August 21, 2008
by Graham
5 Comments
I suppose I first became properly aware of ejectives being used in English about twenty years ago, when I noticed a couple of my colleagues at work (non-linguists both) using them. I don’t know of any systematic study of their … Continue reading
August 14, 2008
by Graham
12 Comments
It’s been very noticeable over the past week or so that almost all BBC broadcasters, from whatever department, are now saying ‘bay-jing’ for the Chinese capital. It’s been confirmed today by “a BBC employee” that a directive has been sent … Continue reading
August 9, 2008
by Graham
4 Comments
And finally, the vowels. Conveniently, the traditional five vowel letters, <a, e, i, o, u> correspond to the five Castilian Spanish vowel phonemes, /a, e, i, o, u/. <Y> can also represent /i/. The two mid vowels, /e/ and /o/, … Continue reading
August 1, 2008
by Graham
3 Comments
Now we come to the consonants. Castilian Spanish is one of the few European languages to include a voiceless dental fricative /θ/ in its phoneme inventory. As this is a very common sound in English, it should present no problems … Continue reading
July 24, 2008
by Graham
2 Comments
With this man’s arrest at the weekend, broadcasters are once more having to struggle with the pronunciation of his name. The BBC recommendation, which corresponds to that given in most if not all manuals of pronunciation for Serbian, is to … Continue reading
July 23, 2008
by Graham
5 Comments
It ought to be easy to establish anglicized versions of Spanish names – stress is as important in Spanish as in English, and there are far fewer phonemes in Spanish than in English, so we should be able to find … Continue reading
July 9, 2008
by Graham
4 Comments
Language Log today has an example of amazing French official duplicity, arrogance, ignorance and dishonesty. A representative of the Académie Française claims that the minority languages of France are nothing more than debased dialects, unworthy of being recognised as languages … Continue reading
June 18, 2008
by Graham
3 Comments
My paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Winkle. Don’t laugh – this is a relatively common name in the Potteries, and presumably originates in the place name Wincle, which is a village in Cheshire. The Oxford Names Companion gives two possible … Continue reading
June 5, 2008
by Graham
5 Comments
Definitions of adjectival “only” from recent dictionaries: “alone of its or their kind; single or solitary” (Compact Oxford English Dictionary for Students) “used to say that there is one person, thing or group in a particular situation and no others” … Continue reading
June 3, 2008
by Graham
6 Comments
“We offer a fast, reliable, honestly priced connection, plus we’re one of the only internet providers in the UK to donate all our profits to charity.” This is the claim of Waitrose.com. It’s amazing how anyone can really think that … Continue reading