Asian Languages

A Guide to Sino-Tibetan Languages

Journey into the Sino-Tibetan language family, a vast linguistic world of over 400 languages spoken by 1.4 billion people. From…

3 weeks ago

The Pitch-Accent Puzzle of Japanese

In Japanese, a single word like `hashi` can mean 'bridge' or 'chopsticks' based on a subtle change in melody. This…

3 weeks 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…

3 weeks 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…

3 weeks ago

The Dutch Door: Japan’s Hidden Language Bridge

For over two centuries, Japan was sealed from the world. Yet, on the tiny island of Dejima, a single language—Dutch—became…

3 weeks ago

A Thousand Grains of Rice: The World of Classifiers

Why can you say "three dogs" in English, but speakers of Chinese, Japanese, and Mayan languages must use a special…

3 weeks ago

Reading Japanese: The Brain’s 3-Script Juggle

The Japanese writing system uniquely blends three distinct scripts—Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana—often within a single sentence. This presents a fascinating…

3 weeks ago

Kusunda: The Ghost Language of Nepal

Once believed to be extinct, the Kusunda language of Nepal is a true linguistic ghost, with no known relatives in…

3 weeks ago

The Language of North Sentinel Island

On a remote island lives a people who have rejected all contact with the modern world. Their language, Sentinelese, is…

3 weeks ago

How Vietnam Got Its Latin Script

The Vietnamese alphabet, Quốc Ngữ, presents a fascinating paradox with its Latin letters used for a tonal, Austroasiatic language. Originally…

3 weeks ago

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