How is the ending -ig pronounced, and where?

Question

I've heard the following alternatives for pronouncing the ending -ig of words like fertig and lustig:

• /ɪç/ (as in mich)
• /ɪʃ/ (as in Fisch)
• /ɪg/
• /ɪk/

Where are the different pronunciations used? Are there more alternatives?

Answer 1

There are regional differences.

In Austria and the southern areas of Germany, you will hear

Honig like "Honik"

König like "Könik"

When I took speech and drama lessons half a life time ago, it was pointed out that these words actually rhyme with "ich", so /ɪç/ is correct.

Honig is pronounced like "Honich"

König is pronounced like "Könich"

wenig is pronounced like "wenich", but of course it is a "g" sound in "weniger als ich dachte"

Answer 2

This map, from a collection of surveys done by the university of Augsburg, shows the distribution of the different pronunciations:

Aussprache König, wenig und zwanzig

Answer 3

Wikipedia's Standard German article says:

• /ɪʃ/ is used in western Germany
• /ɪk/ is used in southern Germany

Answer 4

When 'g' forms part of an -ig suffix it is pronounced as -ich using the /ç/ phoneme.

Eilig

Traurig

Honig

In some parts of Germany however, you may hear the consonant in an -ig suffix pronounced in a way that is closer to the /-ig/ phoneme.

Answer 5

I actually learned in school that Berg is pronounced Berch. It's also Hamburch (or, rather, Hambuäch, if you're from Kiel, like me). This is not true in standard German pronounciation, as teylyn explains.

Because of the regional differences, you can basically use all variants, anyone will understand you. -ig will usually fade to -ik, though, because of the German Auslautverhärtung.

Answer 6

If you speak perfect Hochdeutsch it should always pronounce /ɪg/. And because that is a bit difficult in any language, it often becomes /ɪk/ (try to make voiced throat sound at the end of the word that does not sound funny, so it often becomes un-voiced).

In dialect you will probably never hear it that way.

• In Westaphalia (where I come from) We are famous for our /ɪç/. The word "knallig" here is pronounced knallich, as in mich (voiceless throat sound)
• And in some other parts, like Saxonyia you will hear /ɪʃ/ a lot, it then sounds more like knallisch (voiced teeth sound). (Am I correct, dear saxons?)

Answer 7

With adjectives, I was very specifically taught that without an ending, it's pronounced /ɪç/ (ie. fleißig), but when an ending is given, it changes to /ɪg/ (ie. der fleißige Student).

Edit: Should add, this is for standard Hochdeutsch.

Answer 8

• /ɪʃ/ (as in Fisch)

This is common where people cannot speak the first variant (ɪç/ as in mich), for example in the Saarland and the palatinate.

Answer 9

I listened to my old copy of "The Three-Penny Opera" and got the definite impression that the "isch" ending is sometimes voiced up to "izh". Lotte Lenya almost (but not quite) does it in "das Schiff mit acht Segeln und mit funfzizh Kanonen"; however, the amazing Willy Trenk-Trebitsch certainly does it in "Das Lied von der Unzulaenglichkeit":

"Den, fuer dieses Leben

Ist der Mensch nischt gut genug.

Darum hau ihn eben

Ruhizh auf den Hut."

(But maybe this is just a dramatic affectation. )

Answer 10

There are some people like me how believed the simplifying lie

Man schreibt es wie man es spricht

told by their mother or some teachers, that things are spoken the same way as they are written.

I tend to to pronounce König like "König".

Answer 11

I sometimes use /ɪç/ when talking with close friends or people who also speak my dialect. But the "correct" pronounciation my parents teached me is /ɪg/.