Pronunciation of the Letter S

The letter s represents a voiceless dental or alveolar fricative in most languages. It's a common consonant and is the plural marker in English and other languages. However, the pronunciation of this consonant can vary.

In English this consonant is usually a voiceless alveolar fricative. This is not the case in the word his. Here it's a voiced alveolar fricative. In the word sugar, the s is a voiceless alveopalatal fricative and in treasure, the s is a voiced alveopalatal fricative.

The pronunciation of the letter s also varies in other languages. Between vowels, the s is /z/ in Italian. This is the case in the word casa (house). This intervocalic pronunciation is also used in French, Portuguese and German.

In Hungarian, the s is a voiceless alveopalatal fricative as in the English word sugar.  This is exemplified in the word soha (never). The sound /s/ is spelled sz.

French has many silent letters, and the letter s is no exception. In the word vous (you), the s is silent. However, word-initial s is always pronounced /s/ as in sept (seven).

In many Spanish dialects, syllable-final s is glottalized. For example, the word costa (coast) is pronounced [kohta] in many dialects in addition to the pronunciation [kosta].  Besides these two pronunciations, costa can also be pronounced [ko:ta} in certain dialects. Here the s isn't pronounced at all, but as a result of compensatory lengthening, the vowel [o] becomes long.

The letter /s/ is a common letter of the Roman alphabet. Though usually pronounced as a dental or alveolar fricative, a number of other pronunciations are also possible. The pronunciation of the letter is most uniform in word-initial position and more varied when it's intervocalic and syllable-final.

Norwegian Spelling

Norwegian is a Germanic language closely related to Danish and Swedish. However, the spelling of many words is distinct from that of the other two languages. This is due to spelling reforms.

Here is a list of words with the suffix -tion in Danish and Swedish that have -sjon in Norwegian:

inflation inflasjon (inflation)
introduktion introduksjon (introduction)
kommunikation kommunikasjon (communication)
nation nasjon (nation)
operation operasjon (operation)
organisation organisasjon (organization)
presentation presentasjon (presentation)
produktion produksjon (production)
revolution revolusjon (revolution)
situation situasjon (situation)

The following words have a c in Danish and Swedish and an s in Norwegian:

Danish/Swedish center Norwegian senter (centre)
Danish/Swedish centrum Norwegian sentrum (downtown)
Danish cigar Swedish cigarr Norwegian sigar (cigar)
Danish cigaret Swedish cigarett Norwegian sigarett (cigarette)
Danish/Swedish cirkel Norwegian sirkel (circle)
Danish/Swedish citron Norwegian sitron (lemon)
Danish/Swedish civil Norwegian sivil (civil)
Danish/Swedish cykel Norwegian sykkel (bicycle)
Danish/Swedish december Norwegian desember (December)
Danish/Swedish social Norwegian sosial (social)

Norwegian spelling reforms have made the spelling of Norwegian different from that of Danish and Swedish. Many Danish and Swedish loanwords have retained the original spelling while Norwegian has changed it. This is true for loanwords with the suffix -tion and with s. 

Carrots Sintra Style

This is a Portuguese recipe for carrots. It comes from the resort of Sintra to the west of Lisbon. For this recipe you need:

5 carrots, peeled and cut
2 1/4 cup boiling beef broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 egg yolks lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
salt to taste
2 tablespoons ground parsley

Boil the carrots in the broth over moderate heat for 30 minutes until tender.
Drain and reserve the broth.
In a small saucepan over moderate heat melt the butter and blend in the flour and pepper.
Reduce to low heat and stir for 3 to 5 minutes.
Pour in the reserved broth and heat until thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.
Blend a bit of the hot sauce into the egg yolks and stir back into the pan.
Cook for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat.
Pour the sauce over the carrots and toss lightly to mix.
Warm for 3 to 4 minutes over low heat.
Add salt to taste and sprinkle with ground parsley before serving.

This is a very nice recipe for carrots. It is an excellent side dish for meat and fish.

Emperor's Crumbs

Emperor's crumbs is the name of an Austrian dessert that is popular throughout central Europe. It has many versions. This one uses semolina flour. Here is the recipe:

3/4 cup semolina flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
lemon zest of half a lemon
3 tablespoons butter

Mix together the semolina flour and milk.
Let it sit for an hour so that the semolina can absorb the milk.
Mix the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest.
Add to the milk and semolina flour mixture.
Whip the egg whites and salt into firm peaks.
Fold into the mixture.
Melt the butter and add the batter.
Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until it forms crumbs.
Serve hot with powdered sugar, jam  or syrup.

This is a very tasty dish. Enjoy!

Orthography of Different Languages

Orthography can vary significantly from one language to another. Though the Roman alphabet is widely used and many sounds are represented by the same letter in various languages, many differences also exist. I will give examples.

The vowel sound of moon is u in many languages. In Spanish the word for moon is luna. However, this vowel sound is written oe in Dutch. The Dutch word for group is groep.

The initial consonant sound of cheese is ch in English. In Hungarian, though, this sound is spelled cs. The Hungarian word for bone is csont.

The letter s is spelled sz in Hungarian. The Hungarian word for sandwich is szendvics. In Hungarian, the letter s corresponds to the English sh.

In French the letter s is pronounced as a z in intervocalic position. For example, the s in the word poison (same meaning and spelling as in English) is pronounced as a z because it comes between vowels.

The vowel sound of toy is spelled eu in German. The German word for friend is Freund. In Portuguese this sound is represented by oi as in oito (eight).

The j of English as in juice is pronounced differently in other languages. In Portuguese the j has the sound of the s in treasure as in janela (window). In Spanish the j is similar to the h of English. The Spanish word hijo (son) has a silent h and a j that sounds similar to the h of house. In German the j is pronounced as a y in English. For example, the word ja (yes) is pronounced with the initial sound of yellow.

It is clear that the pronunciation of individual letters varies from one language to another. Though many letters are often pronounced similarly, many also differ. It is thus necessary to learn the rules of orthography of each language.

Rum Pudding

Rum pudding is easy to make. Here's the recipe for this fantastic Danish dessert:

1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
1/4 cup hot water
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup hot milk
4 tablespoons rum
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Lightly oil a dessert mold and set aside.
In a small bowl sprinkle the gelatin over the water.
Set aside to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.
On top of a double boiler beat the eggs.
Slowly beat in the sugar and milk until it is light and lemon coloured.
Place over boiling water.
Stir constantly for 10 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
Stir in the rum and the gelatin mixture.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Pour into the mold.
Cover and refrigerate until the mixture starts to set, about 45 minutes.
Refrigerate until set.

This is a simple and tasty dessert. If desired, you can serve with raspberries or raspberry sauce.

Mate in 16

In a game of speed chess I defeated my opponent in 16 moves. He was Marquestreefrog of the United States, who played black. Here are the moves of the game:

1. e4 e5
2. f4 d6

Black declines the pawn sacrifice.

3. Nf3 h6

Black wants to prevent Ng5, but a developing move such as Nf6 is better.

4. Bc4 Nc6
5. 0-0 exf

Now black accepts my pawn. This allows me to build a strong pawn centre.

6. d4 g5
7. e5 d5
8. Bb5 Bd7
9. c4 a6

If black takes my pawn, I can advance the d-pawn.

10. Bxc6 Bxc6
11. Nc3 Bb4
12. e6 fxe

There are two reasons behind the pawn sacrifice. I clear e5 for my knight and after moving the knight I can check on h5 with my queen.

13. Ne5 Bxc3

Black makes a mistake. He probably expects the recapture bxc3, but I can deliver a devastating check on h5. Here black needs to play Nf6.

14. Qh5+ Ke7
15. Qf7+ Kd6
16. c6#

My c-pawn delivers mate. The keys to victory in this game are my ability to expose the uncastled king and black's failure to play Nf6. This enables me to mate quickly.