Irregularity of French Spelling

French spelling is irregular. As is the case with English, many words have silent letters, and many sounds can be represented by different combinations of letters. Sometimes words are spelt the same but pronounced differently. Here are eight sentences to illustrate:

Les cuisiniers excellent à faire ce mets excellent. 

(The cooks excel in making this excellent dish)

Ils ont un charactère violent: ils violent leurs promesses.

(They have a violent character: they violate their promises)

                                                       

Il est de l'est.

(He is from the east)

Mes fils ont cassé mes fils.

(My sons have broken my strings)

Nous éditions de belles éditions.

(We were editing beautiful editions)

Les poules du couvent couvent.

(The hens from the convent are incubating)

Nous portions les portions.

(We were carrying the portions)

Je suis content qu'ils content ces histoires.

(I am happy that they are telling these stories)

French is a language with irregular spelling. This results in many homophones, words that are pronounced the same but are spelt differently. Each of the illustrated sentences contains two homophones.

    

Poem by Robert Frost (Acquainted with the Night)

Acquainted with the Night is a famous poem by Robert Frost. Here it is:

Acquainted with the Night

I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain-- and back in rain.

I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.

I have passed by the watchman on his beat

And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet

When far away an interrupted cry

Came over houses from another street.

But not to call me back or say good-bye;

And further still at an unearthly height,

One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.

I have been one acquainted with the night.

The poem Acquainted with the Night consists of five stanzas. The first four have three verses and the final one has two. It is a sonnet, but not a traditional one because it is written in five stanzas rather than one. However, each verse has ten syllables and the rhyme scheme is that of the Petrarchan Sonnet.

Robert Frost describes the isolation and sorrow of a person who wanders at night. The person's feelings are as inescapable as the night, and the feelings become particularly strong at this dark, quiet time. Many people have acquaintances such as co-workers and neighbours, but in this case, the person is acquainted with the night, which represents the negative emotions of sorrow and isolation. It is a powerful poem that reminds us not only of the person described in the poem but of others in similar situations.

Pitch Accent of Swedish Words

All Swedish words have a pitch accent, tone 1 or tone 2. Tone 1 is also called the acute accent, and tone 2 is also called the grave accent. Let us examine the pitch accent of Swedish words.

All monosyllabic words in Swedish have Tone 1. Tone 2 can only occur with words of two or more syllables. Though the pitch accent of Swedish words must be learned, a few patterns can be observed.

Bisyllabic words which combine the singular and the postnominal definite article are tone 1. This is the case with hunden (the dog), katten (the cat) and skeppet (the ship). Adjectives with the ending -isk are also tone 1. This is the case with fantastisk (fantastic) and magisk (magic).

Plural nouns have Tone 2. This is the case with hundar (dogs), katter (cats) and kvinnor (women). However, if the noun undergoes a vowel change in the plural, the word has tone 1. This is the case with hand (hand) and händer (hands).

Compound nouns have tone 2. Examples include lastbil (truck) and sjukhus (hospital). Adjectives with the ending -ig also have tone 2. This is the case with rolig (funny) and trevlig (nice).

With certain endings either tone is possible. This is the case with words that end with -el and -er. The words cykel (bicycle), fågel (bird) and vinter (winter) have tone 1 while the words nyckel (key), spindel (spider) and syster (sister) have tone 2.

Pitch accent is a very important part of the Swedish language. Tone 1 is used with monosyllabic words and with adjectives which end with -isk. Most plural nouns have tone 2 as well as compounds and adjectives which end with -ig. With certain endings, either pitch accent is possible.

Variation in Trap-Bath Split

The trap-bath split is one of the most distinctive features of English dialects. Speakers who have the split use different vowels in trap and bath, and those who do not have the split use the same vowel. However, the trap-bath split exhibits variation.

In Northern England, the words aunt,banana, calf, can't, half and rather are pronounced with a back vowel. However, in Canada and the United States, banana, calf, can't and half are pronounced by a front vowel by almost all speakers. The words aunt and rather vary. Many North Americans pronounce them with a front vowel, but the back vowel is also used, especially with the word aunt.

Australia also exhibits variation with the trap-bath split. The word castle can be pronounced with a front vowel or back vowel. Words which come before /m/ and /n/ are pronounced with the front vowel as in dance, example and plant. In southern Australia, the back vowel is used more than in the rest of the country.

English dialects have a number of distinctive features. One of them is rhoticity. Rhotic speakers pronounce the /r/ in all positions, but non-rhotic speakers do not. Another is the trap-bath split. In southern England, the trap-bath split applies and the words trap and bath are realized with different vowels. Other speakers also have the trap-bath split, but the application varies.

Varying Pronunciation of Consonants in English Dialects

The pronunciation of vowels can vary significantly in English dialects. The vowel in words such as bath, laugh and mask is a front vowel in most of southern England but a back vowel in northern England. In Scotland, many speakers pronounce the words boot and foot with the same vowel. The pronunciation of consonants can also vary.

The letter r has different pronunciations. In rhotic varieties it is always pronounced. In non-rhotic varieties, it is not pronounced in the syllable coda or it is pronounced as a schwa. In intervocalic position, some speakers produce an alveolar tap or trill.

Another liquid which has different pronunciations is the l. In Received Pronunciation, it is an alveolar lateral in the syllable onset and a velarized lateral in the coda. In northern England, however, it is velarized in all positions, and in the southwest of England, many speakers vocalize the lateral syllable-finally.

The t also has different pronunciations. In Canadian and American English, it is often flapped intervocalically between a stressed vowel and unstressed vowel. In British English, the t can become a voiced plosive or a glottal stop.

The interdental fricative is often pronounced as a plosive in Irish English. However, words such as thin and tin are not pronounced identically because thin is pronounced with a dental articulation and tin with an alveolar one. The articulation of the th as a plosive can also be heard among certain speakers of New York.

English dialects differ in their pronunciation of vowels. However, differences in the pronunciation of consonants also occur. Consonants which vary include the alveolar approximant, the lateral and the voiceless alveolar plosive.

English Diphthongs

Diphthongs consist of a sequence of vowels which form a single syllable. One of the vowels moves from one position to another and can thus be termed a glide. Glides can form the first or second component of the diphthong. The number of English diphthongs varies in rhotic and non-rhotic varieties.

English diphthongs occur in the words bay, by, boy, no and now. The diphthongs in bay, boy and now start with a mid vowel while the diphthongs in by and now start with a low vowel. The vowel quality of diphthongs can vary from one dialect to another. For example, the low vowel in the diphthong now can be a front vowel, central vowel or back vowel.

Non-rhotic varieties of English such as Received Pronunciation have more diphthongs. These diphthongs are the historic result of the loss of the alveolar approximant in the syllable coda. In certain positions, however, the consonant did not disappear but became a schwa. This is the case in words such as here, there and tour. 

Diphthongs are common in English. They consist of two vowels, and one of them moves from one position to another. Non- rhotic varieties of English include Received Pronunciation. Unlike rhotic varieties such as American, Canadian and Irish, they have more diphthongs. The additional diphthongs end with a schwa.