Why Is English Spelling So Crazy?
Why do 'through', 'tough', and 'though' sound so different? The answer isn't random chaos but a journey through history, from the Norman Conquest to the invention of the printing press.…
Unlocking the Universe of Languages
Why do 'through', 'tough', and 'though' sound so different? The answer isn't random chaos but a journey through history, from the Norman Conquest to the invention of the printing press.…
Forget Shakespeare. If you traveled back to 1000 AD, you'd find a language that sounds more like German and has more in common with Viking sagas than a sonnet. This…
Ever wonder why 'knight' has a 'k' or 'island' has an 's'? The answer isn't that English is illogical, but that its spelling is a fossil record of its turbulent…
The invention of the printing press was a revolution not just for knowledge, but for language itself. Before Gutenberg, language was a fluid, evolving entity, but the press acted as…
The Great Vowel Shift, a term coined by the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen, is a pivotal moment in the annals of English language history. This...
English is a peculiar language in many ways, and one of its most baffling features is the inconsistency between pronunciation and spelling. It often leaves...