shakespeare

Anti-Languages: The Grammar of the Underworld

Ever wonder how marginalized groups create secret worlds right under our noses? This post explores "anti-languages"—the cunning linguistic codes of…

7 days ago

The Fossilized Question: Grammaticalization of Verbs

When you ask, "Do you speak English?", what is the word 'do' really doing? This seemingly simple word is actually…

1 week ago

The Anti-Turing Test: What is Author Verification?

Author verification is the "Anti-Turing Test"—a field of linguistic forensics that determines if a specific person wrote a given text.…

1 week ago

Why Are Slavic Languages So Beautiful?

From the soft, melodic whispers of palatalized consonants to the poetic freedom of its grammar, the beauty of Slavic languages…

1 week ago

What Is AAVE? (And Why It’s Not ‘Slang’)

African-American Vernacular English is far more than just 'slang'—it's a complete, rule-governed dialect with a rich history. This post explores…

1 week ago

How Shakespeare Changed the English Language

Ever used the word 'fashionable' or found yourself 'in a pickle'? You have William Shakespeare to thank. This post explores…

1 week ago

A Time Traveler’s Guide to Old English

Forget Shakespeare. If you traveled back to 1000 AD, you'd find a language that sounds more like German and has…

1 week ago

Alliteration & Assonance as a Simple Cipher

Ever wondered if a poem could hold a secret password? This post explores a hypothetical cipher where the key isn't…

3 months ago

The Future Subjunctive: A Fossil in Peru?

The future subjunctive, a verb tense dead in almost all spoken Spanish, is a ghost from the Golden Age. Yet,…

3 months ago

The Diplomacy of ‘You’: T-V Distinction Beyond French

The difference between France’s tu and vous is a classic challenge for language learners, but this formal and informal 'you'…

3 months ago

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