Tone languages are languages with words that differ in their tones. The different tones convey different meaning. There are no European languages that are classified as tonw languages. However, many Asian and African languages are tone languages.
Languages that are tone languages include Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, Burmese, Yoruba, Igbo and Zulu. The number of tones varies from one language to another. Mandarin has four tones, Thai has five and Vietnamese has six.
The four tones of Mandarin are the following:
Tone 1 high level
Tone 2 Rising
Tone 3 Falling-Rising
Tone 4 Falling
Many languages are tone languages. However, European languages are not among them.. Tone languages use different tones to convey different meanings in words.
The word red has two words in Hungarian. One is vörös, and the other is piros. Though vörös can be considered a darker shade of red, the difference is largely contextual.
The word vörös is often used for the colour in nature, plants and animals. Examples include vörös haj (red hair), vörös róka (red fox) and vörös vér (red blood). It is also used in vörös zászló (red flag).
The word piros is often used for man-made objects. Examples include piros lámpa (red lamp), piros autó (red car) and piros toll (red pen). It is also used in piros levél (red leaf).
With bor (wine), vörös is used, but with alma (apple), piros is used. Though rózsa (rose) and tulipán (tulip) are both flowers, they do not use the same word. The word vörös is used with rózsa and piros is used with tulipán.
No universal rule can be given for the use of vörös and piros. However, vörös is often used for the colour in nature, plants and animals and piros is often used for man-made objects. The words vörös and piros are both common words for red in Hungarian. The use of two words for red makes Hungarian unique among languages.
Binary features in linguistics are used to classify sounds. They are called binary because they have the feature, or they do not. Sounds with the feature have the + symbol, and sounds without the feature have the - symbol.
All sounds can be divided into voiced and voiceless. Consonants such as /b/ and /g/ are voiced, and /p/ and /k/ are voiceless. The consonants /b/ and /g/ are [+voice], and the sounds /p/ and /k/ are [-voice].
Vowels can be divided into rounded and unrounded. The vowels /e/ and /i/ are unrounded, and the vowels /o/ and /u/ are rounded. The vowels /e/ and /i/ are thus [-round], and the vowels /o/ and /u/ are [+round}.
All vowels are vocalic, and all consonants are consonantal. Semi-vowels such as the first segment of water and the first segment of year are neither vocalic nor consonantal. Though they have properties of both vowels and consonants, they belong to neither category. Here is a comparison:
vowels: [+vocalic] [-consonantal]
consonants [-vocalic] [+consonantal]
semi-vowels [-vocalic] [-consonantal]
The consonants /b/ and /m/ are both plosives and they are both bilabial. However, one feature can distinguish the two. The consonant /b/ is [-nasal] and the consonant /m/ is [+nasal].
The vowels /i/ and /I/ are both high front unrounded vowels. One feature can distinguish the two. The vowel /i/ is tense, and the vowel /I/ is lax. With binary features, the vowel /i/ is [+tense] and the vowel /I/ is [-tense].
Binary features are features that are mutually exclusive. Sounds which are voiced cannot be unvoiced, and sounds which are voiceless cannot be voiced. Binary features are very useful for the classification of speech sounds.
Per Gessle is a famous Swedish singer. He and Marie Fredriksson were a pop duo called Roxette, and they sang in English. One of his most beautiful Swedish songs is Om du bara vill (If you just want). Here are the lyrcs of the song along with my English translation.
Om du bara vill
Lägg din arm omkring min hals så du är nära.
Det finns inget mer ikväll du måste bära.
Fäll ut ditt hår en silvertår.
Lägg ditt huvud på min kudde.
Om du bara vill så säg till.
Jag kan vara din vän när natten faller
Om du bara vill öppna din dörr
Och bara våga släppa någon in.
Det bor en sorg i dina ögon som jag inte når.
Det bor en sorg i ditt hjärta som är svår att förstå.
Hur kom den dit, hur kom den dit?
Den är svart som svart granit.
Om du bara vill så säg till.
Jag kan vara din vän när natten faller
Om du bara vill öppna din dörr
Och bara våga släppa någon in.
Om du bara vill, så säg till, säg till, säg till.
Om du bara vill så säg till.
Jag kan vara din vän när natten faller
Om du bara vill öppna din dörr
Och börjar andas släpper någon in.
Om du bara vill så säg till.
Jag kan vara din vän när mörkret faller.
Om du bara vill öppna din dörr
Och börjar andas släpper någon in.
Om du bara vill
Öppna din dörr
Och börjar andas släpper någon in.
Om du bara vill (om du bara vill) så säg till.
Jag kan vara din vän (jag kan vara din vän) när mörkret faller
Om du bara vill öppna din dörr
Och bara våga släppa någon in.
If you just want
Put your arm around my neck so you're near.
There is nothing more this evening you must bear.
Let your hair fall down a silver tear.
Lay your head on my pillow.
If you just want, then say so.
I can be your friend when night falls.
If you just want, open your door
And just dare to let someone in.
There lives a sorrow in your eyes that I don't reach.
There lives a sorrow in your heart that is difficult to understand.
How did it come there, how did it come there?
It's black like black granite.
If you just want, then say so.
I can be your friend when night falls.
If you just want, open your door
And just dare to let someone in.
If you just want, then say so, say so, say so.
If you just want, then say so.
I can be your friend when night falls.
If you just want, open your door
And if you start to breathe let someone in.
If you just want, then say so.
I can be your friend when darkness falls.
If you just want, open your door
And if you start to breathe let someone in.
If you just want
Open your door
And if you start to breathe let someone in.
If you just want (if you just want), then say so.
I can be your friend (I can be your friend) when darkness falls
Pride and Prejudice is a famous novel by Jane Austen. The two main characters are Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Though they have very different backgrounds, they fall in love with one another, but before they can marry, she must overcome her prejudice and he must overcome his pride.
The novel is set in rural England at the beginning of the 19th century. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is very determined to find good husbands for them. The eldest sister, Jane, is very close to Elizabeth. Unlike her mother, Elizabeth is not so concerned with wealth and status.
When Mr. Bingley arrives to look for a bride, Mrs. Bennet is very excited that one of her daughters might marry the wealthy man. In a ball organized by Mr. Bingley at his estate, Jane and Mr. Bingley are immediately attracted to one another. However, Elizabeth does not have a good impression of Mr. Darcy. She finds him cold and arrogant.
The arrival of Mr. Collins, the heir of the Bennet family's modest estate, complicates the situation. He proposes to Elizabeth, but to her mother's diappointment, she rejects his offer. Mr. Collins later marries Charlotte, Elizabeth's best friend.
Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham, and he charms her. After the sudden departure of Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth becomes convinced that Mr. Darcy was responsible, and her anger towards him grows. During her visit to the home of Charlotte and Mr. Collins, Elizabeth meets Mr.Darcy and is shocked to hear him confess his love for her. When she rejects his proposal and he asks for a reason, she explains that he broke the heart of her sister Jane.
Mr. Darcy writes a letter to Elizabeth. He tells her that he advised Mr. Bingley not to marry Jane because he did not think Jane was truly in love with him and was pressured by her mother to marry. He also informs her of Mr. Wickham's bad intentions when he tried to marry Mr. Darcy's 15-year-old sister for her inheritance.
Shortly after receiving Mr. Darcy's letter, Elizabeth learns that Lydia, the youngest sister, has run away to be with Mr. Wickham. The news worries Elizabeth, who knows that Lydia's actions could lead to scandal and ruin her sister's reputation. She informs Mr. Darcy, who offers Mr. Wickham money to propose marriage. When Elizabeth realizes what Mr. Darcy has done, she agrees to marry.
Mr. Darcy is a wealthy landowner, who is surprised that his great wealth is not enough to impress Elizabeth. Though she has lower status, she wants to marry for love. Through his actions, he shows his love for Elizabeth and she accepts that she has misjudged him. Pride and Prejudice is a classic novel of social class, love and family.
The glottal stop is an important feature of Danish pronunciation. It allows the distinction of words that would be pronounced identically such as hund (dog) and hun (she). The word hund (dog) is pronounced with the glottal stop, but the word hun (she)is not. However, though it is used in standard Danish, it is not used in all dialects.
In dialects of southern Denmark, the glottal stop is not phonemic. Word pairs such as hun (she) and hund (dog) are pronounced identically in these dialects. The southern dialects retain an earlier pronunciation.
The phonemic glottal stop is used by most Danish speakers. In southern dialects, however, it is not used. This is illustrated in the map, which shows the border of the Danish glottal stop. The dialects to the north of the line distinguish words with the glottal stop, but the dialects to the south of the line do not.
