The Great Manx Comeback
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…
Unlocking the Universe of Languages
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
Deep in the Amazon, linguist Daniel Everett encountered a language that seemed to break all the rules. His claim that Pirahã lacks recursion—a feature once thought to be the bedrock…
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…