Languages of the World

The Inuktitut “Word-Sentences”

Imagine a language where "I don't hear very well" isn't a sentence, but a single, perfectly grammatical word. Welcome to…

1 month ago

The Social Meaning of H-Dropping

H-dropping, the act of saying "'ouse" instead of "house", is far more than a simple pronunciation quirk. This feature of…

1 month ago

Writing Your Voice: The Blissymbols System

Dive into the world of Blissymbols, a fascinating ideographic writing system designed as a universal language. Explore its logical grammar,…

1 month ago

The Grammar of Evidentials in Quechua

In Quechua, it’s grammatically impossible to state a fact without also specifying how you know it. This fascinating system of…

1 month ago

Why Korean and Japanese Share Grammar

Are Korean and Japanese related languages? While they feel incredibly similar to learners, the answer from linguists is "no." This…

1 month ago

The Australian Kriol Language

** Did you know Australia's largest Indigenous language, by number of speakers, is an English-based creole? Move beyond pidgins to…

1 month ago

The Ghost Phonemes of Irish

Why does the "s" in the Irish word "sláinte" sound like an "sh"? The answer lies in slender and broad…

1 month ago

The Glottal Stop’s Secret Life in English

Think the glottal stop is just for Cockney accents? Think again. This unwritten consonant is hiding in plain sight in…

1 month ago

The World’s Quietest Shift: The Great Silence of French

Move beyond the Great Vowel Shift and explore French's "Great Silence"—the massive, historical loss of final consonants. This single change…

1 month 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 month ago

This website uses cookies.