But what is the sound of German? Short vowels, devoiced terminal consonants, rolled rhotics and lots of sibilent clusters - sure, but can we be a bit more precise than that?
I mean, precise enough to generate fake German utterances plausible enough to fool someone who knows the sound of the language and a hundred or so words, but can't string a sentence together in it? Someone like, er, well, me.
With written German we're quite lucky, in that the written form is a good guide to the spoken sound - though not so much vice versa. There's also a lot of written German around to be analysed.
The Guttenberg Project has ten works by Franz Kafka, which I took as my raw data. I ran it through some word frequency counting software, which gave me a vocabulary of a little over 10,000 words.
Here's the first 1000, together with rough translations courtesy of Google. I've taken out personal names, and words which Google couldn't translate. Might be useful if you're thinking of learning German - or studying the obsessions of Franz Kafka.
| und | and |
| der | the |
| die | the |
| er | he |
| zu | to |
| sie | they |
| in | in |
| den | the |
| nicht | not |
| ich | I |
| sich | itself |
| es | it |
| das | the |
| mit | with |
| dem | the |
| aber | but |
| war | was |
| auf | on |
| ein | a |
| ist | is |
| dass | that |
| an | to |
| so | so |
| als | as |
| wie | as |
| von | of |
| auch | also |
| nur | only |
| im | in the |
| hatte | had |
| des | of |
| ihn | him |
| noch | more |
| man | you |
| ihm | him |
| aus | from |
| schon | already |
| eine | a |
| um | at |
| wenn | when |
| mir | me |
| fuer | for |
| sagte | said |
| doch | but |
| dann | then |
| einen | one |
| vor | before |
| mich | me |
| zum | to |
| denn | because |
| einem | one |
| sein | be |
| jetzt | now |
| nun | now |
| da | because |
| nach | after |
| du | you |
| ueber | about |
| ihr | her |
| was | what |
| durch | by |
| wir | we |
| ja | yes |
| wieder | back |
| haben | have |
| seine | his |
| vater | father |
| bei | at |
| hat | has |
| immer | always |
| alles | everything |
| ganz | all |
| mehr | more |
| einer | one |
| dieser | this |
| diese | this |
| haette | would have |
| sah | saw |
| seinem | his |
| konnte | could |
| kann | can |
| wird | shall |
| selbst | itself |
| alle | all |
| mutter | mother |
| habe | have |
| ohne | without |
| schwester | sister |
| vielleicht | maybe |
| hier | here |
| werden | will |
| seiner | his |
| gar | indeed |
| wollte | wanted |
| sind | are |
| seinen | his |
| sehr | very |
| nichts | nothing |
| ihnen | them |
| unter | under |
| zimmer | room |
| offizier | officer |
| zeit | time |
| am | at the |
| waren | were |
| oder | or |
| ihre | their |
| waehrend | while |
| uns | us |
| kopf | head |
| einmal | once |
| zur | to |
| bis | to |
| fast | almost |
| hand | hand |
| keine | no |
| reisende | traveler |
| also | so |
| mein | my |
| vom | from |
| etwas | something |
| augen | eyes |
| waere | would be |
| mann | man |
| wurde | was |
| ins | in the |
| wohl | probably |
| koennen | can |
| diesem | this |
| heizer | stoker |
| wuerde | would |
| musste | had |
| bin | am |
| meine | my |
| wenig | little |
| bett | bed |
| gerade | just |
| viel | much |
| dieses | this |
| gegen | against |
| gleich | equal |
| zwei | two |
| herr | Mr. |
| hin | down |
| machen | make |
| allerdings | though |
| ihrer | of her |
| kaum | hardly |
| gesicht | face |
| kein | no |
| wo | where |
| fenster | window |
| natuerlich | course |
| schien | seemed |
| dort | there |
| sagen | say |
| sollte | should |
| herren | Gentlemen |
| sogar | even |
| lange | long |
| ging | went |
| muss | must |
| gut | good |
| lassen | let |
| sei | was |
| muessen | must |
| eines | one |
| allen | all |
| warum | why |
| kleinen | small |
| bald | soon |
| diesen | this |
| rief | cried |
| anderen | other |
| beim | when |
| hatten | had |
| seines | his |
| dich | you |
| weiss | white |
| erst | only |
| sehen | see |
| sondern | but |
| fragte | asked |
| niemand | no one |
| wirklich | really |
| werde | will |
| will | wants |
| sofort | immediately |
| zurueck | back |
| damit | so |
| hielt | held |
| gewesen | been |
| ihren | their |
| weil | because |
| reisenden | traveling |
| ob | whether |
| stand | stand |
| ab | from |
| kommen | come |
| leicht | slightly |
| familie | family |
| kam | came |
| hinter | behind |
| ersten | first |
| endlich | finally |
| ganze | all |
| kapitaen | Captain |
| zwar | indeed |
| verurteilte | sentenced |
| augenblick | moment |
| ganzen | all |
| trotzdem | nevertheless |
| eltern | parents |
| kleine | small |
| kommt | comes |
| grossen | large |
| zwischen | between |
| weg | away |
| heute | today |
| liess | let |
| keinen | no |
| dessen | its |
| weiter | more |
| ihrem | her |
| machte | made |
| dachte | thought |
| wollen | want |
| daran | it |
| allein | alone |
| frueher | earlier |
| egge | harrow |
| recht | right |
| koennte | could |
| gewiss | certainly |
| nacht | night |
| dir | you |
| meinen | mean |
| welche | which |
| kommandanten | commander |
| seite | page |
| anblick | sight |
| zuerst | first |
| weit | far |
| leben | live |
| blieb | remained |
| langsam | slowly |
| freund | friend |
| meiner | mine |
| gab | were |
| boden | ground |
| meinem | my |
| sonst | otherwise |
| hause | home |
| manchmal | sometimes |
| grosse | large |
| tisch | table |
| soll | shall |
| her | here |
| eigentlich | actually |
| wenigstens | at least |
| soldat | soldier |
| menschen | people |
| begann | began |
| besonders | particularly |
| arbeit | work |
| hoerte | heard |
| genug | enough |
| sessel | chair |
| wort | word |
| mund | mouth |
| lag | was |
| solchen | such |
| offenbar | apparently |
| hoeren | listen |
| hast | have |
| neben | next |
| geht | goes |
| wahrscheinlich | probably |
| ueberhaupt | at all |
| alten | old |
| gehen | go |
| dies | this |
| blick | view |
| koffer | case |
| tun | do |
| nehmen | take |
| uebrigens | by the way |
| oft | often |
| besser | better |
| darueber | about it |
| bleiben | remain |
| darauf | thereon |
| ende | end |
| zog | moved |
| leute | people |
| andere | other |
| verstand | mind |
| scheint | seems |
| stimme | agree |
| arm | poor |
| einander | each other |
| lieber | rather |
| jeder | each |
| fest | fixed |
| trotz | despite |
| fuehlte | felt |
| schliesslich | finally |
| schwer | difficult |
| verurteilten | sentenced |
| drei | three |
| worden | been |
| tatsaechlich | actually |
| vollstaendig | completely |
| langen | long |
| geschehen | happen |
| statt | instead of |
| niemals | never |
| letzten | last |
| stehen | stand |
| ruhig | quiet |
| samuel | samuel |
| sache | thing |
| maschine | machine |
| macht | power |
| aller | all |
| wissen | know |
| seit | since |
| grund | reason |
| essen | eat |
| zeigte | showed |
| reden | talk |
| davon | thereof |
| luft | aerial |
| fahrt | ride |
| exekution | execution |
| glauben | believe |
| hob | lifted |
| etwa | about |
| diener | servant |
| ruhe | rest |
| geworden | become |
| gemacht | made |
| gegenueber | opposite |
| kraft | by virtue of |
| neue | new |
| paar | pair |
| abend | evening |
| nahm | took |
| oben | above |
| wohnung | apartment |
| morgen | tomorrow |
| bist | are |
| sehe | see |
| bedienerin | charwoman |
| apparat | apparatus |
| sohn | son |
| hungern | hunger |
| ehe | before |
| nein | no |
| unsere | our |
| welcher | which |
| soldaten | soldiers |
| senator | senator |
| still | silent |
| kurz | short |
| vielen | many |
| teil | part |
| viele | many |
| urteil | judgment |
| damals | then |
| genau | exactly |
| solche | such |
| gleichzeitig | simultaneously |
| eben | just |
| meinung | opinion |
| fiel | fell |
| glaube | think |
| bewegung | movement |
| gasse | alley |
| wer | who |
| haenden | hands |
| vaters | father |
| haetten | had |
| einige | some |
| wusste | knew |
| wagen | venture |
| erste | first |
| gehoert | heard |
| tag | day |
| frauen | women |
| kommandant | commander |
| meines | mine |
| herrn | mr |
| hilfe | help |
| welt | world |
| tage | days |
| trat | entered |
| deshalb | therefore |
| fasste | summarized |
| beiden | two |
| hals | neck |
| schloss | castle |
| warf | threw |
| onkel | uncle |
| dadurch | thereby |
| jahren | years |
| andern | other |
| gehabt | had |
| verloren | lost |
| bloss | just |
| grete | grete |
| schlug | beat |
| wuerden | would |
| schlaf | sleep |
| alte | old |
| zimmers | room |
| laengst | long ago |
| frau | woman |
| unten | below |
| ueberdies | about this |
| verlassen | leave |
| freunde | friends |
| gesagt | said |
| kanapee | sofa |
| fall | case |
| gekommen | come |
| pferde | horses |
| grosser | large |
| nie | never |
| wolle | wool |
| schiff | ship |
| allem | all |
| ferne | distance |
| namen | name |
| glaubte | believed |
| geben | give |
| erfahren | learn |
| bitte | Please |
| arme | poor |
| worte | words |
| sage | saga |
| dazu | to |
| hoch | high |
| gesehen | seen |
| immerfort | constantly |
| halten | hold |
| muehe | Muehe |
| rede | speech |
| laesst | can |
| anders | otherwise |
| jeden | each |
| sagt | says |
| offen | open |
| hoehe | height |
| bureau | bureau |
| finden | find |
| bringen | bring |
| fand | found |
| platz | space |
| frueheren | former |
| brust | chest |
| junge | young |
| gleichen | equal |
| aufrecht | upright |
| hervor | out |
| sollen | must |
| wand | wall |
| reise | travel |
| kueche | kitchen |
| leib | body |
| wurden | were |
| unserer | our |
| lief | ran |
| einfach | just |
| lang | long |
| uhr | clock |
| zeichner | artist |
| halb | half |
| weise | wise |
| geradezu | almost |
| steht | is |
| suchte | sought |
| kaefig | cage |
| lauter | pure |
| dunkel | dark |
| denen | to those |
| sicher | safe |
| legte | put |
| weilchen | while |
| merkte | noted |
| beine | legs |
| alter | age |
| jener | that |
| helfen | help |
| unser | our |
| vorzimmer | anteroom |
| klang | sound |
| dinge | things |
| setzte | continued |
| gedanken | mind |
| klar | clear |
| irgendwie | somehow |
| bereit | ready |
| grube | pit |
| spaeter | later |
| nieder | down |
| infolge | as a result |
| damen | Ladies |
| frage | question |
| dafuer | for that |
| verfahren | method |
| ploetzlich | suddenly |
| beide | both |
| bestimmt | certainly |
| uebrigen | rest |
| vergessen | forget |
| kind | child |
| stumm | dumb |
| gibt | are |
| zimmerherren | mens room |
| dabei | there |
| stellte | presented |
| zeichen | sign |
| moeglich | possible |
| fuenf | five |
| wollten | wanted |
| hinein | inside |
| gang | gear |
| dagegen | however |
| gelegenheit | opportunity |
| immerhin | after all |
| naemlich | namely |
| leise | quietly |
| pferd | horse |
| erklaerungen | explanations |
| heizers | heater |
| laut | loud |
| riemen | belt |
| absicht | intention |
| wegen | because of |
| muede | tired |
| fremde | foreign |
| jedem | each |
| drueckte | pressured |
| denken | think |
| stunden | hours |
| nebenzimmer | next room |
| ausserdem | also |
| schlafen | sleep |
| daher | hence |
| deine | your |
| duerfen | allowed to |
| liegt | is |
| jahre | years |
| prokuristen | attorney |
| kamen | came |
| aufmerksam | attentively |
| liegen | lie |
| sieht | sees |
| heisst | ie |
| darf | may |
| willen | sake |
| treppe | stairs |
| sorgen | provide |
| leider | unfortunately |
| beugte | bent |
| draussen | out |
| standen | were |
| sinn | sense |
| unmoeglich | impossible |
| frei | free |
| mensch | man |
| guten | good |
| tief | deep |
| sahen | saw |
| spaet | late |
| fragen | ask |
| ausweg | way out |
| rasch | rapidly |
| nahe | near |
| laecheln | smile |
| zeigen | show |
| irgendeine | some |
| armen | poor |
| geoeffnet | Opened |
| drehte | turned |
| manche | some |
| offiziers | officer |
| ohr | ear |
| neuen | new |
| lachen | laugh |
| naehe | close |
| bekam | got |
| herein | in |
| keiner | none |
| jedenfalls | anyhow |
| trug | contributed |
| tiere | animals |
| chef | chief |
| schwach | weak |
| oeffnete | swung open |
| geld | money |
| hemd | shirt |
| abends | in the evening |
| weder | neither |
| neffen | nephew |
| ihres | their |
| konnten | could |
| gehn | go |
| eilte | hurried |
| herum | around |
| seiten | pages |
| getan | done |
| gebracht | brought |
| kasten | box |
| rechte | rights |
| diesmal | this time |
| zug | train |
| angst | fear |
| letzte | last |
| besuch | visit |
| schrecken | scare |
| licht | light |
| menge | quantity |
| flasche | bottle |
| inzwischen | meanwhile |
| antwortete | answered |
| allmaehlich | gradually becoming |
| art | kind |
| erhob | rose |
| anderes | other |
| gute | good |
| verhaeltnisse | conditions |
| darum | therefore |
| sprechen | speak |
| haelt | holds |
| lesen | read |
| durfte | could |
| lust | lust |
| moeglichst | as possible |
| richtig | properly |
| unglueck | misfortune |
| wohin | where |
| muesse | must |
| laune | mood |
| hinauf | up |
| links | left |
| pelz | fur |
| zustand | state |
| bauch | belly |
| zeiten | times |
| gern | gladly |
| gelegt | down |
| arzt | doctor |
| stellung | position |
| hinunter | down |
| ununterbrochen | continuously |
| rechten | right |
| jemand | someone |
| beispiel | example |
| wohnzimmer | living room |
| wasser | water |
| schritte | steps |
| eigenen | own |
| kinder | children |
| brief | letter |
| verstanden | understood |
| finger | finger |
| vergnuegen | strict people |
| grunde | Basically |
| gross | large |
| foermlich | formally |
| stadt | city |
| gesprochen | spoken |
| stiess | joined |
| gefuehl | carcass |
| schuettelte | shook |
| moebel | moebel |
| heraus | out |
| kriechen | crawl |
| schwaeche | weakness |
| lippen | lips |
| folgen | follow |
| hing | hung |
| leuten | people |
| breit | wide |
| zeigt | shows |
| dunklen | dark |
| bekommen | get |
| besten | best |
| fussspitzen | foot peaks |
| kennen | know |
| schuld | responsible |
| hinten | behind |
| oefters | often |
| laufe | run |
| voellig | completely |
| sitzt | sitting |
| zeitung | newspaper |
| sehn | see |
| mag | like |
| krank | ill |
| erinnerung | memory |
| leeren | empty |
| zweifellos | undoubtedly |
| schwere | heavy |
| erstenmal | first |
| natur | nature |
| schrie | cried |
| antwort | answer |
| richtung | direction |
| entschlossen | determined |
| streckte | stretched |
| schreibtisch | desk |
| geringste | least |
| holen | get |
| arbeiten | work |
| sprang | jumped |
| jakob | James |
| fehler | error |
| erklaerung | declaration of compliance |
| bisher | so far |
| angezogen | attracted |
| freiheit | freedom |
| fertig | ready |
| fallen | fall |
| weisst | know |
| blickte | looked |
| freilich | of course |
| knapp | just |
| fruehstueck | breakfast |
| stelle | location |
| erkannte | recognized |
| sitzen | sit |
| vorlaeufig | temporary custody |
| rechts | right |
| besondere | special |
| sprach | said |
| ebenso | as well |
| gegenwaertigen | present |
| blut | blood |
| jedes | each |
| wunde | wound |
| euch | you |
| impresario | impresario |
| bleibt | remains |
| ertragen | endure |
| erklaeren | explain |
| hoffnung | hope |
| geschlossen | closed |
| bekannten | known |
| schliessen | close |
| fuhr | drove |
| spiel | game |
| fing | began |
| bewegungen | movements |
| haus | house |
| schlecht | bad |
| messer | knife |
| stirn | forehead |
| interesse | interest |
| suchen | search |
| erinnerte | remembered |
| stock | stock |
| allzu | all too |
| himmel | Heaven |
| schlagen | beat |
| vergass | forgot |
| kleines | small |
| erde | Earth |
| frisch | fresh |
| vorsichtig | carefully |
| lagen | were |
| gingen | went |
| rad | wheel |
| einzige | single |
| aufs | again |
| nadeln | needles |
| zusammen | together |
| haar | hair |
| ach | oh |
| legen | put |
| freude | joy |
| vorueber | past |
| hinueber | over |
| erhalten | get |
| ansehen | view |
| genuegt | Suffice |
| blicke | look |
| blieben | remained |
| ordnung | order |
| nickte | nod |
| eilig | hastily |
| winkel | angle |
| sieben | seven |
| heimat | home |
| meldung | message |
| hut | hat |
| zukunft | future |
| wirst | will |
| fremden | foreign |
| violine | violin |
| beschaeftigt | busy |
| tagen | meet |
| weinen | cry |
| araber | Arab |
| tasche | |
| naeher | closer |
| groesste | Largest |
| traurig | sad |
| erwartet | expected |
| muesste | would have to |
| schulter | shoulder |
| tages | up |
| je | ever |
| versuchen | try |
| desto | more |
| koerpers | body |
| auge | eye |
| gitter | grid |
| gelaender | binge |
| tat | deed |
| erscheinen | appear |
| glas | glass |
| fremder | foreign |
| freundlich | friendly |
| durchaus | quite |
| tragen | bear |
| fragt | asks |
| entfernung | removal |
| augenblicklich | instantly |
| aneinander | together |
| merken | notice |
| tueren | tueren |
| besonderen | special |
| erreichen | reach |
| pruefen | examine |
| scheinbar | seemingly |
| benehmen | behavior |
| fuss | foot |
| jede | each |
| draengte | urged |
| darin | therein |
| stoeren | disturb |
| vertrauen | trust |
| amerika | America |
| sassen | sat |
| herzlich | cordially |
| kurze | short |
| keinem | no |
| tor | gate |
| stellen | set |
| schreiben | write |
| schrift | font |
| kolonie | colony |
| uebrig | left |
| erschien | appeared |
| eng | closely |
| beinen | legs |
| blicken | look |
| leer | empty |
| zogen | attracted |
| fingern | fumble |
| gluecklich | happy |
| stark | strong |
| anstrengung | effort |
| deren | their |
| decke | ceiling |
| dorthin | there |
| tische | Tables |
| eindruck | impression |
| irgend | some |
| publikum | audience |
| blatt | leaf |
| gefunden | found |
| mannes | mannes |
| gesellschaft | society |
| veraenderung | encourage promotion |
| gewoehnlichen | habitual |
| erhoben | raised |
| nutzlos | useless |
| geschlafen | slept |
| stein | stone |
| geschah | happened |
| vollkommen | completely |
| schoene | nice |
| verstehen | understand |
| verlieren | lose |
| nimmt | takes |
| gelang | succeeded |
| entfernt | distant |
| komm | Come |
| brauchte | needed |
| tritt | occurs |
| nahmen | took |
| laechelnd | smiling |
| ernst | seriously |
| offenen | open |
| quer | crosswise |
| mittlere | average |
| moeglicherweise | possibly |
| ueberall | everywhere |
| deutlich | clearly |
| verlangt | demands |
| meist | mostly |
| schaden | harm |
| vier | four |
| stille | silence |
| ernsthaft | seriously |
| schwarzen | black |
| rosa | pink |
| vorwaerts | vorwaerts |
| bitten | ask |
| hinab | down |
| kuenstler | kuenstler |
| fuehrte | led |
| sonne | Sun |
| nachtmahl | supper |
| schoenen | beautiful |
| spielen | play |
| gewonnen | won |
| gelegen | located |
| fleisch | meat |
| beobachtete | observed |
| stieg | rose |
| eile | hurry |
| vorstellung | idea |
| mehrmals | repeatedly |
| aufmerksamkeit | attention |
| peitsche | whip |
| schrieb | wrote |
| jungen | young |
| leintuch | sheet |
| gespenst | ghost |
| stunde | hour |
| gegeben | given |
| versuchte | tried |
| ausser | except |
| sollten | should |
| eintritt | admission |
| lasse | let |
| setzt | sets |
| gassen | gas |
| aufseher | overseer |
| setzen | set |
| boot | boat |
| unbedingt | necessarily |
| schob | pushed |
| liefen | ran |
| zweck | purpose |
| los | off |
| wange | cheek |
| versteht | understands |
| klopfte | knocked |
| hohen | high |
| laufen | run |
| gelungen | successful |
| watte | wadding |
| gehoben | elevated |
| schmerz | pain |
| lebens | life |
| ans | ans |
| taeglich | daily |
| gerne | gladly |
| kannte | knew |
| ruhigen | quiet |
| schakale | Jackals |
| genuegte | enough |
| hierher | here |
| seien | were |
| bestimmten | certain |
| filz | felt |
| beobachten | watch |
| bemerkte | remarked |
| gesetz | law |
| engen | close |
| solle | should |
| stroh | straw |
| moechte | Ideally |
| voll | fully |
| schmalen | narrow |
| stufe | stage |
| gezwungen | forced |
| heutigen | today |
| traten | were |
| junger | young |
| neffe | nephew |
| frueh | early |
| zwischendeck | steerage |
| befehl | command |
| ausdruck | expression |
| mochte | liked |
| spielte | played |
| kenne | know |
| verlobung | engagement |
| bewundern | admire |
| gefaellt | Like |
| froh | glad |
| peinlich | embarrassing |
| gott | God |
| erkannt | recognized |
So how to break this down into sounds? Well, I took the list of words, and broke each word into alternating clusters of consonants and vowels. Each cluster is one or more phoneme in length, eg. /s/, /ts/, /Sp/, /Spl/ etc.
For instance, "gespitzten" becomes: g + e + sp + i + tzt + e + n
Half an hour of search-and-replacing later, and each phonetic 'cluster' is represented by just one string of characters - so for example, every instance of 'ee' becomes 'ie', because they represent the same vowel.
And I can make a frequency list of which sounds occur at the start of words, which at the end, and which in the middle.
Here are the word-initial vowels. The second column is the number of words in the 10,000 word frequency list which start with that vowel.
| e | 485 |
| a | 472 |
| u | 397 |
| au | 359 |
| ei | 218 |
| ue | 137 |
| i | 100 |
| o | 75 |
| ae | 37 |
| oe | 15 |
And here's the list of word-initial consonant-clusters. I've left out the 13 which occur in less than 10 words.
| f | 985 |
| b | 665 |
| g | 653 |
| h | 589 |
| w | 477 |
| z | 343 |
| l | 331 |
| m | 313 |
| r | 293 |
| s | 286 |
| d | 270 |
| k | 268 |
| n | 266 |
| st | 200 |
| t | 172 |
| sch | 168 |
| fr | 106 |
| p | 89 |
| tr | 89 |
| schw | 85 |
| gr | 82 |
| schl | 77 |
| fl | 69 |
| br | 67 |
| j | 67 |
| str | 65 |
| kl | 64 |
| sp | 64 |
| gl | 58 |
| bl | 57 |
| kr | 55 |
| zw | 46 |
| dr | 45 |
| schr | 42 |
| pr | 37 |
| schn | 23 |
| schm | 23 |
| kn | 22 |
| pl | 20 |
| spr | 18 |
| pf | 14 |
| ch | 10 |
Medial vowels.
| e | 8502 |
| a | 2189 |
| i | 2169 |
| u | 1594 |
| o | 1223 |
| ei | 937 |
| ue | 740 |
| ae | 665 |
| ie | 577 |
| au | 290 |
| oe | 264 |
| eu | 162 |
And medial consonants. The 589(!) that occur less than ten times are omitted.
| r | 818 |
| g | 691 |
| s | 657 |
| t | 646 |
| n | 627 |
| nd | 534 |
| l | 478 |
| b | 436 |
| ng | 406 |
| m | 370 |
| ch | 366 |
| f | 365 |
| d | 320 |
| h | 309 |
| rt | 246 |
| sch | 239 |
| st | 232 |
| k | 230 |
| nt | 191 |
| cht | 186 |
| lt | 184 |
| w | 150 |
| rl | 142 |
| rg | 136 |
| rf | 126 |
| rst | 108 |
| nz | 106 |
| rw | 105 |
| hr | 102 |
| rz | 102 |
| rb | 99 |
| rh | 96 |
| nk | 96 |
| rd | 95 |
| nf | 85 |
| rs | 85 |
| rk | 83 |
| rm | 81 |
| z | 81 |
| nb | 80 |
| nst | 77 |
| tz | 77 |
| sg | 73 |
| kt | 72 |
| gt | 67 |
| nl | 65 |
| tr | 61 |
| rsch | 60 |
| ns | 59 |
| p | 54 |
| ft | 53 |
| gk | 52 |
| nh | 50 |
| ld | 50 |
| nsch | 49 |
| fg | 48 |
| gl | 46 |
| hl | 46 |
| rtr | 45 |
| rn | 45 |
| nr | 44 |
| fr | 43 |
| hm | 42 |
| ndl | 41 |
| gr | 41 |
| pp | 40 |
| hn | 38 |
| bl | 38 |
| kl | 37 |
| bg | 35 |
| tzt | 35 |
| sz | 34 |
| br | 34 |
| nw | 33 |
| schl | 33 |
| dr | 31 |
| ngl | 30 |
| fz | 29 |
| fl | 28 |
| rbr | 28 |
| nm | 28 |
| chk | 28 |
| sp | 27 |
| mt | 26 |
| hrt | 26 |
| lb | 26 |
| tl | 25 |
| lg | 24 |
| mpf | 24 |
| pf | 24 |
| chn | 23 |
| chl | 23 |
| gn | 23 |
| chs | 22 |
| str | 22 |
| bt | 22 |
| ntl | 22 |
| tsch | 22 |
| fn | 21 |
| sf | 21 |
| lz | 20 |
| spr | 19 |
| tw | 19 |
| fs | 19 |
| hnt | 19 |
| rch | 19 |
| chz | 18 |
| lk | 18 |
| schr | 18 |
| sl | 18 |
| rschl | 18 |
| mp | 18 |
| bz | 17 |
| chst | 17 |
| rkl | 17 |
| rschw | 17 |
| lst | 17 |
| ntsch | 17 |
| gg | 16 |
| ntr | 16 |
| nschl | 16 |
| gst | 16 |
| sr | 16 |
| ngst | 15 |
| schw | 15 |
| ht | 15 |
| sh | 15 |
| rsp | 15 |
| ngt | 15 |
| ntw | 15 |
| rnd | 15 |
| lf | 15 |
| ntg | 14 |
| kg | 14 |
| tm | 14 |
| ml | 14 |
| sw | 14 |
| hlt | 13 |
| rfl | 13 |
| nkt | 13 |
| sm | 13 |
| fst | 13 |
| hnl | 13 |
| chtl | 13 |
| rcht | 13 |
| rdr | 13 |
| chg | 13 |
| bs | 12 |
| nft | 12 |
| nstr | 12 |
| ph | 12 |
| lm | 12 |
| ntschl | 12 |
| ftl | 12 |
| rspr | 12 |
| nfl | 12 |
| stg | 12 |
| bh | 12 |
| schn | 12 |
| ls | 12 |
| kn | 12 |
| mg | 12 |
| lch | 12 |
| aa | 11 |
| nspr | 11 |
| fh | 11 |
| hrl | 11 |
| rdn | 11 |
| nbl | 11 |
| rp | 11 |
| kr | 11 |
| ks | 11 |
| nth | 11 |
| rschr | 11 |
| lh | 11 |
| rbl | 10 |
| tzl | 10 |
| zw | 10 |
| bw | 10 |
| mb | 10 |
| eo | 10 |
| mk | 10 |
| fm | 10 |
| ngs | 10 |
| mst | 10 |
The termial vowels.
| e | 1802 |
| ie | 42 |
| ei | 29 |
| a | 27 |
| o | 19 |
| u | 10 |
| au | 12 |
| ue | 12 |
And the terminal consonants. Again, I've left out the 78 which end less than 10 words.
| n | 3130 |
| r | 701 |
| t | 580 |
| s | 431 |
| nk | 354 |
| k | 287 |
| ch | 233 |
| l | 196 |
| m | 170 |
| kt | 163 |
| lt | 135 |
| rt | 129 |
| rn | 115 |
| cht | 105 |
| ft | 74 |
| st | 72 |
| ns | 61 |
| rs | 51 |
| f | 51 |
| nt | 47 |
| nkt | 45 |
| hn | 44 |
| ht | 41 |
| tzt | 41 |
| ln | 40 |
| sch | 39 |
| hrt | 39 |
| tt | 37 |
| p | 36 |
| ls | 32 |
| pt | 31 |
| mt | 30 |
| hr | 28 |
| tz | 24 |
| hl | 20 |
| h | 20 |
| rk | 17 |
| rm | 15 |
| scht | 14 |
| nst | 14 |
| rnt | 13 |
| rst | 13 |
| hnt | 12 |
| rrt | 12 |
| rf | 11 |
| hlt | 11 |
| rkt | 11 |
| ks | 10 |
Words can now be produced by the following algorithm:
Word :==
[initial vowel + [medial consonant + medial vowel]* + terminal consonant]
|
[initial vowel + [medial consonant + medial vowel]* + medial vowel + terminal consonant]
|
[initial consonant + [medial vowel + medial consonant]* + terminal vowel]
|
[initial consonant + [medial vowel + medial consonant]* + medial vowel + terminal consonant]
The probability of any consonant or vowel is given by the second column in the lists.
And so, our first line of fake German:
Fasinde aut Bechank Hiruchtie Geran
Now I just need to, erm, get good enough in a programming language a little more recent than QBasic...to start making pseudo-Goethe.