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AI’s Sign Language Problem

We've taught AI to understand our spoken words, but sign language presents a far greater challenge that goes beyond tracking…

3 months ago

The Sound of a Valley: Dialect Leveling in Isolation

Ever wonder why people in isolated places like an Appalachian hollow develop such a unique way of speaking? It's not…

3 months ago

Grammatical Viruses: The Spread of ‘-gate’

The suffix '-gate' has become a linguistic shorthand for scandal, but where did it come from? We trace its journey…

3 months ago

Lost in Translation: A Brand Name Guide

Ever wonder why a great brand name in one country becomes a marketing disaster in another? This guide explores hilarious…

3 months ago

Hmong’s Tonal Writing System

Discover the Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA), the ingenious writing system for the Hmong language. In this linguistic deep-dive, you'll learn…

3 months ago

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…

3 months ago

The Glottal Stop’s Secret Life in English

Think the glottal stop is just for Cockney accents? Think again. This unwritten consonant is hiding in plain sight in…

3 months ago

The City’s Echo: Forensic Dialectology

A voice on a recording might be the only clue in a criminal case. Forensic dialectology is the fascinating field…

3 months ago

The Dative vs. Accusative Reflexive Verb Mystery

Ever wondered why it's `Ich wasche mich` but `Ich wasche mir die Hände` in German? This common point of confusion…

3 months ago

What’s a Diphthong? (And How to Say Them)

Ever wondered what the sounds in 'boy', 'cow', and 'my' have in common? They're diphthongs—two vowel sounds smashed into a…

3 months ago

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