Aspirated plosives

Aspirations occurs in English in initial onsets like in ‘pat’ [pʰæt], ‘tack’ [’tʰæk] or ‘cat’ [’kʰæt]. It is not phonemic, since it doesn’t distinguish meanings, but it’s distinctive in Mandarin e.g.  皮 [pʰi] (skin) vs. 比 [pi] (proportion). 

Non-phonemic aspiration occurs in: Tamazight, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Kurdish, Persian, Uyghur. 

Phonemic aspiration: Sami languages, Icelandic, Faroese, Danish, Mongol, Kalmyk, Georgian, Armenian, North Caucasian languages, Sino-Tibetan languages, Hmong-Mien languages, Austroasiatic languages, Hindi-Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odya, Bengali, Nepali, Tai-Kadai languages, Nivkh, many Bantu languages (Swahili, Xhosa, Zulu, Venda, Tswana, Sesotho, Macua, Chichewa, and many Amerindian languages (Na-Dene, Siouan, Algic, Tshimshianic, Shastan, Mayan, Uto-Aztecan, Mixtec, Oto-Manguean, Quechua, Ayamara, Pilagá, Toba, etc.)

I am often asked where that long enduring interest for Mongolia comes from. Here is the little story: The first time I heard about Mongolia was from my grand father and his tale as a war prisoner during world war II. I must have been 7 or 8 years old. Both my grand fathers in the French army had been prisoners in Germany during the war. One of them, Louis, had been rescued in late 1944 by a detachment of Mongol soldiers who had joined the war under Soviet commandment. Mongolia was part of the Soviet block at the time.
As a child, I remember the sparks of light in my grand father’s eyes and laugthers as he described how the German had run away at the first sights of those foreign and strong Asian men coming from a remote country he had barely heard of before, assaulting the camp and delivering all prisoners. He used to describe how all prisoners, American, British, French and the Mongol soldiers jumped at each others arms euphorically. This scene left in my mind an indelible picture and a first interest in Mongolia and Mongols. I thought I probably owed that country and these people my grand father’s life. I am heading back to Mongolia right now, just on time for the beginning of the winter, where I will be on assignment for @avauntmag magazine and completing a personal project. #mongolia #mongol #avauntmagazine

In the last ten years, I have had the opportunity to travel to Mongolia more than 10 times, exploring different parts of the country during different seasons. Winter is my favorite time to travel there. That season lasts about 8 months and brings extreme temperatures that make everyday life very challenging, especially in the countryside. I have always been very impressed with the resilience and ingenuity Mongols show everyday during those harsher days. Their ability to work and withstand extreme temperatures has always baffled me. I found them to be some of the most resistance and hardened people on Earth. On this picture, a family being evacuated during a Winter snow storm. Tsengel, Western Mongolia. One of the pictures featured in my portfolio in the October issue of Singapore Airlines online magazine, Silverkris. #mongol #mongolia #silverkris #silverkrismag #kodak #kodakfilm

Hello there! 
Bluebeard’s been busy for a long time, because of starting a film-directing way-life. It takes all my time, energy and money, so I post new pictures seldom. To learn more about Bluebeard’s films welcome to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bluebeardscrypt

There I tell tales from a padavan-filmmaker’s life and show some photos and videos. I’ll be happy if some of you decide to support my projects by being my Patron! Welcome! (Spoiler: the two current projects dedicated to David Bowie and Jeanne d’Arc)
Also you may still commission me here (check the wall for details), for I’m always happy to draw something for you (your commissions give my budget for filming!)

picture: “Fisher”, egg-tempera on wood, 2021.