ancient civilizations

The Diplomacy of ‘You’: T-V Distinction Beyond French

The difference between France’s tu and vous is a classic challenge for language learners, but this formal and informal 'you'…

2 weeks ago

The Ergonomics of Writing: How Hand-Tool Fit Shaped Scripts

Have you ever wondered why the letter 'o' is round and 'l' is straight? The answer lies not in abstract…

2 weeks ago

How Roman Soldiers Spread Their Language

The spread of Latin wasn't just the work of poets and senators; it was carried across Europe on the hobnailed…

2 weeks ago

The Uncracked Minoan Code: Linear A

We can read the sounds of the ancient Minoan script, Linear A, but we have no idea what the words…

3 weeks ago

The Singapore Stone’s Lost Story

Long before the British arrived, a massive inscribed stone stood guard at the Singapore River's mouth, holding the secrets of…

3 weeks ago

The Cuneiform Stylus: The Tool That Wrote the Word

The world's first writing system, cuneiform, owes its distinctive wedge-shaped appearance to a surprisingly simple tool. This post explores how…

3 weeks ago

Vinča Symbols: Europe’s Oldest Writing?

Long before Egyptian hieroglyphs, a mysterious Neolithic culture in the Balkans etched thousands of symbols onto clay. These Vinča symbols…

3 weeks ago

Reading the Knots: Quipu, the Inca’s Mysterious 3D Writing System

What if writing wasn't flat on a page, but a three-dimensional web of information you could hold in your hands?…

3 weeks ago

The Codex Borbonicus: A Pre-Columbian Link to Language

One of the most captivating stories tied to the world of languages revolves around a pre-Columbian Aztec document, known as…

2 years ago

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