Languages of the World

The Birth Certificate of French

The Oaths of Strasbourg, a 9th-century military pact, are often called the "birth certificate" of the French language. Sworn in…

5 months ago

The Name You Cannot Speak: Taboo Words

Move beyond profanity to a world where a person's name is the most forbidden word you can speak. This article…

5 months ago

The Death of ‘Thou’: A Social Revolution

The disappearance of 'thou' from common usage wasn't just a linguistic spring-cleaning; it was a quiet revolution. This shift from…

5 months ago

The Typo That Became a Word: The Story of ‘Syllabus’

Ever wondered where the word 'syllabus' comes from? The answer is a fascinating journey involving ancient Roman scrolls, a 15th-century…

5 months ago

The Ket Language: Siberia’s Last Echo

Deep in the Siberian wilderness, the Ket language is the last of its kind, a linguistic island with a mind-bendingly…

5 months ago

The Pitch-Accent Puzzle of Japanese

In Japanese, a single word like `hashi` can mean 'bridge' or 'chopsticks' based on a subtle change in melody. This…

5 months ago

The Haida Language: A World of Its Own

Journey to the coast of British Columbia to discover X̱aad Kíl, the Haida language. A true linguistic isolate with a…

5 months ago

The One-Letter Word: The Story of ‘O’

Did you know one of the most powerful words in the English language is just a single letter? From ancient…

5 months ago

The Chinook Jargon: Language of the Pacific Fur Trade

For over a century, a unique pidgin language connected Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Asians along the Pacific Northwest coast. Known…

5 months ago

When Siblings Lie: Germanic False Friends

English and German are sibling languages, but like any family, they have their misunderstandings. This article explores "false friends"—deceptive words…

5 months ago

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