Ever wonder why so many English surnames sound like old jobs? This dive into linguistic history reveals how surnames like…
When Amos Tutuola published *The Palm-Wine Drinkard* in 1952, its "broken" English was celebrated abroad but scorned as a national…
Explore the sociopolitical story of Singlish, Singapore's vibrant creole, and its decades-long clash with the government's official "Speak Good English…
Ever wonder why some people say ''ouse' instead of 'house'? In the 1970s, sociolinguist Peter Trudgill conducted a groundbreaking study…
The word 'spinster' didn't always evoke images of a lonely old maid. It originally meant a woman who spun thread…
Ever felt your directness was seen as rudeness, or that someone's polite "maybe" was actually a firm "no"? This communication…
When a shaman or ritualist speaks in a 'spirit language', it isn't random babbling but a fascinating sociolinguistic performance. Even…
In Japanese communication, silence is rarely an empty space. This post delves into the "grammar" of 沈黙 (chinmoku), exploring how…
Ever wonder how marginalized groups create secret worlds right under our noses? This post explores "anti-languages"—the cunning linguistic codes of…
This post explores the often-overlooked link between linguistic purism and exclusionary politics. We move beyond simple vocabulary debates to investigate…
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