Latest Poem

Here is my latest poem. It was written to give hope in these difficult times.

In This World

In this world we see so much war,
Pollution, famine, drought, disease.
At times we fear we could lose hope,
Our calls for action empty pleas.

What can we say in times like these?
How can we make love and hope strong?
From this troubled world can come good.
For life in paradise we long.

Let us now all unite as one,
Resolve to help one another,
Keep hope alive in every heart,
For our planet work together.

From this troubled world can come good,
Love and hope with each new sunrise.
Despite hardships we persevere,
Under sun and moon, stars and skies.

Semantic Relationships of Adjectives

Adjectives are often part of noun phrases. They express a quality of the noun they modify. However, the underlying semantic relationships vary considerably. To illustrate, here are ten noun phrases:

a tall athlete
a crying baby
a brick building
a class reunion
a cracked window
a country road
a fall day
an unread manuscript
a personal computer
a personal attack

We can analyze the noun phrases.  The first phrase tells us that the athlete is tall. This is a permanent quality. In the second phrase, the baby is crying. This is only a temporary situation.

The third phrase tell us that the material  is made of brick and the fourth that the reunion is for the class. In the fifth phrase, the window is not in perfect condition- it has been cracked. The sixty phrases gives us the location of the road-in the country.

The seventh phrase answers the question when. The day is in fall. In the eight phrase, we learn that the manuscript has not been read with the probable expectation that it will be read in the future.

In the ninth and tenth phrases, the adjective is the same. However, the phrases differ in meaning.  The computer is designed for individual use, but the attack is made by one person against another.

The examples illustate that adjectives in noun phrases illustrate many types of semantic relationships. These include permanent and temporary qualities, locations and materials. Without questions, adjectives are a very important part of language.

Lexeme

The lexeme is the basic unit from which other words can be formed. It is listed in dictionaries, but the inflected forms are not. The assumption is that language speakers know the words which are derived from the lexeme.

Let us illustrate. The word bake is a lexeme. With the addition of inflectional affixes, other words can be formed. These include bakes, baked and baking. The lexeme bake underlies this set of words. The words baker and bakers are not part of the same set because they belong to a different grammatical category, the category of nouns. However, the plural bakers and the singular baker both belong to the lexeme baker. 

The difference between lexemes and words is that lexeme are the basic units from which other words can be built. The lexeme can be considered an abstract notion. It consists of one morpheme. Unlike other words, it contains no affixes.

Sign Language

Sign language is a true language because the language system allows signers to comprehend and produce grammatical sentences in signs. The signs are the vocabulary and the system consists of syntax and semantics. Sign language communicates by signs what can be communicated in speech.

The Frenchman Charles Michel de L'Eppe created the world's first formal sign language in the sixteenth century. He also founded the first free public school for the deaf in 1755.

Contrary to common belief, there is no universal sign language. Many may be surprised to learn that American Sign Language and British Sign Language are not mutually intelligible. American Sign Language is actually closer to French Sign Language because it was derived from French Sign Language in the early nineteenth century.

The signs of sign language can be analyzed into three basic parts. They are hand configuration, place of articulation, and movement. We can analyze the shape that the hand forms, where the shape is formed and the manner in which the hand moves.

An infinite number of grammatical sentences can be produced in sign language. This is evidence that sign language is a true language. No universal sign languages has been created. The result is that there are approximately 300 sign languages in use today.

Analysis of Word Segments

Every word consists of segments. However, the pronunciation of the segments is often phonetically conditioned. They can be influenced by their position in the word and the surrounding segments.

The words leaf and feel both consist of three segments. The word leaf can be transcribed as [lif] and feel can be transcribed [fil]. Both words are monosyllabic and have the sequence CVC. The only difference is in the position of the consonants. In leaf the lateral is word-initial and the fricative is word-final, but in feel the fricative is word-initial and the lateral is word-final.

Since the two words contain the same number of segments, the same vowel and the same consonants, it could seem that if one word were played backwards, the result would be the other. However, this is not the case. If leaf were played backwards, the result would not be feel. This is due to two factors.

The vowel of feel is longer than the vowel of leaf. The reaon is that the vowel of feel is followed by a voiced approximant. However, the vowel of leaf is followed by a voiceless fricative. The two vowels are not identical.

The lateral of leaf is different from the lateral of feel. In the word leaf, it is word-initial and is not velarized. In feel, however, it is word-final and velarized. The articulation of the lateral in leaf is distinct from the articulation of the lateral in feel.

The pronunciation of segments can be influenced by a number of factors. These include word position and adjacent segments. Words with identical segments which only differ in word position do not always sound identical to the other when played backwards. Reasons for this include vowel length and articulation that depends on the position in the word.

Mate in 13

In a game of speed chess, I mated my opponent in thirteen moves. He was Inon101 of Israel, who played black. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 h6
4. 0-0 Nf6
5. d4 Nxe4

Black makes a mistake. With his king in the centre, this is a risky move. It is better to play exd.

6. dxc Bc5

Black plays aggressively and decides to attack f2, but this is also a mistake. It is necessary to play Nc5 to counter my attack.

7. Qd5 Qe7
8. Qxe4 0-0

Again black fails to find the best move. It is better to play d6 to activate the light-squared bishop.

9. Nc3 a6

It is better for black to play Kh8 to prevent a check by my knight on f6.

10. Nd5 Qd8
11. Bxh6 gxh6

I sacrifice my bishop to weaken the f6 square. Black is now lost. His sixth move is a blunder because it leads to the loss of his knight. My seventh move is undoubtedly a big surprise.

12. Nxf6+ Kg7

Black does not want to lose his queen, but Qxf6 is the only way to prolong the game.

13. Qh7#

Black loses quickly because he decides to play aggressively with his king in the centre. In the final position he has four pieces on the back rank.

Gapping

Gapping is an example of a deletion rule. It only applies in coordinate clauses and is very common in conversation. It is similar to verb phrase deletion, but is also different in certain respects.

Like verb phrase deletion, gapping operates only under certain conditions. Deletion is not possible in all circumstances. Let us examine differences between the two.

Verb phrase deletion can operate in both subordinate and coordinate clauses. This can be exemplified by the sentences Joseph works too much even though he shouldn't and Joseph works too much, but he shouldn't. In the examples, the deleted verb phrase follows the antecedent, but it can also precede it. The following sentences are also possible: Even though he shoudn't, Joseph works too much and He shouldn't, but Joseph works too much. In the latter sentence, the conjunction remains between the two clauses.

With gapping, however, the rule applies only to coordinate clauses, not to subordinate clauses. The following sentence is ungrammatical: *Diana studied chemistry even though Carol physics. The following sentence is fine: Diana studied chemistry and Carol physics. 

Unlike with verb phrase deletion, the gapping rule requires that the gap follow but never precede the antecedent. The sentence *Carol physics, and Diana studied chemistry is ungrammatical. In this case, the first clause of the sentence must include the verb.

Deletion rules are very common in language. One type of deletion rule is gapping. However, gapping does not apply in all circumstances, It only applies to coordinate clauses, and the gap must follow the antecedent.

English Words of Native American Origin

English has borrowed words from many languages. Of those wordss many are from indigenous languages of North America. Here is a list of ten words and their respective languages of origin:

caucus (Algonquian)
chipmunk (Ojibwa)
chocolate (Nahuatl)
kayak (Inuit)
moccasin (Chippewa)
potato (Carib)
raccoon (Powhatan)
squash (Narragansett)
teepee (Dakota)
toboggan (Micmac)

Many of the words which English borrowed from indigenous languages were words for food and animals. Though these are borrowed words, most native speakers of English are unaware of their origins. The native languages of North America have contributed many words to the English language.