Linguistics

The Language of Air Traffic Control

In the high-stakes world of aviation, ordinary English is too ambiguous for the cockpit. Pilots and air traffic controllers rely…

3 weeks ago

How Do Linguists Map a Dialect?

Dialectology is the geography of language, revealing the hidden maps drawn by our words. From old-school fieldwork with clipboards to…

3 weeks ago

The Sound of Old English: How Was Beowulf Spoken?

We can read the words of Beowulf, but what did this ancient ancestor of English actually sound like? By using…

3 weeks ago

What Does ‘Native-Like Fluency’ Really Mean?

The quest for 'native-like fluency' is a holy grail for many language learners, a seemingly straightforward goal that promises total…

3 weeks ago

Why Do We Say ‘Ouch’! When We Get Hurt?

Ever wondered why you scream 'Ouch'! when you stub your toe? This post explores the fascinating world of interjections, examining…

3 weeks ago

The Invisible Plural: Zero-Marking in Language

One sheep, two sheep. One fish, two fish. Ever wonder why some English nouns refuse to add an '-s' for…

3 weeks ago

Why Are There So Many Words for Snow in Sámi?

The old "Eskimo words for snow" trope is a well-known but misleading linguistic myth. A far more accurate and fascinating…

3 weeks ago

How Do Babies Learn to Hear Word Breaks?

Ever wonder how babies find individual words in the continuous stream of speech they hear? It turns out their brains…

3 weeks ago

Why Do We ‘Talk’ With Our Hands?

Ever wonder why you gesture on the phone, even when no one can see you? It turns out that 'talking'…

3 weeks ago

How Do New Signs Get Created in ASL?

American Sign Language is a living, evolving system, not a static code. The process of creating new signs for modern…

3 weeks ago

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