Linguistics

Before English: The Echoes of Brythonic

Long before Old English was spoken, the island of Britain resonated with the sounds of another tongue: Brythonic. While the…

6 months ago

Linguistic Exogamy: Marrying Out to Survive

In certain Amazonian societies, there's a strict rule: you cannot marry someone who speaks your own language. This practice, known…

6 months ago

Are There Any Absolute Language Universals?

For decades, linguists have searched for features shared by all 7,000+ human languages, a quest for a "Universal Grammar." But…

6 months ago

More Than a Suffix: The World of Clitics

What do 'll in "we'll" and 's in "cat's" have in common? They are clitics—phonologically weak words that can't stand…

6 months ago

The Fossil in ‘Sing, Sang, Sung’: Ablaut

Ever wonder why we say "I sing" but "I sang" and "I have sung"? These aren't just random, annoying exceptions…

6 months ago

The Vowel’s Shadow: Parasitic Vowels

Have you ever wondered why some non-native speakers say "espeak" for "speak"? This isn't just an error, but a linguistic…

6 months ago

When ‘S’ Became ‘R’: The Story of Rhotacism

Ever wondered why the Latin word for 'honor' is honos but its other forms use the stem honor-? This isn't…

6 months ago

Gender-Neutral Pronouns in Romance

Grammatical gender is a core feature of Romance languages, making gender-neutral expression a complex puzzle. Yet, from the rise of…

6 months ago

How Roman Soldiers Spread Their Language

The spread of Latin wasn't just the work of poets and senators; it was carried across Europe on the hobnailed…

6 months ago

Endangered Romance: Languages on the Brink

Not all of Rome's linguistic children are thriving like Spanish or French. We shine a light on endangered Romance languages…

6 months ago

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