Comparison of Romance Languages

The Romance languages are related to one another. Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese reveal many similarities in vocabulary. Here is a list of ten words in each language:

milk leche (Spanish) latte (Italian) lait (French) leite (Portuguese)

white blanco (Spanish) bianco (Italian) blanc (French) branco (Portuguese)

world mundo (Spanish) mondo (Italian) monde (French) mundo (Portuguese)

cat gato (Spanish) gatto (Italian) chat (French) gato (Portuguese)

flower flor (Spanish) fiore (Italian) fleur (French) flor (Portuguese)

eye ojo (Spanish) occhio (Italian) oeil (French) olho (Portuguese)

person persona (Spanish) persona (Italian) personne (French) pessoa (Portuguese)

love amor (Spanish) amore (Italian) amour (French) amor (Portuguese)

peace paz (Spanish) pace (Italian) paix (French) paz (Portuguese)

flour harina (Spanish) farina (Italian) farine (French) farinha (Portuguese)

Spanish and Portuguese share the greatest similarity in vocabulary. Of the ten words from this list, Spanish and Portuguese have the same word in five instances. In contrast, Spanish and Italian have the same word in one instance and French shares no words with the other Romance languages listed here. The word for flour starts with an f in every language except Spanish, where it starts with an h. The word for cat starts with a g in every language except French, where it starts with a ch. In all other cases, the words begin with the same letter. This indicates that the Romance languages are closely related to one another.

Coffee

Coffee is the third most popular drink in the world. Only water and tea are consumed more. Despite the many flavours of coffee, there are two main beans: arabica, which accounts for about 70% of coffee production and robusta, which is cheaper and easier to grow.

These were the top ten producers of coffee in 2015:

1) Brazil
2) Vietnam
3) Colombia
4) Indonesia
5) Ethiopia
6) India
7) Honduras
8) Uganda
9) Mexico
10) Guatemala

Brazil is the undisputed leader in coffee production. Most of the coffee plantations of Brazil are located in the southeast.

Vietnam has a relatively small area, but is a major coffee exporter. Coffee is a very important part of the Vietnamese economy. It is the second main export after rice.

Colombian coffee is world-famous. Colombia was once the second exporter of coffee, but has moved to third place because of the increase in coffee production by Vietnam.

Coffee production was introduced to Indonesia by the Dutch colonists. The robusta bean accounts for most of the coffee production in Indonesia.

Ethiopia is the top African producer of coffee. The arabica bean is the most common in Ethiopian coffee production. Coffee is a very big part of the Ethiopian economy.

Though tea is undoubtedly more popular than coffee in India, it is a top ten producer of coffee. Most of the coffee produced in India comes from the south. About 80% of Indian coffee is for export.

Honduras is the top Central American producer of coffee. Coffee is a very important part of the Honduran economy.

Coffee is the top export in the central African nation of Uganda. The country produces both arabica and robusta beans.

Mexico produces mostly arabica beans. The majority of Mexican coffee production is in coastal areas near the Guatemalan border.

Guatemala produces an amount of coffee which is not so far behind that of Mexico. It is the second biggest producer in Central America.

Coffee is a very important commodity and an important export for many countries. In fact, it is a vital part of the economies of Vietnam, Ethiopia, Honduras and Uganda. Of the top ten coffee producers, three are in North America, three are in Asia, two are in Africa and two are in South America.

Syntactic Dislocation

In syntax, dislocation refers to a sentence structure in which a constituent occurs outside of its usual boundaries. The dislocated constituent is often accompanied by a pause in speech and a comma in writing. Two types of dislocation occur: left dislocation and right dislocation.

In the sentence "John A. MacDonald, he was the first prime minister," we have an example of left dislocation. The meaning is the same as in the sentence "The first prime minister was John A. MacDonald," but in the first sentence emphasis is given to John A. MacDonald. In left dislocation the topic is advanced. It occurs earlier in the sentence than is usually the case.

With right dislocation, the constituent is postponed. Consider the following sentence: She won the election, Angela Merkel. She won the election is a good sentence, but Angela Merkel is added to clarify who the subject of the sentence is.

Dislocation is very common in language. Left dislocation serves to emphasize the topic of the sentence and right dislocation provides clarification of the subject. The term dislocation is used because the constituent occurs outside of the regular clause boundaries.

Number of Sounds and Segments

Many English words differ in the number of segments and letters they contain. In linguistics a segment is a unit of speech. When the number of segments and letters differs, it is usually due to silent letters and this results in more letters than segments. Some words, however, have more segments than letters.

The following words differ in the number of segments and letters:

class cough fox laugh music
scene sing unit wrist yacht

Here are the words with the number of letters and segments:

1) class (5 letters and 4 segments) [klæs]

2) cough (5 letters and 3 segments) [kɑf]

3) fox (3 letters and 4 segments) [fɑks]

4) laugh (5 letters and 3 segments) [læf]

5) music (5 letters and 6 segments) [mjuzIk]

6) scene (5 letters and 3 segments) [sin]

7) sing (4 letters and 3 segments) [sIŋ]

8) unit (4 letters and 5 segments) [junIt}

9) wrist (5 letters and 4 segments) [rIst]

10) yacht (5 letters and 3 segments) [jɑt]


In seven of the ten words from this list, the number of letters is greater than the number of segments. Many English words have silent letters. For example, the word scene has a silent c and a word-final silent e. Three words have more segments than letters. This is because the letter x represents two segments and in many words the letter u also represents two segments. The list shows that English spelling isn't very phonetic.

Sour Cream Poundcake

Sour cream poundcake is a delicious cake that's easy to prepare. It's flavoured with cardamon, cinnamon and vanilla. Here's the recipe for this Finnish dessert:

2 teaspoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamon
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Grease the pan with 2 teaspoons of butter and sprinkle the bottom and sides of pan with bread crumbs.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is thoroughly mixed before adding another.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamon, and stir half into the batter.
Beat in the sour cream and vanilla, combine well, and add the rest of the flour.
Pour the contents into the pan.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and the centre of the cake is fully baked.
Cool the cake and serve at room temperature.

The addition of sour cream gives this cake a special flavour. It's very popular in Finland.

Manchester Accent

Though England has a small area, it's a country with many English accents. One of the most famous is the Manchester accent. It has a number of distinct features. Here are a few:

-in words such as city, happy and lucky, the word final y is pronounced as in big

-the words look and luck rhyme (this is because the u of but, must and up has the sound of the u in put)

-words such as castle, dance and fast have the vowel of man

-the diphthong in words such as line, side and time is more advanced than in the London accent

-the vowel of cap, hat, and land tends to be more retracted than in the London accent.

To hear the Manchester accent, visit the following website: dialectsarchive.com/england You can find the Manchester accent under accents of the northwest.

Mate in 13

In a game of speed chess I mated my opponent in 13 moves. My opponent was dusanmarkovic1989 of Serbia, who played black. Here are the moves of the game:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. c3 Nf6

My third move isn't so common. More common moves are Bb5 and Bc4.

4. d4 Nxe4

I expect black to play exd, but he captures a pawn with his knight.

5.Bd3 exd

Black takes another pawn, but this is a mistake. He needs to save his knight with a move such as Nf6.

6. Bxe4 dxc

Black has three more pawns, but this isn't enough compensation for the loss of his knight.

7. Nxc3 Bb4

8. 0-0 0-0

9. Ng5 Be7

Black fails to stop the loss of the h7 pawn. A better move is h6.

10. Nxh7 Kh8

11. Qh5 g6

Black can't save the game.

12. Qh6 Bf6

13, Nf6#

I win with a discovered check.

The key to this game is black's fifth move, exd. He decides to capture a central pawn, but loses his knight and the game. My eleventh move, Qh5, is an aggressive move which quickly ends the game.

Peace

The American Sara Teasdale wrote the poem Peace. Here it is:

Peace flows into me
As the tide to the pool by the shore;
It is mine forevermore,
It will not ebb like the sea.

I am the pool of blue
That worships the vivid sky;
My hopes were heaven-high,
They are all fulfilled in you.

I am the pool of gold
When sunset burns and dies--
You are my deepening skies;
Give me your stars to hold.

The poem is divided into three stanzas with four verses each. The rhyme scheme is a,b,b,a. Peace describes an inner peace which is compared to the tide of the ocean. It is eternal and the writer's hopes are all fulfilled. Even when the sunset has ended, the writer is filled with peace and love.

Sarah Teasdale's Peace describes a profound love which grows over time. The poem is full of beautiful imagery such as the stars of the sky, the tide of the ocean and the golden sun. The imagery and elegance of the poem make it a classic.

Hungarian Apple Soup

Hungarian apple soup is tasty and easy to prepare. It can be eaten either hot or cold. Here is the recipe:

4 cups apples, cubed
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
3 cups water
pinch of salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat the apples, butter, sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
Add water and boil for 10 minutes.
Add salt.
Mix sour cream, flour and water in a bowl until creamy.
Add to soup and bring to a slow boil.
Remove from heat.
Add lemon juice.

This soup can be served hot or cold. Enjoy!

Archaic English Spellings

The English language has a number of archaic spellings. Many words are spelled differently than in the past. In most cases, though, the spellings are not so different from today. Here is a list of ten words:

angell bicause citie colde daye eare garlick hym mirrour noyse

The modern spellings of these words are angel, because, city, cold, day, ear, garlic, hymn, mirror and noise.

Most of the modern spellings are simpler than the archaic ones. This is the case with angel, cold, day, ear, garlic and mirror. The modern spelling of hymn is more complicated than the archaic one. The spelling citie appears in the plural cities and the spelling noyse has the same number of letters as the modern noise.

Many of the archaic spellings have an extra word-final e. This is thc case with cold, day and ear. In the words angell and mirrour we see an extra l and u. The extra u of mirrour appears in the British spelling of many words such as colour, flavour and honour.

English spelling is highly irregular. Many modern spellings represent archaic pronunciations. For example, the word knife used to be pronounced with a k, but the k is now silent. Though English spelling is not so phonetic, a number of words have simpler spellings than they did in the past.

French Beef Dish with Vegetables

The French beef dish called Marmite de Boeuf is a wonderful way to prepare beef. It has an exquiisite combination of flavours and is cooked with red wine. Here is the recipe:

1 kilo of beef
30 grams of butter
3 onions
3 tomatoes
3 glasses of red wine
1 leek
2 carrots
2 bay leaves
200 grams of mushrooms
garlic
flour
thyme
salt
pepper
parsley
250 millilitres  of beef bouillon

Boil the tomatoes, drain and crush.
Cut the beef into small cubes.
Combine the flour, salt and pepper on a plate and roll the pieces of beef.
Heat half the butter in a pot. Add the meat and brown. Add the onions.
Add the red wine, the beef bouillon, the tomatoes, the carrots, the leek, the thyme, the bay leaf and the garlic.
Cook for about one and a half hours.
Cook the mushrooms in a pan with the rest of the butter.
Add to the pot. Add salt, pepper and parsley.
Serve with steamed potatoes.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!

Ten Popular Sausages

Sausage differs in the meat used, the seasonings and the method of preparation. It can be cooked, dried, fresh and also smoked. Here are ten popular varieties:

Bratwurst is a German sausage with many different varieties. It can be made from beef, pork or veal. In many varieties, marjoram is a characteristic ingredient.

Bockwurst is also a German sausage. It is made from ground veal and pork. In contrast to Bratwurst, it uses more veal than pork. Paprika is one of the seasonings.

Cervelat is a sausage that is primarily produced in Switzerland but also in parts of France and Germany. It is often called the national sausage of Switzerland. The Swiss variety has beef, bacon, pork and pork rind.

Chipolata is a French sausage often eaten for breakfast. It is usually grilled and is made from pork, herbs and spices.

Chorizo is a Spanish sausage that is also produced in many other countries. It is made from pork and may be cooked before eating.

Cumberland is an English sausage made of pork and seasonings. The distinctive feature is that the meat is chopped, not ground.

Knackwurst is a sausage of northern German origin. It contains ground veal, ground pork and fresh garlic. It is a specialty of Hamburg.

Merguez is a spicy sausage from North Africa. It is made with uncooked lamb or beef, or sometimes a mixture of the two. Merguez is usually eaten grilled.

Pepperoni is an American variety of salami, usually made from cured beef and pork. It is a common topping on pizzas.

Salami is a cured sausage typically made from beef or pork. Though salami is produced in many countries, it is typically associated with Italy. In parts of northern Italy, goose salami is traditional.

Many varieties of sausage are produced throughout the world. Three of the ten sausages here, Bratwurst, Bockwurst and Knackwurst, are of German origin. This indicates that German sausages are among the most popular.