Languages of the World

The Rounding Harmony of Turkic Languages

Have you ever mastered vowel harmony, only to find another layer of rules? Enter labial harmony, the fascinating system in…

1 day ago

One Slice, One Loaf: The Logic of Measure Words

Ever wondered why you can't say "one rice" in English or "one bread" in Chinese? This post dives into the…

1 day ago

How a Phoneme is Born

Language sounds are always in flux, but where do new ones come from? This article explores the fascinating linguistic process…

1 day ago

The Case for Compounding

Behold the German word Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän. Far from being a chaotic jumble of letters, this linguistic titan is a masterclass in…

1 day ago

Isolate vs. Dialect Continuum

While language isolates like Basque stand as mysterious linguistic islands with no living relatives, dialect continuums show us how languages…

1 day ago

AI’s Sign Language Problem

We've taught AI to understand our spoken words, but sign language presents a far greater challenge that goes beyond tracking…

1 day ago

The Two ‘Haves’ of Irish: Possession as a State

Unlike English, the Irish language doesn't have a single verb for "to have." Instead, to say "I have a book",…

4 days ago

Logograms vs. Ideograms: There’s a Difference

Is Chinese a language of "idea-pictures"? Not quite. This common misconception confuses ideograms, which are language-independent symbols for concepts, with…

4 days ago

The Sound of Size: Consonant Gradation in Finnish

Ever notice how Finnish words seem to change their consonants for no reason? This isn't random linguistic magic; it's a…

4 days ago

The Syntax of Silence in Japanese

In Japanese communication, silence is rarely an empty space. This post delves into the "grammar" of 沈黙 (chinmoku), exploring how…

4 days ago

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