The Umlaut “Ö” in German: Exercises Based on chapter 5.8 of Rundblick 2 and online Speaking Practice Chapter 5, 9.9 and 11.8
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Umlaut “Ö” and “O” –contrast: Whilst the mouth position of both “o” and “ö” is pretty similar, the position of jaw and Adam’s Apple changes: For the “o”, the lips are pursed, the teeth are apart, the bottom jaw is dropped, the tongue loose in the bottom of the mouth. For the “ö”, the mouth is a little wider, the Adam’s Apple moves slightly up, the lower jaw closes slightly, the tongue presses against the bottom teeth and the sound is higher in pitch. This difference is best practised in front of a mirror: place your fingers softly on your Adam’s Apple and say a few times: “Ohren” (ears, plural) – “hören” (to hear)
Test Yourself 1: what do you hear – “o” [ɔ/o:] or “ö” [ɶ/ø:]? . . möchte Brot Vogel Löwe Bogen Möbel Töchter mochte Lösung Sohn Ohr Brötchen
Test Yourself 2: what do you hear – “short ö” [ø/ɶ] or “long ö” [ø:]? schön der Löwe können Französisch die Schlösser (plural) die Höhen (plural) zwölf hören die Söhne (plural) die Töchter (plural) öffnen
Your turn to practise: the Ö/ö [ɶ/ø:] sound Please repeat the following words after me (I say each word 2x): Köln das Brötchen die Vögel (plural) Französisch zwölf die Lösung können die Söhne (plural)
Your turn to practise: using both the [ɶ/ø:] and the [ɔ/o:] sound: Please repeat the following words after me: Möchte – mochte – möchte Lösung – Losung – Lösung öffnen – offen – öffnen Brötchen – Brot – Brötchen Franzose – Französisch – Franzose offen – geöffnet – offen zwo – zwölf – zwo hoch – höher - hoch
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