English

The One-Letter Word: The Story of ‘O’

Did you know one of the most powerful words in the English language is just a single letter? From ancient…

3 months ago

When Siblings Lie: Germanic False Friends

English and German are sibling languages, but like any family, they have their misunderstandings. This article explores "false friends"—deceptive words…

3 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…

3 months ago

Decoding the Antarctic Dialect

For scientists and staff "wintering-over" in Antarctica, months of profound isolation have forged a unique micro-dialect. This "Antarctic English" features…

3 months ago

The Alphabet That Failed

In the 1960s, a radical new alphabet for English was born, bankrolled by the will of playwright George Bernard Shaw.…

3 months ago

The Grammar of ‘Went’: A Tale of Suppletion

Why isn't the past tense of "go" *goed*? The answer lies in a fascinating linguistic phenomenon called suppletion, where a…

3 months ago

The Grammar of “Chit-Chat”: Reduplication

From the simple 'bye-bye' in English to the Indonesian *wiku-wiku* (very fast), repeating words is a powerful tool found in…

3 months ago

When Did “Hello” Become the Standard Greeting?

"Hello" is so common we rarely question its origin, but it wasn't always our go-to greeting. This now-ubiquitous word exploded…

3 months ago

The Grammar of a Recipe: A Linguistic Puzzle

Have you ever noticed the strange, clipped language of a recipe? This post decodes the unique grammar of the kitchen,…

3 months ago

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…

3 months ago

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