Post by Tric'hard Carschaleir on Jan 18, 2009 5:22:31 GMT -6
Good morning, my dear students. As you probably already know I'm your professor, Tric'hard Carschaleir, and I will guide you through the learning of the magnificent Bolognese language and of the culture related with it.
First of all, I wish to thank Lord Hooligan and His Majesty the King for the opening of this classroom, and then I wish to apologize for the problems that may have been experienced because of the time lag.
But let's begin, shall we?
In this first lesson we will explore the complex phonology of Bolognese through a series of examples and, for those who can read IPA, phonetic transcriptions.
The stress in Bolognese is always on the penultimate syllable, except when a stress-marked vowel is there.
The vowels are the first sounds we will meet today:
Our first friend is à, the most common vowel in Bolognese. It is pronounced , like the a in father, only a bit more open (like the a in Italian gatto). This vowel is often written without the sstress mark in the words in which bears the regular stress on the penultimate syllable and in the consonant-finishing monosyllables. Examples: cà (house), dialàtt (dialect), sàrrel (celery), biziclatta (bike), duturassa (woman doctor).
Second comes â, which is [a:], the long equivalent of a, held a few seconds more. Examples: câna (cane), gât (cat), râta (ascent).
We have then ä, which is pronounced almost exactly as its Talossan equivalent, that is, [æ], as in English cat. Just a little bit more closed. Examples: bän (good), dänt (tooth), andän (we go). Remember that umlaut is considered a stressmark in Bolognese, and that umlauted vowels are always long.
Next, there's å, which is pronounced in a fairly strange manner. Try to pronounce an [o] without protruding your lips, and there you are! Don't worry, though, this sound is distinguished only in educated speech, and most people pronounce it as a simple a. Examples: bån (morally good), månnd (world), rått (broken).
Now it's the turn of é, which is pronounced [e], a closed short e as in French été. Examples: métter (to put), prémma (before), téttol (title).
ê is its long equivalent, that is, [e:], a closed e held a few seconds more. Examples: mêter (meter), mêder (to harvest), segrêt (secret).
The open equivalent of ê is è, pronounced [ɛ:] as in English bet. Examples: mèder (mother), lèna (wool), sèl (salt). Remember: open e is always long.
î is pronounced [i:] as ee in English meet. Examples: fîvra (fever), lîber (book), pinsîr (thought). Remember: î is always long.
A short stressed i actually exists, and is written í, but it is very very rare and, as far as I know, it exists only in two words: cínno (boy) and gnínta (nothing).
For the o's, we have ó first, which is pronounced [o], a closed short o as in English go, without the off-glide u. Examples: móll (mule), róssc (garbage), tóff (stink).
Its long equivalent is ô, a long closed o ([o:]). Examples: côl (cabbage), tôr (take), tarôl (woodworm).
The open equivalent of ô is ò, an open long o ([ɔ:]), similar to English ought, or as in Italian donna. Examples: còl (neck), tòr (bull), żnòc' (knee). Remember: open o is always long.
Last comes û, a long u ([u:]), similar to oo in English boot. Examples: fûg (fire), ligûr (green lizard), û (grapes).
There is also a very rare short stressed u: ú. Examples: carbúrro (petrol), turlurú (idiot).
Well, that's it for the vowels, let's begin with consonants.
c follows the same rule of Talossan or Italian. That is, when in front of a, ä, å, o, u, consonant or at the end of the word is pronounced [k] as in English cat, but when in front of e or i is pronounced [ʧ] as ch in English chat.
ci+ a, ä, å, o, u is pronounced [ʧ] +a, ä, å, o, u. The i is not pronounced, and is there only for the purpose of making c sound [ʧ].
ch + e,i is pronounced [k] + e,i. The h is not pronounced, and is there only for the purpose of making c sound [k].
c' is always pronounced [ʧ]. The apostrophe is there to make c sound [ʧ] before a consonant or at the end of a word.
d is pronounced dental, as in Italian, rather than alveolar as in English.
g follows the same rules as c, so gi + a, ä, å, o, u is [ʤ] as j in English joke + a, ä, å, o, u; gh + e,i is [g] as in English great + e,i; g' is always pronounced [ʤ], g + a, ä, å, o, u, consonant or at the end of a word is [g], and g +e,i is [ʤ].
j is pronounced [j] as y in year, but it's used only between vowels. Between a vowel and a consonant is used i instead. For the [w] sound, is always used u. It can be doubled.
n is very tricky: it is pronounced [n] as in English not when in front of a vowel or when double at the end of a word, but it is pronounced [ɳ] as in English sing before a consonant, no matter what consonant it is, and when single at the end of a word. So, andèr (to go) is pronounced [aɳdɛ:r] and not *[andɛ:r].
ñ is always pronounced [ɳ] as ng in English sing.
r is trilled as in Italian ratto or as in Spanish carro.
"Ora incomincian le dolenti note" ("Now the bad part begins"), as Dante Alighieri would say. And the bad part is the Bolognese s. This sound is known in every part of Italy because it is very unusual. If you ask a non-Bolognese Italian to imitate a Bolognese s, he will almost surely pronounce a [ʃ] as sh in English ship. This is not completely wrong, but the Bolognese s is actually [ʂ], a sort of [ʃ] pronounced with the tip of the tongue between the teeth. If you find it difficult, you can also pronounce it [ʃ], you will be forgiven.
š is the voiced equivalent of s. That is, [ʐ], which you can pronounce [ʒ] (s in English leisure) if you want.
t is pronounced dental, as in Italian, rather than alveolar as in English.
z is the other famous and tricky sound of Bolognese (after s above). It's so unusual that it has no IPA transcription, so you will have to pronounce it as in the examples. Sorry.
The Bolognese z is pronounced as th in English thing, but with the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth and the back of the tongue curled behind the upper teeth.
If hours of exercise in front of a mirror trying to put your tongue in the right position don't work and make you seem a little bit crazy to the people that lives with you, you can also pronounce it [θ] as th in English thing.
ż is the voiced equivalent of z. You can pronounce it [ð] as th in English that.
Digraphs are:
gn, which is pronounced [ɲ], similar to ny in canyon.
gli, which is pronounced [ʎ] as in million
g-li, which is pronounced [gli].
ñn, which is pronounced [ɳn] as in sing night.
The consonants that aren't in this reference are pronounced as in English.
Well, that's it for this week. Remember just one last thing: when the vowel is short, is always followed by a long consonant (i.e., doubled), and when a vowel is long is always followed by a short consonant (i.e, single).
Remember: doubled consonant are always to be pronounced double. In particular, the last consonant in the pair is always the one doubled, so cc' is pronounced [ʧʧ] and not *[kʧ]
This lesson has no official exercises, though, if you want, you can try to pronounce the words given as example in the lesson plus these ones:
galéñna (hen)
céccia (meat)
ciôd (nail)
vèc' (old)
inbac'lèr (to patch up)
gèra (gravel)
giósst (right)
dågg' (twelve)
g'détta (bad luck)
ghignåuš (disagreeable)
tâja (size)
tajja (baking pan)
cusén (pillow)
cušén (cousin)
znèr (to have dinner)
żnèr (January)
For those who have a microphone: if you want, you can try to pronounce these words, record them and send them to me so that I can correct your pronunciation directly, but it is not obligatory.
See you next week!
Tric'hard Carschaleir.
First of all, I wish to thank Lord Hooligan and His Majesty the King for the opening of this classroom, and then I wish to apologize for the problems that may have been experienced because of the time lag.
But let's begin, shall we?
In this first lesson we will explore the complex phonology of Bolognese through a series of examples and, for those who can read IPA, phonetic transcriptions.
The stress in Bolognese is always on the penultimate syllable, except when a stress-marked vowel is there.
The vowels are the first sounds we will meet today:
Our first friend is à, the most common vowel in Bolognese. It is pronounced , like the a in father, only a bit more open (like the a in Italian gatto). This vowel is often written without the sstress mark in the words in which bears the regular stress on the penultimate syllable and in the consonant-finishing monosyllables. Examples: cà (house), dialàtt (dialect), sàrrel (celery), biziclatta (bike), duturassa (woman doctor).
Second comes â, which is [a:], the long equivalent of a, held a few seconds more. Examples: câna (cane), gât (cat), râta (ascent).
We have then ä, which is pronounced almost exactly as its Talossan equivalent, that is, [æ], as in English cat. Just a little bit more closed. Examples: bän (good), dänt (tooth), andän (we go). Remember that umlaut is considered a stressmark in Bolognese, and that umlauted vowels are always long.
Next, there's å, which is pronounced in a fairly strange manner. Try to pronounce an [o] without protruding your lips, and there you are! Don't worry, though, this sound is distinguished only in educated speech, and most people pronounce it as a simple a. Examples: bån (morally good), månnd (world), rått (broken).
Now it's the turn of é, which is pronounced [e], a closed short e as in French été. Examples: métter (to put), prémma (before), téttol (title).
ê is its long equivalent, that is, [e:], a closed e held a few seconds more. Examples: mêter (meter), mêder (to harvest), segrêt (secret).
The open equivalent of ê is è, pronounced [ɛ:] as in English bet. Examples: mèder (mother), lèna (wool), sèl (salt). Remember: open e is always long.
î is pronounced [i:] as ee in English meet. Examples: fîvra (fever), lîber (book), pinsîr (thought). Remember: î is always long.
A short stressed i actually exists, and is written í, but it is very very rare and, as far as I know, it exists only in two words: cínno (boy) and gnínta (nothing).
For the o's, we have ó first, which is pronounced [o], a closed short o as in English go, without the off-glide u. Examples: móll (mule), róssc (garbage), tóff (stink).
Its long equivalent is ô, a long closed o ([o:]). Examples: côl (cabbage), tôr (take), tarôl (woodworm).
The open equivalent of ô is ò, an open long o ([ɔ:]), similar to English ought, or as in Italian donna. Examples: còl (neck), tòr (bull), żnòc' (knee). Remember: open o is always long.
Last comes û, a long u ([u:]), similar to oo in English boot. Examples: fûg (fire), ligûr (green lizard), û (grapes).
There is also a very rare short stressed u: ú. Examples: carbúrro (petrol), turlurú (idiot).
Well, that's it for the vowels, let's begin with consonants.
c follows the same rule of Talossan or Italian. That is, when in front of a, ä, å, o, u, consonant or at the end of the word is pronounced [k] as in English cat, but when in front of e or i is pronounced [ʧ] as ch in English chat.
ci+ a, ä, å, o, u is pronounced [ʧ] +a, ä, å, o, u. The i is not pronounced, and is there only for the purpose of making c sound [ʧ].
ch + e,i is pronounced [k] + e,i. The h is not pronounced, and is there only for the purpose of making c sound [k].
c' is always pronounced [ʧ]. The apostrophe is there to make c sound [ʧ] before a consonant or at the end of a word.
d is pronounced dental, as in Italian, rather than alveolar as in English.
g follows the same rules as c, so gi + a, ä, å, o, u is [ʤ] as j in English joke + a, ä, å, o, u; gh + e,i is [g] as in English great + e,i; g' is always pronounced [ʤ], g + a, ä, å, o, u, consonant or at the end of a word is [g], and g +e,i is [ʤ].
j is pronounced [j] as y in year, but it's used only between vowels. Between a vowel and a consonant is used i instead. For the [w] sound, is always used u. It can be doubled.
n is very tricky: it is pronounced [n] as in English not when in front of a vowel or when double at the end of a word, but it is pronounced [ɳ] as in English sing before a consonant, no matter what consonant it is, and when single at the end of a word. So, andèr (to go) is pronounced [aɳdɛ:r] and not *[andɛ:r].
ñ is always pronounced [ɳ] as ng in English sing.
r is trilled as in Italian ratto or as in Spanish carro.
"Ora incomincian le dolenti note" ("Now the bad part begins"), as Dante Alighieri would say. And the bad part is the Bolognese s. This sound is known in every part of Italy because it is very unusual. If you ask a non-Bolognese Italian to imitate a Bolognese s, he will almost surely pronounce a [ʃ] as sh in English ship. This is not completely wrong, but the Bolognese s is actually [ʂ], a sort of [ʃ] pronounced with the tip of the tongue between the teeth. If you find it difficult, you can also pronounce it [ʃ], you will be forgiven.
š is the voiced equivalent of s. That is, [ʐ], which you can pronounce [ʒ] (s in English leisure) if you want.
t is pronounced dental, as in Italian, rather than alveolar as in English.
z is the other famous and tricky sound of Bolognese (after s above). It's so unusual that it has no IPA transcription, so you will have to pronounce it as in the examples. Sorry.
The Bolognese z is pronounced as th in English thing, but with the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth and the back of the tongue curled behind the upper teeth.
If hours of exercise in front of a mirror trying to put your tongue in the right position don't work and make you seem a little bit crazy to the people that lives with you, you can also pronounce it [θ] as th in English thing.
ż is the voiced equivalent of z. You can pronounce it [ð] as th in English that.
Digraphs are:
gn, which is pronounced [ɲ], similar to ny in canyon.
gli, which is pronounced [ʎ] as in million
g-li, which is pronounced [gli].
ñn, which is pronounced [ɳn] as in sing night.
The consonants that aren't in this reference are pronounced as in English.
Well, that's it for this week. Remember just one last thing: when the vowel is short, is always followed by a long consonant (i.e., doubled), and when a vowel is long is always followed by a short consonant (i.e, single).
Remember: doubled consonant are always to be pronounced double. In particular, the last consonant in the pair is always the one doubled, so cc' is pronounced [ʧʧ] and not *[kʧ]
This lesson has no official exercises, though, if you want, you can try to pronounce the words given as example in the lesson plus these ones:
galéñna (hen)
céccia (meat)
ciôd (nail)
vèc' (old)
inbac'lèr (to patch up)
gèra (gravel)
giósst (right)
dågg' (twelve)
g'détta (bad luck)
ghignåuš (disagreeable)
tâja (size)
tajja (baking pan)
cusén (pillow)
cušén (cousin)
znèr (to have dinner)
żnèr (January)
For those who have a microphone: if you want, you can try to pronounce these words, record them and send them to me so that I can correct your pronunciation directly, but it is not obligatory.
See you next week!
Tric'hard Carschaleir.