In writing, a long vowel is symbolized by a double vowel
letter in a closed syllable (i.e. a syllable ending with a consonant) and
by a single vowel letter in an open syllable (i.e. a syllable not ending
with a consonant). (In the German-based Loccum Guidelines (Loccumer Richtlinien) writing system used in Lutheran circles, long vowels are represented by double
vowel letters in both types of syllables.) It is confusing, especially
for the learner, that the predominant German-based writing systems for the
northern dialects represent diphthongs by double vowel letters as well and that in ordinary, casual writing e ~ ee and ö ~ öö represents long vowels (ę ~ ęę (e ~ ee) and ö̢ ~ ö̢ö̢ (oe) respectively) as well as diphthongs (e ~ ee (ey) and ö ~ öö (oy)). This has been leading to many mispronunciations among non-native speakers
that rely on printed sources. This is why here long vowels and diphthongs
are consistently distinguished in writing.
Distinguishing the long vowel ę ~ ęę (e ~ ee) from the diphthong e ~ ee (ey) tends to be difficult at first for many English speakers, because the long vowel
does not exist in their native sound inventories, unless they speak Scottish
or
Welsh English. The same goes for distinguishing the long vowel o ~ oo (o ~ oo) from the diphthong o ~ oo (ou) which are never distinguished in the predominant German-based writing systems
for the northern dialects (unless ou is pronounced au in a given dialect). However, not distinguishing the long vowel o ~ oo (o ~ oo) from the diphthong o ~ oo (ou) is now acceptable and is even the norm in many dialects, such as those of the
Lower Elbe region.
Note: In all writing systems, a long vowel must be
represented by a double letter if it is followed by
any consonant cluster (i.e. more than one consonant letter in a row; e.g. Baart (baard) ‘beard’, Fuust (vuust) ‘fist’, tuuschen (tuuschen) ‘to swap’, düütsch (Duytsch) ‘German’).
In the German-based
writing systems (and also in the Dutch-based ones), the long “i” sound ([iː]) is an exception. Rather than by i ~ ii it is consistently represented by ie, irrespective of the syllable type. In the
General Orthography (Algemeyne Schryvwys') we use y instead. It was widely used in Middle Saxon writing of the Hanseatic era, and
it was
is
derived from ij and ultimately from ii.
In the General Orthography
(Algemeyne Schryvwys') we use uy instead of üü to represent the long ü sound ([yː]). This is another device often encountered in Middle Saxon writing as
well as in Middle Dutch writing. (In Dutch it is the ancestor of today’s ui and in earlier times used to be pronounced [yː] as well.)
In the German-based
writing systems, the letter h following a single vowel letter (as well as ie) is in certain cases used to show that a vowel is long (or that the vowel represents
a
diphthong). This unfortunate and confusing practice of mixed devices is based
on
the
guideline that if this Dehnungs-H (“lengthening h”) is used in the German cognate (i.e. related word) then it should be used in
the
Low Saxon cognate as well. This rule goes back to the time when the official
line was that Low Saxon was not an independent
language, and the
basic
intention
was to make written Low Saxon look as much like written German as possible.
as in Scots gate and German geht, or as in fair in Australian and Southeastern England dialects
(Some dialects, like those at and around the Lower Elbe, pronounce this
like the diphthong ey;
see Diphthongs)
like long e above but with rounded lips, as in German schön, Dutch steun and French anguleux (Some dialects, like those at and around the Lower Elbe,
pronounce this like the diphthong oy;
see Diphthongs)
as in Scots boat, German Boot, and “bore” in Australian and Southeastern England dialects
(Some dialects, like those at and around the Lower Elbe, pronounce
this like the diphthong ou;
see Diphthongs)
slightly rounded as in “father” Southeast England dialects and in South African English and bra in Swedish, or (especially in Lower Elbe dialects) like long “o” above
(See Note 3 below.)
(1) Some dialects, such as those at and around the Lower Elbe, do not
distinguish the long vowels ee, öö and oo from
their diphthong counterparts ey, oy and ou (see Diphthongs). They pronounce them all as diphthongs. For instance, they pronounce Dęęl ~ Dääl (deel, ‘vestibule’) like Deel (deyl, ‘part’). This appears
to be a case of Sprachverfall (“language decay”) in the form of of overcompensatory
leveling, probably faciliated by orthographic insufficiencies. (German does
not have these diphthongs, and many people do not distinguish long monophtongs
from diphthongs, thus encouraging mispronunciation among learners.)
(2) Many authentically spoken Low Saxon dialects have what is called “super-length”
or “drawl tone” where final unstressed -e has
been deleted after a syllable with a long vowel or a diphthong. When the consonant before the final
unstressed -e is a voiced one (/b/, /v/, /m/, /d/, /n/, /z/, /l/, /r/, /g/, /j/), the preceding
long vowel or diphthong is pronounced somewhat longer. In other words, the
length of the “disappeared” short -e comes to be added to the previous, now final syllable. In such cases, the now
seemingly final consonant does not undergo final devoicing. (Please note
that in some dialects /d/ comes to be deleted and /g/ comes to be fricative
([ɣ]) in cases of super-length.) In these cases an apostrophe is supposed to be written
to represent the “disappeared” short -e. However, even in textbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias this orthographic
rule is rarely followed, and this leads to mispronunciation by learners.
(3) Most writers of Low Saxon, few of whom have any knowledge of phonological
principles, are bent on writing what they think is “phonetically” (to represent
as many distinguishing surface features of their dialects as possible). Since
the long Low Saxon (/aa/→) [ɒː] is not a sound that is found in Standard German, many people, especially those
in Schleswig-Holstein and those
with a soft
spot for Scandinavia, use the Scandinavian letter å to represent it.
Distinguishing the long vowel ę ~ ęę (e ~ ee) from the diphthong e ~ ee (ey) tends to be difficult at first for many English speakers, because the long vowel
does not exist in their native sound inventories, unless they speak Scottish
or
Welsh English. The same goes for distinguishing the long vowel o ~ oo (o ~ oo) from the diphthong o ~ oo (ou) which are never distinguished in the predominant German-based writing systems
for the northern dialects (unless ou is pronounced au in a given dialect). However, not distinguishing the long vowel o ~ oo (o ~ oo) from the diphthong o ~ oo (ou) is now acceptable and is even the norm in many dialects, such as those of the
Lower Elbe region.