Re: OT: German reputation

J. 'Mach' Wust wrote:
> First: Learn the proper pronunciation of standard German (it's what the
> orthography is based on).
IME it is the other way around in most modern standard languages
(excepting English): standard pronunciation is based on the standard
orthography!  This does not mean that there is a simple one-to-one
relation between standard orthography and standard pronunciation,
since there will still be rules for mapping between orthography and
pronunciation, but it does mean that standard pronunciation will be
something of a chimaera which many people may aim at but very few
if any will actually instantiate.  This means that there will be
variation in pronunciation, since even when people use standardized
grammar or vocabulary their actual pronunciation will be colored by
local traditional dialects and other changes that have taken place
since the establishment of the local version of "standard
pronunciation".

--

/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch at melroch dot se

         Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant!
                                             (Tacitus)

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