Language Facts

This article centers around a delightfully nerdy episode from Crash Course Linguistics, hosted by the ever-expressive Taylor. The video in question is all about pragmatics—aka the fine art of reading between the lines, catching sarcasm without blinking, and realizing that “Can you close the window?” probably isn’t a question about arm strength. If you’ve ever …

This article is based on a TED-Ed video by linguist Martin Hilpert, who takes one of the simplest-sounding questions in language and shows why it’s anything but. When does a way of speaking count as a language, and when is it just a dialect? If your instinct is to say it depends on how different …

Scottish English is English… sort of. It’s like the language popped up north, grabbed a can of Irn-Bru, and decided the rules were optional. If you’ve ever heard someone say “Ach, I’m fair scunnered” and your brain quietly gave up—that’s normal. The accent’s just the warm-up. It’s the phrases that really mess with you. They’re …

Let’s talk about one of the biggest influencers in linguistic history. No, not Shakespeare. Not Confucius. Not whoever runs Duolingo’s TikTok account. We’re talking about Cyril. A monk. A missionary. A man with a quill, a mission, and frankly, zero chill. And while you’ve probably never heard of him, over 250 million people still use …

Let’s take a look at a few words that are, for lack of a better term, basically indestructible. These aren’t just old words. These are words that have survived everything. Empires, floods, conquests, printing presses, bad etymologies, worse etymologists. And they’re still here. Still rolling off your tongue every single day. Linguists trace many of …

In the realm of language learning, we often focus on human languages. But what if we were to step out of our Earthly confines and explore the possibilities of communicating with alien species? YouTube channel TheLingOtter explores this topic in a fascinating video titled “How to Talk With Aliens—Xenolinguistics.” TheLingOtter is known for its insightful …

I was just trying to learn some languages, okay? Just minding my own business. Spanish, French, maybe a little Japanese on the side. But then Archi showed up. This language has 82 consonants. Eighty-two. I didn’t even know there were 82 consonant sounds on this cursed Earth. And don’t even get me started on the …

In this article, we’re going to unpack the names behind some of the greatest cities in the world. The article is based on the findings of the YouTube channel “Fire of Learning.” We’ll hop from Celtic tribes to Carthaginian generals, from Roman forts to fragrant harbors, and we’ll even meet a few monks and mythical …

When we think about writing, most of us picture neat lines marching from left to right across the page. But not every language follows the same path. Some scripts race right to left, others cascade down the page, and a few even zigzag like an ox plowing a field. The direction a language takes isn’t …