Languages of the World

Why ‘Cot’ and ‘Caught’ Sound the Same

For millions of English speakers, the words "cot" and "caught" are pronounced identically, while for others, they remain distinct. This…

2 months ago

The Real Language of Pirates

Think pirates all sounded like Long John Silver, shouting "Shiver me timbers"!? The historical reality is far more fascinating. This…

2 months ago

The Sound of a Merger: Spain’s ‘Y’ vs ‘LL’

Explore "yeísmo", the fascinating linguistic phenomenon where the Spanish 'll' and 'y' sounds have merged into one. This post delves…

2 months ago

The Ghost in the Object: Spain’s Personal ‘a’

Ever wonder why Spanish speakers say "Veo a María" but "Veo la mesa"? This grammatical quirk, known as the "personal…

2 months ago

The RAE vs. ‘Todes’: A Language Standoff

A linguistic battle is raging across the Spanish-speaking world, pitting the prestigious Real Academia Española (RAE) against a powerful grassroots…

2 months ago

The Spanish That Crossed the Atlantic

Ever wonder why Spanish in Mexico sounds so different from Spanish in Madrid? The story begins not in the capital,…

2 months ago

Spain’s Secret Lexicon: The Influence of Caló

Ever wondered where cool Spanish slang words like 'currar' (to work) or 'molar' (to be cool) come from? The answer…

2 months ago

Leísmo, Laísmo, Loísmo: Spain’s Pronoun War

In the world of Spanish grammar, a quiet war rages on. The combatants are three tiny pronouns—le, la, and lo—and…

2 months ago

The Upside-Down Question Mark’s Origin

Why is Spanish the only major language to use inverted question marks (¿) and exclamation marks (¡)? This unique punctuation…

2 months ago

The Ghost of Spanish in the Philippines

For over 300 years, Spanish was the official language of the Philippines, but today it is a linguistic ghost. Its…

2 months ago

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