The Unheard: Our Noise vs Animal Talk
Beyond the familiar chirps and calls, a complex world of animal language is under threat. Our modern world's constant noise and light are creating a 'sensory smog', drowning out whale…
Tag: activism
Censored by Code: Our Digital Taboos
Ever wondered why TikTokkers are talking about becoming an "accountant" or avoiding the "panini"? You're witnessing "algospeak", a creative new dialect invented to bypass the watchful eyes of social media…
Aesopian Language: The Dissident’s Secret Code
Discover Aesopian language, the subtle art of embedding subversive messages in seemingly innocent writing. Born from the need to outsmart censors, this linguistic tightrope act was perfected by Soviet-era dissidents…
The Anti-Grammar of Dada: A Linguistic Rebellion
Born from the rubble of WWI, the Dada art movement wasn't just a rebellion of paint and sculpture; it was a full-scale assault on language itself. Dadaists saw the 'rational'…
The Data Drought: Why Some Languages Are Invisible to AI
Why can AI translate French perfectly but struggles with Navajo or Swahili? The answer lies in the "data drought", a massive digital divide where a few "high-resource" languages have an…
Gender-Neutral Pronouns in Romance
Grammatical gender is a core feature of Romance languages, making gender-neutral expression a complex puzzle. Yet, from the rise of 'elle' in Spanish to the inclusion of 'iel' in French…
The Colonist’s Dictionary, The People’s Voice
Colonial-era dictionaries and grammars, once crafted as tools of control to convert and assimilate Indigenous peoples, carry a profound irony. Today, these same historical documents are being reclaimed by Indigenous…
Waking a Sleeping Language: The Myaamia Story
What happens when a language’s last fluent speaker passes away? For the Myaamia people, this was not an ending but the beginning of an extraordinary journey. This is the story…
What is a Language Worth? The Economics of Extinction
Can you put a price tag on a language? This article explores the emerging field of linguistic valuation, where economists and lawyers attempt to calculate the monetary value of a…
10 Endangered Scripts to Watch in 2025
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'…
The RAE vs. ‘Todes’: A Language Standoff
A linguistic battle is raging across the Spanish-speaking world, pitting the prestigious Real Academia Española (RAE) against a powerful grassroots movement. At the heart of the conflict is the word…
Shadow Tongues: The World’s Anti-Languages
Ever overheard a conversation that sounded like your language, but made no sense? You might have stumbled upon an anti-language, a secret lexicon forged by subcultures to build community and…
Reclaiming the Slur: The Linguistics of Reappropriation
How does a word forged in hate become a banner of pride? The process, known as reappropriation, is a powerful act of linguistic jujitsu where marginalized communities seize the language…