semantics

How Search Engines Read Your Mind: The Linguistics of Search

Every time you use a search engine, you're interacting with a sophisticated linguistic machine that does more than just match…

5 months ago

The Linguistics of ‘Google It’: When Brands Become Verbs

Ever wonder how "Google" went from a company name to a common verb in our dictionary? This article explores the…

5 months ago

Lost in the Supermarket: Brand Name Linguistics

Why did the Chevy Nova supposedly fail in Spanish-speaking markets? This cautionary tale, though likely a myth, highlights the high-stakes…

5 months ago

The Gestural Lexicon: When Hand Signs Become Words

We do it without thinking: a thumbs-up for a job well done, a wave to say hello. But these hand…

5 months ago

The Chinese Room: Can a Machine Ever Understand?

John Searle's famous "Chinese Room" thought experiment poses a timeless challenge to the idea of a truly thinking machine. By…

5 months ago

Is Music a Language? A Linguistic Breakdown

We call music a "universal language," but can it truly communicate like one? This deep dive compares the notes and…

5 months ago

The Unseen World of Linguistic Annotation: The Human Hands Behind AI Language Models

** Before an AI can understand language, a human has to teach it. This work is done by linguistic annotators,…

5 months ago

The Hidden Verbs of Persuasion: How Advertising Language Gets Inside Your Head

Every word in an advertisement is chosen with surgical precision. Beyond marketing psychology, specific linguistic tricks—from "weasel words" like 'helps'…

5 months ago

Tasting the Word ‘Tuesday’: The Extraordinary World of Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia

What does the word 'Tuesday' taste like to you? For most of us, the question is nonsensical, but for individuals…

5 months ago

The “If” That Changes Everything: How Counterfactuals and the Subjunctive Mood Built Science

What if the ability to say "if" was a prerequisite for science itself? This post explores how counterfactuals and the…

5 months ago

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