Actually, in German there is a long form of the u umlaut (as in "muede", meaning "tired") and the short form (as in "fuenf", meaning "five"). Similary, there is a long form of the o umlaut (as in "boese", meaning "evil") and the short form (as in "er hoert", meaning "he hears").
French does have a vowel that is somewhat similar to the u umlauts, (as in "tu", the familiar form of "you'), but definitely not exactly the same. This vowel does not come in a short or long form, only a single pronuncation (closer to the short u-umlaut in length but otherwise somewhat closer to the long u-umlaut otherwise). And French does have a vowel quite similar to (but again, not exactly the same as) the short o umlaut in German (as in "peur" or "coeur", "fear" and "heart", respectively). Prosit! Salut! Ezra "Joseph B. Reid" wrote: > The discussion about the pronunciation of German ue (or u umlaut) is futile > since that sound does not exist in English, but it is the same as the > French u. The same applies to oe (or o umlaut) as in Koeln, which is the > same as the French oe. > > Joseph B.Reid > 17 Glebe Road West > Toronto M5P 1C8 TEL. 416-486-6071
