Linguistics

Five-Star Lies: The Linguistics of Fake Reviews

Ever wondered if that glowing five-star review is too good to be true? This article delves into the fascinating world…

8 months ago

The Language of Avoidance: In-Law Tongues

Imagine having to learn a completely separate vocabulary just to be in the same room as your mother-in-law. For speakers…

8 months ago

The Tongue’s Blind Spots: Unmakeable Sounds

Your mouth is a remarkable instrument, capable of producing an astonishing range of sounds. But like any instrument, it has…

8 months ago

How to Own Without ‘Have’: The Be-Languages

In languages like English, you 'have' a book. But in Russian, Irish, or Turkish, you would say "to me there…

8 months ago

The Dictionary’s Phantom: Hunting for Mountweazels

What if some of the words in your dictionary were complete fabrications, planted by clever editors as copyright traps? These…

8 months ago

The Unspoken Tutor: How Games Teach Language

How do video games teach us to navigate new worlds and master complex actions without a single word of instruction?…

8 months ago

The Scribe’s Mistake: Errors in Medieval Texts

Before the printing press, every book was a handmade original, and every scribe made mistakes. Far from being mere blemishes,…

8 months ago

The Child Who Forgot to Speak: Childhood L1 Attrition

We often worry about losing a second language, but what happens when a child starts to forget their first? First-language…

8 months ago

The Milliseconds Before You Speak

Before a single sound leaves your lips, your brain performs an incredible series of high-speed calculations. In just a few…

8 months ago

10 Biases AI Learned From Our Writing

AI models learn language from us, warts and all. From reinforcing gender stereotypes in professions to assuming a Western-centric worldview,…

8 months ago

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