The Mass-Count Distinction
Why can you count 'chairs' but not 'furniture'? This linguistic puzzle is explained by the mass-count distinction, a fundamental rule that shapes how we talk about everything from objects to…
Grammar
Logophoricity: The Grammar of Point of View
How do we know who "he" is in the sentence "John said he was tired"? While English leaves it ambiguous, many languages have a secret weapon: logophoricity. This fascinating grammatical…
Case Syncretism: When Grammar Gets Efficient
Ever wondered why 'you' is the same whether you're doing the action or receiving it, unlike "I" and "me"? This phenomenon, called case syncretism, is a fascinating story of grammatical…
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 fascinating world of measure words, or classifiers, exploring how these…
Color as a Grammatical Marker
In most languages, color is purely descriptive, but in some systems, it plays a grammatical role. This post explores how Cued Speech uses a "color-coding" analogy with handshapes to distinguish…
The Fourth Person: Obviation Explained
Ever get confused when a sentence has too many "he"s or "they"s? Some languages have a brilliant built-in solution for this narrative headache. Discover obviation, the "fourth person" pronoun system…
The Wolof Pronoun System
In many languages, pronouns are simple stand-ins like 'I' or 'they'. But in Wolof, a major language of West Africa, pronouns are powerhouses that also tell you *when* an action…
Finland’s “Possessive Suffixes”
In English, we say 'my house', but Finnish takes a more intimate approach. Instead of a separate word for 'my', ownership is baked directly into the noun as a suffix,…
The ‘We’ of Two vs. The ‘We’ of All
Most languages count one and many, but what about a number for precisely two? Discover the "grammatical dual", a lost feature of Old English that survives in languages like Slovene…
The Grammar of Evidentials in Quechua
In Quechua, itβs grammatically impossible to state a fact without also specifying how you know it. This fascinating system of "evidentiality" uses suffixes like -mi (for direct experience), -si (for…
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 uncanny resemblance isn't due to a shared family tree, but…
The Grammar of Reality: Realis vs. Irrealis Moods
Every time we speak, we make a choice about how we relate to reality. This fundamental distinction is captured in many languages through a grammatical concept known as mood, specifically…
The Un-Passive Voice: The Antipassive Construction
You know the passive voice, but have you ever heard of its bizarre mirror image? The antipassive construction, found in many of the world's ergative languages, flips grammar on its…
The Reduplication Spectrum: From ‘Bye-Bye’ to ‘Chit-Chat’
Reduplication isn't just baby talk like 'bye-bye' or 'choo-choo'. This surprisingly common linguistic tool is used across the world's languages to do everything from forming plurals and changing verb tenses…
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 a linguistic fossil, the ghost of a once-mighty action verb.…
Are Slavic Languages Hard? An Honest Answer
You've heard that Slavic languages are impossible, but is that the whole story? We break down the truth behind the notoriously difficult grammar, from noun cases to verb aspect, and…
Decoding Slavic Cases: A Guide for the Desperate
Tired of staring at endless declension charts? Slavic cases don't have to be a nightmare. This guide ditches the old methods and introduces a simple 'job-based' approach to help you…
No ‘The’ or ‘A’? How to Think Without Articles
For English speakers learning a Slavic language, the lack of words for 'a/an/the' can be a shock. These languages don't need articles because they use a powerful combination of a…
The Top 5 Mistakes All Japanese Learners Make
Learning Japanese is a thrilling journey, but it's riddled with common pitfalls. From mixing up crucial particles like γ― and γ to using the wrong politeness level in conversations, these…
Counting in Japanese Is Weird: A Guide to Counters
Youβve diligently memorized 'ichi, ni, san', but ordering 'two beers' in Tokyo isn't as simple as 'biiru ni'. Welcome to the wild, weird, and wonderful world of Japanese counters, a…