Dissolved Sound “Umlaut”. It Is Already Correct!

Bahasa Indonesia – Deutsch

I was very surprised as a German blamed me, because I have written the dissolved sounds Umlaut in 2 vowels. The dissolved sounds Umlaut in German are sounds which are dissolved from 2 vowels. The Germans have specified letters for these sounds. The letters have 2 dots on them. ä, ö, ü are dissolved sounds Umlaut and if the Umlaut letters are not available, it should be written like follows: ae for ä, oe for ö, ue for ü. These Umlaut letters are of course printed on every keyboard of typewriters and computers in their origin. In Indonesia these Umlaut letters are not yet available until now.

Following the quotation of the email of that German (the translation, it was in Indonesian language):

“...It is not allowed: Privatlehrerin fuer Deutsch. It should be Privatlehrerin für Deutsch. Why don’t you write the Umlaut letters: ä, ü, ö. My keyboard also doesn’t have Umlaut letters, but it is really very easy to type them. “

I have learnt German since High School until university. It was taught so clearly: if the Umlaut letters are not available, they should be written in 2 vowels. If not, the sound is wrong, can be confused. How to differentiate for example these following words: zählen and zahlen, schön and schon, drücken and drucken? This is the first time in my life that a German blamed me for writing Umlaut sounds in 2 vowels.

I myself feel uncomfortable if I watch the Indonesian television and read on the screen “Bayern Munchen” not “Bayern Muenchen”. I just wanted to call the television station and ask them to write “Muenchen” and teach the announcer how to pronounce the Umlaut sound u and the word “Muenchen”, not [muncǝn].

A friend of mine (male) is a German, but lives in Maldives. He writes Umlaut sounds also in 2 vowels. I think, his keyboard is bought in Maldives and Maldives also doesn’t know Umlaut sounds. If Maldives knew Umlaut sounds, my friend wouldn’t write the Umlaut sounds in 2 vowels of course. Following his email from December 2013:

Rene schrieb am 13:33 Sonntag, 29.Dezember 2013:

Hallo Juita,

Schoen von Dir zu hoeren und auch ich wuensche Dir Frohe Weihnachten und ein Glueckliches Neues Jahr.
Werde klicken so viel und oft wie moeglich :-)

Mit lieben Gruessen, ...

I know the Umlaut letters can be created in Microsoft Word. From the menu: Insert – Symbol. However, if every time people should go to that menu only to create the Umlaut letters, it is waste of time. And in this Blogger, as long as I have tried to find how to create Umlaut letters, they were not found. Therefore I should type it first in the Word, and then I copy it into Blogger.

It is really interesting to know what other Germans or other persons who come from a German speaking country say to this issue.

Mr Hess-Luettich in Bern

Comments on debate at Umlaut letters and ss/ß:

The functional equivalence applies to Umlaut sounds and ß as follows: ä = ae, ö = oe, ü = ue and ß = ss. I write my name in the passport (Heß-Lüttich) always correct as Hess-Luettich in flight bookings or bank transfers.

But my bank in Kapstadt writes HeB-Luttich, which always causes confusing.

Mr Seemann in Berlin

I don’t have any troubles to write Umlaut letters with 2 vowels on a computer. I do this also, if I send mails in German to abroad. Because I am not sure, what an American computer will print. I have already seen chaos.

Only if it is about books or posters, etc., people should try to write the Umlaut letters accordingly. I do it also with French and Czech text and names and French and Czech signs, which can be done by symbol, etc.. You know that.

Ulli in Hamburg

So, I think Mr Dr. K. saw it very stiff. If I am abroad, I always write "ae, ue, oe, ss" usw., because the foreign keyboard doesn’t allow others. I don’t know buttons combination on the keyboard at all, which can create Umlaut sounds and it is laborious for me. Just for information: it is more interesting for Scandinavian (Nord Europe) who write ä or ö differently. I also cannot describe them with my keyboard. Approximately 99% all Germans have no problem, if they read ae, oe or ue.

Here I just got news from Norway, in which you can see the Umlaut sounds in Norway language. (just for interest). Their Umlaut letters are also not available in our keyboards. It is nice, that I can show you immediately that there is something else.

Kjære Ulli, (æ = ä),

Takk for juleønsker (ø = ö)

The sentence in Norway language means: Lieber Ulli, danke für die Weihnachtsgrüße. (English translation: Dear Ulli, thank you for the Christmas greetings)

 

So, if the sound symbols cannot be created in computers or internet, just write them with the letters which have the function as equivalent sounds. Nobody may blame it. ;-)

You have read text 41.
Please read text 42: Two Hours with Prof. Hess-Luettich

Back to text 40: The Suffering of the Honey from Rauenstein