du Armer vs du Arme pronunciation

In lesson 11.1, at about 22min 15sec, Sandra & Matthias relate the difference in the words Armer and Arme depending on whether we are addressing a man or a woman.

They repeat these several times, but I confess I can hear very little difference. Du Arme is perhaps marginally more clipped than du Armer, (to my ears) but in normal speed speech I suspect it would be difficult to tell which has been said.

I've come across similar instances with words taking the endings -e or -er elsewhere in the course.

Would a native German speaker be able to tell the difference easily, and how important is it?

Hallo  Peter--252,

this can be a tricky one for English speakers but definitely not impossible to master! It might just take a little time and practise to get there.

To to distinguish between the two endings it helps to know that there is a schwa or e-schwa (ə) and an a-schwa sound, also sometimes called the vocalic “R” (ɐ).

The unstressed “e” or schwa sound in “Arme” is similar as in "about" whereas the unstressed “er” or a-schwa in “Armer” sounds almost like an "A" - hence its name.

It might also be helpful to go back to lesson 1.5 ‘Alphabet & Pronunciation' and have a read on the “R” section. 

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any further questions!

Viele Grüße,

Julia