Languages of the World

France’s Base-20 Math Problem

Why do the French say 'four-twenties' for 80? This linguistic quirk is a fascinating relic from a base-20 counting system…

10 months ago

The Walloon Language of Belgium

Belgium's linguistic landscape is famously divided, but beyond French and Dutch lies Walloon, a distinct Romance language with deep historical…

10 months ago

The Latin Echo in Spanish ‘ll’

Ever wonder why the Spanish word for 'rain' is *lluvia* when its Latin ancestor was *pluvia*? This transformation is no…

10 months ago

How to Invent an Alphabet

Ever dreamed of creating your own alphabet? This guide delves into the art and science of script creation, exploring the…

10 months ago

The Word Inside a Word: Infixation

We all know about prefixes and suffixes, but what about the "word inside a word"? This fascinating linguistic process, called…

10 months ago

The Ghost in the North: Sami’s Echo in Norwegian

While Norwegian is a Germanic language, centuries of contact have left it with linguistic "ghosts" from the indigenous Sami languages.…

10 months ago

Germany’s Word-Engine: The Logic of Compounds

Go beyond the humor of long German words and discover the powerful logic that builds them. This article deconstructs the…

10 months ago

The Uphill Verb: Grammar of the Himalayas

In most languages, you simply 'go' somewhere. But in the Himalayas, the very grammar of the language forces you to…

10 months ago

Arabizi: The Internet’s Hybrid Arabic Script

Arabizi is the internet’s hybrid Arabic script, an ingenious solution to typing Arabic sounds on Latin keyboards using numbers like…

10 months ago

The Grammar of Haiku: More Than Just 5-7-5

Many writers know the 5-7-5 syllable count of haiku, but this is merely the surface. The true grammar of the…

10 months ago

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