Category: Linguistics

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Linguistics Sign Language Phonetics

The Grammar of Silence: Why Sign Languages Are as Complex as Spoken Languages

Estimated read time 6 min read

Far from being simple pantomime, sign languages are a testament to the human brain’s linguistic ingenuity. These visual-gestural systems possess all the grammatical complexity of spoken languages, from their unique “phonology” of handshape and movement to their sophisticated spatial syntax. This post explores the rich grammar of American Sign Language, revealing a world of communication as deep and nuanced as any on Earth.

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Culture Endangered Languages Linguistics

The Language Catchers: Racing Against Time to Document Endangered Tongues

Estimated read time 5 min read

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 community partnerships to document and revitalize the world’s endangered tongues. Their work is a high-stakes mission to save not just words, but entire worlds of human knowledge and culture.

Categories
History Linguistics Ancient Languages Etymology

The Ultimate Ancestor: How Linguists Reconstructed the Proto-Indo-European Language

Estimated read time 6 min read

Imagine a language that vanished over 5,000 years ago, leaving behind no written records. This is Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the mysterious ancestor of English, Russian, Hindi, and hundreds of other tongues. Join us on a linguistic detective story to uncover how scholars used the “comparative method” to reconstruct this lost language and the world of the people who spoke it.

Categories
History English Mental Health Linguistics

The Surgeon and the Lexicographer: The Unlikely Genius Who Built the OED From an Asylum

Estimated read time 6 min read

The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary relied on thousands of volunteers, but none were as brilliant or enigmatic as Dr. W.C. Minor. From his cell in the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane, this American Civil War surgeon became one of the OED’s most important contributors. His tragic and fascinating story reveals how a man tormented by madness found solace and purpose by helping to define the English language.

Categories
Culture Linguistics Psycholinguistics

Seeing Blue: How the Language You Speak Changes Your Perception of Color

Estimated read time 7 min read

Do you see the same “blue” as a Russian speaker, who has two distinct words for the color? The fascinating link between language and color perception reveals that our vocabulary doesn’t just describe our world, but can actively shape how we experience it. From the Russian distinction between light and dark blue to the ancient Greeks’ “wine-dark sea,” evidence shows that the language you speak changes what you see.