• lugal@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    80
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    24 hours ago

    It’s the same in German: /mɛʁˈt͡seːdəs/

    Despite what other commentators say who are evil and eager to spread lies about the German language

    • Ultraviolet@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      30
      ·
      19 hours ago

      However, in Spanish, which is the name’s language of origin despite being a German car, they’re the same. All e as in red. Mercedes.

      • lugal@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        19 hours ago

        True, it’s a common female name, or was idk. Iirc the car is named after the daughter of the inventor. The German pronunciation is the butchered version of the Spanish first name so I’m on no moral high ground

    • pumpkinseedoil@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      19 hours ago

      The difference is so narrow that I wouldn’t notice any difference apart from the length, the first and last e are very slightly shorter than the middle e. And of course you have the usual going-down-with-your-voice-at-the-end-of-the-word

      • lugal@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        9 hours ago

        Yes, we often call them “long” and “short” E but the short E is actually halfway to A. It’s a different vowel even though it’s written the same. The last E is the vowel we often have in unstressed syllables like gekommen, same in English upon, about. We write it as E but it’s basically the most relaxed vowel possible.

        Look at this vowel chart to see and hear the differences.

    • Ephera@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      24 hours ago

      On a phonetic level, some specialist will be able to discern the different E-sounds, but they’re still very similar. It’s definitely not like the English pronunciation where it’s completely different sounds.

      • lugal@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        24 hours ago

        It’s basically the three E sounds we have in German (short, long and “unstressed”) but I see that to the untrained ear, this isn’t obvious