Auslautverhärtung

Auslautverhärtung, or final devoicing, is a phonological process in German in which obstruents lose their voicing in syllable-final position. In standard German the consonant in the coda of a syllable is typically devoiced, so a voice distinction does not survive at the end of words. The phenomenon is widespread in Standard German and is also described in many German dialects.

Phonologically, the rule applies to stops, fricatives and affricates in the syllable coda. The result is that the final obstruent is realized as its voiceless counterpart, while sonorants such as nasals and liquids remain voiced. This neutralization creates homophony for pairs that would otherwise be distinguished only by final voicing. In practice, many common single-syllable words show the effect: Tag is heard as [taːk], Lied as [liːt], Geld as [ɡɛlt], Hund as [hʊnt], Schub as [ʃuːp], and Lob as [loːp]. The preposition ab is pronounced [ap]. The pattern also affects words with final clusters, though the exact realization can vary with speaker and context.

The phenomenon has historical roots in the evolution of the Germanic languages and remains a standard feature of modern German phonology. It is most noticeable in careful or careful-appearing speech and in careful reading, and may be less pronounced in rapid connected speech or in some dialects. In loanwords or in certain dialectal varieties, devoicing may be incomplete.

See also: Final devoicing, German phonology.