Author Archives: swphonetics

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About swphonetics

Retired research fellow, formerly at the university of Lund, Sweden

Other passions 4

Posted on 2013/11/17 by swphonetics

We’ve just passed the season of All Souls and All Saints, a time for remembering those who are no longer with us. Here are some brief extracts from a performance of Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms at the church … Continue reading →

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Rhoticity in Lancashire 2: Southport to Rochdale

Posted on 2013/09/21 by swphonetics

This page continues from the first part of this series, which has the introduction, definition of rhoticity, and the report for Area A (Liverpool-Manchester). This page reports Area B (Southport, Chorley, Bolton, Rochdale). Briefly, the sound examples are taken from … Continue reading →

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Tbilisi 1990

Posted on 2013/09/04 by swphonetics

The Lund University Department of Linguistics undertook an expedition to Tbilisi in September 1990, capably managed by Karina Vamling, and at the invitation of  the Georgian Academy of Sciences and the Chikobava Institute of Linguistics . This had originally been … Continue reading →

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Correlation and causality: ejectives

Posted on 2013/08/17 by swphonetics

Spurious correlations “Recent studies have been uncovering some surprising links between cultural traits. For example, between chocolate consumption and the number of Nobel laureates a country produces, between the number of phonemes in a language and distance from East Africa, … Continue reading →

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Other passions 3

Posted on 2013/07/17 by swphonetics

Garden orchids   Dactylorhiza hybrid Cloned and sold for cultivation Looks very similar to D. maculata (heath spotted orchid, common spotted orchid etc; Swedish: skogsnycklar)   Cypripedium Cloned and sold for cultivation The petals and sepals aren’t the deeper purple … Continue reading →

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Rhoticity in Lancashire: Liverpool – Manchester

Posted on 2013/05/08 by swphonetics

The aim of this article is to check some on-line sources  for evidence of changing habits of rhoticity in Lancashire accents. Rhoticity is concerned with the pronunciation of the consonant r. In English, rhotic speakers pronounce all instances of /r/, … Continue reading →

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Sound Recording Technology

Posted on 2013/04/25 by swphonetics

150 years of sound recording technology   There is a more complete version here, with more detail, links and sound examples.   An illustration of the 1859 version of Scott’s Phonautograph, as published in Franz Josef Pisko, Die neueren Apparate … Continue reading →

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Is ogooglebar ungoogleable?

Posted on 2013/03/27 by swphonetics

Manufacturers often spend a lot of money to turn their trade marks into household words, and then find that we consumers have made generic words of them. Do you hoover with any vacuum cleaner? Do people still kodak their kids? … Continue reading →

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The Bell vowel model: its acoustic weaknesses

Posted on 2013/01/22 by swphonetics

1. The single resonance and two resonance theories. Bell coupled his new vowel model to the then popular single resonance theory, claiming the vowel tone (resonance) depended on the dimensions of the buccal cavity. In Visible Speech (1867:71), he postulated … Continue reading →

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Season’s greetings 2012

Posted on 2012/12/19 by swphonetics

Season’s greetings   Season’s greetings to all, and best wishes for 2013, whether you linger awhile, just pass by, or were never even here. A flower stall at Stockholm market (Hötorget) selling decorations. 1958. Top ©Sidney Wood and SWPhonetics, 1994-2012

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