segeln > segle
lesen > lest
Is the e changed from [e] to [ɛ]?
the e in essen and gehen is different.
closed as unclear what you're asking by Hubert Schölnast, Alexander Kosubek, Oliver Mason, Björn Friedrich, Marzipanherz Aug 16 at 18:35
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
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Please add a little more information: Why do you even think this would be the case? Are you referring to a specific variety of German or about German in general (which would make the question too broad, in my opinion)? - As it stands, it seems unanswerable to me. – Alexander Kosubek Aug 9 at 7:07
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@AlexanderKosubek I think this is a reasonable question. They are asking why the e's in lest and Rest are different. And there's a good answer – PiedPiper Aug 10 at 9:21
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1@PiedPiper No, sadly the question does not cite Rest as one of the words in question. If it was, it would actually have been a much better question - which would have still been answerable by referring to a dictionary. The question as it stands now does not ask anything useful. Only with very much effort in guessing, what the op atually wants, a good answer like Janka's is possible. – Alexander Kosubek Aug 13 at 7:37
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1The also in the question suggests, that you know of some cases, where the described behaviour acutally occurs. Can you give examples of a case, where this happens? – Alexander Kosubek Aug 13 at 7:39
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Essen und gehen enthalten jeweils ziemlich genau 2 Es. In Gehen findet sich kein Konsonantencluster. – user unknown Aug 19 at 20:46
The answer is no.
This may seem tricky to you because in words as der Rest, die Pest, das Fest there is indeed an ɛ.
BUT, as a basic rule, pronounciation of vowels in stems is stable in German, and if there ever is a vowel change, an Ablaut, this substantial change is marked by using a different vowel character/diphthong.
lesen → sie liest
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2The restriction “as a basic rule” is well put. There are occasional exceptions to this rule. They come from Central German dialects where vowel shortenings before consonant clusters may occur. A few of these have found there way into the standard language, e.g. geben → gibt. The regular form giebt is no longer used in writing, and I guess that the corresponding pronunciation with a long vowel might only be occasional found in the very South, where original long vowels tend to be preserved more faithfully. – mach Aug 10 at 19:35
