How Persian Lost Its Gender

5 months ago

Modern Persian, or Farsi, is famously gender-neutral, but its ancestor, Old Persian, was not. This post explores the fascinating linguistic…

Speaking Up, Speaking Down: Java’s Speech Levels

5 months ago

In the Javanese language, 'please' and 'thank you' are just the beginning. The entire vocabulary—from pronouns to verbs—changes based on…

Why Korean Uses Two Number Systems

5 months ago

Ordering coffee in Seoul? You'll need one set of numbers. Telling the time? You'll need another. This might seem confusing,…

The Georgian Verb: A Sentence in One Word

5 months ago

Ever wondered if you could fit an entire sentence into a single word? In the ancient and beautiful Georgian language,…

A, B, C: The Hidden Logic of Alphabetical Order

5 months ago

We learn the alphabet as children, but have you ever wondered why the letters are in that specific order? The…

The Non-Apology: A Grammatical Breakdown

5 months ago

"I'm sorry if you were offended". This familiar phrase feels hollow for a reason: it's a non-apology, an illusion of…

How Dogs Bark Around the World

5 months ago

Why does an English-speaking dog say "woof" while a Japanese dog says "wan wan"? The answer isn't in the dog,…

Can AI Understand a Poem?

5 months ago

An AI can write a surprisingly convincing poem, but can it truly understand one? We explore the immense linguistic and…

Reading Without Inner Speech

5 months ago

Do you hear a voice in your head when you read? While many of us have a constant inner narrator,…

How to Read a Phonetic Transcription

5 months ago

What do all those weird symbols in a dictionary entry mean? This beginner's guide to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)…

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