GERMAN DICTION: OPEN AND CLOSED VOWELS (JW Baxter, 2009) Closed and open quite literally refer to a closed or open mouth! -and a high or low tongue-position. General rule: “h” following a vowel makes it CLOSED; a double consonant following a vowel makes it OPEN.

Closed = [e] Closest English equivalent is the vowel-sound in the English word “say” or “day” (minus the diphthong), but more closely related in sound and position to “EE,” as in “seen”). German words: den, werden, er, der, Erde, Leben, mehr, erstehen, selig, Ehre, Meer

Open = [ε ] Equivalent to the vowel sound in English “red.” German words: denn, Bett, Herr, Werke, erstehen, verlanget, hätte ------

Closed = [i] Equivalent to the vowel-sound in English “seen” German words: wir, dir, ihren, ihnen, wieder, wider

*Open = [I] Equivalent to the vowel-sound in English “sin” German words bin, hin, ist, Sinne, immer, Himmel

*German words like “ich,” “mich” and “nicht” are technically open, but are best sung as a combination of open and closed (esp. if on a note of long duration). When these words are too open, the effect is that of dialect or colloquial speech (as in Berlin street-talk slang where “Ich” becomes “Igge” or “Ikke,” on in Vienna where “nicht” degenerates to “nix”). ------

Closed = [o] Equivalent to the vowel-sound in French “beau” (a Minnesota-style “o,” closer to “oo”) German words: so, tot, Sohn, loben

*Open = [ɔ] Equivalent to the vowel-sound in English “cough” German words: Sonne, doppel, sollen, davon, folgen, verdorret

*Exception to the double consonant rule: gross, grosse [o] ------

Closed = [ø] is a composite of closed “o” [o] and closed “e” [e]; equivalent to French “feu” German words: trösten, schön, Söhne, erlösen, Schöpfer

Open = [œ] is a composite of open “o” [ɔ] and open “e”[ε]; equivalent to French “coeur” German words: Hölle, möchte, köstliche ------

Closed = [u] Equivalent to the vowel-sound in English “moon” German words: nun, Wut, Blume, Buch, Uhr, Ruhm

*Open = [U] Equivalent to the vowel-sound in English “foot” (less effective on a note of long duration) German words: und, kund, Mutter, Kuss, muss

*Exception to the double consonant rule: Fuss, Gruss [u] ------Closed = [y] is a composite of closed “oo” [u] and closed “ee” [i]; equivalent to French “tu” German words: Brüder, Tür, führen, Elysium

*Open = [Y] is a composite of open “oo” [U] and open “i”[I]; no equivalent in English or French German words: müssen, küssen, füllen, Myrten

*Exception to the double consonant rule: süss, grüssen [y]