Languages of the World

The Grammar of Evidentials in Quechua

In Quechua, it’s grammatically impossible to state a fact without also specifying how you know it. This fascinating system of…

1 week ago

Why Korean and Japanese Share Grammar

Are Korean and Japanese related languages? While they feel incredibly similar to learners, the answer from linguists is "no." This…

1 week ago

The Australian Kriol Language

** Did you know Australia's largest Indigenous language, by number of speakers, is an English-based creole? Move beyond pidgins to…

1 week ago

The Ghost Phonemes of Irish

Why does the "s" in the Irish word "sláinte" sound like an "sh"? The answer lies in slender and broad…

2 weeks ago

The Glottal Stop’s Secret Life in English

Think the glottal stop is just for Cockney accents? Think again. This unwritten consonant is hiding in plain sight in…

2 weeks ago

The World’s Quietest Shift: The Great Silence of French

Move beyond the Great Vowel Shift and explore French's "Great Silence"—the massive, historical loss of final consonants. This single change…

2 weeks ago

The Fossilized Question: Grammaticalization of Verbs

When you ask, "Do you speak English?", what is the word 'do' really doing? This seemingly simple word is actually…

2 weeks ago

The Echo Vowel: Parasitic Vowels in Irish and Japanese

Have you ever heard a vowel that wasn't spelled, like the "a" in the Irish word *uisce* (ish-ka)? This phenomenon,…

2 weeks ago

The Uralic Enigma: A Lost Siberian Homeland

Ever wondered why Finnish and Hungarian sound nothing like their European neighbors? These languages are part of the Uralic family,…

2 weeks ago

Why Are Slavic Languages So Beautiful?

From the soft, melodic whispers of palatalized consonants to the poetic freedom of its grammar, the beauty of Slavic languages…

2 weeks ago

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