Tag: language

allthingslinguistic:

Phonological natural classes and set theory

Someone posted on Reddit about being in a phonology course that was being taught through set theory:

I’m in this course of Phonological Analysis this term and the classes so far have been pretty far from what I was expecting, but I’m wondering if I just didn’t know what to expect or if my prof is doing something very unusual.[…]

The first class was a course on set theory. It was naive set theory, it wasn’t super formal, and it wasn’t axiomatic, but it was still more mathematical than most students expected (as judged by the radical drop in the number of students from the first to the second class). When set theory was assumed to be understood, he used it to define n-tuples and from n-tuples he defined strings. He also used set theory to define relations un sets and from relations he defined functions. Only when he had those did he introduce functions on sets of strings, and from that the notion of phonological rules. It took about two weeks of class to reach a point where we’re doing anything resembling Phonology.

(via Generative-Grammar)

Which got me thinking that sets would actually be a pretty interesting way of representing phonological features or natural classes. And so I made this diagram (click to zoom in). 

I think it’s a cool representation, and it was fun to make. Each symbol is enclosed in its own unique intersection of sets/features, which is good from a rule-writing perspective. Interestingly, the most logical layout for the vowels seems to resemble the vowel trapezoid quite a bit, but the only layout I could get for the consonants doesn’t at all resemble the IPA consonant chart.

Caveats: I didn’t represent length, or nasality in vowels, because basically anything can be long and all vowels can be nasalized. I also didn’t represent devoiced sonorants, again because of space. I couldn’t figure out where to put diphthongs. I didn’t even try for non-English sounds. Coronal isn’t indicated as a feature because basically everything that isn’t labial or dorsal is coronal (except vowels). This should have all the phonemes of English and some of the allophones but by no means all. The features are probably closest to those in Bruce Hayes’s Introductory Phonology, but I’m aware that people differ on which features they adopt, especially with regard to having separate back/front features. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear. 

sisterofiris:

The Poor Man of Nippur is a short film produced by the Assyriology Department of the University of Cambridge. Based on the text of an almost 3000-year-old tablet, it tells the story of Gimil-Ninurta, a poor man who takes revenge on the city mayor after said mayor cheated him.

The special part? The film isn’t a translation. It’s entirely in the Akkadian language.

While the budget is evidently small, the result is fantastic and I highly encourage anyone interested in ancient history to watch it. It’s through efforts like these that the languages and cultures of Mesopotamia are brought to life – or rather, that the world at large is reminded they are far from dead. From The Poor Man of Nippur, to Ancient Text Modern Tablet’s replicas of cuneiform texts for sale, to @mostlydeadlanguages‘s translations, to my own recordings of ancient prayers and poetry, Mesopotamia lives on and is as approachable, thought-provoking, and often funny as ever.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Nice things Italians say

sectioavrea:

(or, a random list of italian expressions that i felt like sharing with the world)

“Se son rose fioriranno.” (literally, “If it’s roses, they will bloom.”) It’s usually used to calm down someone (or even oneself) who’s anxious about a certain situation (for instance going on a date), and it means that if something is bound to happen, it will, and hence that there’s no use being nervous.

“Non s’ha da fare.” It means “it’s not to be done”/“it’s not to happen”. Although this construct is strictly typical of the Florentine dialect, this fixed expression has become widely used in the Italian language after one of the most famous scenes in Alessandro Manzoni’s I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), in the line “Questo matrimonio non s’ha da fare, né domani, né mai.” (“This wedding is not to be celebrated, not tomorrow, nor ever.”)

“Hai scoperto l’acqua calda.” (literally “You have discovered hot water.”) Used to ironise about someone’s obvious remark by calling it a revolutionary discovery.

“Morto un papa, se ne fa un altro.” (literally, “Once a pope dies, another one is elected.”) It’s usually used after the end of a relationship and it means that once you lose a lover, you just find another one. It can also be used in other situations with an equivalent meaning.

“Una volta ogni morte di papa.” It literally means “Once every pope’s death” and it’s used as an informal synonym for “very rarely”. (e.g. “Mi ammalo una volta ogni morte di papa.” -> “I get sick very rarely.”)

“La mamma è sempre la mamma.” It means “Mum will always be mum.” and it’s just an expression to state how your mum will always be there for you and will always be your home.

“Che pizza!” It literally translates “What a pizza!” but it has the same meaning as the English “Nuts!” (e.g. “Piove.” “Che pizza!” -> “It’s raining.” “Nuts!”). In the same way, the word “pizza” can be used as an adjective to describe an annoyingly boring person (e.g. “Sei una pizza, non vuoi mai fare nulla.” -> “You’re so boring, you never want to do anything”).

Why I love Russian

can-you-poly-not:

  • When Russians get tipsy they say “У меня вертолёты.” Lit. “I have the helicopters.”
  • There are two kinds of envy in Russian. “белая зависть” or “white envy” which is the good kind, where ultimately you are genuinely happy for the person and their good fortune. I think you can guess the other kind.
  • Russian’s terms of endearment are the best. “Солнышко” lit. “my small sun” and “Дорогуша” meaning “dearie” are among my favorites
  • Your first semester as a uni student is called “Боевое крещение” lit. “baptism by fire.” 
  •  When a Russian person feels like you are pulling their leg, they might say “Не надо мне лапшу на уши вешать” which means “don’t try to play me.” The literal translation? “Don’t hang noodles on my ears”
  • Russian people like to show their love for something by using diminutives, so phrases like “Буду кусочек этого тортика” lit. “I’ll have a teeny tiny piece of that cakey” and “Мне очень понравился этот супчик” lit. “I really liked that soupy-soup” are a common thing. My favorite diminutive, though? It’s “cпасибочки!” which literally means “Thankie!”

provst:

“Bilingualism strikes me as a kind of synesthesia. Instead of seeing colors associated with letters and words, instead of hearing melodies, what I hear with language is the play and echo of the other language. The option to say it differently, and thus to live it differently. Language is not only a means of communication or description. It’s a framework in which we process existence. Yi writes: “It is hard to feel in an adopted language, yet it is impossible in my native language.” As every bilingual person and translator knows, there are certain words—a feeling, a way of being—that is absent in one language but perfectly brought to life in another. A word that, by existing, gives permission to be. What if you need that which does not exist in your language?”

— Yoojin Grace Wuertz, “Mother Tongue”

helene-of-flowers:

peoplecallmecarfanatic:

I just love how in English you say “great minds think alike”, which is a completely positive thing since you’re kinda praising yourself, but in German you go like “zwei Dumme, ein Gedanke” = “two fools, one thought” 

German is beautiful, isn’t it

Kind of reminds me when my french teacher explained us the french idiom “L’espoir fait vivre” (Hope makes us live) and he asked me how Germans say it and I was like “Hope dies last” and his legit answer was:

“See, that’s why no one likes you!”