Whisper English "yes". Prolong the initial sound, as if you were
stuttering: "yyyes". Whisper the name "Hugh" and prolong the initial
sound in the same way: "Hhhhhugh". Feel the air friction alone, like a
long drawn out, whispered hy- combination. Now try the German words with
your instructor. If you have difficulty with them whisper English
"yyyes" and "Hhhhhugh" again for a moment and try to get the air
friction sound here distinctly. The same kind of air friction will occur
in all of the following German words:
Practice 1
ich
König
Milch
leicht
mich
wenig
welch
nicht
weich
wichtig
solch
echt
Pech
endlich
durch
recht
Practice 2
sicher
Fächer
weichen
München
siechte
nächste
gezeichnet
Häschen
Küche
Löcher
Seuche
Rippchen
Tücher
höchste
leuchte
Söckchen
B. The German ach-sound
There is no sound in English similar to German -ch in ach.
Pronounce English "knock" and ask your instructor to pronounce German
nach. Notice the difference in the final sounds of the two
words. In the English word the back of the tongue is pressed against the
back part of the roof of the mouth stopping the flow of air. If you
don't stop the flow of air entirely but let some of it through by
lowering the back part of your tongue just a little, you should
approximate the German sound. This air friction, or spirant sound is not
the same as the one described under A. It is a lower frequency sound,
because it is produced farther back in the mouth cavity. Practice until
your instructor is satisfied with your pronunciation of the following
words.
Practice 3
doch
Docht
kochen
Tochter
auch
taucht
fauchen
hauchte
nach
macht
lachen
dachte
Tuch
sucht
buchen
suchte
Bruch
Sucht
Buchten
Practice 4 — the ich-sound and the ach-sound compared