Linguistics

How Persian Lost Its Gender

Modern Persian, or Farsi, is famously gender-neutral, but its ancestor, Old Persian, was not. This post explores the fascinating linguistic…

3 weeks ago

Speaking Up, Speaking Down: Java’s Speech Levels

In the Javanese language, 'please' and 'thank you' are just the beginning. The entire vocabulary—from pronouns to verbs—changes based on…

3 weeks ago

The Georgian Verb: A Sentence in One Word

Ever wondered if you could fit an entire sentence into a single word? In the ancient and beautiful Georgian language,…

3 weeks ago

The Non-Apology: A Grammatical Breakdown

"I'm sorry if you were offended". This familiar phrase feels hollow for a reason: it's a non-apology, an illusion of…

3 weeks ago

How Dogs Bark Around the World

Why does an English-speaking dog say "woof" while a Japanese dog says "wan wan"? The answer isn't in the dog,…

3 weeks ago

Can AI Understand a Poem?

An AI can write a surprisingly convincing poem, but can it truly understand one? We explore the immense linguistic and…

3 weeks ago

Reading Without Inner Speech

Do you hear a voice in your head when you read? While many of us have a constant inner narrator,…

3 weeks ago

How to Read a Phonetic Transcription

What do all those weird symbols in a dictionary entry mean? This beginner's guide to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)…

3 weeks ago

Why Is ‘An’ Used Before Vowels?

Why do we say 'an apple' but 'a pear'? This fundamental rule is about more than just grammar; it's a…

3 weeks ago

What Are Semantic Primes?

Have you ever tried to define a simple word like 'want' without using a synonym? The theory of Semantic Primes…

3 weeks ago

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