19. Labio-dental Spirants, [f, v], are formed by the lower lip and the upper teeth. They are necessarily slitsounds for obvious reasons: The upper teeth being rigid, and the lower lip being much less flexible than the tongue, no channel (rill) can be formed. - German [f, v] have much less distinct friction than have the corresponding English sounds. This is due to the fact that in the latter the teeth touch the central line of the lower lip, while in German the lower lip slightly projects over the edge of the upper teeth, so that the friction takes place on the inner, softer skin of the lip. Besides, German [v] is less distinctly voiced than English [v]. Compare English fine, father, vine, vile, with German fein, Vater, Wein, weil.

NOTE 1. Especial care should be used in the pronunciation of the groups qu, schw, zw. For pedagogical reasons, the bilabial pronunciation described in 17 is not advisable, English [w] being substituted for it too easily. The labio-dental pronunciation [kvelə, Sver, tsva:r] is quite as correct, and is preferable in the classroom. NOTE 2. The letter v in foreign words is usually pronounced [v], but in a few foreign words quite commonly used [f] is substituted: Vers (also pronounced [vers], especially in South Germany), Veilchen, Vogt, usually also in brave (always in brav), Sklave, Pulver.

The following German words are spelled with v (pronounced [f]): Vater, Vetter, Vieh, Vogel, Vließ, Vläme, Volk, vier, viel, von, vor, vorn, vorder-, ver-; names (mostly Low German) like Havel, Bremerhaven, Voß, Virchow (-ow=[o:]). Be careful not to pronounce any of these names with [v] instead of [f].

The teacher should lay stress on the correct pronunciation of pf = [p+f]: Pfund, Pflaume.

II. THE DENTALS (AND ALVEOLARS)

1

20. Dentals are sounds which are formed with the tip or blade of the tongue against or near the upper teeth.

1 As a matter of convenience, the term 'dentals' is used here in a wider sense than its literal meaning; it includes alveolars and even cacuminals.

in

If formed against the teeth, they are Dentals proper; ter-dentals if the tip (point) of the tongue is between the upper and lower teeth; post-dentals if the tip or the blade of the tongue touches the inner surface of the upper teeth; supra-dentals or Alveolars if it touches the upper gums. An articulation that takes place still farther back, the tip of the tongue being inverted and touching the front palate, is called cacuminal (from Lat. cacumen, 'top').

A. Stops

21. Dental Stops, [t, d], are formed much farther back in English than in German. The American 'dentals' are articulated by the tip of the tongue behind the alveoli; they are 'point-inverted' or 'cacuminal.' Grandgent, G.E.S., p. 7, says: "The point of the tongue is turned up to the roots of the teeth." British dentals are formed somewhat farther forward, viz., at the back of the alveoli (they are post-alveolar). German [t, d] are, in general, pre-alveolar, i.e., the tip, and often the blade, of the tongue is pressed against the front edge of the upper gums. It is very important that the teacher insist on this 'fronting' of the dentals. It is advisable even to exaggerate slightly by making the pupils pronounce post-dental [t, d], the tip of the tongue being pressed against the upper teeth-which usage, by the way, is by no means uncommon in German pronunciation. Few mispronunciations are so detrimental as an English (especially American English) articulation of the dentals in German.

When practising the German dentals, the pupils should first press the tip of the tongue against the front alveoli (or the teeth); then they should pronounce words like die, dich, tief, Tisch, etc.

Voice and voicelessness, aspiration, and the distribution of fortis and lenis pronunciation follow the same

principles as with the labials: Initial t and medial tt are aspirated fortes: Tier, Teil, Tor; Ritter, Ratte, Futter; medial t, final t and tt, unvoiced d after a short vowel, and dd (voiced, of course) are fortes, but unaspirated: rieten, Rat, hat, Schritt; Land; Kladde, Edda. - Voiced d and unvoiced d after a long vowel are lenes: du, reden, leiden, Rad=[dui, reiden, laidən, raid].

NOTE 1. It is not necessary indeed, it is hardly advisable that the teacher insist on the distinction between lenis and fortis for final unvoiced [d] after a long vowel (lenis) and final t (fortis) as in Rad and Rat. Many Germans, especially in the North, do not distinguish these sounds. It is better to insist on an intensive (fortis) pronunciation for all final stops.

NOTE 2. South and Middle Germans substitute their voiceless lenis [d] for voiced [d], as in the case of the labials, so that the same sound is used in dein as in Neid-[dain, naid]. In teaching, of course, this is strictly to be avoided.

22. The Dental Nasal, [n], is formed at the same place as the oral dental stops. We have pre-alveolar or postdental articulation in German, post-alveolar or cacuminal articulation in English. The sound [n] is preferable to [n] (33) in words like Knabe, Gnade. [n] must be carefully pronounced before and after labials where in careless pronunciation [m] is frequently substituted: fünf, leben, anbieten =[fynf, le:bən, "anbirtən], not [fymf, le:bm, Pambiitən].

B. Spirants

23. Dental Slit-Spirants do not exist in German. We find them in the English th-sounds: voiceless [þ] in thin, voiced [8] in then; the blade of the tongue is pressed against the inner surface of the upper teeth, the tip frequently slightly projecting over the edge of the lower teeth.

24. Dental Rill-Spirants, [s, z]. The blade touches the front alveoli, while the tip frequently, tho not necessarily,

touches the lower teeth. The breath is expelled in a narrow current thru a sharp rill along the median line of the blade. Observe this by means of the handglass and compare the sharpness of the air current with the comparatively weak and broad current in the pronunciation of th. The upper and lower teeth leave only a narrow passage so that the breath is directed against the edge of the lower incisors, where it is frequently divided into an inner and outer current. This is the cause of the sharp, hissing sound of [s] and [z].

So-called 'lisping' may be due to different causes. Most commonly, the tip of the tongue covers the edges of the lower teeth; frequently, the blade does not form a rill; and sometimes the upper and lower teeth are too far apart. In each of these three cases, lisping can rapidly be cured by self-observation, with the help of a mirror and steady practise.

German [s, z] are more distinctly 'hissed' than the corresponding English sounds. - [s] and [z], and frequently also [S] and [3] (30), are often called sibilants.

In standard German, we pronounce initial s before vowels and medial s when a vowel follows and a vowel, nasal or liquid, precedes, voiced: See, Rose, Linse, Ferse, Felsen. In initial position in the second parts of compounds, [s] is pronounced after voiceless, [z] after voiced sounds: vorsichtig, versichern, Entsatz, Absicht=[for|ziçtiç, fər ziçǝrn, Pentsats, Pap/siçt]. In all other positions, except initial sp and st (see 30, Note 1), [s] is used: s after consonants other than liquids and nasals: Ochse, Erbse=[Pǝksə, Perpsǝ]; final s: das, las; B: fließen, Fluß; ss: rissen, Flüsse. - Southern and Middle Germany do not possess any [z], but use [s] in lenis pronunciation ([ş]) instead; in teaching, however, the voiced pronunciation, in accordance with Northern and stage usage, is preferable.

NOTE 1. It is to be admitted, however, that even in Northern Germany initial s is not entirely voiced; it begins voiceless, and ends voiced: See=[sze:]. Similarly, English inflectional -s is only half voiced: is=[izs].

NOTE 2. As to spelling, remember that ss stands only between vowels if the preceding vowel is short; otherwise, Ø is used: Flüsse, but fließen, Fluß. — The letter f usually denotes the sound [z], while all other spellings -8, ff, ß- denote voiceless [s].

German z is pronounced [ts]. To substitute the sound [z] is one of the most frequent and most irritating mistakes. If phonetic transcription is used at the outset, it will be largely obviated. No pupil is apt to pronounce [zvair] or [zwair] if the phonetic spelling [tsva:r] is used. If phonetic transcription is not resorted to, frequent reference to such English words as cats and rats will gradually remedy the defect.

x, ks, gs, and chs have the same pronunciation, viz., [ks]: Axt, des Werks, des Tags, des Rocks, Ochse. However, where ch belongs to the stem, and s is an ending, the ch-sound must be used: des Lochs=[lǝxs].

C. The Liquids

25. Sonorous Sounds. According to the definition given in section 11, the [1] and [r] sounds must be classed as spirants, since in producing them the breath is partly checkt in the mouth. But in their acoustic impression they resemble vowels more than do other spirants. As a matter of fact, they frequently have the function of vowels, e.g., l in German handeln =[hand]n], English middleman = [midlmæn], or r in Bohemian words like prst, čtvrtku. This is due to the fact that in their pronunciation a comparatively large resonance room is left in the mouth, while with other spirants the tongue fills most of the oral cavity (cf. vowel palatograms on page 45). Therefore