Sociolinguistics

Can Slavic Speakers Understand Each Other?

Can a Pole successfully order a beer in Slovakia? We explore the fascinating world of Slavic mutual intelligibility, testing the…

4 weeks ago

Cyrillic vs Latin: The Great Slavic Alphabet Divide

Why do Polish and Russian look so different despite both being Slavic languages? The answer lies not just in linguistics,…

4 weeks ago

The Honorifics Maze: -san, -chan, -kun, and -sama

Calling your boss 'Tanaka-chan' could get you fired. In Japan, the small suffix you add to a name isn't just…

4 weeks ago

How to Use ‘Desu’ and ‘Masu’ (And When to Drop Them)

The polite endings '-desu' and '-masu' are keystones of beginner Japanese, but true fluency comes from knowing when to drop…

4 weeks ago

How English Became the World’s Global Language

How did a language from a small island become the world's default tongue? It wasn't an accident, but a powerful…

4 weeks ago

What Is AAVE? (And Why It’s Not ‘Slang’)

African-American Vernacular English is far more than just 'slang'—it's a complete, rule-governed dialect with a rich history. This post explores…

4 weeks ago

Orwell’s 6 Rules for Writing Clear English

In his famous essay 'Politics and the English Language', George Orwell laid out six rules for powerful, clear prose. This…

4 weeks ago

Why ‘Ain’t’ Is a Real Word (And Other Contractions)

Your English teacher probably told you 'ain't' isn't a word, but they were teaching you a rule, not a reality.…

4 weeks ago

What Is Pidgin English? A Fascinating Story

Often dismissed as 'broken English', pidgin languages are actually complex, rule-governed systems born from incredible moments in human history. From…

4 weeks ago

A Conlang Civil War: The Loglan vs. Lojban Schism

Explore the dramatic schism that split the world of logical languages in two. This post uncovers the story of Dr.…

4 weeks ago

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