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.