Does German distinguish between /t͡s/ and /ts/?

Question

Do you pronounce differently Platsfuehrer and Plazfuehrer?

Answer 1

[t͡s] is one doubly articulated consonant.
[ts] are two separate articulated consonants.

When the sounds [t] and [s] appear inside the same syllable, they are always pronounced as [t͡s], no matter if they are written as »z«, »tz«, »ts« or as »t«:

• tz
  • plötzlich = [ˈplœt͡slɪç]
  • schätzen = [ˈʃɛt͡sn̩]
  • Platz = [plat͡s]
• z
  • zu = [t͡suː]
  • zwei = [t͡svaɪ̯]
  • Prozent = [pʁoˈt͡sɛnt]
• ts
  • bereits = [bəˈʁaɪ̯t͡s]
  • stets = [ʃteːt͡s]
  • rechts = [ʁɛçt͡s]
• t
  • Information = [ɪnfɔʁmaˈt͡si̯oːn]
  • Aktion = [akˈt͡si̯oːn]
  • Munition = [muniˈt͡si̯oːn]

But if [t] and [s] belong to two different syllables, they have to be pronounced separately. And because in southern regions like Austria and Bavaria the sound [z] is almost always spoken as [s], you have at least in Austrian pronunciation a lot of words with [ts]:

• Tatsache = [ˈtaːtˌsaxə]
• gewaltsam = [ɡəˈvaltsaːm]
• entsenden = [ɛntˈsɛndn̩]

But note, that all examples given here are pronounced with [tz] in northern regions of German sprachraum ([ˈtaːtˌzaxə], [ɡəˈvaltzaːm], [ɛntˈzɛndn̩].