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Mesoclisis: The Weird Art of Split Verbs in Portuguese

Portuguese possesses a rare grammatical quirk called mesoclisis, where pronouns are inserted directly into the middle of a verb (e.g.,…

1 week ago

The Historic Present: Grammar of Sportscasting

"LeBron takes the ball, he shoots, he scores!" Why do we describe past events in the present tense when telling…

1 week ago

Earwitness Testimony: Can You ID a Voice?

While we accept that eyewitness memory is flawed, forensic linguistics reveals that "earwitness" testimony is even more unreliable. From rapid…

1 week ago

Ithaca & Ulysses: The Greek Diglossia Struggle

For over a century, Greece was locked in a fierce linguistic civil war between Katharevousa, an artificial "high" language of…

1 week ago

Phatic Communion: The Art of Meaningless Talk

Why do we ask "How are you?" when we rarely expect an honest answer? This blog post explores BronisÅ‚aw Malinowski's…

1 week ago

Dysphemism: The Weaponization of Language

While euphemisms sugarcoat reality, dysphemisms are the linguistic weaponization of language, designed to downgrade, insult, or shock. From calling a…

1 week ago

Parataxis: The Grammar of Hemingway’s Style

Explore the linguistic mechanics behind Hemingway's iconic literary voice by examining the difference between Parataxis (side-by-side arrangement) and Hypotaxis (subordination).…

1 week ago

Semantic Satiation: When Words Lose Meaning

Have you ever repeated a word so many times that it started to sound like nonsense? This psychological phenomenon is…

1 week ago

The Telegram That Named a Country

The name "Pakistan" is famously an acronym for the homelands of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, and Sindh. But a fascinating, debated…

2 months ago

The Campaign to ‘Speak Good English’

Explore the sociopolitical story of Singlish, Singapore's vibrant creole, and its decades-long clash with the government's official "Speak Good English…

2 months ago

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