Mate in 14

In a game of speed chess, I mated my opponent in 14 moves. He was Kambell from Canada, who played white. My opponent played fast, but made many mistakes. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 c5
2. f4 d5

I offer a pawn in an attempt to break white's control of the centre.

3. exd Nf6
4. c4 Bf4

White can protect his pawn with Nc3, a move which also develops his knight. Though white has an extra pawn, I lead in development of my pieces.

5. d4 cxd
6. Qxd4 e6

My pawn is immune from capture.

7. Nc3 Bb4
8. Bd2 Nc6

The knight is also immune from capture.

9. Qe3 Ng4
10. Qe2 Nd4

The queen is attacked for the third time in a row.

11. Qd1 Nc2+
12. Qxc2 Bxc2

White can survive longer with Ke7.

13. dxe fxe
14. Nb4 Qxd2#

White blunders. Though the position is lost, a far better move is Nge7. The knight on c3 must not move.

Despite the loss of his queen, white decides to play on. However, his thirteenth move is a blunder which leads to mate on the next move. He plays quickly, but in doing so plays many questionable moves.

Raspberry Cake

Raspberry cake is easy to prepare. Here is the Swedish recipe for this delicious cake:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
zest of one lemon
1 cup raspberries
3 tablespoons melted butter
icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix the eggs and sugar until well blended.
Add the flour and the lemon zest.
Butter and flour the pan and add the batter.
Add the raspberries and pour the melted butter on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let the cake cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Languages of India

India is the home of many languages. 75% of the languages are Indo-Aryan and 20% are Dravidian. In addition to Hindi and English, many other languages are spoken.

India now recognizes 22 official regional languages. They are the following:

Assamese
Bengali
Dogri
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Malayalam
Meitei
Marathi
Nepali
Odia
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Santali
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu

Few Indians speak Sanskrit as a first language. It is the liturgical language of Hinduism.

Languages with more than 25 million speakers include Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are Dravidian languages. Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi and Urdu are Indo-Aryan.

India is a country with many languages. Urdu is also spoken in Pakistan, Bengali in Bangladesh and Nepali in Nepal. Of the languages spoken in India, Hindi has the most first-language speakers.

Horse-Hoarse Merger

The horse-hoarse merger is also known as the north-force merger. In this merger, only one mid back vowel occurs before /r/. This merger occurs in most varieties of English today.

Varieties of English which do not have the horse-hoarse merger are Irish, Scottish and Caribbean. In the varieties which lack the merger, hoarse is pronounced with a higher vowel. In certain speakers, the distinction is one of length rather than vowel quality. In this case, the vowel of hoarse is longer than that of horse.

Most speakers of American English have the merger. However, many speakers from New Orleans and St. Louis maintain a distinction. According to a study by William Labov in 2006, black speakers are less likely to have the merger than are whites. In the study only a little over half of the black participants had the merger.

The horse-hoarse merger is a very common merger in English. Another common merger before /r/ is the marry-merry-Mary merger. These mergers are examples of simplification.

Phonotactics

Phonotactics is a branch of phonology which deals with the permissible sound sequences in a language. In phonotactics permissible syllable structure, consonant and vowel sequences can be defined with phonotactic constaints. Phonotactic constraints are language specific.

The consonant clusters /gn/ and /kn/ are not permitted in word-initial position in English, but are in Swedish. For example, the Swedish words kniv (knife) and gnista (spark) have the consonant  clusters at the beginning of the word. In English, they only occur word-medially as in weakness and magnet.

In Spanish the consonant cluster /st/ never occurs word-initially. The Spanish word for student is estudiante. However, the Spanish word muelle (wharf) begins with /mw/, a consonant cluster which never occurs word-initially in English.

English onsets have a maximum of three consonants. Examples of words with three consonants include school, squeeze and street. In Japanese onsets are restricted to one consonant The Japanese onset is thus CV or V. To show that the consonant is optional, this can be represented as (C)V.

Due to the phonotactic constraints of each language, syllable structures which are not allowed can be repaired. For example, the Swedish and Norwegian name Knut has the cluster /kn/ in word-initial permission. Since this cannot occur in English, the sequence is repaired with an epenthetic schwa. This can be represented with the spelling Canute.

Every language has phonotactic constraints which determine the sound sequences which may occur. They determine the syllable structure, consonant and vowel sequences of the language. In the  case of foreign words with different sound sequences, the sequences can be repaired.

The Prefix -dis

Many English prefixes tend to combine with only one grammatical category. The prefix -un combines with adjectives to form words such as uncertain, unhappy and unknown and the prefix -re produces redo, reexamine and resell. However, the prefix -dis combines with verbs, adjectives and nouns.

The following list illustrates that -dis combines with verbs, adjectives and nouns:

disallow
disappear
disapprove
disobey
disregard

dishonest
disloyal
disobedient
dissimilar
distasteful

disadvantage
disagreement
disapproval
disorder
disregard

Certain words belong to more than one grammatical category. For example, disadvantage and disregard can be both adjectives and nouns. In certain cases, the prefix -dis combines with the same root to form three grammatical categories as in disobey, disobedient and disobedience. In other cases, two grammatical categories are formed as in dishonest and dishonesty and in other cases only one grammatical category is possible as in distasteful.

In the case of discomfort, the prefix -un is needed to form uncomfortable. Dislike can be a verb and also a noun, but is more commonly used as a verb. Dissimilar is used far less than different.

The prefix -dis occurs in verbs, adjectives and nouns. In certain cases, the same root occurs in all three grammatical categories. Unlike other English prefixes which usually only occur in one grammatical category, the prefix -dis can occur in three.

Use of Articles in Languages

Many languages use definite and indefinite articles. However, the use of articles varies. Let's look at a few examples.

In English the indefinite article is used in sentences such as I'm a doctor and He's a teacher. However, in German the indefinite article isn't used in these sentences. They are Ich bin Arzt and Er ist Lehrer. However, if we add adjectives such as I'm a new doctor and He's a good teacher, the indefinite article is required. The sentences are then translated as Ich bin ein neuer Arzt and Er ist ein guter Lehrer.

In the sentence That's life, no article is used before life because it's used in a general sense. However, in French the sentence is translated as C'est la vie. The definite article la is required.

No articles are used before names in English, but in colloquial Portuguese they are common. The sentence Maria studies a lot can be translated as A Maria estuda muito. The definite article isn't necessary in Portuguese, but in informal language it's often used.

Though many languages use definite and indefinite articles, their usage varies. English uses indefinite articles before professions, but German doesn't. English doesn't use definite articles before general nouns, but French does. The rules for the use of articles are thus language specific.

Yiddish Phonology

Yiddish phonology is similar to that of German. This is not surprising because much of the vocabulary has a German base. However, a few features are distinct.

Yiddish lacks final obstruent devoicing. As a result, Rad (wheel) and Rat (advice) are pronounced differently. Voiceless plosives as in Kopf (head) are unaspirated.

Yiddish has a smaller vowel inventory than German and has no vowel length distinction. Unlike in Standard German which distinguishes offen (open) and Ofen (oven), no such distinction occurs in Yiddish. Yiddish has only six vowel phonemes.

Yiddish is similar to German and is classified as a Germanic language. However, the phonology of Yiddish is in many respects quite different from that of German. Yiddish has no final obstruent devoicing, has no aspirated plosives and does not distinguish vowel length. In addition, Yiddish has fewer vowel phonemes.

Phrasal Verbs and Latinate Equivalents

Many phrasal verbs have latinate equivalents. The Latinate equivalents are derived from Latin and tend to be more formal. Here is a list:

add up calculate
call for necessitate
call off cancel
carry on continue
fall apart disintegrate
find out discover
get away escape
get across communicate
give in yield
leave out omit
look into research
make up fabricate
pass out distribute
pick up resume
point out explain
set up arrange
take after resemble
touch on mention
turn down reject
use up exhaust

Many phrasal verbs have words such as up, down, off and on. Phrasal verbs are very common in conversation and informal writing, but latinates are preferred in formal speech and writing. The phrasal verbs in the list all consist of two words, and the latinates consist of only one.  

Male and Female Versions of Names

Many names have male and female versions. In certain cases, the male name is more popular, but with some names, the female version is also very common. Here is a list:

Alexander Alexandra
Andrew Andrea
Brian Briana
Clement Clementine
Daniel Danielle
Edwin Edwina
Eric Erica
Fredrick Frederica
Gabriel Gabriella
George Georgia
Gerald Geraldine
Harry Harriet
Henry Henrietta
Joseph Josephine
Justin Justine
Louis Louise
Martin Martina
Michael Michelle
Nicholas Nicole
Oliver Olivia
Patrick Patricia
Paul Paula
Peter Petra
Robert Roberta
Victor Victoria

The names Fredrick, George, Henry and Joseph are more popular than the female names Frederica, Georgia, Henrietta and Josephine. However, many female names such as Gabriella and Nicole are very popular. The popularity of female and male versions of names can vary from one decade to the next.

Cognac Shrimp in White Sauce

Cognac shrimp in white sauce is a French dish which is easy to prepare. Here is the recipe:

1 shallot, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cream
6 tablespoons butter
white pepper
2 tablespoons butter
250 grams shrimp
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cognac

Simmer the shallot, white wine and lemon juice over moderate heat for 5-10 minutes.
When the mixture reduces to 2 tablespoons, add the cream.
When the first bubbles start, turn down the heat.
Add the butter one tablespoon at a time.
When the butter is fully incorporated, add the white pepper and set aside.
In another pan, melt the butter and saute the shrimp for 3-4 minutes.
Reduce the heat and season with salt.
Add the cognac and stir.
Pour the white sauce over the shrimp and serve.

English Plurals with Vowel Mutation

Most English plurals are formed with the suffix -s or -es. However, English has seven irregular plurals which are formed with vowel mutation. Here is the list of these plurals:

foot feet
goose geese
louse lice
man men
mouse mice
tooth teeth
woman women

In the pairs foot/feet, goose/geese and tooth/teeth, the vowel mutation is the same. The pairs louse/lice and mouse/mice also exhibit the same vowel mutation as well as the pairs man/men and woman/women. In these seven plurals three vowel mutations can be observed. They are:

a --> e man/men woman/women
ou --> i  louse/lice mouse/mice
oo --> ee foot/feet goose/geese tooth/teeth

English has many examples of vowel mutation in verbs such as break/broke, give/gave and take/took. Vowel mutation is less common with nouns. However, it also occurs in seven irregular plurals.

Polysemy

Polysemy is the association of a word with two or more meanings. For example, the word bright has different meanings in the sentences You have a bright future, The room is bright and She's a bright student. In the first sentence bright means full of hope, in the second it means full of light and in the third it means intelligent. The word get is also a good example of polysemy. Notice the different meanings of get in the following sentences:

I can get a refund.
I hope you get well soon.
I have to get home now.
I get the idea.
The police are confident they'll get the thief.

In the first sentence get has the meaning of receive. and in the second sentence get can be replaced with become. The third sentence has the common expression get home in which get can be replaced with arrive. In the fourth sentence get can be replaced with understand and in the fifth it has the meaning of capture.

All languages have examples of polysemy. In fact, many words have more than one meaning. In English the word get has many possible meanings. The examples illustrate five.

Set Theory

Set theory is a branch of mathematical logic. Though set theory is usually applied in mathematics, the theory can also be used in other fields. The modern study of set theory was developed in the 1870s.

Set theory expresses a binary relation between an object and a set. Every object of a set is a member or an element. Sets are also objects and can belong to other sets.

A binary relation between two sets is the subset relation, which is also called set inclusion. If all the members of set A are also members of set B, then A is a subset of B. To give a more concrete example, we can say that the members of set A are puppies and the members of set B are dogs. Thus we can express the relation between the two sets by stating that the set of puppies is a subset of the set of dogs.

Numbers are common in set theory. The union of the sets X and Y is the set of all objects that are members of X, Y or both. The union of {1,2} and {2,3} is the set {1,2,3}. The intersection of the sets X and Y is the set of all objects that are members of both sets. The intersection of {1,2} and {2,3} is {2}.

A Venn diagram is a diagram that shows all the possible logical relations between different sets. The diagram usually consists of overlapping circles representing a set. The Venn diagram was conceived by John Venn around 1880. It is used to teach elementary set theory as well as illustrate simple set relationships.

Set theory is common in mathematics, but can also be applied to other areas such as computer science, linguistics and statistics. In set theory the relation between objects and sets and also between sets and other sets is clearly illustrated. Venn diagrams can be used to express all possible relations between sets.

Mate in 12

In a game of speed chess, I mated my opponent in 12 moves. He was Food of the USA, who played black. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. d4 b6
2. e4 B7
3. Nc3 e6
4. Bd3 g6
5. Be3 Bg7

Black's decision to develop his two bishops before his knights is unusual.

6. Nf3 Ne7
7. Qd2 d5
8. Bh6 dxe
9. Bxe4 Bxh6
10. Qxh6 Bxe4

My queen prevents black from castling. Black's decision to take my bishop is a mistake because it allows my knight to take control of a key square. A better move for black is Nc6.

11. Nxe4 Nbc6

Black doesn't have time to make this move. A better move is Ng8.

12. Nf6#

Black loses quickly because he fails to protect his king. His eleventh move is a blunder because it allows my knight to deliver checkmate on f6. His tenth move is also an error because it allows my knight to advance to a key square. In this game black's inability to castle leads to his demise.

Snowflake

The Canadian poet Elaine George wrote the short poem Snowflake. Here it is:

Snowflake

A fragile winter butterfly
Flutters from the sky
So soft and yet her heart
Is cold and made of ice
But if I warm it
She will melt and die

The poem is composed of six verses and one stanza. The lack of punctuation is typical of many modern poems. The rhyme scheme is aabcda. In the poem Snowflake the author compares a snowflake to a winter butterfly fluttering from the sky. The author uses personification when she describes the heart of the snowflake. This poem expresses the fragility of life

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry pie is delicious and easy to make. This Finnish recipe includes sour cream. Here is the recipe:

Batter

10 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder

Filling

2 cups blueberries
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Beat the butter and sugar.
Mix in the egg and then the flour and baking powder.
Mix until a smooth batter forms.
Spread over the bottom and sides of a greased pan.
Bake for 10 minutes in the oven and remove.
Pour the blueberries onto the pie base and spread out.
Whisk the sour cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
Pour over the blueberries.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Leave the pie in the oven until the surface becomes firm.
Cool and serve.

Rhoticity in English

One of the most noticeable features of English dialects is the pronunciation of post-vocalic /r/. Rhotic speakers pronounce the consonant in words such as dark and word, but non-rhotic speakers do not. Evidence from written documents suggests that the loss of post-vocalic /r/ began sporadically during the 15th century.

For non-rhotic speakers, the historical vowel plus /r/ is now usually realized as a long vowel. This is known as compensatory lengthening. However, a final schwa usually remains short as in the word weather. In many accents such as Received Pronunciation the high vowels [i] and [u], when followed by an /r/ become diphthongs ending in a schwa. The same happens to diphthongs such as tire and sour in which the /r/ is replaced with a schwa.

Variably rhotic accents, in which speakers sporadically waver between rhoticity and non-rhoticity, are common in many varieties of Caribbean English such as the Bahamas and Guyana. Many residents of Boston and New York also have variably rhotic accents.

All English dialects can be classified as rhotic and non-rhotic. However, a number of speakers have variable rhotic accents. The loss of post-vocalic /r/ was first documented in the 15th century and is now common in the English of Australia, England, New Zealand and Wales.

Relativity in Semantics

Words have meaning which varies according to the speaker and context. Certain words such as dead and alive have absolute meaning, but others are relative. Words with relative meaning can be interpreted in many ways.

The phrase a big whale can exemplify relative meaning. Compared to humans, all whales can be classified as big, but the difference between an adult whale and a baby whale is significant, and sperm whales are far smaller than blue whales. Baby sperm whales are usually a little over one metre at birth. Compared to human babies, this is big, but for whales, this is actually small. For humans, all  blue whales are big, but relative to adult blue whales, baby blue whales are not big.

The phrase a small breakfast is also relative. The typical French breakfast of a cup of coffee, a croissant or piece of toast and maybe fruit or yoghurt is small by American standards, but to the French it is typical. The heavier American breakfast of coffee, pancakes, sausage and eggs is big to the French but is common in the USA.

The words cheap and expensive are also relative. In Japan fruits tend to be expensive, so fruits in other countries may be very cheap. However, to people in those countries, the prices they pay are regular prices and not particularly cheap. Imported goods are often more expensive than local goods. They may be expensive because of factors such as transportation costs and tariffs, but in their country of origin they may actually be cheap.

For people used to spicy food, a food described by spicy by a person who isn't so used to spicy food may not be so spicy to the other. For example, Russians tend to eat relatively mild food compared to Indians. Even within India, though, there is variation. The food of southern India tends to be spicier than the food of northern India.

Many words have relative meaning. The meaning of the word varies depending on the situation in which it is used and the perception of the speaker. This must be taken into consideration when interpreting the value of the words used in communication.