Preaspiration In Icelandic

Preaspiration is an important feature of Icelandic pronunciation. Many double consonants and consonant clusters are pronounced with a glottal fricative between them and the preceding vowel. It does not occur with word-initial consonant clusters because the first segment must be a vowel.

The phrase Ekki meira, takk means No more, thanks. In the phrase, preaspiration occurs in the words ekki and takk. In the sentence Ég er svo heppinn (I am so happy), preaspiration occurs in the first syllable of the word heppinn. Preaspiration also occurs with consonant clusters. For example, in the sentence Íslenskt vatn er best (Icelandic water is the best), preaspiration occurs in the word vatn.

Preaspiration is equivalent to an [h] sound before obstruents. Though it is relatively uncommon in the languages of the world, it is common in Icelandic. Besides Icelandic, it is also prominent in Faroese and in a few dialects of Norwegian and Swedish. It is not phonemically contrastive in any language, but it is very common in Icelandic.

Two Danish relative pronouns

Danish has two relative pronouns, der and som. In English they can be translated as that, which or who. However, they are not always interchangeable. The word der can only be used as the subject of the subordinate clause. 

Here are a few examples:

Jeg har en ven, der elsker øl.

Jeg har en ven, som elsker øl.

The two sentences mean I have a friend who loves beer.

In the next example, only som can be used.

Jeg har en ny ven, som du må møde.

I have a new friend who you must meet.

In the first example, the relative pronoun is the subject of the subordinate clause. For this reason both der and som can be used. In the second example, the relative pronoun  is the object of the subordinate clause. For this reason only som can be used.

The Danish relative pronouns der and som can both be used when they are the subject of the subordinate clause. When the relative pronoun is the object of the subordinate clause, only som can be used. The word som is thus used more extensively than der.

Pronunciation Differences Between Dutch and German

Dutch and German are Germanic languages with many similarities. However, the pronunciation of the two languages is not so similar. Many words with the same meaning and spelling are pronounced differently. 

Let us compare ten words in the two languages. The Dutch words are on the left and the German words are on the right.

acht acht (eight) 

elf elf (eleven)

geld Geld (money)

kind Kind (child)

klein klein (small)

licht Licht (light)

museum Museum (museum)

spiegel Spiegel (mirror)

titel Titel (title)

weg Weg (way)

In Dutch acht has a low back vowel, and in German it has a low central vowel.

The lateral in elf is velarized in Dutch but not in German.

In geld/Geld  Dutch has a voiceless velar fricative, but German has a voiced velar plosive. The lateral is velarized in Dutch.

The plosive of kind/Kind is not aspirated in Dutch, but it is aspirated in German.

The plosive of klein is not aspirated in Dutch. The first component of the diphthong is a mid front lax vowel in Dutch, but it is a low central vowel in German.

In Dutch licht has a voiceless velar fricative, but in German it is a voiceless palatal fricative.

The word museum/Museum has a voiceless alveolar fricative in Dutch and a voiced alveolar fricative in German. The first and last vowels are front rounded in Dutch, but they are back rounded in German.

The first consonant in spiegel/Spiegel is a voiceless alveolar fricative in Dutch and a voiceless alveopalatal fricative in German. The velar consonant is a voiceless fricative in Dutch, but it is a voiced plosive in German.

The first consonant of titel/Titel is unaspirated in Dutch, but it is aspirated in German. The lateral is velarized in Dutch but not in German.

The vowel in weg/Weg is mid front lax in Dutch, but it is mid front tense in German. The final consonant is a voiceless velar fricative in Dutch, but it is a voiceless velar plosive in German.

The examples illustrate that the pronunciation of Dutch and German is quite different. Unlike German, Dutch lacks aspirated consonants. It also lacks the voiceless palatal fricative of German. Another difference is that Dutch lacks the voiced velar plosive of German and uses the voiceless velar fricative instead.

The Pronunciation of Five Words With The Trap-Bath Split

The trap-bath split refers to a historical development which took place in England. Speakers with the split pronounce the word trap with a front vowel and bath with a back vowel. However, speakers who lack the split pronounce the two words with the same vowel. In parts of southwestern England, the words trap and bath are pronounced with different vowels, but the different is not qualitative. It is quantitative because the vowel in trap is a short front vowel and the vowel in bath is a long front vowel.

The trap-bath split divided England into two parts. Most speakers in the north lack the split, and most speakers in the south have the split. In the USA, almost all speakers lack the split. 

In all of England, there are five words which are pronounced with the low back vowel. They are banana, calf, can't, half, and rather. The word banana is pronounced with the back vowel in the stressed second syllable. In the other syllables, the schwa is used.

In the USA, the five words are pronounced with the low front vowel. However, a number of Americans use the low back vowel in the word rather. Regardless, the use of the back vowel is definitely less common.

The difference in the pronunciation of the five words in England and the USA may reflect that the trap-bath split became common in England after the colonial period. American English often preserves features that are no longer common in England. One example is the rhotic accent that is more common in the English of the USA than in the English of England.

In England the words banana, calf, can't, half and rather are all pronounced the same. They all have the low back vowel. In the USA, they are pronounced with the low front vowel, but a number of American English speakers use the low back vowel in the word rather. It may be that the low front vowel in those words reflects an older pronunciation of English.

French Version of O Canada

The national anthem O Canada was composed by French-Canadian Calixa Lavalée. It is sung in both English and French. The lyrics of the French version are quite different from those of the English version. To compare, I will provide first the English lyrics followed by my translation of the French lyrics.

O Canada

O Canada, our home and native land,

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The true north strong and free.

From far and wide, O Canada,

We stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

O Canada

O Canada, land of our forefathers,

Your brow is surrounded by flower garlands

Because your arm knows how to carry the sword.

It knows how to carry the cross.

Your history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.

And your valour, steeped by faith,

Will protect our homes and our rights,

Will protect our homes and our rights.

The official English version of O Canada has replaced thy sons with of us, but I have kept the original lyrics because I prefer them.

Adverbs of Frequency in Negative Sentences

Adverbs of frequency are placed before the main verb of affirmative sentences. However, in negative sentences, the adverbs often and usually can be placed before the auxiliary verb or before the main verb. Let us consider a few examples.

The sentences He doesn't often consider the consequences of his actions and He often doesn't consider the consequences of his actions are both correct. However, the two sentences are not identical in meaning. The first sentence means that he seldom considers the consequences of his actions, and the second means that he often fails to consider the consequences of his actions.

Let us consider two more sentences. She usually doesn't have a big breakfast and She doesn't usually have a big breakfast are both correct. In the first sentence the meaning is that it is typical for the person not to have a big breakfast, and in the second the meaning is that it is not typical for the person to have a big breakfast. The first sentence can be paraphrased as follows: It is common for her not to have a big breakfast, and the second sentence can be paraphrased as follows: It is not common for her to have a big breakfast. The sentences have different scopes of negation.

In affirmative sentences it is common to put adverbs of frequency before the main verb. With negative sentences, this is not always the case. The adverbs often and usually can be placed before the auxiliary verb or before the main verb. 

Reflexive Pronouns of English

The reflexive pronouns of English end with self in the singular and selves in the plural. However, the paradigm is inconsistent. With the third person singular and plural, the object pronoun is used, but the with first and second persons, the possessive adjective is used.

The object pronoun is used with himself and themselves. The reflexive pronoun herself is ambiguous because the word her can be both the possessive adjective and the objective pronoun. However, if the reflexive pronoun herself is formed in the same manner as himself, the reflexive pronoun herself is formed with the object pronoun.

The reflexive pronouns myself, yourself, ourselves and yourselves are formed with the possessive adjective. The object pronoun only occurs with the third person singular and plural. Forms such as itself and oneself  contain the object pronoun, but it may be that the original forms had the possessive adjective. If this was the case, they became itself and oneself because of degemination.

The reflexive pronouns of English reflect that language is not completely regular. If it were, all the reflexive pronouns of English would be formed with the possessive adjective or with the object pronoun. However, this is not the case. Most of the reflexive pronouns of English are formed with the possessive adjective, but a few are formed with the object pronoun.