Performative Verbs

Performative verbs are verbs which convey a speech act when they are uttered. In other words, they communicate actions which are performed in speech. Examples of performative verbs include apologize, insist, promise, recommend, and quit. 

In contrast, non-performative verbs are independent of speech. The verb run isn't a performative verb. The sentence I run every week doesn't perform the act of running. Other non-performative verbs include dance, sing, sleep, swim and walk.

Here are five sentences with performative verbs:

I apologize for being late.
I insist you come with us.
I promise to read your book.
I recommend a red wine.
I quit.

Many verbs can be classified as performative verbs. When uttered, they perform the action which they convey. Performative verbs are often used in present tense. 

Food Idioms

Idioms are expressions which cannot be interpreted literally. Many idioms are connected to food. Here are ten:

a piece of cake
a lot on my plate
food for thought
with a grain of salt
you can't have your cake and eat it too
apples and oranges
a lemon
have a finger in every pie
peanuts
small potatoes

The exam was a piece of cake. This idiom means that the exam was easy.

She has a lot on her plate. This is another way to say she has many issues to deal with.

The question gave me food for thought. The question gave the speaker a lot to think about.

Take my opinion with a grain of salt. This idiom means that the speaker's opinion should not be taken too seriously because it may not be correct.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. This idiom means that we can't have two things that are incompatible. If we eat our cake, we can no longer keep it.

You can't compare high school students with university students- they're apples and oranges. The speaker believes that high school students and university students are very different. In other words, they're incomparable.

This car is a lemon. This is another way to say that the car is defective and doesn't run well.

He has a finger in every pie. This idiom means that he's involved in many enterprises.

My salary is peanuts. This means that the speaker's salary is very low.

This contract is small potatoes. The speaker believes that the contract is insignficant.

English uses a number of food idioms. These are fixed expressions with a meaning distinct from that of the individual words themselves.The ones listed here are common English idioms.

Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes are a great way to use potatoes. Here is a German recipe:

1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 potatoes, peeled and grated
1/2 cup chopped onion
vegetable oil

In a bowl beat together the egg, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
Mix in the potatoes and onion.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
In batches put the mixture into a pan.
Press to flatten.
Cook until brown and crisp.

Potato pancakes are an excellent side dish. Enjoy!

Garlic Rice

Garlic rice is a very popular dish in the Philippines. It's easy to prepare and really tasty. Here's the recipe:

1 cup rice, cooked
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons oil

Heat the pan and add the oil.
When the pan is hot, add the garlic.
Fry until it becomes brown and crispy.
Add the rice and mix well with the garlic.
Fry until the rice is ready.
Add the salt.
Serve hot with your favourite main dish.

Garden Path Sentences

Garden path sentences are sentences which are often misinterpreted. They are not so easy for the reader to parse. The reason is that they contain words which appear to have more than one structural analysis.

Here are five examples of garden path sentences:

The old man the boat.
The horse raced past the old barn fell.
I told the girl the cat scratched Mark would help her.
The florist sent the roses was pleased.
The government plans to increase taxes were defeated.

The first sentence can be misinterpreted because old man isn't a noun phrase. Here old is a noun and man is a verb. If we write It is the old who man the boat, the meaning is clear.

The second sentence is in passive voice. We can clarify the meaning by writing The horse which was raced past the barn fell.

In the third sentence Mark is not an object but a subject. We can rewrite the sentence as follows: I told the girl who the cat scratched that Mark would help her.

The fourth sentence is also in passive voice. We can clarify the meaning by writing The florist who the roses were sent to was pleased.

In the fifth sentence government plans isn't a noun followed by a verb. Here government plans is a noun phrase. We can clarify the meaning with a possessive noun: The government's plans to increase taxes were defeated.

Garden path sentences often confuse the reader because they have a structure which can be misread. They're called garden path sentences because to be led down the garden path means to be deceived. In many cases, the addition of a few words can help to clarify the intended meaning.

R-Dissimilation in American English

Many American speakers drop one /r/ from words which have two /r/s. The deleted segment is always post-vocalic. This type of deletion is normally produced by rhotic speakers who tend to retain the /r/ in every other position. It is a dissimilation process because it avoids the presence of identical segments in the same word.

The process usually occurs with adjacent syllables such as in larger but also with intervening syllables such as in thermometer. The latter is an example of long-distance assimilation. Deletion usually occurs in unstressed syllables, but can also occur in stressed syllables such as in farther.

Here is a list of words with r-dissimlation:

adve(r)sary
cate(r)pillar
co(r)ner
easte(r)ner
fa(r)ther
forme(r)ly
forwa(r)d
hambu(r)ger
gove(r)nor
la(r)ger
northe(r)ner
o(r)der
pa(r)ticular
pe(r)formance
qua(r)ter
repe(r)toire
southe(r)ner
su(r)prise
the(r)mometer
ve(r)nacular
weste(r)ner

(The /r/ in parentheses indicates the deleted segment).

The deleted /r/ is usually the first post-vocalic /r/ in the word, but this is not the case in formerly, forward and northerner. Notice that in these cases the deleted /r/ is unstressed. R-dissimilation doesn't apply to word-final position. Here the /r/ is always maintained.

R-dissimilation appears to be most common between labial and coronal consonants. This is the case in adversary, caterpillar, farther, formerly, governor, northerner, particular, repertoire, southerner, surprise, thermometer, vernacular and westerner. It doesn't occur with velar consonants. For example, the first /r/ is never deleted in worker.

R-dissimilation is common in many varieties of American English. This phonological process deletes a post-vocalic /r/ from a word with two. The deleted /r/ is usually unstressed and between coronal and labial consonants. The speakers who apply r-dissimilation usually retain the /r/ in all other positions.

Goulash

Goulash is Hungary's most famous dish. There are many variations of this soup. Here is the recipe:

600 grams of beef cut into cubes
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 green peppers, seeded and sliced
3 potatoes, sliced
1 tablespoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and fry the onions until they are golden.
Add the beef cubes and brown.
Add the garlic, salt and pepper.
Pour water to cover and let simmer on low heat.
After 30 minutes add the potatoes, tomatoes and green peppers.
Add water (2-3 cups) to cover.
Cook until the vegetables are ready.

If you like, you can serve goulash with sour cream. Enjoy!