As far as I know, there is no German word "uber";' it is "ueber" (the 'ue' being the alternative spelling to the umlauted 'u')  . As Liz points out, the umlaut is often dropped in English, but it should not be.
 
Pronouncing (or spelling) "ueber" /eeoober/ as "uber" /oober/ is simply inaccurate German pronunciation based on a misspelled prefix.
 
 
Linda Di Desidero, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Communication Studies & Professional Writing
University of Maryland University College
3501 University Boulevard, East
Adelphi, MD 20783

________________________________

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Johanna Rubba
Sent: Thu 6/12/2008 9:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: "Über"-use



A minor correction to Liz's post: the 'u' of 'uber' would be 
pronounced 'oo' like 'zoo' without the umlaut. We see this in words 
like 'Fuss' (foot) and names like 'Huber' (in German). With the 
umlaut, it is in fact the same sound as the French 'u', which is an 
English 'ee' sound pronounced with the lips rounded. We don't have 
this sound in English, but the way most Americans pronounce 'zoo' and 
similar words is actually pretty close to the German 'u' with umlaut. 
(Oh, the umlaut is the two little dots above a vowel.)

If a 'u' precedes a double consonant in German, it is pronounced like 
the 'oo' of 'book', as in 'Mutter' (mother). To my recollection, 
German does not have a vowel like that of 'utter'.

Dr. Johanna Rubba, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Linguistics
Linguistics Minor Advisor
English Dept.
Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Ofc. tel. : 805-756-2184
Dept. tel.: 805-756-2596
Dept. fax: 805-756-6374
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba

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