comparative method

Hawaiian and the Phonemic Principle

With only eight consonants and five vowels, the Hawaiian alphabet is a perfect example of the phonemic principle, where each…

1 month ago

The Altaic Debate: A Family Feud

Are Turkish, Mongolian, Korean, and Japanese distant cousins? The Altaic hypothesis proposes they descend from a single ancient tongue, but…

1 month ago

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…

1 month ago

The Uralic Enigma: A Lost Siberian Homeland

Ever wondered why Finnish and Hungarian sound nothing like their European neighbors? These languages are part of the Uralic family,…

1 month ago

Why Is Polish So Different From Other Slavic Languages?

Ever wondered why Polish sounds and looks so different from its Slavic cousins like Russian or Czech? From its unique…

1 month ago

East vs. West vs. South Slavic: What’s the Difference?

The Slavic languages are a sprawling family, divided into East, West, and South branches. But what does that split actually…

1 month ago

When Did Slavic Languages Separate?

Ever wonder how Polish and Russian, while related, became so different? The story begins with a single language, Proto-Slavic, and…

1 month 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…

1 month ago

The Origins of Slavic: A Journey Back in Time

Ever wondered how Russian, Polish, and Croatian can be so different yet so similar? We journey back 1500 years to…

1 month ago

The Balto-Slavic Mystery: Are They Siblings or Cousins?

A Lithuanian and a Pole can't understand each other, so why do linguists insist their languages are close relatives? We…

1 month ago

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