Chapter 3: Vowel Length

The Long and Short of It

In English, all that separates Dan from a Dane and Jan from Jane is a shorter vowel sound. Similarly, in German, a Beet (flower bed) becomes a Bett (bed) as the vowel shifts from long to short. Mispronouncing these sounds can lead to confusion, which is easily avoided with proper pronunciation. Mastering this distinction starts with recognizing that both long and short vowels exist and learning to differentiate the two. 

German vowels fall into four distinct categories: standard, modified, combined, and reduced vowels. The five standard vowels in German – a, e, i, o, and u – are written the same as in English. Each has both a long and a short version. Modified vowels, known as Umlaute, are variations of the standard vowels, marked by two dots above them: ä, ö, and ü. Like standard vowels, they also come in long and short forms. Combined vowels, or diphthongs, are blends of two vowel sounds. They're always pronounced long, as the seamless transition between two vowel sounds naturally takes more time to speak. Reduced vowels occur mostly at the end of words and are usually pronounced short due to their unstressed position. They commonly appear in word endings such as -e, -el, -em, -en, -er, and -es.

Markers of Vowel Length

Prior to the 18th century, readers of German had to infer vowel length mostly from context. Occasionally, medieval scribes used diacritical marks to indicate long vowels, but their use was inconsistent. By the 18th century, efforts to regularize spelling for a given sound had begun. The printing press and the German translation of the bible were major driving forces in spreading standardized spelling. Today, vowel length can be mostly inferred from a word’s building blocks.

We refer to these specific combinations of vowels and consonants as markers of vowel length. We distinguish between three types: letter markers, pattern markers, and word-ending markers. Letter and pattern markers are most effective for determining vowel length in native German words, while word-ending markers work best in loanwords. Since we’re interested in the most efficient markers of vowel length, we focus on those that indicate long vowels. That’s because long vowels are simply more common. 

Letter Markers

Double vowels, referring to two consecutive identical vowels, always produce a long vowel sound. This spelling became increasingly common during Middle High German as a simple and intuitive way to indicate longer vowel sounds. Examples include: Aal (eel), Boot (boat), See (lake), and Tee (tea). Notably, this concept also exists in English, as illustrated by the word pairs bleed vs. bled, feed vs. fed, and root vs. rot.

Another common marker of a long vowel is the letter h. This spelling dates back to earlier forms of German, where many words featured an audible h sound after a vowel, as in the old Germanic word zahan (tooth). Over time, the h sound was lost, but the spelling remained to indicate the long vowel. Examples include the words Bahn (train), Huhn (chicken), Lohn (wage), and Zahn (tooth).

The next common marker of a long vowel is the letter combination ie. It always signals a long i vowel. In older forms of German, the letters ie were spoken as a diphthong. Over time, this was simplified to a long i sound, but the original spelling was retained to mark the long vowel. Today, the vowel i always gets lengthened when followed by the letter e. Examples include Brief (letter), Dieb (thief), lieb (dear), and Knie (knee).

Next, preview Chapter 4: Vowel Sounds