How to do a German Accent?

Question

I'm trying out for my high school show in a week or two, and the part I want has a German accent. The part is Rudolph in Hello Dolly, a show I'm unfamiliar with. The shows that the school puts on are extremely well done and aren't your average high school musical, no pun intended. So any tips on basic German accent would really be great; it would also help if you know the show. Thanks

Answer 1

Dakota is on the right track. Also consider:

Pronounce all W's as V's (vat are you doing, not what are you doing)
Pronounce all V's as F's (village is not willage, but fillage)
Make your R's very harsh and gutteral
Pronounce T's as D's (dat is my book)
Pronouce "is" as "ees" (dat ees my book)
Say "mine" in place of "my" (dat ees mine book)

Some films to watch with characters who speak English with a German accent:

The Producers (either version, the man who writes their script speaks with a German accent. In the new version the actor is Will Ferrel)
Men in Tights (the nurse speaks in a German accent)
Young Frankenstein (I'm pretty sure some of the characters speak in a German-like accent)

Break a leg!!

Answer 2

I know nothing of Hello Dolly, but for the German accent I can tell you a few things.

1. German is not a romantic language like Spanish or Italian.
2. Germans pronounce their W's like V and their V's like W. For Example: You would say "village", they would say "willage".
3. When speaking, everything is pronounced somewhat harsher than how you and me would say something.
4. When they translate something from German to English, they take it literally. Like you'd say "Take a test", they'd say "Write a test"
5. Watch some movies with Germans speaking English. I can't really think of any at the moment, but movies based on WWII would work well.

Answer 3

all i know is to replace w's with v's

Answer 4

You kinda have to be German...