Last week, we examined the nouns and verbs for certain noises that are produced in nature and by animals. Now we're going to follow this up with words for sounds produced by humans and machines, though not exclusively.

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The verb klirren is often used for metal objects that are colliding. The noun is das Klirren. 

Auch wenn kein Schwert mehr klirrt ...

Even if no sword clangs anymore...

Caption 77, Jacob rezitiert: Mascha Kaléko

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Last week, we looked at das Summen, which is one type of hum that humans and bees are capable of. But for a constant, low mechanical sound, das Brummen may be more appropriate. 

Hörst du das Brummen im Hintergrund?

Do you hear the hum in the background?

Caption 51, Deutsch mit Eylin: Umzug nach Ottensen

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There are so many words for various types of loud and abrupt sounds:  

Plötzlich gab es einen Knall und Piggeldy sauste senkrecht in die Luft.

Suddenly, there was a bang and Piggeldy sprang directly up into the air.

Caption 31, Piggeldy und Frederick: Autofahren

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Bums, und sie fielen auf der anderen Seite hinunter.

Thud, and they fell down the other side.

Caption 22, Piggeldy und Frederick: Der Mond

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Immer ein Pochen bis zum Hals bei dir, bei dir.

Always a pounding up to the neck with you, with you.

Caption 2, LOTTE: Schau mich nicht so an

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Es folgte ein vorsichtiges Klopfen an der Tür.

It was followed by a gentle knock at the door.

Caption 40, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Der Froschkönig

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The human voice is capable of a vast range of sounds, which are used here to anthropomorphize the wind.

Und der, wenn er wild wird, uns Sand in die Augen weht und uns vorwärts schiebt und singt und klagt und heult und ächzt und stöhnt und braust und brüllt."

And the one that, when he becomes wild, blows sand into our eyes and pushes us forward and sings and moans and howls and groans and sighs and blusters and bellows.

Captions 17-19, Piggeldy und Frederick Der Wind

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Und auch am Silbenende wird es zischend ausgesprochen.

And at the end of a syllable, too, it is pronounced with a hissing sound.

Caption 26, Deutsch mit Eylin: S und Z - Part 2

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Further Learning
You can find more examples of these words on Yabla German and even look up a few more, such as das Klacken and das Knirschen. 

Every once in a while, it's good to check in regarding pronunciation, or die Aussprache. In a previous newsletter, we looked at how vowel sounds may change when they are followed by a double consonant, and also at "ich" and "ach" sounds. Today, let's look at one particularly tough topic: the pronunciation of "s" and "z" in German. Luckily, you can refer to two recently released Yabla videos (linked above and below in the examples) to hear a direct comparison.

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Essentially, the German "s" is pronounced either like an English "z" (described in German as a buzzing sound), or an English "s" (described as a hissing sound much like how it is also related to the "ssss" sound a snake makes). Here is the rule:

Am Wortanfang wird das „S“ immer summend ausgesprochen.

At the beginning of a word, the "S" is always pronounced with a buzzing sound.

Caption 2, Aussprache mit Eylin: S und Z - Part 2

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This also applies to any "s" in the middle of a word that is the beginning of a syllable, but not to any "s" at the end of a word: 

Das „S“ am Wortende jedoch wird zischend ausgesprochen.

The "S" at the end of the word, however, is pronounced with a hissing sound.

Captions 17-18, Aussprache mit Eylin: S und Z - Part 2

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The German "z," however, has NEITHER of these sounds, which is often difficult to remember. When a German word begins with "z," your first impulse should be to actually make a "t" sound, not a buzzing sound:

Das deutsche „Z“ wird immer so ausgesprochen: „zzzzzz“.

The German "Z" is always pronounced like this: "tsssss."

Captions 21-22, Aussprache mit Eylin: S und Z - Part 1

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Pronouncing the "z" correctly can be extremely important in order to be understood. Consider how it might affect your communication with a German dentist if you talk about die Sehne ("the tendon") instead of die Zähne ("the teeth")! 

Further Learning
Watch these two videos in their entirety on Yabla German, and practice your "z" and "s" with Eylin. After you do that, here is a short list to test yourself with: die Sahne, die Sehne, der Zahn, die Zähne, die Säule, der Zeuge, die Sonne, der Zoo, sinken, das Zink, suchen, and der Zucker. How quickly can you say this list out loud? You can also view Eylin's video on the difference between "s," "ß," and "ss", which discusses the particularities of these three variations of the hissing "s" sound.