title: Socialist Peasants' Party

text:
The Socialist Peasants' Party (Romanian: Partidul Socialist Țărănesc, or Partidul Socialist Țărănist, PSȚ) was a short-lived political party in Romania, presided over by the academic Mihai Ralea. Created nominally in 1938 but dissolved soon after, it reemerged during World War II. A clandestine group, it opposed the fascist regime of Ion Antonescu, although its own roots were planted in authoritarian politics. Looking to the Soviet Union for inspiration, the PSȚ was cultivated by the Romanian Communist Party (PCdR), and comprised a faction of radicalized social democrats, under Lothar Rădăceanu.

Perceived as a communist tool, the PSȚ was prevented by other parties from participating in the August 23 Coup against Antonescu. It entered its legal phase in the late months of 1944, but was soon absorbed into the more powerful Ploughmen's Front.

Roots
Ralea entered politics as one of the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ) intellectuals in Iași, before his 1938 move to Bucharest. In this context, he was a prominent figure in the centrist faction of the party, with Armand Călinescu as his ally. A political and social theorist, he endorsed the PNȚ's agrarian-and-corporatist notion of a "peasant state", against the social-democratic wing of the party. As scholar Angela Harre notes, Ralea and other PNȚ leaders "tried to use the vague picture of a peasant state to counterbalance the growing fascist impact on society with an alternative democratic state model." During that time, Ralea had established contacts with the outlawed Communist Party, and already supported its antifascist agenda. PCdR contacts viewed him as one of the "bourgeois personalities with antifascist views."

By the 1937 election, which saw pro-democratic parties unable to maintain a clear majority, the "peasant state" doctrine looked set to crumble. Harre argues: "A corporatist democracy became obsolete from the middle of the 1930s on, when the strongly polarized Romanian society did not resist the split between urban modernity and a rural traditional way of life any longer." In 1938, Ralea was editor of the National Peasantist organ, Dreptatea, but at odds with PNȚ leader Iuliu Maniu. He broke away from the party to establish the PSȚ, in name only. According to Corneliu Coposu, at the time a leader of the PNȚ youth, Ralea's party was "stillborn". After King Carol II banned the PNȚ and all other mainstream parties, Ralea transformed himself into a pillar of Carol's authoritarian-corporatist regime. He was highly decorated by the king, and appointed Minister of Labor in March 1938. In this capacity, he worked to fuse all professional bodies into a general union, which was to serve as a pillar for the corporative reorganization of Romania. He also organized the Muncă și Voe Bună leisure service, directly modeled on fascist precedents such as Dopolavoro, and converted the staples of socialist propaganda in support of the FRN.

In late 1938, Carol created a single-party state around the National Renaissance Front (FRN), with Ralea as one of its prominent figures. In 1940, however, the FRN regime was unable to secure Romania against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union: the country ceded Bessarabia and Northern Transylvania, after which the regime crumbled. It was replaced by the Nazi-aligned National Legionary State, an uneasy partnership between Antonescu and the Iron Guard. The latter made efforts to prosecute figures associated with the FRN, and Ralea was consequently stripped of his academic postings. He was reinstated in 1941, after the clash between the Guard and Antonescu. However, owing to Ralea's communist sympathies, Antonescu ordered his constant surveillance by Siguranța, the country's secret police.

Reestablishment
Ralea's contacts with the PCdR became a nuisance once Romania joined Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union. From December 1942 to March 1943, he was interned alongside other dissenters in Târgu Jiu camp. Upon his release, he resumed his contacts with other dissenting academics of Iași—Iorgu Iordan, Constantin Ion Parhon, Gheorghe Vlădescu-Răcoasa—with whom, the Siguranța noted, he intended to start a "political action". It did not materialize into a political movement. During summer 1943, Ralea resumed his contacts with the PNȚ, and was received by Maniu. This interview surprised the mainstream National Peasantists, for whom Ralea was a pariah (Maniu himself had implied that Ralea had "not a trace of character"). According to Coposu, Maniu reminded Ralea of his 1938 defection, and rejected his offer to rejoin the "democratic opposition" to Antonescu. Maniu suggested instead that Ralea and other "former supporters of Carol II" create their own "antihitlerite combat front, independent from the consistently democratic elements". He appreciated Ralea's rejection of Antonescu's "catastrophic orientation" and commitment to "the country's salvation", but noted that they could only buy him a measure of leniency "for that hour when we shall be evaluating the past mistakes that have thrown this country into dejection."

During late 1943, Ralea and other dissident National Peasantists were in Brașov, where they began referring to themselves as a distinct Socialist Peasants' Party, and worked closely with an antifascist economist and doctrinaire, Victor Jinga. With a mandate from the PCdR, Ralea also approached Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front (FP) and Gheorghe Tătărescu, the former Premier and leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), who had already publicized their opposition to Antonescu's foreign policy. The newly (re)established PSȚ, also known as "Socialist Union of Workers and Peasants", was soon joined by Rădăceanu. The latter, formerly a figure of importance in the Social Democratic Party (PSDR), had earlier established his own clandestine Marxist faction. By the time of his recruitment, Rădăceanu was suspected of running errands for German businessmen, and as such criticized as a collaborator. Another figure of relative importance was Stanciu Stoian, himself a PNȚ defector, who was doubly affiliated with another underground force, the Union of Patriots.

According to historian Adrian Cioroianu, the Socialist Peasants' Party, "entirely minor", had a "ghostly" existence under Antonescu's rule. It soon approached the PCdR and, represented by Ralea and Stoian, accepted inclusion into the "Patriotic Antihitlerite Front". Journalist Victor Frunză claimed the latter was also a shady organization, also deeming the very existence (beyond the adoption of a name) doubtful. However, according to the same author, Rădăceanu and Ralea were among the PCdR's more credible outside sympathizers: "they moved to the left of the left for reasons of a personal predisposition toward totalitarianism."

Antihitlerite Front
Alongside the PNȚ, PSDR, and National Liberals, the Communists were called in to organize the August 23 Coup against Antonescu. An understanding was reached in March 1944, when the four groups set up a National Democratic Bloc (BND). The PCdR, marginally relevant in this alliance, tried to extend his influence by obtaining seats for the "Antihitlerite" parties: Ralea's PSȚ, Groza's FP, and the Union of Patriots (UP). The move was vetoed by the mainstream parties. During a new meeting with Ralea, Maniu also rejected the PSȚ offer to reunite or align itself with the PNȚ. On May 24, 1944, the PSȚ also entered a "National-Democratic Coalition", formed around the National Liberal Party–Tătărescu, which had a platform of loyalism toward King Michael I and "active political collaboration with the Soviets." It also comprised Groza's Front, the UP, the PSDR, MADOSZ, and remnants of the Democratic Nationalist Party, under Petre Topa.

Ralea and his group continued to campaign on their own. A Siguranța report of June 27 mentions that the PSȚ had received pledges and support from leftists such as Demostene Botez, Scarlat Callimachi, N. D. Cocea, and D. I. Suchianu. In July 1944, Jinga produced a manifesto for the post-Antonescu era, prophesying a socialized economy and liberal democracy. Ralea had nevertheless lost the support of Rădăceanu and his followers, who returned to the PSDR as a distinctly pro-communist inner-party faction. A PSȚ man, Grigore Geamănu, still had a significant part to play in the preparation of the coup, helping PCdR's Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej to break out of Târgu Jiu camp.

The BND then put an end to Antonescu's regime, aligning Romania with the Allied Powers, but also led the way for the Soviet occupation of Romania. The PSȚ emerged into legality on September 2, one of the seven parties mentioned by Premier Constantin Sănătescu in his decree on the transition to democracy. The central offices and Studies Circle were located at 8 Sfântul Constantin Street, downtown Bucharest. At a national level, the PSȚ began putting out a daily newspaper, Dezrobirea ("Liberation"), publicized Jinga's July manifesto as a PSȚ party program. Dezrobirea also praised Ralea's own antifascism, and claimed for the PSȚ a pedigree of "more than six years" of ideological combat. As noted by historian Lucian Boia, such statements may imply that Ralea wished to present his FRN activity and his pro-communism as a coherent whole.

By September 5, the PSȚ had formed a distinct chapter in Ilfov County, with Stoian elected as its chairman. On September 10, Jinga met Ralea in Bucharest. According to Ralea, he agreed to merge his Brașov-based movement, the Socialist Circle Group (GCS), into the larger party; this also meant that Jinga's newspaper, Țara de Mâine ("Land of Tomorrow") was a PSȚ regional mouthpiece. This account was refuted by Jinga, who argued that the GCS, although similar in purpose to the PSȚ, would maintain full independence. In tandem, the PSȚ grew to include other figures formerly associated with the FRN including Mihail Ghelmegeanu, Octav Livezeanu, and Tudor Vianu (chairman of the National Theater Bucharest). A press release of September 10 also credited as "party eminences" Colonel Petre Petrescu, doctor Radu Olteanu, and lawyer Gheorghe Tomoșoiu. The party also received into its ranks Ralea's student, poet Teohar Mihadaș, who was hiding his earlier involvement with the Iron Guard.

Almost immediately, Ralea's party was co-opted on other PCdR-controlled alliances. The "Antihitlerite Front" was formalized on September 6, when it denounced the alliance with the PNȚ and the PNL, and published its appeal to the populace on September 17. The following day, Geamănu represented his group at the UP-organized rally "for the destruction of internal Hitlerism", where he expressed the PSȚ's support for the agenda. The Front then transformed itself into a broader "National Democratic Front", in stated opposition to Sănătescu's government. As members of this coalition, the FP and the Socialist Peasantists had a particularly close relationship. Ralea's activity, and especially his self-presentation as an anti-Hitlerite, were followed with disdain by the National Peasantists. On September 22, Dreptatea noted that Sănătescu had just repealed one of Ralea's labor laws from the FRN period, under provisions which nullified "fascist" legislation: "Here is Mr Ralea the democrat, who had produced a fascist law".

Disestablishment and aftermath
On November 30, 1944, the PSȚ was absorbed into the FP. Addressing his followers on that occasion, Ralea noted that the day had come for the establishment of a single "political organism of the peasantry", which would maintain its "alliance with the proletarian forces in this country". The FP leader, Groza, became Prime Minister of a communist-aligned cabinet in which Ralea was Arts Minister; he would later serve as Ambassador to the United States, while Stoian became Minister of Religious Affairs. Already by 1945, former PSȚ politicians were manifesting their opposition to communization. Soviet advisers noted with concern that Ghelmegeanu was influencing Groza to unseal his agreements with the PCdR. During his time as a diplomat, Ralea pressed the Americans to intervene in Romania and balance out Soviet influence, as a guarantee against the collectivization of peasant property. Serving as Romanian ambassador to Socialist Yugoslavia, Vianu engaged in a debate with the PSDR defectors Ștefan Baciu and Șerban Voinea, reportedly informing them that Romania's future was "not that bleak". Vianu argued that Groza would still maintain government positions for "[Ralea's] faction and other non-communist elements."

Returning to Romania after the full imposition of a communist regime, Ralea was awarded a seat in the Great National Assembly with the formal elections of 1948. By 1949, the Securitate secret police was clamping down on some less loyal PSȚ members. Mihadaș had established contacts with the anticommunist maquis and Western countries. He was arrested and tortured, being forced to invent a conspiracy that dragged into it various members of the political and literary underworld. Ralea himself was placed under Securitate surveillance, once he began expressing his mistrust of the Communist Party. His Securitate file lists him as an "opportunistic element, a danger to our regime." Ghelmegeanu and Vianu were also marginalized, while Suchianu was arrested and imprisoned. Throughout the late 1950s and early '60s, Ralea maintained cordial relations with the communist leader, Gheorghiu-Dej, and backed the regime's gradual adoption of nationalist principles. He died in 1964, a member of the Romanian Council of State.

Notes

References
Lucian Boia, Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930 și 1950. Bucharest: Humanitas, 2012.
Adrian Cioroianu, Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc. Bucharest: Editura Curtea Veche, 2005.
Corneliu Crăciun, "Uniunea Patrioților în Bihor", in Revista Crisia, XXXIX, 2009, pp. 299–310.
Victor Frunză, Istoria stalinismului în România. Bucharest: Humanitas, 1990.
Nicolae Georgescu, Sorin Radu, "Refacerea politică și extinderea organizatorică a frontului plugarilor în anii 1944-1945", in Studia Universitatis Petru Maior. Historia, Vol. 9, 2009, pp. 187–216.
Angela Harre, "Between Marxism and Liberal Democracy: Romanian Agrarianism as an Economic Third Way", in Piotr Wawrzeniuk (ed.), Societal Change and Ideological Formation among the Rural Population of the Baltic Area, 1880-1939, pp. 57–73. Huddinge: Södertörn University, 2008.
Sorin Popescu, "Mărturii sentimentale despre prof. univ. Grigore Geamănu", in Buletin de Informare Legislativă, Issue 4/2013, pp. 32–36.
Sorin Radu, "Lichidarea social-democrației din România. Cazul Ion Flueraș (august 1944 – iunie 1953)", in Annales Universitatis Apulensis. Series Historica, Vol. 10, Issue I, 2006, pp. 101–131.
Vladimir Tismăneanu, Stalinism pentru eternitate. Iași: Polirom, 2005.
Traian Udrea, "Acțiuni ale Partidului Comunist Român pentru făurirea Frontului Patriotic Antihitlerist", in Studii. Revistă de Istorie, Issue 3/1971, pp. 537–561.

1938 establishments in Romania
1944 disestablishments in Romania
Agrarian parties in Romania
Anti-fascist organizations
Defunct agrarian political parties
Defunct socialist parties in Romania
National Peasants' Party breakaway groups
Political parties established in 1938
Political parties disestablished in 1944
Romania in World War II


title: Tommy Scott (Scottish musician)

text:
Thomas Kilpatrick (born 1940), known as Tommy Scott, is a Scottish songwriter, producer and singer. As a songwriter and producer in the 1960s and 1970s he had numerous hits in pop, rock, and folk styles; including records with Them, The Dubliners, Sydney Devine, Twinkle, and Lena Zavaroni. From the 1980s onwards, he has sung and recorded traditional Scottish music.

Biography
Scott worked in Glasgow's shipyards, before a musical career which has included touring with The White Heather Club and Jimmy Shand, and recordings including total sales of over a million.

An early success was Eden Kane's 1964 hit single "Boys Cry" (UK No. 8), written by Scott and Buddy Kaye. A French version, "Les Garçons Pleurent (Boys Cry)", was a No. 5 hit for Richard Anthony.

In the mid-1960s in London, Scott began producing for Decca Records' Dick Rowe, and worked closely with manager Phil Solomon and writer/arranger Phil Coulter. At Decca, Scott produced two albums by Them, featuring Van Morrison, but not their hit singles, which were produced by Rowe, or Bert Berns.

The 1966 song "I Can Only Give You Everything", written with Coulter and produced for Them, has become a garage rock staple; with covers by The Troggs, MC5, Richard Hell, and many others. Beck played the signature guitar riff for his hit song "Devils Haircut" (1996), and gave co-credit to Scott and Coulter.

He became a house producer for Solomon's Major Minor Records, and formed the 'Scott Solomon' production company with him.

In 1968, he and conductor Arthur Greenslade teamed up as the 'Artie Scott Orchestra', issuing one album, and the novelty single "March of the Skinheads" (1970).

In 1976, Scott collaborated with Tom Parker of Apollo 100 as the 'Plaid Pops Orchestra', recording their own Scottish themed tunes.

Sydney Devine had a hit in 1978 with "Scotland Forever", written and produced by Tommy Scott. By the 1980s, Scott turned his efforts to performing and recording traditional Scottish music on the Scotdisc label, and his own songs, including "Scotland Forever".

Selective discography

Singles

Albums/album tracks

References

Sources

Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press
Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London:Vintage Books
 officialcharts.com UK Charts search
 Irish Charts search
 Tommy Scott discography at discogs.com

1940 births
Living people
Scottish male songwriters
Scottish record producers


title: Huntsville, Kansas

text:
Huntsville is an unincorporated community in Reno County, Kansas, United States.  It is located north of Plevna along 4th Ave.

History
A post office was opened in Huntsville in 1878, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1905.

Education
The community is served by Fairfield USD 310 public school district.

References

Further reading

External links
 Reno County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT

Unincorporated communities in Reno County, Kansas
Unincorporated communities in Kansas
1878 establishments in Kansas
Populated places established in 1878


title: Lerado, Kansas

text:
Lerado is an unincorporated community in Reno County, Kansas, United States.  Early residents intended to name the community for Laredo, Texas, but a clerical error by the post office resulted in the E and A being swapped.

History
Lerado had a post office from 1874 until 1904, but the post office was called Netherland until 1884.

Education
The community is served by Fairfield USD 310 public school district.

References

Further reading

External links
 Reno County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT

Unincorporated communities in Reno County, Kansas
Unincorporated communities in Kansas
1874 establishments in Kansas
Populated places established in 1874


title: Medora, Kansas

text:
Medora is an unincorporated community in Reno County, Kansas, United States.  It is located northeast of Hutchinson  next to K-61 highway.

History
Medora had a post office from 1878 until 1988, but the post office was called Leslie until 1887.

Education
The community is served by Buhler USD 313 public school district.

References

Further reading

External links
 Reno County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT

Unincorporated communities in Reno County, Kansas
Unincorporated communities in Kansas
1878 establishments in Kansas
Populated places established in 1878


title: Epifanio Comis

text:
Epifanio Comis (born August 4, 1968 in Catania, Italy) is an Italian concert pianist and conductor.

Biography
Epifanio Comis is the winner more than 30 international and national music competitions.
He studied at the “Vincenzo Bellini” music institute in Catania and he took the High specialization course diploma at the Euterpe Academy.
His teachers were Agatella Catania, Boris Petrushansky and Piero Rattalino.

Pianist
Epifanio Comis has toured as a soloist throughout Europe, Asia, Russia, and the United States. He has performed with numerous world class orchestras including the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra of Bucharest, the Radio Orchestra of Bucharest, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Kiev, the Karlovy Vary Symfonic Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Szeged, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj, the Tulare County Symphony Orchestra of California, the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra, the OrquestraSinfonica UANL of Mexico, the Orchestra Sinfonicadel Teatro Bellini di Catania, the Orchestra SinfonicaSiciliana, The Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro Bellini, the Osaka Symphoniker, the Kioto Symphony.

Conductor

Midway through his pianistic career, Epifanio Comis branched into conducting. In May 2013 E. Comis conducted Filharmony Symphony Orchestra in Donetsk on Rachmaninoff Festival all Piano concertos and the Symphonies

Teaching
He is on the teaching staff for the main piano course at the Vincenzo Bellini's conservatory in Catania and at Accademia Pianistica Siciliana. Students of Professor Comis have already a lot of International Prizes. In 2013 his student Alessandro Mazzamuto won the International Classical Music Awards – ICMA as a ‘Young Artist of the Year’
In addition to his performing career, E. Comis has served as jury member for several international piano competitions, including International Piano Rachmaninov Competition in Moscow.
Professor Comis is invited yearly to piano Master Classes at the Hunter College in New York, at the North Carolina University, at the Duke University of Durham, at the Ecole Normale de Musique of Paris, at the Thessaloniki State Conservatory, at the Monterrey University in Mexico, at the Manhattan School of Music NY, at the West Chester University Philadelphia, Cienna Music Academy "Orpheus", at the State Moscow Conservatoire by Tchaikovsky and at Chopin Academy in Warsaw and Chopin college in Moscow where he also gives a Superior Music Course on the Concert for piano and orchestra.

Accademia
In 2011 Maestro Comis created Accademia Pianistica Siciliana in Catania. In 2014 Academy has collaboration with prestigious University of Catania

Epifanio Comis also artistic director of ConcertFest Accademia Pianistica Siciliana in Moscow.

In 2014 Professor Comis organised the International Chamber Music Festival in Catania "Le Grandi Serate Musicali" with supporting of Accademia Pianistica Siciliana and “C&G Cioccolato e Gelato.

Rachmaninov Award

In 2013, Epifanio Comis received the First International Sergei Rachmaninov Award.

References

External links

 Official Website of Epifanio Comis
 Accademia Pianistica Siciliana

Living people
1968 births
Italian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Italian male pianists
Contemporary classical music performers
21st-century classical pianists
21st-century Italian male musicians


title: Yaggy, Kansas

text:
Yaggy is an unincorporated community in Reno County, Kansas, United States.  It is located northwest of Hutchinson, west of Willowbrook, near a railroad.

History
Yaggy had a short-lived post office ca. 1901.

Education
The community is served by Nickerson–South Hutchinson USD 309 public school district.

References

Further reading

External links
 Reno County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT

Unincorporated communities in Reno County, Kansas
Unincorporated communities in Kansas
1901 establishments in Kansas


title: Rhoticity in English

text:
Rhoticity in the English language is the pronunciation of the historical rhotic consonant  in certain contexts by English speakers. The presence or absence of rhoticity is one of the most prominent distinctions by which varieties of English can be classified. In rhotic accents, the historical English  sound is preserved in all pronunciation contexts. In non-rhotic accents, speakers no longer pronounce  in postvocalic environments: when it is immediately after a vowel and not followed by another vowel.  For example, in isolation, a rhotic English speaker pronounces the words hard and butter as  and , but a non-rhotic speaker "drops" or "deletes" the  sound and pronounces them as  and .

When an r is at the end of a word but the next word begins with a vowel, as in the phrase "better apples," most non-rhotic speakers will pronounce the  in that position (the linking R) since it is followed by a vowel in this case.

The rhotic varieties of English include the dialects of South West England, Scotland, Ireland, and most of the United States and Canada. The non-rhotic varieties include most of the dialects of modern England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In some varieties, such as those of some parts of the Southern and Northeastern United States, rhoticity is a sociolinguistic variable: postvocalic r is deleted depending on an array of social factors, such as being more correlated today with lower socioeconomic status, greater age, certain ethnic identities, and less formal speaking contexts.

Evidence from written documents suggests that loss of postvocalic /r/ began sporadically in England during the mid-15th century, but those /r/-less spellings were uncommon and were restricted to private documents, especially those written by women. In the mid-18th century, postvocalic /r/ was still pronounced in most environments, but by the 1740s to the 1770s, it was often deleted entirely, especially after low vowels. By the early 19th century, the southern British standard was fully transformed into a non-rhotic variety, but some variation persisted as late as the 1870s.

In the 18th century and possibly the 17th century, the loss of postvocalic  in British English influenced southern and eastern American port cities with close connections to Britain and caused their upper-class pronunciation to become non-rhotic, but the rest of the United States remained rhotic. Non-rhotic pronunciation continued to influence American prestige speech until the 1860s, when the American Civil War began to shift America's centers of wealth and political power to rhotic areas, which had fewer cultural connections to the old colonial and British elites. In the United States, non-rhotic speech continued to hold some level of prestige up until the mid-20th century, but rhotic speech in particular became prestigious nationwide rapidly after World War II, as is reflected in the national standard, which has embraced the historical  of radio and television since the mid-20th century.

History

England

The earliest traces of a loss of  in English appear in the early 15th century and occur before coronal consonants, especially , giving modern ass 'buttocks' (Old English ears, Middle English ers or ars), and bass (fish) (OE bærs, ME bars). A second phase of the loss of  began during the 15th century and was characterized by sporadic and lexically variable deletion, such as monyng 'morning' and cadenall 'cardinal'. Those spellings without  appeared throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, but they were uncommon and were restricted to private documents, especially those written by women. No English authorities described loss of  in the standard language before the mid-18th century, and many did not fully accept it until the 1790s.

During the mid-17th century, several sources described  as being weakened but still present.  The English playwright Ben Jonson's English Grammar, published posthumously in 1640, recorded that  was "sounded firme in the beginning of words, and more liquid in the middle, and ends."  The next major documentation of the pronunciation of  appeared a century later, in 1740, when the British author of a primer for French students of English said that "in many words r before a consonant is greatly softened, almost mute, and slightly lengthens the preceding vowel."

By the 1770s, postvocalic -less pronunciation was becoming common around London even in formal educated speech. The English actor and linguist John Walker used the spelling ar to indicate the long vowel of aunt in his 1775 rhyming dictionary. In his influential Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language (1791), Walker reported, with a strong tone of disapproval, that "the r in lard, bard,... is pronounced so much in the throat as to be little more than the middle or Italian a, lengthened into baa, baad...." Americans returning to England after the American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783, reported surprise at the significant changes in the fashionable pronunciation that had taken place.

By the early 19th century, the southern English standard had been fully transformed into a non-rhotic variety, but it continued to be variable in the 1870s. The extent of rhoticity in England in the mid-19th century is summarized as widespread in the book New Zealand English: its Origins and Evolution:

In the late 19th century, Alexander John Ellis found evidence of accents being overwhelmingly rhotic in urban areas that are now firmly non-rhotic, such as Birmingham and the Black Country, and Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

The Survey of English Dialects in the 1950s and the 1960s recorded rhotic or partially-rhotic accents in almost every part of England, including in the counties of West Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Cumbria, and Kent, where rhoticity has since disappeared.

United States
The loss of postvocalic  in the British prestige standard in the late 18th and the early 19th centuries influenced the American port cities with close connections to Britain, which caused upper-class pronunciation to become non-rhotic in many eastern and southern port cities such as New York City, Boston, Alexandria, Charleston, and Savannah. Like regional dialects in England, however, the accents of other areas in America remained rhotic in a display of linguistic "lag," which preserved the original pronunciation of .

Non-rhotic pronunciation continued to influence American prestige speech until the 1860s, when the American Civil War shifted America's centers of wealth and political power to areas with fewer cultural connections to the old colonial and British elites. That largely removed the prestige associated with non-rhotic pronunciation in America. Those colonial influences may be the reason that African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is largely non-rhotic today since former slaves migrated across the United States from southern regions, where non-rhotic speech would have been prestigious.

The standard broadcasting pronunciation of national radio and television in the early 20th century favored rhoticity, aligned more with Midwestern and non-coastal Americans, and thus preserved historical . The increased prestige of rhotic American accents further accelerated after World War II.

Modern pronunciation
In most non-rhotic accents, if a word ending in written "r" is followed immediately by a word beginning with a vowel, the  is pronounced, as in water ice. That phenomenon is referred to as "linking R." Many non-rhotic speakers also insert an epenthetic  between vowels when the first vowel is one that can occur before syllable-final r (drawring for drawing). The so-called "intrusive R" has been stigmatized, but many speakers of Received Pronunciation (RP) now frequently "intrude" an epenthetic  at word boundaries, especially if one or both vowels is schwa. For example, the idea of it becomes the idea-r-of it, Australia and New Zealand becomes Australia-r-and New Zealand, the formerly well-known India-r-Office and "Laura Norder" (Law and Order). The typical alternative used by RP speakers (and some rhotic speakers as well) is to insert a glottal stop wherever an intrusive r would otherwise have been placed.

For non-rhotic speakers, what was once a vowel, followed by , is now usually realized as a long vowel. That is called compensatory lengthening, which occurs after the elision of a sound. In RP and many other non-rhotic accents card, fern, born are thus pronounced , ,  or similar (actual pronunciations vary from accent to accent). That length may be retained in phrases and so car pronounced in isolation is , but car owner is . However, a final schwa usually remains short and so water in isolation is . In RP and similar accents, the vowels  and  (or ), when they are followed by r, become diphthongs that end in schwa and so near is  and poor is . However, they have other realizations as well, including monophthongal ones. Once again, the pronunciations vary from accent to accent. The same happens to diphthongs followed by r, but they may be considered to end in rhotic speech in , which reduces to schwa, as usual, in non-rhotic speech. Thus, in isolation, tire, is pronounced  and sour is . For some speakers, some long vowels alternate with a diphthong ending in schwa and so wear may be  but wearing  .

The compensatory lengthening view is challenged by Wells, who stated that during the 17th century, stressed vowels followed by  and another consonant or word boundary underwent a lengthening process, known as pre-r lengthening. The process was not a compensatory lengthening process but an independent development, which explains modern pronunciations featuring both  (bird, fur) and  (stirring, stir it) according to their positions:  was the regular outcome of the lengthening, which shortened to  after r-dropping occurred in the 18th century. The lengthening involved "mid and open short vowels" and so the lengthening of  in car was not a compensatory process caused by r-dropping.

Even General American commonly drops the  in non-final unstressed syllables if another syllable in the same word also contains , which may be referred to as r-dissimilation. Examples include the dropping of the first  in the words surprise, governor, and caterpillar. In more careful speech, however, all  sounds are still retained.

Distribution

Rhotic accents include most varieties of Scottish English, Irish or Hiberno-English, Canadian English, American English, Barbadian English and Philippine English.

Non-rhotic accents include most varieties of English English, Welsh English, New Zealand English, Australian English, South African English, Nigerian English, Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Standard Malaysian English and Singaporean English.

Semi-rhotic accents have also been studied, such as Jamaican English, in which r is pronounced (as in even non-rhotic accents) before vowels, but also in stressed monosyllables or stressed syllables at the ends of words (e.g. in "car" or "dare"); however, it is not pronounced at the end of unstressed syllables (e.g. in "water") or before consonants (e.g. "market").

Variably rhotic accents are also widely documented, in which deletion of r (when not before vowels) is optional; in these dialects the probability of deleting r may vary depending on social, stylistic, and contextual factors. Variably rhotic accents comprise much of Indian English, Pakistani English, and Caribbean English, for example, as spoken in Tobago, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Bahamas. They also include current-day New York City English, most modern varieties of Southern American English, New York Latino English, and some Eastern New England English, as well as some varieties of Scottish English.

Non-rhotic accents in the Americas include those of the rest of the Caribbean and Belize. Additionally, there are people with non-rhotic accents who are children of at least one rhotic-accented parent but grew up, or were educated, in non-rhotic countries like Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, or Wales. By contrast, people who have at least one non-rhotic-accented parent but were raised or started their education in Canada, any rhotic Caribbean country, Ireland, Scotland, or the United States speak with rhotic accents.

England
Most English varieties in England are non-rhotic today, which stems from a trend in southeastern England and accelerated in the very late 18th century onwards, rhotic accents are still found in the West Country (south and west of a line from near Shrewsbury to around Portsmouth, including parts of the West Midlands), the Corby area (because of migration from Scotland in the 1930s), some of Lancashire (north and west of the centre of Manchester, increasingly among older and rural speakers only), some parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and in the areas that border Scotland. The prestige form, however, exerts a steady pressure toward non-rhoticity. Thus, the urban speech of Bristol, Southampton or Exeter is more accurately described as variably rhotic, the degree of rhoticity being reduced as one moves up the class and formality scales.

Scotland
Most Scottish accents are rhotic, but non-rhotic speech has been reported in Edinburgh since the 1970s and Glasgow since the 1980s.

Wales
Welsh English is mostly non-rhotic, but variable rhoticity is present in accents influenced by Welsh, especially in North Wales. Additionally, while Port Talbot English is largely non-rhotic, some speakers may supplant the front vowel of bird with .

United States

American English is now predominantly rhotic, but in the late 19th century, non-rhotic accents were common throughout much of the coastal Eastern and Southern United States, including along the Gulf Coast. In fact, non-rhotic accents were established in all major U.S. cities along the Atlantic coast except for the Delaware Valley area, centered on Philadelphia and Baltimore, because of its early Scots-Irish rhotic influence. After the American Civil War and even more intensely during the early-to-mid-20th century (presumably correlated with the Second World War), rhotic accents began to gain social prestige nationwide, even in the aforementioned areas that were traditionally non-rhotic. Thus, non-rhotic accents are increasingly perceived by Americans as sounding foreign or less educated because of an association with working-class or immigrant speakers in Eastern and Southern cities, and rhotic accents are increasingly perceived as sounding more "General American."

Today, non-rhoticity in the American South among whites is found primarily among older speakers and only in some areas such as central and southern Alabama; Savannah, Georgia; and Norfolk, Virginia, as well as in the Yat accent of New Orleans. However, it is still very common all across the South and across all age groups among African American speakers. The local dialects of eastern New England, especially that of Boston, Massachusetts but also those extending into the states of Maine and (less so) New Hampshire, show some non-rhoticity along with the traditional Rhode Island dialect, although this feature has been receding in recent generations. The New York City dialect has traditionally been non-rhotic, but William Labov more precisely classifies its current form as variably rhotic, with many of its sub-varieties actually being fully rhotic, such as that of northeastern New Jersey.

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is largely non-rhotic, and in some non-rhotic Southern and AAVE accents, there is no linking r; that is,  at the end of a word is deleted even when the following word starts with a vowel; thus, "Mister Adams" is pronounced . In a few such accents, intervocalic  is deleted before an unstressed syllable even within a word if the following syllable begins with a vowel. In such accents, pronunciations like  for Carolina, or  for "bear up" are heard. This pronunciation occurs in AAVE and also occurred for many older non-rhotic Southern speakers. Nonetheless, AAVE spoken in areas in which non-AAVE speakers are rhotic is likelier to be rhotic, and rhoticity is also generally more common among younger AAVE-speakers.

Typically, even non-rhotic modern varieties of American English pronounce the  in  (as in "bird," "work," or "perky") and realize it, as in most rhotic varieties, as  (an r-colored mid central vowel) or  (a sequence of a mid central vowel and a postalveolar or retroflex approximant).

Canada
Canadian English is entirely rhotic except for small isolated areas in southwestern New Brunswick, parts of Newfoundland, and the Lunenburg English variety spoken in Lunenburg and Shelburne Counties, Nova Scotia, which may be non-rhotic or variably rhotic.

Ireland

The prestige form of English spoken in Ireland is rhotic and most regional accents are rhotic, but some regional accents, particularly in the area around counties Louth and Cavan are notably non-rhotic and many non-prestige accents have touches of non-rhoticity.  In Dublin, the traditional local dialect is largely non-rhotic, but the more modern varieties, referred to by Hickey as "mainstream Dublin English" and "fashionable Dublin English", are fully rhotic. Hickey used that as an example of how English in Ireland does not follow prestige trends in England.

Asia
The English spoken in Asia is predominantly rhotic. In the case of the Philippines, that may be explained because Philippine English is heavily influenced by the American dialect and because of Spanish influence in the various Philippine languages. In addition, many East Asians (in Mainland China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan) who have a good command of English generally have rhotic accents because of the influence of American English. That excludes Hong Kong, whose English dialect is a result of its almost 150-year history as a British Crown colony and later a British dependent territory).l The lack of consonant /r/ in Cantonese also contributes to the phenomenon, but has rhoticity started to exist because of the handover in 1997 and influence by the US and East Asian entertainment industries. However, many older (and younger) speakers among South and East Asians have a non-rhotic accent. Speakers of Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.), Turkic (Turkish, Azeri, etc.), Iranian languages (Persian, Kurdish, etc.) in West Asia also speak English with a rhotic pronunciation because of the inherent phonotactics of their native languages.

Indian English is variably rhotic and can vary between being non-rhotic by most education systems being based on British English or rhotic from the underlying phonotactics of the native Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages and the influence of American English. Other Asian regions with non-rhotic English are Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. A typical Malaysian's English would be almost totally non-rhotic because of the nonexistence of rhotic endings in both languages of influence, but a more educated Malaysian's English may be non-rhotic because Standard Malaysian English is based on RP (Received Pronunciation). The classical English spoken in Brunei is non-rhotic, but one change that seems to be taking place is that Brunei English is now becoming rhotic from the influence of American English; from the influence of Standard Malay, which is rhotic; and from influence of the languages of Indians in Brunei (Tamil and Punjabi). Rhoticity is also used by Chinese Bruneians, but the English in the neighboring Malaysia and Singapore remains non-rhotic. In Brunei English, rhoticity is equal to Philippine dialects of English and Scottish and Irish dialects. Non-rhoticity is mostly found in older generations; the phenomenon is almost similar to the status of American English, which has greatly reduced non-rhoticity.

A typical teenager's Southeast Asian English would be rhotic, mainly from the prominent influence by American English. Spoken English in Myanmar is non-rhotic, but there are a number of English speakers with a rhotic or partially-rhotic pronunciation. Sri Lankan English may be rhotic.

Africa
The English spoken in most of Africa is based on RP and is generally non-rhotic. Pronunciation and variation in African English accents are largely affected by native African language influences, level of education, and exposure to Western influences. The English accents spoken in the coastal areas of West Africa are primarily non-rhotic because of the underlying varieties of Niger-Congo languages that are spoken in that part of West Africa. Rhoticity may exist in the English that is spoken in the areas in which rhotic Afro-Asiatic or Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken across northern West Africa and in the Nilotic regions of East Africa. More modern trends show an increasing American influence on African English pronunciation particularly among younger urban affluent populations, which may overstress the American rhotic "r," which creates a pseudo-Americanised accent.

By and large, the official spoken English used in post-colonial African countries is non-rhotic. Standard Liberian English is also non-rhotic because its liquids are lost at the end of words or before consonants. South African English is mostly non-rhotic, especially in the Cultivated dialect, which is based on RP, except for some Broad varieties spoken in the Cape Province (typically in -er suffixes, as in writer). It appears that postvocalic  is entering the speech of younger people under the influence of American English and perhaps of the Scottish dialect that was brought by the Scottish settlers.

Australia
Standard Australian English is non-rhotic. A degree of rhoticity has been observed in a particular sublect of the Australian Aboriginal English spoken on the coast of South Australia, especially in speakers from the Point Pearce and Raukkan settlements. These speakers realise /r/ as [ɹ] in the preconsonantal postvocalic position, after a vowel but before another a consonant, but only within stems: [boːɹd] "board", [tʃɜɹtʃ] "church", [pɜɹθ] "Perth"; but [flæː] "flour", [dɒktə] "doctor", [jɪəz] "years". It has been speculated that the feature may derive from the fact that many of the first settlers in coastal South Australia, including Cornish tin-miners, Scottish missionaries, and American whalers, spoke rhotic varieties.

New Zealand
Although New Zealand English is predominantly non-rhotic, Southland and parts of Otago in the far south of New Zealand's South Island are rhotic from apparent Scottish influence. Many Māori and Pasifika people, who tend to speak a specific dialect of English, also speak with a strong "r," but they are not the only ones to do so. Older Southland speakers use  variably after vowels, but younger speakers now use  only with the  vowel and occasionally with the  vowel. Younger Southland speakers pronounce  in third term  (General NZE pronunciation: ) but only sometimes in farm cart  (usually the same as in General NZE). However, non-prevocalic  among non-rhotic speakers is sometimes pronounced in a few words, including Ireland , merely , err , and the name of the letter R  (General NZE pronunciations: ). The Māori accent varies from the European-origin New Zealand accent. Some Māori speakers are semi-rhotic, but that feature is not clearly identified to any particular region or attributed to any defined language shift. The Māori language itself tends to pronounce "r" as usually an alveolar tap , like in the Scottish dialect.

Mergers characteristic of non-rhotic accents
Some phonemic mergers are characteristic of non-rhotic accents and usually include one item that historically contained an R, which has been lost in the non-rhotic accent, and another that never did so.

/ɛə/–/ɛər/ merger
A merger of words like bad and bared occurs, in some dialects of North American English, as an effect of two historical developments. First, when the  vowel is sporadically raised, creating a new phoneme /ɛə/ distinct from /æ/. Second, when this occurs in non-rhotic dialects, there is potential for the /ɛə/ phoneme to merge with , causing bad and bared to become homophones. Thus, the merger occurs almost exclusively in some New York City English. In extreme cases, these two can also merge with , causing bad and bared to become homophonous with beard.

/ʌ/–/ɜːr/ merger
A merger of words like bud and bird (  and ) occurs for some speakers of Jamaican English and makes bud and bird homophones as . The conversion of  to  or  is also found in places scattered around England and Scotland. Some speakers, mostly rural, in the area from London to Norfolk exhibit this conversion, mainly before voiceless fricatives. This gives pronunciation like first  and worse .

– merger
In the terminology of John C. Wells, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets comma and letter. It is found in all or nearly all non-rhotic accents and is present even in some accents that are in other respects rhotic, such as those of some speakers in Jamaica and the Bahamas.

In some accents, syllabification may interact with rhoticity and result in homophones for which non-rhotic accents have centering diphthongs. Possibilities include Korea–career, Shi'a–sheer, and Maia–mire, and skua may be identical with the second syllable of obscure.

Polysyllabic morpheme-final /ɪd/–/əd/–/ərd/ merger
A merger of words like batted and battered is present in non-rhotic accents which have undergone the weak vowel merger. Such accents include Australian, New Zealand, most South African and some non-rhotic English (e.g. Norfolk, Sheffield) speech. The third edition of Longman Pronunciation Dictionary lists  (and  mentioned below) as possible (though less common than  and ) British pronunciations, which means that the merger is an option even in RP.

A large number of homophonous pairs involve the syllabic -es and agentive -ers suffixes, such as merges-mergers and bleaches-bleachers. Because they are so numerous, they are excluded from the list of homophonous pairs below.

Polysyllabic morpheme-final /oʊ/–/ə/–/ər/ merger
A conditioned merger of EME  and  with  and  is similar to the weak vowel merger, and like it occurs only in unstressed positions and only in certain words. In Cockney, the merged vowel is usually , so that fellow is homophonous with feller and fella as  (phonemically ); thus, words like yellow, marrow, potato, follow, etc. take a similar path. The mid  occurs in other non-rhotic accents, such as some older Southern American English. An r-colored  occurs instead in rhotic accents, for instance in parts of the west of England and in some deep Southern American English, like Appalachian English, preserving the Middle English phonotactic constraint against final : . In other words, in traditional Appalachian dialect, the final  (as in data and sofa) is distinctly r-colored, thus yielding the same merger as in Cockney but with a distinct phonetic output. Both phenomena are restricted to the broadest varieties of English.

In Cockney, the resulting  is subject to -insertion, as in tomato and cucumber production .

In RP, there are certain prefixes such as crypto-, electro- and socio- that have a free variation between  and  before consonants, although in some words the unreduced  is preferred. Before vowels, only  occurs.

/eɪ/–/ɛər/–/ɪər/ merger
The merger of the lexical sets ,  and  is possible in some Jamaican English and partially also in Northern East Anglian English.

In Jamaica, the merger occurs after deletion of the postvocalic  in a preconsonantal position, so that fade can be homophonous with feared as , but day  is normally distinct from dear , though vowels in both words can be analyzed as belonging to the same phoneme (followed by  in the latter case, so that the merger of  and / does not occur). In Jamaican Patois, the merged vowel is an opening diphthong  and that realization can also be heard in Jamaican English, mostly before a sounded  (so that fare and fear can be both  and ), but sometimes also in other positions. Alternatively,  can be laxed to  before a sounded , which produces a variable Mary-merry merger: .

It is possible in northern East Anglian varieties (to ), but only in the case of items descended from ME , such as daze. Those descended from ME  (such as days),  and  have a distinctive  vowel. The merger appears to be receding, as items descended from ME  are being transferred to the  class; in other words, a pane-pain merger is taking place. In the southern dialect area, the pane-pain merger is complete and all three vowels are distinct:  is ,  is  and  is .

A near-merger of  and  is possible in General South African English, but the vowels typically remain distinct as  (for ) and  (for ). The difference between the two phonemes is so sometimes subtle that they're  can be misheard as they  (see zero copula). In other varieties the difference is more noticeable, e.g.  vs.  in Broad SAE and  vs.  in the Cultivated variety. Even in General SAE,  can be  or , strongly distinguished from  .  remains distinct in all varieties, typically as . Kevin Watson reports basically the same, subtle distinction between  in  and  in  in Scouse. The latter is used not only for  but also in the  set, so that fur is homophonous with fair as  - see square-nurse merger. The vowel is not necessarily as front/close as this and pronunciations such as  and  also occur, with  being the more traditional variant.

In the Cardiff dialect  can also be similar to cardinal  (though long , as in South Africa), but  typically has a fully close ending point  and thus the vowels are more distinct than in the General South African accent. An alternative realization of the former is an open-mid monophthong . Formerly,  was sometimes realized as a narrow diphthong , but this has virtually disappeared by the 1990s.  is phonemically distinct, normally as  before any  (a fleece–near merger) and a disyllabic  elsewhere.

In Geordie, the merger of  and  is recessive and has never been categorical (  has always been a distinct vowel), as  can instead be pronounced as the closing diphthong  or, more commonly, the close-mid front monophthong . The latter is the most common choice for younger speakers, who tend to reject the centering diphthongs for , which categorically undoes the merger for those speakers. Even when  is realized as an opening-centering diphthong, it may be distinguished from  by the openness of the first element:  or  for  vs.  for .

Some of the words listed below may have different forms in traditional Geordie. For the sake of simplicity, the merged vowel is transcribed with . For a related merger not involving , see near-square merger.

/ɑː/–/ɑːr/ merger
In Wells' terminology, the /ɑː/–/ɑːr/ merger consists of the merger of the lexical sets PALM and START. It is found in the speech of the great majority of non-rhotic speakers, including those of England, Wales, the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It may be absent in some non-rhotic speakers in the Bahamas.

Homophonous pairs resulting from this merger are rare in accents without the father-bother merger (see below). Two such pairs are father-farther and spa-spar

/ɒ/–/ɑːr/ merger
In Wells terminology, the /ɒ/–/ɑːr/ merger is a merger of LOT and START. This merger occurs in accents with the /ɑː/–/ɑːr/ merger described above that have also undergone the father-bother merger. This includes most non-rhotic American English (in Rhode Island, New York City, some Southern U.S., and some African-American accents, but not the Boston accent). This results in a greatly expanded number of homophonous pairs, such as god-guard.

/ʌ/–/ɑːr/ merger
In Wells' terminology, this consists of the merger of the lexical sets  and . It occurs in Black South African English as a result of its - merger, co-occurring with the /ɑ/–/ɑːr/ merger described above. The outcome of the merger is an open central vowel  or, less frequently, an open-mid back vowel .

In Australia and New Zealand, the two vowels contrast only by length:  for both palm and start. This (as well as -monophthongization in Australian English) introduces phonemic vowel length to those dialects. In Colchester English, the vowels undergo a qualitative near-merger (with the length contrast preserved) as  and , at least for middle-class speakers. A more local pronunciation of  is front . A qualitative near-merger is also possible in contemporary General British English, where the vowels come close as  vs. , with only a slight difference in height in addition to the difference in length.

A three-way merger of ,  and  is a common pronunciation error among L2 speakers of English whose native language is Italian, Spanish or Catalan. Notably, EFL speakers who aim at the British pronunciation of can't  but fail to lengthen the vowel sufficiently are perceived as uttering a highly-taboo word, cunt .

/ɔː/–/ɔr/ merger
In Wells' terminology, the caught–court merger consists of the merger of the lexical sets THOUGHT and NORTH. It is found in most of the same accents as the father–farther merger described above, including most British English, but is absent from the Bahamas and Guyana.

Labov et al. suggest that, in New York City English, this merger is present in perception not production. As in, although even locals perceive themselves using the same vowel in both cases, they tend to produce the / vowel higher and more retracted than the vowel of .

Most speakers with the pawn-porn merger also have the same vowels in caught and court (a merger of THOUGHT and FORCE), yielding a three-way merger of awe-or-ore/oar (see horse-hoarse merger). These include the accents of Southern England (but see THOUGHT split), non-rhotic New York City speakers, Trinidad and the Southern hemisphere.

The lot-cloth split, coupled with those mergers, produces a few more homophones, such as boss–bourse. Specifically, the phonemic merger of the words often and orphan was a running gag in the Gilbert and Sullivan musical, The Pirates of Penzance.

/ɔː/–/ʊər/ merger
In Wells' terminology, the law–lure merger of the lexical sets THOUGHT and CURE. It is found in those non-rhotic accents containing the caught–court merger that have also undergone the pour–poor merger. Wells lists it unequivocally only for the accent of Trinidad, but it is an option for non-rhotic speakers in England, Australia and New Zealand. Such speakers have a potential four-way merger taw–tor–tore–tour.

Tautosyllabic pre-consonantal /ɔɪ/–/ɜːr/ merger
A conditioned merger of  and  is famously associated with early 20th-century New York City English; see coil-curl merger below.

/oʊ/–/ʊər/ merger
In Wells' terminology, a merger of toad and toured consists of the merger of the lexical sets GOAT and CURE. It may be present in those speakers who have both the dough–door merger described above, and also the pour–poor merger. These include some southern U.S. non-rhotic speakers, some speakers of African-American English (in both cases towards ) and some speakers in Guyana.

In Geordie, the merger (towards , phonetically ) is variable and recessive. It is also not categorical, as  can instead be pronounced as the close-mid monophthongs  and . The central  is as stereotypically Geordie as the merger itself, though it is still used alongside  by young, middle-class males who, as younger speakers in general, reject the centering diphthongs for  (females often merge  with  instead, see thought-goat merger). This categorically undoes the merger for those speakers. Even when  is realized as an opening-centering diphthong, it may be distinguished from  by the openness of the first element:  or  vs. .

Some of the words listed below may have different forms in traditional Geordie.

Up-gliding

Up-gliding  is a diphthongized vowel sound, , used as the pronunciation of the  phoneme . This up-gliding variant historically occurred in some completely non-rhotic dialects of American English and is particularly associated with the early twentieth-century (but now extinct or moribund) dialects of New York City, New Orleans, and Charleston, likely developing in the prior century. In fact, in speakers born before World War I, this sound apparently predominated throughout older speech of the Southern United States, ranging from "South Carolina to Texas and north to eastern Arkansas and the southern edge of Kentucky." This variant happened only when  was followed by a consonant in the same morpheme; thus, for example, stir was never ; rather, stir would have been pronounced .

Coil–curl merger
In some cases, particularly in New York City, the  sound gliding from a schwa upwards even led to a phonemic merger of the vowel classes associated with the General American phonemes  as in  and  as in ; thus, words like coil and curl, as well as voice and verse, were homophones. The merged vowel was typically a diphthong , with a mid central starting point, rather than the back rounded starting point of  of  in most other accents of English. The merger is responsible for the "Brooklynese" stereotypes of bird sounding like boid and thirty-third sounding like toity-toid. This merger is also known for the word soitenly, used often by the Three Stooges comedian Curly Howard as a variant of certainly in comedy shorts of the 1930s and 1940s. The songwriter Sam M. Lewis, a native New Yorker, rhymed returning with joining in the lyrics of the English-language version of "Gloomy Sunday". Except for New Orleans English, this merger did not occur in the South, despite up-gliding  existing in some older Southern accents; instead, a distinction between the two phonemes was maintained due to a down-gliding  sound: something like .

In 1966, according to a survey that was done by William Labov in New York City, 100% of the people 60 and over used  for bird. With each younger age group, however, the percentage got progressively lower: 59% of 50- to 59-year-olds, 33% of 40- to 49-year-olds, 24% of 20- to 39-year-olds, and finally, only 4% of 8- to 19-year-olds used  for bird. Nearly all native New Yorkers born since 1950, even those whose speech is otherwise non-rhotic, now pronounce bird as . However, Labov reports this vowel to be slightly raised compared to other dialects. In addition, a study from 2014 found [əɪ] variably in two participating native New Yorkers, one of whom was born in the early 1990s.

Effect of non-rhotic dialects on orthography
Certain words have spellings derived from non-rhotic dialects or renderings of foreign words through non-rhotic pronunciation. In rhotic dialects, spelling pronunciation has caused these words to be pronounced rhotically anyway. Examples include:
 Er and Erm, used in non-rhotic dialects to indicate a filled pause, which most rhotic dialects would instead convey with uh, eh, and um.
 The game Parcheesi, from Indian Pachisi.
 British English slang words:
 char for cha from the Cantonese pronunciation of  (= "tea" (the drink))
 In Rudyard Kipling's books:
 dorg instead of dawg for a drawled pronunciation of dog.
 Hindu god name Kama misspelled as Karma (which is a concept in several Asian religions, not a god).
 Hindustani  /   ("paper") spelled as kargaz.
 The donkey Eeyore in A.A. Milne's stories, whose name comes from the sound that donkeys make, commonly spelled hee-haw in American English.
 Southern American goober and pinder from KiKongo  and ngubá and mpinda
Burma and Myanmar for Burmese  and
 Orlu for Igbo
 Transliteration of Cantonese words and names, such as char siu () and Wong Kar-wai ()
 The spelling of schoolmarm for school ma'am, which Americans pronounce with the rhotic consonant.
The spelling Park  for the Korean surname  (), which does not contain a liquid consonant in Korean.

See also
English-language vowel changes before historic /r/

Notes

References

Bibliography

English phonology
Rhotic consonants
Splits and mergers in English phonology


The 1978 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University during the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. Finishing the season on a seven-game winning streak, the Spartans won their fourth Big Ten Conference championship, which they shared with in-state rival Michigan. The Spartans finished number 12 in the final AP Poll.

Wide receiver Kirk Gibson caught 42 passes for 806 yard during the 1978 season. Gibson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Quarterback Ed Smith led the Big Ten in 1978 with 2,226 passing yards, a 139.0 passing efficiency rating, and 2,247 yards of total offense. He was also selected as the most valuable player on the 1978 Michigan State team. He finished his career as Michigan State's and the Big Ten's all-time leader with 5,706 passing yards.

The team was put on probation during the 1978 season and could not appear in any bowl games.

Schedule

Roster

Jon-Erik Hexum actor known for accidentally fatally shooting himself on the set of Cover Up.

References

Michigan State
Michigan State Spartans football seasons
Big Ten Conference football champion seasons
Michigan State Spartans football


title: Fhána

text:
Fhána (stylized as fhána) is a three-member Japanese pop band that formed in 2012 as an indie band. After releasing one album independently, they were signed in 2013 to Lantis. They released their debut single "Que Sera Sera" in August 2013.

History
Fhána originally formed with Jun'ichi Satō, Yuxuki Waga, and Kevin Mitsunaga, all three having previously been involved in separate independent bands. Fhána did not have a fixed vocalist at first, instead employing guest vocalists to sing the band's songs. Fhána released their independent album New World Line on May 18, 2012 featuring four guest vocalists: Makiko Naka, Towana, IA (a Vocaloid sampling of Lia's voice), and Aoi Tada. In late 2012, Towana joined Fhána as the official vocalist. Fhána was signed to Lantis in 2013 and released their major debut single  on August 21, 2013; the song is used as the ending theme to the 2013 anime series The Eccentric Family.

The band's second single "Tiny Lamp" was released on November 23, 2013; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2013 anime series Gingitsune. Their third single "Divine Intervention" was released on January 22, 2014; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2014 anime series Witch Craft Works. Fhána's fourth single  was released on April 30, 2014; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2014 anime series The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior. Fhána released an updated version of their New World Line album titled View from New World Line on May 28, 2014 via iTunes. The band's fifth single  was released on November 5, 2014; the song is used as the ending theme to the 2014 anime series Celestial Method. Fhána's major debut album Outside of Melancholy was released on February 4, 2015.

Fhána's sixth single  was released on August 5, 2015; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2015 anime series Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei Herz!. Fhána's seventh single  was released on October 28, 2015; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2015 anime series Comet Lucifer. Fhána's eighth single  was released on January 27, 2016; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2016 anime series Haruchika. Fhána's second studio album What a Wonderful World Line was released on April 27, 2016.

Fhána's ninth single "Calling" was released on August 3, 2016; the song is used as the ending theme song to the 2016 anime series Tales of Zestiria the X. The band's tenth single  was released on January 25, 2017; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2017 anime series Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. Fhána's 11th single  was released on April 26, 2017; the song is used as the ending theme to the second season of The Eccentric Family. Their 12th single "Hello! My World!!" was released on August 2, 2017; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2017 anime series Knight's & Magic. The band's 13th single  was released on January 31, 2018; the song is used as the opening theme to the 2018 anime series Märchen Mädchen. Fhána's third studio album World Atlas was released on March 28, 2018.

Their 14th single  was released on August 7, 2019, and their 15th single  was released on February 26, 2020. Fhána subsequently released three digital singles: "Pathos" on December 18, 2020, "Ethos" on March 12, 2021, and "Nameless Color" on April 9, 2021. "Nameless Color" is featured in Square Enix's rhythm game Show By Rock!! Fes A Live. Fhána's 19th single  was released on July 7, 2021; the title song is used as the opening theme to the 2021 anime series Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S.

In December 2022, Yuxuki decided to leave the band and his last concert was the final concert of the "Fhána Cipher Live Tour 2022" in Nagoya.

Members

Current members
 – keyboards, backing vocals
Kevin Mitsunaga – sampler, metallophone, synthesizers, backing vocals
Towana – vocals

Former members
Yuxuki Waga – guitar

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Digital singles

Music videos

Other album appearances

References

External links

Japanese pop music groups
Lantis (company) artists
Musical groups established in 2012
2012 establishments in Japan


title: Colour by Numbers (Freeze the Atlantic EP)

text:
Colour by Numbers is the debut release from the alternative rock band Freeze the Atlantic.

It is the only record to feature the original Freeze the Atlantic line-up as Jon Pearce would depart the band shortly before its release.

Track listing

Personnel
Freeze the Atlantic
Jon Pearce - bass
Guy Davis - drums
Chris Knott - vocals
Andy Gilmour - guitar
Tom Stevens - guitar

References

2011 debut EPs
Freeze the Atlantic albums
Alcopop! Records EPs


title: Freeze the Atlantic

text:
Freeze the Atlantic were an English alternative rock band based in Farnborough, Hampshire. The band were formed in late 2008 by Guy Davis, Jon Pearce and Andy Gilmour following the hiatus of both Reuben and Hundred Reasons. The group's name is taken from a song by English alternative rock band Cable from their 1997 album, When Animals Attack.

The band announced their split in September 2018.

History

Formation and debut EP
Started initially by Andy Gilmour with Jon Pearce and Guy Davis following the hiatus of both Reuben and Hundred Reasons, the band then recruited second guitarist Tom Stevens (formerly of Archie & the Instincts). The band placed instrumental demos on Myspace to help audition for a vocalist, and in 2009 Daniel Flay (The Travis Waltons) joined the band. Although not appearing on any official releases, Flay did record several demos of songs that would eventually find official release. In 2010 Flay left the band due to personal reasons and Chris J Knott was swiftly brought in as on vocals to complete the line-up. The band spent much of the next 2 years touring the UK. Jon Pearce left the group in 2010 and was replaced by Sean Shreeve. In 2011 the band released their debut EP, Colour by Numbers was released on Alcopop! Records.

Speakeasy
Freeze the Atlantic's debut album Speakeasy was released the following year featuring
Colin Doran of Hundred Reasons and JP Reid of Sucioperro/Marmaduke Duke as guest vocalists. The album's lead single Volcanoes would feature Liv Puente of Laruso as a guest vocalist. Liv Puente would go on to join the band permanently after Chris Knott departed in late 2012.

Second album
In 2013, Freeze the Atlantic began work on their second studio album. The band announced that the album would be self-titled and "Stompbox" would be the first single to be released from the album. Freeze the Atlantic was released on 16 June 2014 to positive reviews, with former vocalist Chris Knott making a guest appearance on the album. It was announced in November 2014 that Sean Shreeve would be departing the band to focus on other projects with original bass player Jon Pearce returning to the line-up as his full-time replacement.

The songs “welcome back to nibelheim” and “stompbox” were featured in S3:E11 “that’s too much, man!” Of the TV show Bojack Horseman

Third album
The People Are Revolting - Alcopop! Records (2017) was the band's third studio album with 11 tracks including the anthemic namesake "The People Are Revolting."

Split

On 26 September 2018 the band announced on Instagram that they were splitting up. They played their final gig on 20 October 2018, which was also their 10-year anniversary show.

Band members
Current
Guy Davis - drums (2008–2018)
Andy Gilmour - guitar (2008–2018)
Tom Stevens - guitar (2008–2018)
Jon Pearce - bass (2008-2010) (2014–2018)
Liv Puente - vocals (2012–2018)

Former
Daniel Flay - vocals (2009-2010)
Chris Knott - vocals (2010-2012)
Sean Shreeve - bass (2010–2014)

Discography

Studio albums
 Speakeasy - Alcopop! Records (2012)
 Freeze the Atlantic - Alcopop! Records (2014)
 The People Are Revolting - Alcopop! Records (2017)

EPs
 Colour by Numbers - Alcopop! Records (2011)

Splits
 Samoans / Freeze the Atlantic (Split with Samoans) - Apres Vous Records (2015)

Music videos
 "Waking Up" (2011)
 "Volcanoes" (2012)
 "This Fight" (2012)
 "Shivering & Dazed" (2013)
 "Stompbox" (2014)
 "The Last Great Train Robbery" (2015)

References

External links

Musical groups established in 2008
English rock music groups
People from Farnborough, Hampshire


title: Freeze the Atlantic (album)

text:
Freeze the Atlantic is the eponymously-titled second studio album by the Farnborough-based rock band of the same name. The album was produced and mixed by drummer Guy Davis and released on 16 June 2014 through Alcopop! Records. It is the first record with Liv Puente as the bands permanent vocalist and the last album to feature Sean Shreeve who would go on to leave the band at the end of 2014.

Track listing

Personnel
Freeze the Atlantic
Liv Puente - vocals
Andy Gilmour - guitar/vocals
Tom Stevens - guitar/piano/vocals
Sean Shreeve - bass/vocals
Guy Davis - drums/percussion

Guest vocalists
 Chris Knott – vocals on "Bound"

References

External links

2014 albums
Alcopop! Records albums
Freeze the Atlantic albums


title: Speakeasy (Freeze the Atlantic album)

text:
Speakeasy is the debut studio album from Farnborough based rock band Freeze the Atlantic. The album features a re-recorded version of "The Alibi" as well as a full band version of "Broken Bones" from their Colour by Numbers EP.

Track listing

Personnel
Freeze the Atlantic
Chris Knott - vocals
Andy Gilmour - guitar/vocals
Tom Stevens - guitar/piano/vocals
Sean Shreeve - bass/vocals
Guy Davis - drums/percussion

Guest vocalists
 Liv Puente – vocals on "Volcanoes"
 Colin Doran – vocals on "Loses All The Romance"
 JP Reid – vocals on "The Alibi"

Additional personnel
 Harry White – strings on "Crestfallen"

References

External links

2012 debut albums
Alcopop! Records albums
Freeze the Atlantic albums


title: Full Swing (EP)

text:
Full Swing is the debut EP from Cornish Folk Punk band Crowns. A six-track EP recorded and released 2012.

"Kissing Gates" was the first single released from the EP in November 2011, followed by Full Swing in February 2012.

Track listing

Personnel
Crowns
 Bill Jefferson - vocals/guitar
 Jake Butler - bass/backing vocals
 Jack Speckleton - mandolin/backing vocals
 Nathan Haynes - drums/backing vocals

References

2012 debut EPs
Crowns (band) albums


title: Stitches in the Flag

text:
Stitches in the Flag is the debut album from four-piece Cornish folk punk band Crowns.

The album features a re-recorded version of the title track from their first EP Full Swing.

Track listing

Personnel
Crowns
 Bill Jefferson - vocals/guitar
 Jake Butler - bass/backing vocals
 Jack Speckleton - mandolin/backing vocals
 Nathan Haynes - drums/backing vocals

References

2012 debut albums
Crowns (band) albums


title: Lex Machina

text:
Lex Machina, Inc. is a company that provides legal analytics to legal professionals. It began as an IP litigation research company and is now a division of LexisNexis. The company started as a project at Stanford University within the university's law school and computer science department before launching as a startup in Menlo Park, California. Lex Machina provides a SaaS product to legal professionals to aid in their practice, research, and business.

History
Lex Machina initially began in 2006 as a public interest project at Stanford University by Professor Mark Lemley and co-founders George Gregory and Joshua Walker. The project was developed within the university's law school and computer science department under the IP Litigation Clearinghouse (IPLC) project. Lex Machina was incorporated in 2008 and launched the following year. The name "Lex Machina" is a Latin phrase meaning "law machine" that Walker had used in a research paper he wrote in 2004. Walker was named the CEO of the company until venture capitalist Josh Becker took over in 2011. In 2015 the company was acquired by LexisNexis. Former CTO Karl Harris became CEO of Lex Machina in 2018.

Company developments
Lex Machina is based in Menlo Park, just north of Palo Alto and Stanford. While still a public interest project at Stanford, Lex Machina generated approximately $3 million in donations. In 2012, the company reportedly received $2 million in funding led by X/Seed Capital Management. Lex Machina generated another $4.8 million in a Series A round of funding in 2013 led by Cue Ball Capital. LexisNexis acquired Lex Machina in 2015.

Services
Lex Machina is a legal analytics solution that uses natural language processing, machine learning, and technology-assisted human review to deliver case resolutions, damages, remedies, findings, and accurate counsel and party data. Its engineering processes acquire and maintain a constantly updating database of case data and documents necessary to provide accurate data. Lex Machina gathers raw information from cases, including downloading millions of court documents, to present the comprehensive and accurate data. It cleans, tags, codes, enhances, and presents the resulting data in a way that makes it easy for legal professionals to access insights and grasp trends that are relevant to a specific legal matter.

Lex Machina currently provides legal analytics on any federal commercially relevant civil court case in 17 practice areas, as well as civil cases in 16 state courts. The services Lex Machina provides can be used within a variety of industries, and the company has clients ranging from law firms (including three-quarters of the AmLaw 100) to companies (including Facebook, Nike, Microsoft, and Uber). Lex Machina allows qualifying public-interest entities to access its services for free.

References

Law firms established in 2006
American companies established in 2006
2006 establishments in California
Law firms based in California


title: Freakit

text:
"Freakit" is a song co-written and performed by Das EFX, issued as the lead single from their second studio album Straight Up Sewaside. In 1993, the song reached #1 on the Billboard dance chart, as well as peaking at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Wayne Isham.

Chart positions

References

External links

1993 singles
1993 songs
Das EFX songs
East West Records singles
Music videos directed by Wayne Isham


title: Hapoel Hod HaSharon F.C.

text:
Hapoel Hod HaSharon () is an Israeli football club based in Hod HaSharon. They are currently in the south division of Liga Alef.

History
The club was founded in 1965. A Previous club, Hapoel Hadar Ramatayim, which represented the settlements that merged to create Hod HaSharon in 1964, was active until the 1962–63 season.

Hapoel Hod HaSharon reached Liga Bet for the first time in 1975–76 season, where they finished second from bottom in Liga Bet South A division, and were relegated back to Liga Gimel where they played until promoted back to Liga Bet in the 1990s. The club finished second bottom in the Liga Bet South A division 2008–09 season, and were relegated to Liga Gimel where they spent two seasons, until finishing runners-up in the 2010–11 season whilst playing in the Liga Gimel Sharon division, being promoted back to Liga Bet. In the 2013–14 season, the club finished runners-up in Liga Bet South A division and qualified to the promotion play-offs. After beating Hapoel Bik'at HaYarden, Maccabi Ironi Kfar Yona, and Hapoel Rahat, they faced Maccabi Be'er Sheva in the decisive promotion/relegation play-offs. Hapoel Hod HaSharon won 1–0, with a goal by Itay Menachem in the 89th minute, gaining promotion to Liga Alef.

The team played in the Liga Alef for 4 seasons, and at the end of the 2017–18 season was relegated to the Liga Bet. Their fourth season in the Liga Alef was particularly bad, during which the team lost its first 24 games and eventually finished the season with one point, which it achieved in the 25th game of the season.

Prominent players at the club
Idan Srur and Yaniv Luzon, who at the same time coached the club's youth team, which was previously coached by Alon Bromer. In the past, Tal Banesh and Matan Barashi played for the club.

Location

Honours

Cup competitions

References

External links
Hapoel Hod HaSharon Ironi Israel Football Association

Hod HaSharon
Hod HaSharon
Association football clubs established in 1965
1965 establishments in Israel
Hod HaSharon


title: Sabah Al-Fatlawi

text:
Maj. General Sabah al-Fatlawi is an Iraqi military commander. He is currently the Chief Commander of the Samarra Special Forces Command.

Career
In 2010 Fatlawi, then a Major General, was the Chief of Police for Dhi Qar province.

In October 2012 the interior ministry announced plans to transfer Fatlawi to the Samarra Special Forces command. On 26 November 2012, Fatlawi took over the leadership of the Samarra Special Forces Command from Gen. Rasheed Folayih, who was transferred to Baghdad.

2014 Northern Iraq Offensive
As of June 2014 Fatlawi was still serving as the lead commander of Samarra Special Forces Command and was involved in directing Iraqi government forces during the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive. Under his command Iraqi special forces, backed by airstrikes, pushed back an ISIS attack on Samarra, leading ISIS forces to bypass the city on their press towards Baghdad.

Personal life
On 7 April 2014 Fatlawi announced his intention to sue an MP from the Sadrist Ahrar Bloc for incitement and defamation. The MP had accused Fatlawi of being a Ba'athist.

Fatlawi is the brother of Hanan Saeed Mohsen al-Fatlawi; an MP and Founder and leader of Eradaa Movement.

Sources/external links

See also
Iraqi Security Forces
Iraq War
War on Terrorism

Iraqi generals
Year of birth uncertain
Living people
2018 deaths
Year of birth missing (living people)


title: Czech Mexicans

text:
Czech Mexicans () are citizens of Mexico who are of Czech descent. Czechs originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority of the traditional lands of the Bohemian Crown, namely Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. These lands have been governed by a variety of states, including the Kingdom of Bohemia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, the Czechoslovak Republic, and, now, the Czech Republic.

History

Jesuit missionaries
During the colonial era, there were several Bohemian Jesuit missionaries involved in the evangelization of Mexico. The first Jesuits left Bohemia for the Americas in 1678. A notable example is Simon Boruhradsky (Hispanicized as Simón de Castro) who was part of the Viceroy's court and contributed to architectural projects.

Recent immigration
The Czech community in Mexico has been a discrete community, most of them arrived to the country as refugees escaping from World Wars. The Czech community of Mexico City frequently meets for celebrations at the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk located on Avenida Presidente Masaryk.

Notable individuals
 Angélica Espinoza Stransky, actress
 Juan de Esteyneffer, Jesuit missionary
 Wenceslaus Linck, Jesuit missionary
 Rubén Marshall Tikalova, editorial director
 Miroslava, actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema
 Sylvia Schmelkes, sociologist
 Sasha Sokol, actress and singer

See also
 Czech Republic–Mexico relations
 Norteño (music), influenced by Central European immigrants

References

Further reading
 Odložilík, Otakar "Czech Missionaries in New Spain", The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Nov., 1945), pp. 428-454
 Polzer, Charles W. (1991). The Jesuit Missions of Northern Mexico. Taylor & Francis. .
 Rechcigl, Miloslav (2016). Encyclopedia of Bohemian and Czech-American Biography . AuthorHouse.  (includes biographies of Bohemian missionaries active in colonial Mexico)

Immigration to Mexico

Mexico
Ethnic groups in Mexico


title: Ron Karr

text:
Ron Karr is an American speaker, marketing consultant and author based in New Jersey. He was elected President of National Speakers Association for 2013–14 and he is the President of Karr Associates, Inc.
Karr is a National Board Member of the NSA and a past president of the New York City Chapter of NSA. In 1995, the New York Tri-State Chapter presented him with the Golden Mike Award.

Personal life and education
He is the son of Miriam Karr who was an economist and served as the Vice President of Counter Trade Group at Chase Manhattan Bank. He graduated from the Skidmore College in 1978.

Career
Karr is a member of the National Speakers Association and is a past president of its New York City Chapter. In 2008, he appeared with Steve Forbes and was awarded the President's Award for Distinguished Service for the second time. Karr is also a National board member of the NSA. He has also served on the faculty of the American Management Association and the Urban Business Assistance Corporation. Karr is a National board member of the NSA and the president of NSA for 2013–14.
Karr is the author of The Titan Principle: The Number One Secret to Sales Success, a book about influencing behaviour to generate sales. He has co-authored a book titled The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Great Customer Service with Don Blohowiak. He has also published articles in several magazines including Entrepreneur and Home Office Computing. In 2009, Karr wrote a book titled Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way, a book about the practices of best sales performers.

Awards and honors
 Listed in Who's Who of Global Business Leaders
 1997 – National Speakers Association President's Award for Distinguished Service
 1995 – Awarded Golden Mike Award from New York Chapter of NSA
 2008 – National Speakers Association President's Award for Distinguished Service
 2008 – National Speakers Association Awarded Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation

References

Skidmore College alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American male writers


title: Józef Roman Utnicki

text:
Józef Roman Utnicki (1912–1991) was a Polish teacher and military officer. He served in the Polish Army throughout World War II. As a first lieutenant with the Polish Independent Highland Brigade, for his service during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940 he was awarded the Virtuti Militari, he was also among the thirteen Poles awarded the Norwegian War Cross with Sword by king Haakon VII of Norway. After the war he remained in Great Britain.

Career

Utnicki was born 19 March 1912 in the town of Jedlnia near Radom, then in Russian-held part of Poland. Utnicki received military training in mid-1930s and was promoted to the rank of Podporucznik (Second Lieutenant) at the end of 1935. During the Invasion of Poland, he served as commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Company of the 72nd Infantry Regiment (28th Infantry Division). After the Polish defeat he managed to evade capture by the invading Germans and Soviets and reached France, where he joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West. He was soon promoted to the rank of Porucznik (First Lieutenant) and joined the Polish Independent Highland Brigade as the commanding officer of 1st Rifle Company, 1st Battalion. Together with his unit, Utnicki took part in the lengthy Battle of Narvik of 1940, capturing the Ankenes peninsula.

After the battle, Utnicki was relocated with his unit to France, where he took part in the defence of Brittany during the Battle of France. After the French surrender, he managed to evade captivity once again and reached Great Britain. Promoted to the rank of captain, he joined the Polish intelligence services and spent the remainder of the war in Scotland as a member of the Information and Intelligence Division of the Staff of the Commander in Chief.

After the war he remained in the United Kingdom, where he died in 1991. His body was brought back to Poland.

Awards and decorations

 Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari (V class)
 Norwegian War Cross with Sword

References

Citations

Bibliography

Polish military personnel of World War II
Polish Army officers
Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari
Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway)
1912 births
1991 deaths
Battle of France


title: Numa François Gillet

text:
Numa François Gillet (born 1868, Bordeaux) was a French painter who was a member of the Salon des Artistes Français where he exhibited hors concours, he was also made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. He often worked with his close friend Armand Point.

References

1868 births
Year of death missing
19th-century French painters
Artists from Bordeaux
Knights of the Legion of Honour


title: David Carpenter (cricketer)

text:
David Carpenter (12 September 1935 – 4 January 2022) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Gloucestershire from 1954 to 1963.

Life and career
Born in Rodborough, Stroud, Carpenter was educated at Tetbury Grammar School. A right-handed opening or middle-order batsman, he made his debut for Gloucestershire Second XI in 1953. After scoring 119 in three hours against a Bristol University team in June 1954 he was promoted to the senior team. He played 12 first-class matches that season but scored only 264 runs at an average of 13.20 with top score of 41.

After national service in the Royal Air Force he returned to county cricket in 1957, and despite scoring a quick 193 out of a team total of 291 for 5 for the Second XI against Somerset Second XI he was unable to make an impact at first-class level. He again struggled in 1958, but he scored his first fifty: 74, in what Wisden called a "polished display", and 32 against Glamorgan.

Carpenter established himself in 1961, scoring 1353 runs at 23.32 in what turned out to be his only full season in the First XI. Having previously scored only two fifties in his first 56 matches, he scored 10 fifties in 30 matches in 1961, with a top score of 89 against Somerset, and 85 three days later against the touring Australians, when he put on 119 for the first wicket with Martin Young.

He played most of the season in 1962 and made his highest score, 95 against Derbyshire, but otherwise he was less successful than in 1961. After a lean season in 1963 he retired from first-class cricket.

After his cricket career, Carpenter had a successful career in the brewing industry. He died on 4 January 2022, at the age of 86.

References

External links
David Carpenter at CricketArchive

1935 births
2022 deaths
People from Rodborough
English cricketers
Gloucestershire cricketers
Cricketers from Gloucestershire


title: Margrét Þorbjörg Thors Hallgrímsson

text:
Margrét Þorbjörg Thors Hallgrímsson (April 22, 1902 – September 2, 1996) was a matriarch of one of the most powerful families in Iceland in the twentieth century. She was the eighth child of Margrét Þorbjörg Kristjánsdóttir and Thor Philip Axel Jensen, one of Iceland's most powerful businessmen, and the last of them to die. On November 17, 1928, Margrét Þorbjörg married the businessman Hallgrímur Fr. Hallgrímsson (1905–1989), with whom she had Margrét Þóra Hallgrímsson and Elína Benta.

References

Margret Thorbjorg Thors Hallgrimsson
1902 births
Margret Thorbjorg Thors Hallgrimsson
1996 deaths
Margret Thorbjorg Thors Hallgrimsson
Thors family


title: Blue Heart

text:
Blue Heart may refer to:

 Blue Heart (album), an album by Stella Parton
 Blue Heart (play), a play by Caryl Churchill
 , a 2021 film by Miguel Coyula
 Uranothauma antinorii, an African butterfly
 Military
 Operation Bluehearts, military operation during Korean War
 Plant
 Buchnera americana, a member of the Broomrape family (Orobanchaceae)


title: Mahsa Vahdat

text:
Mahsa Vahdat (in Persian مهسا وحدت) (born 29 October 1973, Tehran, Iran) is a Persian classical and world music vocalist.

Mahsa Vahdat's music style is contemporary expression inspired by old traditional and folk and regional music of Persia/Iran that she developed for many years and it is the result of work with many musicians from Iran and other countries. She writes most of her songs.

In her music she also developed dialogue between other cultures in a high artistic quality and she got a huge response internationally. The text of her work is mostly from classical and contemporary Persian poetry such as the works by Hafez and Rumi. She has released materials with her sister Marjan Vahdat (in Persian  مرجان وحدت). as in albums Songs from a Persian Garden, I Am Eve and Twinklings of Hope.

Life
After learning to play piano, she studied traditional Persian singing under Pari Meleki and Mehdi Fallah. She also studied setar with Ramin Kakavand and Masoud Shoari. In 1993, she entered Tehran University obtaining a BA in Music from the university's music faculty, working alongside Sharif Lotfi, Ahmad Pejman, Hooshang Zarif, Behnam Vohdani, Abdorreza Sajadi, Houshang Kamkar, and Mohammad Reza Darvishi.

As women are not allowed to sing in public as a solo singer after 1979 Islamic Revolution, most of Mahsa Vahdat's albums were recorded outside Iran where she enjoys great fame with the Iranian diaspora and in world music circles. In Tehran she teaches Persian vocal music in her home.

Career
Following her participation in Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2004), Mahsa started a long lasting collaboration with the Norwegian record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) and producer Erik Hillestad, which led to a world wide release of a series of records. The album was conceived as a humanistic counter to former US President George Bush’s assertion that Iran, North Korea, and Iraq constituted an axis of evil by showcasing music from these nations. It also included musicians from the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan, Syria, Cuba, and Libya – the latter three of which were identified by Bush’s Undersecretary of State and later National Security Advisor to the Trump White House John Bolton as ‘beyond the axis of evil’.

Since 2007 Mahsa has been one of the ambassadors of , an independent international organization that advocates freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide. In 2010, she was granted the Freemuse Award.

Since 1995 Mahsa has performed as an independent artist in concerts and festivals in Asia, Europe, the US, and Africa together with musicians from Iran, Europe and America. Mahsa Vahdat has worked with many acclaimed musicians in the world such as Tord Gustavsen, Knut Reiersrud, Pasha Hanjani, Atabak elyasi, Shervin Mohajer, Mathias Eick, SKRUK Choir, and Mighty Sam McClain.

In 2007 she recorded "Songs from a Persian Garden"  in a charity concert in Tehran in the residence of Italian embassy in cooperation with UN for disabled children in Zahedan and it was released in 2007 in Norway and Europe and America. It was a mix ensemble of Norwegian and Iranian musicians together with her sister Marjan Vahdat as another lead singer. It has been arranged by Knut Reiersrud (Norwegian guitarist and musician).
In 2008 she released the I am Eve album with her sister Marjan Vahdat that has a strong message for women in Iran; eg the lyrics of the first track "I am Eve" strongly expresses the power of women who have many restrictions under the Iranian government. It has been arranged by Atabak Elyasi (Iranian composer). The album received many attention in world music societies and people in Iran and excellent reviews in world music magazines such as fRoots, Songlines and many other reviews.

Discography
Mahsa Vahdat has released a number of albums – some in collaboration.

Personal life
She is married to Iranian musician Atabak Elyasi. They cooperate in many projects together.

References

Winner of German Critic awards "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik"

External links
Official website
Valley Entertainment artist page

1973 births
Living people
20th-century Iranian women singers


title: Maurice McCausland

text:
Maurice Marcus McCausland (1872–14 January 1938) was a landowner and political figure in Ireland.

McCausland was born in Drenagh, County Londonderry, the grandson of St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso.  He studied at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, before becoming a magistrate.  He was High Sheriff of County Londonderry in 1908, and in 1926, he was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry, serving until his death.  In 1934, he was appointed to the Privy Council of Northern Ireland.

References

1872 births
1938 deaths
High Sheriffs of County Londonderry
Lord-Lieutenants of County Londonderry
Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
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title: Akhu Tönpa

text:
Akhu Tönpa (Tib: , Wyl: a khu ston pa), or Uncle Teacher, is a fictional character portrayed as a trickster in Tibetan folklore.  Akhu Tönpa is portrayed as a layperson who frequently plays harmless and not-so-harmless pranks on villagers, monks, and members of the aristocracy. However, he also acts as a leader or role model. He is believed to be sent by Chenrezig (Avalokiteśvara), the Buddha of compassion, to teach Tibetans the art of being shrewd and witty. As such, he frequently outwits the strong and mighty in society and is portrayed as a champion of the common man.

Etymology
"Akhu" means uncle in Tibetan, but it is also used as a title for older men by younger people, while ston pa means "to demonstrate, to show, teacher" and refers ultimately to the Buddha. However, he is known by different names in different parts of Tibet. In the Nedhong province of Tibet, he is known as Nyichoe Zangpo (Wyl: nyi chos bzang po), which translates to "good Dharma."

History
Akhu Tönpa fables (Wyl.: sgrung stam) are a vast corpus of folklore in Tibetan culture. These fables convey traditional values while also simultaneously providing entertainment and are meant to be humorous. They often end with a moral message provided by Akhu Tönpa himself. In this way, Akhu Tönpa stories are interwoven with Tibetan Buddhist values and traditions. As folktales, they were originally passed down orally and have only recently been written down as interest grew in preserving Tibetan oral culture. As such, the provenance and age of many of these folktales is unknown, but it can be said with certainty that they are from the pre-1949 Chinese Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China.

In one folktale, he leads the planting of a barren field by telling the villagers to dig for jewels that he lost.

According to "a survey of fifty-three Tibetan students from Yul shul, Mgo log, Rma Iho, Mtsho byang, Mtsho Iho, and Mtsho nub prefectures studying at Qinghai Education College in Xining...all the students had heard Aa khu bston pa (Akhu Tönpa) stories, thirty-three students had heard Afanti stories," while many other Tibetan tricksters were only known by a small number of the students, showing the ubiquity of Akhu Tönpa stories.

See also
 Tibetan literature

References

External links
 A Tibetan folk tale about Uncle Tompa (Akhu Tönpa) buying and selling a special harvest, translated into English