Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm not a native speaker but I've studied German. Generally, it's always pronounced like the English hard G, even in words like "general" where it retains the hard G sound as in "go". At the end of words, it's pronounced like a K.
Well, there is a North/South divide in German languages/dialects. In the North people generally pronounce the ending g as a German ch which you transcribe as /χ/ or /x/. So Tag becomes Tach, König Könich etc. And then there is the Palatine/Hessian (also extendig to Luxemburg) and Saxon variation of Könisch.
In standard German (Hochdeutsch or to use the better southern German word: Schriftdeutsch), which really is an artificial language mix, König is pronounced as Könich whereas Tag remains Tag. I would say that all words ending on "ig" are generally pronounced "ich" in standard German.
Gentoo says that a hard K is used for words ending in g. This is true for standard German words not endig in "ig" and for some southern dialects. Where I come from, the very southwest of Germany, the "g" doesn't become a "k", at least not in my ears, and some consonants are pronounced in a softer way here (t->d, p->b).
Maybe this question should have been posted in the Europe section.
Well, there is a North/South divide in German languages/dialects. In the North people generally pronounce the ending g as a German ch which you transcribe as /χ/ or /x/. So Tag becomes Tach, König Könich etc. And then there is the Palatine/Hessian (also extendig to Luxemburg) and Saxon variation of Könisch.
In standard German (Hochdeutsch or to use the better southern German word: Schriftdeutsch), which really is an artificial language mix, König is pronounced as Könich whereas Tag remains Tag. I would say that all words ending on "ig" are generally pronounced "ich" in standard German.
Gentoo says that a hard K is used for words ending in g. This is true for standard German words not endig in "ig" and for some southern dialects. Where I come from, the very southwest of Germany, the "g" doesn't become a "k", at least not in my ears, and some consonants are pronounced in a softer way here (t->d, p->b).
Maybe this question should have been posted in the Europe section.
Thanks Greggo
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
