German sounds

By Masha Jul 10, 2015 German humour, German language, Germany

You know, German grammar is rather difficult, but phonetics not at all…. So here it goes…

The combination of sounds “i.e.” should be pronounced long, in NO case short, otherwise, it can lead to misunderstanding. Once I was in a party and was asked about my family. In this small talk I mentioned (well at least I tried) that my brother is “Kieferchirurg” (oral surgeon – ed.), but the combination “ie” pronounced shortly like “i”… sounded and meant a slightly different thing “Kiffechirurg” (kiffen means “weed” – ed.).

By Masha

Multicoolty collaborator in Berlin
I'm a faithful wife, a social worker, a passionate writer, a casual smoker, Janis Joplin Fan, a beer drinker, a classical literature avid reader and #dontcarewhatuthinkaboutme!