Asian Languages

The Bloody Origins of International Mother Language Day

Did you know that International Mother Language Day was born from a massacre? Discover the moving history of the 1952…

1 week ago

Syllable vs. Mora: The Timing of Japanese Poetry

While English speakers measure rhythm in variable syllables, Japanese relies on the steady, metronomic "mora." Understanding this crucial timing difference…

1 week ago

Dyslexia in Logograms: Reading Differences in Chinese

While Western dyslexia is primarily a phonological challenge involving sound-letter mapping, research shows that dyslexia in Chinese functions differently, impacting…

1 week ago

The ‘Dot That Died’: Hangul’s Lost Vowel

The Korean alphabet, Hangul, is praised for its scientific design, but it once held a secret: a lost vowel called…

2 months ago

One Slice, One Loaf: The Logic of Measure Words

Ever wondered why you can't say "one rice" in English or "one bread" in Chinese? This post dives into the…

3 months ago

Logograms vs. Ideograms: There’s a Difference

Is Chinese a language of "idea-pictures"? Not quite. This common misconception confuses ideograms, which are language-independent symbols for concepts, with…

3 months ago

The Syntax of Silence in Japanese

In Japanese communication, silence is rarely an empty space. This post delves into the "grammar" of 沈黙 (chinmoku), exploring how…

3 months ago

Hmong’s Tonal Writing System

Discover the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), the ingenious writing system for the Hmong language. In this linguistic deep-dive, you'll learn…

3 months ago

The Yi Script: China’s Living Logogram

While most of China uses Chinese characters, the Yi people of the southwest have their own unique writing system with…

3 months 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…

3 months ago

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