Language Families

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…

3 weeks 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…

3 weeks 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…

3 weeks ago

The Lisp That Isn’t a Lisp: Spain’s Seseo

Ever wondered why some Spanish speakers seem to have a lisp when they pronounce 'c' or 'z'? It's not a…

3 weeks ago

The Ghost in the Word: Cranberry Morphemes

What do the "cran" in cranberry and the "luke" in lukewarm have in common? They are "cranberry morphemes"—fossilized word parts…

3 weeks ago

The Janus Word: Unpacking Auto-Antonyms

Ever been told to *dust* a cake right after you finished *dusting* the furniture? Welcome to the paradoxical world of…

3 weeks ago

The Great Consonant Shift of Romance Languages

Why does the Latin word for 'one hundred' (centum, 'kentum') sound so different in Italian (cento), French (cent), and Spanish…

3 weeks ago

Sardinian: The Living Echo of Latin

Often called the most conservative Romance language, Sardinian is a true linguistic time capsule. Journey to this Mediterranean island to…

3 weeks ago

The Source of the Nasal Twinge in French & Portuguese

What gives French and Portuguese their characteristic nasal sound? It’s not just a funny way of saying 'n' or 'm'—it's…

3 weeks ago

Ladino: The Echo of 15th-Century Spanish

When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they carried their language with them, creating a linguistic time capsule.…

3 weeks ago

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