Sociolinguistics

The Adlam Script: A Modern Alphabet for an Ancient People

For centuries, the Fula language, spoken by over 40 million people, lacked its own native script. In the 1980s, two…

3 weeks ago

Loanwords vs. Calques

Ever wondered why your French friend says "email" but calls a skyscraper a "gratte-ciel"? Languages borrow from each other in…

3 weeks ago

The Speech of Second Selves

When a shaman or ritualist speaks in a 'spirit language', it isn't random babbling but a fascinating sociolinguistic performance. Even…

3 weeks ago

When Did We Agree on Place Names?

Ever wondered why Bombay became Mumbai, or why The Netherlands is no longer called Holland? The names on our maps…

3 weeks ago

The Sound of a Valley: Dialect Leveling in Isolation

Ever wonder why people in isolated places like an Appalachian hollow develop such a unique way of speaking? It's not…

3 weeks ago

Grammatical Viruses: The Spread of ‘-gate’

The suffix '-gate' has become a linguistic shorthand for scandal, but where did it come from? We trace its journey…

3 weeks ago

The Syntax of Silence in Japanese

In Japanese communication, silence is rarely an empty space. This post delves into the "grammar" of 沈黙 (chinmoku), exploring how…

3 weeks ago

Anti-Languages: The Grammar of the Underworld

Ever wonder how marginalized groups create secret worlds right under our noses? This post explores "anti-languages"—the cunning linguistic codes of…

4 weeks ago

Kitchen-Table Creole: A Child’s Private Language

Ever heard a bilingual child say something that isn't quite one language or the other? This isn't a mistake, but…

4 weeks ago

Language, Purity, and Power

This post explores the often-overlooked link between linguistic purism and exclusionary politics. We move beyond simple vocabulary debates to investigate…

4 weeks ago

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