2007-09-17 23:21:15 · 7 answers · asked by medo 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Like the "ch" in "loch" in English (or Scots English, if you like).
If you want the technical phonetic stuff: It's a velar fricative. In other words, it's formed in the soft palate area, like "k" or "g" in English, but whereas "k" and "g" are stops, it's a fricative, that is there's not complete closure of the sound passage, rather there's an opening that's small enough to cause some sound as the air passes through.
Try making a "k" sound, then relaxing the back of your tongue just enough to let the air through. Hey, presto! That's "ch".
2007-09-17 23:56:10 · answer #1 · answered by Homeboy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"ch" has 2 different sounds in German.
After a, o , or u it has the same "scrapy" sound as in Welsh or as in the Scottish word "loch"; it is also the same sound as "j" in Spanish; if you make an "h" sound but right at the back of your throat (a bit like bringing up phlegm!!), that will be pretty close to the sound: examples: Buch - (booHH) - book; Tochter - (toHH - ter) = daughter; Bach (the famous composer).
After i,e, ä or ü it sounds a little softer; if you say the English word "huge", the "h" sound at the beginning just before you get to the "u" sound is very similar to this sound in German. Some people think it sounds like the "sh" sound in "fish" and you could just about get away with pronouncing it like that. "Ich" - (means "I") = sounds a bit like ""iSH"; Bücher - (Boo-SHer) = books; Welche - (velSHer) = which.
2007-09-17 23:51:45 · answer #2 · answered by GrahamH 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Depends where in Germany you are. Mostly it's quite a soft sound. It's kind of hard to do it phonetically. I guess the closest thing is a cat hissing, listen carefully. You kind of have to pull your tongue back and breathe over it. Like a raspy H. This has probably made it more confusing. It's not really but because there is no corresponding sound in English it's hard. If you know any German people ask them.
If you go to Berlin, many people will say "ik", if you go to the South, people tend to say "ish". Just do whatever you're more comfortable with. As long as people understand, you're accent isn't overly important.
2007-09-17 23:35:17 · answer #3 · answered by Fröken Fräken 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You mean ich? It depends what part of Germany you're from. Not ch as in church, more like "ik", but still not as hard as that.
2007-09-17 23:26:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It varies as a palatal fricative or a velar fricative. (You can Google/Wiki those terms if you don't know them.) You need to just listen to German speakers (for example, news broadcasts of BBC.com in German) and imitate.......after searching on the terms "German phonology." There is no equivalent sound in mainstream English.
Compare:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_phonology#Ich-Laut_and_ach-Laut
2007-09-17 23:33:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wenn du deine Deutschkenntnisse verbessern willst ,
komm auf der http://www.zdeutsch.com
2007-09-18 01:35:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
....ish....
2007-09-18 00:36:35 · answer #7 · answered by sugarbee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋