German Rules - Part 1

I love spelling German words, and I love saying them. My favorite word is Bewusstseinslage, which is German. Did you know that German has an enormous influence on the English language? Did you know when you are saying "gesundheit" after someone sneezes, you are speaking German? My favorite Christmas carols are originally German, but they were translated to English. In fact, German is my favorite language to study for the spelling bee.

If you know your German roots very well, you will have no trouble figuring out a word, unless there is no specific root the word comes from.

Here are some words that have certain roots:

gemeinde - German root meaning "common, general"
gemeinschaft - same as gemeinde's root + German root schaft meaning "ship"
heiligenschein - German root heilig meaning "holy" + German root schein meaning "shine"
nachtmusik - German root nacht meaning "night" + German root musik meaning "music"
caffeol - German root kaffee meaning "coffee" (That may throw you off a bit, but this word also contains the International Scientific Vocabulary root ol meaning "a chemical compound containing hydroxyl").

Let's get some rules in:

German words use k's, ck's, and ch's very often. They tend to avoid c's, except if the word comes from a different language. (examples: glockenspiel, geistlich).

I have been wondering where the "i" came from, but my guess is the "i" after the "e". If my sister makes it nationals next year, I will have to ask him.

The long "e" sound is spelled ie. (examples: vorspiel, kunstlied)

The long "i" sound is spelled ei. (examples: Fahrenheit, gneiss, schwamerei, schalstein)

The "f" sound is spelled with a v. (examples: volkerwanderung, vorlage, leitmotiv)

The schwa is usually spelled with an e. (examples: Bewusstseinslage, gemeinde, pickelhaube)

Those are all the rules I will post today, but I will write on about schwas in German.

If you do not know what a schwa is, here is the definition: "neutral vowel sound, usually an unstressed syllable".

Whenever we learn a German song in choir, the director says it is extremely important to pronounce the schwas correctly. When we say guten (which is German for good), we must say it "goo-tuhn". In Stille Nacht (Silent Night), stille is pronounced (shtee-luh), this also goes for heilige, traute, Knabe, lockigen, and other words. (These words are not in Webster's Third. They are original German words that have never gone into English)
German is a very fun origin, and I will continue writing whenever I can this week!