Loanwords vs. Calques
Ever wondered why your French friend says "email" but calls a skyscraper a "gratte-ciel"? Languages borrow from each other in two fascinating ways: by taking the word itself (a loanword)…
Tag: loanwords
The Failed Phoneme: When a Sound Dies at Birth
Ever wonder why you can say 'cheese' with ease but stumble over the 'ch' in the Scottish 'loch'? This isn't a personal failing, but a fascinating linguistic phenomenon involving 'marginal…
Hawaiian and the Phonemic Principle
With only eight consonants and five vowels, the Hawaiian alphabet is a perfect example of the phonemic principle, where each letter consistently corresponds to a single sound. This elegant simplicity,…
The Hyperforeignism Trap
Ever wondered why some people say "mojito" with a French 'zh' sound or put on a fake accent for "foyer"? This phenomenon is called hyperforeignism, where our attempts to sound…
The Echo Vowel: Parasitic Vowels in Irish and Japanese
Have you ever heard a vowel that wasn't spelled, like the "a" in the Irish word *uisce* (ish-ka)? This phenomenon, called epenthesis, is where our mouths insert "echo vowels" to…
The Surprising Slavic Words in English
Did you know that when you talk about 'vampires' or 'robots', you're actually speaking Slavic? English is full of surprising loanwords, and many of them have fascinating stories that trace…
The Surprising Story Behind Katakana
To the budding Japanese learner, the existence of three separate writing systems can feel like a cruel joke. While Hiragana and Kanji have clear roles, the sharp, angular script of…
Silent Letters: English’s Most Annoying Feature
Ever wondered why there's a 'k' in 'knife' or a 'b' in 'doubt'? These aren't mistakes; they're echoes of linguistic history, telling a story of changing sounds and scholarly meddling.…
You’re Already Speaking Japanese! 15 Loanwords
** Did you know that when you talk about a business 'tycoon' or ask for 'just a skosh' more, you're actually speaking Japanese? The English language is filled with surprising…
The Great Tea Divide: Cha vs. Te
Ever wonder why it's 'chai' in Moscow but 'tea' in London? The answer lies not in a dictionary, but on a map of ancient trade. Discover how the overland Silk…
The Dutch Door: Japan’s Hidden Language Bridge
For over two centuries, Japan was sealed from the world. Yet, on the tiny island of Dejima, a single language—Dutch—became a secret bridge, funneling Western science and ideas into the…
Spain’s Secret Lexicon: The Influence of Caló
Ever wondered where cool Spanish slang words like 'currar' (to work) or 'molar' (to be cool) come from? The answer lies in Spain's secret lexicon: Caló, the language of the…
The Language of the Stars: Decoding Astronomy
Have you ever wondered why the star Betelgeuse has an Arabic name but sits in a Greek constellation? The night sky is a living museum of linguistic history, preserving ancient…
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 divide in England. This pivotal event forced the Germanic tongue…
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 that entered English via different paths, diverging in form and…
Proving Languages Are Related
How can linguists be so certain that English and ancient Sanskrit are cousins, while neighboring Finnish is a total stranger? It's not guesswork—it's a rigorous scientific process called the comparative…
From Chariots to Covenants: The Linguistic Archaeology of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible was not written in a single moment, and the language itself is a key to unlocking its layered history. By exploring the field of Biblical philology, we…
The Graveyard of Words: Who Decides When a Word Is Officially Dead?
For every new word that enters the dictionary, thousands of others fall into disuse and disappear into the graveyard of language. This linguistic culling isn't decided by a single authority,…
The Shape of Nothing: How the Invention of ‘Zero’ Was a Linguistic and Mathematical Revolution
The concept of zero is more than just a number; it’s a profound linguistic and philosophical idea that had to be invented. This journey traces the word and symbol for…
The Fight for Purity: Inside the Académie Française and the Quest to Protect the French Language
For nearly 400 years, the forty "immortals" of the Académie Française have stood as the official guardians of the French language. But in a modern world dominated by English loanwords…