Reduction syllable

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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

Web links

Wiktionary: Reduction syllable  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Bavarian grammar. Retrieved October 7, 2014 .
  2. Henrike Pracht: Literacy in the second language German as a schema formation process , Waxmann Verlag, 2010, p. 85.
  3. 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.