Before English: The Echoes of Brythonic

7 months ago

Long before Old English was spoken, the island of Britain resonated with the sounds of another tongue: Brythonic. While the…

The Alphabet That Follows the Sun: The Cherokee Syllabary

7 months ago

The Cherokee syllabary, invented by the brilliant Sequoyah, is more than one of history's greatest intellectual achievements. Its lesser-known secret…

The German ‘You’: When to Use Du, Sie, or Ihr

7 months ago

Choosing between 'du', 'Sie', and 'ihr' in German is more than a grammar lesson; it's a high-stakes social test. This…

Linguistic Exogamy: Marrying Out to Survive

7 months ago

In certain Amazonian societies, there's a strict rule: you cannot marry someone who speaks your own language. This practice, known…

The Secret Script of Women: The Story of Nüshu

7 months ago

In the patriarchal world of rural China, women were denied a voice—so they invented their own. Uncover the story of…

Are There Any Absolute Language Universals?

7 months ago

For decades, linguists have searched for features shared by all 7,000+ human languages, a quest for a "Universal Grammar." But…

More Than a Suffix: The World of Clitics

7 months ago

What do 'll in "we'll" and 's in "cat's" have in common? They are clitics—phonologically weak words that can't stand…

The Fossil in ‘Sing, Sang, Sung’: Ablaut

7 months ago

Ever wonder why we say "I sing" but "I sang" and "I have sung"? These aren't just random, annoying exceptions…

The Vowel’s Shadow: Parasitic Vowels

7 months ago

Have you ever wondered why some non-native speakers say "espeak" for "speak"? This isn't just an error, but a linguistic…

When ‘S’ Became ‘R’: The Story of Rhotacism

7 months ago

Ever wondered why the Latin word for 'honor' is honos but its other forms use the stem honor-? This isn't…

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