Grammar

Logophoricity: The Grammar of Point of View

How do we know who "he" is in the sentence "John said he was tired"? While English leaves it ambiguous,…

3 weeks ago

Case Syncretism: When Grammar Gets Efficient

Ever wondered why 'you' is the same whether you're doing the action or receiving it, unlike "I" and "me"? This…

3 weeks ago

One Slice, One Loaf: The Logic of Measure Words

Ever wondered why you can't say "one rice" in English or "one bread" in Chinese? This post dives into the…

3 weeks ago

Color as a Grammatical Marker

In most languages, color is purely descriptive, but in some systems, it plays a grammatical role. This post explores how…

3 weeks ago

The Fourth Person: Obviation Explained

Ever get confused when a sentence has too many "he"s or "they"s? Some languages have a brilliant built-in solution for…

4 weeks ago

The Wolof Pronoun System

In many languages, pronouns are simple stand-ins like 'I' or 'they'. But in Wolof, a major language of West Africa,…

4 weeks ago

Finland’s “Possessive Suffixes”

In English, we say 'my house', but Finnish takes a more intimate approach. Instead of a separate word for 'my',…

4 weeks ago

The ‘We’ of Two vs. The ‘We’ of All

Most languages count one and many, but what about a number for precisely two? Discover the "grammatical dual", a lost…

4 weeks ago

The Grammar of Evidentials in Quechua

In Quechua, it’s grammatically impossible to state a fact without also specifying how you know it. This fascinating system of…

4 weeks ago

Why Korean and Japanese Share Grammar

Are Korean and Japanese related languages? While they feel incredibly similar to learners, the answer from linguists is "no." This…

4 weeks ago

This website uses cookies.