Slur

Slur may refer to:

See also

Relaxed pronunciation

Relaxed pronunciation (also called condensed pronunciation or word slurs) is a phenomenon that happens when the syllables of common words are slurred together. It is almost always present in normal speech, in all natural languages but not in some constructed languages, such as Loglan or Lojban, which are designed so that all words are parsable.

Some shortened forms of words and phrases, such as contractions or weak forms can be considered to derive from relaxed pronunciations, but a phrase with a relaxed pronunciation is not the same as a contraction. In English, where contractions are common, they are considered part of the standard language and accordingly used in many contexts (except on very formal speech or in formal/legal writing); however, relaxed pronunciation is markedly informal in register. This is also sometimes reflected in writing: contractions have a standard written form, but relaxed pronunciations may not, outside of eye dialect.

Certain relaxed pronunciations occur only in specific grammatical contexts, the exact understanding of which can be complicated. See trace (linguistics) for some further info.

Slur (music)

A slur is a symbol in Western musical notation indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played without separation, i.e. with legato articulation. A slur is denoted with a curved line generally placed over the notes if the stems point downward, and under them if the stems point upwards:

Notation

The slur is not to be confused with two other similar musical symbols. The tie is a curved line that links two notes of the same pitch to show that their durations are to be added together. The phrase mark is a curved line that extends over a passage which is visually indistinguishable from the slur, and indicates that the passage is to be interpreted as a single phrase.

When two instruments written on the same staff both have slurred phrases with the same note values (e.g., clarinets playing in thirds) it is customary to have two sets of slurs, though in some scores just one set is used and it is understood to apply to both of the instruments.

Performance

Kongō

Kongō (金剛) is the name of

The mountain has lent its name to a series of Japanese naval ships:

Other uses of the name include:

See also

Kong

Kong may refer to:

Kong (dog toy)

Kong (sometimes KONG) is a popular line of dog toys and cat toys introduced in 1976. The classic Kong resembles a snowman-like structure of three balls pushed together. Kongs also come in several variations for dogs of different ages and sizes. Made of rubber, they are hollow in the middle, and can be stuffed with treats or frozen to provide long-lasting distraction for anxious or high-energy dogs.

They come in four rubber types; red for average chewers, pink or blue for puppies, purple for seniors, and black for tough chewers. In addition to the typical snowman-like Kongs, Kong has also made a very successful line of dental chews, balls, pull toys (such as the Kong Wubba and the Kong Tugger Knots), Frisbees, a dog binky, floating toys, squeakers, and various interactive toys and accessories. For cats, Kong also has a line of toys including a cat version of their "Wubba", as well as scratching boards, catnip, and other chew toys.

Origin

The toys are produced by the Kong Company of Colorado. The company founder, Joe Markham, invented the Kong in the 1970s, when he noticed his German shepherd Fritz damaging his teeth by chewing rocks. He found that Fritz enjoyed chewing on a hard rubber Volkswagen Bus suspension device, and spent about six years experimenting with different compounds to produce a chew toy of similar size and shape that he could sell to pet owners. A friend commented that the toy looked like "an earplug for King Kong"--hence its name. Originally, Markham sold most of his products to Israel, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom, but the Kong began a rise in sales in the United States in the mid-1980s, and have remained popular there subsequently. The book Planet Dog (2005) describes the Kong as "possibly the best-known dog toy in the world".