Indo-European

Romanian: A Latin Island in a Slavic Sea

While its heart beats with the rhythm of Latin, the Romanian language wears a coat woven from Slavic threads. Geographically…

1 month ago

The Lost Gender: What Happened to Latin’s Neuter?

Classical Latin had three grammatical genders, but its modern descendants like Spanish and French only have two. This article investigates…

1 month ago

Why Can’t We Understand Chaucer’s English?

Ever tried to read Chaucer and felt like you were deciphering a foreign language? You're not alone. This post goes…

1 month ago

Why Do Old Movies Sound So Weird?

Ever wonder why stars like Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant spoke with that peculiar, half-British accent in old movies? This…

1 month ago

How the Printing Press Created Standard German

Before the printing press, the "German language" was a chaotic tapestry of regional dialects. This all changed when Martin Luther…

1 month ago

The Ancient Glitch That Makes English Irregular

Ever wonder why we have both "was" and "were", or why the plural of "mouse" is "mice" but "house" is…

1 month ago

Why “Literally” Doesn’t Mean Literally Anymore

Ever cringe when someone says they "literally died laughing"? This common complaint points to a fascinating linguistic process called semantic…

1 month ago

The Glottal Stop: A Ghost in the Machine

It’s the subtle catch in your throat in the middle of "uh-oh" or the defining feature of a Cockney accent…

1 month ago

Linguistic Fossils: Spain’s History in Idioms

Ever wondered why Spaniards say "there are no Moors on the coast" to mean the coast is clear? Many Spanish…

1 month ago

The Rebirth of Cornish

Once officially declared extinct after the death of its last native speaker in the 18th century, the Cornish language (Kernewek)…

1 month ago

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