Standard German phonology

Some scholars[7] treat /ə/ as an unstressed allophone of /ɛ/. Likewise, some scholars[7] treat /ɐ/ as an allophone of the sequence /ər/ or as a vocalized variant of /r/. The phonemic status of /ɛː/ is also debated – see below.

• Close vowels
  • /iː/ is close front unrounded [iː].[8][9][10]
  • /yː/ is close near-front rounded [y̠ː].[8][9][10]
  • /uː/ is close back rounded [uː].[8][9][10]
  • /ɪ/ has been variously described as near-close front unrounded [ɪ̟][10] and near-close near-front unrounded [ɪ].[8][9]
  • /ʏ/ is near-close near-front rounded [ʏ].[8][9][10]
  • /ʊ/ is near-close near-back rounded [ʊ].[8][9][10]
• Mid vowels
  • /eː/ is close-mid front unrounded [eː].[8][9][10]
    • In non-standard accents of the Low German speaking area, as well as in some Bavarian and Austrian accents it may be pronounced as a narrow closing diphthong [eɪ].
  • /øː/ has been variously described as close-mid near-front rounded [ø̠ː][9][10] and mid near-front rounded [ø̽ː].[8]
    • In non-standard accents of the Low German speaking area, as well as in some Austrian accents it may be pronounced as a narrow closing diphthong [øʏ].
  • /oː/ is close-mid back rounded [oː].[8][9][10]
    • In non-standard accents of the Low German speaking area, as well as in some Austrian accents it may be pronounced as a narrow closing diphthong [oʊ].
  • /ə/ has been variously described as mid central unrounded [ə].[8][9][10] and close-mid central unrounded [ɘ].[11] It occurs only in unstressed syllables, for instance in besetzen [bəˈzɛtsən] ('occupy'). It is often considered a complementary allophone together with [ɛ], which only rarely occurs in unstressed syllables (e.g. entsetzt'). If a sonorant follows in the syllable coda, the schwa often disappears so that the sonorant becomes syllabic, for instance Kissen [ˈkɪsn̩] ('pillow'), Esel [ˈeːzl̩] ('donkey'). However, Standard German spoken in Luxembourg often lacks syllabic sonorants under the influence of Luxembourgish, so that e.g. setzen ('put') is pronounced [ˈzɛtsən], rather than [ˈzɛtsn̩].[12][13]
  • /ɛ/ has been variously described as mid near-front unrounded [ɛ̽][9] and open-mid front unrounded [ɛ].[8][10]
  • /ɛː/ has been variously described as mid front unrounded [ɛ̝ː][8] and open-mid front unrounded [ɛː].[8][9]
  • /œ/ has been variously described as open-mid near-front rounded [œ̠][10] and somewhat lowered open-mid near-front rounded [œ̠˕].[8][9]
  • /ɔ/ has been variously described as somewhat fronted open-mid back rounded [ɔ̟][9][10] and open-mid back rounded [ɔ].[8]
• Open vowels
  • /ɐ/ is near-open central unrounded [ɐ].[8][14] It is a common allophone of the sequence /ər/ common to all German-speaking areas but Switzerland. As schwa /ə/ is never pronounced here, it may be more appropriate to interpret [ɐ] as the vocalised allophone of the consonant /r/.
  • /a/ has been variously described as open front unrounded [a][15] and open central unrounded [ä].[8][9][10][16][17] Some scholars[18] differentiate two short /a/, namely front /a/ and back /ɑ/.[19] The latter occurs only in unstressed open syllables, exactly as /i, y, u, e, ø, o/.[20]
    • Standard Austrian pronunciation of this vowel is back [ɑ].[21]
    • Front [a] or even [æ] is a common realization of /a/ in northern German varieties influenced by Low German.
  • /aː/ has been variously described as open central unrounded [äː][8][9][10][16][17] and open back unrounded [ɑː].[22] Because of this, it is sometimes transcribed /ɑː/.[23]
    • Back [ɑː] is the Standard Austrian pronunciation.[21] It is also a common realization of /aː/ in northern German varieties influenced by Low German (in which it may even be rounded [ɒː]).
  • Wiese (1996) notes that "there is a tendency to neutralize the distinction between [a(ː)], [aɐ̯], and [ɐ]. That is, Oda, Radar, and Oder have final syllables which are perceptually very similar, and are nearly or completely identical in some dialects."[24] He also says that "outside of a word context, [ɐ] cannot be distinguished from [a].[24] (As early as 1847, Verdi's librettist found it natural, when adapting a play by Schiller into the Italian language, to render the distinctly German name Roller as Rolla.)

Although there is also a length contrast, vowels are often analyzed according to a tenseness contrast, with long /iː, yː, uː, eː, øː, oː/ being the tense vowels and short /ɪ, ʏ, ʊ, ɛ, œ, ɔ/ their lax counterparts. Like the English checked vowels, the German lax vowels require a following consonant, with the notable exception of [ɛː] (which is absent in many varieties, as discussed below). /a/ is sometimes considered the lax counterpart of tense /aː/ in order to maintain this tense/lax division. Short [i, y, u, e, ø, o] occur in unstressed syllables of loanwords, for instance in Psychometrie [psyçomeˈtʁiː] ('psychometry'). They are usually considered allophones of tense vowels, which cannot occur in unstressed syllables (unless in compounds).

Northern German varieties influenced by Low German could be analyzed as lacking contrasting vowel quantity entirely:

• /aː/ has a different quality than /a/ (see above).
• These varieties also consistently lack /ɛː/, and use only /eː/ in its place.

The long open-mid front unrounded vowel [ɛː] does not exist in many varieties of Standard German and is rendered as the close-mid front unrounded vowel [eː], so that both Ähre ('ear of grain') and Ehre ('honor') are pronounced [ˈeːʁə] (instead of "Ähre" being [ˈɛːʁə]) and both Bären ('bears') and Beeren ('berries') are pronounced [ˈbeːʁən] (instead of Bären being [ˈbɛːʁən]). However, the disputed vowel [ɛː] seems much more stable in other contexts, i.e., not preceding /r/ as in the examples above. Other relevant minimal pairs include beten ('pray') – bäten ('bid, conjunctive'), dehnen ('stretch') – Dänen ('Danes'), Segen ('blessing') – Sägen ('saws, n.'). It has been debated whether [ɛː] is a distinct phoneme or even exists, except when consciously self-censoring speech,[25] for several reasons:

1. The existence of a phoneme /ɛː/ is an irregularity in a vowel system that otherwise has pairs of long and tense vs. short and lax vowels such as [oː] vs. [ɔ]. On the other hand, such irregularities are not ruled out by any principle.
2. Although some dialects (e.g. Ripuarian and some Alemannic dialects) have an opposition of [eː] vs. [ɛː], there is little agreement across dialects as to whether individual lexical items should be pronounced with [eː] or with [ɛː]. E.g. South Hessian dialects have /e:/ in Käse but /ɛː/ in Leben.[26]
3. The use of [ɛː] is a spelling pronunciation rather than an original feature of the language.[25] It is an attempt to "speak as printed" (sprechen wie gedruckt) and to differentiate the spellings ⟨e⟩ and ⟨ä⟩ (i.e. speakers attempt to justify the appearance of ⟨e⟩ and ⟨ä⟩ in writing by making them distinct in the spoken language).
4. Speakers with an otherwise fairly standard idiolect find it rather difficult to utter longer passages with [eː] and [ɛː] in the right places. Such persons apparently have to picture the spellings of the words in question, which impedes the flow of speech.[25] However, the examples above with a non-rhotic context for the disputed vowel distinction speak against this view.

Diphthongs of standard German, from Dudenredaktion, Kleiner & Knöbl (2015:35)

• /aɪ̯/ has been variously described as [äɪ],[8][27] [äe̠][28] and [aɛ].[29]
• /aʊ̯/ has been variously described as [äʊ],[27] [äʊ̞],[8] [äo̟][28] and [aɔ].[30]
• /ɔʏ̯/ has been variously described as [ɔʏ],[27] [ɔʏ̞],[8] [ɔ̝e̠],[28] [ɔɪ], and [ɔœ].[31]
• /ʊɪ̯/ is found only in a handful of interjections such as pfui [pfʊɪ̯] and hui [hʊɪ̯], and as an alternative to disyllabic [uː.ɪ] in words such as ruhig [ʁʊɪ̯ç].[32][33]

The following usually are not counted among the German diphthongs as German speakers often feel they are distinct marks of "foreign words" (Fremdwörter). These appear only in loanwords:

• [o̯a], as in Croissant [kʁ̥o̯aˈsɑ̃], colloquially: [kʁ̥o̯aˈsaŋ].
• Many German speakers use [ɛɪ̯] and [ɔʊ̯] as adaptations of the English diphthongs /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ in English loanwords, according to Wiese (1996), or they replace them with the native German long vowels /eː/ and /oː/. Thus, the word okay may be pronounced [ɔʊ̯ˈkɛɪ̯] or /oːˈkeː/.[34] However, Mangold (2005) and Krech et al. (2009) do not recognize these diphthongs as phonemes, and prescribe pronunciations with the long vowels /eː/ and /oː/ instead.

In the varieties where speakers vocalize /r/ to [ɐ] in the syllable coda, a diphthong ending in [ɐ̯] may be formed with every stressable vowel:

German diphthongs ending in [ɐ̯] (part 1), from Kohler (1999:88)

German diphthongs ending in [ɐ̯] (part 2), from Kohler (1999:88)

^1 Wiese (1996) notes that the length contrast is not very stable before non-prevocalic /r/[35] and that "Meinhold & Stock (1980:180), following the pronouncing dictionaries (Mangold (1990), Krech & Stötzer (1982)) judge the vowel in Art, Schwert, Fahrt to be long, while the vowel in Ort, Furcht, hart is supposed to be short. The factual basis of this presumed distinction seems very questionable."[35][36] He goes on stating that in his own dialect, there is no length difference in these words, and that judgements on vowel length in front of non-prevocalic /r/ which is itself vocalized are problematic, in particular if /a/ precedes.[35]

According to the "lengthless" analysis, the aforementioned "long" diphthongs are analyzed as [iɐ̯], [yɐ̯], [uɐ̯], [ɛɐ̯], [eɐ̯], [øɐ̯], [oɐ̯] and [aɐ̯]. This makes non-prevocalic /ar/ and /aːr/ homophonous as [aɐ̯] or [aː]. Non-prevocalic /ɛr/ and /ɛːr/ may also merge, but the vowel chart in Kohler (1999) shows that they have somewhat different starting points – mid-centralized open-mid front [ɛ̽] for the former, open-mid front [ɛ] for the latter.[14]

Wiese (1996) also states that "laxing of the vowel is predicted to take place in shortened vowels; it does indeed seem to go hand in hand with the vowel shortening in many cases."[35] This leads to [iɐ̯], [yɐ̯], [uɐ̯], [eɐ̯], [øɐ̯], [oɐ̯] being pronounced the same as [ɪɐ̯], [ʏɐ̯], [ʊɐ̯], [ɛɐ̯], [œɐ̯], [ɔɐ̯]. This merger is usual in the Standard Austrian accent, in which e.g. Moor 'bog' is often pronounced [mɔɐ̯]; this, in contrast with the Standard Northern variety, also happens intervocalically, along with the diphthongization of the laxed vowel to [Vɐ̯], so that e.g. Lehrer 'teacher' is pronounced [ˈlɛɐ̯ʁɐ][37] (the corresponding Standard Northern pronunciation is [ˈleːʁɐ]). Another feature of the Standard Austrian accent is complete absorption of [ɐ̯] by the preceding /ɑ, ɑː/, so that e.g. rar 'scarce' is pronounced [ʁɑː].[37]

A map showing the German dialect area with black/white squares indicating the Ich-Laut and the Ach-Laut

Ich-Laut is the voiceless palatal fricative [ç] (which is found in the word ich [ɪç] 'I'), and ach-Laut is the voiceless velar fricative [x] (which is found in the word ach [ax] the interjection 'oh', 'alas'). Laut [laʊ̯t] is the German word for 'sound, phone'. In German, these two sounds are allophones occurring in complementary distribution. The allophone [x] occurs after back vowels and /a aː/ (for instance in Buch [buːx] 'book'), the allophone [ç] after front vowels (for instance in mich [mɪç] 'me/myself') and consonants (for instance in Furcht [fʊʁçt] 'fear', manchmal [ˈmançmaːl] 'sometimes'). The allophone [ç] also appears after vocalized ⟨r⟩ in superregional variants, e.g. in Furcht [fʊɐ̯çt] 'fear'. In southeastern regiolects, the ach-Laut is commonly used here, yielding [fʊɐ̯xt].

In loanwords, the pronunciation of potential fricatives in onsets of stressed syllables varies: in the Northern varieties of standard German, it is [ç], while in Southern varieties, it is [k], and in Western varieties, it is [ʃ] (for instance in China: [ˈçiːna] vs. [ˈkiːna] vs. [ˈʃiːna]).

The diminutive suffix -chen is always pronounced with an ich-Laut [-çən].[86] Usually, this ending triggers umlaut (compare for instance Hund [hʊnt] 'dog' to Hündchen [ˈhʏntçn̩] 'little dog'), so theoretically, it could only occur after front vowels. However, in some comparatively recent coinings, there is no longer an umlaut, for instance in the word Frauchen [ˈfʀaʊ̯çən] (a diminutive of Frau 'woman'), so that a back vowel is followed by a [ç], even though normally it would be followed by a [x], as in rauchen [ˈʀaʊ̯xən] ('to smoke'). This exception to the allophonic distribution may be an effect of the morphemic boundary or an example of phonemicization, where erstwhile allophones undergo a split into separate phonemes.

The allophonic distribution of [ç] after front vowels and [x] after other vowels is also found in other languages, such as Scots, e.g. licht [lɪçt] 'light', dochter [ˈdɔxtər] 'daughter', and the same distribution is reconstructed for Middle English. However, it is by no means inevitable: Dutch, Yiddish, and many Southern German dialects retain [x] (which can be realized as [χ] instead) in all positions. It is thus reasonable to assume that Old High German ih, the ancestor of modern ich, was pronounced with [x] rather than [ç]. While it is impossible to know for certain whether Old English words such as niht (modern night) were pronounced with [x] or [ç], [ç] is likely (see Old English phonology).

Despite the phonetic history, the complementary distribution of [ç] and [x] in modern Standard German is better described as backing of /ç/ after a back vowel, rather than fronting of /x/ after a front vowel, because [ç] is used in onsets (Chemie [çeˈmiː] 'chemistry') and after consonants (Molch [mɔlç] 'newt'), and is thus the underlying form of the phoneme.

According to Kohler,[87] the German ach-Laut is further differentiated into two allophones, [x] and [χ]: [x] occurs after /uː, oː/ (for instance in Buch [buːx] 'book') and [χ] after /a, aː/ (for instance in Bach [baχ] 'brook'), while either [x] or [χ] may occur after /ʊ, ɔ, aʊ̯/, with [χ] predominating.

In Western varieties, there is a strong tendency to realize /ç/ as unrounded [ʃ] or [ɕ], and the phoneme may be confused or merged with /ʃ/ altogether, secondarily leading to hypercorrection effects where /ʃ/ is replaced with /ç/, for instance in Fisch [fɪʃ], which may be realized as [fɪç].

Within German dialects, a large variation exists as to the environments which trigger or prevent one realization or the other.[88]

Various German consonants occur in pairs at the same place of articulation and in the same manner of articulation, namely the pairs /p–b/, /t–d/, /k–ɡ/, /s–z/, /ʃ–ʒ/. These pairs are often called fortis–lenis pairs, since describing them as voiced–voiceless pairs is inadequate. With certain qualifications, /tʃ–dʒ/, /f–v/ and /θ–ð/ are also considered fortis–lenis pairs.

Fortis-lenis distinction for /ʔ, m, n, ŋ, l, r, h/ is unimportant.[89]

The fortis stops /p, t, k/ are aspirated in many varieties. The aspiration is strongest in the onset of a stressed syllable (such as Taler [ˈtʰaːlɐ] 'thaler'), weaker in the onset of an unstressed syllable (such as Vater [ˈfaːtʰɐ] 'father'), and weakest in the syllable coda (such as in Saat [zaːtʰ] 'seed'). All fortis consonants, i.e. /p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, ç, x, pf, ts, tʃ/[89] are fully voiceless.[90]

The lenis consonants /b, d, ɡ, v, ð, z, ʒ, j, r, dʒ/[89] range from being weakly voiced to almost voiceless [b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, v̥, ð̥, z̥, ʒ̊, j̥, r̥, d̥ʒ̊] after voiceless consonants:[90] Kasbah [ˈkasb̥a] ('kasbah'), abdanken [ˈapd̥aŋkn̩] ('to resign'), rotgelb [ˈʁoːtɡ̊ɛlp] ('red-yellow'), Abwurf [ˈapv̥ʊʁf] ('dropping'), Absicht [ˈapz̥ɪçt] ('intention'), Holzjalousie [ˈhɔltsʒ̊aluziː] ('wooden jalousie'), wegjagen [ˈvɛkj̥aːɡn̩] ('to chase away'), tropfen [ˈtʁ̥ɔpfn̩] ('to drop'), Obstjuice [ˈoːpstd̥ʒ̊uːs] ('fruit juice'). Mangold (2005) states that they are "to a large extent voiced" [b, d, ɡ, v, ð, z, ʒ, j, r, dʒ] in all other environments,[89] but some studies have found the stops /b, d, ɡ/ to be voiceless word/utterance-initially in most dialects (while still contrasting with /p, t, k/ due to the aspiration of the latter).[91]

/b, d, ɡ, z, ʒ/ are voiceless in most southern varieties of German. For clarity, they are often transcribed as [b̥, d̥, ɡ̊, z̥, ʒ̊].

The nature of the phonetic difference between the voiceless lenis consonants and the similarly voiceless fortis consonants is controversial. It is generally described as a difference in articulatory force, and occasionally as a difference in articulatory length; for the most part, it is assumed that one of these characteristics implies the other.

In various central and southern varieties, the opposition between fortis and lenis is neutralized in the syllable onset; sometimes just in the onset of stressed syllables, sometimes in all cases.

The pair /f–v/ is not considered a fortis–lenis pair, but a simple voiceless–voiced pair, as /v/ remains voiced in all varieties, including the Southern varieties that devoice the lenes (with however some exceptions).[92] Generally, the southern /v/ is realized as the voiced approximant [ʋ]. However, there are southern varieties which differentiate between a fortis /f/ (such as in sträflich [ˈʃtrɛːflɪç] 'culpable' from Middle High German stræflich) and a lenis /f/ ([v̥], such as in höflich [ˈhøːv̥lɪç] 'polite' from Middle High German hovelîch); this is analogous to the opposition of fortis /s/ ([s]) and lenis [z̥].

In varieties from Northern Germany, lenis stops in the syllable coda are realized as fortis stops. This does not happen in varieties from Southern Germany, Austria or Switzerland.[93]

Since the lenis stops /b, d, ɡ/ are unvoiced or at most variably voiced (as stated above), this cannot be called devoicing in the strict sense of the word because it does not involve the loss of phonetic voice.[94] More accurately, it can be called coda fortition or a neutralization of fortis and lenis sounds in the coda. Fricatives are truly and contrastively voiced in Northern Germany.[95] Therefore, the fricatives undergo coda devoicing in the strict sense of the word.[94] It is disputed whether coda devoicing is due to a constraint which specifically operates on syllable codas or whether it arises from constraints which "protect voicing in privileged positions".[96]

As against standard pronunciation rules, in western varieties including those of the Rhineland, coda fortis–lenis neutralization results in voicing rather than devoicing if the following word begins with a vowel. For example, mit uns becomes [mɪd‿ʊns] and darf ich becomes [daʁv‿ɪʃ]. The same sandhi phenomenon exists also as a general rule in the Luxembourgish language.[97]

Like all infants, German infants go through a babbling stage in the early phases of phonological acquisition, during which they produce the sounds they will later use in their first words.[100] Phoneme inventories begin with stops, nasals, and vowels; (contrasting) short vowels and liquids appear next, followed by fricatives and affricates, and finally all other consonants and consonant clusters.[101] Children begin to produce protowords near the end of their first year. These words do not approximate adult forms, yet have a specific and consistent meaning.[100] Early word productions are phonetically simple and usually follow the syllable structure CV or CVC, although this generalization has been challenged.[102] The first vowels produced are /ə/, /a/, and /aː/, followed by /e/, /i/, and /ɛ/, with rounded vowels emerging last.[101] German children often use phonological processes to simplify their early word production.[101] For example, they may delete an unstressed syllable (Schokolade 'chocolate' pronounced [ˈlaːdə]),[101] or replace a fricative with a corresponding stop (Dach [dax] 'roof' pronounced [dak]).[103] One case study found that a 17-month-old child acquiring German replaced the voiceless velar fricative [x] with the nearest available continuant [h], or deleted it altogether (Buch [buːx] 'book' pronounced [buh] or [buː]).[104]

Prosodically, children prefer bisyllabic words with the pattern strong – weak over monosyllabic words.

In 2009, Lintfert examined the development of vowel space of German speakers in their first three years of life. During the babbling stage, vowel distribution has no clear pattern. However, stressed and unstressed vowels already show different distributions in the vowel space. Once word production begins, stressed vowels expand in the vowel space, while the F₁ – F₂ vowel space of unstressed vowels becomes more centralized. The majority of infants are then capable of stable production of F₁.[105] The variability of formant frequencies among individuals decreases with age.[106] After 24 months, infants expand their vowel space individually at different rates. However, if the parents' utterances possess a well-defined vowel space, their children produce clearly distinguished vowel classes earlier.[107] By about three years old, children command the production of all vowels, and they attempt to produce the four cardinal vowels, /y/, /i/, /u/ and /a/, at the extreme limits of the F1–F2 vowel space (i.e., the height and backness of the vowels are made extreme by the infants).[106]

The acquisition of nasals in German differs from that of Dutch, a phonologically closely related language.[108] German children produce proportionately more nasals in onset position (sounds before a vowel in a syllable) than Dutch children do.[109] German children, once they reached 16 months, also produced significantly more nasals in syllables containing schwas, when compared with Dutch-speaking children.[110] This may reflect differences in the languages the children are being exposed to, although the researchers claim that the development of nasals likely cannot be seen apart from the more general phonological system the child is developing.[111]

A 2006 study examined the acquisition of German in phonologically delayed children (specifically, issues with fronting of velars and stopping of fricatives) and whether they applied phonotactic constraints to word-initial consonant clusters containing these modified consonants.[112] In many cases, the subjects (mean age = 5.1) avoided making phonotactic violations, opting instead for other consonants or clusters in their speech. This suggests that phonotactic constraints do apply to the speech of German children with phonological delay, at least in the case of word-initial consonant clusters.[113] Additional research[114] has also shown that spelling consistencies seen in German raise children's phonemic awareness as they acquire reading skills.

A merger found mostly in Northern accents of German is that of /ɛː/ (spelled ⟨ä, äh⟩) with /eː/ (spelled ⟨e⟩, ⟨ee⟩, or ⟨eh⟩). Some speakers merge the two everywhere, some distinguish them everywhere, others keep /ɛː/ distinct only in conditional forms of strong verbs (for example ich gäbe [ˈɡɛːbə] 'I would give' vs. ich gebe [ˈɡeːbə] 'I give' are distinguished, but Bären [ˈbeːʁən] 'bears' vs. Beeren [ˈbeːʁən] 'berries' are not. The standard pronunciation of Bären is [ˈbɛːʁən]).

Another common merger is that of /ɡ/ at the end of a syllable with [ç] or [x], for instance Krieg [kʁ̥iːç] ('war'), but Kriege [ˈkʁ̥iːɡə] ('wars'); er lag [laːx] ('he lay'), but wir lagen [ˈlaːɡən] ('we lay'). This pronunciation is frequent all over central and northern Germany. It is characteristic of regional languages and dialects, particularly Low German in the North, where ⟨g⟩ represents a fricative, becoming voiceless in the syllable coda, as is common in German (final-obstruent devoicing). However common it is, this pronunciation is considered sub-standard. Only in one case, in the grammatical ending -ig (which corresponds to English -y), the fricative pronunciation of final ⟨g⟩ is prescribed by the Siebs standard, for instance wichtig [ˈvɪçtɪç] ('important'), Wichtigkeit [ˈvɪçtɪçkaɪt] 'importance'. The merger occurs neither in Austro-Bavarian and Alemannic German nor in the corresponding varieties of Standard German, and therefore in these regions -ig is pronounced [ɪɡ̊].

Many speakers do not distinguish the affricate /pf/ from the simple fricative /f/ in the beginning of a word,[115] in which case the verb (er) fährt ('[he] travels') and the noun Pferd ('horse') are both pronounced [fɛɐ̯t]. This most commonly occurs in northern and western Germany, where the local dialects did not originally have the sound /pf/. Some speakers also have peculiar pronunciation for /pf/ in the middle or end of a word, replacing the [f] in /pf/ with a voiceless bilabial fricative, i.e. a consonant produced by pressing air flow through the tensed lips. Thereby Tropfen ('drop') becomes [ˈtʁ̥ɔpɸn̩], rather than [ˈtʁ̥ɔpfn̩].

Many speakers who have a vocalization of /r/ after /a/ merge this combination with long /aː/ (i.e. /ar/ > *[aɐ] or *[ɑɐ] > [aː] or [ɑː]). Hereby, Schaf ('sheep') and scharf ('sharp') can both be pronounced [ʃaːf] or [ʃɑːf]. This merger does not occur where /a/ is a front vowel while /aː/ is realised as a back vowel. Here the words are kept distinct as [ʃɑːf] ('sheep') and [ʃaːf] ('sharp').

In umlaut forms, the difference usually reoccurs: Schäfer [ˈʃɛːfɐ] or [ˈʃeːfɐ] vs. schärfer [ˈʃɛɐ̯fɐ]. Speakers with this merger also often use [aːç] (instead of formally normal /aːx/) where it stems from original [arç]. The word Archen ('arks') is thus pronounced [ˈaːçn̩], which makes a minimal pair with Aachen [ˈaːxn̩], arguably making the difference between [ç] and [x] phonemic, rather than just allophonic, for these speakers.

In the standard pronunciation, the vowel qualities /i/, /ɪ/, /e/, /ɛ/, as well as /u/, /ʊ/, /o/, /ɔ/, are all still distinguished even in unstressed syllables. In this latter case, however, many simplify the system in various degrees. For some speakers, this may go so far as to merge all four into one, hence misspellings by schoolchildren such as Bräutegam (instead of Bräutigam) or Portogal (instead of Portugal).

In everyday speech, more mergers occur, some of which are universal and some of which are typical for certain regions or dialect backgrounds. Overall, there is a strong tendency of reduction and contraction. For example, long vowels may be shortened, consonant clusters may be simplified, word-final [ə] may be dropped in some cases, and the suffix -en may be contracted with preceding consonants, e.g. [ham] for haben [ˈhaːbən] ('to have').

If the clusters [mp], [lt], [nt], or [ŋk] are followed by another consonant, the stops /p/, /t/ and /k/ usually lose their phonemic status. Thus while the standard pronunciation distinguishes ganz [ɡants] ('whole') from Gans [ɡans] ('goose'), as well as er sinkt [zɪŋkt] from er singt [zɪŋt], the two pairs are homophones for most speakers. The commonest practice is to drop the stop (thus [ɡans], [zɪŋt] for both words), but some speakers insert the stop where it is not etymological ([ɡants], [zɪŋkt] for both words), or they alternate between the two ways. Only a few speakers retain a phonemic distinction.

The Middle High German vowels [ei̯] and [iː] developed into the modern Standard German diphthong [aɪ̯], whereas [ou̯] and [uː] developed into [aʊ̯]. For example, Middle High German heiz /hei̯s/ and wîz /wiːs/ ('hot' and 'white') became Standard German heiß /haɪ̯s/ and weiß /vaɪ̯s/. In some dialects, the Middle High German vowels have not changed, e.g. Swiss German heiss /hei̯s/ and wiiss /viːs/, while in other dialects or languages, the vowels have changed but the distinction is kept, e.g. Bavarian hoaß /hɔɐ̯s/ and weiß /vaɪ̯s/, Ripuarian heeß /heːs/ and wieß /viːs/ (however the Colognian dialect has kept the original [ei] diphthong in heiß), Yiddish הײס heys /hɛɪ̯s/ and װײַס vays /vaɪ̯s/.

The Middle High German diphthongs [iə̯], [uə̯] and [yə̯] became the modern Standard German long vowels [iː], [uː] and [yː] after the Middle High German long vowels changed to diphthongs. Most Upper German dialects retain the diphthongs. A remnant of their former diphthong character is shown when [iː] continues to be written ie in German (as in Liebe 'love').

Many English words are used in German, especially in technology and pop culture. Some speakers pronounce them similarly to their native pronunciation, but many speakers change non-native phonemes to similar German phonemes (even if they pronounce them in a rather English manner in an English-language setting):

• English /θ, ð/ are usually pronounced as in RP or General American; some speakers replace them with /s/ and /z/ respectively (th-alveolarization) e.g. Thriller [ˈθʁɪlɐ ~ ˈsʁɪlɐ].
• English /ɹ/ can be pronounced the same as in English, i.e. [ɹ], or as the corresponding native German /r/ e.g. Rock [ʀɔk] or [rɔk]. German and Austrian speakers tend to be variably rhotic when using English loanwords.
• English /w/ is often replaced with German /v/ e.g. Whisk(e)y [ˈvɪskiː].
• word-initial /s/ is often retained (especially in the South, where word-initial /s/ is common),[117] but many speakers replace it with /z/ e.g. Sound [zaʊ̯nt].
• word-initial /st/ and /sp/ are usually retained, but some speakers (especially in South Western Germany and Western Austria) replace them with /ʃt/ and /ʃp/ e.g. Steak [ʃteɪk] or [ʃteːk], Spray [ʃpʁeɪ] or [ʃpʁeː].[118]
• English /tʃ/ is usually retained, but in Northern and Western Germany as well as Luxembourg, it is often replaced with /ʃ/ e.g. Chips [ʃɪps].[119]
• In Northern Standard German, final-obstruent devoicing is applied to English loan words just as to other words e.g. Airbag [ˈɛːɐ̯bɛk], Lord [lɔʁt] or [lɔɐ̯t], Backstage [ˈbɛksteːtʃ]. However, in Southern Standard German, in Swiss Standard German and Austrian Standard German, final-obstruent devoicing does not occur and so speakers are more likely to retain the original pronunciation of word-final lenes (although realizing them as fortes may occur because of confusing English spelling with pronunciation).
• English /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ are often replaced with /eː/ and /oː/ respectively e.g. Homepage [ˈhoːmpeːtʃ].
• English /æ/ and /ɛ/ are pronounced the same, as German /ɛ/ (met–mat merger) e.g. Backup [ˈbɛkap].
• English /ɒ/ and /ɔː/ are pronounced the same, as German /ɔ/ (cot–caught merger) e.g. Box [bɔks].
• English /ʌ/ is usually pronounced as German /a/ e.g. Cutter [ˈkatɐ].
• English /ɜːr/ is usually pronounced as German /œʁ/ e.g. Shirt [ʃœʁt] or [ʃœɐ̯t].
• English /i/ is pronounced as /iː/ (happy-tensing) e.g. Whisk(e)y [ˈvɪskiː].

French loanwords, once very numerous, have in part been replaced by native German coinages or more recently English loanwords. Besides /ʒ/, they can also contain the characteristic nasal vowels [ãː], [ɛ̃ː], [œ̃ː] and [õː] (always long). However, their status as phonemes is questionable and they are often resolved into sequences either of (short) oral vowel and [ŋ] (in the north), or of (long or short) oral vowel and [n] or sometimes [m] (in the south). For example, Ballon [baˈlõː] ('balloon') may be realized as [baˈlɔŋ] or [baˈloːn], Parfüm [paʁˈfœ̃ː] ('perfume') as [paʁˈfœŋ] or [paʁ'fyːm] and Orange [oˈʁãːʒə] ('orange') as [oˈʁaŋʒə] or [o'ʁanʒə].

/aɪnst ˈʃtrɪtɛn zɪç ˈnɔrtvɪnt ʊnt ˈzɔnɛ | veːr fɔn ˈiːnɛn ˈbaɪdɛn voːl deːr ˈʃtɛrkɛrɛ ˈvɛːrɛ | als aɪn ˈvandɛrɛr | deːr ɪn ˈaɪnɛn ˈvarmɛn ˈmantɛl gɛˈhʏlt vaːr | dɛs ˈveːgɛs daˈheːrˌkaːm ‖ ziː ˈvʊrdɛn ˈaɪnɪç | das ˈdeːrjeːnɪgɛ fyːr deːn ˈʃtɛrkɛrɛn ˈgɛltɛn ˈzɔltɛ | deːr deːn ˈvandɛrɛr ˈtsvɪŋɛn ˈvʏrdɛ | ˈzaɪnɛn ˈmantɛl ˈaptsuːˌneːmɛn ‖ deːr ˈnɔrtvɪnt bliːs mɪt ˈalɛr maçt | ˈaːbɛr jeː ˈmeːr eːr bliːs | ˈdɛstoː ˈfɛstɛr ˈhʏltɛ zɪç deːr ˈvandɛrɛr ɪn ˈzaɪnɛn ˈmantɛl aɪn ‖ ˈɛntlɪç gaːp deːr ˈnɔrtvɪnt deːn kampf aʊf ‖ nuːn ɛrˈvɛrmtɛ diː ˈzɔnɛ diː lʊft mɪt ˈiːrɛn ˈfrɔɪntlɪçɛn ˈʃtraːlɛn | ʊnt ʃoːn naːç ˈveːnɪgɛn aʊgɛnˈblɪkɛn tsoːk deːr ˈvandɛrɛr ˈzaɪnɛn ˈmantɛl aʊs ‖ daː ˈmʊstɛ deːr ˈnɔrtvɪnt ˈtsuːgeːbɛn | das diː ˈzɔnɛ fɔn ˈiːnɛn ˈbaɪdɛn deːr ˈʃtɛrkɛrɛ vaːr/

[aɪns ˈʃtʁɪtn̩ zɪç ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪnt ʊntˈz̥ɔnə | veːɐ̯ fɔn ˈiːnː ˈbaɪdn̩ voːl deːɐ̯ ˈʃtɛɐ̯kəʁə ˈvɛːʁə | als aɪn ˈvandəʁɐ | deːɐ̯ ɪn ˈaɪnː ˈvaːɐ̯mn̩ ˈmantl̩ gəˈhʏlt vaːɐ̯ | dəs ˈveːgəs daˈheːɐ̯kaːm ‖ ziː ˈvʊɐ̯dn̩ ˈaɪnɪç | das ˈdeːɐ̯jeːnɪgə fʏɐ̯ deːn ˈʃtɛɐ̯kəʁən ˈgɛltn̩ ˈzɔltə | deːɐ̯ deːn ˈvandəʁɐ ˈtsvɪŋ̍ ˈvʏɐ̯də | ˈzaɪnː ˈmantl̩ ˈaptsʊˌneːmː ‖ deːɐ̯ ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪnt bliːs mɪt ˈalɐ maxt | ˈaːbɐ jeˈmeːɐ̯ eːɐ̯ bliːs | ˈdɛsto ˈfɛstɐ ˈhʏltə zɪç deːɐ̯ ˈvandəʁɐ ɪn ˈzaɪnː ˈmantl̩ aɪn ‖ ˈɛntlɪç gaːp deːɐ̯ ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪnt deːn kampf aʊf ‖ nuːn ɛɐ̯ˈvɛɐ̯mtə diː ˈzɔnə diː lʊft mɪt ˈiːɐ̯n̩ ˈfʁɔɪntlɪçn̩ ˈʃtʁaːln̩ | ʊnt ʃoːnaːx ˈveːnɪgŋ̍ aʊgŋ̍ˈblɪkŋ̍ tsoːk deːɐ̯ ˈvandəʁɐ ˈzaɪnː ˈmantl̩ aʊs ‖ daː ˈmʊstə deːɐ̯ ˈnɔɐ̯tvɪnt ˈtsuːgeːbm̩ | das diː ˈzɔnə fɔn ˈiːnː ˈbaɪdn̩ deːɐ̯ ˈʃtɛɐ̯kəʁə vaːɐ̯][120]

Einst stritten sich Nordwind und Sonne, wer von ihnen beiden wohl der Stärkere wäre, als ein Wanderer, der in einen warmen Mantel gehüllt war, des Weges daherkam. Sie wurden einig, daß derjenige für den Stärkeren gelten sollte, der den Wanderer zwingen würde, seinen Mantel abzunehmen. Der Nordwind blies mit aller Macht, aber je mehr er blies, desto fester hüllte sich der Wanderer in seinen Mantel ein. Endlich gab der Nordwind den Kampf auf. Nun erwärmte die Sonne die Luft mit ihren freundlichen Strahlen, und schon nach wenigen Augenblicken zog der Wanderer seinen Mantel aus. Da mußte der Nordwind zugeben, daß die Sonne von ihnen beiden der Stärkere war.[121]