Methods and Guides
A series of exercises to aid learning of the trickier German sounds. The tasks increase in difficulty, from sounds to phrases to sentences. Suggested further reading is also included.
Consonants play a large role in the recognition of German words, and as such are essential for communication. This chapter details the importance of consonants to the German language, including the ways they're defined and articulated. Instructions and diagrams for all German consonants is included.
This chapter moves on to detail German vowels, including how their articulation differs from consonants. Includes discussion of tenseness, laxness and vowel length.
An introduction to the importance of pronunciation and how it differs according to regional, stylistic, individual, and social factors.
The most complete guide available to the correct pronunciation of German for native English speakers. Revised and updated, a new feature for this edition is that the discussion of English-speaking learners' pronunciation problems has been extended to include American learners, reflecting the worldwide usage of the first volume. Each chapter deals with a separate aspect of the problems of modern German pronunciation; vowels, consonants, stress and intonation, and the reduced ('weak') forms of conversational pronunciation. Comprehensively illustrated with clear pronunciation and intonation diagrams emphasising common problems experienced when learning German. The Manchester University Press website also gives readers access to twenty-two audio files which complement the content of the book, providing examples of pronunciation, stress and intonation, and listening exercises.
Phonetics is the study of the sounds of natural language. This chapter breaks down the makings of a word, including the organs we use to create them. The distinction between letters, sounds and phonemes is discussed at length, as well as the effect that context can have on the pronunciation of sounds. The chapter finishes by outlining the basis of articulation.
This focus of this chapter is on stress, with observations on how it differs in different types of words and sentences. Intonation, pitch and tone are also discussed.
This chapter goes beyond the individual consonant and word sounds of German, and examines the interconnected sounds of full utterances. It explores how pronunciation in German is affected by a number of processes, including assimilation, elision and vowel reductions.
This chapter explores how you can analyse your sources to best effect. Scrutinising primary sources – which often involves asking pertinent questions of your materials – is central to the professional practice of historians, and yet from the outside, this process can be rather opaque. As readers we are typically presented with the finished product, such as published book or journal article. Little explanation is usually given by historians on the significant stage between locating evidence and constructing a persuasive historical argument. To support researchers in this area, this chapter discusses the strengths and limitations of primary source types in relation to spatial histories, including buildings, archival materials, personal testimony, visual sources and material culture.
This chapter will help readers to identify appropriate methods, approaches and theoretical frameworks for their projects. To support students in framing their projects, this chapter identifies four routes into spatial histories: personal testimony (including diaries, letters and oral histories); focus on a building or built environment; histories that foreground networks; and work that engages with representation of urban space and built environments. In each case, the chapter includes a broad overview of how historians have used this approach, involving the questions they have asked, the methods and theories they have engaged with and sources they have used, citing case studies that demonstrate the ‘nuts and bolts’ of its application.