Reading time: 10-15 minutes As I write, it’s the 15th of September, and I have just, with a heavy heart, departed Italy. What a time, and what a place! Among its many delights, it was a particular pleasure to be reminded of how much I love the Italian language. I love to hear it, toContinue reading “Five Sound Changes That Make Italian Make More Sense”
Tag Archives: sound change
Of Mouses and Mans? — The Origins of English’s Vowel-Swapping Nouns and Verbs
Reading time: 10 – 15 minutes In present-day English, the plural of mouse is usually mice, and one man plus another equals two men. While most English nouns are made plural simply by adding -s, making one cat into multiple cats, there is a sizeable minority that become plural through the process that we seeContinue reading “Of Mouses and Mans? — The Origins of English’s Vowel-Swapping Nouns and Verbs”
Cheat Your Way to Czech: Czech Sounds and I
Reading time: 10 – 15 minutes Introduction to the Series Now the Czech language may have a reputation for difficulty, but it isn’t entirely fair. Like in any language, things in Czech exist for a good reason, even though that reason may not be very obvious. There is actually very little in the language thatContinue reading “Cheat Your Way to Czech: Czech Sounds and I”
The Un-mouthing of Sounds
This post is a brief introduction to the process of debuccalization, a sound change with the power to dispel confusion in various languages of Europe and beyond. With the help of some concrete examples taken from three languages, this is a concept that I believe might come in rather handy for language learners. As isContinue reading “The Un-mouthing of Sounds”
Danny L. Bate 