> Von: Posnsrch@aol.com [mailto:Posnsrch@aol.com] > Gesendet: Dienstag, 27. Dezember 2005 15:50 > [...] > What are the pronunciations of ü ? ö ? ä ? in the native > tongue? Thanks, and others may thank you too... I can recommend LEO - the dictionary: http://dict.leo.org/?lang=de&lp=ende Type in a German word with an umlaut - like lächerlich (or laecherlich) Lösung (or Loesung) übel (or uebel) as Leo recognises ae/oe/ue as umlauts and then click on the little loudspeaker in the column at the right-hand side. It's not perfekt - but much better than any description I could give. Obviously this is trying to make it sound like "High German" - so depending on the many German dialects it will always sound a bit different. You also have to keep in mind that there is no "Swiss German" - but "Basel German", "Bern German", "Zürich German", "St.Gallen German", .... Have fun with it - Wolf __________________ Wolf Seelentag, Ph.D. Reherstr. 19 CH - 9016 St.Gallen +41 (0) 71 - 288 51 21 wolf.seelentag@swissonline.ch
Hello, All who have contributed to this pronunciation topic: I am encouraged by this thread to try once more to find the correct spelling of my ggrandmother's name. She was born in Switzerland, married a Swiss, and emigrated to the US from Switzerland (via Breman, we think). So I can't but think her name--as originally spelled--was Swiss. BUT on the only written document I have (a US death certificate) it is spelled Koernsler (possibly Koernslur---handwriting problem there). I've been told quite clearly that that is not a Swiss name. So I have created that weary scenario in which an American spelled what he heard. A German friend suggested the name might have been Könsler, that the "oe" would probably be "ö." And that the "r" that was put into the written name was just a sound heard by non-German ears. On my own, I have pursued Kunzler, Kuntsler, with and without umlauts. But I am really wandering because I can't say the sound that the "oer" letters undoubtedly represent. My ggrandmother was from Canton Zurich, but I don't know the town. I would so appreciate any help you linguists/dialecticians/(even physicists-turned genealogists, Wolf!) can give. TIA Cheers, Jude