Germany 26

Listen to Germany 26, a 36-year-old woman from Niedersachsen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 36

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 14/11/1984

PLACE OF BIRTH: Göttingen, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Caucasian (German and British ancestry)

OCCUPATION: editor of children’s books

EDUCATION: magister (roughly equivalent of master’s degree)

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject has lived her entire life in Germany, except for six months in Liverpool, England. She spent seven years in Bonn, Germany, for her university studies, before moving to Hamburg, where she has lived and worked ever since.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject’s native language is “Hochdeutsch” (High German). Her mother’s family is British, but she was not brought up bilingual. Bonn, where she lived for seven years, has a very specific German dialect, which she acquired while there. But after many years living in Hamburg, in northern Germany, she says her German accent “has gone back to normal.” She speaks English with her Swedish partner, has English-speaking friends, and occasionally speaks English for her job.

Starting from seventh grade, the subject attended a bilingual school (English/German) for seven years, and she had a minor in English Studies (Anglistik) at university. So her light accent is more a result of her studies than the fact that her mother is British, especially considering her mother moved from England to Germany at age six, speaks German flawlessly, and conversed with her daughter almost exclusively in German throughout their lives.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Phyllis Cohen

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 23/07/2021

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

Ah, well, I, I’ve been reading for all my life. Um, and I cannot, I cannot remember myself not being able to read. Um, and, uh, so doing something with books, it seemed kind of natural. I always wanted to become an astronaut, but that’s, um, not a very likely career path for [laughs], for, uh, me, and so at some point I realized that I should probably do something else. And then I thought “OK, uh, books; you like books.” So I, uh, and I had no idea after school what to do, so I just looked what can you study that involves books, and then I saw Comparative Literature, and, um, that just sounded like fun because you could read and compare things to other media. And I, um, like, I like books, but I also love films, and TV, and, um, all kinds of other media, and so that, that seemed like a good thing. And then I studied, um, for a long time — seven years, um — but I don’t regret that at all. It was a very good time with a lot of learning to be done.

Um, but at some point that was over, like, “OK, what do I do now?” [laughs] And I always loved children’s, um, children’s books. It’s, uh, just, um, I do read adult books every now and again, but really, um, there’s so much fantastical ideas in children’s books or YA books, um, that, uh — yeah, I just always, ya even before I became an editor, I read a lot of, like, children’s books. Um, and I had actually written my, my final thesis on, uh, “intersexuality in children’s literature.” And it’s a very fun topic to, uh, look into. And then I thought, “OK, let’s do something with that because that’s, um, something you never ever got bored of yet in your life.”

Um, and then I started applying. And, um, after I had actually, uh, secured my first job, I, um, or like not “job” but, but “internship,” um, I realized that a lot of people actually try to get these jobs very much and, like, these “internships” very much, and um, uh, I felt a bit guilty ‘cause I was older and this hadn’t always been my absolute dream job. For a lot of people, it is. But then as soon as I started working at it, I understood why because, um, I kind of fell in love with it. And I never wanna, I didn’t wanna go to adult, uh, fiction at all. Um, they take it very seriously [laughs]. And with children’s books, you can, um, you can actually have fun, I think. Not that you can’t have fun with adult literature — I’m being mean here — but, um, you can actually, um, have a lot of, uh, different topics and a lot of, um, ideas and be a little bit silly, and also, um, work with books that are super important for children to make them remember books being so important in my childhood.

[The subject speaks the following in Hochdeutsch (high German)]: Hallo, oder wie man hier im Norden sagt: “Moin!” Das Wetter ist sonnig, aber kühl, das ist oft so hier oben. Deswegen mag ich es hier. Auch im Hochsommer weht meistens ein Lüftchen und alle paar Tagen gibt es einen ordentlichen Schauer oder sogar ein kräftiges Gewitter. Das mag ich dann am liebsten.

[English translation: Hello, or how you would say here in the North: “Moin!” The weather is sunny but cool, which is often the case up here. That’s why I like it here. Even in the middle of summer, there is always wind, and every few days there is proper rain or even a thunderstorm. That’s when I like it the most.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Phyllis Cohen

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 26/07/2021

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: 

[ ɐ wɛl | ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯v̥ bin ɹidĩn fə˞ ɑl mʌ̈͡ɪ̯ lʌ̈͡ɪ̯f ‖ ʌ̹̈ːmː and̥ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ kanɔ̹̝t ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ kanɔ̹̝t̚ ɹi̞mɛmbə̴  mʌ̈͡ɪ̯sɛ̽ɫf nɔ̹̝t biʲĩŋ e͡ɪ̯bɫ̩ tə ɹid̚ ‖ äːm and̥͉ ʌː so͡ʊ̯ duiŋ sʌ̈mθĩn wiθ bʊks simd̥̪ kʌ̈͡ɪ̯nd̥ ɐv̥ nät͡ʃɹɫ̩ ‖ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ ɔ̹̝ɫwe͡ɪ̯z wɑ̹nɪd t̺u bikʌm än astrɐ̹nɑtʰ bʌ̹t ðɘt͡s ə̹m nɔ̹t ä vɛɹi lʌ̈͡ɪkli kəɹɪ͡ə̯ɹ paθ fɔːɹ fɔɹ ɐ m͈i än so͡ʊ̯ʷ ɘt̚ sʌ̈m pɔ͡ɪnt ə ɹiʲəlʌ̈͡ɪz̥d̚ ða̽t e͡ɪ ʃʊd pɹɔ̝bli dü̜ səmθɪŋ ɛɫs ᵊn ðɛn ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ θɑ̹̽ɾ‿ˌoˈk͈ĕ | ɐː bʊks ju lʌ̈͡ɪk̚ bʊks ‖ so͡ʊ̯: ʌ̈͡ɪ  əː ʌ̈͡ɪ had̚ no͡ʊ̯ʷ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯dijə ɐ̹ftə sk̬uɫ wɔ̹ tʰü dü ‖ so͡ʊ̯ʷ ʌ̈͡ɪ jɵst lʊ̹kt wʌ̹t̻ kɵn jü stʌ̈̃di ðɛ̽t ɪnvɔ̹̝̃ɫv̥s bʊks || ᵊn ðɛ̠̃ ɛ̠ sɔ̹̝ kəmpaɹatɪv lɪtɹət͡ʃəɹ̞ and̥ ʌ̹m ða̽t d͡ʒʌ̹̈st sä͡ʊ̯ndɪd lʌ̈͡ɪ̯k fʌ̹n bikɵz jɘ kʊd ɹid and̥ kɔ̟mpɛɹ θɪŋs tu ʌ̈ðəɹ̞ midiɐ | and̥ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ ʌ̹͡m lʌ̈͡ɪ̯k bʊks bʌ̹t ʌ̈͡ɪ ɑɫso͡ʊ̯ lʲʌ̹v fiɫmz̥ än tivi änd̥̪ ʌ̹ːm ɔ̹̝ɫ kʌ̈͡ɪnd̥͡s ʌ̹̈v ʌ̈ðəɹ̞ midiʲɐ an so͡ʊ̯ ðɛ̠t ðɛ̠t̚ simd̥͉ lʌ̈͡ɪ̯k e gʊ̈d θɪ̃ŋ ‖ a̽n ðɛn ʌ̈͡ɪ stʌ̈did ʌ̹ːm  fɔɹ a̽ lɔ̹̃ŋ tʌ̈͡ɪ̯m | sɛvɪn jɪ͡ə̯z̥ | ʌ̹̈m bʌ̹t ʌ̈͡ɪ dõ͡͡ʊ̯nt͉ ɹɪgɹɛt̚ ðäɾ äɾ ɔ̹̝ɫ ‖ ɪ̽ wʌ̹̈z ɘ vɛɹi gʏd̚ tʌ̈͡ɪm wɪð ə lɔ̹ɾ ʌ̹v ləɹ̞nɪ̃ŋ tə bi dʌ̈n ʌ̈ːm ‖ bʌ̈ʔ at̚ sʌ̈m pɔ͡ɪnt̚ ðat̚ wʌ̈z o͡ʊ̯və̴  ə wɘz lʌ̈͡ɪk ŏˈkĕ̆ | wʌ̈ duʷ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ du nä͡ʊ̯  ‖ and ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ ɔ̹̝ɫwe͡ɪ̯z lʌv̚d t͡ʃɘɫdɹn̩z̥ ʌm  t͡ʃɪ̽ɫdɹ̩nz̥ bʊks ‖ ɪt͡s ʌ̈ː d͡ʒəst ʌ̈ːm |  ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ du ɹid aˈdʌ̹̈ɫt bʊks ɛvɹi nä͡ʊ̯ ʷɘnd a̽gɛn bʌt̚ ɹili ʌ̹ːm ðɛɹ̞ so͡ʊ mʌ̹̈t͡ʃ fanˈtast̬ɪkl̩ ʌ̈͡ɪdiʲᵊz ^ɪn t͡ʃɪ̽ldɹn̩z bʊks ɔː wʌ̈͡ɪ̯ e͡ɪ̯ bʊks ʌ̹̈mː ðɛ̞̈t əː ‖ ja | ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ d͡ʒɘst ɔ̹̝ɫwə͡ɪ̯s | ivᵊn bi̞fɔ̽ɹ ʌ̈͡ɪ bi̞ke͡ɪ̯m a̽n ɛdɪtʰəː ə͡ɪ ɹɛd ə lɑ̹ɾ əf lʌ̈͡ɪ̯k t͡ʃɪ̽ɫdɹn̩z̥ bʊks ‖ ʌ̈m | ɛ̞̈nd̥ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ hɛ̞̈d̥ ɛ̞̈kʃli əː ɹɪtʰən mʌ̈͡ɪ̯ fʌ̈͡ɪ̯nəl θisɪs ɔ̝n ʌː ɪntəɹ̞tɛkst͡ʃuʷaɫɪtʰi ɪn t͡ʃɘɫdɹn̩z lɪtɹət͡ʃəː ‖  änd ɪ̽ts ʌ̈ vɛɹi fʌn tɑ̹̝pɪk tɯ ə lʊk ɪntɯ ‖ ᵊn ðɛn ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ θɔ̹̝ɾ oˈke͡ɪ̯ lɛts du sʌmθɪ̃ŋ wɪθ‿at bi̞kəz̥ ðäts ʌːm sʌ̹mθɪ̃ŋ ju nɛv̥ə̴  ɛvə̴ gɔ̹ˀt bɔ̹ɹ̞d̥ ɔ̹f jɛtʰ ɪn jə lʌ̈͡ɪ̯f  ‖ ʌːm än ðɛn ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ stɑ̈:tɪd ɐplʌ̯̈͡ɪɪ̃ŋ ‖ äntʰ ʌm | ɑftə˞ ä͡ɪ häd ɛ̞̈kʃəli ɘ səkʲə̴d̚ mʌ̈͡ɪ̯ fə̟ɹ̞st d͡ʒɔ̹̝b̥ ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ ʌ̹̈ːm ɔ̴ lʌ̈͡ɪ̯k nɔ̹̝t̚ d͡ʒɔ̹̝b̥ bʌ̹t̚ bʌ̹t͉  ɪntɚnʃɪp ʌmː ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ ɹiɘlʌ͡ɪ̯z̥d̚ ðɛ̽t ɐ lɔ̽ɾ ɔ̽f pipɬ̩ ɛ̽kʃəli tɹʌ̈͡ɪ̯ tu gɛt ðiz̥ d͡ʒɔ̹̝b̥s vɛɹi mʌt͡ʃ än lʌ̈͡ɪk̯ ðiz̥ ɪntəɹ̞nʃɪps vɛɹi mʌt͡ʃ änd̥ ʌm ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ fɛɫt ə bɪt gɪɫːti kʌ̥̽z ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ wʌ̹̽z̥ oɫdə̴  a̽nt ðɪs hadn̩t ɔɫwə͡ɪz̥ bɪn mʌ̈͡ɪ̯  äbsəlʊt drim d͡ʒɔ̹b̥ ‖  fɔɹ ə lɔ̝ɾ əʌ̥ pipɬ̩ ɪɾ ɪz ‖ bʌ̹t̚ ðɛn a̽s sun əs ʌ̽͡ɪ̯ sdɑ̈ːdɪd wəːkɪŋ äd ɪt ʌ̈͡ɪ̯  ʌndəstʊd wʌ͡ɪ̯ bikʊz̥ əmː ʌ̽͡ɪ̬ kʌ̽͡ɪnd əv̚ fɛɫ ɪn ləv̥ wɪð ɪt ‖ änd̥ ʌ̈͡ɪ nɛvəɹ wɔ̟nə | ʌ̈͡ɪ̯ dɪˀdⁿ wɔ̟nə go͡ʊ̯̆ tʊ ɐˈdʌ̹̈ɫt͉ ɐː fɪkʃən äɾ ɔ̹ɫ ‖ ɛ̝mː ðe͡ɪ̯ te͡ɪ̯k ɪt vɛɹi sɪɹiəsli ‖ än wɪθ t͡ʃɪ̽̽ɫdɹn̩z bʊks ju̜ kän ʌ̈ːm ju̜ kən äkt͡ʃəli häv̚ fʌn ə͡ɪ̯ θĩnk | nɔ̹̝t ðät ju̜ kɑ̈nt haf̚ fʌn wɪθ aˈdʌ̈ɫt lɪ̽tɹɐt͡ʃɐː ʌ̈͡ɪ̯m biʲɪ̃ŋ min hɪ͡ə̯ɹ  |  bət əːmˑ jü kən akʃəli ʌ̈ːm häv ə lɔ̹̝t ɔ̹v̥ dɪfɹn̩t̚ tɔ̹̝pɪks än ə lɔ̝ɾ əv̥ ɐːm ʌ̈͡ɪ̯diʲəz̥ än bi ə lɪt̬ɫ̩ bɪt̚ sɪli ‖ änd̥ ɑɫsɛ͡ɪʏ ʌm wəːk wɪð bʊ̹ks ðäɾ ɑ supɚ ɪmpɔɹˀtn̩t fɔ̴ t͡ʃɪ̽ɫdɹn̩ tə mə͡ɪ̯k ðəm rɪmɛmbɚ bʊ̹ks bɪʲɪ̃ŋ so͡ʊ̯ ɪmpɔ̴tn̩t ɪn mʌ̈͡ɪ̯ t͡ʃʌ̈͡ɪɫd̥hʊd̥ ‖ ]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Phyllis Cohen

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 21/03/2022

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

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