R-Coloured Vowels in Quebec French

Quebec French is known for many phonologcal features. They include affrication of the plosives /d/ and /t/ before high front vowels, vowel laxing and diphthongization. However, another feature produced by many speakers is r-coloured vowels.

R-coloured vowels are common in English and Mandarin. However, they can also be heard in the French of Quebec. The words un (one) and brun (brown) have a nasal vowel. In Quebec French, this nasal vowel is often followed by a retroflex which has the quality of an r-coloured vowel.

The r-coloured vowel can also appear in words such as jour (day) peur (fear) and pur (pure). In these words, the r-coloured vowel occurs word-finally. The production of the r-coloured vowel is more common in Montreal than in other parts of the province.

Many phonological features distinguish Quebec French from other varieties. One feature is the r-coloured vowels of many speakers. They are most common in Montreal.

Dutch and German Word Order

Dutch word order has many similarities to that of German. Both languages have V2 order and TMP. However, in certain respects Dutch word order is different.

The sentence I want to sleep now has the same word order in both Dutch and German:

Dutch Ik wil nu slapen
German Ich will jetzt schlafen

We can change the word order to create the sentence Now I want to sleep. This also has the same word order in Dutch and German:

Dutch Nu wil ik slapen
German Jetzt will ich schlafen

Both Dutch and German have V2 movement. This means that the verb must occupy second position in the sentence. In the sentence Now I want to sleep, the verb follows the adverb.

German and Dutch both follow TMP. This means Time Manner Place. For example, the sentence I'm flying to Paris tomorrow with KLM, English uses the order Place Time Manner. Compare the order to that of Dutch and German:

Dutch Ik vlieg morgen met KLM naar Parijs. 
German Ich vliege morgen mit KLM nach Paris.

In subordinate clauses Dutch and German word order often differ. The sentence He hopes that she has found it has two possible word orders in Dutch, but only one in German. In German the verb must come at the end of the subordinate clause, but in Dutch the past participle can follow the verb. Dutch allows two word orders, but the one which ends with the past participle is the most common.

Dutch Hij hoopt dat zij het gevonden heeft./ Hij hoopt dat zij het heeft gevonden. 
German Er hofft, daß sie es gefunden hat. 

The question Is it true that she is not here? has two possible orders in Dutch, but only one in German.

Dutch Is het waar dat zij is niet hier?/ Is het waar dat zij niet hier is?
German Ist es wahr, daß sie nicht hier ist?

The sentence He isn't coming because he must work today differs in Dutch and German. 

Dutch Hij komt niet, omdat hij vandaag moet werken.
German Er kommt nicht, weil er heute arbeiten muß.

In Dutch the infinitive follows the verb, but in German the infinitive precedes it. All subordinate clauses in German must end with the verb. The adverb today precedes the verb phrase of the subordinate clause in both languages.

Dutch word order is similar to German in many respects. The two languages have V2 movement and TMP. English lacks V2 movement and has PTM. However, Dutch word order in subordinate clauses is often different. In German, verbs must always come at the end of the subordinate clause. This is not the case in Dutch.

Spanish /d/ and Italian /t/

Many Spanish words with a /d/ have a /t/ in Italian. The Spanish /d/ is the result of lenition and occurs intervocalically or between a vowel and a sonorant. Here are examples:

abogado avvocato (lawyer)
certificado certificato (certificate)
dedo dito (finger)
estado stato (state)
helado gelato (ice cream)
lado lato (side)
piedra pietra (stone)
poder potere (power)
rueda ruota (wheel)
vida vita (life)

The consonants /p/ and /k/ also lenite in Spanish. Examples include cabra/capra (goat) and amigo/amico (friend). Lenition also occurs in Portuguese. The Portuguese words for goat and friend are the same as in Spanish.

In contrast to Italian, the /t/ of Latin often becomes a /d/ in Spanish. This is also the case for the consonants /p/ and /k/. The process is known as lenition and also occurs in Portuguese. This process can also be analyzed as assimilation because voiceless segments become voiced between two voiced sounds.

Affrication in Canadian French

In Canadian French, affrication occurs with the plosives /d/ and /t/. However, they must be preceded by a high front vowel. This process does not apply to Acadian French, but is common in the rest of Canada.

The following words have affrication of the /d/ and /t/:

tulipe (tulip)
produit (product)
dix (ten)
duc (duke)
petit (small)
aujourd'hui (today)
peinture (painting)
tu (you)
distance (distance)
titre (title)

Affrication of the alveolar plosives /d/ and /t/ is typical of Canadian French. It only occurs before high front vowels. Another name for affrication is assibilation. This phonological process is a subclass of assimilation.

Pronunciation of Canadian French and European French

The pronunciation of Canadian French varies significantly from that of European French. Canadian French has a more complex phonology. As in European French, Canadian French also has regional varieties.

Canadian French has lax vowels. In words such as huit (eight) and jupe (skirt), Canadian French uses lax vowels. Lax vowels are not used in European French.

In certain words, Canadian French uses a low back vowel. Examples include chat (cat) and cela (that). In these cases the vowel is word-final. In European French the vowel is low central.

Before high front vowels, the consonants /d/ and /t/ are affricated in Canadian French. Examples include petit (small), tu (you), directeur (director) and dur (hard).

Canadian French also has diphthongs in many words. For example, the words haut (high) and four (oven) have diphthongs. In European French, they have monophthongs.

Consonant cluster simplification is common in Canadian French, especially with the liquids. For example, in the words table (table) and quatre (four) the /l/ and /r/ are often deleted.

Unlike European French, which has three nasal vowels, Canadian French has four. In words such as un (one) and brun (brown), European French has a mid front lax unrounded nasal vowel. In Canadian French, the vowel is mid front lax rounded.

Another difference can be found in words such as je chanterai (I will sing) and je chanterais (I would sing). In European French the final vowel of both words is pronounced the same. In Canadian French, however, the final vowel of je chanterais is longer than the final vowel of je chanterai.

Canadian French has a very different pronunciation from that of European French. The differences include the use of lax vowels, diphthongs and affricates. In addition, Canadian French has one more nasal vowel, which no longer exists in European French.

Variable Pronunciation of Words

A number of words have variable pronunciations. The pronunciation can vary depending on the context. Let us look at a few examples.

The Spanish word dos means two. The initial segment is a plosive. However, in certain contexts it can be a fricative. For example, Ella me dió dos libros means She gave me two books. The preceding word has a word-final vowel. This creates an intervocalic environment for the initial segment of dos. The result is that it is pronounced as an interdental fricative.

The word made ends with a plosive. However, in the sentence She made a cake, it is natural for Canadians and Americans to produce an alveolar flap. The reason is that the segment is between two vowels and the first one is stressed.

In Swedish (also in Norwegian) the combination of an r and an s in the same syllable produces a retroflex sibilant fricative. However, this sound never occurs word-initially. It is possible, though, across word boundaries. For example, in the sentence Jag har så många böcker (I have so many books), the word-final segment of har and word-initial segment of så can coalesce into a retroflex sibilant fricative.

In Received Pronunciation and other dialects of English, the lateral is velarized syllable-finally but not syllable-initially. The word sell has velarization, but in the sentence I want to sell it the word sell lacks velarization because the lateral is resyllabified to become the first segment of the final syllable in the sentence.

The definite article the is pronounced with a schwa in isolation and before consonants, but with a high front unrounded vowel before vowels. Compare the phrases the banana and the  apple. This avoids the sequence of schwa and vowel, a sequence which is not allowed in English. This can be analyzed as a syllable structure process.

The pronunciation of words can vary depending on the environment. Many words are pronounced differently in isolation and in phrases. Many sound changes occur with word-initial and word-final segments.

Hungarian Inessive and Superessive with Demonyms

In Hungarian foreign demonyms combine with the inessive, but Hungarian demonyms combine with the inessive and the superessive. The inessive and the superessive are both postpositions and express the meaning in. For foreign demonyms, the suffix variants are -ban and -ben, but with Hungarian demonyms, the superessive variants -en, -n. -on and -ön are also used.

Here is a list of foreign demonyns with the inessive in Hungarian:

in Beijing Beijingben
in Berlin Berlinben
in Cairo Kairóban
in London Londonban
in Moscow Moszkvában
in Munich Münchenben
in New York New Yorkban
in Paris Párizsban
in Shanghai Shanghaiban
in Tokyo Tokióban
in Toronto Torontóban

Now we have a list of Hungarian demonyms with the inessive and the superessive:

in Budapest Budapesten
in Debrecen Debrecenben
in Esztergom Esztergomban
in Fertőd Fertődön
in Kecskemét Kecskeméten
in Miskolc Miskolcon
in Nyíregyháza Nyíregyházán
in Sopron Sopronban
in Szeged Szegeden
in Szombathely Szombathelyen
in Visegrád Visegrádon

Hungarian uses a greater number of suffix variants with Hungarian denonyms than with foreign ones. The suffix variant -ban is used with back vowels and -ben is used with front vowels. In the case of Hungarian demonyms, the superessive variants are also used. The suffix variant -ön follows front rounded vowels, -on follows back vowels and -en follows front unrounded vowels.