USAGE: German phonemically long vowels [was Re: Silent E]

Quoting Henrik Theiling <theiling@...>:

> "Thomas R. Wier" <trwier@...> writes:
> > German's orthography is fairly consistently phonemic, but there
> > are a few exceptions.  Because Standard German does not have
> > geminate consonants, a pair like "Nachttisch" (nightstand)
> > and "nachtisch" (nightly) are homophonous, the second <t> in
> > <Nachttisch> not being pronounced.
>
> Well, but these two are not, since the first a is short, the second
> long:
>
>   Nachttisch  [naXtIS]
>   Nachtisch   [na:XtIS]
>
> But your point is still correct.
That's something I've never mastered:  when are the phonemic vowels
present? The only time I get them right is when they're marked
orthographihcally:  <Stadt> (city) vs. <Staat> (state).

(Or did I get that wrong too?)

==============================
Thomas Wier <trwier@...>

"If a man demands justice, not merely as an abstract concept,
but in setting up the life of a society, and if he holds, further,
that within that society (however defined) all men have equal rights,
then the odds are that his views, sooner rather than later, are going
to set something or someone on fire." Peter Green, in _From Alexander
to Actium_, on Spartan king Cleomenes III

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