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- Pronunciation of "Ich"
Pronunciation of "Ich"
189
Is "Ich" really pronounced as "Eesh" by German Speakers? Reason I ask is because I have a book I was learning out of, that says Ich is pronounced as "Eehk", thereby emitting a "k" sound at the end instead of "sh". Can someone clear this up for me? Thanks!
15 Comments
The standard pronunciation is neither "eesh" nor "eehk". You can't really describe the pronunciation using English phonology because the "ch" sound does not exist in English. You might want to stop using your book. It's teaching you to speak German with an English accent. http://www.pauljoycegerman.co.uk/pronounce/consonch.html
Here you go, I found the same content mirrored elsewhere: http://joycep.myweb.port.ac.uk/pronounce/consonch.html
(Working as of 21-03-2019!)
The best ways I've found to describe it are: 1. Whisper the word "yes". That soft hiss you'll hear right before the "eh" sound is the soft "ch" in German. 2. Say the name "Hugh". The very first sound should sound just like what you hear when you whisper "yes", and is the same sound as the soft "ch" in German. Check out this site for more help: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/
189
Thanks everyone, your answers have been most helpful indeed!
(One day, I will be proficient enough to actually be able to have said that in German) ;)