Use of Not and Adjective in English

English speakers sometimes use the negative adverb not before an adjective rather than a single adjective. This can be done for a number of reasons. It can be used to be diplomatic and soften the statement. In other words, it is not so direct.

The response not bad can be used to answer the question How are you? It is similar to the response OK, fine or average. The response not good is also common. In response to How was the movie?, it is possible to use Not good. It is far less direct than a response such as Terrible.

In the sentence His presentation was unclear, the word unclear is softer than a word such as confusing. Likewise, the response I'm not sure is softer and less direct than I have no idea or I don't know. The use of not before the adjective is an example of diplomatic understatement.

The use of not before an adjective is often used to produce an indirect and diplomatic statement. Though direct words such as terrible can be used instead of not good and fine can be used instead of not bad, the use of not has a softening effect. The phrase not good is considered more polite than bad. 

Poem (It is the Hour)

Lord Byron is regarded as one of the greatest English poets. The poem It is the Hour is a short poem. It is only fourteen verses.

It is the Hour

It is the hour when from the boughs

The nightingale's high note is heard;

It is the hour--when lover's vows

Seem sweet in every whisper'd word;

And gentle winds and waters near,

Make music to the lonely ear.

Each flower the dews have lightly wet,

And in the sky the stars are met,

And on the wave is deeper blue,

And on the leaf a browner hue,

And in the Heaven that clear obscure

So softly dark, and darkly pure,

That follows the decline of day

As twilight melts beneath the moon away.

In the poem It is the Hour the first and third verses rhyme and also the second and fourth. The rest of the poem consists of rhyming couplets. The poem has alliteration in the phrases seem sweet, whisper'd word, and make music. The poem describes the romantic and tranquil beauty of twilight.

Spanish Words

The Spanish words municipalidad and municipio can both be translated as municipality in English. However, they are different. Two other words that have different meanings are governador and gobernante. The first word has a more specific meaning than the second.

The word municipalidad refers to the territory and population of an area. In contrast, the word municipio refers to the government that administers the area.

The word gobernador is governor in English. Though the word gobernante can refer to a governor, it is a more general term and refers to any person who governs such as a president, governor or mayor. As a result, the word ruler is a better translation for gobernante.

Though the words municipalidad and municipio mean municipality, they have different meanings. This is also the case for gobernador and gobernante, two more related words with different meanings. The word municipalidad refers to an area, and municipio refers to the person who governs it. Both gobernador and governante can be translated as governor, but the word gobernante refers to all who have authority in government.

Portuguese of Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre is a city in the south of Brazil. The Portuguese spoken in the city is distinct from that of other parts of Brazil. Let us discuss a few characteristics of the accent.

The Portuguese of Porto Alegre is known for its intonation. The /r/ is pronounced word-finally as an alveolar flap or trill. This differs from many other parts of Brazil, which often do not pronounce the /r/ in word-final position.

The lateral is velarized in word-final position. This pronunciation is the same as in European Portuguese. In the rest of the country, however, the /l/ is vocalized word-finally.

In words such as arroz (rice) and dez (ten), the accent of Porto Alegre does not diphthongize. The vowels are always monophthongs. In words such as ouro (gold), diphthongization does not occur either.

The accent of Porto Alegre shares many similarities with the Portuguese of Sao Paulo. However, it is characterized by features such as velarization of the word-final lateral, the articulation of the /r/ in word-final position and the lack of diphthongization in many words.

Speakers of Norwegian Dialects

Norwegian has many dialects. It can be divided into four main dialects: northern, central, western and eastern. Oslo belongs to the eastern dialect and Bergen to the western. In each dialect there is considerable variation. 

The northern dialect has the fewest speakers. It is spoken by approximately 9% of the population. The central dialect includes the city of Trondheim and is spoken by approximately 15% of the population. The western dialect is spoken by approximately 26% of the population and the eastern dialect by approximately 50%. Thus the two most widely-spoken dialects, the eastern and the western, account for about 3/4 of the population.

In Norway there are many dialects. However, they can all be divided into four main groups. Of the four groups, the eastern dialect is the one with the most speakers.

Simple Past in Yes/No and Wh-Questions

With be verbs, English questions mark the simple past with the main verb. In the question, Where were they?, the verb were is in the simple past. However, with other verbs, only the auxiliary verb is in the simple past. It is used in combination with the main verb.

Consider the question What did you say? The first verb is in the simple past, did. However, the main verb say is not. This pattern is also true for yes-no questions. Consider the example Did she agree? Only the auxiliary verb is in the simple past. The main verb is not in the past tense.

The same structure is used for emphasis. The sentence They went is more emphatic with the structure They did go. In this structure, the auxiliary verb is in the simple past, but the main verb is not.

In English questions with be-verbs, the be-verb is in the simple past. However, with other verbs, English adds an auxiliary verb. This process can be called do-support. The auxiliary verb is in the simple past but the main verb remains in the base form.

Pronunciation of Stressed er in Scottish English

The letters er occur in many English words. In Scottish English, the stressed vowel is not r-coloured but two segments. In contrast to other varieties that have a central vowel, the Scottish vowel is a front vowel such as in the word bear.

The following words are pronounced with a front vowel and alveolar approximant in Scottish English:

certain

early

emergency

learner

permanent

person

search

service

university

verb

In Scottish English, the words in the list are pronounced with a front vowel. This is different from other dialects of English such as American English and RP, which pronounce the words with a central vowel. Another distinction is that Scottish English does not use r-coloured vowels but rather a combination of a vowel and rhotic consonant.