Vaccine, waxing, and wachsen

What do the COVID-19 vaccine, hair removal, and growth spurts have to do with each other? Actually, nothing, except for their strangely confusing pronunciations in English and German: "vaccine", "waxing", and "wachsen". So what's the trick to knowing which is which?

Ask yourself this question: which sounds are familiar to your counterpart in their native tongue? And there we have it — the eternal tussle between German and English: "W" versus "V". These strangely confusing letters sound as similar as they look and are the second worst nightmare of any native German speaker trying to speak English (right after the infamous "th" sound, of course).

Confusing the "W" and "V" sounds

In fact, the phonetic sound of the English V also exists in the German language. So why the constant confusion? The English "V sound" corresponds to the sound of the letter "W" in German. Words like "warum," "weshalb," or "Wissenschaft" have exactly the same initial sound as "very," "vibrant," or "virtue." So, the sound itself is not the problem.

The way the "W" sounds in English is often equated by German speakers with an authentic English sound. Those who want to speak English particularly well sometimes tend to overdo it as a result. They run the risk of misunderstanding "very" and "wary," or confusing "violence" with "wireless," the aforementioned classic "vaccine" with "waxing," or our very favorite: "veggies" and "wedgies" (when your underpants pinch).

The German twist

On the other hand, there are those who aren’t so preoccupied with the sounds of a language. In those cases, the opposite phenomenon occurs, and the typical German accent emerges. Words like "wonder" and "word" are often mispronounced, and the English “W” sound is swapped with the “V” sound by native German speakers.

A few of our favorite examples include "whale"  and "veil," or "west"  instead of "vest," and our absolute prime example: "wicker" (woven wood) instead of "vicar" (priest).

Remember: The English "V" sounds like the German "W". The English "W" sounds like the German diphthong "uo". You'll notice you get fewer confused looks from your conversation partners, especially if for some reason you have a conversation that involves vaccines, waxing, and wachsen.

Hopefully, your conversations will run a little smoother now, and at least this topic will no longer cause confusion. And if it does, at least you have great conversation topics for the next discussion. Stay very wary!