# German and Swedish: Pronounciation of "Ä"



## Abbassupreme

I'm having some _serious _trouble trying to figure out how one is supposed to pronounce "ä" in both Swedish and German. The whole "fricative", "rounded vowel" definition isn't doing it for me (i.e. the phonetic definition of the sound of the letter). A little help, please?


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## Aleco

Well in Swedish it can be Æ or E, if you understand what I mean  But in German I dont know...


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## Abbassupreme

Ok, well, that's exactly my problem.  I _don't _really know what you mean.  Are there any _rules_ to when it is which?  Oh, and refresh my memory:  Æ is like the "a" in cat, right?  Example, please (and when I say example, I mean examples in Swedish)!


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## Henryk

A German sheep makes: "Määäääääääh". It's more or less like the "a" in "ass" (if you hold it a little longer).

Hope this helps.


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## Hakro

In Swedish "ä" is pronounced like "a" in cat if it's followed by "r". For example "här" (= here). If it's followed by any other letter it's pronounced like "e" in met. For example "nät" (= net). 

In different words it's pronounced shorter or longer, and there are rules for that, too.


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## Hakro

Henryk said:


> A German sheep makes: "Määäääääääh". It's more or less like the "a" in "ass" (if you hold it a little longer).
> 
> Hope this helps.


I have learned that "ä" in German is usually pronounced like "e" in bet but more open, phonetically /ɛ/. For example in "hätte" (= would have) and "Kette" (= chain) the vowels are pronounced identically. 

(I was in school long time ago. Maybe the pronunciation has changed?)


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## jester.

Hakro said:


> I have learned that "ä" in German is usually pronounced like "e" in bet but more open, phonetically /ɛ/. For example in "hätte" (= would have) and "Kette" (= chain) the vowels are pronounced identically.
> 
> (I was in school long time ago. Maybe the pronunciation has changed?)



No, it hasn't.


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## Setwale_Charm

In German it always seemed to me to have a glide: äääääääää*i*
Or is it the Austrian influence speaking in me?


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## Abbassupreme

So, how does one say the "a" as in the English word "bathe" or "favorite"?  I have family in Malmo, Sweden, that tell me that ä is pronounced as in the "a" in baby, and so did my uncle who lives in Koln, Germany.


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## Whodunit

Setwale_Charm said:


> In German it always seemed to me to have a glide: äääääääää*i*
> Or is it the Austrian influence speaking in me?


 
To me, it doesn't. 



Abbassupreme said:


> So, how does one say the "a" as in the English word "bathe" or "favorite"? I have family in Malmo, Sweden, that tell me that ä is pronounced as in the "a" in baby, and so did my uncle who lives in Koln, Germany.


 
It is only pronounced like that in English borrowings like "Baby." And even there we'd prefer the pronunciation of the 'long e' that lies somewhere between English "ay" and "ee."


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## Hakro

Neither "bathe" nor "favorite".

"a" is is pronounced both in Swedish and in German like "a" in "bathe".

"a" like in "favorite" or in "baby" (pronounced like _ay_) is spelled _ei_ on _ej _in Swedish. For example _hej_ (= hello) is pronounced like English _hey_ or_ hay_.

"ä" is never pronounced like _ay_ or _ey_, neither in Swedish (not even in Malmö) nor in German. It's (mostly) pronounced /ɛ/ like "e" in bed but more open and possibly longer. 

If you pronounce "air" but you stop in the beginning, you have something like the /ɛ/ sound.


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## Abbassupreme

I intended to do this earlier:
Thank you so much for the information!  I really appreciate it!  However, this chart says that the "e" in Spanish and in the English word "bed" is the _same _as ɛ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel


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## Outsider

See Swedish phonology and German phonology.


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## Setwale_Charm

Just to emphasize: it is by no means a Finnish or Estonian Ä 


 Oesterreicher, wo seid ihr?!!


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## veritàNONesiste

Hi @ll 
probably that helps
(you need loudspeakers)
the Austrian ä is sometimes pronounced like 
ɘ (Käse)
and sometimes like

ɛ (Märchen, Bär, klären, während)

sound samples are given on:
http://webmasterei.com/de/tools/ipa​ 
real fun, this site​ 
hope it helps​ 
​


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## Aurin

The "ä" as a short vowel (Umlaut) is pronounced like e in "Kette" (hätte), but there is a difference when the "ä" is a long vowel (Umlaut).
In Hamburg for example they don´t difference it. They say "Keese" instead of Käse. But that sounds quite likable.


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## Sasquatch

Hakro said:


> In Swedish "ä" is pronounced like "a" in cat if it's followed by "r". For example "här" (= here). If it's followed by any other letter it's pronounced like "e" in met. For example "nät" (= net).
> 
> In different words it's pronounced shorter or longer, and there are rules for that, too.


 
Say whaaat!?  
Maybe I misunderstood you, but are you saying that the Ä in 'nät' should be pronounced the same way as the Ä in 'nätt'?

The Ä in "nät" is a long vowel and pronounced the same way as in "här", like "a" in cat. 
The only time I can think of that Ä is pronounced like "e" in net is when it's followed by two consonants (and therefore is a short vowel) , for exampel:

Lätt (pronounced the same way as _'let'_) - Light, Easy
Lämna _(lemna)_ - Leave
etc.

(Although...it just hit me: 'jävlar' is pronounced jääävlar in most accents. is that because it's derived from 'Djävul', do you know?  )


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## jonquiliser

Sasquatch:
Actually, in the Swedish of Finland (at least the sort of standard variation), the ä's of nät and nätt are pronounced the same way, like an [e], only slightly longer in the first case and shorter in the second (which is indicated by the double consonant). Thus the ä of _här_ and the ä of _nät_ are pronounced differently.


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## Hakro

According to several sources:

The ä in 'nätt' is pronounced /e/
The ä in 'nät' is pronounced /ɛ/
The a in 'cat' in pronounced /æ/

It's hard to say whether /ɛ/ is closer to /æ/ or /e/, and there are local variations of course. I have also found that the pronunciation seems to vary depending on the education of the speaker and on the situation (official speech or colloquial language).


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