The Language of De-escalation: How Words Avert Crisis

7 months ago

From hostage negotiation to customer service, specific linguistic choices can calm a volatile situation. This article explores the grammar of…

The Chinook Jargon: Language of the Pacific Fur Trade

7 months ago

For over a century, a unique pidgin language connected Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Asians along the Pacific Northwest coast. Known…

The Language of the Looms: Jacquard’s Code

7 months ago

Long before Silicon Valley, a different kind of code was being written—not in silicon, but in cardboard and thread. The…

The Grammar of Nothing: Null Subjects

7 months ago

Ever wonder why you can say "Piove" in Italian for "It's raining", but "Is raining" is wrong in English? This…

When Siblings Lie: Germanic False Friends

7 months ago

English and German are sibling languages, but like any family, they have their misunderstandings. This article explores "false friends"—deceptive words…

The Body’s Betrayal: When Gestures Are False Friends

7 months ago

You know about 'false friends' in language, but what about in gestures? That innocent 'thumbs-up' or 'A-OK' sign could be…

Pragmatic Traps: The Cultural Side of False Friends

7 months ago

We all know about "false friends"—words that look similar but mean different things. But what about words that are perfect…

The Translator’s Trap: Can AI Outsmart False Friends?

7 months ago

False friends are words that look the same in different languages but mean wildly different things—a classic trap for language…

Hidden Cousins: Cognates That Look Like Strangers

7 months ago

We’ve all heard of "false friends"—words that look the same in different languages but mean different things. But what about…

Echoes in the Dark: The Linguistics of Coincidence

7 months ago

Why do Japanese arigatō and Portuguese obrigado sound so similar? While it's tempting to invent a story of ancient contact,…

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