Comparison of Finnish and Estonian Numbers

Finnish and Estonian are both Uralic languages. They belong to the Finnic-Ugric subfamily. The similarity of the two languages is evident in a comparison of the numbers. Here are the numbers from one to ten in the two languages:

yksi üks

kaksi kaks

kolme kolm

neljä neli

viisi viis

kuusi kuus

seitsemän seitse

kahdeksan kaheksa

yhdeksän üheksa

kymmenen kümme

The high front rounded vowel is y in Finnish and ü in Estonian. Many of the Finnish numbers have word-final vowels, but the Estonian numbers for one to six end with consonants. All the Estonian numbers are shorter than the Finnish ones. However, despite the differences, it is clear that the Finnish and Estonian numbers are similar.

Poem (Cicadas Call)

Here is my latest poem, a sonnet. It was inspired by the sound of cicadas in the summer.

Cicadas Call

In days of hot summer cicadas call,

Announcing their presence with constant sound.

They have now awakened and impress all

With their vibrations across sky and ground.

How can such sound come from creatures so small?

How far and wide will their loud call surround?

Their call will only last until they fall,

And after they will no longer be found.

For years they just sleep under roots and rain,

Then they climb up trees towards sky and sun.

They wake from their sleep to share their refrain.

Weeks after they emerge, their work is done.

Although cicada calls fail to remain,

Their summer stay is forgotten by none.

Names of Romanian Cities

Many cities of Romania have separate Romanian and Hungarian names. The reason is that much of Romania used to be part of Hungary. After World War II, much of the former territory of Hungary was given to Romania. Here is a list of ten cities with their Romanian and Hungarian names:

Baia Mare Nagybánya

Bistrița Beszterce

Braşov Brassó

Cluj-Napoca Kolozsvár

Oradea Nagyvárad

Satu Mare Szatmár

Sibiu Nagyszeben

Sighişoara Segesvár

Târgu Mureş Marosvásárhely

Timişoara Temesvár

Many cities in Romania once belonged to Hungary. The Hungarian names of many cities are often quite different from the Romanian ones. This reflects their historical ties to Hungary and the Hungarian language.

German Diminutive Suffix

The German diminutive suffix is -chen. It can be attached to many nouns. The word Fischchen means little fish, Fensterchen means little window and Tischchen means little table. In many cases, however, the base is modified with a change in the vowel. Here are examples:

Baum Bäumchen (tree/little tree)

Blume/Blümchen (flower/little flower)

Brot Brötchen (bread/bread roll)

Glas/ Gläschen (glass/little glass)

Haus/Häuschen (house/little house)

Hund/Hündchen (dog/puppy)

Katz/ Kätzchen (cat/kitten)

Stadt/Städtchen (city/small city)

Vogel/Vögelchen (bird/little bird)

Wurst/Würstchen (sausage/little sausage)

The examples show a vowel change in the base. When the suffix is added, the high back vowel becomes high front, the mid back vowel becomes mid front, and the low central vowel becomes mid front. In all cases, the vowel becomes more advanced after suffixation. Modification of the vowel frequently occurs with the diminutive suffix -chen.

Poem (Only You)

This is my latest poem dedicated to my wife on the occasion of our tenth wedding anniversary.

Only You

In early evening of falling rain

And dark cloud we first met.

It was not by chance,

And I looked forward to more.

You lit a fire in my heart,

A fire that never dies.

I forgot the hours of time,

And you entered my heart, mind and soul.

You made me whole.

Say you will explore life with me

Because my heart needs you.

With you I open my future

Because you are in my heart and mind.

You have transformed me,

Filled me with dreams and plans.

Only you can make me feel what I do,

Only you.

Differences Between English and Spanish Syntax

English and Spanish are both SVO languages. The basic sentence order in both languages is the subject first and then the verb and the object. However, the two languages also exhibit syntactic differences.

In English adjectives precede nouns. In Spanish adjective phrases, the adjective usually follows. For example, the phrase la comida deliciosa means the delicious food. The adjective deliciosa (delicious) follows the noun comida (food).

The sentence I don't understand is Yo no entiendo in Spanish. The word order is the same as in English. However, Spanish is a pro-drop language. This means that the subject pronoun does not need to be expressed. As a result, No entiendo is also fine. To add emphasis, the pronoun yo (I) can be placed at the end. Another possible sentence is No entiendo yo.

In the sentence Yo veo un avión (I see a plane), the two languages use the same word-order. However, Spanish often drops the subject pronoun, which means that Veo un avión is also correct. If the object is replaced with a pronoun, the order of the Spanish sentence changes. To express I see it, Spanish says Yo lo veo or Lo veo. In this case, the word order is SOV or (S)OV.

The basic sentence structure of English and Spanish is SVO. In fact, both languages share similar syntax. However, in certain cases, the syntactic structure of English and Spanish sentences is different.

Two Distinct Pronunciations of Here and There in Danish

The words her and der mean here and there in Danish. However, in many dialects, the two words have distinct pronunciations. Let us explore the difference between them.

When the words are emphasized, they are pronounced with a mid front unrounded vowel and a glottal stop. In English, emphasis can be given with more stress and longer duration. To emphasize that someone is in a particular location, we can say "He is here". In this situation, we can emphasize the word here.

However, the sentence "He is here" may simply be to confirm that someone is present. In this case, no emphasis is needed. Then the words her and der are pronounced [ha] and [da].

Danish has two pronunciations for the words her and der. One is used for emphasis, and the other is used when no emphasis is needed. The words for emphasis have a mid front vowel, and the other ones have a low central vowel.