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| 3.2.2 The sound v and w |
The German v has
actually two different sounds. One is like the English
(and also German f). That means that there are actually
two letters having the same sound (=f).
| German v like f |
| Vogel | bird | 
|
| vornehm | noble |
|
| Vorsicht | care |
|
But then it can also have The sound like the English
v (or in German a w). So the German w-sound and the
German f-sound have two possibilities to be expressed.
With w=v, and with f=v.
| v pronounced like the English v |
| die Villa | villa |
|
| Vase | vase |
|
| Klavier | piano |
|
| Jagdrevier | hunting area |
|
Once more for your comparison:
| v pronounced like an f |
| Vetter | cousin | |
| Vollmond | full moon | |
| Veilchen | violet |
|
| Volk | people (e.g. Indian people) |
|
| as we see the German letter v has two different sounds. There is even a poem that expresses this issue quite well. |
bin ich manchmal ein "F" und manchmal ein "W".
Im Klavier und im Jagdrevier
Wird ein "W" aus mir.
I am sometimes an "F" and sometimes a "V".
In Klavier and Jagdrevier
I turn into a "W"
Willa, Wase und Pawian.
Nur aus dem Vollmond, das wäre zum Lachen,
dürftest du keinen Wollmond machen,
und aus dem Veilchen kein Weilchen,
aus dem Vetter kein Wetter.
Willa, Wase and Pawian ?
But the Vollmond, that would be funny,
you don't make into a Wollmond.
and from Veilchen you don't make a Weilchen.
and from Vetter you don't make a Wetter.
obwohl ich immer als "V" vor dir steh!
even though I always appear as an "V".
The poem plays with words which are hard to translate.
We'll try anyway:
Vollmond = full moon
Wollmond = woollen moon
Veilchen = violet
Weilchen = little while
Vetter = cousin
Wetter = weather
So in these cases it's better to be a bit careful because
used the wrong way it can cause something between funny
evenings and bigger misunderstanding.
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