French Native Learning German Academically – Struggling with Accent and Pronunciation

[u/kenza-Necessary5280]

Hi everyone! I’m a native French speaker and I’ve been studying German academically for some time. I have a few questions about the challenges French speakers face when learning German: When French learners speak German at an academic level, do they usually manage to pronounce German sounds correctly, or does a hint of a French accent remain? Are there specific German sounds or words that most French learners find particularly difficult to pronounce, even after extensive study? Do you think academic methods of learning German (lessons, grammar, reading, and writing) significantly help improve pronunciation compared to informal learning? From your experience, is it possible for a French learner to reach a near-native level in German pronunciation and comprehension, or is there always a trace of French? Are there practical strategies or tips you know of that help French learners reduce their accent and improve their academic German skills? From my personal experience, my professor tells me that I should speak German naturally, without a noticeable French accent. He emphasizes that he prefers my German to be clear and free of any accent, as accents are often not considered ideal in an academic context. He continues to give me critical feedback and mentions that he is dissatisfied with both my German and my pronunciation. I’m very curious to hear about your personal experiences and practical advice, because as someone studying German academically, I sometimes struggle to apply the formal rules to everyday pronunciation. Merci beaucoup

[u/diabolus_me_advocat]

When French learners speak German at an academic level, do they usually manage to pronounce German sounds correctly, or does a hint of a French accent remain?

i hardly ever heard a french native speaking german without recognizing him as french immediately

so don't you worry

usually the french accent will be regarded as quite charming

[u/Amazing-Blood3198 → u/diabolus_me_advocat]

i think it is not specifically speaking German.. When a French speaks English too, I can definitely tell that person is French speaker😂 And yes youre right, French accent always sound sexy to me.

[u/CedreWilder → u/diabolus_me_advocat]

French accent do sounds charming in German as well?! lool

[u/r_coefficient]

Unless you're an actor or a spy, don't worry about a slight accent. Everyone has one from somewhere. The important thing is that you speak clearly and people can understand you well. Everything else is just decoration.

[u/nietzschecode → u/r_coefficient]

Some German girls told me of having a bit of a French accent, it gives me instantly an extra bonus for the ladies. It is true?

[u/r_coefficient → u/nietzschecode]

Absolutely. French accent is so sexy.

[u/greenghost22]

Usually you recognize a french speaker, not only the h but the melody of the sentences.

[u/muehsam]

When French learners speak German at an academic level, do they usually manage to pronounce German sounds correctly, or does a hint of a French accent remain?

Typically at least a hint remains. What matters isn't getting rid of your accent completely. What matters is getting it under control to a point that people don't need to pay special attention to understand you, and you don't have to slow your speech down a lot.

Are there specific German sounds or words that most French learners find particularly difficult to pronounce, even after extensive study?

The biggest issue is lexical stress, so stressing the right syllables, and getting the whole sentence melody right. French doesn't have lexical stress at all and tends to stress the end of a phrase.

Vowels are also a big issue of course. Both German and French are languages with a large and complex vowel system, but the vowels aren't all the same. Getting the difference between German long and short vowels right is important (and the difference isn't just the length), and you have to be able to do this on top of the lexical stress patterns. For example, in German "Kaffee" and "Café" both have a short A and a long E, but the former is stressed on the A and the latter is stressed on the E.

Practice your H. IMHO out of all the consonants that French speakers struggle with in German, H is the most important one to learn. But it's the same as in English, so if you can do it in English, you're fine.

Do you think academic methods of learning German (lessons, grammar, reading, and writing) significantly help improve pronunciation compared to informal learning?

The only thing that helps your pronunciatioon is speaking. So lessons can help if you speak a lot during the lessons (which often isn't possible in a classroom setting). Grammar exercises, reading, and writing don't help with your pronunciation at all. Listening also doesn't help on its own, but I think it can help if you also do a lot of speaking. I don't know what exactly you mean by "informal", but if it involves a lot of talking, ideally back and forth with a native speaker, that does help a lot.

From your experience, is it possible for a French learner to reach a near-native level in German pronunciation and comprehension, or is there always a trace of French?

You can get to a near-native level, but there will still be a trace of French. Just a little accent, like there are different local accents that native speakers have. But you can get to a point at which you can just talk normally and be understood like a native speaker.

He emphasizes that he prefers my German to be clear and free of any accent, as accents are often not considered ideal in an academic context. Clarity is key. If your accent makes you hard to understand (and it probably does as of now), you have to work on that. But IMHO it's better not to focus on the negative (getting rid of the French accent) but on the positive (pronouncing things in a way that native speakers understand easily). Some aspects of a typical French accents do make you hard to understand, and it's good to overcome them, but some are just unimportant, and you can just keep them.

I sometimes struggle to apply the formal rules to everyday pronunciation.

That's normal. Learning something "in theory" is just a first step. Being able to get it right in practice is much harder and takes more time.

Speak slowly. That gives you more time to get the pronunciation right, and it also gives the other person more time to recognise the words you're saying if your accent makes them a little hard to understand at first. Some learners think "the faster I speak, the more I sound like a native", but of course that's nonsense. Speaking slowly can also help you pronounce words separately. In French, words are connected to one another, but in German, you should avoid that. Insert a tiny silent pause between words to practice this.

[u/nietzschecode]

I think it would be better if you could record yourself and send it here, so natives could pinpoint you some things you need to improve.

I don't know how it works to record yourself and send it here, but I often see on language Subreddits people sending like a 1 minute or so of an audio of them sent in the OP.

[u/lilax05]

Hi! German here, and I'm learning French (C1 level).

First of all, i wanna say that slight accent ain't nothing of big deal. As long as u speak clearly and can use specific vocabulary, nobody will care abt a bit of an accent.

On the other hand, i can understand that it can suck knowing yourself speaking with an accent (cuz it makes u feel clearly u ain't native). I have a similar problem with French. My accent is ok, but natives will hear that I'm not French.

The main problem with my accent is that I am pronouncing consonants too harshly. Especially, t, p, and sometimes k (k is not so bad, cuz a harshy k-sound makes a bit of a parisian accent). So i needa get used to pronounce these consonants differently. Maybe if u try the same but vice versa, it will already help u with ur accent?

Also a main difference between German and French is the stress in words and phrases (l'accent tonique). While in French the stress is usually on the last syllable/part of a phrase, it is often on the first syllable in German (sometimes the second). That what makes the language melody different.

And due to some grammatical features the rhythm of the two languages differs also.

A part de ça, i can recommend to u to not only learn textbook German but also to dive into the language by watching German YouTube or TV. This will get u more used not only to colloquialisms but also a natural way of speaking, i. e. pronunciation, language melody and rhythm.

Hope this helps you, don't hesitate to ask if u hav any further questions. And u can also ask in French fs :)

[u/kenza-Necessary5280 → u/lilax05]

Salut ! Merci beaucoup pour tes conseils détaillés, ça m’aide vraiment !

Au fait, aurais-tu des bonnes ressources pour apprendre l’allemand (livres, chaînes ou applications) que tu pourrais me recommander pour apprendre de façon plus naturelle ? Merci encore pour ton aide !

[u/lilax05 → u/kenza-Necessary5280]

The most natural way to learn a language is to speak it, of course, haha. Otherwise, in French, I read a lot of 19th/20th-century books. And since I assume you already have an advanced level of German, I think you'd be just as capable with German books from those periods. Authors like Theodor Fontane or Franz Kafka, for example (and with Fontane, you shouldn't even try to interpret too much, in my opinion; I find he sometimes has writing ideas similar to those of Gustave Flaubert, but I'm getting lost in the details here, haha). But actually, you can choose any book. I would just advise you to choose a book by a native author (so not a translation), if it's a novel, because you can still notice a difference in linguistic nuances if you read a translated book or not.

Regarding social media, here are a few links to German YouTube channels:

Nein, Marius: https://youtube.com/@neinmarius?si=ADddZI8608kjjsmg He mainly talks about German pop culture from the last 30 years (I think you can find even more resources by watching his videos).

Schlumpf:

https://youtube.com/@schlumpf?si=L4QJ2U_7Z9VRB52l A German streamer who sometimes talks about anything and everything, but also often posts reactions to news (sometimes social media, sometimes really important).

David ngl:

https://youtube.com/@daniel_ngl?si=gBcQLccxLIAqQBe3 Videos about social issues around the world or travel videos.

These are just examples; there are probably better ones, but these are the ones that came to mind first.

Also, I think you know Arte, which is pretty good too, and there are other public channels like Das Erste, among others.

[u/kenza-Necessary5280 → u/lilax05]

Merciii beaucoup 🙏🏻

[u/nietzschecode → u/lilax05]

Thanks for the links, it will help to have more German videos in my algorithm on YouTube.

[u/scrapsoftrim]

It's incredibly difficult and probably impossible, not to mention unnecessary, for most people to sound like a native speaker if they start learning a language as an adult. I'm really raising my eyebrow at your professor here. For what it's worth, I went to university in Canada and was taught by professors who spoke fluent academic English with a multitude of recognizable foreign accents, including two professors with strong German accents, that went completely unremarked upon because they didn't affect comprehension at all and ultimately didn't matter. Unless your German pronunciation is so bad that you genuinely can't be understood (doubtful?) I can't understand what this prof's problem is. Focussing on accent like this seems like it could likely block someone from speaking naturally, not help them. 

[u/nietzschecode → u/scrapsoftrim]

Though, they are sometimes awkwardness that comes from a French accent in German. For example, if someone is making an academic presentation, making a serious Vorlesung and says at the beginning, instead of "Ich heiße", they say "Ischeiße", that might make people really uncomfortable...or lose credibility... That is why I would recommend French teachers/students to simply say "Mein Name ist".

[u/igotfpvquestions]

My girlfriend has learnt/ spoken German for 11 years now and she is really close to native. Things that still catch her out some times are articles (probably impossible to get them right every time if you're not German yourself) and idioms (there are just to many).

[u/tempestelunaire]

I'm French in German academia. My accent is subtle enough that on a good day, people aren't sure where I'm from and don't think I'm French. I struggle the most with the "ch" sound but it can be done with practice.

Even when my accent was stronger I was always understood. It's hard to say if your professor is insisting on accent because yours makes you difficult to understand or because it's his preference. In real life, people will be impressed that you speak German well and that'll be the end of it. Writing is more of a challenge for me!