re. Re: Umlaute

[lorentzen-nicklaus]

> Out of curriosity how does an Umlaute modify the pronunciation of a word? I've been 
> wondering for a  while now.


* That's tricky, especially when you also consider regional dialects. Here in 
Northern Germany, to give a random example, the "ö" in östlich sounds quite 
different from the one in Möwe. There is a standard modification through 
an Umlaut in the meaning of some words, though. Umlaute get used to build 
diminutive forms. So while the nose is a Nase the little nose is a Näschen,
the house becomes a Häuschen, some small bubbles Bläschen ... 
Regarding the pronunciation, I can say that "ö" often sounds like the
vowel in "bleu" ... 

KFL +



"David Gentle" <Gentle_Family at btinternet.com> schrieb:
> <<
> > Please pardon the lack of umlauts, too little time...
> 
> °°° Oh, that's better than the other way round. That Wallace
> guy from "Infinite Jest" he puts them everywhere without any
> sense. For instance, DFW writes of this tasty Swiss chocolate
> always as "Töblerone" although it's simply "Toblerone". Actually,
> the German of Wallace is even worse than Pynchon's ...
> 
> Kai +
> >>
> Out of curriosity how does an Umlaute modify the pronunciation of a word? I've been
>>wondering for a
> while now.
> 
> David Gentle
> 
>