The Grammar of ‘Went’: A Tale of Suppletion
Why isn't the past tense of "go" *goed*? The answer lies in a fascinating linguistic phenomenon called suppletion, where a word's inflected form is "substituted" by a word from a…
Unlocking the Universe of Languages
Why isn't the past tense of "go" *goed*? The answer lies in a fascinating linguistic phenomenon called suppletion, where a word's inflected form is "substituted" by a word from a…
To a computer, what exactly is a "word"? This seemingly simple question opens up the "word boundary problem", a surprisingly complex challenge in AI and linguistics. From handling compound nouns…
Linguistic passing is the conscious act of adopting a new accent, not just to blend in, but to gain social capital or avoid prejudice. This strategic shift in speech reveals…
From the simple 'bye-bye' in English to the Indonesian *wiku-wiku* (very fast), repeating words is a powerful tool found in languages worldwide. This morphological process, known as reduplication, can create…
Apraxia of speech is a mysterious neurological condition where the brain knows the perfect word but can't send the right instructions to the mouth. Unlike aphasia, where language is lost,…
Grimm's Law neatly explains many sound changes from ancient Proto-Indo-European to Germanic languages, but puzzling exceptions remained a mystery for decades. This post explores Verner's Law, the brilliant discovery that…
Explore the fascinating world of "Wanderwörter", or wandering words—terms for tradeable goods like tea, sugar, and silk that crossed entire language families with their cargo. Discover how the story of…
Forget North and South. For speakers of some languages, the entire world is oriented not by a magnetic pole, but by the constant, unwavering flow of a river. This "verbal…
Ever wondered if that glowing five-star review is too good to be true? This article delves into the fascinating world of forensic linguistics to reveal the subtle linguistic clues—from pronoun…
Imagine having to learn a completely separate vocabulary just to be in the same room as your mother-in-law. For speakers of the Australian Aboriginal language Dyirbal, this wasn't a joke—it…
Your mouth is a remarkable instrument, capable of producing an astonishing range of sounds. But like any instrument, it has physical limits. This exploration of articulatory phonetics reveals the "blind…
In languages like English, you 'have' a book. But in Russian, Irish, or Turkish, you would say "to me there is a book". This fundamental grammatical difference explores the world…
What if some of the words in your dictionary were complete fabrications, planted by clever editors as copyright traps? These phantom words, known as "mountweazels", have haunted the pages of…
How do video games teach us to navigate new worlds and master complex actions without a single word of instruction? They use a powerful, unspoken language built from mechanics, level…
Before the printing press, every book was a handmade original, and every scribe made mistakes. Far from being mere blemishes, these scribal "bloopers" are a treasure trove for historians and…
We often worry about losing a second language, but what happens when a child starts to forget their first? First-language attrition is the poignant phenomenon where a child's mother tongue…
Before a single sound leaves your lips, your brain performs an incredible series of high-speed calculations. In just a few hundred milliseconds, it races from a vague idea to a…
AI models learn language from us, warts and all. From reinforcing gender stereotypes in professions to assuming a Western-centric worldview, the vast library of our writing has baked subtle and…
Long before a language falls silent, its unique writing system can fade into obscurity. This post explores ten beautiful and endangered scripts, from the vertical Mongolian alphabet to the Philippines'…
Translating a video game isn't just about swapping words; it's about rebuilding an entire world for a new audience. From untranslatable puns to UI that breaks under the weight of…