Identical English and French Words With Different Pronunciations

English and French share many words. Among them are words with the same spelling and meaning. However, the pronunciation is often different. Here is a list to illustrate:

fruit

image

moment

nature

orange

poison

position

secret

six

train

The sounds of English and French are not so similar. Both languages have sounds which the other does not. The result is that even identical words in spelling and meaning are frequently pronounced differently in the two languages.

Translated Song (Talking To My Father)

Celine Dion is a Canadian singer who has become world-famous. Though she sings many songs in English, she also sings in her native French. The song Parler À Mon Père (Talking To My Father) is about her father. Here are the French lyrics followed by my translation:

Parler À Mon Père 

Je voudrais oublier le temps

Pour un soupir, pour un instant,

Une parenthèse après la course

Et partir où mon coeur me pousse.

Je voudrais retrouver mes traces

Où est ma vie, où est ma place,

Et garder l'or de mon passé

Au chaud dans mon jardin secret.

Je voudrais passer l'océan,

Croiser le vol d'un goéland,

Penser à tout ce que j'ai vu

Ou bien aller vers l'inconnu.

Je voudrais décrocher la lune,

Je voudrais même sauver la terre

Mais avant tout, 

Je voudrais parler à mon père,

Parler à mon père,

Je voudrais choisir un bateau,

Pas le plus grand ni le plus beau.

Je le remplirai des images

Et des parfums de mes voyages.

Je voudrais freiner pour m'asseoir,

Trouver au creux de ma mémoire

Des voix de ceux qui m'ont appris

Qu'il n'y a pas de rêve interdit.

Je voudrais trouver les couleurs,

Des tableaux que j'ai dans le coeur

De ce décor aux lignes pures

Où je vous voie et me rassure.

Je voudrais décrocher la lune,

Je voudrais même sauver la terre

Mais avant tout,

Jje voudrais parler à mon père,

Parler à mon père,

Je voudrais oublier le temps

Pour un soupir, pour un instant,

Une parenthèse après la course

Et partir où mon coeur me pousse.

Je voudrais retrouver mes traces

Où est ma vie, où est ma place,

Et garder l'or de mon passé

Au chaud dans mon jardin secret.

Je voudrais partir avec toi,

Je voudrais rêver avec toi,

Toujours chercher l'inaccessible,

Toujours espérer l'impossible.

Je voudrais décrocher la lune,

Et pourquoi pas sauver la terre,

Mais avant tout,

Je voudrais parler à mon père,

Parler à mon père,

Je voudrais parler à mon père,

Parler à mon père.

Talking To My Father

I'd like to forget the time

For a sigh, for an instant,

An interlude after the race

And leave where my heart takes me.

I'd like to find my bearings again

Where my life is, where my place is,

And keep the gold of my past

In the warmth of my secret garden.

I'd like to pass the ocean,

Cross the flight of a gull,

Think of everything I've seen

And well, go towards the unknown.

I'd like to pick up the moon,

I'd even like to save the earth

But above all,

I'd like to talk to my father,

Talk to my father.

I'd like to choose a boat,

Not the biggest nor the most beautiful.

I'd fill it with images

And with perfumes of my trips.

I'd like to brake to sit down,

Find within my memory

The voices of those who taught me

There is no forbidden dream.

I'd like to find the colours

Of the paintings that I have in my heart,

From this decor with pure lines

Where I see you and reassure myself.

I'd like to pick up the moon,

I'd even like to save the earth,

But above all,

I'd like to talk to my father,

Talk to my father.

I'd like to forget the time,

For a sigh, for an instant,

An interlude after the race

And leave where my heart takes me.

I'd like to find my bearings again

Where my life is, where my place is,

And keep the gold of my past

In the warmth of my secret garden.

I'd like to leave with you,

I'd like to dream with you,

Always seeking the inaccessible,

Always hoping for the impossible.

I'd like to pick up the moon,

And why not save the earth,

But above all,

I'd like to talk to my father,

Talk to my father,

I'd like to talk to my father,

Talk to my father.

 

Sound Correspondence Between Swedish and Danish/Norwegian

Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are North Germanic languages which share many similar words. They also have many sound correspondences. Many Swedish words which end in an a end have an e in Norwegian and Danish. Here is a list to illustrate with the Swedish word on the left and then the Norwegian and Danish words:

duva due due (pigeon)

kaka kake kage (cake)

klocka klokke klokke (clock)

kyrka kirke kirke (church)

krona krone krone (crown)

näsa nese næse (nose)

skola skole skole (school)

soppa suppe suppe (soup)

åtta åtte otte (eight)

öra øre øre (ear)

The list provides Swedish words with a final a that correspond to a final e in Norwegian and Danish. The final e of Norwegian and Danish is unstressed and thus pronounced as a schwa. The final a of Swedish is the original sound. The change to a schwa in Norwegian and Danish is an example of vowel weakening.

German Separable Verbs

German has many separable verbs. They are verbs with a prefix and a root. In the infinitive the prefix is attached to the verb, but in the simple present they are separate. Let us illustrate with examples:

abfahren (leave)

Mein Zug fährt um 9 Uhr ab. (My train leaves at nine o'clock)

ankommen (arrive)

Die Fähre kommt jetzt an. (The ferry is arriving now)

aufmachen (open)

Das Geschäft macht jeden Tag auf. (The store opens every day )

aufstehen (get up)

Ich stehe früh auf. (I get up early)

zurückkommen (come back)

Wir kommen am Samstag zurück. (We're coming back on Saturday)

Separable verbs in German are similar to phrasal verbs in English. However, German separable verbs follow very clear rules. From the examples, it is clear that the prefix is attached to the verb in the infinitive, but it is separated in present tense.

Reciprocal Verbs

Verbs can be classified into many types. They include transitive, intransitive, finite, non-finite, main, auxiliary and modal. Another type is reciprocal.

Reciprocal verbs indicate actions with two or more people. For example, They kissed consists of the reciprocal verb kiss. It is possible to extend the sentence by adding each other. The sentence then becomes They kissed each other.

The following is a list of reciprocal verbs:

argue

cooperate

date

embrace

fight

greet

kiss

marry

meet

unite

The subject of reciprocal verbs is often plural. However, this is not always the case. In the sentence He kissed her on the cheek, it is clear that only the subject kissed, and the object of the sentence received the kiss. In this sentence the verb kiss can be analyzed as a transitive verb.

Reciprocal verbs describe actions in which two or more people participate in an action or event. They are often used with a plural subject. In many cases, the subject of reciprocal verbs is human.

Names of Cities in Russian

Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, an alphabet similar to that of Greek. Even those who are unfamiliar with the Cyrillic alphabet may be able to recognize the cities on this list. First I will write the names of twenty-five Russian cities and then I will write the equivalents in English.

1. Нью-Йорк

2. Париж

3. Лондон

4. Токио

5. Манила

6. Торонто

7. Чикаго

8. Сеул

9. Пекин

10. Москва

11. Будапешт

12. Рим

13. Берлин

14. Каир

15. Сан-Паулу

16. Джакарта

17. Мюнхен

18. Лос-Анджелес

19. Найроби

20. Прага

21. Монреаль

22. Вена

23. Сидней

24. Гавана

25. Мумбаи

1. New York

2. Paris

3. London

4. Tokyo

5. Manila

6. Toronto

7. Chicago

8. Seoul

9. Beijing

10. Moscow

11. Budapest

12. Rome

13. Berlin

14. Cairo

15. Sao Paulo

16. Jakarta

17. Munich

18. Los Angeles

19. Nairobi

20. Prague

21. Montreal

22. Vienna

23. Sydney

24. Havana

25. Mumbai

A few of the Cyrillic letters have different values in the Roman alphabet. The Cyrillic c, h and p correspond to the Roman s, n and r. Of the twenty-five cities, the ones most easily identified by those unfamiliar with Cyrillic are perhaps the cities Moscow, Tokyo and Toronto.

Comparison of Numbers in Russian and Ukrainian

Russian and Ukrainian are closely related Slavic languages. However, they also have notable differences. Let us compare the numbers from one to ten. The numbers on the left are in Russian and the ones on the right are in Ukrainian. In brackets we have the Roman transliteration.

опин (odin) опин (odin)

два (dva) два (dva) 

три (tri) три (tri)

четыре (chetire) чотири (chotiri)

пять (pyat') п'ять (p'yat')

шесть (shest') шість (shist')

семь (syem') сім (sim)

восемь (vocem') вісім (visim)

девять (devyat') дев'ять (dev'yat')

десять (desyat') десять  (desyat')

The numbers for one, two, three and ten are identical in both languages. However, only the number two is pronounced the same. The number one has second syllable stress in Russian. The number three has a central vowel in Russian and a front vowel in Ukrainian. The number ten is pronounced with a word-initial palatalized dental plosive in Russian but not in Ukrainian. Also, the second syllable of the number ten has a high vowel in Russian but a mid vowel in Ukrainian.

The number five is very similar in both languages. However, the Russian number has a palatalized bilabial plosive. In Ukrainian the plosive is not palatalized, but is followed by a palatal approximant. The pattern is the same with the number nine. In Russian the labiodental fricative is palatalized, but in Ukrainian the labiodental fricative is followed by a palatal approximant.

The numbers four, six, seven and eight have different vowels in Russian and Ukrainian. In Russian the numbers from five to ten end with palatalized consonants. In Ukrainian the numbers six and seven lack palatalized consonants.

The list of numbers illustrates that Russian and Ukrainian share many similarities. Four numbers are written identically. One difference is that Russian has more word-final palatalized consonants than Ukrainian.

Translated Song (Fly Bird)

The Danish singer Rasmus Seebach has many nice songs. One of them is titled Flyv Fugl. This means Fly Bird in English. Here are the lyrics followed by my English translation:

Flyv Fugl

Må din vilje være stærk som stål.

Må du tilgive mig en dag.

Må du huske hvor du kommer fra

Men se frem og ikk' tilbage.

Flyv lille fugl ud i verden

Når det nu er forbi.

Flyv lille fugl, tag mit hjerte.

Det jeg egentlig prøver at sige

Er held og lykke.

Må du for hver en iskold vinterdag

Få en varm sommernat.

Må du ku' klare dig alene af og til

Men må du aldrig føle dig forladt.

Flyv lille fugl ud i verden

Når det nu er forbi.

Flyv lille fugl, tag mit hjerte,

Det jeg egentlig prøver at sige

Er held og lykke.

Må du vide når det er din tur

Og det er okay at være nervøs.

Må du tage det meste med et smil og ikk' bli'

Nej, ikk' bli' alt for seriøs.

Gå ud og flyv lille fugl ud i verden

Når det nu er forbi.

Flyv lille fugl, tag mit hjerte.

Det jeg egentlig prøver at sige

Er held og lykke,

Held og lykke,

Held og lykke.

Må du elske hver en skønhedsfejl

Og vide man ikk' ska' være perfekt.

Må du huske selv hvis du står ved verdens ende er jeg

Kun et opkald væk.

Så bare flyv lille fugl ud i verden

Når det nu er forbi.

Flyv lille fugl, tag mit hjerte.

Det jeg egentlig prøver at sige

Er held og lykke.

Fly Bird

May you know when it's your turn.

May you forgive me one day.

May you remember where you come from

But look ahead and not back.

Fly little bird out into the world

Now that it's over.

Fly little bird, take my heart.

What I'm actually trying to say

Is good luck.

May you for every single ice cold winter day

Get a warm summer night.

May you get by on your own now and then,

But may you never feel abandoned.

Fly little bird out into the world

Now that it's over.

Fly little bird, take my heart.

What I'm actually trying to say

Is good luck.

May you know when it's your turn.

It's okay to be nervous.

May you take most of it with a smile

And not get, no

Not get far too serious.

Go out and fly little bird out into the world

Now that it's over.

Fly little bird, take my heart.

What I'm actually trying to say

Is good luck,

Good luck,

Good luck.

May you love every single blemish

And know one will not be perfect.

May you remember even if you're standing at the end of the world

I am only a call away.

So just fly little bird out into the world

Now that it's over.

Fly little bird, take my heart.

What I'm actually trying to say

Is good luck.

Literal Meaning of German Compound Nouns

Many German compound nouns consist of logical parts. They give us significant information about the word. Here are ten German compound nouns to illustrate:

Faultier lazy + animal (sloth)

Handschuh hand + shoe (glove)

Kühlschrank cool + shelf (refrigerator)

Nacktschnecke naked + snail (slug)

Regenschirm rain + shield (umbrella)

Schildkröte shield + toad (tortoise)

Speisekarte dish + card (menu)

Stinktier stink + animal (skunk)

Spielzeug play + thing (toy)

Wasserkocher water + cooker (kettle)

The German compound words are logical and give specific information about the words they describe. Umbrellas are for rain, kettles are for water and gloves are for the hand. German compound nouns are often very descriptive.