English

Appalachian English: It’s Not “Bad” Grammar, It’s History

Far from being a sign of poor education, Appalachian English is a complex, rule-governed dialect rooted in Elizabethan history and…

5 days ago

Hypercorrection: The Tragedy of “Whom Shall Go”

Hypercorrection is the linguistic tragedy of trying so hard to be right that you end up wrong. From the awkwardness…

5 days ago

Tag Questions: The Grammar of Uncertainty

Explore the hidden complexity of tag questions, those little end-of-sentence checks like "isn't it?" or "don't you?" This article dives…

5 days ago

Euro-English: The New Dialect of Brussels

English is the undisputed lingua franca of the European Union, but without the UK to police the grammar, it is…

5 days ago

Kennings: The Metal-Crushing Metaphors of Old English

Explore the metal-crushing metaphors and poetic riddles of Old English known as Kennings. From the "whale-road" to the "bone-house", discover…

5 days ago

Why It’s ‘Feet’ Not ‘Foots’: The Logic of I-Umlaut

Why do we say "feet" instead of "foots"? It isn't a random quirk of English grammar, but the result of…

5 days ago

Wit and Git: The Lost Dual Pronouns of Old English

Old English possessed a grammatical rarity called the "dual number", using specific pronouns—*wit* (we two) and *git* (you two)—to refer…

5 days ago

Runic Roots: From the Futhorc to the Letter Thorn

While modern English relies on the Latin alphabet, our language was originally written in the angular, 33-character runic system known…

5 days ago

Terms of Venery: A Murder of Crows

Discover the fascinating history behind terms like a "murder of crows" or a "parliament of owls." We explore how the…

6 days ago

E-Prime: What Happens When We Delete “To Be”?

Uncover the fascinating linguistic constraint of E-Prime (English Prime), a version of English that completely eliminates the verb "to be."…

6 days ago

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