Pronunciation of Peter Camenzind?

[skamen]

Hello,

I am currently reading Hermann Hesse's first novel, Peter Camenzind. How do you pronounce Camenzind? My knowledge of the German pronunciation system is not great and I have not been able to find anything as to how to pronounce this name.

Thanks,

-Scott

[Emil Miller]

Hello,

I am currently reading Hermann Hesse's first novel, Peter Camenzind. How do you pronounce Camenzind? My knowledge of the German pronunciation system is not great and I have not been able to find anything as to how to pronounce this name.

Thanks,

-Scott

It should be pronounced Car-Men-Tsint

[skamen]

Really? Where does the "r" come from?

Thanks again,

-Scott

[Emil Miller]

Really? Where does the "r" come from?

Thanks again,

-Scott

Well, in German 'a' is pronounced 'ah' I put as car to be more explicit.

[loe]

Yes, Brian Bean is right - without the "r" it's absolutely correct.

Best regards

[MissScarlett]

And Niederlassungsbewilligung? LOL I'm just kidding you. I know how to pronounce it. I just chose one of the longest German words I know. Was just in a mood to type that word.

[kiki1982]

Actually, the German 'a' is more open than the one in 'car'. Try opening your mouth very wide, pulling you eyebrows up and laughing a little. The tip of you tongue should be on the backgums of your underteeth and you should feel your tongue touching your teeth. The should sound gay, open and engaging. That should do the trick. :lol:

The German 'a' is one of the most clear sounds I have ever encountered. It's lovely when it is truly well-pronounced. It is a little as the French 'a' but a lot less arrogant and closed. It is as long as the one in 'car', though.

Actually about the 'C': It should be 'aspired' (I'm not sure about the word...). A little 'h'-sound should follow.

The 'e' has two different pronunciations, but the Standard-German version, and nicest one, is the very open (again) version which sounds like the one in 'and', but little more closed. The tip of you tongue should touch your teeth at the bottom, but shouldn't be curled up like for the 'a'. (The rest of your tongue should take on the right shape as you curl it less).

That's it.

Ch-a_-mén-zint (I am not sure about the 'z'. Normally it should be pronounced as Brian Bean says, but sometimes Germans are inconsequent because it might be a (northern) dialect version of the name where the 'z' is pronounced differently to the one in Hochdeutsch). For me the one with a mere 'z' sounds better, but you could choose the one with 'tz' if you like.

Hope it wasn't too long. Have fun!:p

k

[Emil Miller]

I have to admit that my German pronunciation does not correspond to Hochdeutsch as I moved a mong a disparate group of people in Munich when I was younger that included a number of refugees from the Sudetenland. Initially, I was taught Hochdeutsh in a language school here in England but once I got to Germany I naturally absorbed the spoken language as I heard it.

The word you were uncertain of is "aspirated"

[kiki1982]

The word you were uncertain of is "aspirated"

Thank you for the 'aspirated'. I knew it had to be something like 'aspire', but it was not quite right.

I only learned Hochdeutsch as I copied my professor German linguistics and he was admired by the rest for his wonderful accent.