Standard German phonology

E283425

Standard German phonology is the sound system of the standardized variety of German, characterized by its codified vowel and consonant inventories, stress patterns, and pronunciation norms used in formal communication and education.

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All labels observed (2)

Statements (80)

Predicate Object
instanceOf component of Standard German
phonological system
codifiedIn Duden Aussprachewörterbuch
pronunciation dictionaries of Standard German
distinguishesPhonemically front rounded and front unrounded vowels
long and short tense-lax vowel pairs such as /iː/–/ɪ/
hasAllophonyRule /r/ realized as [ʁ], [ʀ], or [ɐ̯] depending on context
ach-Laut [x] after back vowels and /a/
final-obstruent devoicing
ich-Laut [ç] after front vowels and consonants
hasConsonant /b/
/d/
/dʒ/
/f/
/g/
/h/
/j/
/k/
/l/
/m/
/n/
/p/
/pf/
/s/
/t/
/ts/
/tʃ/
/v/
/x/
/z/
/ç/
/ŋ/
/ʁ/
/ʃ/
hasConsonantInventorySize about 25 consonant phonemes
hasDiphthong /aɪ/
/aʊ/
/ɔʏ/
hasGraphemeToPhonemeRelation final devoicing not represented in spelling
orthography only partially reflects vowel length
hasIntonationFeature declaratives typically with falling pitch
yes–no questions often with rising final contour
hasMonophthong /a/
/aː/
/eː/
/iː/
/oː/
/uː/
/yː/
/øː/
/œ/
/ɔ/
/ə/
/ɛ/
/ɪ/
/ʊ/
/ʏ/
hasNeutralizationProcess voicing contrast neutralized word-finally in obstruents
hasPhonemicLengthContrast some consonants in restricted contexts
vowels
hasPhonotacticConstraint complex onsets and codas allowed
no voiced obstruents in syllable-final position underlyingly
syllables typically have onset, nucleus, and optional coda
hasProsodicFeature lexical stress
phrase-level intonation patterns
hasRegionalVariation Austrian Standard German pronunciation
Swiss Standard German pronunciation
northern Standard German pronunciation
southern Standard German pronunciation
hasStandardVariety Bühnendeutsch
stage pronunciation of German
hasStressPattern primary stress usually on the first stem syllable
secondary stress possible in compounds
hasSyllableStructureTendency stress-timed rhythm
hasVowelInventorySize approximately 15 monophthongs
approximately 3 phonemic diphthongs
language Standard German
usedIn education in German as a first language
formal communication in German-speaking countries
teaching German as a foreign language

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

High German influenced Standard German phonology
Upper Saxon contrastWith Standard German phonology
this entity surface form: Standard German pronunciation