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sprechgesang

[ German shprekh-guh-zahng ]
/ German ˈʃprɛx gəˌzɑŋ /

noun

a vocal style intermediate between speech and singing but without exact pitch intonation.

Nearby words

  1. spreader-ditcher,
  2. spreading center,
  3. spreading zone,
  4. spreadsheet,
  5. spreathed,
  6. sprechstimme,
  7. spree,
  8. spree killer,
  9. sprekelia,
  10. sprent

Origin of sprechgesang

< German, equivalent to sprech(en) to speak + Gesang song
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for sprechgesang

sprechgesang

/ (German ˈʃprɛçɡəzaŋ) /

noun

music a type of vocalization between singing and recitation in which the voice sings the beginning of each note and then falls rapidly from the notated pitch. It was originated by Arnold Schoenberg, who used it in Pierrot Lunaire (1912)

Word Origin for sprechgesang

C20: from German, literally: speaking-song
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012