Victory With A Knight Sacrifice

In a game of speed chess, I sacrificed my knight for victory. My opponent was leonardo9329 of Brazil, who played black. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 g6
2. d4 Bg7
3. Nf3 d6
4. c4 Nf6

I have a strong pawn centre.

5. Nc3 Bg4
6. Bd3 Nc6

I usually play Be2, but I decide to overprotect my pawn.

7. Be3 h5
8. h3 Bd7

I expect black to take my knight, but he retreats.

9. 0-0 Qc8
10. Kh2 e5

I prevent Bxh3.

11. d5 Ne7
12. c5 Qd8

I prepare to open the centre.

13. cxd cxd
14. Nb5 Nc8

Black wants to prevent Nxd6+, but the king is in the centre of the board. It is better to play Bxb5.

15. Rc1 a6

It is better to castle.

16. Nc7+ Kf8
17. Nxa8 g5

It is hard to find good moves for black, but this simply drops a pawn.

18. Ng5 Bb5
19. Nc7 Bxd3
20. Qxd3 Bh6
21. Nge6+ fxe6

I sacrifice my knight. Black accepts the sacrifice, but his queen is lost because I can play Ne6+ on my next move.

Blacks plays very defensive moves with Bd7 and Nc8, but he fails to provide adequate protection for his king. This allows me to play a knight sacrifice. Whether black accepts or declines the sacrifice, he can not save his queen. For this reason he resigns.

Spanish Dialects

Spanish has many dialects. In Spain the two main dialects are Castilian and Andalusian. However, Spanish has many more.

Spanish dialects can be divided into five main groups. They are the following:

European
Mexican
Central American
Caribbean
South American

European Spanish refers to the Spanish of Spain. Central American Spanish features Guatemalan Spanish, a variety that shares features with Mexican, and Panamanian, a variety that shares features with Caribbean. Caribbean Spanish includes the Spanish of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. South American Spanish has many varieties such as Andean-Pacific and Rioplatense.  The Andean-Pacific includes Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and the Rioplatense includes Argentina and Uruguay.

Spanish dialects have significant differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. The two countries with the most Spanish speakers, Spain and Mexico, have a number of dialects. The two main dialects are European and Latin American, but the dialects can also be further classified into five main groups.

Pronunciation of the Allomorph /-es/

The English allomorph /-es/ occurs in plurals and third personal singular verbs. Examples of plurals  include boxes, judges and roses. The allomorph also occurs with third personal singular verbs such as catches, fixes and wishes. The allomorph has two possible pronunciations: it can be pronounced [əz] and [Iz].

The pronunciation [əz] is used in Canada, the northern United States, Australia and New Zealand. In Received Pronunciation, the pronunciation [Iz] is used. This pronunciation is also used in southern England and the southern United States.

The English schwa only occurs in unstressed syllables. However, the high front lax vowel is also common in unstressed positions. In certain dialects such as Australian, Canadian and Northern American, the schwa is used in the allomorph /-es/ but in others such as Received Pronunciation and Southern American, the high front lax vowel is used.

Two Schwas In English

The schwa is classified as a mid central vowel, but English has two. The schwa in word-final  position is significantly different from the schwa in other positions. The word-final schwa has a relatively consistent vowel quality, but the word-internal schwa is higher and varies in backness and lip position.

The word-initial schwa in words such as about, against and ago patterns similarly to the word-medial schwa of entrance, general and summary. The word-final schwa corresponds to an orthographic a. On the other hand, the schwa in other positions can correspond to a number of letters. For example, it is an e in seven, an o in apron and a u in campus.

In an experiment by Edward Flemming (2007), nine female speakers of American English pronounced words with word-final schwas such as Rosa, sofa and umbrella and words with word-medial schwas such as probable, suggest and today. The medial schwas were high vowels, but the word-final schwas were central. The word-final schwas varied little in vowel quality, but the other schwas varied signficantly.

Unlike word-final schwas, word medial schwas are very short. To realize the vowel quality of the medial schwa, it is necessary to move from the articulatory position of the previous segment to the vowel target and then to the position for the following segment. In positions with very short vowel duration, vowels are likely to be strongly assimilated to surrounding segments. Word-medial schwas occur between two segments, but word-final schwas do not.

The English variable schwa results from the neutralization of all vowel qualities. However, the mid central schwa found in word-final position contrasts with unstressed [i] and [oʊ]. Compare the schwa of data with the vowels of city and motto.

English has two schwas. One is a word-final schwa and the other a variable schwa, which occurs word-internally. The word-final schwa is mid central and the variable schwa is high. The variable schwa has a shorter duration than the word-final one. Though word-internal and word-final schwas are transcribed with the same phonetic symbol, they are in fact different.

Palatalization in English

Palatalization is the term for a sound change in which a consonant becomes a palatal consonant or becomes palatalized. This is a common phonological process in not only English but in fact in all languages. The term palatal vowel is often used to refer to front vowels. Palatal consonants and vowels are articulated near the palatal region of the oral cavity.

Palatalization in English exhibits three alternations that are types of palatalization. They are coronal palatalization, velar softening and spirantization.

Coronal palatalization involves an alternation between alveolars and alveopalatals. The alternation involves changes in both the manner and place of articulation. Here are examples:

perpetuity perpetual
please pleasure
residue residual

Velar softening exhibits alternations between velar plosives and coronals. This alternation also involves changes in both the manner and place of articulation. Here are examples:

analogue analogy
critic criticize
medication medicine

Spirantization exhibits alternations between the voiceless alveolar plosive and either the voiceless alveopalatal fricative or voiceless alveolar fricative. This alternation involves a change in the manner of articulation, i.e., secret secrecy or both the manner and place of articulation, i.e., part partial. Here are examples:

secret-secrecy
communicate-communication
part-partial

Palatalization is a common phonological process. The sound change usually applies to consonants but can also apply to vowels articulated near the palatal region. English palatalization can be exemplified by three phonological alternations.

Paraguayan Spanish

Paraguayan Spanish refers to the Spanish spoken in Paraguay. The language exhibits strong influences from Guarani, an indigenous language which is spoken by the majority of the population. Many of the pronunciation features of Paraguayan Spanish are variable, in particular the pronunciation of the letters r and s.

In contrast to most Spanish speakers, Paraguayans maintain a distinction between ll and y. The ll is a palatal lateral and the y is either an affricate or a palatal glide. Unlike in other Spanish dialects, the loss of the palatal lateral, a process known as delaterization, never occurred in Paraguayan Spanish.

Syllable-final r it is often pronounced as an approximant. In the consonant cluster tr, the r is assibilated. In some parts of Paraguay, the rr is not pronounced as an alveolar trill but rather as an approximant.

Syllable-final s is often aspirated. This also occurs in many other varieties of Spanish such as Cuban, Panamanian and Argentinian. The feature is not uniform in all speakers.

Paraguayan Spanish has been strongly influenced by Guarani. Features of the dialect include the use of the palatal lateral and the assibilation of the consonant cluster tr. Syllable-final r is often pronounced as an approximant and syllable-final s is often aspirated.

Dialects of England

Though England has a small area, it is a country with many dialects  The differences extend not only to pronunciation but also to vocabulary and grammar. A few of the dialects of England are the following:

Bristolian
Brummie
Cockney
East Anglian
Geordie
Mancunian
Scouse
Yorkshire

Geordie is spoken in the northeast of England. Bristolian is the English of Bristol, Brummie is the English of Birmingham and Cockney is spoken in an area of London. East Anglian is the English of Suffolk and Norfolk in the southeast of England. Mancunian is the English of Manchester and Scouse the English of Liverpool. Yorkshire is spoken in northern England and is featured in the classical piece of literature Wuthering Heights.

England has a number of dialects. Received Pronunciation has many speakers in London but is not restricted to one part of the country. One of the most famous dialects, Cockney, is spoken in the East End of London.

Palatalization in Northern Norwegian Dialects

Palatalization is a feature of many northern Norwegian dialects. It occurs with alveolars, especially the alveolar lateral /l/ and alveolar nasal /n/, but also with the plosives /t/ and /d/. In certain dialects palatalization affects the alveolar consonant and results in a secondary articulation, and in others, it attaches to the stressed vowel and results in a diphthong. Also possible is the realization of both pronunciations simultaneously, the diphthong and the palatalized consonant.

The following words are palatalized in many dialects of northern Norway:

ball (ball)
fjell (mountain)
han (he)
kald (cold)
kan (can)
kvell (evening)
munn (mouth)
redd (afraid)
slutt (end)
vann (water)

Palatalization can also occur in other positions of the word:

alle (everyone)
alt (everything)
liv (life)
hadde (had)
vannet (the water)

One of the features of many dialects of northern Norway is palatalization. It is especially common with the alveolar lateral and nasal. The dialects have different types of palatalization. In some the vowel combines with a palatal glide to create a diphthong, in others the consonant becomes palatal, and in some both types occur.

Pronunciation of Newfoundland

Newfoundland  is a large island and also the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The official name used to be Newfoundland, but in 2001 it was changed to Newfoundland and Labrador. The name Newfoundland can be pronounced in many ways.

Newfoundlanders say [nufIndlænd] or [nufInlænd] with stress on the third syllable. In the second syllable a schwa can be used instead of the high front unrounded lax vowel. The d of the second syllable is often dropped.

Other English speakers often place the stress on the first syllable of the word and produce a schwa or high front unrounded lax vowel in the second and third syllables. The d of the second syllable can also be dropped. If the high front unrounded lax vowel is used, it can be illustrated with [nufIndlInd]. Also possible is the pronunciation of new with a palatal glide. In this case the pronunciation is [njufIndlInd].

Also possible is to place the stress on the second syllable. In this case the second syllable is pronounced [faund]. With second-syllable stress, the island of Newfoundland is pronounced [nufaundlInd] or [njufaundlInd]. The vowel of the third possible can also be pronounced with a schwa rather than a high front unrounded lax vowel.

The island of Newfoundland can be pronounced in many ways. The stress can be placed on the first, second or third syllable. The first syllable can pronounced with or without the patalal glide. The second syllable can be pronounced with or without the d, but the d is maintained when the second syllable is stressed and the vowel is a diphthong. In the unstressed syllables, the vowel can be a high front unrounded lax vowel or a schwa. Speakers from Newfoundland and Labrador stress the final syllable of Newfoundland.

Ten Beautiful Spanish Words

Spanish is the most widely-spoken of the Romance languages. It has many beautiful words. Here is my list of ten beautiful Spanish words:

azul (blue)
corona (crown)
flor (flower)
luna (moon)
luz (sun)
mar (sea)
mariposa (butterfly)
montaña (mountain)
sol (sun)
vida (life)

Five of the words end with the vowel [a], a low central vowel. Four end with liquids and one with a fricative. Four of the words are monosyllabic. The longest word, mariposa, has four syllables.

Happy-Tensing

Happy-tensing refers to the process in which the word-final high front vowel is realized as the tense vowel [i} and not the lax [I]. Words with the word-final high front vowel include city, coffee, money, movie and suddenly.

The lax pronunciation occurs in Conservative Received Pronunciation, the English of the southern United States, in much of northern England and in Jamaica. In Scottish English, the vowel of day may be used. Many words spelled with -ee and -ey such as coffee and money were once pronounced with the vowel of day.

Happy-tensing occurs in the English of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. In the north of England, happy-tensing occurs in Liverpool and Newcastle. Speakers with happy-tensing always distinguish pairs such as taxes and taxis.

Many English speakers produce a tense vowel in words such as coffee, happy and movie. The tense vowel has become more common in Received Pronunciation than in the past. It is less marked than the lax counterpart.

Optional Schwa Deletion in English

In a number of English words the schwa can be deleted. The schwa follows a stressed vowel and is word-medial. The process is known as medial posttonic schwa syncope.

The schwa can be deleted in the following words:

average
camera
chocolate
definitely
family
interesting
listening
opera
separate
temperature

Notice that the optional schwa is immediately preceded by a stressed vowel.Schwa deletion is possible in imaginative but not in imagination. In imaginative the schwa is posttonic, but in imagination it is pretonic.

Schwa deletion never occurs word-initially. It is not possible in words such as about and ago. It doesn't occur word-finally, either. Words such as era and sofa never undergo schwa deletion.

Not all medial posttonic schwas can be deleted. For example, schwa deletion is not possible in colony or company. The reason is that schwa deletion does not occur between a liquid and an alveolar nasal or between consonant clusters.

Medial posttonic schwas are often deleted in English. This is a variable rule. Schwa deletion is more common in casual speech than in formal.

Weak Vowel Merger

The weak vowel merger refers to the neutralization of the schwa and the unstressed  high front unrounded lax vowel. The merger is common in Canadian English, Australian English and New Zealand English. With the exception of the southern United States, it is also common in American English.

Speakers with the weak vowel merger make no distinction between addition and edition. The schwa is used in the first syllable of both. Speakers with the merger have the schwa in the first syllable of addition and the high front unrounded lax vowel in the first syllable of edition.

Many speakers with the weak vowel merger pronounce roses and Rosa's identically. They produce a schwa in the second syllable of both words. Those who do not have the weak vowel merger have the high front unrounded lax vowel in the second syllable of roses and the schwa in the second syllable of Rosa's. Though I have the weak vowel merger, I maintain a distinction between roses and Rosa's. I pronounce roses with a central schwa and Rosa's with a lower schwa similar to the vowel of but. 

Many English speakers have the weak vowel merger. However, it is not found in the English of England or the southern United States. Though many speakers who have the merger pronounce roses and Rosa's identically, this is not the case for all speakers.

Pronunciation of the French Adverb Plus

The French adverb plus means more. It has two main pronunciations. It can be pronounced [ply] or [plys]. The affirmative adverb is pronounced with a word-final [s] and the negative adverb is not.

In the following sentences plus is pronounced [plys].

Je veux plus de beurre. (I want more butter)
Je vais acheter plus de livres. (I'm going to buy more books)

In these sentences plus is pronounced [ply].

Je ne veux plus de beurre. (I don't want any more butter).
Je n'aime pas les oranges non plus. (I don't like oranges, either)

When plus is a comparative or superlative adverb, it is pronounced [ply] in the middle of the sentence. If a vowel follows, it is pronounced [plyz]. When plus is at the end of the sentence, it is pronounced [plys].

Je cours plus vite que toi. (I run faster than you)
Je cours le plus vite. (I run the fastest)
Je cours le plus. (I run the most)
Le livre est plus intéressant que le film. (The book is more interesting than the movie)

The pronunciation of plus varies. The affirmative adverb is pronounced with a word-final consonant, but the negative adverb is not. The comparative and superlative adverbs are usually pronounced with the consonant. When they occur sentence-finally, the consonant is not pronounced.

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are a combination of two vowel sounds in the same syllable. They can be characterized as vowels with two components. Diphthongs have two different targets because the tongue moves during their articulation.

Diphthongs can be classified into different types. Common classifications include rising and falling, and also closing, opening and centring. Falling and rising diphthongs do not refer to tongue height. For tongue height the terms closing and opening are used instead.

Falling diphthongs begin with a vowel of higher prominence than the second. This prominence is realized with higher pitch and volume. The word my contains a falling diphthong.

Rising diphthongs begin with a vowel that is not so prominent and end with a prominent full vowel. The Spanish word tierra (earth) contains a rising diphthong. Though diphthongs are often transcribed as sequences of two vowels, the less prominent component can also be transcribed as an approximant.

The terms closing, opening and centring refer to tongue height. In closing diphthongs, the second component is higher than the first. This is the case with the diphthong of joy. The first component is mid back and the second is high front.

Opening diphthongs are diphthongs in which the second component is lower than the first. In the Spanish word tierra (earth), the diphthong is opening. The first component of the diphthong is high front and the second is mid front.

In centring diphthongs the first component is more peripheral and the second is more central. Non-rhotic varieties of English have centring diphthongs. For example, the words here, there and tour have centring diphthongs in RP.

Diphthongs are very common in the languages of the world. They can be classified into different types such as rising, falling, closing, opening and centring. Diphthongs contast with monophthongs, which consist of a single vowel sound.

Members of the Legislative Assemblies of Canada

Canada has ten provinces and three territories. Members of the Canadian parliament are called Members of Parliament or MPs. However, the members of the Legislative Assemblies have different names.

In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut the members of the Legislative Assemblies are called members of the Legislative Assembly or MLAs. However, in Ontario they are members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs), in Quebec they are Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and in Newfoundland they are Members of the House of Assembly (MHAs).

Canada has a federal parliament and provincial and territorial legislative assemblies. The members of the legislative assemblies are called MLAs in most provinces and in all territories. However, in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland they are MPPs, MNAs and MHAs.