In a message dated 11/20/01 1:41:12 PM Pacific Standard Time, dbbj@... writes:


Many thanks for getting back to me so swiftly and so helpfully.  I'm sorry
to say, though, that I'm still at sea with ae.  I jumped on that article on
pronunciation you suggested, but found there, once again, just words riming
with 'air'.  You suggested listening to HM the Queen, but I don't get to do
that very often in New Mexico, hearing instead the bungled utterances, alas,
of George Bush.  Had the bright idea this morning of Googleing SAMPA to see
what [E:] would be in the sound system of German.  And what do I find as an
example? 'Spaet' (Sorry to spell it thus; this gizmo produces an Umlaut only
with the greatest reluctance.)  Unfortunately, I've heard the a-Umlaut
pronounced any where from a long e (Ger 'Beet' SAMPA [e:]) to an ash (Eng
'at' SAMPA [{]).  If memory serves, I heard the [{] more often in the north.


I am still at sea with that, as well.  'Spät' as a sample word is not helpful, I agree.  In Hannover in northern Germany, we tend to say it more like the vowels in "Beet" than "ash".    So if we say "Später, Peter", the sounds are identical in the north.  In the south, they would be different sounds, and the "ä" gets closer to "ash".  Maybe "Hände" would be a more useful example.  

Until proof to the contrary, I pronounce the Old Norse "ae" like the German "ä", whatever that means.  To me, it is the German "Beet" sound, moving a little towards "a" (but how much, that is the question!), but not quite to "ash".

Warm regards,
Birgit