Latest Poem (Earth and Sky)

Here is my latest poem. It was inspired by the Japanese train that crosses the Seto Inland Sea and connects the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. I hope you enjoy it.

                          Earth and Sky

Flying over distant and calm blue sea,

Now in position between earth and sky,

With heightened sensations of being free

Creating immeasurable views from high.

Connecting one island to another,

Moving through elements of time and space,

One island moves farther, one moves nearer,

Historical scenes time cannot erase.

Sounds of welcoming wind leave their echo,

Winter sky expands to every corner.

Rays of sun descend on water below,

Spectacular art of sun with water.

Below is sea and earth, above is sky

And winter sun warms cold ocean water.

Under silent clouds trains appear to fly,

Invisible air over and under.

Suspended in air between two islands,

Advancing on tracks that carry many,

Bodies of land in sea become diamonds,

Part of passengers' amazing journey.

Palatal Nasal vs. Nasal Palatal Approximant of Portuguese

The letter nh is pronounced differently in European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. In European Portuguese it is a nasal palatal. However, in Brazilian Portuguese, it is a nasal palatal approximant.

Words with the letter include dinheiro (money), rainha (queen) and vinho (wine). The syllabification of the words differs because the nasal palatal is in the syllable onset, but the nasal palatal approximant is realized in both the syllable onset and in the syllable coda. In the word vinho, European Portuguese has no nasalization in the first syllable. However, in Brazilian Portuguese, the vowel of the first syllable is nasalized, and the palatal approximant of the second syllable is also nasalized.

The palatal nasal of European Portuguese corresponds to the nasal palatal approximant of Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese is considered more nasal than European. This is exemplified in the use of the nasal palatal approximant in Brazilian Portuguese and the nasal palatal in European Portuguese.

Apicoalveolar Fricative of Tras-os-Montes and Beira

In standard European Portuguese, the alveolar fricative becomes an alveopalatal fricative word-finally and before a consonant. However, in the dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beira, this is not the case. The apicoalveolar fricative is used both word-finally and before consonants.

Words such as dois (two) and oeste (west) have an alveopalatal fricative in standard European Portuguese. In the northern dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beria, however, they are not pronounced with an alveopalatal fricative but with an apicodental fricative. It is the same fricative which is used in the spanish of northern Spain.

The word seis (six) is pronounced with two different fricatives in standard European Portuguese. The first fricative is the voiceless alveolar fricative and the second is the voiceless alveopalatal fricative. In the dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beira, the same fricative is used in both cases, the voiceless apicodental fricative.

The apicodental fricative is not used in standard European Portuguese. However, it is used in the dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beira. The result is that many words are pronounced differently in Tras-os-Montes and Beira in comparison to the rest of Portugal.

Palatalization in French

Many French words have replaced the voiceless velar plosive of Latin with the voiceless alveopalatal fricative. This can be illustrated by comparing French and Italian words. The French words are spelt with ch, and the Italian words are spelt with c. Here is the list:

chaleur calore (heat)

chasse caccia (hunt)

champ campo (field)

chanson canzone (song)

chapeau cappello (hat)

château castello (castle)

cher caro (expensive)

chèvre capra (goat)

chien cane (dog)

chose cosa (thing)

The voiceless velar plosive of Latin became the voiceless alveopalatal fricative in many French words. By comparing French and Italian, it is clear that many Italian words preserve the voiceless velar process while French does not. The process which converted the voiceless velar plosive to the voiceless alveopalatal fricative is known as palatalization.

Pronunciation of r in Leiden Dutch

The letter r can be pronounced differently in Dutch. In Belgium the alveolar approximant is not used, but it is in the Netherlands. However, most Dutch speakers only use the approximant in the syllable coda. However, in Leiden Dutch, the approximant can be used in all positions.

Many speakers of Dutch use the approximant in words such as dorp (village) morgen (morning) and vier (four). In the dialect of Leiden, it occurs in all positions. The approximant is realized in words such as drie (three), rivier (river) and waarom (why). 

The dialect of Leiden is known for the use of the alveolar approximant. Many Dutch speakers use it in the syllable coda. However, in the dialect of Leiden, the use of the alveolar approximant is more extensive because it can be used in both the syllable onset and coda.

Danish Diphthongs

Danish has many diphthongs. English also has many diphthongs, but Danish has diphthongs that do not occur in English. Let us look at them.

Danish has four diphthongs that are not used in English. In these four Danish diphthongs, the second component of the diphthong is the high front rounded back vowel that occurs in the English word now. Four Danish words with diphthongs that do not occur in English are døv (deaf), liv (life), ræv (fox) and syv (seven).

In the word døv, the first component of the diphthong is a mid front unrounded vowel. This vowel does not occur in English, but it does in languages such as French and German. The word døv has the same meaning and spelling in Norwegian, but in Norwegian it does not have a diphthong.

The word liv has the same meaning and spelling in Norwegian and Swedish, but in Norwegian and Swedish it does not have a diphthong. The first component is a high front unrounded vowel. The first and second components of the diphthong share the same tongue height.

In the word ræv, the first component of the diphthong is a mid front unrounded vowel. The Norwegian equivalent is rev and does not have a diphthong. The letter æ was once used in English.

The word syv is also used in Norwegian, but in Norwegian it does not have a diphthong. The first component is a high front rounded vowel. This vowel does not occur in English, but it occurs in languages such as French and German.

Danish and English both have a large number of diphthongs. However, a number of Danish diphthongs do not occur in English. In fact, Danish has four diphthongs that do not occur in other Germanic languages.

Verbs with the Prefix -mis

Many English verbs are formed with the prefix -mis. When it is attached to verbs, it changes the meaning to include incorrectness or an action that is badly done. The prefix can also be attached to nouns. 

The following verbs are formed with the prefix -mis:

misbehave

mishear

misjudge

mismanage

mispronounce

misread

misspeak

misspell

misunderstand

miswrite

The prefix can combine with the verbs read, speak and write, but not with listen. However, it can combine with hear to form the word mishear. Many nouns can also be formed with the prefix such as mismanagement and misunderstanding. The prefix -mis is used to create many words in English.