Hi!
Steven Williams writes:
> --- daniel prohaska <danielprohaska@...>
> schrieb:
>
> > In many colloquial varieties of German these distinctions are
> > reduced and the remaining realisations are usually [a: E6 O6 U6 Y6
> > 96], /i:r/ and /ir/ often remain distinct either as [i:6] vs.
> > [I6], and the latter is frequently realised as [Y6] or [96] in the
> > Northern half of the German speaking area.
I suppose it is more like [16], but most people who don't have any [1]
will hear [Y]. At least my wife says [16] vs. [i:6] and [Y6]
vs. [y:6].
> (insert standard non-native speaker disclaimer)
>
> Ha! This reminds me of a time I was talking with a
> friend of mine, and he said /vierzig/ as ['fY6.tsIC].
> My mind analyzed the word as /fürzig/ — 'farty'?
Hehe. :-)
> I had a good giggle when I finally figured it out. ;D
**Henrik