8/18/2019 The German Consonants 'Sp' and 'St'
1/2
The German Consonants 'sp'
and 'st' Pronunciation Homepage | Back < | Forward > | German Course | Alphabet | Verb tables |
Glossary
German Consonants
1. The letter 'b'
2. The letters 'ch'
3. 'ch' at the start of
words
4. 'chs' and 'ck' sounds
5. The letter 'd'
6. 'd' plus another
consonant
7. The letter 'f'
8. The letter 'g'
9. 'gn' and 'ng' sounds
10. Loan words
containing 'g'
11. The letter 'h'
12. The letter 'j'
13. The letter 'k'
14. 'k' plus another
consonant
15. The letter 'l'
16. The letter 'm'
17. 'm' plus another
consonant
18. The letter 'n'19. 'ng' and 'nk' sounds
20. The letter 'p'
21. 'p' plus other
consonants
22. The 'pf' sound
23. The letter 'q'
24. The consonantal 'r'
25. 'r' plus another
consonant
26. The vocalic 'r'
27. The letter 's'
28. The 'sch' sound
29. 'sp' and 'st' sounds
30. The letter 't'
31. 't' in consonant
clusters
32. The letter 'v'
33. The letter 'w'
34. The letter 'y'
35. The letter 'z'
German Pronunciation
Homepage
German Consonants
> Pronunciation
The German consonants 'sp' and 'st'
When they occur at the beginning of a word, the German consonant
combinations 'sp' and 'st' are pronounced 'schp-' and 'scht-'
respectively. To practise these sounds, click either here or on the
sound icon on the left. The eight words that you will hear are supplied in the
box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 1: 'sp' and 'st' at the start of a word
Straße
(street)
Stein
(stone)
Stadt(town; city)
Stoff (material)
Sport
(sport)
Speisekarte
(menu)
Spiel
(sport)
Sparkasse
(savings bank)
But when 'sp' and 'st' occur in the middle or at the end of a word, then
these consonant combinations are pronounced as they would be in
English. This means that 'sp' is pronounced as it would be in the
English word 'lisp' and 'st' is pronounced as it would be in the English word
'lost' . Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to six words
in which 'sp' and 'st' appear in either medial or final position.
Sounds 2: 'sp' and 'st' in medial and final position
Wespe
(wasp)
Knospe
(bud)
Donnerstag
(Thursday)
Gast
(guest)
Liste(list) Husten(cough)
An exception to the above rule occurs when words beginning with 'sp'
and 'st' are used as the final element in a compound noun. Although
these sounds are positioned in the middle of the compound noun, the
consonant combinations are still pronounced as they would be at the start of
a word, i.e. as 'schp-' and 'scht-'. Click either here or on the sound icon on
the left to hear four compound nouns containing 'sp' and 'st' in medial
an Consonants 'sp' and 'st' - Paul Joyce http://joycep.myweb.port.ac.uk/pronounce/conso
4 Apr 2016
8/18/2019 The German Consonants 'Sp' and 'St'
2/2
German Vowels
Exercises
Paul Joyce German
Beginners German
German Alphabet
Verb Tables
Vocabulary List
Grammar Lectures
German DialectsGerman Football
German Letter-writing
Why learn German?
E-mail the author
Portsmouth University
Portsmouth University
School of Languages and
Area Studies
Study German at
Portsmouth
German Extension
Course
Search this site
Search this site or the web
Site search
Web search
Powered by FreeFind
position.
Sounds 3: 'sp' and 'st' within compound nouns
Hauptstadt
(capital city)
Hauptstraße
(high street)
Ballspiel
(ball game)
Profisport
(professional sport)
How to pronounce the German consonant 't'
Print This Page
Homepage: Paul Joyce German Course
© Paul Joyce
an Consonants 'sp' and 'st' - Paul Joyce http://joycep.myweb.port.ac.uk/pronounce/conso
4 Apr 2016