L4 - German Movement Vowels - The German Sound Foundation

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The Movement Vowels

Now that you are familiar with both rounded and unrounded vowels, it's time to look at the Movement Vowels. These are more tricky, as your tongue is moving positions to and from places you may not yet be familiar with as a non-native speaker.

Directions: Watch the video below for a thorough description, then use the practice audio below to tune your ear and mouth to each sound.

Bonus: Watch the mini-lesson I give for even more insight on these vowels (Note: Although this video is from a previous course I taught and some of the details may no longer be relevant, you can still learn a lot from it).

Universal Movement Vowels

/ɔʏ/

Written: Heute, Zeug
IPA: hɔʏ…tə, ͡tsɔʏ…k

/aɪ/

Written: zwei, Arbeit
IPA: ts...vaɪ, a…baɪ…t

/aʊ/

Written: Aus, genau
IPA: aʊs, gə…naʊ

Move Forward Vowels

/uɐ/

Written: nur, Figur
IPA: nuɐ, fi…guɐ

/ʊɐ/

Written: kurz, Sturm
IPA: kʊɐ…͡ts, ʃtʊɐm

/oɐ/

Written: tor, vor
IPA: toɐ, foɐ

/ɔɐ/

Written: dort, Wort
IPA: dɔɐ…t, vɔɐ…t

/aɐ/

Written: war, gar
IPA: vaɐ, gaɐ

Move Backwards Vowels

/iɐ/

Written: wir, mir
IPA: viɐ, miɐ

/yɐ/

Written: für, tür
IPA: fyɐ, tyɐ

/ɪɐ/

Written: wird, wirklich
IPA: vɪɐ…t, vɪɐ…klɪç

/ʏɐ/

Written: würde, dürfen
IPA: vʏɐ…də, dʏɐ…fən

/eɐ/

Written: mehr, sehr
IPA: meɐ, zeɐ

/øɐ/

Written: hör, gehört
IPA: høɐ, gə…høɐ…t

/ɛɐ/

Written: Bär, Ärger
IPA: bɛɐ, ɛɐ...gɐ

/œɐ/

Written: mörder, Körper
IPA: mœɐ...dɐ, kœɐ...pɐ

Part 1: Vowels
Lesson 3: Rounded Vowels << Lesson 4: Movement Vowels (End of Part 1)

Now begin Part 2: Consonants Present in English with Lesson 5: Lip Consonants

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