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.