Hi everyone.
Welcome to The Ultimate German Pronunciation Guide.
In this lesson, you'll learn the 
top 5 German pronunciation mistakes to avoid.
These are common mistakes that students of
German tend to make. So pay close attention
and make sure that you don't make these same
mistakes too.
Are you ready? Then let's get started!
Number 1: Pronouncing German words with an
English accent.
English and German have many words in common,
so the tendency is to pronounce them as you would
pronounce them in English.
Compare a few English words with their German derivatives.
Pretzel - Brezel
Bagel - Bagel
cobalt - cobalt
autobahn - autobahn
The difference is quite obvious.
Be sure to always pronounce words using German
consonant and vowel sounds when speaking German.
Get out of the habit of pronouncing these
words as you would in English. While it may
feel unnatural to say these words in a different
manner than what you're used to, realize that
it actually sounds more natural to native
German listeners.
Number 2: Under-enunciating vowels and final
syllables.
While both English and German have vowel reductions
of some sort, English is much more laxed than German.
This means that many English
speakers tend to under-enunciate vowels.
The same applies to final syllables
as well. Take for example...
Ich habe mir heute ein Stück Kuchen gegönnt.
(I treated myself with cake today).
Learners of German would often be unclear
in these problem areas.
The problem gets worse when an indirect or
direct object is involved, as this makes it
even more difficult for a listener to understand
what it is exactly, you're trying to say.
In meinem Auto habe ich eine Spinne entdeckt.
(I discovered a spider in my car)
Ich habe mir einen Koffer gekauft. 
(I bought a suitcase)
As you can see, both markers for the indirect
and the direct object are quite similar.
If you do not enunciate the endings clearly,
you'll be difficult to understand.
Number 3: Using the wrong intonation
Students of German often use the incorrect
pitch when saying a complete sentence or question.
When you connect phrases leading up to a complete
sentence, the endings of each phrase should
rise in pitch. It's only at the final phrase
of the sentence that the pitch falls if it's
a statement.
Take a look at this example.
Marie macht das Fenster zu, denn ihr ist kalt.
(Marie is closing the windows, because she feels cold)
Notice how the pitch rises at the end of the
first clause, and falls at the end of the sentence?
Würden Sie mir verraten, wie ich zum Bahnhof komme? 
(How do I get to the train station?)
Once again, the pitch rises at the end of
the first clause, but this time, the pitch
also rises at the end, since it's a question.
Number 4: Mispronouncing the German R
English speakers typically associate all R-like
sounds with some manner of articulation using
the tip of the tongue and somewhere in the
front part of the mouth.
The German R however, actually comes from
the throat, using the back of the mouth.
Listen to a few examples which uses this letter.
Rost (rust)
Rast (break)
rutschen (skid)
We'll take an in-depth look at pronouncing
German R sounds in lesson 6.
Number 5: Mispronouncing consonant combinations
with the letter S.
When combined with other consonants in German,
the letter S typically changes to a sh sound.
When S is paired with a H...
Show (show)
Shareware (shareware)
When S is paired with CH...
Scheck (cheque)
komisch (funny)
Fisch (fish)
When S is paired before a P at the beginning
of a word or the first syllable...
Spiel (game)
sprechen (to speak)
When S is paired before a T at the beginning
of a word or the first syllable...
Stadt (city)
studieren (to study)
As you can see, there are many instances in
which the letter S changes to a sh sound.
We'll cover more of this in lesson 8.
Now you know the top 5 German pronunciation
mistakes to avoid.
Try to be careful so that you don't commit
these same mistakes. Still feel a bit worried?
Over the rest of this series, we'll cover
all of these topics in depth.
In the next lesson, we'll start learning vowel
sounds in German.
Have you been guilty of any of these five mistakes?
Have you learned any tricks to deal with them?
Let us know in the comments and share them
with other students like you!
See you in the next Ultimate German Pronunciation Guide lesson!
