language and thought

The Brontës’ Secret Language of Gondal

Before the world knew them as the authors of *Jane Eyre* and *Wuthering Heights*, the Brontë siblings were rulers of…

4 months ago

A Grammar of Whalesong: The Humpback’s Dialect

Beyond the familiar sounds of the ocean lies a complex world of communication, where humpback whales sing in distinct, evolving…

4 months ago

The Day a Radio Play Caused a Panic

On Halloween Eve 1938, Orson Welles didn't just tell a scary story; he masterfully manipulated the language and structure of…

4 months ago

The Color That Didn’t Exist

Did you know that for most of human history, the color orange didn't have a name? Ancient languages often described…

4 months ago

The Man Who Taught a Gorilla to Lie

The story of Koko the gorilla is filled with moments of wonder, but none are as philosophically charged as the…

4 months ago

The Final Word: Verb Chaining in Papuan Languages

Imagine a sentence that lists a dozen actions before revealing the main verb at the very end. This is the…

4 months ago

One Verb, Many Actions: The Grammar of Plurality

Some languages don't just make nouns plural; they can make verbs plural to show repeated or distributed action. This fascinating…

4 months ago

The Telltale “I”: Unlocking the Mind

Ever notice how a simple shift from "You make me angry" to "I feel angry when..." can change a whole…

4 months ago

Ottoman Ciphers: Turkey’s Secret Script

Journey back in time to uncover Siyakat, the secret script of the Ottoman Empire. This deliberately complex and stylized writing…

4 months ago

The Comanche Code: A Linguistic Fortress

While the Navajo are rightly famous, the Comanche Code Talkers of WWII's European Theater created an equally unbreakable code. Based…

4 months ago

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