When ‘S’ Became ‘R’: The Story of Rhotacism
Ever wondered why the Latin word for 'honor' is honos but its other forms use the stem honor-? This isn't a random irregularity but a fossilized piece of linguistic history…
Tag: ancient greek
The Dual Pronouns of Ancient Sanskrit
In our modern world, we count 'one' and 'many.' But Ancient Sanskrit had a third, forgotten category: the dual, a complete grammatical system for talking about exactly two of anything.…
The Typo That Became a Word: The Story of ‘Syllabus’
Ever wondered where the word 'syllabus' comes from? The answer is a fascinating journey involving ancient Roman scrolls, a 15th-century typo, and the peculiar linguistic phenomenon of "ghost words". Discover…
The Scytale: Sparta’s Rolling Cipher
Long before digital encryption, the ancient Spartans secured their military secrets with a simple but ingenious device: the Scytale. This post explores how a humble wooden rod became a cryptographic…
The Acrostic’s Secret History
Hiding a message in plain sight is the art of steganography, and the acrostic is its most literary tool. From the sacred texts of early Christians to the clandestine letters…
The Little Star: A History of the Asterisk (*)
Look at your keyboard. Tucked above the number 8 is a symbol we see every day, yet rarely think about: the asterisk (*). From marking a password field to bleeping…
How to Own Without ‘Have’: The Be-Languages
In languages like English, you 'have' a book. But in Russian, Irish, or Turkish, you would say "to me there is a book". This fundamental grammatical difference explores the world…
The Georgian Alphabet’s Three Sisters
Georgia doesn't just have one unique alphabet—it has three. This trio of distinct but related scripts, known as Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri, and Mkhedruli, represent a living cultural tradition so unique it…
The History of the French Circumflex
The French language, renowned for its fluidity and musicality, is adorned with a variety of diacritical marks that contribute to its phonetic, etymological, and aesthetic...
Learning Ancient Languages: A Doorway to History and Culture
Languages form the cornerstone of communication and culture. They are not only means of conveying messages, but they are also the vessels of rich histories,...