Madagascar is a rather interesting place. With such a lush biodiversity, and famous for its lemurs, this island several hundred kilometres east of continental Africa hosts a substantial number of endemic species. However, unlike other biodiversity hotspots like New Guinea, Madagascar is not particularly known for its linguistic diversity. In fact, it seems anomalous that … Continue reading Tracking the colonisation of Madagascar using Malagasy
Month: June 2024
Using Hangul to write … other languages?
One of the most defining features of the Korean language is the use of Hangul characters. While we know that Korean is the language Hangul is predominantly used in reading and writing, there are other indeed other languages that use or sort of use Hangul. Previously, and by that, I mean several years ago, we … Continue reading Using Hangul to write … other languages?
Making sense of Irish orthography (Pt Finale)
Just as when I thought that learning the various sounds the consonants make, broad and slender, and the various sounds the vowels make, stressed, unstressed, long, short, and as vowel sequences, I found myself having problems especially when pronouncing words that have vowels flanking both sides, or just one side, of consonant digraphs like 'mh' … Continue reading Making sense of Irish orthography (Pt Finale)
Trying to make sense of Irish vowels (Pt 2)
Previously, I shared the various difficulties I faced when learning the orthography of Irish consonants, and how they are pronounced. But this time, I am faced with a bigger challenge -- figuring out how the vowels are pronounced. After all, the Irish language is no stranger to vowel sequences like "aoi" and "uai", building up … Continue reading Trying to make sense of Irish vowels (Pt 2)
Trying to make sense of Irish orthography, again (Pt 1)
Recently, I have taken an interest in learning the Irish language or Gaeilge again, after taking a somewhat extended break from it to learn languages like Maori. But immediately, I found myself in quite a bit of a pickle when it comes to learning how Irish sounds are written, and how written Irish is read. … Continue reading Trying to make sense of Irish orthography, again (Pt 1)
The Language Closet 