Presupposition

A presupposition is an assumption related to an utterance. The truth of the utterance is taken for granted in discourse. The presupposition must be assumed by the speaker and hearer for the utterance to be appropriate. The word presupposition is often used in the branch of linguistics known as pragmatics.

The following are examples of presuppositions:

(1) Have you stopped smoking?

(2) Can I borrow your guitar?

(3) Have you seen Jack?

(4) My son no longer plays the guitar.

(5) My wife is sick.

In (1) the presupposition is that the subject has smoked. In (2) the presupposition is that the hearer has a guitar. The third question presupposes that Jack exists. In (4) the presupposition is that the subject's son once played the guitar and in the fifth utterance, the presupposition is that the subject has a wife.

Negation of the utterance does not change the presupposition. We can change (1) to Haven't you stopped smoking? Nevertheless, the presupposition is that the subject has smoked. The question Have you stopped smoking? can be considered a neutral question whereas Haven't you stopped smoking? expresses that the speaker believes the hearer has stopped smoking but is not entirely certain.

However, this is not always the case with entailment. The sentence He was assassinated entails He is dead, but the negative He wasn't assassinated does not necessarily entail He is dead. From the sentence He wasn't assassinated it isn't clear whether or not the subject is dead.

In discourse the truth of the utterance is assumed. This is known as presupposition. Unlike in the case of entailment, negation of the utterance never changes the presupposition.

Poem (Under The Stars of Heaven)

 Here is a poem that I wrote in 2016. I wrote it for my wife.

Under The Stars of Heaven

I look into your eyes

And you smile at me.

In front of us our future lies.

What will it be?

You smile so sweetly

And take my hand.

You are now clearly

Part of my dream land.

Under the stars of heaven

You and I are now one.

Two hearts fill with passion

Under the moon and sun.

We enter our dream land

Full of new adventure.

We walk hand in hand

Exploring together.

Under the stars of heaven

We are on our way.

Our love will deepen

Day after day.

Poem (Love Surrounds Us)

 Love Surrounds Us is one of my favourite poems. I hope you enjoy it!

Love Surrounds Us

As night falls, stars sparkle and silence comes.

I want to have you near me.

I hear your voice and see your face.

No one else knows me like you know me.

Love surrounds us, love is eternal.

Take my hand and become my future.

Even when we are apart,

Memories of you fill my mind and heart.

Now the moon glows by my window,

The whole sky is completely black.

But I know the same moon and sky

Watch over you on this starry night.

Love surrounds us, love is eternal.

Take my hand and become my future.

Even when we are apart

Memories of you fill my mind and heart.

In you I place my trust, joy and love

And in you my trust, joy and love grow.

I never forget that love surrounds us, love is eternal.

Take my hand and become my future.

Vowel Alternations in English

English has many related words which exhibit vowel alternations. They are common in many nouns and verbs. Here are examples:

foot feet

goose geese

tooth teeth

drive drove driven

see saw

cycle cyclical

grateful gratitude

line linear

long length

nation national

pronounce pronunciation

school scholar

south southern

study student

wide width

The pairs grateful/gratitude and pronounce/pronunciation illustrate a phenomenon known as trisyllabic laxing. The stressed vowel becomes lax in trisyllabic words.

Vowel alternations are common in irregular plurals.  They once had the plural marker -s, but it was lost over time.

In many verbs vowel alternations occur. The verbs drive/drove/driven contain three different stressed vowels.

Forms such as cycle/cyclical long/length are derivational. The pair cycle/cyclical contains a noun and adjective while the pair long/length contains an adjective and noun. The pair school/scholar contains two nouns, but the relationship is derivational because school refers to a place and scholar refers to a person.

The list of words illustrates a few of the vowel alternations that occur in English. Such vowel alternations are common not only in English but in many languages. Vowels are more likely to change than consonants because they involve greater airflow through the oral cavity and do not have fixed points of articulation.

Regional Differences in French of France

The French of France exhibits regional differences in pronunciation. Many of the regional differences are between the French of the north and that of the south. Here are examples:

ananas (pineapple) The final consonant is pronounced in the south, but not in the north.

brin (brine)/brun (brown) The two words are pronounced the same in the north, but differently in the south.

cent euros (hundred euros) In the north the final consonant of cent is pronounced, but not in the south.

détritus (garbage) The final consonant is pronounced in the south, but not in the north.

encens (incense) The final consonant is pronounced in the south, but not in the north.

moins (less) In the south the final consonant is pronounced, but not in the north.

pneu (tire) In the south a mid front unrounded vowel is inserted between the first two consonants.

poulet (chicken) In the south the final vowel is closed, but in the north it is open.

rose (rose) In the south the mid front vowel is open, but in the north it is closed.

vingt (twenty) In the northeast the final consonant is pronounced.

From the examples, it is clear that the French of France has pronunciations which vary from one region to another. The north and south often use different vowel qualities. The result is that regional differences in pronunciation often reveal where speakers are from.

Phonetic Value of English Letters

English spelling is very irregular. As a result, many English letters represent a number of different sounds. Here are examples:

a at, fall, radio, sofa

c cake, cent, indict

e bike, end, karate, latte, talent

f if of

g gate, genre, giraffe, gnat

i hill, kind, rabbit, studio

o carrot, cold, do, of, on, only, woman, women

s his, so, sugar

u lettuce, push, student, universe, up

y city, sky, you

Number of Phonetic Values

a (4)

c (3)

e (5)

f (2)

g (4)

i (4)

o (8)

s (3)

u (5)

y (3)

The letter o has many phonetic values. In certain cases letters have no phonetic value. This is often the case with word-final e in words such as cake. The list illustrates that English letters often have many phonetic values.

Icelandic Surnames

Icelanders don't use family names. Instead of one name for the family, Icelanders have names with a patryonymic reference. The result is that the father and mother have different surnames, and the children have different surnames from those of their parents.

We can illustrate with a few examples. Imagine a husband and wife whose names are Jón Gunnarsson and Selma Jakobsdóttir. The first name of Jón Gunnarson's father is Gunnar and the first name of Selma's father is Jakob.

If Jón Gunnarsson and Selma Jakobsdóttir have a son and name him Ólafur, his name becomes Ólafur Jónsson. But if they have a daughter and name her Helga, her name becomes Helga Jónsdóttir. The relationships are clear: Ólafur is Jón's son and Helga is Jón's daughter.

Let us illustrate with another example. Imagine that Ólafur Jónsson marries Auður Magnúsdóttir. They have a daughter and name her Ragna. Her name then becomes Ragna Ólafursdottir.

Icelanders use the traditional system of names that was once common in Scandinavia. Women do not take the husband's name when they marry, and sons and daughters use different last names. The last name of women ends with -dóttir (daughter) and the last name of men ends with -son (son).

Letter Correspondence Between Danish and Norwegian

Danish and Norwegian are closely related languages. However, they also have a number of differences. One is that the letter æ in Danish often corresponds to the letter e in Norwegian. Both languages have the letter æ, but it is more frequent in Danish. Here is a list of ten words to illustrate:

knæ kne (knee)

mælk melk (milk)

næse nese (nose)

præst prest (priest)

skæg skjegg (beard)

sjæl sjel (soul)

træ tre (tree)

vægt vekt (weight)

æble eple (apple)

æg egg (egg)

Both Danish and Norwegian share the letter æ. They also share the letters ø and å. Though Danish and Norwegian share the letter æ, it is used more in Danish. The letter æ of many Danish words corresponds to the letter e in Norwegian.

Poem (Sand Dunes)

 Here is my latest poem. I hope you enjoy it!

Sand Dunes

They remain as fine works of art

Not shaped by any human hand.

No wind or rain has erased them

Though they were only formed by sand.

Each one is in some way unique.

No two are exactly the same.

Patterned with lines, hills and valleys,

They are creations with no name.

Beaches with countless grains of sand

Stretch far and wide under blue sky.

Sand dunes stand after many years

And outlive all who wander by.

Dunes are long waves of moving sand

That form when wind and time combine.

For dunes to become possible

Forces of nature must align.

Though dunes seem very delicate,

Their wonder calls year after year,

Ready to warmly welcome all

Who visit them from far and near.

Spanish Letters b and v

The Spanish letters b and v are pronounced the same. They have two phonetic realizations: the voiced bilabial plosive and the voiced bilabial fricative. The fricative occurs intervocalically and after consonants that are not nasals. The plosive occurs syllable-initially. 

The Spanish words baca (roof rack) and vaca (cow) are pronounced identically. The phonetic transcription is [baka]. The phonetic symbol for the fricative is [β]. This is also the symbol for the Greek letter beta.

In phonology the bilabial plosive is the phoneme. It has wider distribution than the fricative, which only occurs intervocalically and after consonants that are [-nasal]. Here are ten Spanish words with the plosive and the fricative: 

alba [β] (dawn)

bolsa [b] (bag)

embudo [b] (funnel) 

invierno [b] (winter)

libertad [β] (freedom)

lobo [β] (wolf)

nueve [β] (nine)

posible [b] (possible)

vino [b] (wine)

vuelo [b} (flight)

Spanish has no distinction between the letters b and v. Unlike in English and many other languages, Spanish has no voiced labiodental fricative as in very. The letters are realized as a bilabial plosive or bilabial fricative.

Differences in Swedish and Norwegian Vowels

Swedish and Norwegian are closely related languages. Though written Norwegian, especially the variety used in Olso, is similar to Danish, the phonology is much closer to that of Swedish. However, the phonology of the two languages is not identical. This also applies to vowels.

In Norwegian many words have a schwa. This is the case with the final vowel of femte (fifth), a vowel which is unstressed. In Swedish, however, the word femte (fifth), though spelt identically, has no schwa. In Swedish the final vowel is a mid front unrounded lax vowel.

In Norwegian the minimal pairs tak/takk mean roof/thanks. These minimal pairs are spelt tak/tack in Swedish and share the same meaning. However, the short vowel of takk in Norwegian is a back vowel and a central vowel in Swedish. In Norwegian the difference between the low vowels of tak and takk is quantitative, but in Swedish it is qualitative.

The word ny (new) has a high front rounded vowel. In Swedish, however, many speakers have a vowel which is a little more retracted than in Norwegian. Many Swedish speakers also have a retracted vowel in words such as tid (time).

The vowels of Swedish and Norwegian are similar. However, there are differences. Unlike Swedish, Norwegian has a schwa and Swedish has a low central vowel that Norwegian does not. Despite these differences, the vowels of Swedish and Norwegian are undoubtedly similar.

Poem by A.A. Milne (Wind On The Hill)

The English author A.A. Milne is primarily known for his stories about the teddy bear Winnie The Pooh. However, he also wrote many poems. Here is one of them, Wind On The Hill.

Wind On The Hill

No one can tell me,

No one knows,

Where the wind comes from,

Where the wind goes.

It's flying from somewhere

As fast as it can,

I couldn't keep up with it,

Not if I ran.

But if I stopped holding

The string of my kite,

It would blow with the wind

For a day and a night.

And then when I found it,

Wherever it blew,

I should know that the wind

Had been going there too.

So then I could tell them

Where the wind goes...

But where the wind comes from

Nobody knows.

The poem Wind On The Hill consists of five stanzas with four verses each. Each stanza is a quatrain. In each quatrain the second and fourth verses rhyme. In the poem A.A. Wilne describes the unique phenomenon of the wind.

Hungarian Postpositions With Personal Suffixes

Hungarian uses postpositions instead of prepositions. In certain cases, they are written as one word, and in other cases, they are suffixed to the noun they modify. This is exemplified with kávéval (with coffee) and kávé nélkül (without coffee). In Hungarian postpositions also combine with personal suffixes. Here are examples:

velem (with me)

veled (with you)

vele (with him/her)

velünk (with us)

veletek (with you)

velük (with them)

nélkülem (without me)

nélküled (without you)

nélküle (without him/her)

nélkülünk (without us)

nélkületek (without you)

nélkülük (without them)

bennem (in me)

benned (in you)

benne (in him/her)

bennünk (in us)

bennetek (in you)

bennük (in them)

nekem (to me)

neked (to you)

neki (to him/her)

nekünk (to us)

nektek (to you)

nekik (to them)

miattam (because of me)

miattad (because of you)

miatta (because of him/her)

miattunk (because of us)

miattatok (because of you)

miattuk (because of them)

In Hungarian spatial and temporal relations are expressed with postpositions. The phrase januárban (in January) consists of the noun január (January) and the postpositional suffix variant -ban. The phrase szeptemberben (in September) consists of the noun szeptember (September) and the postpositional suffix variant -ben. The forms -ban and -ben alternate. With front vowel roots, the suffix variant is -ben, and with back vowel roots, the suffix variant is -ban.

Ten Favourite Dutch Words

Dutch is a West Germanic language. It shares many similar words with two other West Germanic languages, German and English. Here is a list of my ten favourite Dutch words:

boom (tree)

eiland (island)

fiets (bicycle)

gezellig (cozy)

hemel (sky)

klinker (vowel)

misschien (maybe)

rivier (river)

vlinder (butterfly)

vis (fish)

The Dutch words for island and river are similar to those of English, and the Dutch words for tree and sky are similar to those of German. The Dutch word for fish is similar to the equivalent in both English and German. However, the other words from the list are quite different from their English and German equivalents.

Internal Structure of the Adjective Phrase

The adjectives of a noun phrase often have their own internal structure. This can result in ambiguity. In actual speech, stress and pauses can serve to disambiguate the phrase.

The noun phrase a dark blue hat contains the adjective phrase dark blue. The adjective dark can modify blue or hat. If the adjective modifies hat, the analysis is (dark) blue hat, and if the adjective modifies blue, the analysis is (dark blue) hat. 

We can also disambiguate by paraphrasing. In the analysis in which the word dark modifies blue, we can say that the hat is dark blue. In the second analysis, the one in which the word dark modifies hat, we can say that the hat is dark and blue.

Stress and pauses disambiguate phrases in actual speech. Speakers pause more between adjectives of equal status. This pause can be represented with a comma in writing. When dark modifies blue, dark is stressed more than blue. However, when dark modifies hat, both words are evenly stressed and there is a pause between dark and blue. 

Many adjective phrases precede nouns. In certain cases, their internal structure can lead to ambiguity. To make the meaning clear, it is possible to paraphrase. It is also possible to use stress and pauses to communicate the intended meaning.

Two Lax Mid Front Vowels of Hungarian Dialects

Standard Hungarian has one mid front lax vowel. It is represented by the letter e. Old Hungarian, however, had two mid front lax vowels, a vowel that corresponds to the mid front lax vowel of English, and one that is a bit lower. Standard Hungarian only has one mid front lax vowel.

In many Hungarian dialects,  the two vowels of Old Hungarian are preserved. The result is that these dialects have one more vowel phoneme than in Standard Hungarian. To illustrate, the following words have a mid vowel that has a higher tongue position than in standard Hungarian. This vowel is underlined:

édes (sweet)

ezer (thousand)

gyerek (child)

hegy (mountain)

igen (yes)

megye (county)

reggel (morning)

szem (eye)

szerencse (luck)

tenger (sea)

Standard Hungarian does not have the mid vowel present in many dialects. This vowel is a little higher than that of Standard Hungarian. Many Hungarian dialects have two mid front lax vowels, but Standard Hungarian has only one. The two mid front lax vowels of Old Hungarian merged into one in Standard Hungarian. 

Translated Song (Shaken Hearts)

The Italian singer Eros Ramazotti has many popular songs. One of them is Cuori Agitati. Here are the lyrics followed by the English translation:

Cuori Agitati

Tutto quello che abbiamo già sentito   

Non ci basta più

E sono sempre i soliti discorsi.

Parlan tutti ma nessuno fa quello che dice.

Mille strade tagliano palazzi

E quanta gioventù

Torna dalla scuola sacche in spalla.

Questa è la realtà.

Cuori agitati dal vento

Disorientati perché

Con l'ansia che abbiamo dentro

Ognuno é fuori di sé.

Cuori agitati noi siamo

Ma pronti a dire di si

A chi ci chiede una mano

A chi si sente cosí.

Tutto quello che abbiamo qui davanti

Non ci basta più.

Vogliamo spazio per andare avanti,

Vogliamo onestà.

Cuori agitati dal vento,

Un po' arrabbiati perché

In questo immobile tempo

Ognuno pensa per sé.

Cuori agitati saremo

Ma pronti a dire di si

A chi ci chiede una mano,

A chi si sente così,

Cuori agitati.

Shaken Hearts

All what we have already felt

Is no longer enough for us

And they're always the same speeches.

They all talk but no one does what he says.

A thousand streets cut through buildings

And how many youth

Come back from school with backpacks on their shoulders.

This is reality.

Hearts shaken by the wind,

Disoriented because 

With the anxiety that we have inside

Everyone is beside himself.

We are shaken hearts

But ready to say yes

To the one who asks us for a hand,

To the one who feels like this.

All we have in front of us

Is no longer enough for us.

We want space to move forward.

We want honesty.

Hearts shaken by the wind,

A little angry because

In this still time

Everyone thinks for himself.

We will be shaken hearts

But ready to say yes

To the one who asks us for a hand,

To the one who feels like this,

Shaken hearts.

                                                                               

                                                                                     

                                                                                     

Structure of Compound Nouns

English has many compound nouns. They can be open (ice cream), closed (classroom) or hyphenated (self-esteem). Compound nouns usually consist of two nouns but other combinations are possible. Here is a list of closed compound nouns:

• blueberry
• breakfast
• grandparents
• highway
• inside
• outdoors
• snowball
• sunrise
• teammate
• underwater
• takeover
• waterfall

Here is the structure of the respective compound nouns:

blue (A) + berry (N)

break (V) + fast (N)

grand (A) + parents (N)

high (A) + way (N)

in (P) + side (N)

out (P) + doors (N)

snow (N) + ball (N)

sun (N) + rise (V)

team (N) + mate (N)

under (P) + water (N)

take (V) + over (P)

water (N) + fall (N)

Many compound nouns combine two nouns into one. This is the case with compounds such as snowball. However, as the list demonstrates, compound nouns also consist of adjectives, verbs and prepositions.

Berry Fruit Compounds

Many compounds describe berries. Red currants and black currants are also berries, though they do not have the word berry in their name. Here is a list of different berries:

• blackberry
• blueberry
• boysenberry
• cranberry
• elderberry
• gooseberry
• lingonberry
• loganberry
• raspberry
• strawberry

The blackberry and blueberry are identified by their colour. The words elderberry, gooseberry and strawberry are not identified by colour, but they consist of free morphemes. This does not appear to be the case with cranberry, but the morpheme cran is derived from crane. 

The boysenberry, a hybrid of the blackberry and the raspberry, was bred by Charles Boysen. Another hybrid, the loganberry, was bred by James Harvey Logan. It is also a hybrid of the blackberry and the raspberry. Both fruits have the characteristics of blackberries and raspberries. However, loganberries taste more similar to raspberries than do boysenberries.

The lingonberry is similar to the cranberry but is smaller in size. The morpheme lingon is the word for lingonberry in Swedish. Another berry is the raspberry, but the origin of the morpheme rasp is unclear. It might come from the Old English word rasp, which means rough.

The names of many berries are compound nouns in English. Certain names have clear origins such as blackberry, blueberry and strawberry. In the case of raspberry, the origin is not clear.

Points of the Compass in Finnish

The points of the compass can be divided into four cardinal directions: north, south, west and east. These can be further divided into four ordinal directions: northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast. However, in Finnish the ordinal directions are not expressed with combinations of the cardinal directions. They are expressed with completely different words.

Here are the points of the compass in Finnish:

• north pohjoinen
• south etelä
• west länsi
• east itä
• northwest luode
• northeast koillinen
• southwest lounas
• southeast kaakko

In Finnish the ordinal directions are very different from the cardinal ones. They are not compounds. Another language with separate words for both cardinal and ordinal directions is Estonian, a language closely related to Finnish.

Most Common English Affixes

Affixes morphemes are added to a word to create a new word. Though English uses more suffixes than prefixes, both are common. The four most common prefixes in English are -dis, -in,  -re and -un. The most common suffixes are -ed, -ing, -ly and -s.

Here are words with the four most common prefixes:

• disagree, dislike, distrust
• inactive, independent, inefficient, illegal, impossible, irregular
• redo, resell, rewrite
• unbelievable, uncertain, unimportant

Here are words with the four most common suffixes:

• cooked, finished, washed
• driving, giving, sleeping
• carefully, friendly, quickly
• books, chairs, tables, boxes, bushes, speeches

The prefix -in also has the variants -il, -im and -ir. Likewise, the suffix -s also has the variant -es. Words with the suffix -ing can be nouns and verbs. In "I am sleeping", we have a verb, but in "Sleeping well is important for health", we have a noun. Many English words consist of prefixes and suffixes.

Dialectal Variation in Danish Intonation and Glottal Stop

The Danish language is known for the glottal stop. However, many southern dialects do not use it. Another feature which distinguishes Danish dialects is intonation.

The glottal stop is used in most of the country. In the dialects of Lolland, Falster and Bornholm it is not. It is not used in the southern parts of Jutland, Funen or Zealand either.

The glottal stop varies in its use around the country. In Copenhagen, the glottal stop is used in mandag (Monday) and søndag (Sunday), but not in lørdag (Saturday). In Jutland, this is the opposite. The glottal stop is used with lørdag (Saturday) but not with mandag (Monday) or søndag (Sunday).

Another difference in the varieties of Danish spoken is intonation. People from Copenhagen pronounce the end of words with rising intonation, but people from Jutland use falling. For example, people from Copenhagen pronounce Danmark (Denmark) with a low tone on the first syllable and rising tone on the second. In Jutland, however, people pronounce the first syllable with a high tone and the second with a falling tone.

The dialects of Denmark can be distinguished in many ways. Two are the use of the glottal stop and intionation. The two main Danish dialects are those of Copenhagen and Jutland.

Translated Song (One Leaves, One Stays)

The French singer and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg is very talented. One of her sings is L'un Part, L'autre Reste which means One Leaves, One Stays. It is a beautiful song with a long instrumental prelude. Here are the French lyrics followed by my translation:

L'un Part, L'autre Reste

Ont-ils oublié leurs promesses? 

Au moindre rire, au moindre geste

Les grands amours n'ont plus d'adresse 

Quand l'un s'en va et l'autre reste.

N'est-il péché que de jeunesse?

N-est-il passé que rien ne laisse?

Les grands amours sont en détresse

Lorsque l'un part et l'autre reste.

Reste chez toi.

Vieillis sans moi.

Ne m'appelle plus.

Efface-moi.

Déchire mes lettres

Et reste là.

Demain peut-être

Tu reviendras.

Geste d'amour et de tendresse,

Tels deux oiseaux en mal d'ivresse.

Les grands amours n'ont plus d'adresse

Quand l'un s'en va et l'autre reste.

Sont-ils chagrins dès qu'ils vous blessent?

Au lendemain de maladresse

Les grands amours sont en détresse

Lorsque l'un part et l'autre reste.

De tristes adieux,

Que d'illusions.

Si c'est un jeu

Ce sera non

Rends-moi mes lettres

Et reste là.

Demain peut-être

Tu comprendras.

Ils n'oublieront pas leurs promesses.

Ils s'écriront aux mêmes adresses.

Les grands amours se reconaissent

Lorsque l'un part et l'autre reste.

One Leaves, One Stays

Have they forgotten their promises?

At the slightest laugh, at the slightest gesture

Great loves no longer have an address

When one goes and the other stays.

Is it only a sin of youth?

Has it happened that nothing leaves?

Great loves are in distress

When one goes and the other stays.

Stay with me.

Get old with me.

Don't call me anymore.

Erase me.

Tear my letters

And stay there.

Tomorrow maybe 

You'll come back.

Gesture of love and tenderness.

Like two birds in a state of intoxication

Great loves are in distress

When one goes and the other stays.

Are they grieved as soon as they hurt you?

The day after mistakes

Great loves are in distress

While one leaves and the other stays.

Sad farewells,

So many illusions,

If it's a game

It will be no.

Give me back my letters

And stay there.

Tomorrow maybe

You'll understand.

They won't forget their promises.

They'll write to the same addresses.

Great loves recognize each other

When one goes and the other stays.

                          

Ten Favourite Italian Words

 Italian is a Romance language with many beautiful words. Here are my ten favourite words:

• arcobaleno (rainbow)
• albero (tree)
• azzurro (blue)
• farfalla (butterfly)
• fiume (river)
• lucciola (firefly)
• mela (apple)
• specchio (mirror)
• stella (star)
• zuppa (soup)

Every word on the list has at least two syllables and ends with a vowel. This is not surprising because most Italian words end with a vowel and they usually consist of two or more syllables. Many of the words on the list differ from those in other Romance languages.

Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese Vocabulary

Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese have many differences. They include spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. Here are ten words which differ in the two varieties with the Brazilian word on the left and the Portuguese word on the right:

• banheiro  casa de banho (bathroom)
• camião  caminhão (truck)
• geladeira  frigorífico (fridge)
• gramado  relvado (lawn)
• grampeador  agrafador (stapler)
• marrom  castanho (brown)
• meias  peúgas (socks)
• ônibus  autocarro (bus)
• sorvete  gelado (ice cream)
• trem  comboio (train)
• xícara  chávena (cup)

Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese share many similarities. However, they also have significant differences. The list illustrates ten words which differ in the two varieties.

Palatalization in Spanish

Many Spanish words with ch have ct in Latin. In Italian, however, they have tt. The sound change in Spanish exemplifies palatalization. Here is a list of words in Italian and Spanish to illustrate:

• biscotto bizcocho (biscuit)
• dritto derecho (straight)
• latte leche (milk)
• lutta lucha (struggle)
• notte noche (night)
• otto ocho (eight)
• petto pecho (chest)
• sospettoso sospechoso (suspicious)
• stretto estrecho (narrow)
• tetto techo (roof)

The words from the list have ct in Latin. To compare, the Latin words for eight, night and roof are noctis, octo and tectum. The Italian words are derived by the process of assimilation and the Spanish words by the process of palatalization.

Dutch and German Sound Correspondence

Many German words begin with the alveopalatal fricative. They are often followed by a consonant. In Dutch, however, these words often begin with an alveolar fricative. Here is a list for comparison with the German word on the left and the Dutch on the right:

• Schlaf slaap (sleep)                                                                                             
• Schlange slang (snake)                                                                                        
• schlecht slecht (bad)                                                                                          
• Schloẞ slot (castle)                                                                                             
• Schlüssel sleutel (key)                                                                                         
• schmal smal (narrow)                                                                                          
• Schmied smid (smith)                                                                                      
• Schnauze snuit (snout)                                                                                    
• schnell snel (fast)                                                                                          
• Schnur snoer (string)                

German has many words which begin with an alveopalatal fricative and consonant. In Dutch they often begin with an alveolar fricative. This pattern can also be seen in the other Germanic languages. The German word for snow, Schnee, is sneeuw in Dutch, snö in Swedish sne in Danish and snø in Norwegian.  However, due to the similarity of German and Dutch, these two languages are exemplary for illustrating palatalization in German.    

                                                                                                              

              

Environments of English Liquids

Though the English liquids /l/ and /r/ share similar properties, they do not share identical environments. They both combine with consonants, but the lateral combines with fewer consonants than the rhotic approximant does. Let us illustrate.

Many minimal pairs can be formed with the two liquids. Examples include lane/rain, alive/arrive and pool/poor. There are also many minimal pairs with consonant clusters such as fly/fry, play/pray, cold/cord and tools/tours. In certain cases, however, the liquids do not combine with the same consonants.

Only the rhotic liquid can combine with alveolar plosives. Examples include drive, train and tree. After a word-initial /st/, only the rhotic liquid is allowed. We can illustrate with words such as straight, straw and street. The rhotic liquid is also the only liquid that can occur after the alveopalatal fricative. This can be illustrated with words such as shrimp, shrine and shrink.

After the alveolar fricative only the lateral liquid can occur. Examples include sleep, slipper and slow. This is the only fricative which can be followed by the lateral but not by the rhotic. The alveolar fricative and the rhotic both share the same place of articulation. This is also the case with the lateral, but the lateral can be analyzed as [-continuant]. If this is the case, it patterns like a plosive, which is common after the alveolar fricative.

Liquids are consonants with a high degree of resonance. The English liquids /l/ and /r/ form many mimimal pairs, but their environments are not identical. Only the rhotic occurs after alveolar plosives and the alveopalatal fricative. However, only the lateral occurs after the alveolar fricative. One difference between the two liquids is that the lateral has a greater degree of closure in the oral cavity and may thus be considered [-continuant].

Glottal Fricative in West Flemish

West Flemish is a Dutch dialect that is spoken in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is also spoken in parts of the Netherlands and France. Of the Dutch dialects, it is considered one of the dialects which is most different from Standard Dutch. 

In Dutch, the g represents either a uvular or velar fricative. However, in West Flemish, it represents a glottal fricative and is pronounced the same as the h. The following words are pronounced with the glottal fricative in West Flemish:

geel (yellow) heel (quite) 

geen (no) heen (away) 

geld (money) held (hero) 

gier (vulture) hier (here) 

goed (good) hat (hoed) 

In the pairs geel/heel, geen/heen, geld/held and gier/hier, the first word of each pair is pronounced with a palatal glide following the glottal fricative. This is all that distinguishes the pairs. The palatal glide is only realized before front vowels and is thus not present in the word goed. Certain speakers drop the h in words such as hoed. In these cases, goed and hoed are minimal pairs. 

One characteristic of West Flemish is the use of the glottal fricative for words which have a velar or uvular fricative in Standard Dutch. The result is that word pairs such as goed/hoed are pronounced identically in West Flemish but distinctly in Standard Dutch. The velar or uvular fricative of Standard Dutch is not used in West Flemish.

Exceptions To English Flapping Rule

Many dialects of English flap the /d/ and /t/ intervocalically. However, the role of stress is also important. The vowel preceding the plosive is stressed and the following is unstressed. Flapping occurs in words such as city, hospital, medal, water and wedding.

In certain words, however, flapping does not occur. In the following words, flapping is blocked:

• accommodate                                                                                                   
• appetite                                                                                                           
• cemetery                                                                                                        
• competent                                                                                                       
• detail                                                                                                               
• hesitate                                                                                                           
• Mediterranean                                                                                                
• military                                                                                                          
• secretary                                                                                                        
• validate                                            

The reason flapping does not apply in words such as accommodate, appetite, cemetery, competent, detail, hesitate, military and validate is that the preceding vowel is not stressed and the following vowel has secondary stress. However, flapping is not always restricted to the environment between a stressed vowel and an unstressed vowel. In the word responsibility, both vowels in the suffix -ity are unstressed.   

In the word Mediterranean, M.M. Withgott claims that it can be divided into two feet, [Medi] [terranean] and that the plosive cannot be flapped in foot initial position. Another claim is that flapping is blocked due to paradigm uniformity, an idea advanced by Donca Steriade. The word Mediterranean has the same unit as subterranean, a word in which no flapping occurs.

M.M. Withgott gives the examples [capital], [capital] [istic] and [mili] [tary], [mili] [taristic]. In the word capital flapping occurs, but not in the word military. According to her analysis, capital consists of one foot and allows flapping, but military consists of two feet and does not allow it. In the word militaristic, the plosive [tistic] is foot initial and thus does not allow flapping.

Donca Steriade has another view. In the word capital, flapping occurs. There is no secondary stress following the plosive. To maintain paradigm uniformity, flapping occurs in capitalistic. In the word military, no flapping occurs. Secondary stress follows the plosive and blocks the flapping rule. In militaristic, no secondary stress follows the plosive, but to maintain paradigm uniformity, flapping is blocked.

Both M.M. Withgott and Donca Steriade have analyzed English words in which flapping does not occur. M.M. Withgott claims that the plosive cannot flap when it is foot-initial. This is known as the Withgott Effect. Donca Steriade claims that flapping does not occur when the base of morphologically related words does not allow it and terms this paradigm uniformity. 

Regardless of the view which one favours, it is clear that flapping is only categorical between a stressed vowel and an unstressed one. In other cases, the conditions of the flapping rule are more complex. In these cases, flapping is variable.

            

Pronunciation of Dutch g

The Dutch g is not a velar plosive. It is a fricative. The pronunciation varies from that of a uvular or velar fricative in the north of the Netherlands to that of a fronted velar fricative or palatal fricative in the south. In Belgium it is pronounced as in the south of the Netherlands, a fronted velar fricative or palatal fricative.

The letter g was once pronounced in Dutch as a velar plosive. The change to a fricative is called spirantization. It is an example of lenition or weakening.  The Dutch pronunciation of the letter g is different from that of German, French and English.

In the Netherlands the velar or uvular fricative in used in most of the country. The three southern provinces which use the fronted velar or palatal fricative are Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg. Dutch speakers in northern Belgium use the same sound as in the southern Netherlands.

In Dutch the letter g is pronounced differently in the northern Netherlands than it is in the southern Netherlands and Belgium. The sound used in the north is often called the hard g and the sound used in the south is the soft g. The letter g of Dutch is always a fricative and never a plosive.

Translated Song (Under The Stars In The Sky)

Rasmus Seebach is a popular Danish singer. In a tribute to his late father, he sings a song that his father made famous. It is titled Under The Stars In The Sky. Here are the Danish lyrics and my translation:

Under Stjernerne På Himlen

Jeg sætter mig på kanten af din seng
Og du ler til mig.
Verden svinder ind til ingenting
Når jeg ser på dig.
Du ligger lige så musestille
Og virker ubeskriveligt lille
Imellem dine mange sjove dyr.
Men i drømmelegen
Finder vi to vejen
Ud mod nye eventyr.

Under stjernerne på himlen
Sejler du med mig.
Luk nu stille dine øjne,
Så er vi på vej.
Vi sejler over vandet
Og ind i drømmelandet,
Du og jeg.

Og hvis du bliver skræmt af vinden,
Så kysser jeg dig blidt på kinden,
Hvor du end er i fantasien
Vil jeg altid være
Her hos dig, min kære
Læg nu trygt din hånd i min.

Under stjernerne på himlen
Sejler du med mig.
Luk nu stille dine øjne,
Så er vi på vej.
Vi sejler over vandet
Og ind i drømmelandet,
Du og jeg,
Drømmelandet, du og jeg.

Under The Stars In The Sky

I sit on the edge of your bed
And you laugh at me.
The world shrinks into nothing
When I look at you.
You just lie quiet like a mouse
And seem indescribably small
Among your many funny animals.
But in the game of dreams
We both find the way
Out towards new adventures.

Under the stars in the sky
You sail with me.
Now quietly close your eyes,
Then we're on our way.
We sail over the water
And into the land of dreams,
You and I.

And if you get scared of the wind,
Then I'll kiss you gently on the cheek.
Wherever you are in the fantasy
I will always be here with you, my dear.
Now safely place your hand in mine.

Under the stars in the sky
You sail with me.
Now quietly close your eyes,
Then we're on our way.
We sail over the water
And into the land of dreams,
You and I,
The land of dreams, you and I.

Swedish Dialect of Scanian

Scanian is a Swedish dialect that is spoken in Scania. It is the southernmost province of Sweden. Scanian differs in many ways from Standard Swedish. Aside from differences in vocabulary, the phonology is also different.

In Scanian words such as tre (three) and bro (bridge) have a uvular trill or uvular fricative. This is different from Standard Swedish which uses an alveolar trill, tap or approximant.  The uvular trill or approximant is also used in words such as hjärta (heart) and torsk  (cod), words which have a retroflex articulation in Standard Swedish.

Many Swedish words with the plosives /k/, /p/ and /t/ become voiced after a long vowel in Scanian. For example, the words kaka (cake), skåp (cupboard) and vit (white) are pronounced with voiced plosives. These voiced plosives also occur in Danish. To compare, the same words are kage, skab and hvid in Danish.

Scanian is also known for the use of diphthongs in words which have monophthongs in Standard Swedish. The words bok (book) fred (peace) kniv (knife) and tå (toe) have monophthongs in Standard Swedish. In Scanian, however, they have diphthongs.

Words such as mig, (me) dig (you) and nej (no) have diphthongs in both Standard Swedish and Scanian. In Scanian, however, the diphthong is different. It is /aI/ rather than /eI/.

The Swedish language has many dialects. One of the most distinct is Scanian, a dialect spoken in the south of Swedish. Its phonology is characterized by many diphthongs, voiced plosives after long vowels and a uvular trill or approximant.

Issues of English Syllabification

English syllabification is not completely uniform. It can vary from one dictionary to another. Certain analyses follow morphological rather than phonetic principles. Many linguists follow the principle of ambisyllabicity for sounds such as the flap, which only occurs intervocalically in English. Syllabification can also vary among dialects.

Consider the words influence and safely. If we follow the Maximum Onset Principle, they must be syllabified in.flu.ence and sa.fely. However, the word safely consists of the root safe and the affix ly. The result is that many speakers realize the syllable boundary between the root and the suffix. The result is thus safe.ly. Another possible analysis is to place the labiodental fricative in both the first and second syllables.

The word very can be syllabified ver.y and ve.ry. In rhotic dialects, the first analysis is preferable because we can analyze the first syllable as one with an r-coloured vowel. For non-rhotic varietes, however, r-coloured vowels do not exist and the latter analysis is ideal.

With the word caller, varieties of English such as RP use an alveolar lateral without velarization. In this case, the word can be syllabified ca.ller. The lateral is never velarized when it occurs syllable-initially in RP. For this reason, the lateral can be placed in the onset of the second syllable. However, in varieties of English which produce a velarized alveolar lateral in words such as caller, the analysis call.er is preferable. Here the lateral is syllable-final and thus velarized.

Syllabification in English can be represented with various analyses. One approach is to place certain segments such as the intervocalic flap of city in two syllables. Other approaches consider differences among dialects in the syllabification of sounds such as laterals, r-coloured vowels and alveolar approximants.

Poem by A.A. Milne (Now We Are Six)

The English writer is well-known for his stories of Winnie the Pooh. However, he also wrote many poems. One of them is Now We Are Six. Here it is:

Now We Are Six

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now
for ever and ever.

The poem consists of one stanza with fourteen verses.  In the first ten verses the odd and even verses rhyme with one another. However, in the last four verses, only the even verses rhyme. The poem Now We Are Six expresses the joy of being a child.

Translated Song (Even Though I Can't See You)

The Spanish singer Alex Ubago has many beautiful songs. One of them is Aunque No Te Pueda Ver. This means Even Though I Can't See You. Here are the Spanish lyrics followed by my translation:

Aunque No Te Pueda Ver

Si ayer tuviste un día gris
Tranquila, yo haré canciones para ver
Si así consigo hacerte sonreír.
Si lo que quieres es huir
Camina, yo haré canciones para ver
Si así consigo fuerzas pa' vivir.

No tengo más motivos para darte
Que este miedo que me da
El no volver a verte nunca más.

Creo ver la lluvia caer, en mi ventana te veo
Pero no está lloviendo.
No es más que un reflejo de mi pensamiento.
Hoy te hecho de menos.
Yo sólo quiero hacerte saber, amiga, estés donde estés
Que si te falta el aliento, yo te lo daré
Y si te sientes sola, háblame
Que te estaré escuchando aunque no te pueda ver
Aunque no te pueda ver.

De tantas cosas que perdí, diría
Que sólo guardo lo que fue
Mágico tiempo que nació un abril.
Miradas tristes sobre mi se anidan
Y se hacen parte de mi piel
Y ahora siempre llueve porque estoy sin tí.

No tengo más motivos para darte
Que esta fria soledad
Que necesito darte tantas cosas más
Creo ver la lluvia caer, en mi ventana te veo
Pero no está lloviendo.
No es más que un reflejo de mi pensamiento.
Hoy te hecho de menos.
Yo sólo quiero hacerte saber, amiga, estés donde estés
Que si te falta el aliento, yo te lo daré
Y si te sientes sola, háblame
Que te estaré escuchando aunque no te pueda ver
Aunque no te pueda ver.

Even Though I Can't See You

If you had a grey day yesterday
Calm down, I'll make songs to see
If that way I can make you smile.
If what you want is to run away
Walk, I'll make songs to see
If that way I get the strength to live.

I have no more motives to give you
Than this fear that I get
Of never seeing you again.

I believe I see the rain falling, in my window I see you
But it's not raining.
It's just a reflection of my thought.
Today I miss you.
I just want you to know friend, wherever you are
That if you're short of breath, I'll give it to you
And if you feel lonely, talk to me
For I'll be listening to you even though I can't see you
Even though I can't see you.

Of many things that I lost, I'd say
That I only keep what was
Magical time that an April was born.
Sad looks nestle over me
And they become part of my skin.
And now it always rains because I'm without you.

I have no more motives to give you
Than this cold loneliness
That I need to give you so many more things.
I believe I see the rain falling, in my window I see you
But it's not raining.
It's just a reflection of my thought.
Today I miss you.
I just want you to know, friend, wherever you are
That if you're short of breath, I'll give it to you
And if you feel lonely, talk to me
For I'll be listening to you even though I can't see you
Even though I can't see you.

Similar Words in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are related Germanic languages. Many words are the same in the three languages. However, many are also different in all three. Here are ten words given in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. They vary slightly in each language:

apple æble eple äpple
colour farve farge färg
egg æg egg ägg 
eight otte åtte åtta
head hoved hode huvud
map kort kart karta
milk mælk melk mjölk
mouth mund munn mun
water vand vann vatten
way vej vei väg

The list illustrates the similarity of the three languages. Seven of the Danish and Norwegian words from the list differ by only one letter. However, the Swedish words are also similar.

Suffix of Spanish and Portuguese

Spanish and Portuguese are closely related languages of the Romance language family. Spanish words with the suffix variants -tad and -dad correspond to -dade and -tade in Portuguese. The underlying form in Spanish is -tad and -tade in Portugese, forms which are similar to the Latin suffix -tate. Here are ten words which illustrate the use of the suffix in the two languages:

electricity electricidad eletricidade
equality igualdad igualdade
liberty libertad liberdade
majesty majestad majestade
reality realidad realidade
responsibility responsabilidad responsabilidade
rivalry rivalidad rivalidade
sincerity sinceridad sinceridade
truth verdad verdade
university universidad universidade

The Spanish suffix -tad and the Portuguese suffix -tade is often -ty in English. The Spanish and Portuguese suffixes are both different from the Latin -tate but nevertheless remain similar. Portuguese preserves the final vowel of the suffix, but Spanish does not.

Translated Song (Have A Dream)

The Norwegian singer Jørn Hoel is known for Har En Drøm. This means Have A Dream. Here are the lyrics of the song along with my translation.

Har En Drøm

Har en drøm om å komme hjem
Dit ei fremtid ennå bor
Har en drøm om å finne frem
Over ei mørklagt jord
Snart stiger sol et sted i øst
Og i natt har ingen gitt deg svar
Men det finnes ei fattig trøst
Drømmen du alltid bar

Har en drøm om å høre til
I en hverdag taus og grå
Har en drøm om at alt æ vil
Finne en vei å gå
Snart stiger sol et sted i øst
Alt vil være som det en gang va
Men det finnes ei fattig trøst
Drømmen du alltid bar

Et døgn går forbi
Du lever på lånt og kostbar tid
Mens et hjerte slår
Og dagan går og går

Har en drøm om et ainna land
Og en lengsel øm og stor
Har en drøm som e skrift i sand
Skreven med store ord
Snart stiger sol et sted i øst
Og en verden venter kald og klar
Men det finnes ei fattig trøst
Drømmen du alltid bar

Snart stiger sol et sted i øst
Og i natt har ingen gitt deg svar
Men det finnes ei fattig trøst
Drømmen du alltid bar

Have A Dream

Have a dream of coming home
Where a future still lives
Have a dream of finding out
Over a darkened earth
Soon the sun rises somewhere in the east
And tonight no one has given you an answer
But there is poor consolation
The dream you always carried

Have a dream of belonging
In an everyday life silent and grey
Have a dream that everything I want
Finds a way to go
Soon the sun rises somewhere in the east
Everything will be as it once was
But there is poor consolation
The dream you always carried

A day goes by
You live on borrowed and valuable time
While a heart beats
And the day goes on and on

Have a dream of another land
And a longing tender and great
Have a dream that is written in sand
Written with big words
Soon the sun rises somewhere in the east
And a world awaits cold and clear
But there is poor consolation
The dream you always carried

Soon the sun rises somewhere in the east
And tonight no one has given you an answer
But there is poor consolation
The dream you always carried

Hungarian Accusative Case

Hungarian adds an ending to nouns in accusative case. This distinguishes them from nouns in nominative case, which have a 0 ending. Hungarian nouns in accusative case always end with t. Let us illustrate with a few sentences:

A macska nagyon barátságos. (The cat is very friendly)
Nem látom a macskát. ( I don't see the cat)

A leves finom. (The soup is delicious)
Főzök egy levest. (I'm cooking a soup)

Ez a szendvics jó. (This sandwich is good)
Eszem egy szendvicset. (I'm eating a sandwich)

Ez az autó gyors. (This car is fast)
Vettem egy autót. (I bought a car)

Nincs könyv az asztalon. (There is no book on the table)
Olvasok egy könyvet. (I'm reading a book)

The examples illustrate that the Hungarian accusative marker is -t. However, with words which end with a short vowel, the vowel sometimes lengthens as in macskát. Words which end in consonants often require a linking vowel as in szendvicset. Hungarian nouns have distinct nominative and accusative forms.

Sound Correspondence Between Italian and Portuguese/Spanish

Many Italian words which end with the letters ce have the letter z in Spanish and Portuguese. Here is a list of ten words:

actress attrice atriz (Portuguese) actriz (Spanish)
cross croce cruz
fast veloce veloz
ferocious feroce feroz
empress imperatrice imperatriz (Portuguese) emperatriz (Spanish)
happy feliz feliz
light luce luz
nut noce noz (Portuguese) nuez (Spanish)
peace pace paz
voice voce voz

The words from the list end with an x in Latin. The Latin words for empress, happy and light are imperatrix, felix and lux. The Italian, Spanish and Portuguese words are the result of sound change.

Long Consonants in Italian

Italian distinguishes short and long consonants. This is different from other Romance languages such as French, Spanish and Italian which do not. Here are ten Italian words which are distinguished on the basis of consonant length:

cane (dog) canne (reeds)
capello (hair) cappello (hat)
fato (fate) fatto (fact)
nono (grandfather) nonno (ninth)
palla (ball) pala (shovel)
polo (pole) pollo (chicken)
sera (evening) serra (greenhouse)
seta (silk) setta (sect)
sete (thirst) sette (seven)
tori (bulls) torri (towers)

The examples illustrate that consonant length is distinctive in Italian. However, long consonants only occur word-medially. In other positions of the word, only short consonants can occur.