The Umlaut “Ü” in German: Theory Based on chapter 5.8 of Rundblick 2 and online Speaking Practice Chapter 7.8 and 9.9

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. . . . U u Umlaut Ü/ü: Spelling Both the capital letter Ü and the small letter ü, distinguish themselves from the non-Umlaut U/u by adding two dots above the letter: . . . . U u

Umlaut Ü/ü: Length [ƴ/ƴ:] Just like U/u, the Umlaut version Ü/ü can be either a short sound or a long sound (often double consonants denote shortness and double vowels or a “h” after the Umlaut denote length): Long: Stuhl [‘ʃtu:l] , Stühle [‘ʃtƴ:lǝ] Short: stumm [‘ʃtʊm], Stück [‘ʃtƴk] Tipp: If you can read the phonetic alphabet (words in [ ] brackets), you notice that the long vowels are always indicated by a colon “:”

Umlaut “Ü” and “U” –contrast: Whilst the mouth position of both “u” and “ü” is pretty similar, the position of jaw and Adam’s Apple changes: For the “u”, the lips are even more pursed than the “o” and slightly pulled back, the teeth are apart, the bottom jaw is dropped, the tongue loose in the bottom of the mouth. For the “ü”, the lip position remains the same but draws back into the mouth even more, the Adam’s Apple moves slightly up, the lower jaw closes slightly, the tongue presses against the bottom teeth and the sound is higher in pitch. U Ü This difference is best practised in front of a mirror: place your fingers softly on your Adam’s Apple and say a few times: “Mutter”(mother, singular) – “Mütter” (mothers, plural) “Stuhl” (chair, singular) – “Stühle” (chairs, plural)

Umlaut “Ü” and “U” –contrast: Phonetic symbol: [ƴ/ƴ:] English equivalent: none Phonetic symbol: [ʊ/u:] English equivalent: put, pool Die Küsse (plural) Das Stück Die Übung berühmt Der Kuss Der Student Die Uhr beruhigen (to calm)

Umlaut “Ü” and “U” – contrast in action:

The Umlaut Ü/ü: What is it good for? 1. It is often used for the plural form of nouns: Example: der Bruder (brother, singular) – die Brüder (brothers, plural) 2. It distinguishes number/tenses in verbs: Example 1: ich muss (I have to, 1st person singular) – ihr müsst (you have to, 2nd person plural) Example 2: ich fuhr (I drove, simple past of “fahren”) – ich führe (I would drive , subjunctive of “fahren”) 3. It distinguishes completely different words: Example: die Küche (the kitchen) – der Kuchen (the cake)

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