Pronunciation of y and ll in Argentina

In most Spanish-speaking countries, the y and ll are palatal approximants. However, in Uruguay and in a large part of Argentina, they are voiceless alveopalatal fricatives. However, the voiceless alveopalatal fricative is not used in all parts of Argentina. It is common in Buenos Aires and many other areas, but not everywhere.

In Cordoba, a city in central Argentia, the voiced fricative is common. The voiced fricative was once common in Buenos Aires, but now it is far more common to use the voiceless counterpart. The fricative used in Cordoba reflects an earlier pronunciation.

However, in Mendoza, a city located close to the Chilean border, the y and ll are not fricatives. They are palatal approximants. In other words, they are pronounced as they are by most Spanish speakers.

The pronunciation of the y and ll is the same in Uruguay and much of Argentina. The Spanish of Uruguay and Buenos Aires is often called Rioplatense Spanish. In Cordoba, the fricative is voiceless, and in Mendoza, the palatal approximant is used. The pronunciation of the y and ll in Argentina varies.

Three Pronunciations of Danish Word Af

The Danish word af means off. In certain cases, it also means by. It can be pronounced in three distinct ways. Let us illustrate with examples.

When af is a prefix, it is always pronounced as a diphthong. In the words aftale (agreement) and affald (garbage), the first syllable is a diphthong.

In the other two cases, the word af is a vowel. The final letter f is silent. Before a noun phrase, the vowel is short, but in isolation or before a word such as an adverb or preposition, it has a longer pronunciation.

In the sentence, Vi skal af toget her (We must get off the train here), the word af comes before the noun phrase toget (the train). For this reason, it is pronounced short. However, in the sentence, Vi skal af her (We must get off here), the word af comes before the adverb of place her (here), and thus it is pronounced long.

The word af can also mean by. This is the case in the word Frygt og Bæven er skrevet af Søren Kierkegaard (Fear and Trembling was written by Søren Kierkegaard). Here the word af comes before a noun phrase. For this reason it is pronounced with a short vowel.

The pronunciation of the word af depends on the context. When it is a prefix, it is a diphthong. Before a noun phrase, it is pronounced with a short vowel, and in isolation, it is pronounced with a long one. Thus the Danish word af has three different pronunciations.

Two Romanian Vowels

Romanian has seven vowels. Five are the same vowels found in many languages, but two are less common. One is the mid central unrounded vowel, which is written ă, and the other is the high mid unrounded vowel, which can be written â or î. The vowel ă is similar to the English schwa. Both vowels can occur in both stressed and unstressed syllables.

The mid central unrounded vowel occurs in the word casă (house), and the high mid unrounded vowel occurs in înger (angel). These two vowels did not occur in Latin. In fact, the high mid unrounded vowel does not occur in any other Romance language.

Romanian is a Romance language, and five of the vowels are common not only in Romance languages but in many languages of the world. Languages such as Spanish have a vowel system that is known as the five-vowel system. However, Romanian has two vowels that are less common.

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.