RL101 - 8: The Missing Vowels - part two

The second part of the earlier lesson which wouldn't fit the limits is here, with Huliganov finishing all the letters which have a sound of their own, rather than the two "signs", which are left for the next lesson. He rounds off with a motivational song based on the Tracey Ullmann cover of Kirstey MacColl's "They don't know"

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• RL101-8
• vowels
• Huliganov
• lesson
• Russian
• cyrillics
• they
• don't
• know
• Kirstey
• MacColl
• Tracey
• Ullmann

[baiNEKO]

I'd love it if you did more on linguistics, maybe about vowel systems, consonant systems, in various languages -- More on the "why" of it all. For example, you mentioned that some Germanic languages which "resist" having "two sets" of vowels tend to have more diphthongs -- How and why does this occur? 

[usenetposts]

@baiNEKO I think when you do the maths you will see that to get a possible 60-100 thousand words into just the possible phonological combinations you need >5 vowels. Or you end up needing to use tones to make up the number, or more syllables and word combinations. Most languages have in their alphabets much fewer vowels than consonants, and you know from basic maths that if you go 10*10 that's more than 18*2, even though (10+10)=(18+2) in other words, we need more vowels than we have.

[baiNEKO]

@usenetposts ~ ;) as much as I enjoyed your answer, that wasn't exactly my (poorly articulated) question -- It was more about how the particular sound changes occur and why (not about the need for more vowels in general). What influences the typology contrast? Russian vowels seem so symmetrical, as you said, "beautiful", compared to the cacophony of the English vowel melange.

[usenetposts]

@baiNEKO In the main it is about elision and ease of enunciation.

[AtticusStount]

Am I the only one who runs around joyfully after watching these videos?

[fatfortyyearold]

you're so funny! Thank you for the class!

[samehelbnna111]

i start to like Bushkinnnnnnnnn... the reason is You.... sposipo yesho raz

[Batyaboo]

Xa Xa Xa! Great song. Did YOU write and memorize those lyrics? Does your brain ever stop? I think I've watched enough lessons for one evening. I didn't even leave 10 minutes in between. I'll probably forget it all! 'Night Huliganov!

[usenetposts]

@Pedrofrombrazil Yep! (or should I say, "yap'?).

[Pedrofrombrazil]

@usenetposts Oh yeah! Now I get it! Thanks. Йоркширский терьер [Yorkshirskiy Ter'yer'] is Yorkshire Terrier (dog), right?

[usenetposts]

@Pedrofrombrazil Remember I said you cannot have i kratkoe without a vowel before it USUALLY. I said usually because it does happen, but not with native Russian words. It transliterates "yo" from some foreign language. In Russian words, that sound is e with two dots. So consider the following Йошкар-Ола (the City Yoshkar-Ola ('red city' in Mari language), йогурт (yoghurt, a word we all borrowed from Turkic), Йоркширский терьер (I'll let you guess that one) and a number of others.

[Pedrofrombrazil]

I haven't get one thing in russian alphabet/orthography/phonology­: If you can't have an i-kratkoe without a vowel before it or between two consonants, why there's a capital letter of i-kratkoe? I mean nobody should use it. If i-kratkoe can't begin a word there's no need to use it. Soft vowels can play the role of i-kratkoe/semivowel plus hard vowel. Correct me please if I'm wrong. There are words with i-kratkoe in the beginning? I think European portuguese has similar russian sounds. Nice vids:)