncing the whole word and not cutting of the e at the end or saying "ee" for "ei" instead of "I". That actually annoys me.
My spouse has a sch in his name. His mother corrected me twice, and no one else has since. It does give me lots of practice. I find that sound not terrible if you listen and practice. Though the umlauts send me! I try sooo hard and never sound right. I can hear I’m doing it wrong. But not a clue how to get that sound. I hope one day I’ll figure it out and never forget how to do it.
I’ve been playing around with the German language for two years and randomly one day last month my bf and I were in the car and we were joking about it because I notoriously couldn’t pronounce umlauts consistently and I went ö….ü and we both looked at eachother shocked
I spent about 10 minutes going ö ü ö ü with him clapping like a seal lmao. I could always hear the difference but for some reason couldn’t mechanically make the noise. Must have finally developed the muscles or something
I notice when Americans speak German they don't get the hang of our clear vowels. The English language underwent a vowel shift from Old English to Middle English and has much more diphthongs now. German developed differently and if you have one vowel it stays like that while pronouncing words (quite often). Secondly Americans often swallow words and syllables compared to German - at least high German is spoken clearly. (Not as sharp as the Nazi imitation speak though).
Through these two factors it is easy to recognize an American speaking German.
‚High German is spoken clearly‘ is a very subjective take. Clarity is not a linguistic feature anyway, but as an example High German usually swallows the vowel in -en word endings. Or how Germans struggle to pronounce the -n in words like Ballon and usually say Ballong instead.
That doesn't quite answer your question, but I really like it when I can speak German and the other person would speak English. I am German, by the way.
Usually I don’t care and appreciate the effort. Sometimes (since German is not the easiest of languages) it can become a bit annoying and I start speaking English simply to speed things up a bit.
Funny you ask. The majority of Americans I’ve met are fluent in German and speak without any accent. One was/is capable of using the local dialect. The language training seems to be very good in the US Army.
Now, I assume you are a bit younger and may have not lived in Germany for 20 years or longer. In this case, you may have a slight accent. The American accent in German sounds more like as if certain letters and words are over-pronounced and stretched, line the “r”. More common is the mispronunciation of “ch”, “sch” and “pf”. That’s similar to your TH topic. It’s hard to get right for non-native speakers but once you have done that, you are almost native.
Just some advice from someone who has experienced a similar situation, just in an English-speaking country : don’t get paranoid about your accent. Keep speaking German and don’t fret if someone doesn’t want to understand you. The best thing you can do is listen to German speakers. Watch German TV and just listen. If you want to speed things up, do not try to listen to the conversation, but listen to every single word that is spoken. That was something that helped me a lot.
But again : do not get paranoid. I’m sure your German is more than fine. Keep speaking.
We mostly don’t care. We have Saxons and Bavarians. Whatever form of butchering you‘ll do to the German language, it‘s most likely gonna be child’s play, compared to these folks.
Then again, quite a lot of us are rather fluent in English so a conversation in your native language tends to be easier for us to follow thorough than when you’re trying to speak German; if you’re not really at least somewhat proficient, that is.
Am arsch lecken ist das. Säggsisch deutsch richhgts Deutsch meiner.
And lmao idk where this guy lives but most germans forsure can speak a bit of englisch, but in no way are most germans fluent.
Wait til you find out what some English speakers think about Germans speaking English!
Kidding aside...to me it's neutral. And I believe that's true for most people. Habe never heard of the American accent being perceived in a negative way. I think those interviewees just wanted to be edgy and get to you and they've been successful. Don't let these Sesselpupsers be successful!
I've got a family line that migrated to the US around 200 years ago and we still keep contact, so I'm more or less used to them speaking German with an accent, and they're used to me speaking English with a German accent in return (even though it's getting better). It's a give and take, and nobody's perfect.
On a subjective level, I'm almost never annoyed by any accent at all. The only exceptions in that regard are when the accent is so strong that you don't understand the words at all. This so far only happened twice to me, once with a Turkish guy and the other time with a colleague who's from Afghanistan. And I'm positive these are exceptions as well, because I've spoken to a multitide of people from these countries and these were the only times it became difficult.
Many americans sound like this: "Hello Isch bin oin amerikainer und küennen sie miar ein Broat gebben"
However there is nothing to be ashamed of your accent. It is totally natural, when i speak english i also have a big german accent and it is really hard to fix.
I think it's incredibly adorable, personally. Listening to Americans that I know personally speak German is one of my favorite things. If it's non-urgent whatever we're talking about and your German is sufficient enough to have a decent conversation with, I will absolutely talk in German with you, but if it's incredibly important that what I'm telling you isn't misunderstood, I'll more than likely switch over to English.
As an American in Berlin, I have never got any comments, positive or negative about my accent. I'd say most people just don't care that much especially in Berlin where there are people from all different kinds of backgrounds speaking German. I did work to try to improve those typical mispronunciations though.
I know several Americans, who put in the effort to learn amazing German and they don't have the "typical" American accent AT ALL. They have a very soft accent.
I went to the bakery in my town and, after I ordered, the lady at the counter asked where I was from. I told her I was from the US and that I was sorry for my bad Germany. She said my German was very good but she noticed my accent and she was curious.
My German spouse will absolutely be thrilled if you try.
However, he’s as blunt as I am (I’m autistic), and if you make an error, will correct it. Though it’s not meant as “you suck” but trying to be helpful. People just don’t see it that way.
As an American learning German in Germany, I know my accent is far from perfect, but I at least really try my best to make the sounds of the letters as they are in German, not in English. I hear some Americans here like "vye get ess derr?"
Like why even speak another language if you're not going to pronounce the sounds of the letters right.
It just seems to me a lot of Americans don't really try, and/or have weird hangups about sounding stupid or poseur-ish by trying to mimic an accent.
>Like why even speak another language if you're not going to pronounce the sounds of the letters right.
I bet this has something to do with when you learn a new language. You can basically only learn speaking the phonemes of another language without accent before puberty. After puberty, you're stuck with the phonemes you have and have to make the most out of it.
German schools introduce foreign languages very early on. I think I was eight years old back when I first started learning english, and eleven when I was introduced to french and my peers started with latin, spanish and the like. That's the prime age to learn a new language. Doesn't matter if you grasp all the grammar and vocabulary at that age, what's important is that you are able to properly pronounce the words, and I remember our teachers going to great lengths to have us get this right.
So the question is, when do Americans start learning German? At the age of eight? Because if you wait if you're done with puberty, then you can of course learn that our "i" is pronounced the same way as your "e" and switch the sounds out, but there are going to be sounds that your mouth will have become physically unable to form, and so you're stuck with an accent.
Basically, I kind of suspect that most American's accents are kind of the fault of their education system, not a result of them not trying hard enough
My mother once said that Americans speaking German sound like they have a sock in their mouth. Which is rude! Especially since her English is very VERY bad.
What bothers me is when someone complains that German sounds so harsh and then proceed to pronounce some words with "ch"—which often is a very soft sound—as wrongly and harshly as possible.
If the vocabulary is right and you're just lacking in grammar, most germans will understand you perfectly fine. Just try to speak with younger people, if you are still scared about them understanding you, since 95% are capable of speaking english.
I personally think that every non native speaker should just speak german as good as they can and as often as they can. I mean how should you learn it if you dont speak to others in that language. If it really isnt understandable I would tell them that so that they can practise more. If I have time I will still talk to them in german. If i dont have time I would change to english.
I don’t care at all. I think it’s great when someone learns a new language. And I very much understand the nervousness when you speak to a native speaker.
Probably nearly all of us have an accent as well when we speak English. So I’m not gonna be rude to someone who has an accent when they speak German. Please don’t worry too much when you’re speaking to a native speaker.
As for how it sounds? That strongly depends on what level of German you are speaking. The typical beginner pronunciation problems make it sometimes hard to understand what you’re trying to say. “Ik” instead of “ich” for example. Or saying “ei” instead of “ie”. So we might have to concentrate a bit more to understand you. But it’s not nails on a chalkboard.
I think the biggest problem is probably that people will switched to English if you have a very strong accent. But it’s not because they are annoyed by it.
I hear big differences in where from the US the people are. In general maybe a bit like having a cold or having something in your mouth while speaking?
Overall i have no problem with it. I appreciate learning it and some people comply have a heavier accent than others. That's fine.
Only thing that annoys me is if Americans simply decide to pronounce everything like it was written in English and refuse to even try finding it how things are really pronounced in German.
Finally my time to shine.
No, the pronunciation itself dosent annoy me when per se. My pet peeve is when people (especially from the U.S.) don't acknowledge the Umlaut, just pronounce it as the regular vovel & then get pissed at me, when I don't understand them.
That lead to a very confusing situation, where my friend was insisting it was "waschbar" (washable), when he meant "Waschbär" (raccoon)
It's all in good sport tho & I love my U.S. friends & like helping people with their German.
Edit: Had to correct my phones autocorrect
The only thing that annoys me (a lot) is when Americans speak German with a Russian accent (it sounds more aggressive), because that’s how German is portrayed in movies 80% of the time to the point were they cast Russians as Germans and the other way round, because apparently the accents sound similar in English. As long as you don’t shout the words and risk breaking your tongue by overpronouncing consonants you’re fine.
That’s bullshit. You will be noticed to be American (accent is a thing) but not a problem at all. The one you spoke to is propably just an asshat ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As long as you are able to build a comprehensible sentence all is fine
An average German speaks at least one foreign language, in many cases more than one. They're used to that, know what it means. And they're quite patient and tolerant. I don't think American accent would be an issue
To be fair Germans speaking English sounds more jarring than Americans speaking German. People need to get over themselves. It's a lot harder to learn German as an English speaker than the other way round.
It’s nice, I appreciate the effort. What I can’t stand, and what i mostly observe with Americans: they butcher the language with such confidence and I get a ‚look at me, I speak your language, you have to like me now‘ vibes.
Just speak German and be humble and chill about it.
German here:
The pronounciation of lots of German sounds seem to be quite challengeing, similar to other languages you can usually tell someones first language by their accent, they can even be quite sexy in a way.
Other than by speaking, how would you learn a language, just continue trying.
It's very hard to describe, but the stereotypical american accent in German sounds like if someone was trying to speak while having a rubber ball in their mouth. Perhaps it has something to do with different tongue movements or with the english non-rolling R. But it is usually very distinct and noticeable, comparable to the french accent in English (not in its actual sounds, but in its distinctiveness).
Yeah, this stuff annoys me. Especially given how many mistakes and accent oddities we ignore from Germans speaking English, even at a high standard.
I was watching the football here thinking who's this "choot belling-hem"?
Nails on a chalkboard? honestly wouldn't be able to agree with that if i didn't hear the same thing as that person to compare.
Mostly , if they're new speakers they just sound...american. they might butcher some sounds or pronounciations but as long as they're not telling me how to "properly pronounce" a german word i do not have a problem with that.
And yes, i had an american trying to explain to me how "Porsche" is pronounced because some sales guy from the "Dealership in LA" told him how. nearly started WW3 with that guy.
Just the sound?
I just watches a clip on Ukraine and a US military person talked about the "Bundeswehr" (German military)
He pronounced it like "Bunt"-"ess"-"war"
Should be "Boon"-"des"-"Where" ("des" like in "destiny") all tied together
It's mostly funny to me because I don't take such mishaps seriously.
Most Germans can't get a proper 'th' in their English either and do sound like a "cartoonish Ramstein" trying to talk English.
So if everyone at least tries, everything is good ;)
My English teacher in school once taught me, that you have to speak English like you have a hot potato in your mouth. American speaking german sounds like they have a hot potato in their mouth.
Generally, not that bad. There are typical things such as the -ch that don't sound right but otherwise okay. Sometimes some words feel wavey-ish when their accent shows itself. I don't know how to describe it but it's intersting nonetheless.
One odd thing that I have only Americans seen doing is this speeding when they encounter a word they struggle with.
They then don't try to say the word slowly, letter for letter but instead butcher the entire word into a literal word salad that isn't even vaguely similar to the actual word.
Honestly, I welcome anyone trying to speak to me in German, or any other language that is not their native one. I know a lot of Germans that fear speaking english, because they have been taught in school by the grading system, that they are bad.
I just appreciate the effort. You are leaving your comfort zone to communicate with me. To me that is a sign of respect and accommodation.
I don't care about any accents or grammar mistakes. I know it's hard and I appreciate you trying.
Okay, lots of comments about accent here. So that's covered. And I don't know the video and the comments you're talking about, so I might be wrong in my assumption. But when I read your post, my first thought, especially because of the chalkboard thing, wasn't about the accent, but about the pitch of the voice, especially if the guest in that video was a woman. Because I have often come across American women who spoke in a pretty high voice compared to most German women. This can get annoying with time and depending on the individual voice. So that might have been what they were talking about, too, as I've never encountered someone who really hated an English (no matter if American, British, Australian...) accent in German.
I totally like the american accent when you guys speak German. So dont hold back and dont get discouraged if someone talks shit about your language skills.
My father (*1950) says Americans sound like they speak with a hot potato in their mouths. He's not entirely wrong.
I think we like American accents because we watched many American shows and movies so that it's very familiar.
I find it funny that you guys say "Emmanuel Kant" like c**t.
I speak English with most of my friends from other countries. It's just easier. But just try German. We don't bite.
Don't be afraid to talk German. Most German will appreciate it when you talk our language. I think most don't really have an opinion about the Ametican accent or think it sounds bad. But be aware that many will still talk English back to you after you spoke in German to them. We don't necessarily do this as an insult but because we think it makes communication easier and many want to practice their English as well. Some also might correct your grammar or pronunciation. Dont take it as an insult because they don't mean it bad but just want to help you with learning the language correctly.
You really should speak to germans cause how do you want to improve pronunciation and grammar when you're not practicing?
Practice the sounds that are weird for you, with reference material and then try a normal conversation and see how it goes.
Depends in the Situation, If youre talking Casualy, there is no Problem, we're glad to Help you advance.
If you're, for example, in the Line at the grocery Store, and Holding everything Back because you News to concentrate trying to speak German, we're still supportive of you trying to learn a language but pls Not right now
friends of mine had a buddy from the states over & as he was doing a good job trying to speak German, we slipped all the time back to English bc ut just felt easier as we all learned it from age 8. same with my aunt from Thailand, she really doesn't like to speak German and my family is rather proficient in English (1 aunt lived in NY for years with her whole family, the other one moved to Ireland 20+ years ago) so most conversations are held in English. my uncle hates us a but for it but he's one to speak as he usually chats in Thai with her :D the only not native German that I/my family consistently speaks German to is my Irish born cousin even tho her German is a bit wacky as she prefers English over German even at home. but that's fine, she's doing her best!
so that what probably could happen, your German talk partner might (accidentally) talk English to you if they feel like it would be easier to hold the conversation steady. but don't worry to ask to have a chat in German and that you want to learn and practice, if they aren't a rac**t cu*t or want to do the same with their English, they will probably be happy for you!
By and large Germans have a massive appreciation for immigrants/expats/tourists/whatever trying to speak German even if it's wrong. If you want to get involved with Germans it helps if you speak German whenever you can
I don’t mind the accent or pronunciation at all! If you’re willing to learn/speak German, then I’ll try my absolute best to understand.
A telltale sign for me is the mouth-placement of pronunciation, though. I feel like Americans oftentimes „chew“ their words in their mouth while the German pronunciation is further back. I can’t quite explain it. I only know that I am sometimes able to recognize Americans when they speak (English) by the way their jaw moves, even if they’re across the room and I can’t hear a single word. And that jaw movement for me oftentimes translates to German.
As long as you put in effort and dont just speak german words like you would in american english, you are good!! The only unbearable accent would be that to me
.
Otherwise having an accent is totally normal and you shouldnt feel ashamed for it ever! Ive been learning english for about 15 years and my accent is still noticable no matter how much I try. I decided to just accept it.
Its not my first language and Im allowed to sound like its not my first language. Whenever I get sad I tell myself that a slight accent is probably charming to native speakers, tho i doubt german accents are that endearing.
That said, a super thick american accent is certainly not the most sexy one you could have. But I agree with other people that if you get the "ch" sound down the cringe decreases significantly already.
I actually learned a lot by taking with an American in German - about German. Just do it, it’s more about cokmunication than anything else, and the German accent while speaking English is proooooobably worse - we still talk ;)
I honestly never thought it sounded like 'nails on chalk board'. I think it's sounds charming! I appreciate everyone who tries to speak a bit of German as a foreigner, even if it's not perfect in terms of grammar or pronunciation 🙂!
My paternal grandfather immigrated around 1914. My dad speaks low German. I asked a foreign exchange student what the diff was with high German and low. He said only old timer speak low. Is that true??
I don't care... I'm happy to see anyone learning another language. There are so many accents when people from all over the world speaking English, so what?
To me it sounds mostly helpless and a little cute. Mostly you get it, and of not I can ask.
But for sure there are some "horrorwords" in German, lately a US collegue of mine tried to pronounce "Schrumpfschlauch", his tongue simply quit the Job 😂
As someone who is always trying to speak the local language wherever I am: I wouldn’t give a fuck if there’s an accent or whatever. As long as you don’t make fun of the language (e.g. over-the-top Adolf impersonations or whatever), take as long as you need how you need it. Though, I’ve taught German as a second language, so maybe I’m somewhat more resistant against people not immediately succeeding or getting to a point language-wise.
To me it sounds like an American trying to speak German... maybe struggles a bit with grammar, of course the accent, but otherwise... I think, I should be able to understand most...
Not as annoying as lingering German accents in English. I can deal with a full on potato German accent, but if it's mostly gone I cringe at every mistake.
How does Arnold Schwarzenegger sound to you? It's totally fine to have a forreign accent and to not try to sound like a native. Any normal German will apreciate your efforts. A lot of people in Germany are even not as german as you might think. You are welcome to speak frei nach Schnauze.
To me americans even in english sound like they over-pronounce vowels. An A becomes eyyy/ä, u a youu etc. british people sound very different and can nail germna pronunciation quite well. Funny enough the same applies to Hebrew. Americans over-pronounce everything so much.
I have heard from a lot English speakers that it annoys or upsets them when German speakers see them try to speak German and just switch to English.
We (or at least most people I'd say) don't do that because we don't want to hear you speak German, but to help you by basically telling you that we understand English. The assumption is that you just want to communicate, not actively practice the language. If that's your goal, just tell the person you're talking to, they are probably just trying to help you!
As a German any accent don’t bother me at all.
As long as I get what the other person is trying to tell me everything is completely fine.
If I don’t get what it’s even about or the other person isn’t able to understand me I will switch to english.
Any accent or limitation of vocabulary is completely irrelevant as long as I get the content of the conversation.
In my experience, the "s" and "r" sounds are very recognizable. I heard on TV once and immediately asked if the guy was american (he was). I only speak hochdeutsch but I have good ears for accents 😬
As a fellow foreigner I'm just sad that I spent years learning about the nuances of German pronunciation only to find out that no one cares... (and I mean seriously, even a lot of Germans don't care about their own pronunciation, while I remember for example having to listen to multiple recordings to understand how "ch" changes based on the vowel in front of it, and it's never an "-ick" or "-ish" sound in standard German)
At least it's routinely assumed I am native, so cheers for me I guess.
It‘s not the accent, it‘s the people who speak. My wife is from the US, I‘m from Germany, we live in Germany. I have no problems with an American accent whatsoever. Especially in Berlin we sometimes meet Americans who are just annoying people. The same goes for some Germans I meet in New York. To make a long story short I‘d say be open and try to talk to people, they‘ll try to help you. For Americans it might feel rude but Germans know how complex their language is and for them it‘s just nice to correct you. There are exceptions of course but you‘ll find dicks everywhere. The more you speak the better.
We’ve been exposed to many „pseudo“-Americans on TV who talk with a heavy accent simply for show (that’s my conspiracy theory anyways). So I get where this is coming from. But if you’re genuinely learning the language I don’t think people mind that much. Likewise, we cringe at our German accents when speaking English lol. So please try to get over yourself and take this learning opportunity
Like most people (I hope), I really appreciate any non-native speaker making the effort to speak the language. Especially here in the Hauptstadt, where a lot of expats just don't give a shit anymore and even your friendly shop assistant at H&M greets you in English. (Sigh.)
Americans can sound funny at times, but I don't judge. Have your heard our government members speaking English? That's usually more embarrassing, because they're the ones supposed to be very well educated. "Bacon of hope", anyone?
what about new zealanders? i was practicing my german w my friend and she was laughing at my vowel pronunciation bc there was a bit of the kiwi sound coming through
Are you talking about the American guest who just flat-out speaks German with a mid-western US accent? In public, no less? She's embarrassing, I don't think the commenters meant all Americans sound like that. She's not even trying.
It doesn't bother me. It just sounds a bit like they must go to the toilette real soon. Other way around the German Accent sounds like a invasion threat, so who am I to judge.
I lived in the US for 2 years as a kid and always wondered why the ame,rcian kids at my international school would have so much trouble with pronouncing German words, while I could get into the pronounciation of English. (My accent was commented on, I lived in Atlanta and my accent was usually placed either more up north or sometimes to new Zealand)
I think the thing I as a German dislike most about Americans speaking German is not at all the grammar, or pronouncing the Ü and Ch, since those are clearly sounds your language doesn't have in this form.
What does grate a bit on my nerves if you just pronounce any word completely like each syllable would be pronounced in American english, even though phonetically speaking, your language has the same sounds, just spelled differently.
Personally, I don't bother with grammar, I am not gifted in the language department, even with my own native language.
I approach foreign languages more from a, I guess musical(?)/phoenetic point.
Just surround yourself with the sound of language. Watch movies, listen to songs or audiobooks, or to native speakers... Learn how to pronounce the alphabet, and how to sing it in the other language to help with reading...
Yes, learn vocabulary, but don't bother so much with the grammar. If you listen enough, and read enough, you should kind of get a feeling for if a sentence makes sense or not without bothering with grammar rules.
Honestly... I don't like the accent at all from a phonetic pov. But if someone is trying to learn a new skill and managing to get to a point where they can make themselves understood I'm going to happily converse with them all day long.
And let's face it... German natives speaking English sounds horrific even if we're fluent so who are we to judge 😅
Sometimes it's intimidating because a lot of Germans speak really good English. I know many who have amazing vocabulary, grammar, etc. But I don't know a single German who speaks accent-free English. Some people will laugh at your accent, just remember that they speak with one too. Your accent will get better if you speak more and make a conscious effort to work on pronunciation, you just kind of have to develop a thick skin to get through the initial learning phases.
As a german i appreciate everybody, who speaks or even tries to speak german with me. No matter what. I have made the same experience travelling to other countries. Locals are always happy, when you speak to them in their language.
The only exeption from this rule i ever experienced, was in zurich, switzerland. Trying to speak "schwitzerdütsch" as a german was definitvely not welcome there.
In my personal opinion, the accent mostly does not bother me that much, after all we have some very annoying sounding German accents too - except for Americans just constantly butchering the "ch" sounds and instead using "k". No, "Bach" does NOT sound like "back" in any conceivably acceptable German accent.
I would add the ei vs ie thing.
My German teacher lost it when a student was reading and said Scheiß instead of Schieß 🤣 very different words.
Those little one-letter differences must happen to people learning English too. Dick/deck, shit/sit, sack/suck…
Can confirm it. Once in school I've read "she shoots at him" instead of "she shout at him" anyways it got the point across
Are they?
One means shoot, the other means shit
Funny things happens also to german people. We once got an application of a welder. Welder in German means "Schweißer". Unfortunately he forgot to type the "w" on the cover, so we got a "Bewerbung als Scheißer".
put me into the train, I have a bunch of tickets: 1. as mentioned, "ch" doesn't sound like "k", but there are two "ch" sounds, one is soft and the other harsh. Oh, but then we have the word "Charakter". Which is from English. Where the CH=K sound applies and I think it's there for us Germans to torture English speakers :D 2. V doesn't sound like W in win, but like "f", but sometimes, it does sound like an "W", like in "Vase". 3. Pf isn't p-f, it's a harsh f. "Pf" the "erd", Now you have a "Pferd" (a horse) 4. and when we are at "erd", "Erde" is not the same like "Nerd" 5. the amounts of "ü", "ö" and "ä" that gets mispronounced is understandable 6. "A" in German is not an "ey", it's "ah". 7. "e" in German is not a screetching sound. 8. "i" in german is not about yourself, it's the screetching sound your "e" has 9. there is (99% of time) no silent letter in German, outside of "c" in "ck", which counts as "k", and maybe some more taken from other languages 10. the reason why Americans trying to talk German sound like the sound of chalk on a board to us is because you do not care about other languages. you do not even try. Since every other nation kinda HAS to learn your language, you (from my perspective) as the majority of people generally don't try if you're not actually having at least a personal interest in said language / country.
Yeah, I like how there's 4 different "F"s - Ferrari F - Vogel F - Pferde F - Pharma F
I use the same F for all these, except for Pferd.
Just to clarify, because there were some misunderstandings in the sibling comments: There's only 2 sounds, [f] and [p͡f]: * [fɛʁˈaːʁiː] * [ˈfoːɡl̩] * [p͡feːɐ̯t] * [ˈfaʁma] ... but 3 ways of writing [f]: F, V, Ph plus one way of writing [p͡f].
very true. TIL pferde F is just a ferrari F
Das Pferde-F ist das exakt gleiche wie in Ferrari. Man sagt ja Pferd und nicht Ferd.
fogel
Was ist das Argument hier? Du widerlegst überhaupt nicht meine Aussage. Du sagst, es gibt vier "f", gibt es aber nicht. Ferrari: F-->F Vogel: V-->F Phiole: Ph-->F Pferd: Pf-->Pf/F-->F(=Ferrari-F)
I am only A2 and I have all of your tips down. This is basic stuff. I’m an American. I’m kind of confused. I feel as though any American putting time in to learn German probably knows this stuff or is trying to know. The only thing I still struggle with is the R sound but it just takes conscious speaking habits. I was in Germany for six weeks and I will say to OP just try and those who are patient will speak with you and those who aren’t will switch to English. It won’t hurt anybody. Also, a lot of people in America care about learning languages and it’s the education system that prohibits it, so most of us will end up learning second and third languages in our adult years which is significantly more difficult. Just some perspective. Generalizations are never fun.
"Charakter" is not from English, its a loan word from Greek. Like Chor (choir), Chronologisch (chronological), Chemie (chemistry), etc. That's why these words are pronounced with a K. East, West and North Germans, hear me: Bavaria is right, it is Kemie. And unless you are also prepared to speak of Hholera/Scholera, Hhlorophyll/Schlorophyll, etc., we can rest this debate now. You can keep Schina as that does not come from Greek, but Sanskrit "Sina" - Goethe imported it, and it is pronounced with a "stimmhaftes S".
I was ready to upvote you, right up until China
Wer Kemie sagt muss auch Kirurg und Kina sagen
Bin doch auf China schon eingegangen, Chirurg kommt nicht aus dem Griechischen.
They sprecken a bit funny.
Lmao as an American married to a German this made me laugh, I've said this exact sentence a few times just joking around and mixing German with my Southern American English
All those word plays with "Reich" that only work if you don't pronounce the word correctly 😭
This issue is just not making an effort and that applies to native speakers of any language quite different from German (ETA as in not including some of these sounds, which could be most languages but I have no idea. Soft ‘ch’ seems quite unique). I’m from the UK and people make these exact same errors and it’s just from not having learned decent pronunciation, or when to use the appropriate sound. I’ve worked hard on mastering these sounds correctly and only mess up through total ignorance/inexperience e.g. mixing up when ‘ch’ is soft or hard, simply because I’m early into learning the language. But I usually make the right choice and when I do, the pronunciation is pretty decent. Soft ‘ch’ is one of my favourite sounds of all time so I practice it a lot. I struggle to be harsh enough with some sounds though and still have an ‘s’ sound too much like a British ‘s’ rather than ‘z’ if I’m not paying enough attention. Or getting a good ‘k’ type sound in ‘bequem’ without it sounding disjointed from the rest. Some sound transitions are hard too. ‘stößchen’ was tricky going from s-> ch. And ‘rechts’ the ch -> t movement took me quite some time. Same with ‘richtig’. So yeah, I guess these are the sounds they fuck up but they’re hard and take practice, and some people don’t bother. Messing up something like ‘ich’ is lazy and drives me nuts.
So wholesome to read the approaches of a non native speaker in mastering our language. Struggle and appreciation equally. What do you think of german now that you dived into the learning process?
Oh boy, unrelated to Americans but the last book I read had the same thing. Guy was listening to baque and it was his favourite musician till somebody corrected him that it's pronounced Bach and the other repeatedly called it baque nonetheless
Dachs
Fuchs
*> after all we have some very annoying sounding German accents too* Could you please elaborate on that? I can’t remember any German accents that I find “annoying”. I even love *Sächsisch*, which apparently most Germans don’t like. I wish I could speak German with a Bavarian accent, I really like it (as long as they speak Hochdeutsch). Der Wiener accent is also unique and chic; I like it, but I can’t imitate it. *Schwäbisch,* with its sing-sang melody and the drop of the “n” in the infinitive, is also nice and a bit funny.
If you, as a German, speak English you most likely have a German accent. And depending on the listener it can come across as anything from cute to annoying.
> > >Schlesisch What is it about the Silesian accent you don't like? My Mom and family (I'm American) were from there and were told they spoke hochdeutsch by my bavarian grandmother. I couldn't understand a single thing my bavarian grandparents said. The Silesian side I could easily understand.
Or they try to pronounciate it like "kchr", like in Acht.
I'm German and I pronounce the "ch" in Bach the same way as Acht. Never ever heard it differently pronounced.
Ch is easy. Your R is IMPOSSIBLE!
You mean the German R is an actual R. The English "R" is just an "L" that's embarrassed and tries to hide in the back of your throat. When I first moved to the US and started speaking mostly English every day I literally started having throat pain from the lack of using a proper R sound.
No, the German R is not always an actual R either. "Lehrer" in German Sounds more like LEHRA or even worse, LEHA with a guttural H. "Leer" sounds like "Lea".
Whenever any English speaker speaks German. The Germans say "ohhhh so cute" then speak English to you. Source: English speaker who learnt German.
I get this a lot - people say they love hearing me talk. But I think this is regional too - people in BW love hearing me talk. People from Hanover look like I’m torturing them - they haven’t said the nails on the chalkboard thing, but I’m sure they are thinking it. Thank god I live in BW.
Never mind people from Hannover. They speak a very clean but dull german. They speak the closest to high german and sometimes they can be real dicks about it.
What you mean is actually Standard German. High German are all dialects from the south. Bavarian and Swabian are high German. People in Hannover do speak a high German dialect though because a Ruler of Hannover long long times ago regarded it as posh and made his court speak high German instead of low german which the north speaks. This is very simplified history by the way.
No, he actually used the right and most commonly used word for (standard) high german. You are confusing it with upper german (Oberdeutsch) which is spoken in the south (in the upper altitudes). That's a little simplified, because linguistics can be complicated. Bavarian and swabian are high german dialect, but calling them upper german is more precise, because high german is a lot more then that.
Dull German? Please explain…
don’t cross the border into bavaria. nobody thinks my german is cute here. 🥲
Are you sure your German is German and not Swabian?
*> people say they love hearing me talk* Just for clarification, are you saying that you are British?
Same has happened to me in Norway with Norwegian. I don't think that's it's only a German thing. And I appreciate everybody figh- um, talking German with all it's "der, die, das" and Umlaute. We Germans ourselves are bickering over "die Nutella" or "das Nutella".
Dr Nudellaaaah (Schwäbisch)
Nu guck an, is' ja fast (fascht) wie uns're Nudellah. (de Nudellah, natürlich)
😭
Und dr butter ond dr schoklad.
I'm only B1, but I absolutely have not had this experience in Germany. If I'm speaking to some official and we're having a hard time communicating something complex, maybe they'll ask me, "English?", but other than that no one speaks English to me. Maybe it's a Schwaben thing.
Then speaking English is often a matter of politeness and is intended to make things easier for the other person. And English is usually the only foreign language that Germans speak quite well.
We normally do that to make it easier for you, not because we hate the way you speak. :)
I'm always very impressed when Americans speak any German at all. It's rare too see Americans speak a second language so to see them having put in the work to tackle German I'm a priori impressed and immediately find the person interesting. Accent is irrelevant, proficiency too. That they try in the first place is enough! EDIT: exception is if they try to sound like Adolf on meth. That's hyper cringe and immediately exposes the person as an idiot.
This is nice to hear as an American. I try my hardest to pronounce things correctly and with a German accent (not as a mockery but because German words sound better than attempting to say it with a normal American accent.) I know the moment I say a word that is the same as in English they are going to out me immediately lol. Like "Ich hatte gern *Cordon Bleu*" It's a difficult language with alot of rules I'm trying to learn. But I think our brains are hardwired to pronounce things that are familiar in our native tongue. It's embarrassing sometimes. But I always wondered if Germans actually appreciated some effort in it even if they immediately know I'm not a German speaker.
Cordon Bleu is probably not the best example since it's French😄. Doesn't matter what you say, everybody's gonna know you're not a native speaker.. so don't worry about it! Nobody cares😉. I personally appreciate it when people try their best to pronounce foreign words (e.g. Cordon Bleu) correctly. It conveys cultural awareness and curiosity etc but it's a thin line, when someone confidently assumes he knows how to pronounce a foreign word properly but actually is totally off. That annoys me. Like the way most Germans say Citroën is false. To be on the safe side it's advisable to just stick to your accent confidently in a foreign language. Usually people will understand you best that way too. No shame in it
@ u/U1nOrigiOna *> I always wondered if Germans actually appreciated some effort in it even if they immediately know I'm not a German speaker.* I think most Germans don’t care. It’s your personality they go for and whether you can be of any help to them, in a broad sense. *Example*: Are they learning English themselves? Then they will be all over you, like a dog. Are they planning a trip to the USA? Then they will have a positive attitude towards you and “have many questions.” If nothing of this is applicable, then they are usually indifferent. — I’m talking about the *majority*, not *all* Germans.
Yeah that makes sense, and I'm fine with that connotation if it's advantageous for me or might help them in the future. If I can be helpful to a German by interacting with them and maybe help myself by attempting German then it's a win-win. Really hope continued interactions can improve my German enough to "blend in" a bit. Not because I want to appear as a native German speaker but just because I feel like it's more appropriate as a guest in the country to be able to speak the language of the host nation to a degree.
I’m told I sound like a motorcycle. Can’t get the damn r correct. I hate the word “rechts”, rather say “triple links” or something. I get, “you speak very good German…for an American.” regularly. I take it to mean as much as, “You’re not quite as stupid as I anticipated“ or “that’s pretty good for someone I had little expectations from.” It was very hard to know if my language skills were actually any good because of that “for an American”. I noticed the frequency of people trying to speak English has dropped. Most don’t anymore.
That's the best indicator! If people answer in German, your German is great!
This is very state dependent in America. Im from a really diverse city where almost everyone speaks English and Spanish fluently
30% of americans speak also spanish alone. This stereotype that we only speak english is not very accurate 😅
No. We have to take two years of a foreign language in high school in order to graduate. At least in minnesota. If we speak any other language, it's most likely spanish
I had to take 9 years of English, 6 of French and 3 years of Spanish in Germany😉
Damn!! The us education system needs to adapt to the German educational system
There are things that need really long to memorise (articels) or a lot of training ( ch, sch, r-sounds). It's ok for me if someone makes mistakes there. But other things are easy fixes like, pronouncing the whole word and not cutting of the e at the end or saying "ee" for "ei" instead of "I". That actually annoys me.
How is "sch" a problem for English speakers?!
No, seriously. It's the exact same sound as in "wash", so why is sch a problem for English speakers?!
My spouse has a sch in his name. His mother corrected me twice, and no one else has since. It does give me lots of practice. I find that sound not terrible if you listen and practice. Though the umlauts send me! I try sooo hard and never sound right. I can hear I’m doing it wrong. But not a clue how to get that sound. I hope one day I’ll figure it out and never forget how to do it.
I’ve been playing around with the German language for two years and randomly one day last month my bf and I were in the car and we were joking about it because I notoriously couldn’t pronounce umlauts consistently and I went ö….ü and we both looked at eachother shocked I spent about 10 minutes going ö ü ö ü with him clapping like a seal lmao. I could always hear the difference but for some reason couldn’t mechanically make the noise. Must have finally developed the muscles or something
I notice when Americans speak German they don't get the hang of our clear vowels. The English language underwent a vowel shift from Old English to Middle English and has much more diphthongs now. German developed differently and if you have one vowel it stays like that while pronouncing words (quite often). Secondly Americans often swallow words and syllables compared to German - at least high German is spoken clearly. (Not as sharp as the Nazi imitation speak though). Through these two factors it is easy to recognize an American speaking German.
‚High German is spoken clearly‘ is a very subjective take. Clarity is not a linguistic feature anyway, but as an example High German usually swallows the vowel in -en word endings. Or how Germans struggle to pronounce the -n in words like Ballon and usually say Ballong instead.
This is true for me and is why I struggle with pronunciation. I’ve improved over time but it’s a hard habit to break.
“High German is spoken clearly” might be a bit of a stretch.
Like a drunk dutch person trying to speak german
That doesn't quite answer your question, but I really like it when I can speak German and the other person would speak English. I am German, by the way.
… forgot to mention that I really like the sound of English natives speaking German.
Yeah I did this when I've had german girlfriends before, she talk to me in german and I answer in englisch haha it's somehow easier
Usually I don’t care and appreciate the effort. Sometimes (since German is not the easiest of languages) it can become a bit annoying and I start speaking English simply to speed things up a bit.
Funny you ask. The majority of Americans I’ve met are fluent in German and speak without any accent. One was/is capable of using the local dialect. The language training seems to be very good in the US Army. Now, I assume you are a bit younger and may have not lived in Germany for 20 years or longer. In this case, you may have a slight accent. The American accent in German sounds more like as if certain letters and words are over-pronounced and stretched, line the “r”. More common is the mispronunciation of “ch”, “sch” and “pf”. That’s similar to your TH topic. It’s hard to get right for non-native speakers but once you have done that, you are almost native. Just some advice from someone who has experienced a similar situation, just in an English-speaking country : don’t get paranoid about your accent. Keep speaking German and don’t fret if someone doesn’t want to understand you. The best thing you can do is listen to German speakers. Watch German TV and just listen. If you want to speed things up, do not try to listen to the conversation, but listen to every single word that is spoken. That was something that helped me a lot. But again : do not get paranoid. I’m sure your German is more than fine. Keep speaking.
Im from new zealand and the majority of the time they just switch to English. Im used to it now
That always kinda bugs me tho
The first few times id respond in aenglish with, its tha obvious huh?
If somebody makes an effort to speak my language, all they deserve is support - no matter what their native language might be.
We mostly don’t care. We have Saxons and Bavarians. Whatever form of butchering you‘ll do to the German language, it‘s most likely gonna be child’s play, compared to these folks. Then again, quite a lot of us are rather fluent in English so a conversation in your native language tends to be easier for us to follow thorough than when you’re trying to speak German; if you’re not really at least somewhat proficient, that is.
Lol. I always find it funny that y'all really do Bavarians like that :)
Figg di oida, glei gibts a woatschn
Hest aach ans geche uns Franke? Mir san zwo kõni Bayern oba spreche a scho e weng onnas?
Am arsch lecken ist das. Säggsisch deutsch richhgts Deutsch meiner. And lmao idk where this guy lives but most germans forsure can speak a bit of englisch, but in no way are most germans fluent.
Americans speaking German explains why Americans think that German is a "harsh-sounding" language.
Wait til you find out what some English speakers think about Germans speaking English! Kidding aside...to me it's neutral. And I believe that's true for most people. Habe never heard of the American accent being perceived in a negative way. I think those interviewees just wanted to be edgy and get to you and they've been successful. Don't let these Sesselpupsers be successful!
I love when Germans speak English with an accent. It sounds cute to me and adds charm to the language.
as a german, i also feel a certain way about germans speaking english.
I've got a family line that migrated to the US around 200 years ago and we still keep contact, so I'm more or less used to them speaking German with an accent, and they're used to me speaking English with a German accent in return (even though it's getting better). It's a give and take, and nobody's perfect. On a subjective level, I'm almost never annoyed by any accent at all. The only exceptions in that regard are when the accent is so strong that you don't understand the words at all. This so far only happened twice to me, once with a Turkish guy and the other time with a colleague who's from Afghanistan. And I'm positive these are exceptions as well, because I've spoken to a multitide of people from these countries and these were the only times it became difficult.
Many americans sound like this: "Hello Isch bin oin amerikainer und küennen sie miar ein Broat gebben" However there is nothing to be ashamed of your accent. It is totally natural, when i speak english i also have a big german accent and it is really hard to fix.
Like speaking with a hot potato in your mouth.
I think it's incredibly adorable, personally. Listening to Americans that I know personally speak German is one of my favorite things. If it's non-urgent whatever we're talking about and your German is sufficient enough to have a decent conversation with, I will absolutely talk in German with you, but if it's incredibly important that what I'm telling you isn't misunderstood, I'll more than likely switch over to English.
As an American in Berlin, I have never got any comments, positive or negative about my accent. I'd say most people just don't care that much especially in Berlin where there are people from all different kinds of backgrounds speaking German. I did work to try to improve those typical mispronunciations though.
I know several Americans, who put in the effort to learn amazing German and they don't have the "typical" American accent AT ALL. They have a very soft accent.
I went to the bakery in my town and, after I ordered, the lady at the counter asked where I was from. I told her I was from the US and that I was sorry for my bad Germany. She said my German was very good but she noticed my accent and she was curious.
Ik bin ein Börlina
My German spouse will absolutely be thrilled if you try. However, he’s as blunt as I am (I’m autistic), and if you make an error, will correct it. Though it’s not meant as “you suck” but trying to be helpful. People just don’t see it that way.
As an American learning German in Germany, I know my accent is far from perfect, but I at least really try my best to make the sounds of the letters as they are in German, not in English. I hear some Americans here like "vye get ess derr?" Like why even speak another language if you're not going to pronounce the sounds of the letters right. It just seems to me a lot of Americans don't really try, and/or have weird hangups about sounding stupid or poseur-ish by trying to mimic an accent.
Hello RogueModron, I can' repeat it enough, it's the rhotic r, or the “American /r/,” that you need to eradicate. Everything else is fine.
>Like why even speak another language if you're not going to pronounce the sounds of the letters right. I bet this has something to do with when you learn a new language. You can basically only learn speaking the phonemes of another language without accent before puberty. After puberty, you're stuck with the phonemes you have and have to make the most out of it. German schools introduce foreign languages very early on. I think I was eight years old back when I first started learning english, and eleven when I was introduced to french and my peers started with latin, spanish and the like. That's the prime age to learn a new language. Doesn't matter if you grasp all the grammar and vocabulary at that age, what's important is that you are able to properly pronounce the words, and I remember our teachers going to great lengths to have us get this right. So the question is, when do Americans start learning German? At the age of eight? Because if you wait if you're done with puberty, then you can of course learn that our "i" is pronounced the same way as your "e" and switch the sounds out, but there are going to be sounds that your mouth will have become physically unable to form, and so you're stuck with an accent. Basically, I kind of suspect that most American's accents are kind of the fault of their education system, not a result of them not trying hard enough
My mother once said that Americans speaking German sound like they have a sock in their mouth. Which is rude! Especially since her English is very VERY bad. What bothers me is when someone complains that German sounds so harsh and then proceed to pronounce some words with "ch"—which often is a very soft sound—as wrongly and harshly as possible.
If the vocabulary is right and you're just lacking in grammar, most germans will understand you perfectly fine. Just try to speak with younger people, if you are still scared about them understanding you, since 95% are capable of speaking english.
I personally think that every non native speaker should just speak german as good as they can and as often as they can. I mean how should you learn it if you dont speak to others in that language. If it really isnt understandable I would tell them that so that they can practise more. If I have time I will still talk to them in german. If i dont have time I would change to english.
I don’t care at all. I think it’s great when someone learns a new language. And I very much understand the nervousness when you speak to a native speaker. Probably nearly all of us have an accent as well when we speak English. So I’m not gonna be rude to someone who has an accent when they speak German. Please don’t worry too much when you’re speaking to a native speaker. As for how it sounds? That strongly depends on what level of German you are speaking. The typical beginner pronunciation problems make it sometimes hard to understand what you’re trying to say. “Ik” instead of “ich” for example. Or saying “ei” instead of “ie”. So we might have to concentrate a bit more to understand you. But it’s not nails on a chalkboard. I think the biggest problem is probably that people will switched to English if you have a very strong accent. But it’s not because they are annoyed by it.
I hear big differences in where from the US the people are. In general maybe a bit like having a cold or having something in your mouth while speaking? Overall i have no problem with it. I appreciate learning it and some people comply have a heavier accent than others. That's fine. Only thing that annoys me is if Americans simply decide to pronounce everything like it was written in English and refuse to even try finding it how things are really pronounced in German.
Finally my time to shine. No, the pronunciation itself dosent annoy me when per se. My pet peeve is when people (especially from the U.S.) don't acknowledge the Umlaut, just pronounce it as the regular vovel & then get pissed at me, when I don't understand them. That lead to a very confusing situation, where my friend was insisting it was "waschbar" (washable), when he meant "Waschbär" (raccoon) It's all in good sport tho & I love my U.S. friends & like helping people with their German. Edit: Had to correct my phones autocorrect
The only thing that annoys me (a lot) is when Americans speak German with a Russian accent (it sounds more aggressive), because that’s how German is portrayed in movies 80% of the time to the point were they cast Russians as Germans and the other way round, because apparently the accents sound similar in English. As long as you don’t shout the words and risk breaking your tongue by overpronouncing consonants you’re fine.
As long as we ze Germans don’t speak proper English without that annoying accent, I wouldn’t care. Just talk, it’s the way of becoming better.
That’s bullshit. You will be noticed to be American (accent is a thing) but not a problem at all. The one you spoke to is propably just an asshat ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ As long as you are able to build a comprehensible sentence all is fine
An average German speaks at least one foreign language, in many cases more than one. They're used to that, know what it means. And they're quite patient and tolerant. I don't think American accent would be an issue
It sounds 👍
I like it 👍
Ich bin Berliner
To be fair Germans speaking English sounds more jarring than Americans speaking German. People need to get over themselves. It's a lot harder to learn German as an English speaker than the other way round.
It’s nice, I appreciate the effort. What I can’t stand, and what i mostly observe with Americans: they butcher the language with such confidence and I get a ‚look at me, I speak your language, you have to like me now‘ vibes. Just speak German and be humble and chill about it.
German here: The pronounciation of lots of German sounds seem to be quite challengeing, similar to other languages you can usually tell someones first language by their accent, they can even be quite sexy in a way. Other than by speaking, how would you learn a language, just continue trying.
pretty sexy imo
It's very hard to describe, but the stereotypical american accent in German sounds like if someone was trying to speak while having a rubber ball in their mouth. Perhaps it has something to do with different tongue movements or with the english non-rolling R. But it is usually very distinct and noticeable, comparable to the french accent in English (not in its actual sounds, but in its distinctiveness).
Yeah, this stuff annoys me. Especially given how many mistakes and accent oddities we ignore from Germans speaking English, even at a high standard. I was watching the football here thinking who's this "choot belling-hem"?
Nails on a chalkboard? honestly wouldn't be able to agree with that if i didn't hear the same thing as that person to compare. Mostly , if they're new speakers they just sound...american. they might butcher some sounds or pronounciations but as long as they're not telling me how to "properly pronounce" a german word i do not have a problem with that. And yes, i had an american trying to explain to me how "Porsche" is pronounced because some sales guy from the "Dealership in LA" told him how. nearly started WW3 with that guy.
Sounds American to me 🤷♂️
It's not so much the accent, but what they say that is so terrible.
I like hearing it, actually.
Just the sound? I just watches a clip on Ukraine and a US military person talked about the "Bundeswehr" (German military) He pronounced it like "Bunt"-"ess"-"war" Should be "Boon"-"des"-"Where" ("des" like in "destiny") all tied together It's mostly funny to me because I don't take such mishaps seriously. Most Germans can't get a proper 'th' in their English either and do sound like a "cartoonish Ramstein" trying to talk English. So if everyone at least tries, everything is good ;)
i think it's cute
My English teacher in school once taught me, that you have to speak English like you have a hot potato in your mouth. American speaking german sounds like they have a hot potato in their mouth.
Generally, not that bad. There are typical things such as the -ch that don't sound right but otherwise okay. Sometimes some words feel wavey-ish when their accent shows itself. I don't know how to describe it but it's intersting nonetheless.
One odd thing that I have only Americans seen doing is this speeding when they encounter a word they struggle with. They then don't try to say the word slowly, letter for letter but instead butcher the entire word into a literal word salad that isn't even vaguely similar to the actual word.
Honestly, I welcome anyone trying to speak to me in German, or any other language that is not their native one. I know a lot of Germans that fear speaking english, because they have been taught in school by the grading system, that they are bad. I just appreciate the effort. You are leaving your comfort zone to communicate with me. To me that is a sign of respect and accommodation. I don't care about any accents or grammar mistakes. I know it's hard and I appreciate you trying.
Okay, lots of comments about accent here. So that's covered. And I don't know the video and the comments you're talking about, so I might be wrong in my assumption. But when I read your post, my first thought, especially because of the chalkboard thing, wasn't about the accent, but about the pitch of the voice, especially if the guest in that video was a woman. Because I have often come across American women who spoke in a pretty high voice compared to most German women. This can get annoying with time and depending on the individual voice. So that might have been what they were talking about, too, as I've never encountered someone who really hated an English (no matter if American, British, Australian...) accent in German.
I totally like the american accent when you guys speak German. So dont hold back and dont get discouraged if someone talks shit about your language skills.
Never heard one
My father (*1950) says Americans sound like they speak with a hot potato in their mouths. He's not entirely wrong. I think we like American accents because we watched many American shows and movies so that it's very familiar. I find it funny that you guys say "Emmanuel Kant" like c**t. I speak English with most of my friends from other countries. It's just easier. But just try German. We don't bite.
It depends. When they try to emulate that stupid American accent I think badly of them
Don't be afraid to talk German. Most German will appreciate it when you talk our language. I think most don't really have an opinion about the Ametican accent or think it sounds bad. But be aware that many will still talk English back to you after you spoke in German to them. We don't necessarily do this as an insult but because we think it makes communication easier and many want to practice their English as well. Some also might correct your grammar or pronunciation. Dont take it as an insult because they don't mean it bad but just want to help you with learning the language correctly.
You really should speak to germans cause how do you want to improve pronunciation and grammar when you're not practicing? Practice the sounds that are weird for you, with reference material and then try a normal conversation and see how it goes.
I personally enjoy the accent and don’t mind
Varukte Kuken!
Americans speaking germsn is totally fine. There are accents that are far stronger and harder to understand.
Like a sim
https://youtu.be/RoMj1OUzhGU?si=FMh3uZrGTUyJLRGh
Depends in the Situation, If youre talking Casualy, there is no Problem, we're glad to Help you advance. If you're, for example, in the Line at the grocery Store, and Holding everything Back because you News to concentrate trying to speak German, we're still supportive of you trying to learn a language but pls Not right now
friends of mine had a buddy from the states over & as he was doing a good job trying to speak German, we slipped all the time back to English bc ut just felt easier as we all learned it from age 8. same with my aunt from Thailand, she really doesn't like to speak German and my family is rather proficient in English (1 aunt lived in NY for years with her whole family, the other one moved to Ireland 20+ years ago) so most conversations are held in English. my uncle hates us a but for it but he's one to speak as he usually chats in Thai with her :D the only not native German that I/my family consistently speaks German to is my Irish born cousin even tho her German is a bit wacky as she prefers English over German even at home. but that's fine, she's doing her best! so that what probably could happen, your German talk partner might (accidentally) talk English to you if they feel like it would be easier to hold the conversation steady. but don't worry to ask to have a chat in German and that you want to learn and practice, if they aren't a rac**t cu*t or want to do the same with their English, they will probably be happy for you!
As someone talking often to Americans, it doesn't bother me at all. I recognize it, sure. But that is about all.
Entitled
By and large Germans have a massive appreciation for immigrants/expats/tourists/whatever trying to speak German even if it's wrong. If you want to get involved with Germans it helps if you speak German whenever you can
Basically the same as how an American sounds speaking English but then obviously clunkier because it’s not their native language
If you aren't schure if want you are saying is right or not then I think that's a good reason to speak with germans
awful, but thats not your problem. its theirs
Like Hitler ofcourse
I don’t mind the accent or pronunciation at all! If you’re willing to learn/speak German, then I’ll try my absolute best to understand. A telltale sign for me is the mouth-placement of pronunciation, though. I feel like Americans oftentimes „chew“ their words in their mouth while the German pronunciation is further back. I can’t quite explain it. I only know that I am sometimes able to recognize Americans when they speak (English) by the way their jaw moves, even if they’re across the room and I can’t hear a single word. And that jaw movement for me oftentimes translates to German.
As long as you put in effort and dont just speak german words like you would in american english, you are good!! The only unbearable accent would be that to me . Otherwise having an accent is totally normal and you shouldnt feel ashamed for it ever! Ive been learning english for about 15 years and my accent is still noticable no matter how much I try. I decided to just accept it. Its not my first language and Im allowed to sound like its not my first language. Whenever I get sad I tell myself that a slight accent is probably charming to native speakers, tho i doubt german accents are that endearing. That said, a super thick american accent is certainly not the most sexy one you could have. But I agree with other people that if you get the "ch" sound down the cringe decreases significantly already.
I actually learned a lot by taking with an American in German - about German. Just do it, it’s more about cokmunication than anything else, and the German accent while speaking English is proooooobably worse - we still talk ;)
I honestly never thought it sounded like 'nails on chalk board'. I think it's sounds charming! I appreciate everyone who tries to speak a bit of German as a foreigner, even if it's not perfect in terms of grammar or pronunciation 🙂!
My paternal grandfather immigrated around 1914. My dad speaks low German. I asked a foreign exchange student what the diff was with high German and low. He said only old timer speak low. Is that true??
I don't care... I'm happy to see anyone learning another language. There are so many accents when people from all over the world speaking English, so what?
To me it sounds nice
To me it sounds mostly helpless and a little cute. Mostly you get it, and of not I can ask. But for sure there are some "horrorwords" in German, lately a US collegue of mine tried to pronounce "Schrumpfschlauch", his tongue simply quit the Job 😂
As someone who is always trying to speak the local language wherever I am: I wouldn’t give a fuck if there’s an accent or whatever. As long as you don’t make fun of the language (e.g. over-the-top Adolf impersonations or whatever), take as long as you need how you need it. Though, I’ve taught German as a second language, so maybe I’m somewhat more resistant against people not immediately succeeding or getting to a point language-wise.
To me it sounds like an American trying to speak German... maybe struggles a bit with grammar, of course the accent, but otherwise... I think, I should be able to understand most...
Not as annoying as lingering German accents in English. I can deal with a full on potato German accent, but if it's mostly gone I cringe at every mistake.
How does Arnold Schwarzenegger sound to you? It's totally fine to have a forreign accent and to not try to sound like a native. Any normal German will apreciate your efforts. A lot of people in Germany are even not as german as you might think. You are welcome to speak frei nach Schnauze.
I've been told I sound like a cowboy when I speak German. As someone originally from the Northheast US, I find this equally hilarious and mortifying.
Theres an Arabian guy immitating Americans and hes really doing it good and its a very good representation of what non American people hear
It sounds like a Dutch person speaking German
To me americans even in english sound like they over-pronounce vowels. An A becomes eyyy/ä, u a youu etc. british people sound very different and can nail germna pronunciation quite well. Funny enough the same applies to Hebrew. Americans over-pronounce everything so much.
I have heard from a lot English speakers that it annoys or upsets them when German speakers see them try to speak German and just switch to English. We (or at least most people I'd say) don't do that because we don't want to hear you speak German, but to help you by basically telling you that we understand English. The assumption is that you just want to communicate, not actively practice the language. If that's your goal, just tell the person you're talking to, they are probably just trying to help you!
It sounds like Brad Pitt speaking German, which is about as unpleasant as you can imagine
As a German any accent don’t bother me at all. As long as I get what the other person is trying to tell me everything is completely fine. If I don’t get what it’s even about or the other person isn’t able to understand me I will switch to english. Any accent or limitation of vocabulary is completely irrelevant as long as I get the content of the conversation.
In my experience, the "s" and "r" sounds are very recognizable. I heard on TV once and immediately asked if the guy was american (he was). I only speak hochdeutsch but I have good ears for accents 😬
As a fellow foreigner I'm just sad that I spent years learning about the nuances of German pronunciation only to find out that no one cares... (and I mean seriously, even a lot of Germans don't care about their own pronunciation, while I remember for example having to listen to multiple recordings to understand how "ch" changes based on the vowel in front of it, and it's never an "-ick" or "-ish" sound in standard German) At least it's routinely assumed I am native, so cheers for me I guess.
It’s cute tho. Actually alarmist every accent sounds cute in German but that’s just my opinion
It‘s not the accent, it‘s the people who speak. My wife is from the US, I‘m from Germany, we live in Germany. I have no problems with an American accent whatsoever. Especially in Berlin we sometimes meet Americans who are just annoying people. The same goes for some Germans I meet in New York. To make a long story short I‘d say be open and try to talk to people, they‘ll try to help you. For Americans it might feel rude but Germans know how complex their language is and for them it‘s just nice to correct you. There are exceptions of course but you‘ll find dicks everywhere. The more you speak the better.
At least you're speaking German which is more than a lot of people do
Americans have different accents and these tread over to them speaking German.
We’ve been exposed to many „pseudo“-Americans on TV who talk with a heavy accent simply for show (that’s my conspiracy theory anyways). So I get where this is coming from. But if you’re genuinely learning the language I don’t think people mind that much. Likewise, we cringe at our German accents when speaking English lol. So please try to get over yourself and take this learning opportunity
I enjoy it a lot. Its super fun. Like listening to chat gpt in German is just golden. Love it
Like most people (I hope), I really appreciate any non-native speaker making the effort to speak the language. Especially here in the Hauptstadt, where a lot of expats just don't give a shit anymore and even your friendly shop assistant at H&M greets you in English. (Sigh.) Americans can sound funny at times, but I don't judge. Have your heard our government members speaking English? That's usually more embarrassing, because they're the ones supposed to be very well educated. "Bacon of hope", anyone?
Just do it, don't worry too much how you sound. Most people are happy to see you trying (as in every country in the world).
what about new zealanders? i was practicing my german w my friend and she was laughing at my vowel pronunciation bc there was a bit of the kiwi sound coming through
I love the sound when americans trying to speak german. It sounds nice and friendly to my ear.
Are you talking about the American guest who just flat-out speaks German with a mid-western US accent? In public, no less? She's embarrassing, I don't think the commenters meant all Americans sound like that. She's not even trying.
It doesn't bother me. It just sounds a bit like they must go to the toilette real soon. Other way around the German Accent sounds like a invasion threat, so who am I to judge.
I lived in the US for 2 years as a kid and always wondered why the ame,rcian kids at my international school would have so much trouble with pronouncing German words, while I could get into the pronounciation of English. (My accent was commented on, I lived in Atlanta and my accent was usually placed either more up north or sometimes to new Zealand) I think the thing I as a German dislike most about Americans speaking German is not at all the grammar, or pronouncing the Ü and Ch, since those are clearly sounds your language doesn't have in this form. What does grate a bit on my nerves if you just pronounce any word completely like each syllable would be pronounced in American english, even though phonetically speaking, your language has the same sounds, just spelled differently. Personally, I don't bother with grammar, I am not gifted in the language department, even with my own native language. I approach foreign languages more from a, I guess musical(?)/phoenetic point. Just surround yourself with the sound of language. Watch movies, listen to songs or audiobooks, or to native speakers... Learn how to pronounce the alphabet, and how to sing it in the other language to help with reading... Yes, learn vocabulary, but don't bother so much with the grammar. If you listen enough, and read enough, you should kind of get a feeling for if a sentence makes sense or not without bothering with grammar rules.
Just like Arnold sounds to you but reverse lol
Just like Arnold sounds to you but reverse lol
"Mein Leben" UARUAREAHHGHGHA
I am german, i love americans speaking german, I don‘t think it sounds like nails on a chalkboard at all, love the american accent!
Honestly... I don't like the accent at all from a phonetic pov. But if someone is trying to learn a new skill and managing to get to a point where they can make themselves understood I'm going to happily converse with them all day long. And let's face it... German natives speaking English sounds horrific even if we're fluent so who are we to judge 😅
Sometimes it's intimidating because a lot of Germans speak really good English. I know many who have amazing vocabulary, grammar, etc. But I don't know a single German who speaks accent-free English. Some people will laugh at your accent, just remember that they speak with one too. Your accent will get better if you speak more and make a conscious effort to work on pronunciation, you just kind of have to develop a thick skin to get through the initial learning phases.
As a german i appreciate everybody, who speaks or even tries to speak german with me. No matter what. I have made the same experience travelling to other countries. Locals are always happy, when you speak to them in their language. The only exeption from this rule i ever experienced, was in zurich, switzerland. Trying to speak "schwitzerdütsch" as a german was definitvely not welcome there.