Wednesday, December 28, 2016

I analysed the phonetics of seven phrases


I
Seul artiste à avoir affiché complet pendant deux ans, plus d'un mois à l'avance, au Point Virgule, Fary revient dans les huit salles qui ont marqué sa fulgurante ascension.

II
I have just mentioned a distinction between the industrial revolution and the scientific revolution. The distinction is not clear-edged, but a useful one, and I ought to try to define it now.

III
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolant Belgae, alteram Aquitani, tertiam qui eorum lingua Celti nostra autem Galli vocantur.

IV
Et ëarello utúlien ... Ambarmetta.

[Sorry, JRRT-fans, it is more than ten years since I finished the trilogy last time, and I no longer know the oath of Elendil by heart!]

V
Va piensero, sull'ali dorate ...

[And yes, my grasp on the text of this most known choral from Nabucco is similarily deficient!]

VI
De' va' en lørda'saften, jeg sad o' vente' deg.

[De bogstæver der ikke har tilsvarende lyd i min udtale er blevne erstattete med apostrof.]

VII
En un pequeño pueblo de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no deseo recordarme ...

[Los hispanizantes tienen que perdonarme, si el texto es erroneo aquí, es una retraducción del sueco.]


And here are the results, counting Nasals and Liquids as one group and unifying clusives, fricatives and affricates as "Obstruents" (also some wavering whether yod is to count as a vowel in Spanish or as a Liquid in Danish).

 Vowels Obstruents Liquids & Nasals Records
English 44% 36.3% 19.8%
French 45% 36% 18.9% Low for L/N
Latin 48.2% 29.4% 22.3%
Quenya 50% 19.2% 30.8% H for V, L/N, L for O
Italian 47.6% 28.5% 23.8%
Danish 43.3% 36.6% 20% L for V, H for O
Spanish 48.1% 24% 27.7%


Now, French being lowest on Liquids and Nasals might surprise, but Nasals here means Nasal Consonsonants. Remembre that French eliminates so many Nasal Consonants and turns previous Vowel into a Nasal Vowel instead. And Nasal Vowels (for French and for endings in Latin, as per restored pronunciation) count as vowels.

So here are the lists, from lowest to highest:

Vowels
Danish, English, French, Italian, Latin, Quenya

Obstruents
Quenya, Spanish, Italian, Latin, French, English, Danish

Liquids and Nasals
French, English, Danish, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Quenya


Quenya is outstanding, but remember, I have not done any Greek or Finnish here, so overall Quenya is probably not that outstanding. Probably Hawaian has fewer obstruents and more liquids and nasals and vowels than even Quenya./HGL

PS, the phrase in Middle High German here has some properties which are noteworthy:

Uns ist in alten mæren/wunders vil geseit/von heleden lobebæren/von grôzer arebeit...

It had 39.39% vowels (record low), but also obstruents equal to nasals and liquids, 30.3% each. Highest liquid/nasal contant second to only Quenya./HGL

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