A German speaker would pronounce the letter 'i' as an English speaker would pronounce 'e'. Many German words contain an "elongated i" which is written as 'ie',

A German speaker would pronounce the letter 'i' as an English speaker would pronounce 'e'. Many German words contain an "elongated i" which is written as 'ie', but still sounds like 'e' in English, just a little drawn out and more pronounced. In contrast, English has words like 'weird' which has an 'ei' construct in it but a pronunciation somewhat similar to what 'i' would sound like in German. Funny enough, in German 'ei' would be read like an English speaker would pronounce the letter 'i'. So with the pronunciations more or less swapped, I guess, for an English speaker who heard the pronunciation of words like "Wiener", the spelling of the 'i' before the 'e' might feel counterintuitive, and they might, intentionally or not, "correct" it while typing.