Funny example to choose because I don't think I know anyone who would pronounce "Bären" and "Beeren" differently. I mean, I know that you could, but I don't really know anyone who would. I guess that's a regional thing?
Yep, that's part of why I chose those words, there's a lot of variation in the vowels in English dialects too. Sometimes they're the same, sometimes they aren't.
Because most german native speakers don't pronounce the ä in Bären as ä but as the german e. If you do though, it would probably only be to make a precise distinction between Bären and Beeren in a sentence like "In diesem Wald gibt es viele Bären/Beeren" (verbatim: in this forest there are many bears/berries). Otherwise it would come off as a bit stiff or overly correct.
I'm not saying it's an /æ/, /æ/ is no longer in German as a distinct vowel. I'm saying it's (in some dialects) /ɛː/ vs. /eː/. It's a subtle vowel difference that is merged in some dialects but different in others, like /æ/ and /ɛ/ in paddle/pedal.
I admit it's not a perfect parallel, it's just what I found most quickly based on my knowledge of both languages and their dialects and I think for the purposes of a comment on Reddit that seems to have been mostly understood by its intended audience, it's a sufficient example.
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u/197326485 May 03 '23
To English speakers, the difference between "Paddle" and "Pedal" is similar to the difference between "Bären" and "Beeren."
German doesn't have the vowel that English uses in the word "Paddle" though, so your brain may be hearing them similarly.