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.