Ten Pronunciations of Butter

The word butter can be pronounced in many ways. The pronunciation depends on the dialect. Here are ten different pronunciations: 

1) bʌtə This pronunciation is common in southeastern England.

2) bʌɾə This pronunciation can occur in Australia, New Zealand and parts of the USA

3) bʌdə This pronunciation is common in Australia and New Zealand.

4) bʌʔə This pronunciation is typical of the variety called Cockney English.

5) bʊtə This pronunciation is common in northern England.

6) bʌtɚ This pronunciation is common in Ireland and Scotland.

7) bʌʔɚ This pronunciation is common in southwestern England.

8) bʌɾɚ This pronunciation is common in Canada and the United States.

9) bʊdɚ This pronunciation can occur in Ireland.

10) bʊtɚ This pronunciation can also occur in Ireland.

The pronunciations illustrate the variety of English dialects spoken around the world. The first vowel in butter can be a central vowel or a back vowel, the word-medial consonant can be a voiced or voiceless plosive or a tap, and the final vowel can be a schwa, or it can be r-coloured. The first pronunciation is the pronunciation of RP and the eight pronunciation is the most common in Canada and the USA.

Use of Much

The word much is common in negative statements but not in affirmative ones. The negative statement I don't have much time is I have lots of time or I have a lot of time in the affirmative. However, the degree words so and too can be added. In such cases, much can be used in the affirmative.

With the addition of degree words, the use of much in the affirmative becomes possible. Sentences such as I have too much time and I have so much time are grammatical. The word much is possible when it is a degree word and comes before comparative adjectives. An example is the sentence You are much faster than me.

Unlike the word many, which is used in both affirmative and negative sentences, much is usually restricted to negative statements. In affirmative statements, it is common to use a lot of and lots of. The sentence He didn't get much support is expressed with He got lots of support or He got a lot of support in the affirmative.

Diphthongization of Low Front and Mid Vowels before Voiced Velar Plosive

In many Canadian and American dialects, the low front and mid front vowels diphthongize before the voiced velar plosive. The voiced velar plosive occurs in the same syllable. The diphthongization of the vowel does not occur in other dialects of English.

Words such as egg and leg can be pronounced with the diphthong of day rather than the mid front lax vowel of ten. Likewise, words such as bag and flag can be pronounced with the diphthong of right. Before the voiceless velar plosive, diphthongization does not occur.

Diphthongization can also occur before the velar nasal in words such as bank and sang. The velar plosive and velar nasal have the articulatory feature +high, a feature that is also present in the second component of the diphthongs. It can be considered a type of partial assimilation.

Diphthongization of the low front and low mid vowels before voiced velar plosives occurs in the English of many Canadian and American speakers. The process is a type of regressive assimilation. The velar consonant creates the environment for diphthongization. The process can also be considered a type of palatalization.

Velarized Laminal Alveolar Approximant of Danish

The Danish language has a sound that does not occur in any other language. It is the velarized laminal alveolar approximant. In Danish spelling it is a d and it always occurs between vowels and in the syllable coda. 

The velarized laminal alveolar approximant occurs in the following words:

chokolade (chocolate)

fløde (cream)

fod (foot)

gade (street)

mad (foot)

møde (meeting)

sød (sweet)

tid (time)

uden (without)

ørred (trout)

The velarized laminal alveolar approximant of Danish is often compared to the voiced interdental fricative of English. However, the two sounds are quite different. The Danish sound is not a fricative but an approximant. It is not produced with the tip of the tongue but with the blade, and the tongue is raised towards the velum. Another difference is that the tongue makes contact with the alveolar ridge rather than with the teeth.

One of the most distinctive sounds of Danish is the velarized laminal alveolar approximant. It occurs in many Danish words. The velarized laminal alveolar approximant is a unique sound which occurs in no other language.

Finnish Colour Adjectives in Singular and Plural

Finnish colour adjectives are inflected for number. They have different forms before singular and plural nouns. However, not all of them are inflected the same. A few follow a distinct pattern. Let us illustrate with examples.

In the following sentences the difference between singular and plural is regular:

The black car is new. Musta auto on uusi.

The black cars are new. Mustat autot ovat uusia.

The green car is new. Vihreä auto on uusi.

The green cars are new. Vihreät autot ovat uusia.

The suffix -t is the plural marker for both the adjective and the noun. In the second sentence, uusia has a different form because it is not in nominative case but in partitive. The partitive case is a very productive case in Finnish.

Compare the previous sentences with the following.

The blue car is new. Sininen auto on uusi.

The blue cars are new. Siniset autot ovat uusia.

The white car is new. Valkoinen auto on uusi.

The white cars are new. Valkoiset autot ovat uusia.

The red car is new. Punainen auto on uusi.

The red cars are new. Punaiset autot ovat uusia.

The yellow car is new. Keltainen auto on uusi.

The yellow cars are new. Keltaiset auto ovat uusia.

With this set of colour adjectives, we also see the suffix -t to mark the plural. However, another change occurs. The penultimate nasal changes to an alveolar plosive. This sound change can be illustrated with the rule /n/ → /s/. 

It may be that the change is an example of partial assimilation. The /n/ is a nasal but the /s/ and the /t/ are plosives. According to this analysis, the sound change is a partial assimilation in the manner of articulation.

Finnish adjectives are inflected for number. This can be illustrated with the colour adjectives. However, they inflect in two ways. One group of colour adjectives follows the regular pattern of plural inflection, but the other group does not.

The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is a short story by Franz Kafka. It was first published in 1915 and is among his best-known works. The short story has many interpretations.

In the story, Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman and cloth merchant, wakes up one morning and finds himself transformed into a monstrous insect. On his back and unable to leave his bed, he reflects on his life. He concludes that it is full of temporary and changing human relationships which are never sincere. He does not like his employer and would gladly quit his job if he were not the sole income earner, who is working hard to erase his bankrupt father's debts.

While trying to move, he learns that his office manager has come to check on him, upset about Gregor's unexcused absence. He attempts to communicate with both his office manager and his family, but all they can hear is incomprehensible noises. Gregor struggles to cross the floor and open the door. When his office manager sees the transformed Gregor, he leaves the apartment. Gregor's family is horrified, and his father forces him back into his room.

With Gregor's sudden transformation, the family faces financial difficulty. Gregor is locked in his room, and he begins to adapt to his new body. His sister Grete is the only one who brings him food, but Gregor only likes it if it is rotten. He spends much of his time crawling on the floor, walls and ceiling.

His father, mother and sister all get jobs and start to neglect Gregor, who now eats very little. They decide to use Gregor's room for storage and rent one room in the apartment to three male tenants. The tenants are not told about Gregor, who feels very lonely. One day, Gregor is attracted to the music of Grete's violin and leaves his room, which is not closed properly. He is seen by the tenants, and they complain about the dirty apartment, say they are leaving and will not pay anything for the time they have stayed.

Grete, who is tired of taking care of Gregor, complains that they must get rid of him, or they will be financially ruined. Gregor, fully aware that he is no longer wanted, goes back to his room with great effort and dies of starvation before sunrise. When his family learns the news, the father, mother and sister all take the day off work. They make plans to move to a smaller apartment to save money. Grete has grown into a pretty young woman and they think about finding her a husband.

Gregor's metamorphosis results in feelings of isolation, sadness and rejection. His family depends on him, but when he can no longer work, he feels he is a burden. However, another metamorphosis occurs when Grete changes from a young girl into a pretty woman and the family decides to find her a husband. 

Another interpretation of the story is that Gregor's transformation into a gigantic insect is merely a dream. He is not happy with his life and wants to escape from it. The insect symbolizes that he does not feel connected to his family or to the society in which he lives.

Belizean Spanish

Though English is the official language of Belize, a large percentage of the population speaks Spanish. It is perhaps not surprising because the country has Spanish-speaking neighbours. They are Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south.

In Belizean Spanish the /s/ in syllable-coda position is often weakened to /h/. This is a typical feature of Caribbean Spanish. The consonants /b/, /d/ and /g/ are not realized as fricatives intervocalically but rather as plosives. This is not the case in most Spanish dialects. The syllable-coda /r/ can be pronounced as an approximant.

Belizean Spanish is similar to many varieties of Caribbean Spanish. This is evident in the aspiration of the /s/ in the syllable-coda. However, the pronunciation of /b/, /d/ and /g/ as plosives in intervocalic position is a feature which does not occur in most dialects of Spanish.

Words with æ in Danish and e in Norwegian

The letter æ is used in both Danish and Norwegian. For example,the Norwegian word vær means weather and in both languages the word bær means berry. However, it is far more common in Danish. In fact, many Danish words with æ have e in Norwegian. Here is a list to illustrate:

bælte belte (belt)

blæk blekk (ink)

færge ferje (ferry)

gæst gjest (guest)

knæ kne (knee)

mælk melk (milk)

næse nese (nose)

træ tre (tree)

æble eple (apple)

æg egg (egg)

The letter æ was once used in English. It is a letter of both the Danish and Norwegian alphabets. In many cases, Danish words with the letter æ correspond to the letter e in Norwegian.

Unstressed Mid Vowels in Portuguese

Portuguese has two mid front vowels and two mid front back vowels. They can be high mid or low mid. The quality of the unstressed mid vowels varies from one dialect to another. Let us illustrate with two words.

The word fonologia (phonology) has two mid back vowels. They are in the first two syllables and are unstressed. The stress is penultimate. In northern Brazil the first two mid back vowels are low mid. They can also be called open. However, in southern Brazil, they are high mid or closed. In Portugal, the mid back vowels in the word fonologia are raised and have the quality of [u]. Not all unstressed mid vowels are raised in European Portuguese, but in many cases they are.

Another word with two mid vowels is energia (energy). In this word they are mid front vowels. As in the word fonologia (phonology), the stress is penultimate. In northern Brazil, the mid front vowels are low mid, but in southern Brazil they are high mid. They can also be distinguished with the terms open and closed. However, in Portugal, they are raised and retracted and thus pronounced with a high central unrounded vowel. The high central unrounded vowel does not occur in Brazilian Portuguese. 

The dialects of southern Brazil realize unstressed mid vowels with mid high tongue position, but the dialects of northern Brazil realize them with mid low tongue position. The unstressed mid vowels of northern Brazil can be classified as open, and the unstressed mid vowels of southern Brazil can be classified as closed. European Portuguese is different. The unstressed mid vowels are often raised, but in those cases in which they are not, they are open vowels.

The Word So

The word so is a very useful word. It can be used in a number of ways. Let us illustrate with a few examples.

It is often used as an adverb and modifies both adjectives and adverbs. In the sentence She is so good, the word modifies the adjective good. However, in the sentence She sings so well, it modifies the adverb well.

The word so can be used as a discourse marker. It can be used to summarize information as in the sentence So, the meeting will be moved to next week. However, it can also signal a change of topic such as So, what do you do?

Another meaning of the word so is also. This is illustrated in the sentence I love tennis and so does my brother. However, the word order is different. With the word also, the sentence is I love tennis and my brother does also.

The word so can also be placed after verbs and replace clauses. For example, to answer the question "Can he come?", it is possible to answer with "I hope so". The sentence "I hope so" expresses the idea "I hope that he can come". Here it replaces the subordinate clause "that he can come".

In many sentences so functions as a conjunction. This is the case in the sentence She isn't feeling well, so she can't come today. The word so connects two independent clauses and is thus a coordinating conjunction.

Though so is a small word, it is very common and has many meanings. It can modify both adjectives and adverbs, function as a discourse marker, express the meaning of also, function as a conjunction that connects independent clauses and follow verbs with the function of replacing clauses. The word so has many uses in English.

Dutch Words with the Same Form in English

Dutch is a Germanic language and shares many common words with English. A number of Dutch words are identical to English in both spelling and meaning. However, the pronunciation is often quite different. Here are ten Dutch words that are identical to English in both spelling and meaning but are pronounced differently:

beginner

blind

fruit

hand

school

water

week

wild

wind

winter

The velar/uvular fricative is used in the word beginner and the labiodental approximant is used in water, week and wind. Final consonant devoicing is applied in the words blind and wind.

Dutch vocabulary is often similar to that of English. The words in the list are identical to the English counterparts. However, they are pronounced differently.

Variants of the Prefix sub-

The prefix sub- is very productive in English. It comes from Latin and means under. Examples of words with the prefix include subcontinent, submarine and subterranean. The prefix also has many variants. They are the result of assimilation. Here are words with variants of the prefix sub-:

succint

suffix

suggest

support

surreal

suspend

The process which assimilated the prefix to derive the features is the following:

succint = sub + cint

suffix = sub + fix

suggest = sub + gest

support = sub + port

surreal = sub + real

suspend = sub + pend

The process which derives the prefix variants is reverse assimilation. However, in the case of suspend, the process is spirantization because the plosive /b/ becomes /s/. The variants illustrate the process of assimilation, a very common linguistic process.

Amsterdam Dutch

Dutch has many dialects. One well-known dialect is the dialect of Amsterdam. Let us discuss the phonology of Amsterdam Dutch.

In most Dutch dialects, the lateral is velarized in the syllable coda but not in the syllable onset. The word laat (late) is pronounced with a different lateral than the word stoel (chair). However, in Amsterdam Dutch, both words are pronounced with the velarized lateral.

All Dutch fricatives are devoiced in the syllable coda, but in Amsterdam Dutch, the fricatives /v/ and /z/ are often devoiced in the syllable onset. This is also common in other parts of the western Netherlands. In the eastern Netherlands and in Belgium, however, they are not devoiced in the syllable onset.

The /r/ is an alveolar trill or alveolar flap in the syllable onset. It can also be a trill or flap in the syllable coda, but now a number of speakers of Amsterdam Dutch use an alveolar approximant in the syllable coda. However, it is never the uvular fricative or trill of other Dutch dialects.

The mid front vowel of geel (yellow) and mid back vowel of brood (bread) are diphthongs. This is also the case in many other Dutch dialects. However, in the southern Netherlands and in Belgium, they are not diphthongs but monophthongs.

Features associated with the dialect of Amsterdam include the devoicing of the fricatives /v/ and /z/, the velarization of the lateral in all positions and the alveolar trill or tap. It does not differ so much from standard Dutch. The features of Amsterdam Dutch are closer to those of the northern dialects than of the southern ones.

Lateral of Jamaican English

In English the lateral can be pronounced with velarization. This is especially common in syllable-final position. Many varieties of English such as American and Received Pronunciation have velarized laterals. However, this is not the case in Jamaican English, a variety which never velarizes the lateral.

The lack of velarization of the lateral in Jamaican English is a feature that it has in common with many Irish dialects. The dialect of Newcastle in northern England is another variety which does not velarize the lateral. In Received Pronunciation, the lateral is not velarized syllable-initially but it is syllable-finally.

Jamaican English does not velarize laterals. The lack of velarization is one feature which distinguishes Jamaican English from many varieties of English. Many Irish dialects of English also lack velarization of the lateral.

Palatalization in Swedish and Norwegian

Swedish and Norwegian exhibit more palatalization than Danish. In Danish the velar consonants /g/ and /k/ are often palatalized in Swedish and Norwegian. The difference can be observed in many words.

The word guest is gæst in Danish. The pronunciation is similar to that of English. However, it is gäst in Swedish and gjest in Norwegian. In Swedish and Norwegian, the first consonant is not the voiced velar plosive of Danish but rather the palatal approximant in the word yesterday.

Another example is the word kød, the Danish word for meat. In Danish the first consonant is the velar plosive of king, but in Swedish and Norwegian the first consonant is palatal. The Swedish word is kött and the Norwegian word is kjøtt. In both languages the first consonant is similar to the first consonant in the English word huge.

The velar consonants of Danish are often palatalized in Swedish and Norwegian. In this regard, Danish can be considered more conversative, and Swedish and Norwegian can be considered more innovative. Danish maintains the historical pronunciation, but Swedish and Norwegian do not.

Latest Poem (Earth and Sky)

Here is my latest poem. It was inspired by the Japanese train that crosses the Seto Inland Sea and connects the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. I hope you enjoy it.

                          Earth and Sky

Flying over distant and calm blue sea,

Now in position between earth and sky,

With heightened sensations of being free

Creating immeasurable views from high.

Connecting one island to another,

Moving through elements of time and space,

One island moves farther, one moves nearer,

Historical scenes time cannot erase.

Sounds of welcoming wind leave their echo,

Winter sky expands to every corner.

Rays of sun descend on water below,

Spectacular art of sun with water.

Below is sea and earth, above is sky

And winter sun warms cold ocean water.

Under silent clouds trains appear to fly,

Invisible air over and under.

Suspended in air between two islands,

Advancing on tracks that carry many,

Bodies of land in sea become diamonds,

Part of passengers' amazing journey.

Palatal Nasal vs. Nasal Palatal Approximant of Portuguese

The letter nh is pronounced differently in European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. In European Portuguese it is a nasal palatal. However, in Brazilian Portuguese, it is a nasal palatal approximant.

Words with the letter include dinheiro (money), rainha (queen) and vinho (wine). The syllabification of the words differs because the nasal palatal is in the syllable onset, but the nasal palatal approximant is realized in both the syllable onset and in the syllable coda. In the word vinho, European Portuguese has no nasalization in the first syllable. However, in Brazilian Portuguese, the vowel of the first syllable is nasalized, and the palatal approximant of the second syllable is also nasalized.

The palatal nasal of European Portuguese corresponds to the nasal palatal approximant of Brazilian Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese is considered more nasal than European. This is exemplified in the use of the nasal palatal approximant in Brazilian Portuguese and the nasal palatal in European Portuguese.

Apicoalveolar Fricative of Tras-os-Montes and Beira

In standard European Portuguese, the alveolar fricative becomes an alveopalatal fricative word-finally and before a consonant. However, in the dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beira, this is not the case. The apicoalveolar fricative is used both word-finally and before consonants.

Words such as dois (two) and oeste (west) have an alveopalatal fricative in standard European Portuguese. In the northern dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beria, however, they are not pronounced with an alveopalatal fricative but with an apicodental fricative. It is the same fricative which is used in the spanish of northern Spain.

The word seis (six) is pronounced with two different fricatives in standard European Portuguese. The first fricative is the voiceless alveolar fricative and the second is the voiceless alveopalatal fricative. In the dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beira, the same fricative is used in both cases, the voiceless apicodental fricative.

The apicodental fricative is not used in standard European Portuguese. However, it is used in the dialects of Tras-os-Montes and Beira. The result is that many words are pronounced differently in Tras-os-Montes and Beira in comparison to the rest of Portugal.

Palatalization in French

Many French words have replaced the voiceless velar plosive of Latin with the voiceless alveopalatal fricative. This can be illustrated by comparing French and Italian words. The French words are spelt with ch, and the Italian words are spelt with c. Here is the list:

chaleur calore (heat)

chasse caccia (hunt)

champ campo (field)

chanson canzone (song)

chapeau cappello (hat)

château castello (castle)

cher caro (expensive)

chèvre capra (goat)

chien cane (dog)

chose cosa (thing)

The voiceless velar plosive of Latin became the voiceless alveopalatal fricative in many French words. By comparing French and Italian, it is clear that many Italian words preserve the voiceless velar process while French does not. The process which converted the voiceless velar plosive to the voiceless alveopalatal fricative is known as palatalization.

Pronunciation of r in Leiden Dutch

The letter r can be pronounced differently in Dutch. In Belgium the alveolar approximant is not used, but it is in the Netherlands. However, most Dutch speakers only use the approximant in the syllable coda. However, in Leiden Dutch, the approximant can be used in all positions.

Many speakers of Dutch use the approximant in words such as dorp (village) morgen (morning) and vier (four). In the dialect of Leiden, it occurs in all positions. The approximant is realized in words such as drie (three), rivier (river) and waarom (why). 

The dialect of Leiden is known for the use of the alveolar approximant. Many Dutch speakers use it in the syllable coda. However, in the dialect of Leiden, the use of the alveolar approximant is more extensive because it can be used in both the syllable onset and coda.

Danish Diphthongs

Danish has many diphthongs. English also has many diphthongs, but Danish has diphthongs that do not occur in English. Let us look at them.

Danish has four diphthongs that are not used in English. In these four Danish diphthongs, the second component of the diphthong is the high front rounded back vowel that occurs in the English word now. Four Danish words with diphthongs that do not occur in English are døv (deaf), liv (life), ræv (fox) and syv (seven).

In the word døv, the first component of the diphthong is a mid front unrounded vowel. This vowel does not occur in English, but it does in languages such as French and German. The word døv has the same meaning and spelling in Norwegian, but in Norwegian it does not have a diphthong.

The word liv has the same meaning and spelling in Norwegian and Swedish, but in Norwegian and Swedish it does not have a diphthong. The first component is a high front unrounded vowel. The first and second components of the diphthong share the same tongue height.

In the word ræv, the first component of the diphthong is a mid front unrounded vowel. The Norwegian equivalent is rev and does not have a diphthong. The letter æ was once used in English.

The word syv is also used in Norwegian, but in Norwegian it does not have a diphthong. The first component is a high front rounded vowel. This vowel does not occur in English, but it occurs in languages such as French and German.

Danish and English both have a large number of diphthongs. However, a number of Danish diphthongs do not occur in English. In fact, Danish has four diphthongs that do not occur in other Germanic languages.

Verbs with the Prefix -mis

Many English verbs are formed with the prefix -mis. When it is attached to verbs, it changes the meaning to include incorrectness or an action that is badly done. The prefix can also be attached to nouns. 

The following verbs are formed with the prefix -mis:

misbehave

mishear

misjudge

mismanage

mispronounce

misread

misspeak

misspell

misunderstand

miswrite

The prefix can combine with the verbs read, speak and write, but not with listen. However, it can combine with hear to form the word mishear. Many nouns can also be formed with the prefix such as mismanagement and misunderstanding. The prefix -mis is used to create many words in English.

High Central Unrounded Vowel of European Portuguese

The phonology of European Portuguese is very different from that of Brazilian. One noticeable difference is the high central unrounded vowel. It occurs in European Portuguese but not in Brazilian. The high central unrounded vowel only occurs in unstressed syllables. However, it can be deleted.

Speakers of European Portuguese use the high central unrounded vowel in words such as noite (night), presidente (president) and sete (seven). In the word colesterol (cholesterol), the high central unrounded vowel occurs in the second and third syllables. However, in all of these words, the high central vowel can also be deleted.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the high central unrounded vowel does not occur. In words such as noite, presidente and sete, most speakers of Brazilian Portuguese use the high front unrounded vowel [i]. In the word colesterol, speakers of European Portuguese often pronounce it with only two syllables. In Brazilian Portuguese, however, it is always pronounced with four syllables.

One feature of European Portuguese which is different from Brazilian Portuguese is the high central unrounded vowel. It occurs in many unstressed syllables and can even be deleted. The use of the high central unrounded vowel and the frequency of vowel deletion serve to distinguish the European variety of Portuguese from the Brazilian.

Pronunciation of Word-Final d in Norwegian

In many Norwegian words, the word-final d is not pronounced. This is also the case with many words in Danish, a language that is closely related to Norwegian. In Swedish, however, the final d is pronounced in these words. In one particular Norwegian dialect, however, a dialect that is spoken in western Norway and includes the city of Ålesund, the word-final d is pronounced.

Norwegian words with a word-final silent d include bord (table) fjord (fiord) hard (hard) hund (dog), jord (earth), hånd (hand), land (country), ord (word) sand (sand), and strand (beach). Only a few dialects of western Norway pronounce the word-final d. The pronunciation of the word-final d reflects an earlier pronunciation.

In many Norwegian words, the final d is silent. This is the case with words such as hund (dog), land  (country) and ord (word). These words are identical in Danish and Swedish. In Danish, the final d is silent, but in Swedish it is not. A few dialects of western Norway pronounce the word-final d and thus use the same pronunciation as in Swedish.

Meaning of September, October, November and December

September, October, November and December are the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth months of the year. However, they are formed from the Latin words for seven, eight, nine and ten. The reason is that the original calendar only had ten months. In the original calendar, the final month of the year, December, was the tenth month.

The months of January and February were later added to the calendar. The result was that the number of months increased from ten to twelve. However, the names of the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth months did not change.

January and February are the first two months, but if they were the last two, September to December would remain months seven to ten of the year. However, January and February are the first two months of the year, so the names of September, October, November and December are inaccurate. Their names reflect that they were once the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth months of the calendar.

Analysis of Days of the Week in Romanian

Romanian is a Romance language. The days of the week in Romanian are similar to those of other Romance languages. The days of the week in Romanian are the following:

luni

marți

miercuri

joi

vineri

sâmbătă

duminică

The days for Monday to Friday all end with the same letter. However, in the word marți (Tuesday), the final letter palatalizes the preceding consonant, the voiceless alveolar affricate. The result is that marți is only one syllable.

The first letter of joi (Thursday) is the voiced alveopalatal fricative. The word sâmbătă has two vowels which do not occur in other languages. The letter â represents the high central unrounded vowel. It is rare among Indo-European languages but also occurs in Russian. The letter ă represents the schwa. In Romanian it occurs in both stressed and unstressed syllables.

An analysis of the days of the week in Romanian illustrates that they are similar to the days of the week in other Romance languages. The word-final i of marți serves to palatalize the preceding consonant. Romanian has two vowels which do not occur in other Romance languages, vowels which are present in the word sâmbătă (Saturday). The Romanian days of the week indicate that Romanian is truly a Romance language.

Use of Alveolar Nasal and Palatal Nasal in Spanish and Portuguese

The palatal nasal is used in both Spanish and Portuguese. In Spanish it is the letter ñ and in Portuguese it is nh. In many varieties of Brazilian Portuguese, the palatal nasal is realized as the nasal palatal approximant. Many Spanish words with the alveolar nasal have the palatal nasal in Portuguese, and many Spanish words with the palatal nasal have the alveolar nasal in Portuguese.

Here is a list of words to illustrate the alternation:

año ano (year)

dueño dono (owner)

otoño outono (autumn)

pequeño pequeno (small)

señal sinal (signal)

camino caminho (way)

dinero dinheiro (money)

reina rainha (queen)

vecino vizinho (neighbour)

vino vinho (wine)

Spanish and Portuguese often use the alveolar nasal and the palatal nasal in the same words. This is the case with montaña/montanha (mountain) and cono/cone (cone). However, in certain cases, the palatal nasal of Spanish corresponds to the alveolar nasal in Portuguese, and in other cases the alveolar nasal of Spanish corresponds to the palatal nasal of Portuguese. The two sounds share the same manner of articulation, but they differ in their place of articulation.

Phrasal Stress

English word stress is not fixed. It can appear on the first syllable of the word, the final syllable or intermediary syllables. In addition to word stress, phrasal stress is also important. Let us consider a few examples.

In noun phrases, the noun usually has the most stress. In the noun phrase a new computer, the noun computer is usually stressed more than the other words in the phrase. If the word new is stressed the most, it is to emphasize that the computer is new.

The adjective usually has the most stress in adjective phrases  In the adjective phrase very fast, the adjective fast usually has the most stress. If the word very is stressed, it is to emphasize the adverb very.

In verb phrases with an auxiliary verb and a main verb, the main verb usually has the most stress. For example, in the verb phrase is studying, the verb studying is usually stressed the most. If the auxiliary is carries the main stress, it is for emphasis. If speaker A stated "He isn't sleeping, is he?, speaker A could answer, "Yes, he is sleeping" and stress the word is to assure speaker A that it was true.

Word stress is very important in English. However, stress also occurs beyong the word and also extends to phrases, clauses and verbs. Phrasal stress occurs at the phrasal level in phrases such as noun phrases, adjective phrases and verb phrases.

Pronunciation of Spanish Letter ll

The Spanish letter ll is a digraph. This means that the two letters produce one sound. It is common in many Spanish words and can occur word-initially and word-medially. However, the sound can vary

For most Spanish speakers the ll is the palatal approximant. It is the sound which occurs in English words such as yellow, yesterday and you. However, in certain dialects, it is deleted intervocalically in words such as ardilla (squirrel) grillo (cricket) and silla (chair).

Many Spanish speakers pronounce the ll as the voiced alveopalatal affricate. It is not restricted to one country but can be heard in many regions.

The ll can also represent the palatal lateral. It is the original sound of the letter, but is no longer used by most Spanish speakers. However, it is common in Paraguay and parts of Peru and Bolivia.

In Uruguay and most of Argentina, the ll is the voiceless alveopalatal fricative. The sound is associated with the Rioplatense dialect. In Argentina, though less common than the voiceless alveopalatal fricative, a number of speakers use the voiced alveopalatal fricative.

Most Spanish speakers pronounce the letter ll as the palatal approximant. However, the pronunciation varies from one dialect to another. It can also be the voiced alveopalatal affricate, the palatal lateral and the alveopalatal fricative.

Explanation of the Southern Accent with Minimal Pairs

The southern accent is an American accent which is spoken in many states of the southern USA. It differs significantly from that of standard American English. One difference is the pronunciation of the diphthong in words such as time and nice. In the southern accent many speakers use a monophthong. However, it is not the vowel heard in words such as hat and dance. 

The vowel in words such as hat and dance is a low front vowel. However, in words such as time and nice, the southern accent uses a low central vowel. The result is that the following words are clearly distinguished in the southern accent:

a/I

back/bike

bat/bite

cat/kite

fan/fine

had/hide

laugh/life

sad/side

sight/sat

vine/van

A common misperception of the southern accent is that the words illustrated are pronounced the same. However, this is inaccurate. Words such as cat and laugh have a low front vowel, and words such as kite and lfe have a low central vowel. The difference in tongue position results in different pronunciations.

Hungarian Loanwords in Slovak

Hungarian has borrowed many words from Slavic languages. However, Slavic languages have also borrowed words from Hungarian.  To illustrate, here is a list of ten Slovak words borrowed from Hungarian. The Slovak word is on the left, and the Hungarian word is on the right.

ceruza ceruza (pencil)

čizma csizma (boot)

ďumbier gyömbér (ginger)

gombik gomb (button)

jarok árok (ditch)

kefa kefe (brush)

tábor tábor (camp)

palacinka palacsinta (pancake)

ťava teve (camel)

vidiek vidék (countryside)

The words are very similar. In fact, three are identical. Though Hungarian has undoubtedly borrowed more words from Slovak, it is clear from the list that Slovak has also borrowed words from Hungarian.

The Goose and the Golden Egg

One of Aesop's fables is The Goose and the Golden Egg. The fable tells us that we should be satisfied with what we have. If we become greedy, we may lose what we have.

In the fable, a farmer has the most wonderful goose he can imagine. Every day he visits the nest, and it leaves him a beautiful, glittering golden egg.

The farmer takes the eggs to the market, and he soon becomes very rich. But it is not long before he becomes impatient with the goose because it gives him only a single golden egg a day. He feels he is not becoming rich fast enough.

One day, after he has finished counting his money, the idea comes to him that he can collect all the golden eggs at once by killing the goose and cutting it open. However, he does not find a single egg and realizes that his precious goose is dead. His greed is the reason he has no more golden eggs.

The fable teaches a valuable lesson. It is to be grateful for what we have and to be patient. If the farmer had been wiser, he would not have  killed his goose.

Croatian Word-Initial Consonant Clusters

Croatian is a Slavic language. One characteristic of Slavic languages is the large number of consonant clusters. Let us illustrate the permissible word-initial consonant clusters of Croatian with ten words.

gdje (who)

hvala (thank you)

knjiga (book)

mlijeko (milk)

ptica (bird)

tko (who)

vjelar (wind)

zdravo (hello)

žlica (spoon)

zvijezda (star)

The ten words have consonant clusters which do not occur in English. Many Croatian consonant clusters also appear word-medially and word-finally. All Slavic languages allow a large number of consonant clusters. This is evident in the list of Croatian words.

German False Cognates

German and English are both Germanic languages. They share many common words. However, a number of words are false cognates. They look the same as English words, but they do not have the same meaning. Here is a list of ten false cognates:

also (thus)

bald (soon)

fast (almost)

das Gift (the poison)

die Hose (the pants)

der Hut (the hat)

die Pest (the plague)

der Rat (the advice)

der Sender (the broadcaster)

die Wand (the wall)

German nouns are always capitalized. The article das is for neuter nouns, die is for feminine ones, and der is for masculine ones. Most of the false cognates from the list are nouns, but three are adverbs.

Norwegian Dialects Without Retroflex Consonants

Many Norwegian dialects have retroflex consonants. Retroflex consonants are pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled upwards and a little bit retracted. In such dialects, words such as gjerne (gladly) and hvordan (how) are pronounced with retroflex consonants. However, a number of Norwegian dialects lack retroflex consonants.

Dialects which use a uvular fricative or uvular trill do not have retroflex consonants. The uvular consonant maintains the same manner of articulation. This is true for the southwestern dialects of Bergen and Stavanger. However, the dialect of Arendal, a city in southern Norway, is an exception. It has a uvular consonant but also uses retroflex consonants.

Other dialects which lack retroflex consonants occur in western Norway. They have an alveolar trill and use it in all words. Dialects with the alveolar trill and no retroflex consonants include the dialects of Sogn og Fjordane and Sunnmøre.

Retroflex consonants are common in many Norwegian dialects. They are also used in many Swedish dialects. The dialects with a uvular fricative or trill usually lack retroflex consonants. However, the dialect of Arendal is an exception because it has a uvular consonant and also has retroflex consonants.

Pronunciation of Old French

Old French was spoken between the eighth and fourteenth centuries. The pronunciation was quite different from that of today. Though scholars cannot say precisely how it was pronounced, the spelling was a better indication of pronunciation than it is today.

The r was almost certainly an alveolar trill, the sound that is heard in languages such as Italian and Spanish. The ll was not a palatal approximant but a palatal lateral, and the ch was a voiceless alveolar affricate, a common sound in many languages. Today the letters ch represent not a voiceless affricate but rather a voiceless alveopalatal fricative. The process which changed the affricate to a fricative is known as spirantization.

The pronunciation of Old French was closer to the spelling than the pronunciation of modern French. For example, the word beau (beautiful) is pronounced with only one syllable. However, in Old French, it was two syllables. It consisted of a voiced bilabial plosive and monophthong in the first syllable and a diphthong in the second syllable.

The pronunciation of French has changed signifcantly through the years. Though the pronuncation of French changed, the spelling did not reflect the changes in the pronunciation. The result is that French spelling is not very phonetic. In this respect, French and English are similar.

English Sentence Structure

English is an SVO language. The basic sentence structure consists of the subject followed by the verb and the object. However, other structures are possible. The following sentences illustrate SVO and other sentence structures:

1) My father loves sports. (SVO)

2) It is late. (SVC)

3) They left. (SV)

4) I gave him an idea. (SVOO)

5) He lives in Boston. (SVA)

6) I saw her yesterday. (SVOA)

7) He arrived last week. (SVA)

8) Sometimes I paint. (ASV)

9) Autumn is my favourite season. (SVC)

10) Come here! (S) (VA)

The tenth sentence is different from the others because the subject you is not used. However, it is understood and can thus be classified as a covert subject. Adverbials usually follow the verb, but in the sentence Sometimes I paint, the adverbial precedes it. The fourth sentence has two objects, indirect and direct. The sentences exemplify the different structures of English sentences.

Ten Beautiful French Words

French has many beautiful words. Here is my list of ten beautiful French words:

argent (silver)

étoile (star)

fleur (flower)

lune (moon)

mirroir (mirrow)

montagne (mountain)

oiseau (bird)

rivière (river)

soleil (sun)

vent (wind)

Three of the ten words have nasal vowels. They are argent, montagne and vent. The final letters of argent, soleil and vent are silent.

Preservation of hv in Danish and Norwegian

Danish and Norwegian preserve the letters hv. They always occur word-initially. However, Swedish does not. In Swedish only the v appears.

Though Danish and Norwegian retain word-initial hv, the glottal fricative is not pronounced. The phonetic value is [v]. However, it was pronounced in the past. Swedish spelling reflects the current pronunciation because only v appears in Swedish spelling.

Here is a list of ten words to compare the Danish and Norwegian words with word-initial hv and Swedish words with word-initial v:

hvad vad (what)

hval val (whale)

hvede hvete vete (wheat)

hverandre varandra (each other)

hvem vem (who)

hvid hvit vit (white)

hvilken vilken (which)

hvor var (where)

hvordan hur (how)

hvorfor varför (why)

The words hvede and hvid are Danish, and hvete and hvit are Norwegian. Many interrogative pronouns begin with hv in Danish and Norwegian. Swedish no longer preserves the word-initial hv which is still present in Danish and Norwegian.

Variation in the Pronunciation of the Dorsal Fricative in Spanish

The dorsal fricative of Spanish can be produced with different places of articulation. It occurs in words such as gemelo (twin), jaula (cage) and juego (game). In many dialects it is realized as a velar fricative. However, in most of Spain it is a uvular fricative and in the Caribbean it is often realized as a glottal fricative.

The velar fricative is common in Mexico and many parts of South America. The glottal fricative is also used in many dialects. It is common in Colombia, Bolivia, the Caribbean and southern Spain. The uvular fricative is exclusive to northern and central Spain.

Spanish has many dialects. The dorsal fricative has three realizations. It can be uvular, velar or glottal. The uvular pronunciation is only used in Spain.

Rioplatense Spanish

Rioplatense Spanish is the variety of Spanish spoken in most of Argentina and in Uruguay. It originated in the Rio de la Plata Basin. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Rioplatense Spanish is the alveopalatal fricative. It replaces the palatal approximant used in most varieties of Spanish.

In Argentina Rioplatense Spanish is spoken in southern Argentina and in the capital city. It is not spoken in northwestern Argentina nor in the northeastern region which borders Paraguay. Rioplatense Spanish is spoken in all of Uruguay.

The alveopalatal fricative is usually voiceless in the capital city of Buenos Aires and in Uruguay. In other parts of the country, however, it is usually voiced. It can be heard in words such as yo (I), ayer (yessterday), caballo (horse) and lluvia (rain).

Rioplatense Spanish is spoken in two countries, Argentina and Uruguay. It is spoken in all of Uruguay and most of Argentina. Though it originated in the Rio de la Plata Basin, it is now spoken over a much larger area.

One Word With Different Pronunciations in Three Languages

Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are similar languages. However, it can be the case that the same word in spelling and meaning is pronounced differently in each one. The word banan means banana in the three languages. The pronunciation of the word is different in each language. 

In Danish the word banan is transcribed /banæʔn/. The second syllable has a glottal stop before the word-final nasal. In Norwegian and Swedish, the word banan does not have the glottal stop of Danish. The word is transcribed /bɑnɑn/ in Norwegian. The Swedish pronunciation is similar, but in Swedish it is /banɑn/. The vowel of the first syllable is a central vowel in Swedish, but it is a back vowel in Norwegian.

Though Danish, Norwegian and Swedish are undoubtedly similar languages, they often differ in pronunciation. Norwegian and Swedish are closer to one another in pronunciation than Danish is. The word banan, which means banana, is pronounced differently in the three languages.

Use of de France/de la France in French

In French the phrases de France and de la France both mean from France. In certain cases, de France is used and in other cases, de la France is used. Sometimes both are used, but the meaning is different.

The phrase the cheeses of France is les fromages de France. However, in the phrase the geography of France, the translation is la géographie de la France. With political, economical and geographical concepts, it is natural to include the definite article.

Let us now look at two sentences. They are 1) J'ai un souvenir de France and 2) J'ai un souvenir de la France. They best translation for the first sentence is I have a souvenir from France, and the best translation for the second sentence is I have a souvenir of France. The first souvenir was bought in France, but it is not necessarily a really French souvenir. However, the second souvenir was not only bought in France but is a souvenir that really represents France.

The French phrases de France and de la France are similar. In certain cases, only one is normally used, but it can also be the case that both are possible. Howver, when both are possible, there is a nuance in meaning.

Poem (New Year)

 This is my latest poem. I hope you enjoy it.

New Year

Although often hard to believe,

One more year has already passed.

The old year decided to leave

And soon the new replaced the last.

How well can we recall the past?

What did we learn from the last year?

Why did it start and end so fast?

What message do we need to hear?

We wish all a happy new year,

One full of joy, hope, love and peace.

We need courage to remove fear

When life renews the yearly lease.

Every year adds one more chapter

And creates stories every day.

The new year presents the future

And then becomes part of the way.

Along the way we learn and grow,

And choose the path we wish to take.

Though we may not know where to go,

Every step shows the life we make.

German Glottal Stop

The use of the glottal stop is extensive in German. Almost all German words begin with a consonant. The reason is that the glottal stop precedes German words that would otherwise start with a vowel.

In the phrase das Essen (the food), a glottal stop is inserted between das and Essen. As a result, the Maximum Onset Principle, which places the maximum number of consonants in the onset, does not apply. The glottal stop is inserted between Prinz (Prince) and Eugen (Eugene) in the phrase Prinz Eugen. Again the Maximum Onset Principle does not apply.

The glottal stop is inserted between the first two vowels of Theater (theatre). The second syllable of the word is stressed, which creates the environment for the glottal stop. However, in the name Lea, the first syllable is stressed and the glottal stop is not used.

Let us consider the sentence Sie hat Äpfel und Birnen. It means She has apples and pears. In the sentence the glottal stop occurs before the words Äpfel and und.

Not all words written with an initial vowel are preceded by the glottal stop. One such word is the preposition in (in). In the sentence Ich wohne in Berlin (I live in Berlin), the glottal stop is used only once, at the start of the sentence.

Many languages use the glottal stop. However, it is used frequently in German. Almost all German words begin with a consonant because it precedes most words which would otherwise begin with a vowel.

English Affixes with Identical Forms

Affixes are forms that attach to the base to form new words. Because they do not occur in isolation, they are bound morphemes. A number of English affixes have the same forms but are in fact separate affixes.

Four affixes with identical forms are -en, -er, -s and -ing. Although they have the same phonological forms, they are two separate morphemes. The reason is that they have different meanings and different functions.

The affix -en is often used for the past participle. In the sentence I have eaten, the word eaten is the past participle of the verb eat. However, the affix en can also attach to adjectives to create verbs. In the senttence, I need to tighten my belt, the affix -en derives a verb from the adjective tight.

Let us now analyze the affix -er. It can be the agentive suffix in words such as painter, singer and teacher. However, it can also be the comparative suffix of adjectives and adverbs. In the sentence She was faster, the word faster is an adjective, and in the sentence She runs faster, the word faster is an adverb.

The affix -s marks the plural in words such as books, cars and tables. It can also mark the third person singular present form of verbs as in the sentence He always eats breakfast.

Another affix with two forms is -ing. It can be used to make gerunds, nouns derived from verbs. An example is the sentence Singing is a lot of fun. However, in the sentence They are singing, the affix -ing is a participle affix. The verbs are and singing create the present participle.

Affixes are very useful in the formation of words. Unlike nouns and words which can occur in isolation, affixes cannot. Nouns and verbs are free morphemes, but affixes are bound morphemes. Many English affixes have identical forms but are actually separate affixes.

Comparison of Finnish and Hungarian Nominative Plurals

Finnish and Hungarian plural nouns can vary. In Finnish they can be in the nominative or the partitive, and in Hungarian they can be in the nominative or the accusative. Let us compare the nominative plural nouns of both languages.

In Finnish nominative plural nouns end with -t and in Hungarian they end with -k. Both languages also use linking vowels for base nouns which end with consonants. Here are examples with the nominative singular and the nominative plural:

alma/almák omena/omenat (apple/apples)

asztal/asztalok pöytä/pöydät (table/tables)

csillag/csillagok tähti/tähtit (star/stars)

épület/épületek rakennus/rakennukset (building/buildings)

férfi/férfiak mies/miehet (man/men)

király/királyok kuningas/kuninkaat (king/kings)

királynő/királynők kuningatar/kuningattaret (queen/queens)

madár/madarak lintu/lintut (bird/birds)

szem/szemek silmä/silmät (eye/eyes)

szív/szívek sydän/sydämet (heart/hearts)

A few of the plurals are completely regular such as királynők (queens) in Hungarian and lintut (birds) in Finnish. However, in the Hungarian plural almák we can observe vowel lengthening and in madarak vowel shortening. In asztalok (tables) we can observe the linking vowel before the suffix.

In the Finnish plural pöydät (tables) we can observe consonant gradation and in kuninkaat (kings) we can observe both consonant gradation and vowel lengthening. Though Finnish and Hungarian use different suffixes for the nominative plural, they are both voiceless plosives. They also use linking vowels between consonants.

Finnish and Hungarian form the nominative plural with voiceless plosives. The suffix is -t in Finnish and -k in Hungarian. The two languages also use linking vowels to maintain the syllable structure VC at the end of the word.

Postnominal Article of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish

In Danish, Norwegian and Swedish the definite article is postnominal. This means that it follows the nouns and is a suffix. The postnominal article is used for both singular and plural nouns.

The noun phrase the cat is katten in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. The word katt means cat and the definite article is the suffix -en. However, the noun phrase the house is huset. The word hus means house and the definite article is the suffix -et. The suffix variant -en is used for common nouns and the suffix variant -et is used for neuter nouns.

The postnominal article is also used with plural nouns. The word kattene means the cats in both Danish and Norwegian. In Swedish the word is katterna. The plural cats is katte in Danish and katter in Norwegian and Swedish. Though the plural of cats is different in Danish and Norwegian, the phrase the cats is identical in the two languages.

The word husene means the houses in Norwegian and Swedish. However, it is husen in Swedish. The plural houses is huse in Danish and hus in Norwegian and Swedish. In Swedish the suffix variant -en is used with both singular common nouns and plural neuter nouns.

With adjectives before the noun, Danish drops the postnominal article, but Norwegian and Swedish do not. For example, the black cat is den sorte kat in Danish, but it is den svarte katten in Norwegian and den svarta katten in Swedish. The phrase the new house is det nye hus in Danish, but it is det nye huset in Norwegian and det nya huset in Swedish.

The postnominal definite article is used in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. This is not the case in Germanic languages such as English, Dutch and German. In Danish the postnominal article is not used with adjectives before the noun, but it is in Norwegian and Swedish.