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.

Variation in German Final Obstruent Devoicing

Final obstruent devoicing is common in the German of northern Germany and is considered standard. The result is that words such as Rad (wheel) and Rat (advice) are pronounced the same. However, in varieties of southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, many speakers do not devoice final obstruents.

In the words Archiv (archive), Sand (sand), Tag (day) and Kalb (calf), the final consonants are voiceless in standard German. In regional varieties of southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, however, they are voiced. This is a significant difference between the German of northern Germany and southern Germany.

Final obstruent devoicing is common in many languages. It occurs in languages such as Catalan, Mongolian, Russian, Polish and Dutch. It also occurs in German. However, in regional varieties of German, final obstruent devoicing does not occur.

Words Often Pronounced with H-Dropping

Many English dialects have h-dropping. One example is Cockney. However, even in standard English, five words are often pronounced with h-dropping. They are he, her, him, have and had.

The word he is often dropped in sentences such as I'm not sure if he is coming. Speakers often drop the word her in sentences such as I don't know her. In the sentence I can give it to him, the h is also often dropped.

The auxiliary verb have can also be pronounced with h-dropping. An example is the sentence She should have told me. In addition to h-dropping, the vowel is reduced and produced as a schwa. Further reduction is also possible. In the sentence I've finished, only the final consonant of the auxiliary verb is pronounced. 

Another auxiliary verb which can be pronounced with h-dropping is had. An example is the sentence If my sister had finished early, she would have joined us. In addition to h-dropping, the vowel is reduced and pronounced as a schwa. Further reduction is also possible. In the sentence If I'd started sooner, I would have already finished only the final consonant of the auxiliary verb is pronounced.

H-dropping is the phenomenon which drops the consonant from words. It is one of the distinctive characteristics of Cockney English. Though it is not associated with standard English, it is nevertheless common in five words of conversational English.