historical linguistics

The Sound That Changed Ancient Rome

How can a single sound shift the course of a civilization? This article explores Latin rhotacism, the fascinating process where…

3 weeks ago

When English Met French

The Norman Conquest of 1066 wasn't just a military victory; it was a linguistic collision that created a centuries-long class…

3 weeks ago

The Greek Language War: A Nation’s Identity Crisis

For over a century, Greece was torn apart by a linguistic civil war, a battle fought not with weapons but…

3 weeks ago

How Words Go Bad: The Science of Pejoration

Why did "silly" once mean "blessed," and "villain" just mean "farmhand"? This post explores pejoration, the fascinating linguistic process where…

3 weeks ago

English Doublets: Words That Deceive

** Have you ever wondered why *shirt* and *skirt* sound so similar? They are "etymological doublets"—words from the same root…

3 weeks ago

Language Carbon Dating: The Science of Glottochronology

Ever wonder how linguists estimate when languages like Spanish and French split from their common ancestor? The answer lies in…

3 weeks ago

Proving Languages Are Related

How can linguists be so certain that English and ancient Sanskrit are cousins, while neighboring Finnish is a total stranger?…

3 weeks ago

Naming the Enemy: The Linguistics of Disease

The names we give diseases, from the ancient 'malaria' (bad air) to the clinical 'COVID-19,' are never just labels. They…

3 weeks ago

Biography of a Word: The Journey of ‘Assassin’

Discover the dramatic history of the word 'assassin,' a term born from a mysterious medieval sect in the mountains of…

3 weeks ago

The Balkan Sprachbund: A Linguistic Melting Pot

What happens when unrelated languages live side-by-side for centuries? In the Balkans, languages as different as Albanian, Greek, and Romanian…

3 weeks ago

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