In a game of speed chess, I mated my opponent in 14 moves. He was Kambell from Canada, who played white. My opponent played fast, but made many mistakes. Here are the moves of the game along with my commentary:
1. e4 c5
2. f4 d5
I offer a pawn in an attempt to break white's control of the centre.
3. exd Nf6
4. c4 Bf4
White can protect his pawn with Nc3, a move which also develops his knight. Though white has an extra pawn, I lead in development of my pieces.
5. d4 cxd
6. Qxd4 e6
My pawn is immune from capture.
7. Nc3 Bb4
8. Bd2 Nc6
The knight is also immune from capture.
9. Qe3 Ng4
10. Qe2 Nd4
The queen is attacked for the third time in a row.
11. Qd1 Nc2+
12. Qxc2 Bxc2
White can survive longer with Ke7.
13. dxe fxe
14. Nb4 Qxd2#
White blunders. Though the position is lost, a far better move is Nge7. The knight on c3 must not move.
Despite the loss of his queen, white decides to play on. However, his thirteenth move is a blunder which leads to mate on the next move. He plays quickly, but in doing so plays many questionable moves.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Raspberry Cake
Raspberry cake is easy to prepare. Here is the Swedish recipe for this delicious cake:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
zest of one lemon
1 cup raspberries
3 tablespoons melted butter
icing sugar
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix the eggs and sugar until well blended.
Add the flour and the lemon zest.
Butter and flour the pan and add the batter.
Add the raspberries and pour the melted butter on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let the cake cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
zest of one lemon
1 cup raspberries
3 tablespoons melted butter
icing sugar
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix the eggs and sugar until well blended.
Add the flour and the lemon zest.
Butter and flour the pan and add the batter.
Add the raspberries and pour the melted butter on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Let the cake cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Languages of India
India is the home of many languages. 75% of the languages are Indo-Aryan and 20% are Dravidian. In addition to Hindi and English, many other languages are spoken.
India now recognizes 22 official regional languages. They are the following:
Assamese
Bengali
Dogri
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Malayalam
Meitei
Marathi
Nepali
Odia
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Santali
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
Few Indians speak Sanskrit as a first language. It is the liturgical language of Hinduism.
Languages with more than 25 million speakers include Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are Dravidian languages. Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi and Urdu are Indo-Aryan.
India is a country with many languages. Urdu is also spoken in Pakistan, Bengali in Bangladesh and Nepali in Nepal. Of the languages spoken in India, Hindi has the most first-language speakers.
India now recognizes 22 official regional languages. They are the following:
Assamese
Bengali
Dogri
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Malayalam
Meitei
Marathi
Nepali
Odia
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Santali
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu
Few Indians speak Sanskrit as a first language. It is the liturgical language of Hinduism.
Languages with more than 25 million speakers include Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are Dravidian languages. Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi and Urdu are Indo-Aryan.
India is a country with many languages. Urdu is also spoken in Pakistan, Bengali in Bangladesh and Nepali in Nepal. Of the languages spoken in India, Hindi has the most first-language speakers.
Monday, December 25, 2017
Horse-Hoarse Merger
The horse-hoarse merger is also known as the north-force merger. In this merger, only one mid back vowel occurs before /r/. This merger occurs in most varieties of English today.
Varieties of English which do not have the horse-hoarse merger are Irish, Scottish and Caribbean. In the varieties which lack the merger, hoarse is pronounced with a higher vowel. In certain speakers, the distinction is one of length rather than vowel quality. In this case, the vowel of hoarse is longer than that of horse.
Most speakers of American English have the merger. However, many speakers from New Orleans and St. Louis maintain a distinction. According to a study by William Labov in 2006, black speakers are less likely to have the merger than are whites. In the study only a little over half of the black participants had the merger.
The horse-hoarse merger is a very common merger in English. Another common merger before /r/ is the marry-merry-Mary merger. These mergers are examples of simplification.
Varieties of English which do not have the horse-hoarse merger are Irish, Scottish and Caribbean. In the varieties which lack the merger, hoarse is pronounced with a higher vowel. In certain speakers, the distinction is one of length rather than vowel quality. In this case, the vowel of hoarse is longer than that of horse.
Most speakers of American English have the merger. However, many speakers from New Orleans and St. Louis maintain a distinction. According to a study by William Labov in 2006, black speakers are less likely to have the merger than are whites. In the study only a little over half of the black participants had the merger.
The horse-hoarse merger is a very common merger in English. Another common merger before /r/ is the marry-merry-Mary merger. These mergers are examples of simplification.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Phonotactics
Phonotactics is a branch of phonology which deals with the permissible sound sequences in a language. In phonotactics permissible syllable structure, consonant and vowel sequences can be defined with phonotactic constaints. Phonotactic constraints are language specific.
The consonant clusters /gn/ and /kn/ are not permitted in word-initial position in English, but are in Swedish. For example, the Swedish words kniv (knife) and gnista (spark) have the consonant clusters at the beginning of the word. In English, they only occur word-medially as in weakness and magnet.
In Spanish the consonant cluster /st/ never occurs word-initially. The Spanish word for student is estudiante. However, the Spanish word muelle (wharf) begins with /mw/, a consonant cluster which never occurs word-initially in English.
English onsets have a maximum of three consonants. Examples of words with three consonants include school, squeeze and street. In Japanese onsets are restricted to one consonant The Japanese onset is thus CV or V. To show that the consonant is optional, this can be represented as (C)V.
Due to the phonotactic constraints of each language, syllable structures which are not allowed can be repaired. For example, the Swedish and Norwegian name Knut has the cluster /kn/ in word-initial permission. Since this cannot occur in English, the sequence is repaired with an epenthetic schwa. This can be represented with the spelling Canute.
Every language has phonotactic constraints which determine the sound sequences which may occur. They determine the syllable structure, consonant and vowel sequences of the language. In the case of foreign words with different sound sequences, the sequences can be repaired.
The consonant clusters /gn/ and /kn/ are not permitted in word-initial position in English, but are in Swedish. For example, the Swedish words kniv (knife) and gnista (spark) have the consonant clusters at the beginning of the word. In English, they only occur word-medially as in weakness and magnet.
In Spanish the consonant cluster /st/ never occurs word-initially. The Spanish word for student is estudiante. However, the Spanish word muelle (wharf) begins with /mw/, a consonant cluster which never occurs word-initially in English.
English onsets have a maximum of three consonants. Examples of words with three consonants include school, squeeze and street. In Japanese onsets are restricted to one consonant The Japanese onset is thus CV or V. To show that the consonant is optional, this can be represented as (C)V.
Due to the phonotactic constraints of each language, syllable structures which are not allowed can be repaired. For example, the Swedish and Norwegian name Knut has the cluster /kn/ in word-initial permission. Since this cannot occur in English, the sequence is repaired with an epenthetic schwa. This can be represented with the spelling Canute.
Every language has phonotactic constraints which determine the sound sequences which may occur. They determine the syllable structure, consonant and vowel sequences of the language. In the case of foreign words with different sound sequences, the sequences can be repaired.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
The Prefix -dis
Many English prefixes tend to combine with only one grammatical category. The prefix -un combines with adjectives to form words such as uncertain, unhappy and unknown and the prefix -re produces redo, reexamine and resell. However, the prefix -dis combines with verbs, adjectives and nouns.
The following list illustrates that -dis combines with verbs, adjectives and nouns:
disallow
disappear
disapprove
disobey
disregard
dishonest
disloyal
disobedient
dissimilar
distasteful
disadvantage
disagreement
disapproval
disorder
disregard
Certain words belong to more than one grammatical category. For example, disadvantage and disregard can be both adjectives and nouns. In certain cases, the prefix -dis combines with the same root to form three grammatical categories as in disobey, disobedient and disobedience. In other cases, two grammatical categories are formed as in dishonest and dishonesty and in other cases only one grammatical category is possible as in distasteful.
In the case of discomfort, the prefix -un is needed to form uncomfortable. Dislike can be a verb and also a noun, but is more commonly used as a verb. Dissimilar is used far less than different.
The prefix -dis occurs in verbs, adjectives and nouns. In certain cases, the same root occurs in all three grammatical categories. Unlike other English prefixes which usually only occur in one grammatical category, the prefix -dis can occur in three.
The following list illustrates that -dis combines with verbs, adjectives and nouns:
disallow
disappear
disapprove
disobey
disregard
dishonest
disloyal
disobedient
dissimilar
distasteful
disadvantage
disagreement
disapproval
disorder
disregard
Certain words belong to more than one grammatical category. For example, disadvantage and disregard can be both adjectives and nouns. In certain cases, the prefix -dis combines with the same root to form three grammatical categories as in disobey, disobedient and disobedience. In other cases, two grammatical categories are formed as in dishonest and dishonesty and in other cases only one grammatical category is possible as in distasteful.
In the case of discomfort, the prefix -un is needed to form uncomfortable. Dislike can be a verb and also a noun, but is more commonly used as a verb. Dissimilar is used far less than different.
The prefix -dis occurs in verbs, adjectives and nouns. In certain cases, the same root occurs in all three grammatical categories. Unlike other English prefixes which usually only occur in one grammatical category, the prefix -dis can occur in three.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Use of Articles in Languages
Many languages use definite and indefinite articles. However, the use of articles varies. Let's look at a few examples.
In English the indefinite article is used in sentences such as I'm a doctor and He's a teacher. However, in German the indefinite article isn't used in these sentences. They are Ich bin Arzt and Er ist Lehrer. However, if we add adjectives such as I'm a new doctor and He's a good teacher, the indefinite article is required. The sentences are then translated as Ich bin ein neuer Arzt and Er ist ein guter Lehrer.
In the sentence That's life, no article is used before life because it's used in a general sense. However, in French the sentence is translated as C'est la vie. The definite article la is required.
No articles are used before names in English, but in colloquial Portuguese they are common. The sentence Maria studies a lot can be translated as A Maria estuda muito. The definite article isn't necessary in Portuguese, but in informal language it's often used.
Though many languages use definite and indefinite articles, their usage varies. English uses indefinite articles before professions, but German doesn't. English doesn't use definite articles before general nouns, but French does. The rules for the use of articles are thus language specific.
In English the indefinite article is used in sentences such as I'm a doctor and He's a teacher. However, in German the indefinite article isn't used in these sentences. They are Ich bin Arzt and Er ist Lehrer. However, if we add adjectives such as I'm a new doctor and He's a good teacher, the indefinite article is required. The sentences are then translated as Ich bin ein neuer Arzt and Er ist ein guter Lehrer.
In the sentence That's life, no article is used before life because it's used in a general sense. However, in French the sentence is translated as C'est la vie. The definite article la is required.
No articles are used before names in English, but in colloquial Portuguese they are common. The sentence Maria studies a lot can be translated as A Maria estuda muito. The definite article isn't necessary in Portuguese, but in informal language it's often used.
Though many languages use definite and indefinite articles, their usage varies. English uses indefinite articles before professions, but German doesn't. English doesn't use definite articles before general nouns, but French does. The rules for the use of articles are thus language specific.
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