
Newsletter
The linguistics of Trump’s official English policy
Trump issued an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.—sort of. Here’s what that order does, and what language in the U.S. looks like today.
A semiweekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world’s languages. Articles include deep dives about how language works, profiles of different languages, explainers of concepts in linguistics, reviews of language-focused books and media, and lots more! Some posts are only available to paid subscribers, but most are free.
Newsletter
Trump issued an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.—sort of. Here’s what that order does, and what language in the U.S. looks like today.
Newsletter
The Hawaiian language only has 8 consonants. So how does it deal with sounds in words borrowed from other languages?
Newsletter
The etymology of the word "love" and all its related words in English.
Newsletter
Imagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would language—and society—be like?
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Why is “February” spelled with two ⟨r⟩'s even though most people only pronounce one of them?
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Why don’t Americans pronounce herb with an /h/?
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The Chitimacha language was once thought to be extinct, but today is undergoing a renaissance as young people learn the language again.
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The earliest version of cuneiform wasn't used to write language at all—it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Here's the story of Sumerian numerals.
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William Labov was the father of sociolinguistics who pioneered the study of dialectology.
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Why an apostrophe might determine the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
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Writing was invented three different times in world history—in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica. But not all writing systems derive from those three original scripts. How can this be?
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Here are 3 things people get wrong about language.