Language Stories

The Boontling Lingo of Boonville

Deep in a remote California valley, a community invented its own secret lingo called Boontling to gossip and joke in…

1 week ago

The African Tongue with Asian Roots

Journey to the great island of Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot floating off the coast of Mozambique. You might assume its…

1 week ago

Slavic False Friends: Words That Deceive

Ever tried to use your knowledge of one Slavic language in another, only to be met with a confused stare?…

1 week ago

The People Who Became Words: A Guide to Eponyms

From 'boycott' to 'sandwich', our language is full of words that were once people's names. This fascinating guide to eponyms…

1 week ago

Echoes in the Dark: The Linguistics of Coincidence

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

3 weeks ago

Words Without Parents: Linguistic Orphans

Every word has a family tree, but what about the "orphan words"—linguistic mysteries like *dog*, *bad*, and *quiz*—that appear in…

3 weeks ago

Null Ciphers: The Message in the Noise

A null cipher is a clever form of steganography where a secret is hidden within an ordinary-looking text. Instead of…

3 weeks ago

The Copyright That Wasn’t: The Klingon Language Lawsuit

Can you own a language? This very question was at the heart of a high-stakes lawsuit when Paramount sued the…

3 weeks ago

Speaking Without a Tongue: A Linguistic Miracle

What happens when the tongue, our primary tool for speech, is lost? This article explores the linguistic miracle of glossectomy…

3 weeks ago

The Surgeon and the Lexicographer: The Unlikely Genius Who Built the OED From an Asylum

The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary relied on thousands of volunteers, but none were as brilliant or enigmatic as…

3 weeks ago

This website uses cookies.