The Amazon’s Verbal Art: The World of Hixkaryana
Journey to the Amazon basin to explore Hixkaryana, one of the few confirmed languages with a default Object-Verb-Subject (OVS) word order. This "Yoda-like" grammar, where "The jaguar ate the man"…
Unlocking the Universe of Languages
Journey to the Amazon basin to explore Hixkaryana, one of the few confirmed languages with a default Object-Verb-Subject (OVS) word order. This "Yoda-like" grammar, where "The jaguar ate the man"…
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…
Journey to the highlands of Ecuador to discover Media Lengua, a remarkable "split-brain" language that combines the grammar of indigenous Quechua with the vocabulary of Spanish. This process of relexification…
Could a nearly extinct language from Siberia be related to Navajo and other Native American languages? The fascinating Dené-Yeniseian hypothesis proposes a direct linguistic link across the Bering Strait, telling…
Imagine a world without 'left' or 'right,' where every instruction and description is given in cardinal directions. For speakers of languages like Guugu Yimithirr in Aboriginal Australia, this isn't imagination—it's…
Discover Michif, one of the world's most unique mixed languages, spoken by the Métis people. A fascinating blend of French and Cree, it splits its very grammar between two language…
While most languages belong to vast family trees, some stand utterly alone. These linguistic isolates, like the mysterious Basque of Spain or the endangered Ainu of Japan, have no known…
The death of a language is usually a slow fade, but Old Prussian was not so lucky. It was systematically eradicated by the sword of the Teutonic Knights in a…
Imagine trying to learn a language with no textbook, no translator, and no shared vocabulary. The monolingual fieldwork method is a raw, challenging process where linguists build a language from…
The Soviet Union's language policy was a dramatic paradox, beginning with the revolutionary promotion of over 100 minority languages through the *korenizatsiya* (indigenization) program. This ambitious project, which created new…
In languages like Inuktitut or Mohawk, a single, complex word can convey a thought that requires a full sentence in English. This linguistic phenomenon, known as polysynthesis, builds massive 'sentence-words'…
Long before Nicaraguan Sign Language became famous, another sign language emerged organically on Martha's Vineyard. Due to a high rate of hereditary deafness, signing became a part of everyday public…
Once the official language of China's last imperial dynasty, Manchu is now on the verge of extinction with only a handful of native speakers left. This is the story of…
While the revival of Hebrew is a celebrated success, the path of language revitalization is often fraught with failure. The hard truth is that most efforts face immense challenges, from…
What happens when a language's entire world can fit into a single room? We explore the most extreme cases of language endangerment, from the Tolowa Dee-ni' in the US to…
Long before English dominated global trade, the language of the Sogdians, an Iranian people from Central Asia, connected the great empires of the East and West. This is the story…
What are the ethical responsibilities of a linguist who is the first outsider to document a language from a previously uncontacted people? This article explores the high-stakes world of first-contact…
On the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, a language isolate with no known relatives is fighting for survival. The Ainu language, with its unique polysynthetic grammar and rich oral traditions…
Every two weeks, a language dies, taking with it a unique way of seeing the world. Meet the "Language Catchers," modern-day linguists racing against time with digital tools and deep…
Many stories surrounding language involve the mystery of deciphering ancient codes, the valor of wartime cryptography, or the mystical origins of universal tongues. However, one...