Introduction to the German Language Welcome to the first of a series of four introductory lessons about the German Language. My Name is Kirsten Winkler. I am a language coach, online education expert and founder of websites like www.deutschhappen.com www.learngerman4free.com www.kirstenwinkler.com ...Introduction to the German Language German is part of the Germanic Languages. Most widely spoken Germanic languages are: English 310-375 million German over 100 million Other major languages: Dutch 23 million Afrikaans 6 million North Germanic languages: Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic and Faroese combined about 20 millionIntroduction to the German Language The German Language is the most widely spoken mother tongue in the EU spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers spoken by about 80 million non-native speakers official Language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium and Luxembourg Standard German is widely taught in schools, universities and Goethe Institutes worldwide.Introduction to the German Language The German Alphabet Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz ß Ää, Öö, ÜüIntroduction to the German Language Vowels A Ä E I O Ö U Ü short /a//ɛ//ɛ/,/ǝ//ɪ//ɔ//oe//ʊ//ʏ/long /aː//ɛː//eː//i://o://øː//u://y:/Introduction to the German Language Diphtongs spelling ai, ei, ay, ey au äu, eu pronunciation /aɪ̯//aʊ̯//ɔʏ/̯Introduction to the German Language Consonants ck used to indicate that the preceding vowel is short. backen, Sack, Stuck, Rock ch [ç] after ä, ai, äu, e, ei, eu, i, ö, ü and after consonants Bäche, Laich, Bräuche, echt, leicht, euch, ich, röcheln, Bücher diminutive suffix -chen Mädchen, Häuschen beginning of a word Chemie, China [x] (after a, au, o, u) Dach, Bauch, doch, Buch Introduction to the German Language Consonants h [h] Haus, Hamster, Hamburg after a vowel it is silent and only lengthens the vowel Reh, Vieh, nah, KohlIntroduction to the German Language Consonants q [kv] only exists in combination with u Qualle, quer, Quittung s [z] if it forms the syllable onset Sohn, Sahne, setzen otherwise [s] Bus, GasIntroduction to the German Language Consonants st and sp at the beginning of words [ʃt] and [ʃp] Stuhl, stimmt, Spaß, Spur v [f] in words of Germanic origin Vater, Vetter, Vogel [v] in most other words Vase, ViolineIntroduction to the German Language Consonants w [v] Wasser, wo, Winter, wer z [ʦ] Zug, Zahl, Zelle, ZooIntroduction to the German Language Time for your questionsIntroduction to the German Language Thank you for joining this class! You can join me on www.kirstenwinkler.com www.deutschhappen.com www.facebook.com