Syntax

Birdsong Syntax: Are Birds Using Grammar?

We often dismiss birdsong as simple alarms or mating calls, but what if birds are forming simple sentences? Groundbreaking research…

3 weeks ago

The Hidden Grammar of Emojis

Far from being simple digital decorations, emojis follow a complex and unwritten grammar that dictates their meaning. The order of…

3 weeks ago

Parsing the Unparsable: The Dhaasanac Language

Journey to the Omo Valley to meet the Dhaasanac people of Ethiopia, whose language defies easy categorization. Instead of marking…

3 weeks ago

The Syntax of Sheet Music

We often speak of music as a "universal language", but beyond the metaphor lies a tangible, non-verbal writing system of…

3 weeks ago

The Horse Raced Past the Barn Fell: Parsing Garden-Path Sentences

Read this sentence: "The horse raced past the barn fell." If you had to read it twice, your brain just…

3 weeks ago

Go Buy Bring Come: The Logic of Serial Verbs

In languages from Thailand to Ghana, you can say "go buy bring the book" and be perfectly grammatical. This fascinating…

3 weeks ago

When Did We Start Asking Questions?

Questions represent a monumental leap in human evolution, demanding a complex toolkit of intonation, syntax, and abstract words like "why."…

3 weeks ago

The Grammar of Swearing

Far from being linguistic sludge, swearing is a surprisingly sophisticated system that follows its own intricate grammatical rules. Profanity is…

3 weeks ago

Why You Can’t Just “Count” in Thai

Ever tried to say "two dogs" in Thai and been corrected? That's because you can't just count nouns; you need…

3 weeks ago

The Silent Language of 64 Squares: Deconstructing the Grammar of Chess Notation

Beyond the silent battle of wits on the board, chess has its own powerful language. This post deconstructs Algebraic Notation,…

3 weeks ago

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