Sociolinguistics

OCS: The First Slavic Literary Language

Before there was Russian, Polish, or Bulgarian, there was their common literary ancestor: Old Church Slavonic. Discover the story of…

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

The French R: An Aristocratic Sound?

The guttural French "R" is one of the most iconic sounds in the world, but it's a surprisingly recent development.…

3 months 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…

3 months ago

The Australian Kriol Language

** Did you know Australia's largest Indigenous language, by number of speakers, is an English-based creole? Move beyond pidgins to…

3 months ago

The Hyperforeignism Trap

Ever wondered why some people say "mojito" with a French 'zh' sound or put on a fake accent for "foyer"?…

3 months ago

Endangered Slavic Languages You Can Help Save

Beyond the major Slavic languages like Russian and Polish lie hidden linguistic gems on the brink of extinction. Discover the…

3 months ago

Why South Slavic Languages Are Drifting Apart

Once considered a single language called Serbo-Croatian, the languages of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro are now actively drifting apart.…

3 months ago

Can Slavic Speakers Understand Each Other?

Can a Pole successfully order a beer in Slovakia? We explore the fascinating world of Slavic mutual intelligibility, testing the…

3 months ago

Cyrillic vs Latin: The Great Slavic Alphabet Divide

Why do Polish and Russian look so different despite both being Slavic languages? The answer lies not just in linguistics,…

3 months ago

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