For example, if we say two vowels with one in the front part of the mouth and the other in the far back of the mouth, it will require us to put more effort than if we pronounced them closer together.īy trying to pronounce these vowels together, the Germanic language got umlauts. This means that one of the sounds was changed to make another similar sound that is easier to say.

Umlauts are assimilations or vowel harmonies.

When it is very difficult for two sounds to connect to one another, we try to make them easier and simplify them. Learning a new language is difficult, especially if it has sounds which your mouth might not have been used to pronouncing. These additional letters are called umlauts and this article will explain what they are and how to pronounce them. More specifically, the three additional letters of its alphabet make it quite unique. Keep this on mind next time you eat a Bratwurst watching a rerun of Poltergeist and you suddenly burst with Weltschmerz because your TV gets kaput.One interesting characteristic that the German language has is its letters. Wikipedia lists more than 400 German words that are used in English, and that’s not to say there isn’t more. First and foremost however, the English language is literally packed with them. German loan words are used not only in the French and Arabic speaking world, but also in distant places like Papua New Guinea, Kenia or Korea. On the other hand, at least a tiny bit of the “Teutonic tongue” exists in many, many places on earth.

Compare that to the British, French, Portuguese… yes, even little Holland has managed to entrench her language in places like Suriname and Aruba.

There is no nation outside Europe where German is widely spoken nowadays-not even their former colonies. However, we have never done a particularly good job in exporting our language. Germany is extremely proud of being called Exportweltmeister, meaning world champion in exports. Dachshund / Kindergarten / Sauerkraut / Wunderkind

Weird german words in english