German Phonetics 4100-1SFJN
The aim of the course is to develop correct German pronunciation as well as to expand students’ knowledge and skills in the fields of phonetics and phonology. Throughout the course, students become familiar with both suprasegmental and segmental phenomena which, due to interference from Polish, may lead to communication breakdowns and negative psychophonetic effects. In addition to the principles of correct stress placement and rhythmic structuring in connected speech, the course covers the German vowel system, closely linked to previously practiced suprasegmentals. During the course, relevant systemic features and typical articulation errors arising under the influence of Polish or other foreign languages will be presented.
An important element of the course is also the development of perceptual competence, especially so-called elementary hearing, which serves as the entry point for shaping and consolidating new prosodic patterns and articulatory habits. The use of the International Phonetic Alphabet primarily aims at fostering auditory–visual associations as well as acquiring and consolidating grapheme–phoneme correspondences in German.
The course is workshop-oriented and includes individual and group practice, work with recordings, and the analysis of authentic examples. In particular, activities focus on the accurate perception and production of xenophonic units (from the perspective of Polish), i.e.:
developing phonematic and phonetic listening skills,
raising awareness of the relationship between pronunciation and spelling,
counteracting phonetic interference between Polish and German,
shaping and consolidating correct articulation in German in line with the prevailing standard norm.
Course Content
Module 1: Wie klingt Deutsch?
Acoustic impressions / reflection on prosodic differences / course objectives, basic concepts, the role of pronunciation in communication.
Terminal intonation – introductory exercise and reflection on melody contour and stress rules in wh-questions (W-Fragen); exercises developing elementary listening.
Interrogative intonation – introductory exercise and reflection on melody contour and stress rules in yes/no questions (Ja/Nein-Fragen); exercises developing elementary listening.
Terminal, interrogative, and progressive intonation – consolidation exercises; identification, discrimination, and repetition drills.
Module 2: Wie geht es Ihnen? (oOoo)
Rhythm in German – introduction and discussion of rhythmization principles, concepts of stress group and rhythmic group, centralizing stress in rhythmic structures.
Discrimination and identification exercises – detecting phrases with the same rhythm, recognizing rhythm in sentences.
Productive exercises – role plays, games, and playful activities.
Module 3: Biete ein Bier oder bitte ein Bier
The vowel as a carrier of prosodic and distinctive features; stressed vowels: long vs. short, tense vs. lax.
Types of stressed syllables and the distribution of long and short vowels – syllabification in German, close and loose connection of vowels with consonants.
Discrimination and identification exercises – auditory distinction of stressed vowels, identifying their qualitative and quantitative features.
Identification of stressed vowels based on orthographic representation, assignment of IPA symbols.
Productive exercises – phrase repetition, masked repetition, role plays.
Module 4: Frau Bohle oder Frau Bohler?
Centralizing word stress – review of articulatory energy distribution within words, stress groups, and rhythmic groups.
Reduced vowels in unstressed syllables – presentation of pronunciation, correlations between spelling and pronunciation, transcription in IPA.
Discrimination and identification exercises – auditory distinction of reduced vowels, determining qualitative and quantitative features, assigning graphic forms to the acoustic model in isolation and in sentence context.
Elision of the central vowel schwa in the endings <-e> and <-en> – discrimination/identification and simple repetition exercises.
Progressive assimilation of /n/ after schwa elision – discrimination/identification and simple repetition exercises.
Productive exercises – phrase repetition, masked repetition, role plays.
Module 5: Lehrer und Lehrerin, Professor und Professorin
Consolidation of knowledge regarding stress structures in German.
Rules of stress placement in simple, compound, and foreign words.
Discrimination and identification / listening exercises.
Productive exercises – simple and masked repetitions.
Productive exercises – role plays, games, and activities (e.g., Akzentlabyrinth, speech theatre).
Course summary.
Note: The scope of content and the sequence of individual topics may be modified depending on the needs of the students.
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Term 2025Z:
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Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
The student knows and understands the basic concepts related to prosodic and segmental features of German: word and sentence stress, rhythm, intonation, vowels, consonants, and their communicative functions (K_W03).
The student knows the types of full vowels and phenomena characteristic of unstressed positions in German, such as vowel reduction, elision, assimilation, and sound adjustments (K_W03).
The student knows grapheme–phoneme correspondences, understands the relationships between pronunciation and spelling in German, and the orthographic rules that follow from them.
The student understands the differences between the German and Polish prosodic and segmental systems and their impact on intelligibility and naturalness of speech (K_W03).
Skills
The student is able to analyze and reproduce intonation and rhythmic patterns in German, ensuring correct stress placement in phrases and sentences (S2_U01).
The student is able to recognize and apply the principles of connected speech in practice, adapting pronunciation to the natural tempo and fluency of communication (S2_U01).
The student is able to distinguish and identify selected phonetic phenomena that are systemically foreign to Polish (S2_U01).
The student is able to correctly match graphic representations to heard words, phrases, and sentences.
The student is able to identify and correct typical errors related to stress, intonation, realization of full and reduced vowels, and the use of connected speech resulting from native-language interference (S2_U01, S2_U02).
The student makes use of the prosodic features of German to improve the intelligibility and naturalness of their own oral production (S2_U02).
Social Competences
The student critically evaluates their own phonetic competence in the areas of prosody and connected speech, recognizing their importance for effective communication in German (S2_K01).
The student is ready to accept feedback on their own pronunciation and apply it in the process of further improvement (S2_K01).
Assessment criteria
Teaching Methods
Practical Methods
Articulatory exercises – repetition of sounds, syllables, phrases, and short texts under the instructor’s guidance.
Listening exercises – identification and discrimination of stressed segments, stress and rhythmic groups, intonation patterns in recordings; simple phonetic dictations and gap-filling tasks.
Repetition drills – loud repetition of model recordings in groups or individually; simple repetition exercises; masked repetition drills.
Exercises using phonogestures – clapping rhythm, hand movements, stomping.
Pair work – simple dialogues or reading aloud, mutual listening and error correction based on instructor’s feedback.
Activating Methods
Analysis of model and students’ own recordings – comparison of students’ pronunciation with the standard model.
Emotive theatre exercises – embedding practiced phonetic phenomena in emotionally charged dialogues combined with movement and role-play.
Error-focused discussions – short conversations about elements causing difficulty (e.g., reductions, stress).
Phonetic games and activities – identification labyrinths, rhythmic puzzles, board games, phonetic-motor tasks.
Assessment Rules
1. Conditions for Course Credit
Attendance is required (a maximum of two absences per semester is allowed).
Timely completion of all assigned tasks, both during classroom sessions and on the e-learning platform.
The final grade is based on results achieved within the accepted methods and assessment criteria, in accordance with the specified weightings.
The use of AI tools and language-processing technologies is permitted only with the instructor’s prior approval and agreement on the scope of their use. Unauthorized use will be treated as a breach of academic integrity, resulting in the work being considered non-independent and graded as unsatisfactory.
2. Assessment Methods
Phonetics Test (written) – recognition of grapheme–phoneme correspondences, transcription of practiced phenomena (especially vowels), representation of rhythmic patterns and intonation contours (weight: 30%; verified outcomes: K_W03, S2_U01, S2_U02).
Test of receptive phonetic competence – recognition, distinction, and identification of practiced phonetic phenomena, especially prosodic features and selected vowels as part of elementary listening control (weight: 30%; verified outcomes: S2_U01, S2_U02, S2_K01).
Test of productive phonetic competence (pair work) – preparation and presentation of two texts in dialogue form with correct realization of stress, intonation, and connected speech phenomena (weight: 40%; verified outcomes: S2_U01, S2_U02, S2_K01).
3. Assessment Criteria
Phonetics Test (30%)
Accuracy in recognizing and assigning phonetic transcription symbols to graphemic representations, and vice versa (0–10 pts).
Correct identification of rhythmic patterns in relation to graphemic sequences; accuracy in assigning stress groups to text fragments (0–10 pts).
Accurate completion of orthophonic rules in gap-fill texts or correct mini-analysis of provided examples (0–10 pts).
Listening Test (identification/discrimination) (30%)
Correct recognition and assignment of rhythmic groups and prosodemes to given graphic patterns (0–10 pts).
Correct assignment of IPA symbols to heard vowels (0–10 pts).
Correct identification of qualitative and quantitative features of heard vowels (0–10 pts).
Practical Task – Text Presentation (40%)
Phonetic accuracy of suprasegmentals (stress and rhythmic groups, stress, intonation) (0–10 pts).
Phonetic accuracy in the realization of stressed and unstressed vowels in accordance with the required rhythm (0–10 pts).
Phonetic accuracy in the realization of reduced forms in connected speech (e.g., elision, assimilation of unstressed sequences), and the resulting fluency and naturalness of speech (0–10 pts).
Self-assessment and reflection on progress, ability to perform self-correction when deviations from the orthoepic standard are pointed out (0–10 pts).
Grading Scale
91–100 pts – very good (5.0)
81–90 pts – good plus (4.5)
71–80 pts – good (4.0)
61–70 pts – satisfactory plus (3.5)
51–60 pts – satisfactory (3.0)
0–50 pts – unsatisfactory (2.0)
Bibliography
Reinke, Kerstin (2013) Phonetiktrainer A1- B1. Klett-Verlag
Reinke, Kerstin (2023) Phonetik. Das Aussprache-Training. Klett-Verlag
Hirschfeld, Ursula & Reinke Kerstin (2018) 44 Aussprachespiele. Stuttgart, Klett Verlag.
Dieling, Helga & Hirschfeld, Ursula (2000): Phonetik lehren und lernen. München, Langenscheidt.
Hirschfeld, Ursula & Reinke, Kerstin (2018): Phonetik im Fach Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache. Berlin, ESV.
Diehl, Debora, Hirschfeld, Ursula, Hang Le Thi, Voracek, Sara (2020): Laute(r ) bitte! Hanoi, Goethe-Institut.
Niebisch, Daniela (2021): Deutsch üben. Phonetik-Übungen und Tipps für eine gute Aussprache. A1-B1., München, Hueber-Verlag.
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Term 2025Z:
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Additional information
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