Yogurt Cake

Yogurt cake is delicious and easy to make. This French cake doesn't take long to prepare. Here is the recipe:

3/4 cup yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Butter a cake pan.
Put the yogurt in a bowl.
Add the sugar, vanilla sugar and the eggs.
Mix well.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt and oil and mix.
Put in the pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes.

False Friends in German and English

German and English are both Germanic languages. They share many similar words such as Wasser (water), und (and) and Haus (house). However, they also have a number of false friends- words that appear similar but have different meanings. The following words look identical but differ greatly in meaning. In German all nouns are capitalized. Here is the list:

bald (soon)
Boot (boat)
Brief (letter)
fast (almost)
Gift (poison)
Hut (hat)
Kind (child)
Rat (advice)
Rock (skirt)
Wand (wall)

The list illustrates that German words are sometimes identical in spelling to English but can have very different meanings. The German word for boat is similar to the English counterpart, but is spelt like the English word boot. To master German, English learners need to be aware of the false friends that exist in the two languages.

Variable Pronunciation in French Words

A number of French words have variable pronunciation. This is due to the environment in which they occur. Let us look at a few examples.

The words six and dix mean six and ten. The pronunciation of these words varies. If they occur in isolation or at the end of a sentence, they are pronounced [sis] and  [dis]. However, when they occur before a vowel as in six enfants/dix enfants (six children/ten children), they are pronounced [siz] and [diz]. When these words are followed by a word which begins with a consonant, they are pronounced [si] and [di] as in six tables/dix tables (six tables/ten tables).

We can choose /sis/ and /dis/ for the underlying representations. The reason is that these forms are not phonetically conditioned. In the case of [si] and [di], we have deletion and in [siz] and [diz] we have voicing assimilation. Here are the rules:

[sis] --> [siz] / _ V
[sis} --> [si]/ _ C

[dis] --> [diz]/ _ V
[dis] --> [di] / _ C

The word les (the) is pronounced [le]. However, when it's followed by a word with an initial vowel, it's pronounced [lez]. This preserves a CV syllable structure and avoids VV. Here is the rule:

[le] --> [lez] / _ V

In isolation the word bon  (good) is pronounced [bõ]. However, when [bõ] is followed by a word with an initial vowel, the pronunciation becomes [bon]. This preserves a CV syllable structure and thus avoids two successive vowels.

Certain French words have more than one pronunciation. The underlying representation is the one which isn't phonetically conditioned. Once the underlying representation has been determined, rules can be created to derive the other pronunciations.

Analysis of Assimilation in Dutch

Dutch has many examples of assimilation. Without question, assimilation is an important feature of the language. Two types of assimilation can be identified: progressive and regressive.

In the word zakdoek (handkerchief) the /k/ becomes /g/. This is an example of regressive assimilation. However, in the word drijfzand (quicksand) the /z/ becomes /s/. This is an example of progressive assimilation. Dutch also has a word-final devoicing rule which means that a word such as hond (dog) is pronounced with a word-final /t/. However, in compounds with a combination of a voiceless plosive and a voiced plosive, the voiceless plosive becomes voiced as in zakdoek. When a voiceless fricative is followed by a voiced one, the voiced fricative becomes voiceless as in drijfzand.

With certain cases, however, two analyses are possible. For example, zandbak (sandpit) is pronounced with a /d/. This can be analyzed as regressive assimilation. The reason is that zand (sand) is pronounced with a word-final /t/. This is the result of word-final devoicing.  The underlying representation is /zand/ and the phonetic representation is [zant]. The process can be illustrated as follows:

UR /zand/ + /bak/
word-final devoicing /zantbak/
PR regressive assimilation [zandbak]

However, it is also possible to argue that the voiced /d/ blocks word-final devoicing. If this is the case, the underlying representation is the same as the phonetic representation. This can be illustrated as follows:

UR /zandbak/
PR [zandbak]

Another example is the word bloedproef (blood test). In this compound the /d/ becomes /t/. This can be analyzed as a case of regressive assimilation. The process can be illustrated as follows:

UR /bloedproef/
PR Regressive Assimilation [bloetproef]

However, we can also argue that the surface form is the result of word-final devoicing. The voiceless /p/ fails to block the process. If this the case, the process can be illustrated as follows:

UR /bloedproef/
word-final devoicing /bloet/ + /proef/
PR [bloetproef]

Both analyses are plausible. However, phonologists tend to prefer the most elegant solution. In the word zandbak, the most elegant solution is to say the underlying representation surfaces because the voiced plosive of bak prevents word-final devoicing. This requires fewer rules than the other analysis. If we accept this analysis, we must say that the /t/ of bloedproef is the result of regressive analysis and not word-final devoicing.

Marry-merry-Mary Merger

The Marry-merry-Mary merger consists of a merger of the vowels before intervocalic /r/ in the three words. The merger is common in North America but rare in other varieties of English. It is found in all of Canada except Montreal, which pronounces marry distinctly.

For speakers who lack the merger, marry has the vowel sound of mat and Mary has a longer vowel sound than merry. In the United States, speakers who lack the merger are primarily found in the northeast, in cities such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia. A merger of only the words merry and Mary is found in Montreal and the southern United States. Speakers who have the full Marry-merry-Mary merger pronounce each vowel with the sound of the word met.

Those who have the Marry-merry-Mary merger are usually rhotic speakers, and those who do not are usually non-rhotic. Philadelphia and Scotland, areas which lack the merger, are primarily non-rhotic and thus an exception. In certain cases, speakers have a merger in only two words. Of the American speakers who have a partial merger, the most common is the merger of Mary and merry.

Resignation after 14 Moves

In a game of speed chess my opponent resigned after only 14 moves. He was  Tlep222 from the Vatican, who played black. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 e5
2. f4 Bc5

The moves exf and d6 are more common for black.

3. Nf3 exf
4. d4 Bb6

Black has to retreat the bishop at the expense of the development of his pieces.

5. Bxf4 Qf6

The black queen attacks my bishop, but this move is premature. A developing move such as Nf6 is preferable.

6. Be3 Nc6
7. c3 Nge7
8. Bc4 d6
9. 0-0 0-0
10. Ng4 Qg6

Black must move the queen, but the f7 square is vulnerable.

11. Nxf7 Rxf7
12. Bxf7+ Qxf7

Black must lose his queen.

13. Rxf7 Kxf7
14. Qh5+

In this difficult position black decides to resign. He plays aggressively, but questionable moves such as Bc5 and Qf6 worsen his position. This leads to his quick resignation.

False Friends in Italian and Spanish

Italian and Spanish are Romance languages with many similar words. However, the two languages also have a number of false friends, words which look similar but have different meanings. Here is a list with the Italian word on the left and the Spanish word on the right:

barato (cheated) barato (cheap)
burro (butter) burro (donkey)
guardare (look at) guardar (guard, keep)
largo (wide) largo (long)
officina (workshop) oficina (office)
pronto (ready) pronto (soon)
salire (go up) salir (go out)
sembrare (seem) sembrar (seed, sow)
subire (undergo) subir (go up)
topo (mouse) topo (mole)

In the list of false friends, some are spelt identically. In a few cases, the Italian word ends with a vowel as in guardare/guardar and salire/salir. Though Italian and Spanish have a high degree of lexical similarity, they also have words that look similar but are not.

A Minor Bird

The American poet Robert Frost wrote many famous poems. A Minor Bird is a beautiful short poem. Here is is:

A Minor Bird

I have wished a bird would fly away
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.

And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.

The poem has eight verses and the rhyme scheme is aa bb cc dd. Through the poem, Robert Frost expresses mankind's inability to appreciate nature. The speaker comes to the realization that he cannot fault the bird for singing and should not try to stop it.

Differences between American and British Punctuation

Though similar, there are some differences between American and British punctuation. These differences extend to dates, titles, time and quotes. Here are examples:

For writing the date, Americans write the month first followed by the day and the year. On the other hand, the British list the day first. For example, December 31st is 12/31/2017 in American English, but it's 31/12/2017 in British English.

In American English, titles are used with a period. This is the opposite of British English, which doesn't use periods. For examples, Americans write Mr. Williams and Dr. Jones, but the British write Mr Williams and Dr Jones.

With time, the American system uses colons, and the British system uses periods. Americans write 1:30 and the British write 1.30.

Quotes are also different. American English uses double quotation marks for initial quotations and then single quotation marks for a quotation inside the quotation. British English does the opposite. Here are the two styles:

(American punctuation) "I love the words of Martin Luther King," said the professor, " like 'I have a dream.'"

(British punctuation) 'I love the words of Martin Luther King', said the professor, 'like "I have a dream."'

American and British punctuation are very similar. In fact, the similarity is greater than in vocabulary and pronunciation. However, it is good to be aware of the differences.

Swadesh Word List

The Swadesh word list is a list of basic words for the purposes of historical and comparative linguistics. It was compiled by the American linguist Morris Swadesh. He compiled several versions, but his final one has only 100 words.

Morris Swadesh believed that a comparison of the basic vocabulary of related languages could be used to establish the degree to which they were related and to determine when they diverged from one another. He determined the list on the basis of intuition. Here are some of the words from his final list:

I
you
we
this 
that
not
many
one 
two
sun
moon
star
water
eye
nose
mouth
drink
eat
see
sleep
red
green
yellow
white 
black

The words on the list have what Morris Swadesh considered the core vocabulary of a language. He selected vocabulary which was unlikely to be borrowed from other languages. Other linguists have published similar lists, but they aren't as widely used as the Swadesh list.

Schwa of Catalan

In unstressed syllables Catalan often has a schwa. This is different from Spanish. Here are examples of the schwa in Catalan:

aigua (water)
cosa (thing)
Europa (Europe)
febre (fever)
geografia (geography)
pare (father)
punta (tip)
taula (table)
teatre (theatre)
torre (tower)

In the examples the schwa occurs word-finally. The schwa in Catalan only occurs in unstressed position. The Spanish spoken in Mallorca is an exception because in this dialect the schwa can even occur in stressed position. In the dialect of western Catalan the schwa occurs less frequently than in other dialects. In the word geografia, the schwa occurs in the syllable gra as well as in word-final position. Both of these syllables are unstressed.

One of the features which distinguishes Catalan from Spanish is the schwa. As in English, the schwa occurs in unstressed position. As the examples illustrate, the schwa is a very common vowel in Catalan.

Analysis of Ain't

The contraction ain't is considered a nonstandard form of am not. It was first used extensively in the early nineteenth century in the Cockney dialect of London. In addition to am not, ain't can also mean are not, is not, have not and has not.

The word was derived from am not. The following illustrates the process:

am not --> amn't (vowel deletion)
amn't --> an't (consonant deletion)
an't --> ain't (vowel raising)

Here are examples with ain't:

I ain't seen him = I haven't seen him.
You ain't told me = You haven't told me.
I ain't sure = I'm not sure.
You ain't late = You aren't late.
He ain't well = He isn't well.

The five examples illustrate the different uses of ain't. Though the contraction isn't considered standard, it often occurs in informal speech. In writing, though, the word is far less frequent.

Stress Shift in The Same Word

English is a language with variable stress. The words photograph, photographer and photographic are all stressed differently. However, stress can also vary in the same word.

The word afternoon is stressed on the final syllable. In the compound afternoon tea, many speakers put the main stress on the first syllable of afternoon. This avoids the occurrence of two syllables with strong stress. English tends to prefer a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables. This example also applies to a sentence such as This afternoon's weather is terrible.

The word thirteen has second-syllable stress. In the phrase thirteen students, however, the stress is often placed on the first syllable of thirteen. This results in the stress pattern Strong + Weak + Strong + Weak.

Another example is the word bamboo. It has second syllable stress, but in the compound bamboo mat many speakers stress the first syllable. The trisyllabic compound then has the stress pattern of Strong + Weak + Strong. Note that if bamboo were pronounced with second syllable stress, the compound would have two consecutive syllables with strong stress. By stressing the first syllable of bamboo, this is avoided.

In certain cases, however, many speakers do not shift the stress. For example, cosmetic has second-syllable stress. In the compound cosmetic surgeon, though, most speakers maintain second-syllable stress on cosmetic. Here stress shift isn't so common. The reason may be that in this compound there is no occurrence of two consecutive syllables with strong stress.

Many English words can be stressed in two different ways depending on the context in which they are used. English favours an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables. As a result, many words undergo a shift in stress when they occur before another word.

Languages of Spain

Spanish is the official language of Spain. It is also the official language of many other countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuatorial Guinea and Peru. Though Spanish is the official language, Spain also has regional and minority languages.

The regional languages of Spain are Basque, Catalan and Galician. Basque is spoken in the north of the country and also has a significant number of speakers in France. It is different from the other languages of Spain because it is classified as a language isolate, not an Indo-European language.

Catalan is the official language of Andorra, a small country located between France and Spain. It is also spoken in Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain. The region of Catalonia is in the northeast of Spain.

Another regional language is Galician. It is spoken in the northwest of Spain. Galician is a language which shares many similarities with Portuguese.

Asturian and Aragonese are also spoken in Spain. They are classified as minority languages and have relatively few speakers. Aragonese is spoken in northern Spain near the French border, and Asturian is spoken in the northwest.

Spain is a country with one official language as well as regional and minority languages. The most widely-spoken language after Spanish is Catalan. The Basque language is unique because it is completely unrelated to the other languages of Spain.

Lyonnaise Style Pork Chops

Lyonnaise Style Pork Chops are easy to prepare. Here is the recipe for this French dish:

4 pork chops

4 potatoes, peeled and finely sliced

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 onion, chopped

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon butter

Put the pork chops in a pot and brown with butter.

Remove the pork chops and deglaze the pot with the vegetable stock.

Put the potatoes in the bottom of the pot.

Add the thyme, chopped onion and pork chops on top.

Cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes over moderate heat.

When most of the liquid has evaporated, the pork chops are ready.

Different Spellings of English Phonemes

The English language has an irregular spelling system. The result is that many English phonemes can be spelt in various ways. Here are examples:

[f] forest off phone
[i] defeat feet grieve happy receive 
[k] car neck school skate
[m] hymn lamb morning
[n] knee now sign
[s] cycle pass seat
[o] so row though toe 
[u] boot do glue manoeuvre rude shoe you 
[v] of vine
[z] his possession zoo

Vowel sounds in particular often have many different spellings. This is especially true of the schwa, the reduced vowel present in words such as actor, singer and sugar. The list illustrates that many English phonemes have a variety of spellings.

Mate in 18

In a game of speed chess I mated my opponent in 18 moves. My opponent was Borosimic of Germany, who played black. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 g6
2. d4 Bg7
3. Nf3 e6
4. Be3 h6

I overprotect my d-pawn. Black has only one developed piece.

5. Nc3 Nc6
6. Bd3 a6

Black's move prevents me from moving a piece to b5, but it's better for black to develop a piece.

7. Qe2 b5

I can castle on either side.

8. a3 Bb7
9. 0-0 Nf6
10. Rad1 g5

Black decides not to castle.

11. d5 Ne7
12. dxe fxe

I want to deliver a check with my queen on h5, but to do so I must move the black knight from f6 and clear the diagonal for my queen.

13. e5 g4

I expect the black knight to move, but black counterattacks.

14. Nd4 Nfd5
15. Qxg4 Nxe3

Here I have the option of capturing the black knight, but I decide to check first to prevent castling.

16. Qh5+ Kf8
17. fxe3+ Kg8

I capture with check. Mate is now inevitable.

18. Qf7#

My bishop prevents the white king from escaping to h7. All of black's pieces are on his first and second ranks. Black plays aggressively, but his failure to protect his king leads to his defeat.

Ten Common English Affixes

English has many affixes. They can be either prefixes or suffixes, but the majority are suffixes. Here is a list of ten common affixes with examples:

-able changeable, laughable, presentable
-al emotional, regional, verbal
-er painter, singer, teacher
-ful careful, doubtful, wonderful
-ish childish, greenish, selfish
-less careless, effortless, endless 
-ment establishment, government, punishment
-ness awareness, kindness, weakness
un- unhappy, unkind, unsure
-y rainy, salty smelly

Here is the structure of the affixes:

-able V + able
-al N + al
-er V + er
-ful N + ful
-ish N +ish, V + ish
-less N + less
-ment V + ment
-ness A + ness
un- un + A
-y N + y

Most of the affixes from the list combine with nouns or verbs. The agentive suffix -er as in teacher can also be a resident suffix as in Londoner. In certain cases the spelling of the base changes as a result of affixation as in beauty/beautiful.

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin soup is healthy and delicious. This French recipe is simple and sure to please. Here is the recipe:

4 tablespoons butter
1 pumpkin peeled and chopped without the seeds
1/2 cup warm water
salt
nutmeg
5 cups milk
1/4 cup rice

Melt the butter in a large pan and add the pumpkin.
Stir well and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
Add the warm water, salt and nutmeg.
Cover and cook until soft.
Put in a blender and reduce to a puree with a little milk.
Return to the pan with the remaining milk.
Add the rice.
Bring to a boil.
Cook uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes.
If you wish, serve with garlic croutons.

Pronunciation of Irish Names

Irish names are often pronounced very differently from the way they look. Like English the Irish language isn't so phonetic. Here is a list of Irish names with the correct pronunciation:

Girls' Names

Aoife (eefa)
Caoimhe (keeva, kweeva)
Maeve (mayv)
Niamh (neeav, neev)
Saoirse (seersha, sairsha)

Boys' Names

Cillian (kileean)
Daithi (dahee)
Eoin (oin)
Oisin (uhsheen, osheen)
Seamus (shaymus)

The pronunciation of many Irish names is quite different from the spelling. The c in Irish is always pronounced [k] and all the names have first-syllable stress. The list gives the pronunciation of popular Irish names.

Silent Letters in English

English has many silent letters. They often reflect an older pronunciation of the language. Here is a list of words with silent letters:

autumn
calm
castle
doubt
guard
honest
hope
island
sword
thumb

Silent letters are very common in English. As the list illustrates, many letters can be silent in different words. Many words such as hope have a silent e at the end of a word. In this case the e is a diacritic letter. It is silent, but it also changes the sound of the preceding vowel. In the word hop the vowel quality is different.

Fire and Ice

The American poet Robert Frost wrote the short poem Fire And Ice. Here it is:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

The poem has nine verses. The rhyme scheme is abaabcbcb. Verses 2, 8 and 9 are short verses with four syllables, and the other verses all have eight. The poem is very philosophical and discusses the power of fire and ice to destroy the world. Fire can represent nuclear war, and ice can represent not only an event such as the ice age but also apathy and indifference.