English

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

Ever wonder why so many English surnames sound like old jobs? This dive into linguistic history reveals how surnames like…

6 days ago

The Fairy Tale Behind ‘Serendipity’

The delightful word 'serendipity' wasn't a happy accident itself, but a deliberate creation by 18th-century writer Horace Walpole. Inspired by…

6 days ago

How a Phoneme is Born

Language sounds are always in flux, but where do new ones come from? This article explores the fascinating linguistic process…

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

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 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

The Surprising Slavic Words in English

Did you know that when you talk about 'vampires' or 'robots', you're actually speaking Slavic? English is full of surprising…

1 month ago

What’s a Diphthong? (And How to Say Them)

Ever wondered what the sounds in 'boy', 'cow', and 'my' have in common? They're diphthongs—two vowel sounds smashed into a…

1 month ago

How English Became the World’s Global Language

How did a language from a small island become the world's default tongue? It wasn't an accident, but a powerful…

1 month ago

Silent Letters: English’s Most Annoying Feature

Ever wondered why there's a 'k' in 'knife' or a 'b' in 'doubt'? These aren't mistakes; they're echoes of linguistic…

1 month ago

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