The Two ‘Haves’ of Irish: Possession as a State
Unlike English, the Irish language doesn't have a single verb for "to have." Instead, to say "I have a book", you say `TΓ‘ leabhar agam`, which literally means "A book…
Unlocking the Universe of Languages
Unlike English, the Irish language doesn't have a single verb for "to have." Instead, to say "I have a book", you say `TΓ‘ leabhar agam`, which literally means "A book…
Imagine discovering a lost language in Western China that looks far more like Latin or Irish than its immediate neighbors, Sanskrit and Persian. The extinct Tocharian languages presented linguists with…
Why does the "s" in the Irish word "slΓ‘inte" sound like an "sh"? The answer lies in slender and broad consonants, a core feature of Gaelic languages dictated by "ghost…
In 1974, UNESCO declared the Manx language extinct with the death of its last native speaker, Ned Maddrell. Yet, this was not the end but the beginning of an extraordinary…
Once officially declared extinct after the death of its last native speaker in the 18th century, the Cornish language (Kernewek) has experienced a remarkable revival against all odds. This is…
Forget runes and hieroglyphs; journey to ancient Ireland to uncover Ogham, a script written not on a page but on the very edge of stone. This unique alphabet of lines…
What if the map on your wall was a Rosetta Stone, holding the key to forgotten languages and ancient migrations? The study of toponymy reveals that the names of our…