GermanLesson 1 of 2 in the course German phonology and orthography

German Orthography: Letters, Word Formation, Punctuation, and Standardization

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

German spelling uses the 26 letters of the basic Latin alphabet plus the special letters ä, ö, ü, and ß. Knowing how these letters work helps readers recognize words, understand pronunciation clues, and transcribe German accurately.

The modern German alphabet includes the 26 basic Latin letters and four special letters. The letters ä, ö, and ü are vowels marked with an umlaut. The letter ß, called Eszett or scharfes S, historically developed from a ligature associated with long ſ and z.

All flashcards

Umlaut transcription
When umlaut characters are unavailable, ä, ö, and ü are commonly written ae, oe, and ue.
Doubled consonants
They commonly signal that the preceding vowel is short; they usually do not represent a longer consonant sound.
German compounds
German often writes combined words, especially nouns, as a single word.
German quotation punctuation
A following period or comma is placed outside the quotation marks.
Uppercase ß
In all-capital writing, ß is commonly written SS; the official capital letter ẞ is also available.

Quiz questions

  1. Which word category is generally capitalized in German, even within a sentence?Answer: Nouns
  2. Which type of German compound commonly requires a hyphen?Answer: A compound containing an abbreviation
  3. Which sound does the German letter combination ei usually represent?Answer: /aɪ/
  4. How is ß generally treated when alphabetizing German words?Answer: As equivalent to ss
  5. Which institution regulates standard High German orthography today?Answer: The Council for German Orthography

Based on the Wikipedia article German orthography, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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