The presenter, a non-native German speaker who achieved near-native pronunciation, shares insights and tips on improving German pronunciation based on her own experience and that of her students. She emphasizes that reaching 90-95% accent-free speech is achievable even when learning German as a fifth language later in life. She also promotes a free pronunciation event for deeper learning.
Personal Journey and Motivation #
- Background: Moved to Germany 9 years ago, born in Moldova, grew up in Italy, resulting in a mixed Eastern European and Italian accent for the first 7 years.
- Initial Focus: Initially focused on grammar, then vocabulary, and later idiomatic expressions. Pronunciation was neglected.
- Negative Experiences: Experienced embarrassing moments, especially at university, due to her accent.
- Constant Questioning: Frequently asked "Where are you from?" even when irrelevant or not out of genuine interest.
- Frustration with Perception: Felt that her pronunciation overshadowed her language proficiency; native speakers often conflated strong accent with poor German skills.
- Repetition: Often had to repeat herself because she wasn't understood, leading to frustration.
Early Pronunciation Efforts and Challenges #
- Initial Approach: Started by watching videos, listening to series, repeating sentences, recording herself, and imitating.
- Limited Success: While some sounds like "IchLaut" and "AchLaut" improved, her pronunciation wasn't natural or consistently correct.
- Working with a Speech Therapist: Found a speech therapist helpful for identifying weaknesses but not sufficient, as the therapist couldn't fully understand the non-native struggle with certain sounds.
- Self-Learning and Further Expertise: Continued learning with other experts and discovered insights not found in phonetics books.
Key Insights for Pronunciation Improvement #
1. Words Similar to Your Native Language #
- Problem: Words that exist in both German and one's native language are often mispronounced due to ingrained native language patterns.
- Example: "Pizza": Italian "Pizza" (no aspiration, short vowels) differs from German "Pizza" (aspiration on 'P', short 'i').
- Example: "Papa/Mama": Frequently mispronounced due to similarity across languages.
- Example: "Stuhl": A Russian-speaking student struggled with "Stuhl" because the Russian equivalent is very similar, leading to unconscious native pronunciation.
- Warning: Be cautious with words that seem familiar from your mother tongue, as the brain tends to revert to old patterns.
2. Simple, Everyday Words #
- Problem: Most pronunciation errors occur with simple, frequently used words, not complex ones like "Eichhörnchen" or "ausschließlich."
- Examples: "den," "dem," "Tag," "Post," "Sache," "Buch," "Übung."
- Reason: These words are learned early, and incorrect pronunciation can become deeply ingrained.
- Observation: Students often pronounce new words better because their brain perceives the sound freshly, unlike familiar words whose pronunciation is rarely questioned.
3. Shadowing Not Always Effective #
- Personal Experience: Initial shadowing efforts were not highly effective because she wasn't aware of her specific errors.
- Lack of Theoretical Understanding: Without understanding the theory, it's hard to identify mistakes or recognize patterns.
- Vowels: Particularly difficult for shadowing, especially long and short vowels (e.g., A and E), as many languages don't have this distinction.
4. Native Speakers Hear Differently #
- Fundamental Insight: Hearing is the basis of good pronunciation. Native German speakers perceive sounds differently than non-native speakers.
- Misinterpretation: They may hear different sounds than what you intend to produce. This is especially true for consonants.
- Learning to Hear: Non-native speakers need to learn to hear like native speakers first.
- Example: "P" vs. "B": The presenter was convinced she pronounced a clear "P," but her speech therapist and friends heard a "B" (e.g., in "Postpacken," "Pizza").
- Aspiration: German 'P', 'T', 'K' (plosives) have a small air explosion (aspiration) that distinguishes them from 'B', 'D', 'G'. Many other languages lack this aspiration.
- Impact: Missing aspiration makes the sound seem wrong or unnatural to native speakers, potentially leading to misunderstanding (e.g., "packen" vs. "backen").
- Conclusion: Understanding this difference in hearing was crucial for changing her perception and then imitating correct sounds.
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