Lot-Cloth Split in American English

Many varieties of American English have the lot-cloth split. It is present in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. For speakers who have the lot-cloth split, the vowel in lot is a low vowel, and the vowel in cloth is a mid vowel.

The rounded mid vowel often occurs before voiceless fricatives. It is present in words such as boss, coffee, office and broth. However, it also occurs in words such as chocolate, dog and long.

The lot-cloth split seems to exhibit an open-syllable constraint. In open syllables the vowel is usually low and unrounded unless it is derived from a word with a mid rounded vowel. For example, the words crossing and coughing have the mid vowel because it is present in cross and cough. In the words fossil and possible, the o is in an open syllable and pronounced with a low vowel.

The lot-cloth split maintains a distinction in the vowels of lot and cloth. It does not merge them as is the case with the cot-caught merger. In Received Pronunciation, the lot-cloth split was once maintained but no longer. Though it is maintained in New York English, it is not in Boston English. The varieties of American English that maintain the split reflect an earlier stage of the pronunciation of the English language. 

Lenition of Voiced Plosives In European Portuguese

In many dialects of European Portuguese, the voiced plosives /b, /d/ and /g/ lenite intervocalically. In this position they produce fricative allophones. A similar process occurs in Spanish. In Brazilian Portuguese, however, this process of lenition does not occur.

The lenition of voiced plosives occurs in the dialects of northern and central Portugal. It does not occur word-initially nor after nasal vowels. In these dialects, words such as alfabeto (alphabet), estado (state) and fogo (fire) are pronounced with intervocalic fricatives. 

The lack of intervocalic lenition in Brazilian Portuguese may reflect an earlier form of the Portuguese language. It is also possible that Brazilian Portuguese was influenced by the southern dialects that do not have intervocalic lenition. Lenition of voiced plosives differentiates the northern and central dialects of European Portuguese from the southern ones, and also distinguishes European Portuguese from Brazilian.

Poem (Snowdrops)

I want to share my latest poem, a poem which I wrote shortly before the start of spring. It is one of my favourites.

Snowdrops

Unlike flowers whose petals reach so high,

Snowdrops have petals hidden from sky.

They are pearl earrings in every garden,

Precious to their floral maiden.

Since early times they have been known,

And slowly love for them has grown.

Even in deep dark days of winter,

They bring the joy and warmth of summer.

Blooming snowdrops bring hope and love

Under the pure white of clouds above.

Their soft petals are bells of sound

Supported by stalks piercing firm ground.

Though snowdrops are but one of many,

They are true symbols of purity

With their elegant petals of white

Enhanced by rays of welcome sunlight.

Filling hearts with elation,

Snowdrops are treasures of creation

Turning gardens into a spectacle

With flowers vibrant and ornamental.

Swedish Dialects with Alveolar and Uvular /r/

Swedish dialects vary in the /r/ that they use. In southern dialects the uvular /r/ is used and in northern dialects the alveolar /r/. In certain areas such as Stockholm an alveolar approximant is often used instead of an alveolar flap or alveolar trill. However, a number of dialects use both the alveolar and uvular /r/. The use of these two /r/ sounds depends on the position in the word.

Dialects which use the two /r/ sounds are found north of the southernmost part of Sweden, south of Stockholm and also close to Gothenburg. In certain areas the uvular /r/ is replaced by the labiovelar approximant. The result is that a word such as rot (root) is pronounced [wut] instead of [rut].

The uvular /r/ is used word-initially and before stressed vowels. It is also used for the long /r/, which is spelt rr. The alveolar /r/ is used intervocalically when the first vowel is stressed and the second is unstressed, and when the /r/ is word-final. 

The words dörr (door), räv (fox) and strand (beach) have the uvular /r/. In contrast, the words fyra (four), stor (big) and arv (heritage) have the alveolar /r/. The two /r/ sounds are thus in complementary position. The uvular is used when the /r/ is word-initial and when it is long. The alveolar is used when the /r/ is word-final and when it follows a stressed vowel.

The uvular /r/ is underlying. It has the wider distribution of the two. In words such as fyra (four), in which the /r/ is intervocalic and the final vowel is unstressed, we can analyze the /r/ as syllable-final because in syllable-initial position, the /r/ is uvular. With this analysis, the syllabification of fyra is fyr.a to indicate that the /r/ is syllable-final and alveolar.

The realization of the /r/ varies in Swedish dialects. A number of dialects use two /r/ sounds, but the use of the two depends on the position in the word. The uvular /r/ is used when it is word-initial and when it is long. On the other hand, the alveolar /r/ is used when it is word-final and when it follows a stressed vowel.

Distribution of English Interdental Fricatives

English has two interdental fricatives, the voiced fricative of this and the voiceless fricative of through. Though they are phonemic, this was not always the case. The voiced interdental fricative used to be restricted to word-medial position as in mother. In word-medial position the voiced fricative is more common than in other positions.

A few minimal pairs can be given to illustrate that the interdental fricatives are phonemic. They include either/ether, teethe/teeth and this'll/thistle. With mouth, the noun has a voiceless fricative and the verb has a voiced one.

Most words that begin with an interdental fricative have the voiceless one. The voiced fricative occurs in pronouns (they, them), adverbs (there, then, this, that) and in the definite article the.

In word-medial position the voiced fricative is common. However, the voiceless fricative occurs in words such as healthy, method and sympathy.

Most words that end with an interdental fricative have the voiceless one. Many verbs, though, have the voiced fricative. This is the case in bathe, clothe and breathe.

Many plurals can be realized with either the voiced or the voiceless fricative. Examples include mouths, oaths and paths. The plural clothes is always pronounced with the voiced fricative and numerals such as eighths and twelfths are always pronounced with the voiceless one.

Though English has two phonemes which are interdental fricatives, they differ in their relative distribution. The voiceless fricative is more common word-initially and word-finally, and the voiced fricative is more common word-medially. Many plurals can be realized with either the voiced or the voiceless fricative. In an earlier stage of English, only the voiceless fricative was phonemic and the voiced one was restricted to word-medial position.

Most Common English Phonemes

Doug Blumeyer, an American researcher, analyzed words from the British National Corpus to determine the relative frequency of English phonemes. His research was based on American English. This could be significant because dialects of English vary in the phonemes which they use.

According to his research, the most common phoneme is the schwa. It is followed by the alveolar nasal, the alveolar approximant, the voiceless alveolar plosive and the high front lax vowel. In non-rhotic varieties of English the alveolar approximant is not pronounced in words such as car. For this reason, the frequency of this phoneme must be lower in such varieties of English.

The schwa is undoubtedly a very common vowel in English. In the word banana, it occurs in both the first and third syllables of the word. The alveolar nasal is also very common and is present in the affixes -ness (happiness), un- (unhappy), non- (nonsense), -ant (assistant) and -en (brighten).

The rhotic approximant occurs in comparatives such as faster and newer. However, many linguists claim that these words have an r-coloured vowel. In this case, the frequency of the rhotic approximant decreases.

The voiceless alveolar approximant is a very common consonant. It occurs with superlatives such as fastest and newest. It also occurs in consonant clusters such as plant, style and true.

The high front lax vowel is more common than the tense counterpart. However, the use of this phoneme varies in words such as rabbit and roses. Speakers with the weak vowel merger use a schwa in the unstressed syllables. Nevertheless, the vowel occurs in many English words such as fish, it and six.

Based on the relative frequency of English phonemes, it appears that alveolar consonants and front vowels are common. The schwa, a central vowel, is common because it is so frequent in unstressed syllables. The voiceless alveolar plosive is a common phoneme not only in English but in many languages.

Poem (Rain Is)

 My latest poem is titled Rain Is. I hope you enjoy it.

Rain Is

Rain is relief

From hot sun,

Relief for dry

Grass and plants.

Rain is to

Remind us

To begin each day

Feeling refreshed.

Rain is a

Total cleansing,

Purifying our hearts

And minds.

Rain is

Music to help

Us sleep,

Raindrops dancing on our roof.

Rain is 

Sadness on grey days

But joy after meeting sun

To make a rainbow.

Rain is 

Linked to memories,

An inescapable part

Of our lives.