The Day a Volcano Silenced a Language
In 1815, the catastrophic eruption of Mount Tambora didn't just cause a "year without a summer" across the globe; it completely annihilated the Tambora people and their language. This is…
Tag: language extinction
The Tangut Script: A Lost Empire’s Code
Uncover the story of the Tangut script, a complex writing system that looks like Chinese but is entirely different. Created to forge a national identity for the Western Xia empire,…
5 Languages You’ve Never Heard Of
Journey beyond the familiar and discover languages that defy expectations, from a whistled language that echoes through Canary Island valleys to a Dagestani tongue where a single verb can have…
The Siberian-American Language Bridge
Could a nearly extinct language from Siberia be related to Navajo and other Native American languages? The fascinating Dené-Yeniseian hypothesis proposes a direct linguistic link across the Bering Strait, telling…
The Language Catchers: Racing Against Time to Document Endangered Tongues
Every two weeks, a language dies, taking with it a unique way of seeing the world. Meet the "Language Catchers," modern-day linguists racing against time with digital tools and deep…