Is the "g" at the end of a word pronounced "ch" or not?

[Sameh.Hany]

Sometimes when a word ends in "g" it's pronounced "ch" like "fertig" and sometimes it's not. Is it dialect specific or is there a reason behind this?

[mlynarova]

It is dialect specific. In Germany it tends to be pronounced as 'ch', especially in nothern Germany and in formal settings. In southern Germany, especially Bavaria, it is pronounced as 'g/k', especially in informal settings. In Austria it is always 'g/k'. And I have no idea about the Swiss pronunciation.

[Ger592]

Vielen dank. Das ist gut.

[Ger592]

Thanks Mlynarova :-)

[AndersonZimmer]

I think that you use CH sound in the end of words that finish with IG only, like FERTIG, TRAURIG, etc. But it is not a rule, it is just the dialect that Duolingo uses to teach. There are a lot of dialects with different accents, so it may vary.

[GeraldRe]

There is a region, called Westfalia in NRW, where mostly older and not so well educated people, pronounce almost every 'g' ending word like 'ch'.

"wo kommste wech?" -> "Where are you from"
"Fluchhafen" -> "Flughafen"
"Berch" -> "Berg"
"Burch" -> "Burg"
"Tach" -> "Tag"

Just saying...

[AdamKean]

Would „Wo kommste wech?“ be „Wo kommst du her?“ in Hochdeutsch?

[ChristianW_OL]

Yes, exactly. And I guess it sounds a bit funny to most non-Westfalian folks. :-)

[AdamKean]

That is quite funny (to me at least :P). Seeing „Wo kommste wech?“, my mind immediately puts it into Hochdeutsch as „Wo kommst du weg?“ which (as far as I know) doesn't make any sense; but might be an odd way of saying something like „Wovon rennst du?“ which has a pretty stark difference in meaning from „Wo kommst du her?“ :P

[Jeytas]

I would disagree with the fact that mostly elderly and not so well educated people speak this way; I went to a Gymnasium in northern Westphalia and I can assure you that even many of the teachers and most of the pupils that were from this region spoke like that

[Bob20020]

It's sort of in between. It's like a "ch" but more of a "j". I'd say pronounce it like a harder "ch".

[mizinamo]

As far as I know, standard pronunciation is -k for final "g" except in the ending -ig, where standard pronunciation is -ich.

So "fertig" should be "fertich", but "Weg" should be "Wehk".

Up in the north where I'm from, final -g is pronounced -ch a lot more. ("Fluchzeuch")

[Jonkobu]

The rule is that word ending in '-ig' are pronounced if 'ch' and all other cases with a 'g'. This is not a dialect, but rather the correct form, but we never have German pronunciation in school (in Germany), so a lot of people don't really pay attention or know rules.

Important notes:
Teig was mentioned, which technically ends in -ig, but the rule does not apply in case of a diphthong.

This is only for the end of words. König is pronounced with ch, Königreich is not (well, the -reich is, but the König is not).

[Spooky_Noodle]

I've noticed that it depends on the dialect. In the most basic form of German, it is pronounced somewhat like a "ch" but breathier. (If that makes any sense..)

[Ger592]

I would also love to know ... thanks Sameh