Ever wonder how "aspirin" or "zipper" went from protected trademarks to everyday words? This is "genericide", the high-stakes process where…
Ever wonder about the little voice that reads along with you in your head? This phenomenon, known as subvocalization, is…
Far from being simple digital decorations, emojis follow a complex and unwritten grammar that dictates their meaning. The order of…
Languages like Mandarin and Thai use pitch to distinguish words, so how can you possibly whisper? Speakers subconsciously use a…
Ever cringe when someone says they "literally died laughing"? This common complaint points to a fascinating linguistic process called semantic…
It’s the subtle catch in your throat in the middle of "uh-oh" or the defining feature of a Cockney accent…
The Japanese writing system uniquely blends three distinct scripts—Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana—often within a single sentence. This presents a fascinating…
What happens when a bilingual person suffers brain damage and loses one of their languages, but not the other? This…
Ever overheard a conversation that sounded like your language, but made no sense? You might have stumbled upon an anti-language,…
In 1999, murder victim Ricky McCormick left behind two encrypted notes that have stumped the FBI for over two decades.…
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