Merger of Identical Spanish Vowels

In Spanish it is common to merge identical vowels. The result is that they are pronounced as one vowel with longer duration. The merger occurs when the two vowels occur next to one other.

The merger of identical Spanish vowels can occur in the following phrases:

la abuela (the grandmother)      

una amiga (a friend)                                                                                                                    

mi idea (my idea)  

tu uniforme (your uniform)

siete escobas (seven brooms)

The merger can also occur with an intermediary h. The h is silent and thus does not block the merger. An example is the word alcohol (alcohol). 

The merger of adjacent identical vowels is very common in Spanish. Two identical vowels are often pronounced as one vowel with larger duration. The merger of two vowels is an example of synalepha.

Dutch Strong and Weak Subject Pronouns

Dutch has strong and weak subject pronouns. They can also be called stressed and unstressed. However, not all the subject pronouns have strong and weak forms. Only a few do.

The following subject pronouns have strong and weak forms:

jij je (you)

zij ze (she)

wij we (we)

zij ze (they)

The strong forms are always stressed, and the weak forms are not. When the personal pronouns are used in isolation, only the strong forms are used. In the question Wie is de beste zanger? (Who is the best singer?), the answer is Jij (You) when only the pronoun is used in the response. The strong forms can also be used for emphasis. 

Many Dutch subject pronouns have a strong form and a weak form. In conversation the weak forms are very common. Unlike the strong forms, they are always unstressed.

Intervocalic Derhoticization in African American English

Many varieties of English are non-rhotic. This means that the /r/ is deleted or replaced with a schwa. However, this only occurs in the syllable coda.  In African American English, the deletion of the /r/ can also occur intervocalically.

The following words can be pronounced without an /r/ in African American English:

arrow

carrot

cherry

error

hurry

parent

spirit

squirrel

story

tomorrow

Many varieties of English delete the /r/ in the syllable coda. However, in African American English, deletion of the /r/ is also possible between vowels. In words such as error, deletion can occur both intervocalically and word-finally. The rule of intervocalic derhoticization distinguishes African American English from other varieties of English.

Vowel Quality in Affixed Forms

The vowel quality of certain words changes with affixation. This occurs with words that end with a high front tense vowel.  In certain words, the vowel becomes a high front lax vowel or a schwa. However, in others it remains the same.

The high front vowel changes in the following words:

beauty beautiful

fancy fanciful

mercy merciful

pity pitiful

plenty plentiful

happy happily

lucky luckily

merry merrily

noisy noisily

ordinary ordinarily

The high front vowel does not change in the following words:

arbitrary arbitrariness

happy happiness

holy holiness

likely likeliness

lonely loneliness

early earlier

easy easier

friendly friendlier

spicy spicier

wealthy wealthier

No rule can predict whether the vowel quality will change or remain the same in the affixed forms. However, with the comparative, it is clear that the vowel quality must remain the same because the comparative affix has a schwa. Since the schwa never precedes an adjacent schwa, the vowel quality does not change.

In cetain cases, the vowel quality of affixed forms changes. It can be considered a form of vowel weakening or lenition. The weakened vowel is either a high front lax urnounded vowel or a schwa.

Phonology of Finnish and Hungarian

Finnish and Hungarian are both members of the Finno-Ugric language family, a subdivision of the Uralic languages. Though they are not so similar to one another, they share a number of phonological similarities. One phonological rule which they share is vowel harmony.

The vowels of Finnish and Hungarian are similar. The two languages contrast short and long vowels. In Finnish the contrast is quantitative, but in Hungarian it is qualitative. Both languages have high front and mid front rounded vowels.

The consonants of the two languages are not as similar as the vowels. Both languages contrast short and long consonants. In Hungarian the contrast also occurs in the syllable coda.

Finnish lacks the affricates and alveopalatal fricatives of Hungarian. Consonants such as /b/ and /f/ are rare in Finnish and only occur in loanwords. The consonant /d/ usually only occurs intervocalically.

The Finnish and Hungarian languages demonstrate many phonological similarities. They include short and long vowels, short and long consonants and vowel harmony. Finnish vowel length is quantitative, but in Hungarian it is qualitative. Hungarian has more consonants than Finnish does.

Ten Pronunciations of Stroopwafel

The Dutch word stroopwafel means syrup waffle. It is a thin and round waffle cookie with a caramel filling between two layers. Due to the numerous dialects of Dutch, the word can be pronounced in at least ten different ways.

In Belgium the word stroopwafel is pronounced with a monophthong in the first syllable and a labiovelar approximant in the second. In most of Belgium the /r/ is an alveolar trill. However, in the cities of Brussels and Ghent, it is a uvular fricative or trill.  Thus the word stroopwafel has two pronunciations in Belgium.

In the southwestern Netherlands, most speakers have an alveolar trill. The first syllable has a monophthong and the second has a labiodental approximant. The labiodental approximant is used in the Netherlands instead of the labiovelar approximant.

In Amsterdam and the northern Netherlands, the alveolar trill is also common, but the first syllable has a diphthong. The diphthong is used instead of the monophthong of the southern Netherlands and Belgium. In the city of Leiden many speakers use an alveolar approximant in the first syllable rather than an alveolar trill and a diphthong in the second syllable.

In the southeastern Netherlands the /r/ is a uvular fricative and the second syllable has a monophthong. In cities such as the Hague, however, the second syllable has a diphthong. The /r/ is also a uvular fricative in Rotterdam, but the second syllable has the diphthong used in RP. The first component is a mid front unrounded tense vowel and the second component is a high back rounded lax vowel. In Utrecht, the /r/ is a uvular trill and the first vowel of the second syllable is a low back vowel rather than a low central vowel.

Most Dutch speakers use a velarized lateral in the word stroopwafel. However, in Nijmegen, a city of the eastern Netherlands close to the German border, the lateral is not velarized. This is also the case for other areas of the eastern Netherlands.

Here is a summary of the ten different pronunciations of stroopwafel in Dutch:

most of Belgium: alveolar trill, monophthong, labiovelar approximant

part of Belgium: uvular fricative/trill, monophthong, labiovelar approximant

most of the southwestern Netherlands: alveolar trill, monophthong, labiodental approximant

southeastern Netherlands: uvular fricative, monophthong, labiodental approximant

Nijmegen: uvular fricative, monophthong, labiodental approximant, alveolar lateral without velarization

Amsterdam and the northern Netherlands: alveolar trill, diphthong, labiodental approximant

Leiden: alveolar approximant, diphthong, labiodental approximant

The Hague: uvular fricative, diphthong, labiodental approximant

Rotterdam: uvular fricative, diphthong of RP, labiodental approximant

Utrecht: uvular trill, diphthong, low back vowel in second syllable

In the word stroopwafel, a number of segments can be pronounced differently. The /r/ can be a uvular fricative, uvular trill, alveolar trill or alveolar approximant. This results in at least ten different pronunciations.