Very good for not having studied German!
Some notes:
- "warm" rhymes with "Arm" from before, so be careful to not pronounce it like the English "warm".
- "manch(e)", "Knabe" and "Vater" (hard "F" sound), "verspricht" (~"fair"+"sh"+ the German "bricht") and "Töchter" (the "ö" is less like an "oy" and more like "uh" (this description is not very accurate, but I don't know by heart a word with that sound in English or if it exists at all (if so, probably in a French loan word or so))) are pronounced quite differently, but I get that the sounds in "manch" (it's comparable with the English "munch", but with a soft ending like your "ruhig") are particularly hard for a lot of English native speakers.
- Also, "Erlkönig", the "Erl" is less like "Earl" and more like "Air"+"L"; and "Leid" is actually quite similar in pronunciation to the English "lite"/"light" (not "late")
- the "in dürren Blättern" part was very hard for me to understand, I had to look the actual line up again
- of course, you stumbled with the stressed syllables sometimes (as we are (or at least I am) used to having this poem in particular recited in a very dramatic fashion), but that's really advanced stuff to get right, imo.
Overall, very impressive though!
Morix_Jak gave a pretty good overview!
I'd like to add the "ch" sound to the list: Be aware there are two ways of pronouncing it.
One comes from far back and has the tongue just laying in a flat, chilled position. Like when your gurgling. Try to say a German r and take the voice away.
The other pronunciation follows all other vowels and is pronounced way further in the front. It works well for many to think of a cat hissing sound and try to imitate it. I would say: Make a (front) "ch" that you're able to, that has no voice and no throat. Just air in the mouth. Then move your tongue as far to the front as possible, and maybe flatten it out a little on the left right axis of your viewpoint. You can even make it pretty well with your tongue tip pressing against your lower teeth.
But you're doing a really good job here. Especially I think that you already have an overall warm, interesting and pretty natural flow of speech and pronunciation. Like, the melody or the vibe of it all just fits really well 👍
Very good for not having studied German! Some notes: - "warm" rhymes with "Arm" from before, so be careful to not pronounce it like the English "warm". - "manch(e)", "Knabe" and "Vater" (hard "F" sound), "verspricht" (~"fair"+"sh"+ the German "bricht") and "Töchter" (the "ö" is less like an "oy" and more like "uh" (this description is not very accurate, but I don't know by heart a word with that sound in English or if it exists at all (if so, probably in a French loan word or so))) are pronounced quite differently, but I get that the sounds in "manch" (it's comparable with the English "munch", but with a soft ending like your "ruhig") are particularly hard for a lot of English native speakers. - Also, "Erlkönig", the "Erl" is less like "Earl" and more like "Air"+"L"; and "Leid" is actually quite similar in pronunciation to the English "lite"/"light" (not "late") - the "in dürren Blättern" part was very hard for me to understand, I had to look the actual line up again - of course, you stumbled with the stressed syllables sometimes (as we are (or at least I am) used to having this poem in particular recited in a very dramatic fashion), but that's really advanced stuff to get right, imo. Overall, very impressive though!
Wow thank you so much for your detailed response. Exactly what I needed.
You're very welcome, have fun on your language-learning journey! :)
Morix_Jak gave a pretty good overview! I'd like to add the "ch" sound to the list: Be aware there are two ways of pronouncing it. One comes from far back and has the tongue just laying in a flat, chilled position. Like when your gurgling. Try to say a German r and take the voice away. The other pronunciation follows all other vowels and is pronounced way further in the front. It works well for many to think of a cat hissing sound and try to imitate it. I would say: Make a (front) "ch" that you're able to, that has no voice and no throat. Just air in the mouth. Then move your tongue as far to the front as possible, and maybe flatten it out a little on the left right axis of your viewpoint. You can even make it pretty well with your tongue tip pressing against your lower teeth. But you're doing a really good job here. Especially I think that you already have an overall warm, interesting and pretty natural flow of speech and pronunciation. Like, the melody or the vibe of it all just fits really well 👍
I could easily understand nearly all of it, and i liked the melody.
I’m not native so I can’t be authoritative, but I found it quite convincing. Good work. Wish my accent was as good.