Reduction syllable
Under a reduction syllable is understood in linguistics - especially with Utz Maas - an unstressed addition syllable , such as those in the trochaic German Erbwörtern occurs. For example, the word “to write” contains the reducing syllable -s . The stressed syllable that precedes the reduction syllable, called Maas as prominent syllable .
The term reducing syllable expresses that the vowel is less toned and less prominent than in a stressed full syllable. He is “mumbled” (ex .: “Well e ” [ˈvɛl ə ], → Schwa -Laut; “bess he ” [ˈbɛs ɐ ], → Tiefschwa -Laut).
Reduction syllable in German
Standard German
Germany
For German speakers, the only vowel sounds that can appear in reducing syllables are usually the Schwa and the Tiefschwa . In some reduction syllables the vowel disappears completely ( fork [ˈɡaːbl̩]).
Most speakers have a small repertoire of reducing syllables. In particular, it includes the following cases:
Reduction syllables | Sample words | vocal |
---|---|---|
-e, -em, -es, -est | Pie [ˈtɔʁtə], a [ˈaɪ̯nəm], this [ˈdiːzəs], played [ˈʃpiːltəst] | Schwa ([ə]) |
-er, -ern, -ert, -erst | Farmer [ˈbaʊ̯ɐ], feathers [ˈfeːdɐn], one hundred [ˈhʊndɐt], refuse [ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐst], | Tiefschwa ([ɐ]) |
-en, -el, -eln, -elt, -elst | Life [ˈleːbn̩], rule [ˈʀeːɡl̩], yodel [ˈjoːdl̩n], stranger [ˈfʀɛmdl̩t], trade [ˈhandl̩st] | no vowel, instead a syllabic consonant |
Switzerland
In German-speaking Switzerland , the vocalization of / r / and the syllabic pronunciation of -en, -el, -em are not widespread. So the Schwa remains as the only vowel of the reduction syllables: Bauer [ˈbaʊ̯ər], Federn [ˈfeːdərn], one hundred [ˈhʊndərt], weigerst [ˈvaɪ̯ɡərst], life [ˈleːbən], rule [ˈʀeːɡəl], yodel [ˈjoːdmeltdəlt], , trade [ˈhandəlst].
Often the vowel of the reduction syllable is not reduced to a Schwa at all, but pronounced as [ɛ] or [e]: Gedanke [ɡ̊eˈd̥anke] or [ɡ̊ɛˈd̥ankɛ].
In German dialects
Bavarian
In Bavarian the Schwa is regularly repaid. In nouns the syllable –e is either completely omitted or - especially in feminine - it is replaced by –n ( Nosn “nose”, rhinestone “street”, subbn “soup”). The plural suffix –er becomes –a ( Kinda "children").
Depending on gender and case, adjectives are either -a, -e or -s aus ( a gloàna dog "a small dog"; a gloàne Flaschn "a small bottle"; a gloàns Bià "a small beer"). The suffixes are -a and -sdn ( schiàch, schiàcha, am schiàchsdn "ugly, uglier, ugliest").
The Schwa is also omitted in verbs. The standard German suffix –en in Bavarian becomes –a or (more rarely) –an ( macha “to do”, mià macha (n) “we do”), in participles also to -n ( gwesn “was”). In the I-form, the -e is omitted ( i do “I do”). If there is a voiced plosive [b], [d] or [g] at the beginning of the reduction syllable , not only the schwa, but also this plosive ( mià gem “we give”; mià leng “we lay”; mià bon “we to bathe").
Swiss German
In contrast to standard German, the Swiss German neighboring syllable vowels are not all reduced to a Schwa. All Swiss German dialects can also have the final -i . Verbs, for example, have the final -i ( i [ch] machi "ich mache" [ subjunctive ] vs. i [ch] machə "ich mache" [ indicative ]). In dialects with l-vowels, -u also appears as the final vocal. The highest Alemannic dialects, in particular, can have additional adjacent syllable vowels, such as the final -a or closed -e.
Like many West German varieties, most Swiss German dialects carry out the n apocopes ( chouffe “buy”; Haage “hook”). As in other southern German varieties, the apocope of -e is more common than in standard German ( Brügg / Brugg "bridge"; Böim "trees").
construction
Like all syllables in standard German, reducing syllables can contain 3 elements:
- a start edge ( Va t he , Sil b e ); In words in which no consonants appear between the vowel of the prominent syllable and that of the reducing syllable, the reducing syllable has no starting margin ( Bau-er ).
For the exact position of the starting margin see the article syllable boundary . - a syllable core (the reducing vowel)
- an end margin ( Ha-ge l , Le-se r , läs-te rn ); only the reduction syllable –e has no end margin ( leis-se ).
semantics
The reduction syllable has the potential to distinguish parts of speech and word forms (e.g. read / reader , love / dear ).
Orthographic difficulty
Due to the phonetic weakness of the reduction vowel, reduction syllables often lead to characteristic problems for beginners, especially in the form of “skeletal writing” (= omission of the vowel letters) instead of the orthographically prescribed plenum (= writing with all vowel letters). However, since the reducing syllables are highly stereotypical, such difficulties are usually overcome quickly.
As Christina Noack has pointed out, the mistake is often made in class to convey the orthographically correct spelling through an artificial written pronunciation ("extended language", "pilot language"). The prosodic relationships of the language are disregarded and the words are so alienated that weak readers can often no longer assign them correctly.
literature
- Utz Maas: Phonology. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-26526-3 , p. 240ff.
- Utz Maas, Ulrich Mehlem: Written cultural resources and barriers among Moroccan children in Germany. (PDF; 1.0 MB) IMIS (Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies), p. 391 , accessed on June 20, 2011 (German, Chapter 5.6. The orthographic representation of the syllable I: kernels and complex borders).
Web links
- Reduction syllables instructional video
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Bavarian grammar. Retrieved October 7, 2014 .
- ↑ Henrike Pracht: Literacy in the second language German as a schema formation process , Waxmann Verlag, 2010, p. 85.
- ↑ Christina Noack: The syllable as an access unit in the reading process. Result of a linguistically based orthography lesson with low-literacy primary school students , p. 185f; in: Ursula Bredel u. a. (Ed.): Orthography theory and spelling lessons. Max Niemeyer / DeGruyter, Tübingen 2006, ISBN 3-484-30509-6 , pp. 181-196.