Why does the German alphabet sound like a mix of Spanish and English?

Question

I'm learning German, and I think this is curious. Links to the history of these three languages would be helpful too, please.

It really does, if you listen to it.

a, b, c,d, e,k,o,p,q,t,u all sound like spanish.

f,m,n,s, sound like english.

g,h,j,v,w,x,y,z sound different.

the pronuciation is the same as the spelling in german as is true for spanish, not so much for english.

I do know spanish is latin and german is saxon.

*sigh* I just thought it was an interesting observation.
Like when a real word in one language is a real word in a totaly different language, but the meaning is completely different.

And so I was wondering if it was coincidence or not.

Answer 1

It's because most languages in Europe stem from Indo European Language. We can think of it as a type of parent language. Through the centuries, tribes and clans seperated and split, traveling to different parts of the continent but still keepign their native language. Because they experienced new sights and sounds, and people from different language groups, their own native language changed.

Now if too related tribes travelled together, but were barely seperated from each other by natural boundaries (mountains etc) and still got along with ea chother, thus had contact with each other, they might still share the same language. But if they broke up due to mountains and physical boundaries, or they ended up not getting along, their languages might change over time.

This might explain to some extent why Spanish and German sound somewhat alike. They started out having the same parent language (Indo European), but through time and distance, they've developed into different but still related languages. They still have contact with each other through travel and media, so they have simular sounds.

As for English, with out strong Germanic influences via trade and invasion definately shaped the language of the land. Basically, after the Romans (introduced Latin and thus, it was no longer the dominant language) left the country, German settlers and invaders dominated the exsisiting Welsh tribes. German influence continued (and still continue) until other influences came in (Christianity reintroduces Latin, this time as a secondary language, then Normans from France).

Answer 2

German Alphabet Sounds

Answer 3

English is actually a Germanic language. Currently, it sounds much different than German, but in the early 12th Century, Old English sounded alot like German. The word "night" for example, used to be pronounced "nihkt", just like in German. English started sounding more familiar when the French invaded England in the late 12th Century and took over the reins of government. Then English received a large number of new words from French that completed the original English word. (Examples: country-> nation, home-> residence)

For about 200 years, the English kings actually spoke French and some kings even learned English as a second language!

Answer 4

There is a limited set of sounds that are possible in the world's languages. The set is determined simply by the physiological capabilities of the human vocal tract and the pressure we have to make distinctions in the sounds we create.

In addition, there are certain sounds that are common in more language than others. For example, the canonical five vowels of Spanish are also found in many other languages, such as English and German.

This link will show you a chart of all the sounds believed possible in the world's languages. If you click on a symbol you will hear the sound that the symbol represents.
http://phonetics.ucla.edu/course/chapter1/chapter1.html

Answer 5

Actually, I thought German and English were related, but Spanish is from a different language family (the Romantic languages), along with Italian, etc.

Answer 6

I could take German due to the fact I love the language however French is quality too and frequently extra valuable within the US. Many Germans paintings for US firms despite the fact that, and lots of US firms cross on work journeys mostly to Germany. If you already know Spanish and Portugese I consider you'll be able to select up French to your possess, German has a overseas grammar now not like that of English or the Romance languages, get a few formal guideline in that. It's rough to be trained 2 immediately however perhaps you'll be able to hack it if you happen to uncover that you simply cannot after a couple of weeks drop one among them. (in my view I could drop french ;)

Answer 7

what are you talking about? English and Spanish alphabets are the same, the only different letter is the (egne). German is a LAtin language too, so it should be similar.

Answer 8

A lot of the European languages have the same roots. Spanish, Italian, and so forth.

Answer 9

Don't agree. French alphabet sounds like a mix of Spanish and English... check "J" as "G" or "i" as the Spanish "i".

Answer 10

Mario Mario Mario !!! German is not a latin language!