Phonologists and phoneticians typically distinguish phonemes from allophones. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes one word from another word. For example, the English word mat is distinct from pat because mat starts with the phoneme /m/ whereas pat starts with the phoneme /p/. A phoneme is not always pronounced in the…… Continue reading Phonemes and allophones
Tag: Palatalisation
Is the English language just French in disguise?
Bernard Cerquiglini’s 2024 book bears the provocative title «La langue anglaise n’existe pas» C’est du français mal prononcé (‘ “the English language doesn’t exist.” It is badly pronounced French.’) The title is from a quip by Clemenceau (presumably French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, 1841-1929). Cerquiglini emphasises that it is a quotation by putting quotation marks…… Continue reading Is the English language just French in disguise?
Hard and soft consonants in Russian
Most Russian consonants come in pairs, of one ‘soft’ consonant and one ‘hard’ consonant. A soft consonant is one that is palatalised—pronounced with the centre of the tongue raised towards the roof of the mouth (palate). A hard consonant is a consonant that is not soft. One example of a distinction in English between a…… Continue reading Hard and soft consonants in Russian
Romance languages: pronouncing C and G
Here is a tip to help you learn to pronounce the main national Romance languages more correctly. These Romance languages all pronounce the letters <c> and <g> in two different ways, depending on the vowel that follows them. In these languages, these letters are pronounced as [c] and [g] if they are followed by a…… Continue reading Romance languages: pronouncing C and G
Is Russian difficult for English speakers?
I’ve sometimes heard people describe Russian as a difficult language for native English speakers. It is, indeed, a little more difficult for such learners than languages related more closely to English, such as other Germanic languages or the Romance languages. On the other hand, it is probably less difficult for them than completely unrelated languages.…… Continue reading Is Russian difficult for English speakers?