Politics

Paralipsis: The Rhetoric of Mentioning by Ignoring

Paralipsis is the ancient rhetorical art of emphasizing a subject by significantly pretending to pass over it—exemplified by phrases like,…

8 months ago

Euro-English: The New Dialect of Brussels

English is the undisputed lingua franca of the European Union, but without the UK to police the grammar, it is…

8 months ago

When Scots Was King: A Royal History

Trace the rise and fall of the Scots language, from its golden age as the official tongue of kings and…

8 months ago

Relay Translation: When Languages Don’t Touch

When direct translation between two languages isn't possible, the world relies on a "pivot" language to bridge the gap. This…

8 months ago

The Dragoman: Polyglot Diplomats of the Ottoman Empire

Explore the fascinating history of the Dragoman, the polyglot intermediaries who held the keys to communication between the Ottoman Empire…

8 months ago

Wampum Belts: Diplomacy Woven in Beads

Long before the invention of the computer, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy utilized a binary system of white and purple shells to…

8 months ago

The Treaty That Had Two Meanings

New Zealand's founding document, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, exists in two languages—but it tells two different stories. A crucial…

9 months ago

The Telegram That Named a Country

The name "Pakistan" is famously an acronym for the homelands of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, and Sindh. But a fascinating, debated…

9 months 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…

10 months 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…

10 months ago

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