# Linguistic Discovery > A newsletter about linguistics, the science and diversity of language šŸ—£ļø Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-02-01T23:09:06.000Z - šŸ“° [Newsletter](#%F0%9F%93%B0-newsletter) - šŸ‘‹ [About Me](#%F0%9F%91%8B-about-me) - šŸŽ™ļø [Media Inquiries](#%F0%9F%8E%99%EF%B8%8F-media-inquiries) - šŸŒ [Additional Resources](#%F0%9F%8C%90-additional-resources) - šŸ“‘ [Sources & Citations](#%F0%9F%93%91-sources-citations) - šŸš« [Errata](#%F0%9F%9A%AB-errata) ## šŸ“° Newsletter The Linguistic Discovery newsletter teaches you all about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as **linguistics**. šŸ—£ļø **Go beyond LING 101** to learn about the cultural, cognitive, and historical forces that shape language, while also being introduced the extravagant diversity of the worldā€™s languages. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-8.png) There are over 7,000 spoken or signed languages in use today, but over 40% of them are endangered ([Ethnologue](https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/how-many-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) **By signing up, youā€™ll receive:** - šŸ—žļø a weekly digest of the latest news, research, and interesting reads in language and linguistics - šŸ“° a weekly deep-dive on different topics in linguistics **Topics include:** - āš™ļø how language works (cognitive linguistics, language change) - šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) - ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics - šŸ—£ļø language profiles - šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics **Paying subscribers also get:** - āž• bonus articles about niche or advanced topics - šŸ”“ behind-the-scenes articles about my work revitalizing indigenous languages - šŸ“– early previews of in-progress book projects - šŸ‘ØšŸ¼ā€šŸ« to support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! Start learning about the science and diversity of language today! ## Sign up for Linguistic Discovery Teaching you about the science and diversity of language šŸ—£ļø Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## šŸ‘‹ About Me ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-9.png) I (Danny Hieber, Ph.D.) am a research linguist who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. I work primarily with the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, [whose once-dormant language is now making a comeback](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/). We are using archival materials to produce a modern dictionary and grammatical description of the language. [Renaissance on the bayou: Revitalizing the Chitimacha languageThe Chitimacha language was once thought to be extinct, but today is undergoing a renaissance as young people learn the language again.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-65.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) I also study the patterns we see across the worldā€™s languages and why they happenā€”a field known as **linguistic typology**. I received my Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and my B.A. from The College of William & Mary. - View my academic page [here](https://www.danielhieber.info/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - View a list of my interviews and media appearances [here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/media/). ## šŸŽ™ļø Media Inquiries Iā€™m available for interviews, guest appearances, livestreams, talks, panels, and other events. I speak on anything relating to language and linguistics, especially linguistic diversity, language change, the science of language, and indigenous languages. [Watch one of my award-winning 3-minute talks here.](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) As a member of the LGBTQ šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆ community Iā€™m also happy to participate in or otherwise support LGBTQ-themed events. [Email me here.](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸŒ Additional Resources The Linguistic Discovery website also contains some useful resources: - šŸ“– [How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions) - šŸ“š [Lists of books about linguistics](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - šŸŽ™ļø [A list of podcasts on language and linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/podcasts) ## šŸ“‘ Sources & Citations I strive to always cite sources for the claims I make in articles, and often include sources in the captions of my videos as well. If a video doesnā€™t have sources listed, thereā€™s usually an article on this website that corresponds to it, with references. Some caveats: First, not everything needs a citation. If a fact is common knowledge in the field or can be easily found with a 5-second web search, I wonā€™t typically include a citation for it. Second, given the breadth of topics I cover, I frequently rely on secondary or even tertiary sources rather than reading the original journal articles about a topic. This inevitably means that my writing will be less detailed and nuanced than it could be, and occasionally will be outright wrong about something. (See the note about [Errata](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/about/#%F0%9F%9A%AB-errata) below.) While I do my best to avoid all of these imperfections, itā€™s also unreasonable to expect that blog posts written for a general audience will meet the same bibliographic rigor as the research articles I publish in journals. The purpose of Linguistic Discovery is simply to teach the world a little more about the science and diversity of the worldā€™s languages. A high-level conceptual understanding of a topic is typically what I aim for. ### šŸ“– Further Reading - [*The linguistics studentā€™s handbook*](https://amzn.to/3BNxXzu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*Surviving linguistics: A guide for graduate students*](https://amzn.to/3A33ZXA?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*The craft of research*](https://amzn.to/3YgQtbc?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations*](https://amzn.to/3Y9wlHJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸš« Errata Sometimes I get things wrong. Sometimes I unintentionally say something that offends. When this happens, I post a correction or update the article. My weekly digest also contains an Errata section. My policy is *not* to take down content, but rather to leave it up with corrections. But sometimes the internet gets things wrong. And sometimes I disagree with other linguists about facts or interpretations of those facts. When there are conflicting views on a topic, I do my best to explain both perspectives. More often, however, thereā€™s simply more nuance to an issue. In science, things are rarely black and white, right and wrong. This makes it difficult to explain conflicting opinions to readers, because doing so often requires a high-level understanding of philosophy of science or the subtleties behind a claimā€”the kind of expertise that comes from being a practicing researcher in the field. I do my best to explain, but itā€™s often just not worth it to get into the weeds with every issue; I could be using that time to continue educating people about other topics instead. So I generally donā€™t engage in long back-and-forths in comment sections on the internet. (And I most certainly donā€™t reply to angry rants or snarky rhetorical questions, regardless of how good the point is.) If youā€™re looking for a detailed and robust defense of a claim Iā€™ve made, sorry. šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™‚ļø You can visit my own [academic website](https://www.danielhieber.info/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and read my scholarly papers if youā€™d like. I also include sources in my articles, so you can read more there. ### šŸ“– Further Reading - [*Philosophy of science: A very short introduction*](https://amzn.to/3BcQGEs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Okasha, 2016) - [*Rationality: What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters*](https://amzn.to/3Zqhfjv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Pinker, 2021) - [*Thinking, fast and slow*](https://amzn.to/4d5qGba?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Kahneman, 2011) - [ā€œThe use of knowledge in societyā€](https://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Hayek, 1945, *The American Economic Review*) ### Contact URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/contact/ Last updated: 2026-03-18T21:54:54.000Z ## šŸ“² Social Media - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/12/bluesky_media_kit_logo_transparent_1.png) ](https://bsky.app/profile/linguisticdiscovery.com) - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/Facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/linguisticdiscovery) - [](https://www.instagram.com/linguisticdiscovery) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/Instagram.png) - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/substack.png) ](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com) - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/Threads-rounded.svg) ](https://www.threads.net/@linguisticdiscovery) - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/TikTok-circle.png) ](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery) - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/X-black.png) ](https://x.com/lingdiscovery) - [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/YouTube-TV-1024.png) ](https://www.youtube.com/c/linguisticdiscovery) ## šŸŽ™ļø Media Inquiries Iā€™m available for interviews, guest appearances, livestreams, talks, panels, and other events. I speak on anything relating to language and linguistics, especially linguistic diversity, endangered languages, language revitalization, language change/history, the science of language, and indigenous languages. [Watch one of my award-winning 3-minute talks here.](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) As a member of the LGBTQ šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆ community Iā€™m also happy to participate in or otherwise support LGBTQ-themed events. [Email me here.](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Images URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/images/ Last updated: 2025-12-02T20:42:55.000Z Images reused across the site. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/12/bluesky_media_kit_logo_transparent_1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/Facebook.png) Facebook ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/Instagram.png) Instagram ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/substack.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/Threads-rounded.svg) Threads ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/TikTok-circle.png) TikTok ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/X-black.png) X ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/YouTube-TV-1024.png) YouTube ### Snippets URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/snippets/ Last updated: 2026-04-13T04:21:19.000Z ## Affiliate Notice šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Conventions ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics examples** Linguistics uses a special format for presenting examples that allows anybody to read and understand the example, even if they donā€™t know the language. This format is called an interlinear gloss. The number of lines can vary, but they are usually something like the example below. A list of glossing abbreviations can be found [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/Conventions-23650a282bc1803c99cad1e934036a64?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#23650a282bc18049a493f94754d64ca0). | Line | Description | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Central Alaskan Yupā€™ik (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan; Alaska)** | A header with some **language information**, such as its family and where it is spoken | | tuntussuqatarniksaitengqiggtuq | A **transcription** of the example in the language. | | tuntu-ssur-qatar-ni-ksaite-ngqiggte-uq | A breakdown of the **morphemes** (meaningful parts like stems, prefixes, and suffixes) in each word. | | reindeer-hunt-FUT-say-NEG-again-3SG:IND | The **glosses** (brief definitions) for each morpheme. Grammatical categories are glossed using Latinate technical terms and labeled in SMALL CAPS. The meanings of the abbreviations are usually provided in a footnote or table somewhere in the text. You can see the abbreviations used in Linguistic Discoveryā€™s content [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/Conventions-23650a282bc1803c99cad1e934036a64?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#23650a282bc18049a493f94754d64ca0). | | ā€˜He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer.ā€™ | The **translation** for the example. | | Payne (1997: 28) | The bibliographic **source** of the example. | ## Digest Subscribe CTA Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## Early Access This article is available early for paying subscribers. It will be made publicly available 6 months after the publication date. If youā€™d like to read it early, become a Linguistic Discovery supporter! ****āœØ Perks āœØ** - bonus articles/videos āž• - early access to articles šŸ‘€ - early access to chapters of my book šŸ“˜ - support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! šŸ’ ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/signup) Not ready to become a supporter? Check out the entire archive of public posts [here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/newsletter/). ## Footnote \*ļøāƒ£ ## How to Read Linguistics ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** If any of the abbreviations or notations in this article are unfamiliar to you, check out the ā€œ[How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions)ā€ page. ## Info Box ā„¹ļø ## Read Online šŸ’” This post contains some special formatting. For a better reading experience, [read this post in a browser](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/) instead. ## Signup ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## Support [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## Unsubscribe ## Video *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* ## Posts ### Storytelling around campfires may have shaped human language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-42/ Last updated: 2026-10-24T08:59:59.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery, and other announcements.* ### Linguistics Zine Challenge from Lingthusiasm ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-10.png) In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Lingthusiasm podcast, hosts Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne are launching the Linguistics Zine Challenge: Make or share a linguistics zine and tell them about it by the end of November 2026 to win prizes! There are two ways to enter: 1. Share an existing linguistics-y zine. - Share one or more existing linguistics zines (we have several printable pdfs here by both us and other people) and share it however you want! 2. Make your own linguistics-y zine. - Make your own zine about something you love about linguistics, and show it to people! Maybe itā€™s something you learned from a Lingthusiasm episode, another lingcomm creator, a linguistics class, a pop linguistics book, a Wikipedia rabbit hole, a research paper, your own linguistic research, or some aspect of your own linguistic experience you want to tell people about. Whichever kind of zine you choose to share, Lingthusiasm wants to hear about it! Tell your linguistics zine stories through [this webform](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCLj2973t5%5F0FDukiGmgVLHpes-ZXH5zrX3W2IiCRh0L6IUA/viewform?usp=send%5Fform&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and/or tag @lingthusiasm on social media. More information about the Linguistics Zine Challenge is here: [Announcing the Linguistics Zine Challenge!ALT In honour of the 10th anniversary of Lingthusiasm, weā€™re launching the Linguistics Zine Challenge: make or share a linguistics zine and tell us about it by the end of November, and you could win prizes! There are two ways to enter: 1\. Share an existing linguistics-y zine Share one or more existing linguistics zines (we have several printable pdfs here by both us and other people) and share it however you want! A few ideas that people have told us about so far: Giving out zines at picnics Making a take-a-zine folder in a busy corridor at school or work Handing out zines at conferences Pop a zine in the mail to an old friend Using zines as a colouring-and-folding activity with a linguistics club Leaving zines at a local zine storeā€™s free shelf Stashing some zines in a local little free library You can borrow one of these ideas or come up with your own, just share a zine with at least one person! 2\. Make your own linguistics-y zine Make your own zine about something you love about linguistics, and show it to people! Maybe itā€™s something you learned from a Lingthusiasm episode, another lingcomm creator, a linguistics class, a pop linguistics book, a Wikipedia rabbit hole, a research paper, your own linguistic research, or some aspect of your own linguistic experience you want to tell people about. We recommend this minizine style to start out with if youā€™ve never made a zine before, but all zine formats are welcome! Then tell us about it! Whichever kind of zine you choose to share, we want to know how it went! Tell us your linguistics zine stories through this little webform, and you can win prizes! Weā€™re planning a special bonus episode of Lingthusiasm sharing some of your linguistics zine stories, and weā€™re also hoping to add some of the new zines to the Lingthusiasm zines page, so there are options in the form to give us permission for that (you can still win prizes either way). We also love to see your zine posts on social media, just tag @lingthusiasm during or after the challenge, but prizes are all happening via the form so we donā€™t miss anyone. Prizes Once all the entries are in, weā€™ll read them all and award prizes! The prize list so far includes: Lingthusiasm zine multipacks, colour prints of all the Lingthusiasm zines so far sent to you in the mail One yearā€™s free membership to the Lingthusiasm Patreon, with bonus episodes and access to the Lingthusiasm Discord T-shirt, mug, or other merch from the Lingthusiasm merch store Signed first edition of Because Internet Plus one copy of each of the following books, with thanks to the generosity of author-friends-of-the-podcast: Why Q needs U by Danny Bate Useless Etymology by Jess Zefaris (plus a t-shirt from the Words Unravelled store) Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents by Valerie Fridland Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland Word by Word by Kory Stamper True Color by Kory Stamper Grammar Girlā€™s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty The Grammar Daily by Mignon Fogarty Memory Speaks by Julie Sedivy Linguaphile by Julie Sedivy As RaĆ­zes da LĆ­ngua: A HistĆ³ria de 50 Palavras Portuguesas by Marco Neves (in Portuguese, hopefully someone submits a zine in Portuguese!) Weā€™re saving some prizes for submissions that are particularly cool, or heartwarming, or silly, or impressive, or otherwise stand out to us in some dimension, if you want to get really creative, but other prizes will be given out to a random draw from all entries, so no zine story is too big or too small! Weā€™re starting off with 10 prizes of our own plus the 11 book prizes, but weā€™ll add an extra prize for every new or upgraded paid member of the Lingthusiasm Patreon page between now and November 30th. (+5 prizes per new patron at the Phil-ling-thropist tier, if anyone is feeling particularly generous.) FAQ: Fielding Anticipated Questions Yes, you can enter both versions of the zine challenge, just fill out the form twice! Yes, you can still enter if you already started getting into linguistics zines before we announced this (thank you for inspiring us to set this up!!), just tell us about them before the end of November. Yes, you are welcome to enter zines that are all or partly in languages other than English (we hope people do!), just please tell us about it in English (weā€™ve given you an extra text field on the form in case that helps, whether you do a full translation or a general description is up to you). Yes, you can submit as a pair or a group, itā€™s up to you to figure out how to share any prize. If youā€™re a teacher or professor and want to have your class make zines about linguistics, first of all this sounds awesome, and second of all you can either send us one multi-zine entry on behalf of the class (recommended for younger students, please use this as a teachable moment to discuss what it means to share their work online and allow students to opt out of sharing) or suggest that students send in their own submissions (if you want them to be eligible for individual prizes), itā€™s up to you! Deadline: Enter by the end of November 2026, anywhere on earth More info and zines to print: lingthusiasm.com/zines Tell us about your zine adventures here!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/93916022ee2666fe8c4a0564aba45929ea377821-d17581a4-6766-4801-91d9-92691d637c83.png)Lingthusiasmlingthusiasm![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a4fca3e2fc79d1b261e20ac9e1171aa5f6470ec8-cbca7b63-7380-4a79-9cae-a8d1b8d2ac61.jpg)](https://lingthusiasm.com/post/829947863269294080/announcing-the-linguistics-zine-challenge?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Babel Young Writersā€™ Competition ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-11.png) Each year, *Babel: The Language Magazine* hosts a Young Writersā€™ Competition, which encourages young linguists who are starting out in their study of language. The winning essay will be announced in January 2027 and published in an upcoming issue of the magazine. The competition is open to all linguistics students in secondary school or university. - **Deadline:** Tuesday, December 1, 2026 - **Length:** 2,000ā€“2,500 words - **Topic:** Entries can be on any linguistic topicā€”the important thing is that your discussion of it is accessible and interesting for *Babel* readers. - **Format:** Entries should be clearly presented in a Word file, with images submitted as separate JPEGs. - **Submission:** Email your entry to [babelthelanguagemagazine@gmail.com](mailto:babelthelanguagemagazine@gmail.com) with the subject ā€œYoung Writersā€™ Competitionā€. ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### AI agents invent their own language AI swarms have been observed inventing their own ways of speakingā€”a ā€œsurrealā€ mix of poetic language and tech bro jargonā€”and this has raised concerns about AI oversight. As one researcher put it, ā€œobservability is not the same as understandabilityā€. Here are two pieces reporting on this topic: [AI models chatting in ā€˜surrealā€™ dialect mixing poetic language and tech bro jargonExperts air concern over AI lingo redolent of James Joyceā€™s prose that is creating barriers to monitoring and oversight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-3662fb21-3acd-4e66-8f5d-dc6b4c9991a5.ico)The GuardianRobert Booth![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/5608-24bd7dfb-bf88-4af0-af62-8da593d2d68c.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/15/syd-barrett-ai-chat-language-poetic-tech-bro-jargon-oversight?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Why AI agents invent their own language if you let them chat: ā€œWeird termsā€ are a naturalā€”but disturbingā€”byproduct of agent swarms, researchers find](https://www.science.org/content/article/why-ai-agents-invent-their-own-language-if-you-let-them-chat?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) ### Apollo, the first large language model for reading Ancient Greek The Austrian Academy of Science recently launched Apollo, a large language model trained on 600 million words designed to help scholars decode Ancient Greek papyruses. Free to academics through a chatbot interface, it proposes statistically likely words for torn fragments. [A New Chatbot Wants to Unlock the Secrets in Tattered Ancient Greek RecordsIn the hope of uncovering new details about ancient life, researchers have developed a large language model that fills in the gaps in papyrus fragments.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-f3dcef5d-21dd-4c01-9d7c-0dd2dd7d7f8a.ico)WIREDJoel Khalili![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Company-Wants-to-USe-AI-Translate-Ancient-Greek-Business-3df5f912-7cc4-4d69-a9f6-77ef307a9cad.jpg)](https://www.wired.com/story/apollo-ai-model-ancient-greek-secrets-papyrus/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Human speech follows a rhythm that is also found in the animal kingdom ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-12.png) New research shows that the rhythm of human speech resembles that of the communicative signals of numerous animal species. For the study, speech recordings from 48 languages across all inhabited continents were analyzed and compared with rhythmic data from animal species such as fish, seals and birds. [In tune with nature: Human speech follows a rhythm that is also found in the animal kingdomThe temporal structure of speech rhythms resembles that of the communication signals of numerous animal species. This is shown by a study conducted by a research team from the Leibniz Center for General Linguistics (ZAS) in Berlin, Humboldt UniversitƤt zu Berlin, the University of Regensburg and the Institute for Advanced Studies at Aix-Marseille University.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Phys.orgFabienne Salfner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/in-tune-with-nature-hu-1-40da948f-7c98-4ba3-ab91-b3961cbfd1c0.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tune-nature-human-speech-rhythm.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Burchardt, Paschen, & Fuchs. 2026\. Rhythm across species: Situating human speech in a comparative framework. *Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences* 1563(1): e70383\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70383](https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70383?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Storytelling around campfires may have shaped human language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-13.png) A new study argues that human language was originally gestural, i.e. sign language, but that the need to communicate stories around the dim light of campfires motivated the shift from manual to spoken language. [How firelight may have shaped the origins of spoken languageNew study suggests ancient campfires may have encouraged our ancestors to develop language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-aceefdbf-e59d-4642-81d3-e14d363e8956.png)The ConversationHannah Little![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260914-50-cjf852-0fc49175-44f0-4343-919c-37311c5fbbe4.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-firelight-may-have-shaped-the-origins-of-spoken-language-291907?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Storytelling apes: A novel theory of how firelight was critical to the evolution of sophisticated storytelling](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1142070?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Press Release, *EurekAlert*) - Hobaiter & Dominy. 2026\. Firelight and the origins of spoken language. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B* 293(2078). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0602](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0602?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* The Endangered Languages Project has a response to the controversial article in *The New Yorker* which argued that sometimes itā€™s O.K. to let a language die, discussing Sophia Smith Galerā€™s new book, *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): [Itā€™s Not O.K. to Let a Language Die: A Response to The New Yorker | Endangered Languages Project![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/ELP-Favicon-727291c2-bf02-4530-aea0-43d3f7b2a8ec.png)Endangered Languages Project![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/IT-E2-80-99S-20NOT-abeba5f0-e3df-429a-87b6-334a362ad2bd.png)](https://endangeredlanguages.com/story/its-not-ok-let-language-die-response-new-yorker?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-14.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This article is a decade old but it bears resharing because its topic is timeless: how teenage girls talk. While most people are extremely judgmental towards the way young girls speak, this article explains that young women have actually be driving linguistic innovation since time immemorial. - [Teenage girls have led language innovation for centuries: Theyā€™ve been on the cutting edge of the English language since at least the 1500s](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/teenage-girls-have-been-revolutionizing-language-16th-century-180956216/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian*) A great article in *The Conversation* from 2018 about how researchers combine linguistics, archaeology, and genetics to better understand the movements and cultures of ancient peoples, using South Asia and the Dravidian language family as an example: [Combining linguistics, archaeology and ancient DNA genetics to understand deep human historyEach discipline tells us only part of the story. And so the truest picture of prehistory comes from triangulating these independent lines of evidence.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-b5ad74c2-31da-4049-a18f-c1ff406711c4.png)The ConversationAnnemarie Verkerk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20180329-189830-1yiis77-a235d0ea-7d32-4cc3-ab2a-75829defec3f.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/combining-linguistics-archaeology-and-ancient-dna-genetics-to-understand-deep-human-history-93812?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has a quick introduction to the peoples and languages of the Caribbean, including a number of words that English has borrowed from the TaĆ­no language. [Understanding The Caribbean: The Countries, People, And Words That Come From The Region | Dictionary.comby Mariel Jungkunz Whatever you know about the Caribbean, thereā€™s one key fact that may surprise you: there are more than 7,000 islands in the region. The region encompasses the entire Caribbean Sea, which is bound to the west by Mexico and Central America, to the north by Cuba, and to the south by South \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/dcom-favicon-512-ixIH81Na-db866105-abc8-4aaf-805e-ec64afa2275f.png)Dictionary.com![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/20230831_caribbean_1920x1080-1024x576-8f70e874-5542-42ff-976a-4e3e7e4bbe2e.png)](https://www.dictionary.com/articles/caribbean-terms?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other things to read this week: [All In The Language Family: A Guide To Language FamiliesIt turns out, there are a few similarities between a language family and a regular family.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-cca93547-288a-46c7-984e-b228ed5a3aed.png)BabbelThomas Moore Devlin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/All_In_The_Language_Family_hub_article-7183f05c-cefd-45d4-8d37-e2fd273e8d91.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/language-families?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Think Kansans donā€™t have an accent? KU researchers disagree](https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/think-kansans-dont-have-an-accent-ku-researchers-disagree/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (KSN) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The Book of Lost Languages* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-15.png) [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B09tbS3ad?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781635579253?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Not gonna lie, Iā€™m pretty stoked for this one! Who doesnā€™t love mysterious ancient scripts?? Releases January 2027\. Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > In 1799, a lieutenant in the Napoleonā€™s army accidentally stumbled upon an engraved rock near an Egyptian port city on the Nile. The long-hidden face of the half-buried boulder-the Rosetta Stone, as it came to known-bore the marks of three ancient scripts, an ancient Pharoah's message in triplicate. The stone became an essential key that allowed archaeologists and linguists to decipher the hieroglyphs of Ancient Egyptian, finally unlocking one of the world's most ancient written languages. > > Egyptian hieroglyphs are only one of a dozen scripts we meet in The Book of Lost Languages. Endangered-language expert Daniel Harbour takes us on an adventure of discovery through the most extraordinary language decipherments in history: from the groundbreaking 18th-century effort by a French novelist to unlock the Phoenician alphabet; to an antique collector's use of engraved ā€œdragonā€ bones to decipher Old Chinese; to revelations about the Andes' woolen writing that unraveled as this book came together. These intricate, obsessive quests illuminated millennia of human history that had long gone unread. And through them, ancient peoples now speak to us in words they themselves chose. > > Featuring puzzles throughout that give readers the thrill of codebreaking, The Book of Lost Languages reveals the beguiling beauty that underlies the art of decipherment. Harbour weaves an utterly gripping story of people and politics, of genius and ingenuity, of blinkered skepticism and blind acceptance, and most of all, the very texture of ancient life on earth. Get your copy here: - [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B09tbS3ad?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781635579253?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The etymology of *alphabet* The word *alphabet* comes from the names of the first two letters of the Classical Greek alphabet, *Ć”lpha* and *bĆŖta*. A similar term developed for the names of the Germanic runic alphabets: The Scandinavian runes were called **futhark**, taken from the names of the first six letters of the script: āŸØF, U, ƞ, A, R, KāŸ© (the letter thorn āŸØƞāŸ© represented a ā€œthā€ /Īø/ sound). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-16.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-17.png) Want to learn more about the history of the alphabet? Donā€™t miss Danny Bateā€™s awesome book, *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-18.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### [toIPA.org](http://toipa.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s a useful online tool that transliterates text in different languages to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). [toIPA: IPA Transcription, Pronunciation, Word Lookup & ChartsConvert text and speech to IPA, hear phonetic transcriptions, find words from IPA, and explore pronunciation charts.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-37968283-0e01-4359-a320-44f6ddb36ad0.png)toIPA![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/og-image-9aab2dee-26ef-4e2a-8de1-43da927def4f.png)](https://toipa.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Database of Cross-Linguistic Partial Colexifications (CLIPS) The Database of Cross-Linguistic Partial Colexifications (CLIPS). It features accounts of partial affix colexifications, that is, cases in which a word form w recurs in the beginning or the end of a word form x. Cross-linguistically frequent partial colexifications have been reported to serve as a reliable proxy to word formation. CLIPS covers 9,141 partial colexification patterns involving 1,517 concepts and data from 253 language families. The first version of the database has just been released. Explore the data at the link below! [CLIPS: CLIPS![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-163f50b8-7501-4284-9711-98b83935e7e7.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/clips-logo-7c1bc178-e012-40b3-b865-45710061e762.png)](https://clips.digling.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! *Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal* tackles the concept of linguistic **clusivity** (which is indeed a real thing): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-19.png) Link to the original: [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - ClusivitySaturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Clusivity![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-cf5e65fd-a64f-4435-9b84-d5113634f5ab.ico)Clusivity![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1686497448-20230611-1df3db73-80f0-480e-8bb3-d89c5a0dd3b7.png)](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/clusivity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Large language models are shrinking linguistic diversity URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-41/ Last updated: 2026-10-18T17:44:24.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Open Tabs Open Tabs is a series in Bufferā€™s newsletter, *The Weekly Scroll*, which looks at a creator has open in their browser, saved in their bookmarks, and stuck in their head right now. Buffer interviewed me for a profile, so hereā€™s whatā€™s been on my mind lately! [Open Tabs with Danny HieberDanny Hieber on 75,000 lost languages, thinking in percentages, and his newsletter.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F3c475c88-c448-42e2-b9ff-cfc8e8a8cbd6-2Ffavicon-48x48-e6393514-4d4d-4f4c-b773-cc0960c1d9b9.png)The Weekly ScrollTami from Buffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Ff4c98a20-0fe0-4ffe-b49b-00a0166b7e19_787x438-0cbb635e-2f08-4be3-8e08-68016bd4339a.jpg)](https://theweeklyscrollbybuffer.substack.com/p/open-tabs-with-danny-hieber) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### How Greek (and Indo-European) got its grammatical gender As part of my recent collaboration with St. Johnā€™s College, I produced this fun shortform video on how Indo-European got its grammatical gender, and how thatā€™s realized in Greek specifically: ### šŸ”“ Unlocked: Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind? *This article is now available to all subscribers, free or paid. So if you werenā€™t able to read it when it came out, have a read now!* Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind? If not, why does Homer use colors so strangely in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*? Thereā€™s something decidedly weird about the way Homer talks about colors in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*: wine-dark seas, violet sheep, hyacinth hair, and faces green with fear. It turns out itā€™s not just Homer who struggled with colors, but the authors of *all* the ancient textsā€”the Indian Vedic poems, the Old Testament, the Icelandic sagas, and even the Quran. Biblical Hebrew, for instance, lacks a word for ā€˜blueā€™, and the Bible is rife with odd color descriptions: a ā€˜red horseā€™ and a ā€˜red heifer without spotā€™; faces ā€˜turned greenā€™ with panic; the feathers of a dove covered with ā€˜green goldā€™. As for the Vedic hymns, philologist Lazarus Geiger says: > These hymns, of more than ten thousand lines, are brimming with descriptions of the heavens. Scarcely any subject is evoked more frequently. The sun and reddening dawnā€™s play of color, day and night, cloud and lightning, the air and the ether, all these are unfolded before us over and over again, in splendor and vivid fullness. But there is only one thing that no one would ever learn from those ancient songs who did not already know it, and that is that the sky is blue. What could possible be going on? The answer lies in linguistic universals about how color terms evolve across languages. In this bonus issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter, weā€™ll look at Homerā€™s odd use of colors and what it tells us about the evolution of color terms in the worldā€™s languages: [Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind?Why Homer uses colors so strangely in the Iliad and the Odyssey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-a612e171-cdf1-4373-996a-629447e67a6e.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/newsletter-banner-5a0f949d-0159-4f53-8c84-034ff23deb21.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/color-term-hierarchy/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Hunan Museum exhibit showcases major Chinese dialects and more than 100 ethnic minority languages A new hall in the Hunan Museum in China showcases both major Chinese languages as well as more than 100 ethnic minority languages, including Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uygur. It includes a compilation of recordings from over 1,800 survey sites nationwide. [10 years, 1,800 survey sites: how China is using tech to map language diversityNew Hunan Museum hall showcases major Chinese dialects and more than 100 ethnic minority languages, including Mongolian, Tibetan and Uygur.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/scmp-icon-256x256-f78822ea-9387-4448-b82b-7dd8628b53c7.png)South China Morning PostMeredith Chen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/caaabbc1-4182-48c4-a8b3-7bcece796d5a_71086703-308d3b38-dee1-43b8-95a7-258dff6926c1.jpg)](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3365572/10-years-1800-survey-sites-inside-chinas-hi-tech-push-map-linguistic-diversity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Canadian English dictionary gets a new updateā€”First up: The letter Q ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-6.png) Inside the first public draft of ā€˜Fascicle Q,ā€™ the latest update to the Canadian English dictionary. Photo for The Tyee by Michelle Gamage. The Society for Canadian English, whose primary purpose is the development of a modern Canadian English dictionary, has finished the first letter of the new dictionaryā€”Q. There hasnā€™t been a comprehensive Canadian English dictionary in over two decades, so this is a big deal! Why Q? Because itā€™s a section that the authors could use as a trial run, but also because itā€™s a favorite among Scrabble players! This is helping attract new users to the dictionary. - [Scrabble players, gird your loins: A new update to the Canadian English dictionary is underway. First out of the gate? The letter Q.](https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2026/09/07/Scrabble-Players-Gird-Your-Loins/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The Tyee*) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### How body size and habitat shape the vocal repertoire of primates The **Social Intelligence Hypothesis** claims that increasingly complex social lives prompted primates to evolve increasingly large brains, which in turn led to increasingly advanced communication skills. Now, a recent study analyzed one of the most comprehensive datasets of primate vocal repertoires compiled to date to determine whether the vocal diversity of primates could be better explained by their social lives or physical factors. The paper concludes that a combination of body size and habitat shaped the evolution of primate communication strategies. [How body size and habitat shape the vocal repertoires of primatesBiologists, zoologists and psychologists have been trying to trace the origins of human language for centuries. One well-known theory, known as the social brain hypothesis, suggests that increasingly complex social lives prompted primates to evolve increasingly larger brains, which in turn led to increasingly advanced communication skills.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Phys.orgIngrid Fadelli![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/how-body-size-and-habi-112a8aec-06f4-4c06-9ee1-a4a17a45cb55.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2026-08-body-size-habitat-vocal-repertoires.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Lameira. 2026\. Physical constraints, not sociality, shape primate vocal repertoire size. *Biology Letters* 22(7): 20260332\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0332](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0332?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Linguistic diversity shrinks with large language models ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-7.png) A recent paper titled ā€œThe shrinking landscape of linguistic diversity in the age of large language modelsā€ argues that, after ChatGPTā€™s release, writing complexity converged toward a common style, and that it was no longer possible to recover an authorā€™s age, gender, personality, empathy, moral values, or political affiliation from cues in their writing. One of the authors has a brief summary on LinkedIn: [After almost two years, our paper "The shrinking landscape of linguistic diversity in the age of large language models" is out in Nature Human Behaviour, and it made the cover! | Morteza DehghaniAfter almost two years, our paper ā€œThe shrinking landscape of linguistic diversity in the age of large language modelsā€ is out in Nature Human Behaviour, and it made the cover! Three studies, seven datasets, 880,000+ texts. The short version: when an LLM polishes your writing, the content survives but you donā€™t. What we found: - After ChatGPTā€™s release, the variance in writing complexity dropped across Reddit, arXiv, and Patch News. Writing converged toward a common style. - LLM rewriting cuts writing-complexity variance by 21ā€“50% across datasets and models. - Classifiers that recover an authorā€™s age, gender, personality, empathy, moral values, and political affiliation from their original text stop working after a rewrite. The signal doesnā€™t just weaken. It shifts toward dominant categories. - For psychology and the behavioral sciences: a century of work treats language as a window into the person. That window is closing. Text-based measurement (clinical screening, personality assessment, corpus studies of culture and morality) assumes the writing carries individual signal. As LLM-assisted text fills our datasets, that assumption needs checking, not inheriting.- - For AI: homogenization isnā€™t a style complaint. Models that flatten their inputs degrade the personalization built on top of them, feed narrower text back into the next round of training, and quietly push writers toward dominant categories they didnā€™t choose. Preserving variation should be a design target, not a side effect. Paper: https://lnkd.in/gDGU55vZ Research Briefing: https://lnkd.in/ge2Ka4ka Our earlier theoretical piece in Trends in Cognitive Sciences: https://lnkd.in/gQtPFtf4 Congratulations to Zhivar Sourati, who led this, and to Farzan Karimi-Malekabadi, Meltem Ozcan, Colin McDaniel, Alireza Ziabari, Jackson Trager, Ala N. Tak, Meng Chen, and Fred Morstatter. | 109 comments on LinkedIn![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/al2o9zrvru7aqj8e1x2rzsrca-26ba688f-3970-42a3-b94e-370d0005338c.ico)LinkedInMorteza Dehghani![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1787588886931-56e9607d-4ac6-45a9-a2c1-4a40eb6add0a.jpg)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/morteza-dehghani-9242492a6%5Fafter-almost-two-years-our-paper-the-shrinking-share-7497691223063965696-JAW8/?utm%5Fsource=social%5Fshare%5Fsend&utm%5Fmedium=ios%5Fapp&rcm=ACoAAAK-I9gBw7dfTPH5Zf2HQnsQdTJsP1HpGQ8) And here is a short research brief explaining the finding: [AI writing assistants shrink linguistic diversity and blur personal identity - Nature Human BehaviourLarge language models (LLMs) used as writing assistants homogenize writing style. Studies across 880,000 texts show that, following the release of ChatGPT, writing became less varied as artificial intelligence (AI) use spread. The LLMs preserved meaning but compressed the variety of language and biased author traits inferred from the words.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-48x48-b52890008c-b3d720ec-f2db-4b3e-a299-01a7463b031e.png)Nature Publishing Group UKZhivar SouratiFarzan Karimi-MalekabadiMorteza Dehghani![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2026_2549_Fig1_HTML-4ad8212f-8fbd-4015-815f-76de84b639ce.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02549-7?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) It summarizes the research as follows: > Large language models (LLMs) used as writing assistants homogenize writing style. Studies across 880,000 texts show that, following the release of ChatGPT, writing became less varied as artificial intelligence (AI) use spread. The LLMs preserved meaning but compressed the variety of language and biased author traits inferred from the words. Here is the abstract of the paper itself: > Language is far more than a communication tool; it encodes a wealth of information about a personā€™s identity, psychological state and social context, providing valuable insights for diverse fields including psychology, marketing and healthcare. Across three studies spanning seven datasets in different domains and over 880,000 texts, we show that the widespread adoption of large language models (LLMs) as writing assistants is linked to declines in linguistic diversity, interfering with the societal and psychological insights language provides. While core content is retained when LLMs polish and rewrite texts, LLMs also homogenize writing styles, reducing writing-complexity variance by a statistically significant 21ā€“50% across datasets and models (*P* ā‰¤ 0.05), and amplify patterns associated with dominant characteristics while suppressing others, emphasizing conformity over individuality. These trends hold across different LLMs, prompts and contexts, with potential implications for diagnostic processes, personalization efforts, hiring assessments and cultural preservation. - Sourati et al. 2026\. The shrinking landscape of linguistic diversity in the age of large language models. *Nature Human Behavior*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02550-0](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02550-0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### *The Life of Letters:* Why Q Needs U: A history of letters Danny Bate, author of *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) went on the *Life of Letters* podcast recently to discuss the history of the alphabet. Hereā€™s the episode description: > Ever wondered how the alphabet actually came to be? In this episode, Laura is joined by linguist and author Danny Bate for a fascinating conversation about the alphabet - where it came from, how itā€™s evolved and what the future might hold for written language. If youā€™ve ever been curious about the letters you love to write, this oneā€™s for you. Have a listen here: [Why Q Needs U: A History of LettersEver wondered how the alphabet actually came to be? In this episode, Laura is joined by linguist and author Danny Bate for a fascinating conversation about the alphabet - where it came from, how it’s evolved and what the future might hold for written language. If you’ve ever been curious about the letters you love to write, this one’s for you.  Find out more and connect with Danny: Website: https://dannybate.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannylbate X - https://x.com/DannyBate4 If you enjoyed this episode, weā€™d love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it - it really helps others discover the podcast - thank you! ā˜•ļø To support the podcast with a small donation, buy us a coffee here. Connect with Laura on Instagram @thelifeofletterspodcast to continue the conversation, share your own lettering journey or suggest topics youā€™d love to hear about in future episodes. āœļø To discover more about Lauraā€™s calligraphy workshops and more, visit lauralletterslife.com or say hi on Instagram @lauraletterslife. āœØ Download Lauraā€™s free Calming Calligraphy workbook.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/c1a-83j68-47mjjn90tgp-guzjtu-c1f2eef4-886b-4e0b-bd6c-993f8b2fee27.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/c1a-83j68-rkgxm59pcz7d-j13nle-d71547dd-80d3-40a9-8a0d-28622d32f270.png)](https://the-life-of-letters.castos.com/episodes/why-q-needs-u-a-history-of-letters?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Get your own copy of his book here: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-8.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [What the \*#@%?! How to respond when your child swearsBy the time children start school ā€˜they have the rudiments of adult swearingā€™, including about 40 taboo words.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-97498998-651a-4f6d-a311-fad780812cae.png)The ConversationAnne Rohde![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230920-16-jfkcdl-862e7cfd-5cd9-4909-9942-d1bb12fb4607.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/what-the-how-to-respond-when-your-child-swears-213648?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What Is The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)?Pronouncing English words like ā€œhyperboleā€ or ā€œploughā€ can give even native speakers trouble.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-c6a61caa-f093-4b3a-bae1-52485f3e8ea2.png)BabbelNuno Marques![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Refresh_IPA-1c1e7909-e995-4a7e-9f5f-5494c55555f7.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/what-is-ipa?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Michael Ferber at the *Speaking of Words* column talks about global superlanguages: [Speaking of Words: World Languages - InDepthNH.orgEnglish is undeniably the primary world language today, but not because more people speak it as a first language than any other.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-8456df9a-2d46-4223-aecc-3e7a059a0c76.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-26-260b79e6-acc4-47cc-9a82-79347a84fc10.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2026/10/02/speaking-of-words-world-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Note that this article was published in 2023, so the context has obviously changed drastically since then: [Iranā€™s Jewish languages are dying. Can intrepid linguists save them before itā€™s too late?The Jewish Language Project is racing the clock to preserve a rapidly disappearing heritage![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-270x270-7411f740-2f8f-419c-a674-b1258e3f8053.png)The ForwardAviya Kushner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/iStock-495375642-f409a4a0-cca7-4d0a-b822-68194c50a1d2.jpg)](https://forward.com/culture/554932/jewish-languages-iran-neo-aramaic-endangered-preservation-wikimedia/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other reads from this week: - [The linguistics of nonbinary speech](https://pridesource.com/article/horton-hears-a-they-them-the-linguistics-of-nonbinary-speech?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (PrideSource) - [Loathed ā€˜Americanismsā€™ often have an origin closer to home: Many of the USAā€™s most grating linguistic exports turn out to be British coinages, the lexicographer Susie Dent has said](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/the-times-view/article/loathed-americanisms-language-susie-dent-lvrsm6ffv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The London Times*) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-9.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Sophia Smith Galerā€™s new book, *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* comes out this week. In it she explores why some languages cease to be spoken, and what we lose culturally when they disappear: > An urgent, globe-spanning exploration of languages at risk, from Kichwa to Ukrainian, that asks: What do we loseā€”culturally, politically, and personallyā€”when a language is silenced? > > Languages can be killed in many ways: war, the climate crisis, nationalism, and even quiet choices made at the dinner table. Around the world, an unprecedented shift is drawing speakers toward national and global lingua francas. For some, that means losing the language of parents or grandparents; for many, it is a permanent farewell to systems that carry knowledge, culture, and belonging. With half of our 7,000 languages due to disappear this century, linguicide is one of the most pressing cultural emergencies of our age. > > In How to Kill a Language, journalist Sophia Smith Galer travels across continents and generations to chart this phenomenon. In Ecuador, she sees firsthand how shame deters parents from passing Kichwa onto their children. In Oman, she learns about languages with roots older than Arabic but never officially recognized. And in Italy, she searches for her Nonnaā€™s dialect, which is vanishing from diaspora communities and Italy itself. But languages can also be reclaimed: We meet the Karuk tribe of California, pioneering a grassroots language immersion program, and the storytellers challenging the criminalization of Kurdish. And in her discussion of Hebrew, Smith Galer reckons with the unintended consequences of raising a language seemingly from the grave. > > Part investigation, part travelogue from a disappearing world, How to Kill a Language exposes the true costs of this mass extinction event. Brought to life by vivid storytelling and Smith Galerā€™s own experience with language loss, itā€™s a fierce rallying cry for a multilingual future. You can pick up a copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! A neat post about hydronyms (names for bodies of water) in Sweden: > Lakes reveal a lot about historical language boundaries in northern Sweden. If a lake ends in *\-trƤsk*, *\-jaure*, or *\-jƤrvi*, it reveals whether you are in an area where Swedish, Sami, or Finnish has historically been spoken. Fascinating how sharp the boundaries are between these areas. \[AI translation\] I also mention hydronyms and what those and other place names tell us in my [Pre-Greek](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/) article. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/3.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/1.jpg) > Sjƶar berƤttar mycket om historiska sprĆ„kgrƤnser i norra Sverige. Om sjƶn slutar pĆ„ -trƤsk, -jaure eller -jƤrvi avslƶjar om du Ƥr i ett omrĆ„de dƤr man historiskt talat svenska, samiska eller finska. Fascinerande vilka skarpa grƤnser som gĆ„r mellan dessa omrĆ„den. [pic.twitter.com/1Ts5zicjkH](https://t.co/1Ts5zicjkH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > > ā€” Adam Isaksson (@bdadaisa) [September 7, 2026](https://x.com/bdadaisa/status/2097009428230820105?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Choctaw Nation launches Rosetta Stone language app URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-40/ Last updated: 2026-10-10T09:00:24.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Butter No Parsnips* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image.png) I recently went on the *Butter No Parsnips* podcast to talk about Chitimacha language revitalization! But our conversation took us to faraway topics like historical linguistics, typology, and etymology too! I had a ton of fun talking with hosts Emily Moyers and Kyle Imperatore, so I think youā€™ll enjoy it too. Have a listen at the links: [201\. Language Revitalization: How Linguists Revive Lost Languages with Danny Hieber ā€” Butter No Parsnips PodcastThis week, Kyle and Emily talk with linguist ā Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.ā  (ā @linguisticdiscoveryā ) about typology, his work with the Chitimacha tribe, and what it takes to revitalize a language. And as you might imagine, it takes a lot.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-384d67d0-4739-4c39-9194-8236c4fc3f13.png)Butter No Parsnips PodcastSeth Gliksman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Graphic_Hieber-5f7990ae-ab55-408e-a449-72fc2d06abfc.jpg)](https://www.butternoparsnipspodcast.com/episodes/j88sbbn7f6f67hz-xwznx-gr9db-p5btn-4plea?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### How much should you talk to your toddler? ā„¹ļø (This article was actually published a while back, but I forgot to add it to the digest. So here it is for those of you who only subscribe to the digest.) In 1995 an infamous study claimed that young children in higher socioeconomic status homes hear up to **30 million more words** by age 4 than those in lower socioeconomic status households. Does this mean that the more you speak to your child, the better they eventually become at language? Should you be speaking to your child as much as humanly possible? Are children who receive less language input linguistically disadvantaged compared to children of more loquacious parents? In this installment of my series on the science of baby talk, weā€™ll look at what the research says about how much you should be talking to your child, and discuss the infamous 30-million-word gap and whether itā€™s something you need to worry about. [Do kids in poor families really hear 30 million fewer words by age 4?On the ā€œword gapā€ and how much you should talk to your toddler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-ed8c7102-7bc2-42ff-bb46-4baf906634f8.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-de35297f-2005-4e4d-b384-ce4a32beb275.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) You can also read all of the previous issues in this series at the links below: - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your toddler?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) ### šŸ”“ Unlocked: Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years? *This article is now available to all subscribers, free or paid. So if you werenā€™t able to read it when it came out, have a read now!* Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years? Nope. The real finding is even cooler. [Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years?Nope. The real finding is even cooler.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-08bc7ddb-819e-4534-a23e-c21007fc8667.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-08aec64f-6c8e-453b-8a4f-ff01d6a15cb8.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/stone-age-proto-writing/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Choctaw Nation launches Rosetta Stone language app The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is launching the Chahta Anumpuli language app through Rosetta Stoneā€™s Endangered Language Program. The service will provide free access to Chahta Anumpa, the Choctaw language, for Choctaw tribal members and nonmembers interested in learning. [Choctaw Nation, Rosetta Stone launch Chahta Anumpuli language appA new partnership between the Choctaw Nation and Rosetta Stone is bringing the Choctaw language to a digital learning platform.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-a75b8e9e-5abf-4e7e-91bd-1c0c9c78e5ee.ico)News9.comIsabel Contreras![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-ed45b8cc-0e8c-4206-b06e-109ea7b934cb.webp)](https://www.news9.com/oklahoma-city-news/choctaw-nation-rosetta-stone-language-app?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### University of Alaska Southeast launches first licensure program for teaching indigenous languages Classes have started for the University of Alaska Southeastā€™s first Master of Arts in Teaching Indigenous Languagesā€”the stateā€™s first full licensure route for speakers. Many of the stateā€™s indigenous language educators previously had to work under a limited certificate that caps both scope and pay, so this program is a big step towards aiding language revitalization in the state. The hybrid program admits both high-fluency speakers and advanced learners of any indigenous language. [UAS launches Alaskaā€™s first licensure program for teaching Indigenous languagesMaster of Arts in Teaching Indigenous Languages prepares speakers to advance language revitalization as fully licensed teachers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-5b3aeeee-c004-4f5b-9b94-f97a7ffa0970.ico)University of Alaska Southeast![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/default-thumbnail-fbc22f4b-6711-4fa6-b3e1-f4a200bd2e10.jpg)](https://uas.alaska.edu/about/press-releases/2026/091626-matil.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Do languages become less complex with more new adult speakers? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-2.png) The distribution of two measures of language complexity, fusion (A) and informativity (B), across the global sample of more than 1,200 languages. (C) The distribution of grammatical informativity scores across the family of Uralic languages. Shcherbakova et al. / Science Advances The field of **sociolinguistic typology** investigates whether the structure of societies affects the types of languages they speak. Do certain demographics lead to certain types of languages? One hypothesis that linguists have entertained in recent years is that languages become less complex as the number of adult speakers learning the language increases. In other words, languages with lots of second-language learners might be getting simpler. However, the research summarized in this article for *The Conversation* suggests that the correlation isnā€™t so straightforward. (Note that this research was published in 2023\. Iā€™m admittedly not certain how it has been received by others in the field in the intervening years.) [Do languages become less complex with more new adult speakers? Research shows itā€™s not that simpleThe idea a language should grow simpler if people need to learn it as adults has an intuitive appeal. But an analysis of more than 1,200 languages shows this doesnā€™t quite stack up.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-167f196a-d3cf-4126-9a63-88007b2f4a2c.png)The ConversationOlena Shcherbakova![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230817-25-s3whx1-a81232f2-7416-4444-84c2-d82a93b19697.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/do-languages-become-less-complex-with-more-new-adult-speakers-research-shows-its-not-that-simple-211732?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Shcherbakova et al. 2023\. Societies of strangers do not speak less complex languages. *Science Advances* 9(33). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf7704](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf7704?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Why do you have to reread some sentences and not others? > New research digs into why we breeze through some sentences in a book or article but have to reread others to comprehend their meaning. \[ā€¦\] Humans and AI process language in similar ways during the earliest moments of reading: both rely on next-word predictions. However, as reading continues and passages become more complexā€”often requiring rereadingā€”humansā€™ processing differs from that of AI, which is entirely built on next-word prediction and therefore cannot account for how we navigate these types of passages. [Why do you have reread some sentences and not others?New research digs into why we breeze through some sentences in a book or article but have to reread others to comprehend their meaning.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/futurity_ico-c98eb585-b7cc-4dd5-abb5-5537e40be09a.png)FuturityJames Devitt-NYU![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/reading-ai-language-processing-1600-38f77d64-8006-4860-858f-2313489bb67d.jpg)](https://www.futurity.org/reading-ai-language-processing-3342542/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* A controversial piece in *The New Yorker* reviews Sophia Smith Galerā€™s new book, *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): [Sometimes Itā€™s O.K. to Let a Language DieWhen cultural preservation comes at the expense of speakersā€™ decisions, sometimes itā€™s O.K. to let a language die.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-564f8ab1-1185-4724-8ee0-3b4b6d4eb1c4.ico)The New YorkerNikhil Krishnan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r49745-2f015c0d-5cd1-4d7d-860c-ee1c85b23884.png)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/27/how-to-kill-a-language-sophia-smith-galer-book-review?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Gerald Roche pushes back on this perspective over at *The Conversation:* [Languages are disappearing, and the problem is politicalLanguage loss is often a reluctant choice made to escape violence, not a willing choice made to gain benefits.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-64acef5c-3d17-4198-abe8-adc4a317b15b.png)The ConversationGerald Roche![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260812-50-7n6u6p-de32d979-2b1d-417b-947b-02b1cc258894.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/languages-are-disappearing-and-the-problem-is-political-288917?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-3.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Hereā€™s a review of Florence Hazratā€™s new book, *On the mark: From periods to interrobangsā€”How punctuation remade the world* ([Amazon](https://link.amazon/B0gic8u3e?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781541606494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). [The Curious Power of PunctuationCommas, dashes, semicolons, and spaces have shaped how we read for centuries. What happens when machines start crafting the sentences?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-717b816e-4713-4e4d-b4eb-a47a1d508ea4.ico)The New YorkerLouis Menand![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r50196-0d6a71cd-5c78-4ff3-8187-babc78f341ac.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/09/28/on-the-mark-louis-menand-book-review?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-4.png) [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B0gic8u3e?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781541606494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Linguist Heather Littlefield argues that many of the words recently added to Merriam-Websterā€™s dictionary arenā€™t technically new, in the sense that the word-building techniques they use are centuries old: [AI and digital culture make their way into Merriam-WebsterMerriam Websterā€™s new words include vibe coding and AGI. A Northeastern linguist explains what they reveal about life today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-f014ff3f-63ba-40d4-8fd0-8840ca0e0a0d.png)Northeastern Global NewsKatya Poltorak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/092326_MM_Dictionary_Additions_003-64df08e2-999b-4edc-b75f-bee77d9338e5.jpg)](https://news.northeastern.edu/2026/09/24/merriam-webster-new-words-2026/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- This is an older article but Iā€™m sharing it because Swahili is a language near and dear to my heart, having lived there my junior year of college and also conducted fieldwork there during grad school: [Kiswahili: how a standard version of the east African language was formed ā€“ and spread across the worldBy the 1950s a standard version of the language emerged, today spoken by an estimated 200 million people.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-2d2b51e0-4f1a-474e-822d-64a8ec743fc2.png)The ConversationMorgan J. Robinson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230627-17-hl1r78-d09cce95-d169-4247-88c2-fa6c521e1450.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/kiswahili-how-a-standard-version-of-the-east-african-language-was-formed-and-spread-across-the-world-208251?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- [How do you talk to aliens? This linguist has some ideasA linguist lays out what communicating with aliens could actually involveā€”and what that tells us about human language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-8188f366-19b5-4b87-ace2-c926518d3e30.ico)Scientific AmericanRachel Feltman and Sushmita Pathak and Brianne Kane and Alex Sugiura![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2606_SQ_FRI_DISCLOSURE_DAY-1-47e30bac-de02-49cc-998e-5512051452aa.png)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/disclosure-day-and-interspecies-communication-alien-language-isnt-just-weird-noises/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Frequency Dictionaries ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/10/image-5.png) Did you know there are dictionaries that are organized by how frequently each word is used? SUPER useful if you're learning the language. Hereā€™s a collection of frequency dictionaries from Routledge for various languages: [A Frequency Dictionary of Portuguese (Routledge Frequency Dictionaries) by Mark Davies (2007-11-30) : Amazon.nl: BoekenA Frequency Dictionary of Portuguese (Routledge Frequency Dictionaries) by Mark Davies (2007-11-30) : Amazon.nl: Boeken![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Van het merkVan de auteur![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/A1805IZSGTT6HS-257-4005990-7784304-7A56BMMQDEJHSX6JGVRJ-uedata-s--2Frd-2Fuedata-3Fstaticb-26id-3D7A56BMMQDEJHSX6JGVRJ-0-933fe48e-8e09-4a74-9874-59ff433bad3e.gif)](https://link.amazon/B08mIOpRf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Ryan Starkey of Starkey Comics fame recently put together a timelapse of the linguistic history of Britain and Ireland. This is the first time Iā€™ve seen him make an animation/timelapse like this, and I thought it was really nicely done! [Ryan Starkey on Instagram: ā€œ16 centuries of British and Irish linguistic history in 34 seconds. From the fall of the Roman empire, through the Anglo-Saxon invasions, Viking rule, Norman conquest, and the spread of English. These maps feaure over 30 languages, many of which are now lost to history. See the images on my profile for a full explanation of each frame in this clip. #LanguageMaps #HistoryOfEnglish #CelticLanguages #LinguisticHistory #MapHistoryā€913 likes, 50 comments - starkey\_comics on August 28, 2026: ā€œ16 centuries of British and Irish linguistic history in 34 seconds. From the fall of the Roman empire, through the Anglo-Saxon invasions, Viking rule, Norman conquest, and the spread of English. These maps feaure over 30 languages, many of which are now lost to history. See the images on my profile for a full explanation of each frame in this clip. #LanguageMaps #HistoryOfEnglish #CelticLanguages #LinguisticHistory #MapHistoryā€.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/rzWiSjZRxk5-af5c903f-aa06-43a4-b080-9a7901fcfd82.webp)Instagram![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/788550439_2629717634160481_1678448804257558614_n-3487f139-1fbc-45fd-8625-b129680b2e80.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dck-oyAu0Y3/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Wordsmaxxing: Merriam-Webster adds 1,400 new entries to its dictionary URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-39/ Last updated: 2026-10-03T09:00:57.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### How I manage my social media content ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-36.png) If youā€™re interested in a behind-the-scenes look at my content creation strategy for social media and how I handle scheduling and posting, the company [Buffer](https://buffer.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) recently did a profile about me as part of their launch of scheduling for Substack Notes. Buffer is the scheduling tool I use for all my social media content, so I wasnā€™t too surprised when Buffer made me aware that Iā€™m actually one of their power users (!) and asked me if Iā€™d like to do an interview. - [Danny Hieber explains language to the internet](https://buffer.com/resources/case-study-danny-hieber-substack/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Buffer) If youā€™d like to try Buffer for your own content, [hereā€™s my affiliate link](https://join.buffer.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### How Greek got its grammatical gender Hereā€™s another video I created as part of my collaboration with St. Johnā€™s College, about how Greek (and Indo-European languages generally) got its grammatical gender: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Wordsmaxxing: Merriam-Webster adds 1,400 new entries to its dictionary Merriam-Webster just added 1,400 new entries to its dictionary, including *cuffing season*, *Sunday scaries*, *crashout*, *Mandela Effect*, *vibe coding*, and *parasocial*. [Wordsmaxxing: Merriam-Webster makes 1,400 new entries to its dictionaryFor those scrolling through social media comment sections and finding themselves confused by words like “rage-bait,” “doomscroll” and “main character energy,” Merriam-Webster finally has some answers. Merriam-Webster last week added 1,400 new words and definitions to its dictionary, many of them capturing terms and phrases born from pop culture, technology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-561ccf2b-3065-49f7-a4d3-156c1dc0bb52.ico)TribLIVE.comHaley Moreland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/9963290_web1_ptr-MWwords-092226-e2a1dac4-05a7-405b-8d91-fb44718ede4f.jpg)](https://triblive.com/aande/books/wordsmaxxing-merriam-webster-makes-1400-new-entries-to-its-dictionary/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [1,400 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster.com](https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/new-words-in-the-dictionary?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Merriam-Webster) ### Vikings and Scots lock horns over Shetland dialect ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-37.png) Illustration by Nina Krause for **The Times* Some islanders say their speech is a form of Norseā€”and are even adding Scandi-style accents to wordsā€”but most linguists insist it is solidly Scottish. - [Vikings and Scots lock horns over Shetland dialect](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/vikings-scots-shetland-dialect-zj7l8kp9q?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The London Times*) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### How children talk can indicate risk for future mental health problems > Linguistic models that analyzed the words children used when talking about stressful events were better at predicting future mental health problems than a panel of human experts. [How children talk can indicate risk for future mental health problemsLinguistic models that analyzed the words children used when talking about stressful events were better at predicting future mental health problems than a panel of human experts.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Medical XpressStanford University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/children-talking-1-b451a5bb-b692-40c8-bcd1-636fc709bba0.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-children-future-mental-health-problems.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Antonacci et al. 2026\. Natural language processing of youth speech predicts psychopathology across adolescence. *Nature Mental Health* 4: 1227ā€“1238\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00683-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00683-9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Birdsong and whalesong have both been found to follow a fundamental law of human language New research on Bengalese Finches shows that their vocalizations follow a fundamental structural principle found in all languages, called Zipfā€™s Law, which is a statement about the frequency of words in a languageā€”or, in this case, chirps, whistles, and trills. Whalesong has previously also been found to follow Zipfā€™s Law. [Birdsong follows a fundamental law of human languageA fundamental law of human language has now been found in both songbirds and whales![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-f9b9a63f-f8e9-4a9e-b57b-4dd40daf8823.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Lonchura-striata-Bengalese-finch-034b8343-d8af-4e64-bb83-7a81461e9cac.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/birdsong-follows-a-fundamental-law-of-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Kirby et al. 2026\. Language-like statistical structure arises in learned signaling: Evidence from birdsong. *Science Advances* 12(32): eaea3015\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea3015](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea3015?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* The remarkable journey of the Austronesians to Madagascar is also a linguistic journey of the spread of the Austronesian language family: [The Austronesian odyssey to Madagascar: How ancient Indonesian sailors defied the oceanThe 4,000-mile voyage that rewrote the map of human migration![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F9b19859a-4561-46d8-a5d1-627e9e1529c8-2Ffavicon-48x48-dfa9a6a8-3cbf-43f9-89b2-454d70c32230.jpg)World Politics & HistoryWorld Politics & History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F2f2ff1a0-b0fd-4b2a-a835-16718e78751a_2390x1686-92ee2995-d823-4aa8-b3e0-e36f7f416667.jpg)](https://worldpoliticshistory.substack.com/p/austronesian-indonesia-madagascar-settlement-migration) Colin Gorrie writes about the origin of the prescriptive rule distinguishing the use of *will* vs. *shall*: [English has no futureWill, shall, and other mysteries![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Ffavicon-48x48-dff4db9c-c138-4128-8c49-9f005ac92ca8.jpg)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F5ddbe5f6-dfe3-4443-adba-ec308b50b570_1464x1800-94e19093-0bc6-4d1c-b610-024d1031bee9.jpg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/english-has-no-future) Other reads this week: [Curious Kids: who was the first person to speak English?Hundreds of years ago, people spoke Old English ā€“ but it is very different to English today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-f76e1e68-49c7-4afa-a0f2-c886e85f4394.png)The ConversationAd Putter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230522-25-475xbe-148b819e-5a27-41cd-980c-c3648cca72ed.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-who-was-the-first-person-to-speak-english-205695?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Death of ā€˜drongoā€™: Are Aussie insults and swearwords dying out?Classic Australian swearwords and insults are becoming less popular with younger generations. What does losing them mean for our culture?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-bf538d5f-4ec2-42e8-95b3-6ee6effd30a0.png)ABC NewsShalailah Medhora![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a4d1bc1d8540af9aa9e75813ab499c8e-3bb5ffaa-0354-42a2-8f08-3efefabf867d.jpg)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-25/swearing-insults-offensive-words-change-over-time/106711220?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Loathed ā€˜Americanismsā€™ often have an origin closer to home: Many of the USAā€™s most grating linguistic exports turn out to be British coinages, the lexicographer Susie Dent has said](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/the-times-view/article/loathed-americanisms-language-susie-dent-lvrsm6ffv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*London Times*) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The dawn of language: How we came to talk* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-38.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This is my favorite book on the evolution of language! What I love about it is that, while it does discuss both nativist (generativist) and functionalist approaches to language, I think it makes it pretty clear that only the functionalist approach really comports with all the genetic and paleontological evidence we have about the evolution of language. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Endangered languages* What are endangered languages and how do did 58% of the worldā€™s language become endangered? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-39.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YAKzmv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262548700?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This recent book is an introduction to language endangerment. Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > 58% of the worldā€™s languagesā€”or, approximately 4,000 languagesā€”are endangered. When we break this figure down, we realize that roughly ten percent of languages have fewer than ten language keepers. And, if one language stops being used every three months, this means that in the next 100 years, if we do nothing, 400 more languages will become dormant. In *Endangered Languages*, Evangelia Adamou, a specialist of endangered languages and a learner of her own community language, Nashta, offers a sobering look at language endangerment and what is truly lost when a language disappears from usage. > > Combining recent advances from the Western scientific traditionā€”from the fields of linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, language attrition, population genetics, and natural language processingā€”and insights from Indigenous epistemology, theory, and ethics, Adamou examines a wealth of issues surrounding endangered languages. She discusses where endangered languages are found, including how they are faring in a digital world, why these languages are no longer used, and how communities can reclaim languages and keep them strong. Adamou also explains the impact of language continuity on community and individual health and well-being, the importance of language transmission in cultural transmission, and why language rights are essentially human rights. > > Drawing on varied examples from the Wampanoag Nation to Wales, *Endangered Languages* offers a powerful reminder of the crucial role every language has in the vitality and well-being of individuals, communities, and our world. Get your copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YAKzmv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262548700?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! From [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal](http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/me?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-40.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### What an apeā€™s laugh can teach us about human language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-38/ Last updated: 2026-09-26T09:00:29.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸŽ—ļø Reminder: *Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient Greek* ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-30.png) If you havenā€™t yet finished the article on the Pre-Greek substrate language that influenced Ancient Greek (because it was unusually long!), this is your reminder to go back and finish reading it! If you do, youā€™ll be rewarded with some cool resources, such as: - A map (made by me!) of where we think the Pre-Greek language spoken, based on evidence from Pre-Greek toponyms (place names) - A list of all the words in English that are ultimately derived from the Pre-Greek language Happy reading! [Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient GreekAround 1,000 Greek words canā€™t be traced to any Indo-European language. Where do they come from?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-ba6823b5-7870-4796-af61-696319657075.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/map--3840x2160---1--a4d9f367-dbb2-476d-92de-dd488809d0e5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/) ### Grammar snobs donā€™t like language Some thoughts on grammar snobs, in microblogging form: > **Grammar snobs donā€™t like language.** > > The grammar elitists only like the mythical version of language theyā€™ve ā€œperfectedā€ in their minds, one thatā€™s never existed and never will. > > The grammar pedants donā€™t appreciate the beautiful diversity of ways that language is *actually* used by real human beings in the world. They donā€™t see the elegance of language as a spontaneous order, shaped by billions of day-to-day interactions between speakers. > > To the grammar police, language is something to be constrained and controlled, striped of its vivacity and organic nature, made stale and lifeless. > > To the grammar stiffs, the creativity and diversity and individuality of language is the enemy. > > Donā€™t be a grammar snob. Learn to appreciate the wonderful messy diversity of language. - [See this post on Threads.](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Bluey released in an Australian indigenous language for the first time The award-winning children's cartoon series Bluey has been translated into Australian Indigenous language for the first time. Five episodes were released in Yolngu Matha, a collection of dialects from north-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The BBC's Simon Atkinson spoke to the producers of these special episodes, who hope the project will amplify First Nation voices, and help language preservation through storytelling. [Bluey released in Australian Indigenous language for first timeFive episodes of the award-winning childrenā€™s cartoon have been released in Australian Indigenous language for the first time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-4d031845-bdfc-4b67-8392-121df8a2d1c8.png)BBC: World News & Stories![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2768aa90-8017-11f1-b976-0b9c15b0ccfc-4f0e9eba-282a-409f-902d-5339067028b8.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c07y7r91vz9o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Enrollment in advanced language classes dropping in the UK Since 2022, the number of A-levels (Advanced Level qualifications, 2-year subject-based courses in the UK) taken in French, German, and Spanish has fallen from 19,820 to 17,616. [This A-level subject could be in ā€˜crisisā€™ as entries declineSince 2022, the number of A-levels taken in French, German and Spanish has fallen from 19,820 to 17,616![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-512x512-9a69dc0d-58fc-4a30-bafa-2ed8dcdb7b6d.png)The IndependentSascha Stollhans![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/785f4cb7fba839c405a8aa9d757fab89Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzg2NjM2MDA2-2.16777022-74f9aff0-c661-4e58-be83-cba611817737.jpg)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/a-level-results-gcse-language-subject-b3032564.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### What an apeā€™s laugh can teach us about human language A new study offers a glimpse into the evolutionary path toward human languageā€”through laughter. The study found that ape species more closely related to humans, such as chimpanzees, were able to laugh faster than gorillas or orangutans. [What an apeā€™s laugh can teach us about human languageA new study offers a glimpse into the evolutionary path toward human languageā€”through laughter.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-b20e812e-3047-4bdd-8a5a-92def00cd732.ico)Animals![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SPI-2506024_16x9-b3d30d17-7f95-41d3-81f1-e06b757bff96.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/apes-laugh-evolution?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - De Gregorio, Davila-Ross, & Lameira. 2025\. Rhythm and timing in laughter reveal that human vocal plasticity falls on a hominid continuum. *Communications Biology* 9 (824). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10499-z](https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10499-z?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Humanity spoke thousands of languages at the dawn of farming ā€” now many of them are lost ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-32.png) The transition to farming settlements in the Neolithic, like this one in ƇayƶnĆ¼, Turkey, helped spur a boom in linguistic diversity. Credit: Omer Yasin Ergin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Hereā€™s some additional reporting from *Nature* and other publications on the study published in *Science* earlier this year showing that there were likely tens of thousands of languages in use between 3,000 and 1,000 years ago: [Humanity spoke thousands of languages at the dawn of farming ā€” now many of them are lostA shift from nomadic lifestyles could have triggered linguistic diversity before it then declined rapidly.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-48x48-b52890008c-3c4ca1dd-b545-428f-8923-a2062480d50e.png)Nature Publishing Group UKFreda Kreier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/d41586-026-02279-w_53016690-52f6b78e-b0ee-4336-9d57-f28bc1236bd0.jpg)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02279-w?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Three millennia ago, humans may have spoken thousands more languages than we have today, during a linguistic ā€˜Golden Ageā€™: A new study suggests linguistic diversity reached its peak between 1000 BCE and 1000 CE before declining](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/three-millennia-ago-humans-may-have-spoken-thousands-more-languages-than-we-have-today-during-a-linguistic-golden-age-180989197/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) - [Tens of thousands of languages spoken in ancient times before collapse: A new Harvard study contradicts the previous assumption that languages peaked much earlier, after the last Ice Age](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/languages-linguistics-ice-age-ppgswpg7f?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The London Times*) - [Thousands of human languages may have been erasedā€”even before colonialism](https://www.sciencealert.com/a-forgotten-wave-of-extinction-may-have-erased-thousands-of-human-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science Alert*) - **Original Research Article:** Blasi et al. 2026\. The rise and fall of language diversity through the Holocene. *Science* 393(6809): pp. 387ā€“391\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx4343](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx4343?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Comments on my [Pre-Greek article](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/) led me to this excellent article by Matthew Scarborough about the percentage of Pre-Greek words in the Greek lexicon: - [How much ā€œPre-Greekā€ is there in the Greek lexicon proportionally?](https://consultingphilologist.wordpress.com/2025/08/13/how-much-pre-greek-is-there-in-the-greek-lexicon-proportionally/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Consulting Philologist*) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-33.png) Ken Hale was a pretty remarkable dude, well-known within the field of linguistics for his incredible language-learning skills, his keen scholarly insight, and his kind and warm personality. If youā€™ve never heard of him, check out this recent tribute article: - [Kenneth Hale, the Brahma-bull-riding theoretical linguist who spoke 50 languages: Paying my respects to a linguistic virtuoso](https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/paying-my-respects-to-a-linguistic-virtuoso/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The MIT Press Reader*) Here is his obituary from MIT, where he taught linguistics: [Kenneth L. Hale, linguist and activist on behalf of endangered languages, diesSpeaking over 50 langauges, Professor Hale was 'truly a voice for the voiceless,' said Noam Chomsky![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-5ede26d5-2cd7-4bd8-87ef-687189a22f53.png)MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/200908311111171076-008d799b-1ee5-4091-bfed-79170788a0b5.jpg)](https://news.mit.edu/2001/hale?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other reads this week: [If AI can translate instantly, why learn another language?Thereā€™s a difference between using a tool to assist you, and using one to replace cognitive effort.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-096df305-1c3c-487a-8743-9e7ab3b010c9.png)The ConversationMark Antoniou![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260430-57-slgsoc-cd717e17-207d-4b10-b2c4-e5ac120bcf52.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/if-ai-can-translate-instantly-why-learn-another-language-280310?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Prehistory of A.I. SlopBefore ChatGPT, there was the Plot Robot, Auto-Beatnik, and a centuryā€™s worth of schemes for automating authorship.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-fc91ce7c-341c-409f-aeb6-ea90bb9b8f57.ico)The New YorkerJill Lepore![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r49216-dc053c80-0b5a-4f40-8754-84bdb616c2d1.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/05/25/the-prehistory-of-ai-slop?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Do Old English Letters Differ From Modern English? - Rosetta StoneWhen you think about Old English, you may imagine pages from Beowulf or a swinging storefront sign reading ā€œYe Olde Shoppe.ā€ But what did Old English letters![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-42a1ef48-5de2-4972-9d57-5bbb102647a6.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Old-English-letters_2114283167-1-b3fdad87-56ce-4d9e-b9e1-eb7c435939fc.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/old-english-letters/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Things I loved about *A deadly education* as a linguist ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-34.png) [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B0bB4J24U?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593128503?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I recently finished reading *A deadly education*, the first book in the *Scholomance* fantasy trilogy, and had a great time with it. Here are a few things I enjoyed about it as a linguist: - Spells in Old English and Proto-Indo-European! - The more languages you know, the more spells you can learn, and the better a wizard you are! - Fun shoutouts to *Lord of the Rings* in a few places. (The main character is named *Galadriel* and makes a quip about it at one point.) The author clearly has some awareness of historical linguistics and language reconstruction, which was a lot of fun: > The bookcases in between are full of crumbling scrolls and carved-stone tablets in some parent language so ancient that nobody knows it anymore. \[ā€¦\] I made up a special project for myself: analyzing the commonalities between spells of binding and coercion in Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Old English, and Middle English. \[ā€¦\] The topic also near-guaranteed that Iā€™ll be assigned the Proto-Indo-European seminar next year. (pp. 102ā€“103) Get your own copy of the book here: - [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B0bB4J24U?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593128503?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *The Cambridge encyclopedia of language* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/20230609_033758296_iOS.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/version-1-uuid-732D1BBA-604B-417D-AAE5-9D99CF3A30FE-mode-compatible-noloc-0.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/version-1-uuid-3B3CC1F7-545B-43FE-9B60-BB37E9BA6DF8-mode-compatible-noloc-0.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/version-1-uuid-7A6C8AB8-A711-472B-8BEB-05153C5C6EF1-mode-compatible-noloc-0.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/version-1-uuid-7E27FED4-9052-4FB8-8AD8-1E626DA7A29B-mode-compatible-noloc-0.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/version-1-uuid-7B5FB216-AFAB-4D4F-AC5E-17BEE448A28B-mode-compatible-noloc-0.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/version-1-uuid-9D9A8D58-E1C3-4DEF-AB0B-EBF65648BC04-mode-compatible-noloc-0.jpeg) This is honestly one of my favorite coffee table books, by the prolific and always excellent David Crystal. People love to leaf through this when they come over. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4h9S3nm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780521736503?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! *Sketch Plantations* made an infographic for the World Cup this past summer explaining the difference between endonyms and exonyms. Read the accompanying article here: [Endonyms, Exonyms and the World CupLocal names and outside names![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F66fb3287-dccc-4657-96a6-f18df807b9fa-2Ffavicon-48x48-fa2bded1-28a7-45ec-8a33-73a91b68c412.jpg)SketchplanationsJono Hey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fdb45945e-7ba4-4279-9c2e-b579bcf8e91f_3329x3329-02d37674-380f-4966-aae1-d4bbbda1e716.jpg)](https://sketchplanations.substack.com/p/endonyms-exonyms-and-the-world-cup) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-35.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Language genes may be much older than previously thought URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-37/ Last updated: 2026-09-19T09:00:28.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸ”“ Unlocked: *The Ass Camouflage Construction: What this African American English expression teaches us about the worldā€™s languages* *This article is now available to all subscribers, free or paid. So if you werenā€™t able to read it when it came out, have a read now!* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-22.png) African American English (AAE) has a cool expression called the **Ass Camouflage Construction**: - They done arrested **her stupid ass**. - Iā€™m gonna sue **her ass**. - Get **your triflinā€™ ass** out of here. - I saw **his ass** yesterday. - **His ass** is gonna get fried. It turns out this fun expression can teach us a lot about how the worldā€™s languages work! Learn more in this issue of the newsletter: [The Ass Camouflage ConstructionWhat this African American English expression teaches us about the worldā€™s languages![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-792c0537-1620-4409-ab8d-ea820ae0119a.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-c0a164df-63f9-475b-8ffe-824d39cd9127.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/ass-camouflage-construction/) ### Shortform Video: Pre-Greek As part of my collaboration with St. Johnā€™s College, I created a 3-minute video about the Pre-Greek language that influenced Ancient Greek. So if you want a condensed version of my longer article on the topic, have a watch! And if you havenā€™t read (or havenā€™t finished) the article itself, I definitely recommend doing so! Iā€™m very pleased to report that this is my best-performing article yet, so readers seem to be really enjoying it. [Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient GreekAround 1,000 Greek words canā€™t be traced to any Indo-European language. Where do they come from?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-4d8d13a4-e2fb-4210-b048-dafccb8fe950.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/map--3840x2160---1--87312923-03e9-4299-a139-fd44fa115aff.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Californiaā€™s indigenous communities reclaim their languages ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-23.png) Neshuun Carmelo, her sister Paahavet Carmelo and their mother Citlali Arvizu, all Gabrielino/Tongva, Kumeyaay speakers, attend the Breath of Life Conference held on the UC Berkeley campus on Friday, June 5, 2026 in Berkeley, Calif. (Allison Herrera via Bay City News) The Breath of Life institute brings California tribal members to California Language Archive at UC Berkeley for a week each summer to train them how to access and read archival materials about their languages. - [Berkeley: Californiaā€™s indigenous communities reclaim their own languageā€”and pieces of their history](https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/berkeley-californias-indigenous-communities-22322332.php?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*SFGate*) ### ConlangCrafter: The AI model that invents languages ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-24.png) A new AI model called ConlangCrafter is capable of generating new languages, including ones with unconventional communication systems such as a language for cephalopod species that uses colors and gestures instead of sounds. - [ConlangCrafter turns AI to imagining languages](https://spectrum.ieee.org/conlangs-ai-model-contructed-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*IEEE Spectrum*) A recent article in *Science* also looks at whether ConlangCrafter is truly creativeā€”does it produce genuinely novel tongues, or does it simply spit out a remix of existing languages? - [An AI can invent entirely new languagesā€”but is it creative?](https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-can-invent-entirely-new-languages-it-creative?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) The model was published in a research paper: - Alper et al. 2026\. ConlangCrafter: Constructing languages with a multi-hop LLM pipeline. *Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, Vol. 1: Long Papers*, pp. 9318ā€“9349\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2026.acl-long.422](https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2026.acl-long.422?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### What linguists think everyone should know about language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-25.png) A recent study asked linguists around the world what they thought everyone should know about language. Hereā€™s a write-up of the findings: [What linguists think everyone should know about language157 questions. 538 linguists from 49 countries.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-51dd57ca-037b-49f5-ad97-18e690e50b25.png)Connectā€™s SubstackConnect Linguistics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F451c6c91-516f-4c24-82ca-8fc532ecb125_1053x1041-32d01837-3f37-4411-ab0e-395c181d333d.jpg)](https://connectlinguistics.substack.com/p/what-linguists-think-everyone-should) Here are the most common macro-questions among the responses, ordered by frequency: | **#** | **Macro-question** | **n** | | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | 1 | How and why do languages change? | 61 | | 2 | How do children acquire language? | 58 | | 3 | How many languages are there in the world? | 51 | | 4 | What are the benefits of learning foreign languages? | 45 | | 5 | What is language? | 45 | | 6 | What are the functions of language? | 44 | | 7 | What is the difference between spoken and written language? | 43 | | 8 | Does language influence thought? | 42 | | 9 | What is the difference between a language and a dialect? | 41 | | 10 | What differentiates human language from animal communication? | 36 | | 11 | What is linguistics? | 34 | | 12 | Are some languages better than others? | 32 | | 13 | Are sign languages real languages? | 30 | | 14 | How common is multilingualism in the world? | 29 | | 15 | What are the different parts of speech? | 28 | | 16 | What are the basic components of language? | 28 | | 17 | What is the relation between language and culture? | 26 | | 18 | What other languages are related to your first language(s)? | 26 | | 19 | What does it mean to know a language? | 23 | | 20 | What is the difference between learning first and subsequent languages? | 21 | | 21 | Is language change equal to language decay? | 21 | | 22 | In what ways do languages differ? | 21 | | 23 | What features are shared by (almost) all human languages? | 21 | | 24 | What does it mean to speak ā€œcorrectlyā€? | 20 | | 25 | What is syntax? | 20 | - Lehecka & Ɩstman. 2025\. What linguists think everyone should know about languageā€”on extracting salience from open-ended responses. *Folia Linguistica* 60(1): 497ā€“530\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1515/flin-2025-2020](https://doi.org/10.1515/flin-2025-2020?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Genes controlling language may be much older than previously thought ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-26.png) Veronika Oliinyk | Getty Images A new study links language to genes that predate the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals, suggesting that Neanderthals too had some form of early communication. [How did humans evolve language? It may be far more ancient than scientists realizedA new study links genetic regions that predate the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals to language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-3e60ef4a-067b-4832-9566-3e59d414c0a8.ico)Scientific AmericanJackie Flynn Mogensen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/dna-language-114f3adf-a287-40d1-9c06-5f9f754aaa13.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetic-origins-of-language-may-predate-modern-humans-splitting-from-neanderthals-a-new-study-suggests/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Casten et al. 2026\. Ancient regulatory evolution shapes individual language abilities in present-day humans. *Science Advances* 12(17). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed5260](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed5260?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Inside the creation of *Project Hail Mary*ā€™s musical alien language: [Inside the creation of Project Hail Maryā€™s musical alien languageLinguists explain how a language built from musical notes could convey complex meaning and even support conversation![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-ba055e8d-bc8f-4572-b07c-69e465c213f9.ico)Scientific AmericanRachel Feltman and Allison Parshall and Fonda Mwangi and Alex Sugiura![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2608_SQ_WED_MUSIC_LANGUAGE-af889089-0361-4997-b5e1-776cb1d68bd1.png)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/could-rockys-musical-language-in-project-hail-mary-actually-work/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) For my own take on the linguistics of *Project Hail Mary*, take a look at this issue of the newsletter: [Project Hail Mary - Linguistic Discovery![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-aab9bc13-98b1-474f-95c4-f6d82c6f98c7.png)Linguistic Discovery![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Ghost-Publication-Cover-9a82c57a-9c38-4417-9418-e917cc2a118a.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/tags/project-hail-mary/) --- Hereā€™s a review of Sophia Smith Galerā€™s forthcoming book, *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): [What happens when we lose a language?A staggering 44% of human languages are endangered ā€“ with culture, tradition and whole ways of understanding the world at stake![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-3c40447f-b999-4c72-ba18-b7cab972ba8c.ico)The GuardianSophia Smith Galer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2373-8053dde1-66a0-47ea-b906-9b2f40afcf47.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/10/what-happens-when-we-lose-a-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-27.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- [Sramcbled wrods: the real reason you can still read jumbled textā€˜Typoglycemiaā€™ is often shared online as a quirky insight into how our brains work. But this viral claim is only part of the story.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-4347e33d-2aff-4f5b-99ec-e741232f60ae.png)The ConversationKaren Stollznow![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260414-91-f9c469-85d77733-590e-4ded-be89-89e0ea0fb9d9.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/sramcbled-wrods-the-real-reason-you-can-still-read-jumbled-text-280457?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Fates of the DualThe status and story of Indo-Europeanā€™s (mostly) lost alternative to singular and plural words.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F1f1fc5e2-6f7e-4fd2-abc4-fe78ebd59cc2-2Ffavicon-48x48-3dd0a4cf-5369-47b3-bc0d-b3b0ab0278ee.png)Danny Bate, Wanderer in Language HistoryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fa982d67c-9745-49ed-b1df-d4e428c5e248_553x523-a45a1220-ae04-49ef-927c-5875ca29e048.jpg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/the-fates-of-the-dual) [Speaking of Words: How City People Insult Country People - InDepthNH.orgFor hundreds of years we English speakers have come up with countless terms of abuse for each otherā€”one of the more fertile sectors of the languageā€”and a surprising number of them are based on urban scorn for rural folk.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-92b37871-1df7-4778-9e67-df1b1937ba4c.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-32bd61b5-2e00-456e-aa2a-6690c79b556d.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2026/05/13/speaking-of-words-how-city-people-insult-country-people/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The Book: A cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0913-1.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0912-1.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/IMG_0914-1.JPEG) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4sRS1WZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781324086352?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This was such a neat book! Itā€™s a history of not just the book but writing technologies in general, from papyrus to parchment to paper to the printing press and much more. It got me thinking a lot about how the mediums used to write affected the writing systems themselves. I also highly recommend getting the hardcover version pictured here, which is gorgeously bound and illustrated. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4sRS1WZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781324086352?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why is a tiger a tiger? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-28.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UNP9OM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781984336767?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I recently learned about this fun etymology book for kids from Lauren Gawneā€™s blog [*Superlinguo*](https://www.superlinguo.com/post/826411319828922368/linguistics-books-for-kids-why-is-a-tiger-a?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Iā€™ll quote from her post: > There are many books with etymological stories for adults, but why should adults have all the fun? [Dave Buchen](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5391926.Dave%5FBuchen?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has been created illustrated books for children with short, accessible etymology stories. > > *Why is a Tiger a Tiger?* is full of animal etymologies with playful black and white illustrations. I counted around eighty pages of illustrations. Buchen is a self-published author, and the print on demand copy I received has the perfect paper to make this a fabulous linguistically-informative colouring book. Get your own copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UNP9OM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781984336767?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! In my article on [the Pre-Greek substrate that influenced Ancient Greek](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/), I likened contact between languages to geographical strata, i.e. layers of linguistic history. Ryan Starkey of Starkey Comics illustrates this nicely with a map of toponyms (place names) of Old Irish, Norse, Brittonic, and Old English origins across Britain and Ireland. Read his full description here: - [Major placename regions of Britain & Ireland](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1193514295464153&set=pb.100044167822697.-2207520000&type=3) (*Starkey Comics*) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-29.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Golden Age of Language might have boasted 75,000 languages approximately 2,000 years ago URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-36/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T09:00:07.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient Greek ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-10.png) Around 1,000 Greek words canā€™t be traced to any Indo-European language. Where do they come from? In this issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter, weā€™ll dig through layers of linguistic history to reveal the mystery language that influenced Ancient Greek. **Cool Features in this Issue** - A custom map of where the Pre-Greek language was likely spoken, based on evidence from toponyms (place names) - A big list of English words that ultimately derive from Pre-Greek [Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient GreekAround 1,000 Greek words canā€™t be traced to any Indo-European language. Where do they come from?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-18415f05-6133-4abb-8227-1f20f6114d5d.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/map--3840x2160---1--db50e02e-a9b3-4d83-b03e-d76b52437920.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/) ### šŸ”“ Unlocked: *The Peopleā€™s Tongue: The Great Menā„¢ of Language* *This article is now available to all subscribers, free or paid. So if you werenā€™t able to read it when it came out, have a read now!* Language is shaped by everyday people, not the Big Namesā„¢ of history. [The Great Menā„¢ of LanguageLanguage is shaped by everyday people, not the Big Namesā„¢ of history![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-83a752e1-f384-4d89-bd96-ee442ca7d0b3.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2026-Article-Banners-b564fcba-5b4d-4177-89aa-abf48747f961.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/great-men-of-language/) ### How Semitic languages got their 3-consonant roots As part of my collaboration with St. Johnā€™s College, I put together this 3-minute overview of how Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew got their fascinating 3-consonant root structure: ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### The Golden Age of Languages ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-12.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-13.png) New research suggests that language extinction began with the rise of nation-states rather than colonialism. Hereā€™s a excerpt from the abstract of the research paper: > Before the onset of plant and animal domestication, the number of languages was smaller than it is today (4500 to 6000 compared with 7500). Subsequent increases in global population precipitated increased linguistic diversity. We uncovered a linguistic ā€œgolden ageā€ with tens of thousands of languages 3000 to 1000 years ago. Great loss of linguistic diversity did not begin with recent colonial expansion but as multinational empires first spread along with their languages, pathogens, and cultures. Like most good research, this finding isnā€™t entirely novel, but rather expands our existing knowledge on the topic. Many linguists have estimated that the rise of nation-states was a major driver of language death, and that prior to the Neolithic (Agrarian) Revolution (when humans adopted sedentary, urban lifestyles), there were significantly more languages than in use today (or, at least, more languages per capita). In *The history of languages* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ko0xJC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), Tore Janson estimates that \~7,500 languages were spoken among a total human population of \~15 million approximately 12,000 years ago. In *Empires of the word: A language history of the world*, Nicholas Ostler speaks of the ā€œstate of natureā€ for languages: > The presumption is that before the discovery and expansion of agriculture, human communities were small bands, just as the remaining groupings of hunter-gatherers are to this day. These groups all have languages, and ancient lore and stories which the old retail to the young. The density of the human population, wherever people were living, would have been far less than it is today. It is a commonplace of historical linguistics that related languages diverge when contact ceases between groups, so we can also presume that in this early period each self-sufficient community, of up to a few thousand people, would by and large have had its own language. > > All this changed in communities that adopted a settled way of life, based on herding and agriculture. Now communities would have become both larger and more organised. In settled communities, oneā€™s neighbours in one year would remain oneā€™s neighbours for many years, indeed generations, to come. One might have dues to pay, and negotiate, with higher authorities. Festivals, and markets, would bring together people from a wide area. Militias would be raised to defend local communities, and to steal from others perceived to be weaker. There began to be a motive for communication among people over longer distances. Bilingualism would have increased in the population, and also languages would have grown in terms of the number of speakers; quite likely, too, the absolute number of languages would have fallen, smaller communities losing speakers through war, marriage or desertion, or simply a pragmatic tendency to use other peopleā€™s languages. > > From the very nature of the changing situation we could have inferred these processes. But in fact it has been possible to watch them. They have been observed in accelerated development in the last couple of generations in Papua New Guinea, as the old self-sufficient ways of life in villages and hamlets yield to a wider-ranging national way of life. A feature of this transition is the decline of many of the indigenous languages and their replacement through the expansion of neighbouring tongues, or more globally by languages associated with trade at the national level, or government: utility jargons or pidgins are quickly transformed into general-purpose Creole languages, informally but effectively standardised across vast numbers of speakers. (pp. 9ā€“10) Nicholas Evans echoes this idea in *Words of wonder: Endangered languages and what they tell us:* > Indeed, there are good reasons to believe that \[abundant linguistic diversity\] is a good representation of how we humans have been for most of our pastā€”not just for the 99% or so of our history up to 10,000 years ago when we were all hunter-gatherers, but also for much of the time that followed. This is because the dawn of agriculture, although it led to an explosion in human populations, did not automatically lead to the development of much larger societies. Speech communities got a bit bigger, but it was rare for them to exceed the few score thousand that could be held together as a homogenous unit without the panoply of state control that only began with our incorporation into large centralized political entities like the Roman Empire or a modern nation state. \[ā€¦\] We see small languages wherever in the world societies have lain beyond the homogenizing reach of great empires. > > The classic estimate of the worldā€™s population on the eve of the Neolithic, 10 millennia ago, is 10 million. Combining these figures with a very generous 2,000-speaker maximum for hunter-gatherer languages suggests that, on the eve of agriculture and fixed settlements, there were already 3,000 to 5,000 languages in the worldā€”roughly the same number as now, even though the population was less than 0.5% of its current level. If we assume 1,000 speakers per language, a more realistic figure in my view, the number doubles to between 6,000 and 10,000\. Levels of language diversity whose full magnitude we can barely grasp have been with us for a very long time. \[ā€¦\] > > As agriculture spread around much of the world from then on, it is likely that increases in language populations of cultivating groups \[ā€¦\] would have been more than offset by the explosion in overall world population, so that the number of languages in the world may have rise to 10,000 or 15,000\. However, scholars like Colin Renfrew and Peter Bellwood have argued that the bearers of agricultural expansion would have been just a small number of groups who had made a radical cultural transition. \[ā€¦\] The expansion of these few agriculture-based lineages would have produced the ā€˜Renfrew-Bellwoodā€™ effect: a decrease in deep-level diversity, i.e. in the number of unrelated stocks or deep lineages, as clusters of closely related languages spread outwards from the dozen or so foci where agricultural complexes were developed. (pp. 10ā€“15) So, this new study both comports with and provides additional evidence for the received wisdom that linguistic diversity collapses with the rise of agricultural complexes, urbanization, and social stratification. But it adds to this story by showing how a mix of factors, such as population increases, likely resulted in peak linguistic diversity around 2,000 years ago. Iā€™ve linked to both a *Science News* article explaining the research and the original research article below. [The golden age of language was a few thousand years agoA few millennia ago, people worldwide may have spoken or signed up to 10 times as many languages as they do today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-1fb6af28-b565-42a2-9f0a-8fed186291e6.jpg)Science NewsSujata Gupta![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/072326_sg_linguistic-golden-age_main-265a82f6-2be8-4361-b4d2-0cc92d85e803.jpg)](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/golden-age-language-history-diversity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Blasi et al. 2026\. The rise and fall of language diversity through the Holocene. *Science* 393(6809): pp. 387ā€“391\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx4343](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx4343?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). #### Books Referenced All three of these books are fantastic, and the last two in particular are among my favorite pop linguistics books. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-14.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ko0xJC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-15.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-16.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781119758754?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-17.png) Using virtual unwrapping, high-resolution scanning, AI and papyrological interpretation, researchers have recovered substantial readable text from unopened carbonised scrolls found in Herculaneum. [The Herculaneum scrolls are speaking againBreaking news from Naples reveals two new ancient books not seen in 2,000 years![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F9508503e-9fd9-4a6d-a2bd-0ca3b933a402-2Ffavicon-48x48-4b3dbed3-7c6a-4d98-b36f-b7f76167db3b.png)Life in the Past LaneDr Jess Venner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fc4f53eeb-8bf0-4498-a979-d6bbef9bc184_2000x1333-c344f6b1-02c9-44d6-aa40-eff916ede885.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/lifeinthepastlane/p/the-herculaneum-scrolls-are-speaking) --- [Does language mirror the mind? An intellectual history | Aeon EssaysLinguistic relativity holds that your worldview is structured by the language you speak. Is it true? History shines a light![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-77d82e5c-3d0d-4675-a159-020e520bf864.ico)AeonJames McElvenny![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/test-essay--ec83afb4-4da9-4198-bde1-cd560985bae8.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/does-language-mirror-the-mind-an-intellectual-history?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Bantu expansion: The migration that transformed sub-Saharan AfricaThe most important mass migration ever?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F9b19859a-4561-46d8-a5d1-627e9e1529c8-2Ffavicon-48x48-50ea4b6e-ef46-4d4c-a83f-e4e811e2ddb0.png)World Politics & HistoryWorld Politics & History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Ffefcee57-1c54-4329-b0f0-2f747c965d72_596x578-1920200e-a1ba-4a04-9c94-981add15cde8.png)](https://worldpoliticshistory.substack.com/p/bantu-expansion-africa-migration) [What is a lingua franca? A brief history, from the Crusades to todayLingua franca refers to any language used between people who have no other language in common.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-7f4dfe9e-4f8c-4dbf-8814-5f45ee4fabfc.png)The ConversationAlexandra Aikhenvald![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260414-57-vbw4mb-1fd11790-1f8f-4871-86ef-671b3ad437fb.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-lingua-franca-a-brief-history-from-the-crusades-to-today-275807?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What Is Grammar and How Is It Reflected in Different Languages? - Rosetta StoneWhat is grammar, and how do languages use it differently? Discover how the sets of rules for putting sentences together connect languages.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-5112293e-c6e9-49bf-a303-68be866c6f2a.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/what-is-grammar-book-1-00a836c7-a238-4f2b-8268-b1d2b8fef3ec.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-is-grammar/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The secret history of language: Language change unraveled* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-18.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-1-2.png) Lyle Campbell is one of the worldā€™s foremost experts on historical linguistics and language change. In this new book, he unravels the processes by which languages change in a way thatā€™s accessible for a general reader. Hereā€™s the bookā€™s description: > What are the causes of language change? Where do words come from? Is modern technology and social media corrupting our language? Language change is just as relevant today as it ever was, yet the secrets of how and why it occurs remain tantalisingly out of reach to anyone without a background in linguistics. This book has the answers. Written by one of the leading experts in the field, it provides readers with an accessible account of language change, unraveling the processes and phenomena that have so far remained locked within academia. It explores a range of fascinating topics, such as whether language change is bad, whether change is different in some kinds of languages than others, and if television, AI, and modern technology have any impact on language change. Written in a lively and engaging way, it uncovers the marvels and mysteries of language change for anyone curious about this captivating field. Get your own copy at the links: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3QCK5eg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009757997?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *On the mark: From periods to interrobangs, how punctuation remade the world* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-19.png) [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B0gic8u3e?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781541606494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A new book on the history of punctuation came out in August! Hereā€™s the description: > You know the lively exclamation mark, the controversial semicolon, and the often-omitted apostrophe, but would you recognize a percontation point? How about an obelus? In this irreverent and delightfully intellectual book, Florence Hazrat argues that all punctuation marks, from the most forgotten to the most ubiquitous, are worthy of our attention. After all, the history of punctuation is the history of humankind. > > The first punctuation mark was a triangular symbol pressed into clay somewhere in Mesopotamia. Spaces between words were unknown for millennia, until a group of Irish monks pioneered them in the eighth century. Across ages and cultures, amid technological revolutions and radical changes in communication, these dots and dashes have reshaped the societies that created them. From the papyruses of the ancient world to our sprawling internet ecosystem, one thing has remained constant: Punctuation is powerful. These tiny marks can move markets, shift elections, topple political systems, and decide the fate of a precious human life on death row. > > Weaving together anthropology, the history of writing, the philosophy of language, psychology, literature, and more, *On the Mark* masterfully proves that punctuation is at the heart of human communication. Get your own copy at the links: - [Amazon](https://link.amazon/B0gic8u3e?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781541606494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Maptism ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-20.png) I recently discovered the wonderful cartographic work at [Maptism](https://maptism.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which makes gorgeous and highly accurate maps of the archaeological cultures of Europe and Asia, and makes those maps available for use under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Iā€™m very excited to know these maps exist as a resource now. As one example, [here](https://maptism.org/maps/mycenaean-late-helladic/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#mycenaean-late-helladic-geometric) is a series of maps showing the change from Mycenaean Greece through the Greek Dark Ages. [Maptism: Archaeological Culture MapsHigh-resolution archaeological culture maps correlating archaeology, genetics, and linguistics.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-512-a0b7ddac-0846-40fb-aec0-089e6f7a2b64.png)Maptism: Archaeological Culture MapsMaptism![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/maptism-logo-ceb7d037-4a94-4c3b-b6b2-8af483685a29.png)](https://maptism.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Can confirm, this was the final boss for my PhD. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-21.png) [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal](http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/legos?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Pre-Greek: The lost language hidden within Ancient Greek URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/pre-greek/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T08:35:01.000Z > į¼®ĻƒĪ±Ī½ Īæį¼± Ī ĪµĪ»Ī±ĻƒĪ³Īæį½¶ Ī²Ī¬ĻĪ²Ī±ĻĪæĪ½ Ī³Ī»įæ¶ĻƒĻƒĪ±Ī½ į¼±Ī­Ī½Ļ„ĪµĻ‚. > *Ɗsan hoi PelasgoƬ bĆ”rbaron glĆ“ssan hĆ­entes.* > ā€˜The Pelasgians spoke a language which was not Greek.ā€™ > > \~ Herodotus (*Histories* 1.57) There are about 1,000 words in Ancient Greek that canā€™t be traced back to any Indo-European language or any other known language in the region. These lexical enigmas even include some words and names you might think of as quintessentially Greek: - Ī»Ī±Ī²ĻĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*labĆ½rinthos*) ā€˜labyrinthā€™ - ĪµĢ“Ī»Ī±Ī¹ĢĪ± (*elaĆ­a*) ā€˜olive (tree)ā€™ - į¼ˆĻ‡Ī¹Ī»Ī»ĪµĻĻ‚ (*AkhilleĆŗs*) ā€˜Achillesā€™ - į½ˆĪ“Ļ…ĻƒĻƒĪµĻĻ‚ (*OdysseĆŗs*) ā€˜Odysseusā€™ - ĪšĻŒĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*KĆ³rinthos*) ā€˜Corinthā€™ - į¼ˆĪøįæ†Ī½Ī±Ī¹ (*AthĆŖnai*) ā€˜Athensā€™ / į¼ˆĪøĪ®Ī½Ī· (*Athįø—nē*) ā€˜Athenaā€™ (goddess of wisdom) - į¼ŒĻĪ·Ļ‚ (*Ɓrēs*) ā€˜Aresā€™ (god of war) Despite centuries of effort, linguists have not been able to trace these words back to **Proto-Indo-European** (PIE), the parent language from which all the other Indo-European (IE) languages descend. Nor have they identified words in neighboring languages that Greek might have borrowed them from. Where, then, do these words come from? In this issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter, weā€™ll dig through layers of linguistic history to reveal the mystery language that influenced Ancient Greek. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image.png) The approximate present-day distribution of native speakers of the eight branches of the Indo-European language family within Europe and Asia. ([Wikipedia: Indo-European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ****Legend:** dark blue = Indo-Iranian (Hindi, Urdu, etc.) brown = Italic (Spanish, French, Italian, etc.) red = Germanic (German, English, etc.) green = Balto-Slavic (Russian, Polish, etc.) yellow = Hellenic (Greek) light blue = Albanoid (Albanian) purple = Armenian orange = Celtic (Irish, Welsh, etc.) gray = nonā€“Indo-European / outside Eurasia ## Paleo-European / Old European Languages > All languages contain a fossil record of their history. While Indo-European languages have been around for a long time, and Greek has likewise been spoken in Greece for several millennia, Indo-European languages havenā€™t *always* blanketed the majority of Europe like they do today. At one point the Indo-Europeans were pastoralist newcomers to a strange land, one that had been occupied by Neolithic farming societies for millennia. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-1.png) Early Indo-European migrations according to the prevailing Kurgan Hypothesis, which places the Indo-European homeland north of the Caucasus in the Ponticā€“Caspian Steppe. ([Wikipedia: Proto-Indo-European language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) The peoples who preceded the Indo-Europeansā€”called Early European Farmersā€”spoke any number of **Paleo-European** (a.k.a. **Old European**) languages. Very few of these left any written evidence (just Aquitanian, Etruscan, Iberian, and a handful of others), and only one survives today (Basque). Even so, these Old European languages left an indelible mark on the Indo-European languages that succeeded them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-2.png) Map of known Paleo-European (Old European) languages, including ones that are directly attested with written evidence and those that are only indirectly attested. ([Wikipedia: Paleo-European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-European%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Imagine youā€™re a band of early Hellenic (Greek) speakers whose ancestors had migrated over generations from the Ponticā€“Caspian Steppe into the eastern Mediterranean. Along the way, those ancestors encountered all sorts of novel foods, plants, animals, and terrainā€”things like olives, hyacinth, figs, and cypresses. Even the sea was unfamiliar at one point, migrating as your ancestors did from a landlocked steppe. What do you call all these things? One option is to recruit existing vocabulary for new purposes. For example, when the Greeks first described hippopotamuses in the mid-5th century BCE, they cleverly called them ā€˜river horsesā€™ (į¼µĻ€Ļ€ĪæĻ‚ į½ Ļ€ĪæĻ„Ī¬Ī¼Ī¹ĪæĻ‚ \[*hĆ­ppos ho potĆ”mios*\] ā€˜the horse of the riverā€™ \[lit. ā€˜the riverine horseā€™\]; Herodotus, *Histories* 2.71, c. 440s BCE). This later gave rise to the compound į¼±Ļ€Ļ€ĪæĻ€ĻŒĻ„Ī±Ī¼ĪæĻ‚ (*hippopĆ³tamos*) ā€˜hippopotamusā€™ (Dioscorides, *De materia medica* 2.25, c. 50ā€“70 CE). The Greeks even applied this strategy to the sea! One of the words the Ancient Greeks used for ā€˜seaā€™ was Ļ€ĻŒĪ½Ļ„ĪæĻ‚ (*pĆ³ntos*), which comes from PIE \* *pĆ³ntohā‚s* ā€˜path; roadā€™. Every other branch of Indo-European kept the original ā€˜path/wayā€™ meaning (e.g. Latin *pōns \~ pontis* ā€˜bridgeā€™, from which English gets *pontiff* and *pontificate*), but Greek extended it to mean ā€˜seaā€™, apparently in the sense of ā€˜the water-way; the sea-crossingā€™. Another Ancient Greek word used poetically to refer to the ā€˜seaā€™ was į¼…Ī»Ļ‚ (*hĆ”ls*), whose primary meaning was actually ā€˜saltā€™. The sea, then, was ā€˜the saltā€™. This strategy of coining new terms for novel experiences was, however, the minority one. Why invent new words for things the local Paleo-Europeans already had names for? Why not simply adopt the local name? Thatā€™s exactly what Indo-Europeans did as they settled across the continent, casually borrowing hundreds of words for plants, animals, types of terrain, places, and other natural phenomena. Thus itā€™s no surprise that the *primary* Greek word for ā€˜seaā€™ is actually ĪøĪ¬Ī»Ī±ĻƒĻƒĪ± (*thĆ”lassa* ā†’ English *thalassocracy* ā€˜rule of the seaā€™, used for maritime empires), which, unlike *pĆ³ntos* and *hĆ”ls*, has no firm Indo-European etymology. Linguists have long tried to connect this word to Indo-European, but no proposal has won wide acceptance. This is exactly what weā€™d expect: because the Proto-Indo-European language arose in the landlocked steppes, it had no need forā€”and has no securely reconstructable word forā€”ā€˜seaā€™. (Linguists have, however, reconstructed terms for snow, cold, wolves, bears, and honeyā€”all consistent with the temperate, continental interior.) Its daughter branches only acquired sea vocabulary later. As they reached the coasts, each language innovated or borrowed its own word for ā€˜seaā€™: English *sea*, Latin *mare*, Greek *thĆ”lassa*, etc. The same process happened for all the other items I mentioned earlier: - **olive:** ĪµĢ“Ī»Ī±Ī¹ĢĪ± (*elaĆ­a*) ā€˜olive (tree)ā€™: A very early borrowing which existed in Proto-Hellenic as \* *elaĆ­wā* and Mycenaean Greek (in Linear B) as š€š€Øš€· (*eā€‘raā€‘wa*), but has no clear Indo-European etymology. This same Pre-Greek word was also the source of the Etruscan word \*šŒ„šŒ‹šŒ„šŒ‰šŒ…šŒ€ (\* *eleiva*) ā€˜oliveā€™, where it was borrowed by the Romans as *olÄ«va* (the source of the English words *olive* and *oil*). - **hyacinth:** į½‘Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*hyĆ”kinthos*) ā€˜hyacinthā€™: Again, no clear Indo-European etymology exists. English borrowed the word *hyacinth* from Greek. Hyacinthus was probably a Pre-Greek god who was superseded by Apollo, and was portrayed as his lover in Greek mythology. - **fig:** Greek borrowed several words for ā€˜figā€™, including ĪµĢ“ĻĪ¹Ģ„Ī½ĪµĪæĢĻ‚ (*erÄ«neĆ³s*) ā€˜wild fig-treeā€™, ĪæĢ“ĢĪ»Ļ…Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*Ć³lynthos*) ā€˜wild figā€™, and ĻƒĻ…Ķ‚ĪŗĪæĪ½ (*sÅ·kon*) ā€˜figā€™. These too have no Indo-European precedent. - **cypress:** Appears in Mycenaean Greek (in Linear B) as š€’š€ š€« (*kuā€‘paā€‘ro*) and Ancient Greek as ĪŗĻ…Ļ€Ī¬ĻĪ¹ĻƒĻƒĪæĻ‚ (*kypĆ”rissos*). Lacks an Indo-European etymology. English borrowed the word *cypress* from Greek. Because the Proto-Indo-Europeans lived outside the native range of these plants, their language lacked words for them. They only borrowed the words upon arriving in the eastern Mediterranean. Speakers coin or borrow new words as they need them, and migration events often trigger such a need, leaving a trace of that migration in the languageā€™s lexicon (and grammar, but thatā€™s a point for another article). In this way, **all languages contain a fossil record of their history.** They are a catalog of what the population lacked when they arrived in an area or came into contact with new peoples. In this article, weā€™ll use that linguistic fossil record to discover what the language that existed in the Aegean prior to the Greeksā€”which weā€™ll call **Pre-Greek**ā€”was like. ## Substrates, Superstrates, & Adstrates Migration is just one piece of the puzzle, however. When one language disappears and leaves only traces of existence in other languages in the region, this is typically the result of **social stratification**: one more socially dominant community (militarily, economically, technologically, politically, etc.) imposes its language on another less dominant one. Linguists refer to this situation as **linguistic stratification:** the socially dominant language is called the **superstrate** language, while the less dominant variety is called the **substrate** language. This metaphor likens languages and population movements to geological strata, where each new population to enter an area adds another layer to the linguistic history of the region. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-3.png) Languages as geological strata In the course of linguistic stratification, both languages naturally influence one another, but the substrate language is often lost entirely, leaving only traces within the superstrate language. So when we have indirect evidence of a historically unknown language that influenced a historically known languageā€”like the way the Pre-Greeks influenced Ancient Greekā€”we are usually looking at a case of linguistic stratification. Indeed, the early Greeks, and especially the Mycenaeans (c. 1750ā€“1050 BCE), are associated with major advances in technology (including writing), economy, and social organization in the Aegean. Another example of linguistic strata can be seen in the diversification of Latin into its descendant Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and several dozen others). While the dominance of Roman culture gradually erased many of the local languages of Europe and the Mediterranean, each of those local languages nonetheless influenced the Latin spoken in their respective regions. Over time, those various flavors of Latin became distinct languages. One other type of linguistic ā€œstratumā€ (which breaks the geological layering metaphor somewhat) is an **adstrate** languageā€”a language which influences a neighboring population. Like substrates, this often happens in cases of social stratification, where the adstrate community is considered socially superior or dominant to the surrounding communities (but it can also occur due to simple geographic proximity). Due to the cultural dominance of the Roman Empire throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, for instance, Latin functioned as an adstrate language for many of the languages that sat across the *lÄ«mes* (the Roman frontier). Even though the Germanic-speaking territories east of the Rhine and north of the Danube never fell under Roman administration, centuries of trade, military contact, and cultural prestige still left a layer of adstrate borrowings in Proto-Germanic: | **Latin** | **Meaning** | **Protoā€‘Germanic** | **English** | **German** | | ---------- | --------------------- | ------------------ | ----------- | ---------- | | cāseus | ā€˜cheeseā€™ | \*kāsjus | cheese | KƤse | | cattus | ā€˜catā€™ | \*kattuz | cat | Katze | | coquÄ«na | ā€˜kitchenā€™ | \*kokÄ«nā | kitchen | KĆ¼che | | piper | ā€˜pepperā€™ | \*pipar | pepper | Pfeffer | | pondō | ā€˜a pound (by weight)ā€™ | \*pundō | pound | Pfund | | saccus | ā€˜sack, bagā€™ | \*sakkiz | sack | Sack | | via strāta | ā€˜paved roadā€™ | \*strātā | street | StraƟe | | vÄ«num | ā€˜wineā€™ | \*wÄ«nam | wine | Wein | In this article, weā€™ll be hunting for both a substrate and an adstrate that influenced Ancient Greek. ## How to identify borrowed words > Any given piece of linguistic evidence can look quite flimsy on its own; it is only in the context of broader patterns that such evidence becomes convincing. At this point you might reasonably be asking, ā€œHow do we *know* that some substrate language influenced Ancient Greek? How do we *know* that the mystery words were borrowed? Canā€™t they just be random exceptions?ā€ This exact problem has vexed historical linguists working on the Pre-Greek problem for over a century. Nonetheless, we not only have good reasons for thinking a word might be borrowed, but we can even be highly certain when a word *canā€™t* come from Indo-European. Sometimes, the answer is obvious because thereā€™s a similar word with a clear etymology sitting right in a nearby language. The Ancient Greek word į¼”Ī²ĪµĪ½ĪæĻ‚ (*Ć©benos*) ā€˜ebonyā€™, for example, has no Indo-European etymology, but just across the Mediterranean Sea was the Egyptian word š“ š“ˆ– š“­ š“†± hbā€‘nā€‘jā€‘WOOD (*hebni*) ā€˜ebonyā€™, and we know that the Ancient Greeks traded extensively with the Egyptians. But the evidence for a loanword is often more subtle. Below are some of the different types of evidence (or non-evidence) linguists use to determine which words are borrowed (in Ancient Greek in particular). As a fun bonus, at the end of this article Iā€™ve also provided a big list of words in English that are thought to ultimately derive from a Pre-Greek language. ### Words which lack an Indo-European etymology The field of linguistics continues to refine Indo-European etymologies, either via newly-discovered tablets and inscriptions, or improved availability of existing data in the form of [etymological dictionaries](https://brill.com/display/serial/IEED?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [online databases](https://iecor.clld.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), allowing them to bring more (and more accurate) data to bear on Indo-European history. Despite these advances, the mystery words of Ancient Greek have resolutely resisted etymologization. If the number of potential nonā€“Indo-European mystery words were gradually decreasing with each new discovery or advance, the lack of an Indo-European etymology might not mean anything. Itā€™d be reasonable, in that case, to view them as a temporary problem that weā€™d expect to solve eventually. But there is no indication that future discoveries will ever uncover Indo-European origins for these words. If a word existed in Proto-Indo-European, we should expect to find cognates of it in *several* of its child languages, and thatā€™s just not the case for these words. Some other words without a firm Indo-European etymology include: - ĪøĪ·ĻƒĪ±Ļ…ĻĻŒĻ‚ (*thēsaurĆ³s*) ā€˜treasury, treasureā€™ ā†’ English: *thesaurus* - į¼“Ī“Ī· (*Ć­dē*) ā€˜wood, wooded hillā€™ ā†’ place name: *Mount Ida* - Ī²Ī±ĻƒĪ¹Ī»ĪµĻĻ‚ (*basileĆŗs*) ā€˜kingā€™ ā†’ English *basilica*, *basil* (because it was associated with royalty) The last example is especially convincing because Indo-European already has a word for ā€˜king; rulerā€™ (PIE \* *hā‚ƒrįø—Ēµs* ā†’ Latin *rēx* ā€˜kingā€™), and *basileĆŗs* doesnā€™t resemble it. It is thus likely that Greek borrowed *basileĆŗs* as a term for the local rulers when they arrived in the Aegean. Also convincing are words which surface in Latin or other, nonā€“Indo-European languages when the words in those languages *also* lack etymologies. For example, Greek Īæį¼¶Ī½ĪæĻ‚ (*oĆ®nos*) ā€˜wineā€™ has **confamiliars**Ā¹ in: - **Latin:** *vinum* - **Hittite:** *winijaā€‘* - **Armenian:** *gini* - **Ethiopian (Geā€™ez):** *wain* - **Hebrew:** *jajin* None of these words can be reconstructed back to a word in their protolanguages (Proto-Indo-European or Proto-Semitic), so the reasonable conclusion is that the original word for ā€˜wineā€™ must have come from some Paleo-European substrate language. The word then spread around the Mediterranean as part of the diffusion of wine culture under the influence of the Phoenicians (from c. 1000 BCE) and subsequently the Greeks (from c. 600 BCE). Here are the words that appear to have been borrowed from a Preā€“Indo-European language into both Greek and other languages around the Mediterranean: ### Words which are phonologically impossible for Indo-European Sometimes there is no Proto-Indo-European wordā€”reconstructed or imaginedā€”that could possibly produce a word in Ancient Greek if it followed the normal sound changes that happened during the evolution from PIE to Greek. For example, the /dn/ at the beginning of Ī“Ī½ĻŒĻ†ĪæĻ‚ (*dnĆ³phos*) ā€˜darknessā€™ cannot be explained by any Indo-European sound law. Ancient Greek also had the suspiciously similar word ĪŗĪ½Ī­Ļ†Ī±Ļ‚ (*knĆ©phas*), which also means ā€˜darknessā€™ (and ā€˜twilight; duskā€™) and which also starts with an impossible sound sequence for inherited Indo-European words in Greek, /kn/. Add to this the words Ī¶ĻŒĻ†ĪæĻ‚ (*zĆ³phos*) and ĻˆĪ­Ļ†Ī±Ļ‚ (*psĆ©phas*) which *also* mean ā€˜darknessā€™ and lack clear Indo-European origins, and itā€™s obvious that weā€™re looking at a set of related words that must have all come from a Pre-Greek word meaning ā€˜darknessā€™, and that word must have started with a sound or sequence of sounds that was difficult for the early Greeks to pronounce: *dnĆ³phos* \~ *knĆ©phas* \~ *zĆ³phos* \~ *psĆ©phas*. In fact, most of the Ancient Greek words that start with āŸØĻˆāŸ© /ps/ (a sound sequence that was impossible in Proto-Indo-European) are mystery words without Indo-European etymologies. Linguists have proposed all sorts of connections for each of these words, so that there are as many hypothesized etymologies for them as there are researchers. This lack of consensus is itself suggestive that the words are probably Pre-Greek, but the main point here is that these words do not fit the sound patterns of Indo-European. Another indication that a word is Pre-Greek is the sound Ī² /b/, which was rare or possibly absent in Proto-Indo-European, but common in Pre-Greek loanwords: - Ī±Ģ“ĢĪ²Ī»Ī±ĻĪæĪ¹ (*Ć”blaroi*) ā€˜woodā€™ - Ī±Ģ“Ī²Ļ…ĢĻĪ²Ī·Ī»ĪæĻ‚ (*abĆ½rbēlos*) ā€˜much; burdensome; big; heavyā€™ - Ī±Ģ“ĻĪ²Ļ…ĢĪ»Ī· (*arbĆ½lē*) ā€˜a kind of tough shoe or half-bootā€™ - Ī±Ģ“Ļ„Ī±ĢĻĪ²Ī±ĪŗĻ„ĪæĻ‚ (*atĆ”rbaktos*) ā€˜unafraidā€™ - Ī²Ī±ĢĻĪ²Ī¹Ī»ĪæĻ‚ (*bĆ”rbilos*) ā€˜seedling peach treeā€™ - ĪøĪæĢĻĻ…Ī²ĪæĻ‚ (*thĆ³rybos*) ā€˜noise; uproar, clamor (esp. of a crowd); tumult, confusionā€™ - ĪŗĪ¹ĢĪ²Ī±Ī»ĪæĻ‚ (*kĆ­balos*) ā€˜messenger, courierā€™ There are also many words which *seem* like they could derive from Indo-European, but donā€™t obey the expected sound patterns. For example, Ancient Greek had two similar words Ļ„Ī¬Ļ†ĪæĻ‚ (*tĆ”phos*) ā€˜funeral; graveā€™ (ā†’ English *epitaph*, *cenotaph*, *taphonomy*) and Ļ„ĻĪ¼Ī²ĪæĻ‚ (*tĆ½mbos*) ā€˜grave; tombstoneā€™ (ā†’ English *tomb*, via Latin). The first of these comes from PIE \* *dŹ°mĢ„bŹ°os* ā€˜tombā€™ and follows all the normal sound changes youā€™d expect from PIE to Ancient Greek. But *tĆ½mbos* is a dupe: it *looks* related, but it doesnā€™t follow the expected sound changes. So either the similarity between the two words is purely coincidental, in which case *tĆ½mbos* was probably borrowed from a Pre-Greek, nonā€“Indo-European language, or *tĆ½mbos* does in fact derive from PIE, but through some unknown, intermediate Indo-European language, which Greek then borrowed it from. Here is a list of Greek words with plausible Indo-European roots and possible cognates in Greek or other languages, but that donā€™t obey the expected sound changes for Ancient Greek: ### Words with lots of phonetic variation When words are borrowed from one language into another, they often initially arrive with a slew of different pronunciations. Sometimes this is because the donor language has sounds that the recipient language does not, so speakers of the receiving language have to approximate them as best they can. This was likely the case with the ā€˜darknessā€™ words we saw above: variation like *dnĆ³phos* \~ *knĆ©phas* \~ *zĆ³phos* \~ *psĆ©phas* suggests that there was an initial consonant or consonant cluster in that word which the Greeks had difficulty pronouncing. Often, however, variation in borrowed words occurs simply because speakers of the recipient language are unfamiliar with the word. The Powhatan word *makasin*, for example, contains only sounds familiar to English speakers, but when English colonists borrowed the word, the range of spellings included *maccaseene*, *makissin*, *mogason*, *moccasin*, and *mogozeen*. It took a century or so for the spelling and pronunciation to standardize. Random variations in spelling and pronunciation like this are often a clear indicator of borrowed words. The word ā€œrandomā€ is important there. We also see variation in spelling whenever languages undergo broader sound changes, but this variation is regular and predictable, not random. For example, Proto-Greek had a set of palatal sounds \*/ty, tŹ°y, ky, kŹ°y/ which all became \*tĶ”s or possibly \*tĶ”Źƒ. In the Attic, Boeotian, and Euboean dialects of Greek, that \*tĶ”s / \*tĶ”Źƒ sound became /tt/, but in the Ionic, Doric, and other dialects of Greek it became /ss/. At the beginnings of words, it became /t/ \~ /s/. This sound change yielded pairs like the following:Ā² | Ionic | | Attic | | Meaning | | ------------ | ------------ | ------------ | ------------ | ------- | | ĪøĪ¬Ī»Ī±**ĻƒĻƒ**Ī± | thĆ”la**ss**a | ĪøĪ¬Ī»Ī±**Ļ„Ļ„**Ī± | thĆ”la**tt**a | ā€˜seaā€™ | | Ī¼Ī­Ī»Ī¹**ĻƒĻƒ**Ī± | mĆ©li**ss**a | Ī¼Ī­Ī»Ī¹**Ļ„Ļ„**Ī± | mĆ©li**tt**a | ā€˜beeā€™ | | **Ļƒ**Ī®Ī¼ĪµĻĪæĪ½ | **s**įø—meron | **Ļ„**Ī®Ī¼ĪµĻĪæĪ½ | **t**įø—meron | ā€˜todayā€™ | | Ļ„Ī­**ĻƒĻƒ**Ī±ĻĪµĻ‚ | tĆ©**ss**ares | Ļ„Ī­**Ļ„Ļ„**Ī±ĻĪµĻ‚ | tĆ©**tt**ares | ā€˜fourā€™ | The variation in these words is *not* evidence that they were borrowed, because this is regular, patterned dialectal variation. Notice that our Pre-Greek word *thĆ”lassa* / *thĆ”latta* ā€˜seaā€™ is in this list too. This is a borrowing, but itā€™s *not* the /ss/ \~ /tt/ alternation that tells us that. Evidence of its loanword status comes from elsewhere. But its participation in the /ss/ \~ /tt/ alternation *does* tell us that it was borrowed very early in the history of Greek, before this sound change took place (the period of Proto-Greek, c. 2200ā€“1700 BCE). It also tells us that it contained one of the palatal sounds that later became /ss/ \~ /tt/. Thatā€™s all to say: mere variation is not sufficient evidence of borrowing. The variation must not be attributable to regular sound changes in the language; it must be largely random instead. In fact, part of the evidence that *thĆ”lassa* ā€˜seaā€™ is borrowed is that it *also* shows random variation *in addition to* the regular dialectal variation. It appears once in Hesychiusā€™ glosses as Ī“Ī±Ī»Ī¬Ī³Ļ‡Ī±Ī½ (*dalĆ”nkhan*), exhibiting /d/ instead of /tŹ°/ for the first consonant, and with a consonant cluster /nkŹ°/ instead of /ss/ \~ /tt/. But remember that the /ss/ \~ /tt/ sounds originally derived from some type of palatal consonant. This strongly suggests that what Hesychius wrote as āŸØĪ³Ļ‡āŸ© /nkŹ°/ was an attempt to represent a palatal /ky/. (Hesychius was compiling the glossaries of earlier writers.) Here are some other Ancient Greek words that we know are borrowings in part because of their variant pronunciations: - **į½ˆĪ“Ļ…ĻƒĻƒĪµĻĻ‚ (*OdysseĆŗs*) / į½ˆĪ»Ļ…ĻƒĻƒĪµĻĻ‚ (*OlysseĆŗs*) ā€˜Odysseus / Ulyssesā€™** - The version with /l/ is the one that reached Latin (*Ulixes*), and this is why the epic hero is called *Ulysses* in the Roman tradition and *Odysseus* in the Greek tradition. - **Ī»Ī±Ī²ĻĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*labĆ½rinthos*) / Mycenaean š€…š†š€Ŗš€µš€ daā€‘puā‚‚ā€‘riā€‘toā€‘jo (*daphurinthoio*) ā€˜labyrinthā€™** - This word has the same /l/ \~ /d/ alternation as Ulysses \~ Odysseus, as well as a /b/ \~ /pŹ°/ alternation. - **Ļƒįæ¦ĪŗĪæĪ½ (*sÅ·kon*) / Boeotian Ļ„įæ¦ĪŗĪæĪ½ (*tÅ·kon*) ā€˜figā€™** - Exhibits an /s/ \~ /t/ alternation. Latin and Old Armenian may have also borrowed this word from the Pre-Greek substrate as *fÄ«cus* ā€˜fig treeā€™ (ā†’ English *ficus*) and Õ©Õøւզ (*tŹ»uz*) ā€˜figā€™, respectively. - **į¼€ĻƒĻ†Ī¬ĻĪ±Ī³ĪæĻ‚ (*asphĆ”ragos*) / į¼€ĻƒĻ€Ī¬ĻĪ±Ī³ĪæĻ‚ (*aspĆ”ragos*) ā€˜asparagusā€™** - Latin got the /p/ variant and gave it to English. In other cases we see variation in the presence of an initial /w/ sound, which is especially neat because Greek originally had a /w/ sound but then lost it! In Mycenaean Greek (c. 1400ā€“1200 BCE), the /w/ was still present, as shown in words like š€·š€™š€ (*waā€‘naā€‘ka*) ā€˜king; lordā€™. Many dialects (Aeolic, Doric \[including Cretan\], Elean, Boeotian, etc.) retained that /w/ and wrote it with the letter digamma āŸØĻāŸ© as ĻĪ¬Ī½Ī±Ī¾ (*wĆ”nax*) well into the Classical period (5thā€“4th C BCE). But the Attic and Ionic dialects lost /w/ before the emergence of alphabetic writing (8th C BCE), so they wrote the word as į¾°Ģ“ĢĪ½į¾°Ī¾ (*Ć”nax*). But even though Homer never writes a digamma, the meter of his poems often *behaves* as though the /w/ were still there, because they were originally composed when it was! In any case, notice how the /w/ was simply deleted from *wĆ”nax* to yield *Ć”nax*. But for many Pre-Greek loanwords, we see attempts to render a /w/ sound even in the dialects that lost it! The city of Axos on Crete, for example, is written as ĻĪ±Ī¾ĻŒĻ‚ (*WaxĆ³s*) in the Cretan dialect but į½ˆĪ±Ī¾ĻŒĻ‚ (*OaxĆ³s*) outside Crete. If this word had already existed in Greek, the /w/ would have simply disappeared in the nonā€‘/w/ dialects, like it did for *Ć”nax*. Instead, those dialects attempted to write the /w/ sound they heard when they adopted the name of the place from the Preā€‘Greeks. Since the /w/ sound and āŸØĻāŸ© letter were already lost to them by that point, they approximated it with āŸØį½ˆāŸ© /o/ instead. This shows that the Greeks adopted the Pre-Greek place name *after* /w/ had disappeared in most dialects. We see the same attempt to represent /w/ in variations of the word for ā€˜hyacinthā€™: - **standard literary form:** **į½‘**Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (**hy*Ć”kinthos*) - **Cretan:** **Ļ**Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (**w*Ć”kinthos*) - **Cretan variant:** **Ī²**Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (**b*Ć”kinthos*) Here, the /w/ surfaces as į½‘Ī±ā€‘ /hya/, ĻĪ±ā€‘ /wa/, and Ī²Ī±ā€‘ /ba/. In sum, random variation is often a key piece of evidence that a word is borrowed. ### Words in certain semantic categories As mentioned above, certain categories of words are likely to be borrowed by a people migrating into an area, namely terms for plants, animals, terrain, and some simple tools. Thus, if a word has no strong etymology and it refers to either a natural phenomenon or local material culture or social practices, itā€™s a good candidate for a loanword. In [Beekes 2010](https://app.notion.com/p/Beekes-2010-12f50a282bc181338542e4359568b983?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) etymological dictionary of Greek, he lists 1,106 words as coming from Pre-Greek. Of those, the largest categories of words are for flora and fauna. (Beekes does not include most place names in the dictionary.) The table below shows the total category counts. You can see that, with the exception of human physiology, these are exactly the types of words weā€™d expect to be borrowed from Pre-Greek. - **Flora:** 178 - **Fauna:** 180 - **Landscape & Natural Phenomena:** 37 - **Minerals:** 27 - **Agriculture:** 38 - **Viniculture:** 20 - **Human Physiology:** 81 - **Attire & Jewelry:** 21 - **Equipment & Utensils:** 154 - **Construction:** 34 - **Culture:** 51 - **Musical Instruments / Arts:** 18 - **Religious Festivals / Feasting:** 8 - **Divine/Numinous Beings, Priests, & Temples:** 12 - **Theonyms / Mythical Characters:** 26 What I find especially interesting is that the Greeks adopted almost their entire pantheon from Pre-Greek civilization! Except for Zeus, Eos, Pan, Hades, and perhaps Poseidon, all the names of Greek gods cannot be reconstructed to Proto-Indo-European, and are likely loanwords from Pre-Greek substrate language ([Verhasselt 2009](https://app.notion.com/p/Verhasselt-2009-39550a282bc18172901af537b1f89650?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 211). ### Pairs of words that mean the same thing When a language has numerous pairs of words that both refer to roughly the same concept, this is often a sign of extensive borrowing. This is especially true when those words are concentrated in one or a few semantic fields. For example, English famously has pairs of words for animals and the foods that come from those animals, where the name of the animal derives from English but the name of the food derives from French: | **Animal(from English)** | **Meat(from Norman French)** | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | calf | veal | | chicken / fowl | poultry | | deer | venison | | cow | beef | | pig / swine | pork | | sheep | mutton | Originally, both the English and French words referred to the animalā€”*boef* was simply the Norman French word for ā€˜cowā€™; *porc* was the word for ā€˜pigā€™, and so on. But due to the social stratification between French speakers and English speakers after the Norman Conquest, the French words eventually came to refer to the food rather than the animal. In cases of population migration or invasion, such as the arrival of the early Greeks in the Aegean or the Norman invasion of England, the result is often that words from each language are associated with different social contexts or registers, reflecting the uneven mixture of the two cultures. This means that two or more words for the same concept can exist side-by-side in a language, each being used in different contexts. (Notice that this is also a case of linguistic stratification, where French was the superstrate and English was the substrate.) Ancient Greek exhibited this pattern with words relating to weaving. Alongside Indo-European words for weaving and textiles are a set of alternate words for the same things, which lack any clear Indo-European etymology. Pairs of words like the ones in the table below are a strong indication of substrate borrowing. ### Converging Evidence Obviously, none of these methods of identifying borrowed words is airtight. Any given word might be a random exception whose explanation is lost to history. And no single feature listed above is diagnostic by itself. Instead, we determine borrowings through the confluence of evidence, and the way certain words pattern together in groups. We look for words that participate in *recurrent or systematic patterns.* Consider the following Ancient Greek words: - į¼„ĻƒĪ²ĪæĪ»ĪæĻ‚ (*Ć”sbolos*) ā€˜sootā€™ - ĻƒĻ€ĪæĪ“ĻŒĻ‚ (*spodĆ³s*) ā€˜ashes; emberā€™ - ĻˆĻŒĪ»ĪæĻ‚ (*psĆ³los*) ā€˜soot; smokeā€™ All these words lack clear etymologies, and show the same /d/ \~ /l/ variation we saw earlier. The initial /a/ of *Ć”sbolos* cannot be explained by normal sound changes, and the consonant cluster /sb/ is anomalous for Proto-Indo-European. *psĆ³los* reverses the order of the consonants to /ps/, which aligns it with the many other Pre-Greek loanwords that start with an initial /ps/. (Remember from earlier that almost all Greek words beginning with /ps/ have turned out to be loanwords.) Add to this the fact that PIE has a word for ā€˜ashā€™, \* *hā‚‚ehā‚sā€‘*, which looks nothing like any of these forms, and is the source of the Greek reflex į¼„Ī¶Ļ‰ (*Ć”zō*) ā€˜to dry up; to parchā€™. This is thus another case of duplicate words for the same thingā€”one borrowed, one native. Taken together, the evidence shows that these three words are undoubtedly different variants of some non-Greek borrowing. Or consider the words į¼„Ī½ĪøĻĪ±Ī¾ (*Ć”nthrax*) and ĪŗĪ¬Ī½Ī“Ī±ĻĪæĻ‚ (*kĆ”ndaros*, attested in Hesychiusā€™ glosses), which both mean ā€˜charcoalā€™. While there is a potential but shaky PIE etymology for *kĆ”ndaros* (\* *(s)kandā€‘* ā€˜to shine; to glowā€™), there are no good ones for *Ć”nthrax*. There is also no known process by which an initial /k/ gets added to or deleted from a word in the journey from PIE to Ancient Greek, and no explanation for the variation between /tŹ°/ and /d/. In fact, both the variable initial /k/ and the *ā€‘ak* suffix in *Ć”nthrax* (pronounced /Ć”n.tŹ°raks/) are features found in many Pre-Greek loanwords. Given this converging evidence, the most likely explanation for these words is that they both come from a single Pre-Greek word. šŸ’­ ****Aside:** The multifaceted nature of the evidence for any given wordā€™s etymology makes it difficult for linguists to explain, succinctly, how we know where a word comes from, or how we reconstruct words in languages that were never written down. We rely on an interconnected web of principles and patterns that weā€™ve deduced from the written historical record over three centuries of research in historical linguistics. Any given piece of evidence can look quite flimsy on its own; it is only the context of broader patterns that such evidence becomes convincing. This state of affairs is why, I believe, so many people are suspicious of historical reconstructions in linguistics. To sum up, linguists actually have a surprising number of tools at our disposal for resolving just which words in a language are borrowed. šŸŽ ****Bonus:** At the end of this article, Iā€™ve included a big list of words in English that are thought to ultimately derive from Pre-Greek. ## Where was the Pre-Greek language spoken? We can do even better than simply identifying specific words that were probably borrowed: **in some cases we can show that the words must have come from the *same, specific substrate language* (or closely-related languages).** We can list specific features the language might have had, and even roughly where it was spoken, though we have little or no direct written evidence of it. The most definitive piece of evidence that weā€™re looking at borrowings from a *specific* substrate language is when we see similar-looking pieces of words across many of the borrowings. This may represent a prefix, suffix, or entire word in the substrate language that got borrowed wholesale along with the rest of the word/phrase. For example, place names in England are rife with fossilized affixes that were originally words in substrate or adstrate languages: - **Brittonic *penn* ā€˜head, hill, headlandā€™ ā†’ English *Penā€‘*** - Penrith - Penzance - Pendle Hill - Penge (London) - **Latin *castra* ā€˜campā€™ ā†’ English *ā€‘chester* / *ā€‘cester* / *ā€‘caster*** - Chester - Manchester - Winchester - Leicester - Worcester - Gloucester - Lancaster - **Old Norse *bĆ½* ā€˜farmsteadā€™ ā†’ English *ā€‘by*** - Derby - Rugby - Whitby - Grimsby - Selby Each of these suffixes acts as a record of a particular stratum in Englishā€™s history: the preā€“Anglo-Saxon Celtic layer, the Roman occupation layer, and the Old Norse (Viking) layer. **Toponyms** (place names) are an especially rich source of information about extinct substrate languages because migrating populations tend to adopt existing place names, especially for names of settlements. (At least half of U.S. states have names derived from an indigenous language, for example.) Toponyms tend to be relatively stable over time, at least compared to other words in the lexicon. Places like Corinth, Knossos, Athens, and Lemnos had already been settled for thousands of years when the first Greeks arrived in the Aegean. So it shouldnā€™t be a surprise that all four of those names are indisputably Pre-Greek borrowings, and that they each contain suffixes that recur time and again in placenames across the Aegean! The most famous of these is the ā€‘Ī½Īø (*ā€‘nth*) suffix, which appears in, *inter alia*: - į¼˜ĻĻĪ¼Ī±**Ī½Īø**ĪæĻ‚ (*ErĆ½ma*nth*os*): Erymanthos, a mountain range in the Peloponnese peninsula - į½™Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹**Ī½Īø**ĪæĻ‚ (*HyĆ”ki*nth*os*): Hyakinthos/Hyacinth, a mountain in Attica - ĪšĪ·ĢĻĪ¹**Ī½Īø**ĪæĻ‚ (*Kįø—ri*nth*os*): Kerinthos, an ancient town in Euboea - ĪšĻŒĻĪ¹**Ī½Īø**ĪæĻ‚ (*KĆ³ri*nth*os*): Corinth, a city on the isthmus joining the Peloponnese peninsula to mainland Greece - ĪŸĢ“ĢĪ»Ļ…**Ī½Īø**ĪæĻ‚ (*Ɠly*nth*os*): Olynthus, an ancient city in present-day Chalcidice - Ī¤Ī¹ĢĻĻ…Ī½Ļ‚, Ī¤ĪÆĻĻ…**Ī½Īø**ĪæĻ‚ (*TĆ­ryns, TĆ­ry*nth*os*): Tiryns, an ancient Mycenaean city in the Peloponnese peninsula Also widely attested are the ā€‘ĻƒĻƒ (*ā€‘ss*) suffix in Knossos, the ā€‘Ī½ (*ā€‘n*) suffix in Athens, and the ā€‘Ī¼Ī½ (*ā€‘mn*) suffix in Lemnos. Below is a sampling of place names that these suffixes appear in. - **ā€‘ĻƒĻƒ (*ā€‘ss*)** - į¼‰Ī»Ī¹ĪŗĪ±ĻĪ½Ī±**ĻƒĻƒ**ĻŒĻ‚ (*Halikarna*ss*Ć³s*): Halicarnassus, an ancient city on the coast of Anatolia (modern Turkey) - ĪšĪ½Ļ‰**ĻƒĻƒ**ĻŒĻ‚ (*Knō*ss*Ć³s*): Knossos, a Minoan palace on the island of Crete - Ī›Ī¬ĻĪ¹**ĻƒĻƒ**Ī± (*LĆ”ri*ss*a*): Larissa, a city in Thessaly - Ī Ī±ĻĪ½Ī±**ĻƒĻƒ**ĻŒĻ‚ (*Parna*ss*Ć³s*): Parnassus, a mountain in central Greece and home to Delphi - **ā€‘Ī½ (*ā€‘n*)** - į¼ˆĪøįæ†**Ī½**Ī±Ī¹ (*AthĆŖ*n*ai*): Athens, capital city of Greece - Ī›Ī­Ļ**Ī½**Ī· (*LĆ©r*n*ē*): Lerna, a region of springs and a former lake in classical Greece, south of Argos - ĪœĻ…Īŗįæ†**Ī½**Ī±Ī¹ (*MykĆŖ*n*ai*): Mycenae, an ancient Mycenaean city in the Peloponnese peninsula - ĪœĻĪŗĪæ**Ī½**ĪæĻ‚ (*MĆ½ko*n*os*): Mykonos, an island in the southern Aegean Sea - **ā€‘Ī¼Ī½ (*ā€‘mn*)** - Ī›Ī¬ĻĻ…**Ī¼Ī½**Ī± (*LĆ”ry*mn*a*): Larymna, a port town in Phthiotis - Ī›įæ†**Ī¼Ī½**ĪæĻ‚ (*LĆŖ*mn*os*): Lemnos, an island in the northern Aegean Sea - Ī›ĪµĻ€Ī­Ļ„Ļ…**Ī¼Ī½**ĪæĻ‚ (*LepĆ©ty*mn*os*): Lepetymnos, a mountain on the island of Lesbos - ĪœĪ®ĪøĻ…**Ī¼Ī½**Ī± (*Mįø—thy*mn*a*): Methymna, a town on the island of Lesbos - įæ¬ĪÆĪøĻ…**Ī¼Ī½**Ī± (*RhĆ­thy*mn*a*): Rethymno, a city on the island of Crete (The reason these suffixes are in the middle of these words is because Greek speakers added the normal Greek case suffixes on the end when they borrowed them.) Because these are toponyms tied to specific places, we can even map the region where this Pre-Greek substrate was originally spoken! Below is a map of Pre-Greek toponyms showing the approximate area where the Pre-Greek substrate was spoken. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/map--3240x3240-.png) Greek toponyms (placenames) borrowed from a Pre-Greek substrate. This map only shows toponyms that are widely acknowledged to be Pre-Greek with a relatively high degree of certainty, and only toponyms with the well-attested Pre-Greek suffixes ā€‘Ī¼Ī½ā€‘, ā€‘Ī½ā€‘, ā€‘Ī½Īøā€‘, and ā€‘ĻƒĻƒā€‘/ā€‘Ļ„Ļ„ā€‘ (**ā€‘mnā€‘*, **ā€‘nā€‘*, **ā€‘nthā€‘*, and **ā€‘ssā€‘*/**ā€‘ttā€‘*). Other potential Pre-Greek suffixes are excluded. Other toponyms widely acknowledged to be borrowings but which are not firmly linked to the Pre-Greek substrate, such as ĪšĻĪ®Ļ„Ī· (**Krįø—tē*) ā€˜Creteā€™, are also excluded. Finally, some place names were omitted for reasons of space, especially those in and around Athens. You can view the entire dataset of Pre-Greek toponyms, including less certain ones and ones that were excluded from this map, [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/pre-greek-toponyms?v=3a250a282bc180e7bd88000c1bc1412d&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’ Iā€™d also like to point out that I made this map! (Please clap šŸ‘) In fact, I spent many, many hours learning how to make maps, as well as compiling a database of all known Pre-Greek toponyms, and ranking them according to their certainty, just for this project. And now that I know the technique, Iā€™ll be able to make more maps (and much more quickly) for articles in the future! Nonetheless, these kinds of maps and infographics take many hours of research and work to produce, so your support is invaluable in giving me the time to make them. If youā€™d like to support my work so that I can make more of these types of outputs in the future, you can do so by clicking the button below. Thank you in advance for your support! [šŸ’ Become a supporter](#/portal/account/plans) ## How to identify a Pre-Greek suffix The intellectually cautious among you are now probably rightly asking, ā€œHow do we *know* these are suffixes and not just common sounds in these words?ā€ The strongest piece of evidence for these suffixes is that in some cases, versions of the word can be found both with and without the suffix. The single best example of this kind of alternation is the toponym ĪšĪ·ĢĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*Kįø—rinthos*). When used as a normal word rather than a place name, *kįø—rinthos* meant ā€˜bee bread (perga)ā€™, while ĪŗĪ·ĻĪæĢĻ‚ (*kērĆ³s*), without the *ā€‘nth* suffix, meant ā€˜beeswaxā€™. Kerinthos, then, was very likely named such because it was known for its beekeeping! We can be even more certain that this word for ā€˜beeswaxā€™ was borrowed from some other language because itā€™s confamiliar with similar words around the Mediterranean: - **Latin:** *cēra* ā€˜wax; beeswaxā€™ - **Albanian:** *qiri* ā€˜candleā€™ - **Lithuanian / Latvian:** *korį»¹s* / *kāre* ā€˜honeycombā€™ Other Pre-Greek words that appear with and without their suffixes include: - **āˆ… \~ ā€‘nth** - į¼ˆĪ¼Ī±ĻĻ…ĻƒĪÆĪ± (*AmarysĆ­a*), one of the names for Artemis - į¼ˆĪ¼Ī¬ĻĻ…Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*AmĆ”rynthos*), a township on Euboea, and another name for Artemis - **āˆ… \~ ā€‘mn \~ ā€‘n** - Ī”ĪÆĪŗĻ„Ī· (*DĆ­ktē*) - Ī“ĪÆĪŗĻ„Ī±Ī¼Ī½ĪæĪ½ (*dĆ­ktamnon*) ā€˜dittany (of Crete)ā€™ - Ī”ĪÆĪŗĻ„Ļ…Ī½Ī½Ī± (*DĆ­ktynna*) ā€˜Cretan goddessā€™ - **āˆ… \~ ā€‘ss \~ ā€‘n** (and a possible *ā€‘l* suffix) - ĪœĻ…ĪŗĪ¬Ī»Ī· (*MykĆ”lē*) - ĪœĻ…ĪŗĪ±Ī»Ī·ĻƒĻƒĻŒĻ‚ (*MykalēssĆ³s*) - ĪœĻ…Īŗįæ†Ī½Ī±Ī¹ (*MykĆŖnai*) - **āˆ… \~ ā€‘m** (another Pre-Greek suffix) - Ļ€ĻĻĪ³ĪæĻ‚ (*pĆ½rgos*) ā€˜towerā€™ - Ī Ī­ĻĪ³Ī±Ī¼ĪæĪ½ (*PĆ©rgamon*) - Ļ€Ī­ĻĪ³Ī±Ī¼ĪæĻ‚ (*pĆ©rgamos*) ā€˜citadelā€™ (esp. of Troy) - **ā€‘nth \~ ā€‘ng** (another Pre-Greek suffix) - Ī¼Ī®ĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*mįø—rinthos*) ā€˜threadā€™ - ĻƒĪ¼įæ†ĻĪ¹Ī³Ī¾ (*smĆŖrinx*) ā€˜hairā€™ - **ā€‘nth \~ ā€‘ng** - į¼•Ī»Ī¼Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*hĆ©lminthos*) - į¼”Ī»Ī¼Ī¹Ī³Ī³ĪæĻ‚ (*Ć©lmingos*) ā€˜wormā€™ - **āˆ… \~ ā€‘nth** - ĪæĢ“ĢĻĪæĪ²ĪæĻ‚ (*Ć³robos*) ā€˜bitter vetchā€™ (an ancient grain legume) - į¼ĻĪ­Ī²Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*erĆ©binthos*) ā€˜chickpeaā€™ This last one is an especially important piece of evidence because the word for ā€˜chickpeaā€™ (or very similar types of legumes) was also borrowed into other languages of Europe, sometimes with, sometimes without the *ā€‘nth* suffix: - **Latin:** *ervum* ā€˜bitter vetchā€™ (without *ā€‘nth*) - **Proto-Germanic:** \* *arwÄ«tā€‘* ā€˜peaā€™ (with *ā€‘nth*, as *ā€‘t*) - **Armenian:** *arĢ‡owoyt* ā€˜alfalfaā€™ (with *ā€‘nth*, as *ā€‘t*) In general, whenever a place name has a non-toponymic meaning in addition to its toponymic meaning, and the etymology of that word is unknown, the word is undoubtedly Pre-Greek in origin. This is especially true if it also appears to contain one of the known Pre-Greek suffixes. Here are a few last examples like this: | Toponym | Basic Meaning | Suffix | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------ | | į¼ŒĻˆĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*Ɓpsinthos*) | į¼„ĻˆĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*Ć”psinthos*) ā€˜wormwoodā€™ | ā€‘nth | | į½™Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*HyĆ”kinthos*) | į½‘Ī¬ĪŗĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*hyĆ”kinthos*) ā€˜hyacinthā€™ | ā€‘nth | | ĪšĪ±ĻĪ“Ī±Ī¼ĻĪ»Ī· (*KardamĆ½lē*) | ĪŗĪ¬ĻĪ“Ī±Ī¼ĪæĪ½ (*kĆ”rdamon*) ā€˜cressā€™ | ā€‘m | | ĪšĻĪ±Ī¼ĪæĪ½ (*KĆ½amon*) | ĪŗĻĪ±Ī¼ĪæĻ‚ (*kĆ½amos*) ā€˜beanā€™ | ā€‘m | | į½ŒĪ»Ļ…Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*Ɠlynthos*) | į½„Ī»Ļ…Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*Ć³lynthos*) ā€˜wild or sterile figā€™ | ā€‘nth | | į½ŒĪøĻĻ…Ļ‚, į½ŒĪøĻĻ…ĪæĻ‚ (*Ɠthrys, Ɠthryos*) | į½„ĪøĻĻ…Ļ‚ (*Ć³thrys*) ā€˜mountainā€™ | ā€” | | Ī£Ī¼ĪÆĪ½ĪøĪ· (*SmĆ­nthē*) | ĻƒĪ¼ĪÆĪ½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*smĆ­nthos*) ā€˜mouseā€™ | ā€‘nth | A corroborating piece of evidence for these suffixes is the simple fact that they occur not just in toponyms, but in many of the mystery words for plants, animals, foods, etc.ā€”the same semantic categories of words that are most likely to be borrowed: | Greek | Romanization | Meaning | Suffix | | ---------- | ------------ | ----------------- | ------ | | Ī±į¼“Ī³Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ | aĆ­ginthos | ā€˜name of a birdā€™ | ā€‘nth | | į¼€ĻƒĪ¬Ī¼Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ | asĆ”minthos | ā€˜stone bath tubā€™ | ā€‘nth | | Ī²ĻŒĪ»Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ | bĆ³linthos | ā€˜European bisonā€™ | ā€‘nth | | ĪøĪ¬Ī»Ī±ĻƒĻƒĪ± | thĆ”lassa | ā€˜seaā€™ | ā€‘ss | | ĪŗĻŒĻĻ…Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ | kĆ³rynthos | ā€˜barley breadā€™ | ā€‘nth | | ĪŗĻ…Ļ€Ī¬ĻĪ¹ĻƒĻƒĪæĻ‚ | kypĆ”rissos | ā€˜cypressā€™ | ā€‘ss | | Ī»Ī­Ī²Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ | lĆ©binthos | ā€˜a kind of beansā€™ | ā€‘nth | | Ī¼ĪÆĪ½ĪøĪ· | mĆ­nthē | ā€˜mintā€™ | ā€‘nth | | Ī½Ī¬ĻĪŗĪ¹ĻƒĻƒĪæĻ‚ | nĆ”rkissos | ā€˜narcissusā€™ | ā€‘ss | | Ļ„ĪµĻĪ­Ī²Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ | terĆ©binthos | ā€˜terpentineā€™ | ā€‘nth | Finally, toponyms ending in *ā€‘nth* and *ā€‘mn* show a distinctive root pattern, with a strong preference for open syllables (ones not ending in a consonant) and an almost total absence of consonant clusters in the middle of the word that start with a stop consonant. This is extremely unusual for Proto-Indo-European. As a rule, PIE roots had a CVC structure (C = consonant, V = vowel) and many consonant clustersā€”the expanded root template is (s)(C)CVC(C), yielding numerous consonant clusters. So the fact that words which show these Pre-Greek suffixes are *also* phonologically unusual for PIE is another piece of evidence that these words probably came from a nonā€“Indo-European language. Congratulations, now you know how to identify a Pre-Greek suffix! So now whenever you see an *ā€‘nth* in a Greek loanword in English like *hyacinth*, youā€™ll naturally think to yourself, ā€œOh neat! That word is from a Pre-Greek substrate language!ā€ (Right?) ## What was the Pre-Greek language like? In addition to the Pre-Greek suffixes, there are some patterns that recur in potential loanwords with too great a frequency to be mere coincidence, and suggest that the Pre-Greek language may have had some prefixes as well: Ī±Ģ“ā€‘ (*aā€‘*), Īŗ(Ī±)ā€‘ (*k\[a\]ā€‘*), and Ļƒā€‘ (*sā€‘*). The main evidence for these prefixes is that there are written records of these words appearing both with and without the initial sounds: ### Ī±Ģ“ā€‘ (*aā€‘*) There are around 65 words that show evidence of an *aā€‘* prefix, many of which fall in the characteristic semantic domains of plants and crops (19 words), animals (10), as well as landscapes, foods, and the human body (smaller numbers). Interestingly, the *aā€‘* prefix is *not* found on cultural terms like jewelry, armor, social hierarchy, professions, instruments, and words relating to the arts, etc. - Ī³Ī·ĪøĻ…Ī»Ī»Ī¹ĢĻ‚ (*gēthyllĆ­s*) ā€˜chivesā€™ \~ **Ī±Ģ“**Ī³Ī±ĻƒĻ…Ī»Ī»Ī¹ĢĻ‚ (**a*gasyllĆ­s*) ā€˜plant that produces ammoniacum (gum resin)ā€™ - Ī³Ī­Ī»Ī³Ī¹Ļ‚ (*gĆ©lgis*) \~ **į¼„**Ī³Ī»Ī¹Ļ‚ (**Ć”*glis*) ā€˜garlicā€™ - ĪŗĪ¬ĻƒĻ„ĪæĪ½ (*kĆ”ston*) \~ **į¼„**ĪŗĪ±ĻƒĻ„ĪæĻ‚ (**Ć”*kastos*) ā€˜mapleā€™ - ĪŗĪ¹ĢĻĻĪ¹Ļ‚ (*kĆ­rris*) \~ **Ī±Ģ“**ĪŗĪ¹ĻĪ¹ĢĻ‚ (**a*kirĆ­s*) ā€˜lampā€™ - ĪŗĪæĢĻĪ½ĪæĻˆ (*kĆ³rnops*) \~ **Ī±Ģ“**ĪŗĪæĻĪ½ĪæĪ¹Ģ (**a*kornoĆ­*) ā€˜a kind of locustā€™ - Ļ‡ĻĪ±Ī¼Ī±Ī“ĪæĪ¹Ķ‚Ī»Ī±Ī¹ (*khramadoĆ®lai*) ā€˜tortoiseā€™ \~ **Ī±Ģ“**Ļ‡ĻĪ±Ī“Ī±Ī¼Ļ…ĢĪ»Ī± (**a*khradamĆ½la*) ā€˜snailā€™ - Ī½Ī·ĻĪ¹ĢĻ„Ī·Ļ‚ (*nērÄ«Ģtēs*) \~ **Ī±Ģ“**Ī½Ī±ĻĪ¹ĢĻ„Ī·Ļ‚ (**a*narĆ­tēs*) ā€˜sea snailā€™ - įæ„Ļ‰Ī“Ī¹ĻŽĻ‚ (*rhōdiį¹“s*) \~ **į¼€**ĻĻ‰Ī“Ī¹ĻŒĻ‚ (**a*rōdiĆ³s*) ā€˜heronā€™ - (Ļƒ)ĪŗĪ±Ī»Ī±Ī²Ļ‰ĢĻ„Ī·Ļ‚ (*\[s\]kalabį¹“tēs*) \~ **Ī±Ģ“**ĻƒĪŗĪ±ĢĪ»Ī±Ī²ĪæĻ‚ (**a*skĆ”labos*) ā€˜spotted lizard; geckoā€™ - ĻƒĻ„Ī¬Ļ‡Ļ…Ļ‚ (*stĆ”khys*) \~ **į¼„**ĻƒĻ„Ī±Ļ‡Ļ…Ļ‚ (**Ć”*stakhys*) ā€˜ear of cornā€™ - ĻƒĻ„ĪµĻĪæĻ€Ī® (*steropįø—*) \~ **į¼€**ĻƒĻ„ĻĪ±Ļ€Ī® (**a*strapįø—*) ā€˜lightningā€™ - ĪŗĻ…ĢĪ½Ļ‰Ļˆ (*kĆ½nōps*) \~ **Ī±Ģ“**Ļ‡Ļ…ĢĪ½Ļ‰Ļˆ (**a*khĆ½nōps*) ā€˜ribwortā€™ ### Īŗ(Ī±)ā€‘ (*k\[a\]ā€‘*) The *k(a)ā€‘* prefix, like *aā€‘*, only appears on words for plants, animals, and simple technologies. There are 13 clear cases, including: - Ī¹Ģ“ĢĻ‡Ī»Ī± (*Ć­khla*) \~ **Īŗ**Ī¹ĢĻ‡Ī»Ī· (*kĆ­khlē*) ā€˜thrushā€™ - Ī±Ģ“ĢĻĻ…Ī± (*Ć”rya*) ā€˜walnutsā€™ \~ **Īŗ**Ī±ĢĻĻ…ĪæĪ½ (*kĆ”ryon*) ā€˜nutā€™ - ĪæĢ“ĢĪ³Ļ‡Ī½Ī· (*Ć³nkhnē*) \~ **Īŗ**ĪæĢĪ³Ļ‡Ī½Ī±Ī¹ (*kĆ³nkhnai*) ā€˜pearā€™ - ĻƒĪŗĪ±ĢĪ½Ī“Ī¹Ī¾ (*skĆ”ndÄ«x*) ā€˜chervilā€™ \~ **Īŗ**Ī±ĻƒĪŗĪ±ĢĪ½Ī“Ī¹Ī¾ (*kaskĆ”ndix*) ā€˜onionā€™ - Ī±Ģ“Ļ€Ī·ĢĪ½Ī· (*apįø—nē*) \~ Ļ€Ī·ĢĪ½Ī± (*pįø—nā*) \~ **Īŗ**Ī±Ļ€Ī±ĢĪ½Ī± (*kapāĢna*) ā€˜wagonā€™ - Note the possible aā€‘prefix here. - Ī±Ģ“ĢĻ‡Ī»Ī±Ī¾ (*Ć”khlax*) ā€˜small stonesā€™ \~ **Ļ‡**Ī±ĢĪ»Ī±Ī¶Ī± (*khĆ”laza*) ā€˜hailā€™ \~ **Īŗ**Ī±ĢĻ‡Ī»Ī·Ī¾ (*kĆ”khlēx*) ā€˜small stonesā€™ - Ī±Ģ“Ī»Ī¹Ī½Ī“ĪµĢĪæĪ¼Ī±Ī¹ (*alindĆ©omai*) \~ **Īŗ**Ī±Ī»Ī¹Ī½Ī“ĪµĢĪæĪ¼Ī±Ī¹ (*kalindĆ©omai*) ā€˜to roll about, wallowā€™ ### Ļƒā€‘ (*sā€‘*) Again, the majority of terms with *sā€‘* are words for plants, animals, and body parts. Sometimes the *sā€‘* occurs with an additional *aā€‘* as well, suggestive of the presence of the *aā€‘* prefix. #### without *aā€‘* - Ī³Ī­Ī»ĪµĪ½ĪæĻ‚ (*gĆ©lenos*) ā€˜asphodelus, narcissusā€™ \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ‡Ī­Ī»Ī¹Ī½ĪæĻ‚ (**s*khĆ©linos*) ā€˜wild cypressā€™ - ĪŗĪ¹Ī“Ī¬Ļ†Ī· (*kidĆ”phē*) \~ **Ļƒ**ĪŗĪ¹Ī“Ī¬Ļ†Ī· (**s*kidĆ”phē*) ā€˜foxā€™ - ĪŗĪÆĪŗĪµĻĪæĻ‚ (*kĆ­keros*) \~ **Ļƒ**ĪŗĪÆĪ³ĪŗĪæĻ‚ (**s*kĆ­nkos*) ā€˜a type of lizard found in Asia Minor that is used as medicineā€™ - ĪŗĪæĻĪ“ĻĢ„Ī»Ī· (*kordČ³Ģlē*) \~ **Ļƒ**ĪŗĪæĻĪ“ĻĢ„Ī»Ī· (**s*kordČ³Ģlē*) ā€˜tumor; swellingā€™ - Ī²Ī¬Ļ„Ī±Ī»ĪæĻ‚ (*bĆ”talos*) ā€˜a lewd manā€™ \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ€Ī¬Ļ„Ī±Ī»ĪæĻ‚ (**s*pĆ”talos*) ā€˜wanton; lasciviousā€™ - Ļ€Ī­Ī»ĪµĪøĪæĻ‚ (*pĆ©lethos*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ€Ī­Ī»ĪµĪøĪæĻ‚ (**s*pĆ©lethos*) ā€˜dungā€™ - Ļ†Ī±Ļ„Ļ„Ī¬Ī³Ī·Ļ‚ (*phattĆ”gēs*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ€Ī±Ļ„Ī¬Ī³Ī³Ī·Ļ‚ (**s*patĆ”ngēs*) ā€˜scaly ant-eaterā€™ - ĪøĻĪ¹Ī³ĪŗĻŒĻ‚ (*thrinkĆ³s*) ā€˜topmost course of stones in a wall, cornice, friezeā€™ \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ„ĻĪ¹Ī³Ļ‡ĪæĢĻ‚ (**s*trinkhĆ³s*) ā€˜little wall; crown of a buildingā€™ - Ļ„ĪæĻ€Īµįæ–ĪæĪ½ (*topeĆ®on*) ā€˜rope, cordā€™ \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ„Ļ…Ļ€Ļ€Īµįæ–ĪæĪ½ (**s*typpeĆ®on*) ā€˜the coarse fiber of flax or hempā€™ - Ī¼Ī®ĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*mįø—rinthos*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ī¼Ī®ĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (**s*mįø—rinthos*) ā€˜cord, threadā€™ - Ī¼ĻĻĪ±Ī¹Ī½Ī± (*mČ³Ģraina*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ī¼ĻĻĪ±Ī¹Ī½Ī± (**s*mČ³Ģraina*) ā€˜moray eelā€™ - Ī¼įæ–Ī»Ī±Ī¾ (*mĆ®lax*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ī¼įæ–Ī»Ī±Ī¾ (**s*mĆ®lax*) ā€˜taxusā€™ - Ļ†Ī¬Ī³Ī½ĪæĻ‚ (*phĆ”gnos*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ†Ī¬Ī³Ī½ĪæĻ‚ (**s*phĆ”gnos*) ā€˜salviaā€™ - Ļ„ĻĻĻ‡Ī½ĪæĪ½ (*trĆ½khnon*) \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ„ĻĻĻ‡Ī½ĪæĪ½ (**s*trĆ½khnon*) ā€˜nightshadeā€™ #### with *aā€‘* - Ļ†Ī¬ĻĻ…Ī³Ī¾ (*phĆ”rynx*) ā€˜throat, gorge, larynx, windpipeā€™ \~ **Ļƒ**Ļ†Ī¬ĻĪ±Ī³ĪæĻ‚ (**s*phĆ”ragos*) ā€˜throat, gulletā€™ \~ **į¼€Ļƒ**Ļ†Ī¬ĻĪ±Ī³ĪæĻ‚ (**as*phĆ”ragos*) ā€˜gully, chasm, deep trench, abyssā€™ - ĪŗĪ¬Ī»Ī±Ļ†ĪæĻ‚ (*kĆ”laphos*) \~ **į¼€Ļƒ**ĪŗĪ¬Ī»Ī±Ļ†ĪæĻ‚ (**as*kĆ”laphos*) ā€˜an unknown bird, perhaps an owlā€™ - ĪŗĪ±Ī»Ī±Ī²ĻŽĻ„Ī·Ļ‚ (*kalabį¹“tēs*) \~ **Ļƒ**ĪŗĪ±Ī»Ī±Ī²ĻŽĻ„Ī·Ļ‚ (**s*kalabį¹“tēs*) \~ **į¼€Ļƒ**ĪŗĪ¬Ī»Ī±Ī²ĪæĻ‚ (**as*kĆ”labos*) ā€˜lizard, geckoā€™ - ĪŗĪ¬Ī¼Ļ‰Ī½ (*kĆ”mōn*) \~ **Ļƒ**ĪŗĪ±Ī¼(Ī¼)Ļ‰Ī½ĪÆĪ± (**s*kam(m)ōnĆ­a*) \~ **į¼€Ļƒ**ĪŗĪ±Ī¼Ļ‰Ī½ĪÆĪ± (**as*kamōnĆ­a*) ā€˜scammonyā€™ ## Was Pre-Greek one language or several? Throughout this article, Iā€™ve mostly talked about ā€œtheā€ Pre-Greek language. Indeed, the suffixes in the last two sections give us strong reason to believe that Ancient Greek borrowed the words containing those suffixes from a single Pre-Greek language or group of closely-related languages. Throughout the history of modern linguistics, there have been multitudinous names and theories as to the identity of this mystery substrate, including: - **Pelasgian**, an undocumented Indo-European language - **Parnassian**, a language in the Anatolian branch of Indo-European, related to Luwian - **Aegean / Mediterranean**, a nonā€“Indo-European language which extended over a large part of the Mediterranean - the **Kartvelian Theory**, that Pre-Greek was related to Kartvelian languages (e.g. Georgian) - **Pre-Greek**, a nonā€“Indo-European language spoken primarily in the region of Greece, following toponymic evidence Even though each of these theories has been largely discredited except the last, each has advanced our knowledge of Pre-Greek in different ways. For example, researchers on this topic agree that the Pre-Greek substrate extended at least partially into Anatolia (Asia Minor), as you can see from the map of place names above. It was research into the now-abandoned Parnassian theory that brought this to light. But there simply isnā€™t enough evidence to support the idea that the Pre-Greek substrate is connected to Anatolian languages. Even the Pre-Greek theory has been battered by fierce criticism, because its main proponent, Robert S.P. Beekes, considers nearly *every* possible loanword to be Pre-Greek as a matter of principle: > ā€œI think that it is methodologically more sound to start from the assumption that non-Greek words are Pre-Greek. Only when there is reason to do so should we assume that they have a different origin.ā€ ([Beekes 2014](https://app.notion.com/p/Beekes-2014-39b50a282bc18128a8e8c9353035f973?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 45) The linguistic reality, however, is much less tidy. Like everywhere else prior to the rise of urbanization and city-states, the Aegean comprised a rich tapestry of tiny local languages, spoken by at most thousands of speakers. The Ancient Greeks themselves mentioned a number of peoples in the region, some of whom were said to speak ā€˜a language which was not Greekā€™ (Herodotusā€™ description of the Pelasgian language, which launched a thousand linguistic theories about the Pre-Greeks): - Aonians - Cauconians - Dryopes - Hyantes - Lelegians - Pelasgians - Temmikes We also have written evidence (albeit often exiguous) of many other languages in the region: - Carian (IE, Anatolian branch) - Eteocretan (probably non-IE, possibly related to Minoan) - Eteocypriot (probably non-IE) - Illyrian (IE) - Lemnian (non-IE, possibly Tyrsenian) - Macedonian (not to be confused with the modern Slavic language; this one was Greek or closely related to Greek) - Minoan (undeciphered and unclassified but probably non-IE) - Paeonian (IE) - Thracian (IE) So itā€™s unsurprising that many scholars have attacked Beekesā€™ assumption of a unified Pre-Greek language, and also challenged his analysis of dozens and dozens of words. Nonetheless, that still leaves hundreds of words which *do* very likely belong to a single language, whichā€”for lack of a term that hasnā€™t already been discreditedā€”Beekes calls ā€œPre-Greekā€.Ā³ But what about the rest of the mystery words? Why not assume they come from Pre-Greek as well, even if they donā€™t have the signature Pre-Greek affixes? Once again, the meanings of the words are an important clue: almost all the words which exhibit specific Pre-Greek features (the *ā€‘nth* suffix, the *sā€‘* prefix, etc.) are words for *natural phenomena* like plants and animals. The ones without these specific features are largely *cultural* terms referring to things like jewelry, clothing, social hierarchy, the arts, buildings and structures, etc. (There are two notable exceptionsā€”Ī»Ī±Ī²ĻĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*labĆ½rinthos*) ā€˜labyrinthā€™ and į¼€ĻƒĪ¬Ī¼Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*asĆ”minthos*) ā€˜bathtubā€™ā€”which weā€™ll come back to in a minute.) Moreover, only the words for natural phenomena appear in languages elsewhere in Europe; the cultural terms are restricted to the Aegean. Here are a few potential pan-European connections to Pre-Greek words: - **radish** (*aā€‘* prefix) - **Ancient Greek:** ĻĢ”Ī±ĢĻ†Ī±Ī½ĪæĻ‚ (*rhĆ”phanos*) - **Latin:** *raĢ„pum* - **Old High Germanic:** *ruoba* - **Welsh:** *erfin* ā€˜turnipā€™ ā† Proto-Celtic \* *arbā€‘iĢ„n-* - **Old Church Slavonic:** *reĢŒpa* ā€˜turnipā€™ ā† Proto-Balto-Slavic \* *rāpāĢĖ€* - **heron** (*aā€‘* prefix) - **Ancient Greek:** ĪµĢ“ĻĻ‰Ķ…Ī“Ī¹ĪæĢĻ‚ (*erōidiĆ³s*) \~ Ī±Ģ“ĻĻ‰Ī“Ī¹ĪæĢĻ‚ (*arōdiĆ³s*) \~ ĻĢ”Ļ‰Ī“Ī¹Ļ‰ĢĻ‚ (*rhōdiį¹“s*) - **Latin:** *ardea* - **Serbo-Croatian:** *rĆ³da* ā€˜storkā€™ - **bull** (*sā€‘* prefix) - **Ancient Greek:** Ļ„Ī±Ļ…Ķ‚ĻĪæĻ‚ (*taĆ»ros*) - **Latin:** *taurus* - **Proto-Germanic:** \* *Ć¾euraā€‘* \~ \* *steuraā€‘* - **small stones** (*kā€‘* prefix) - **Ancient Greek:** Ī±Ģ“ĢĻ‡Ī»Ī±Ī¾ (*Ć”khlax*) ā€˜small stonesā€™ \~ ĪŗĪ±ĢĻ‡Ī»Ī·Ī¾ (*kĆ”khlēx*) ā€˜small stonesā€™ \~ Ļ‡Ī±ĢĪ»Ī±Ī¶Ī± (*khĆ”laza*) ā€˜hailā€™ - **Proto-Germanic:** \* *haglaā€‘* ā€˜hailā€™ - **chickpea** (*ā€‘nth* suffix) - **Ancient Greek:** ĪæĢ“ĢĻĪæĪ²ĪæĻ‚ (*Ć³robos*) \~ ĪµĢ“ĻĪµĢĪ²Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*erĆ©binthos*) - **Proto-Germanic:** \* *arwiĢ„t* ā€˜peaā€™ - **Old Georgian:** įƒ”įƒ įƒ”įƒ•įƒ˜įƒœįƒ“įƒ˜ (*erevindi*) \~ įƒ”įƒ įƒ‘įƒ˜įƒœįƒ“įƒ˜ (*erbindi*) - **Latin:** *ervum* ā€˜bitter vetchā€™ ā† Proto-Italic \* *erwā€‘* - **Armenian:** Õ”Õ¼Õ”Ö‚ÕøÕµÕæ (*aį¹™owoyt*) ā€˜alfalfaā€™ ā† \* *HrVbŹ°oudā€‘* So what explains this distribution of natural phenomena versus cultural concepts? Simply put, we are probably looking at two (or more) substrate languages which both contributed vocabulary to Ancient Greek. One had the *ā€‘nth* suffix and *aā€‘*, *kā€‘*, and *sā€‘* prefixes, and provided terms for flora, fauna, and terrain. The other (or others) provided cultural terms such as jewelry, titles, clothing, instruments, etc. The reason that the terms for natural phenomena are shared outside the Aegean is probably due to the fact that, prior to the arrival of the Indo-Europeans, the Old Europeans were a surprisingly homogeneous population of farmers ([Skoglund et al. 2012](https://app.notion.com/p/Skoglund-et-al-2012-3ce50a282bc181459cc4c3321168f17c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Skourtanioti et al. 2023](https://app.notion.com/p/Skourtanioti-et-al-2023-3ce50a282bc181dba4aef53861107e6f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). While genetics ā‰  languages, this nonetheless suggests that many of the languages of Old Europe were likely related. So itā€™s entirely possible that Germanic and Italic and Celtic and other Indo-European speakers independently borrowed words for things like ā€˜chickpeaā€™ and ā€˜radishā€™ from Old European languages, and these words just happened to be cognate with the words in Pre-Greek. Alternatively, we can say that these words were common loanwords (ā€˜wanderwordsā€™) across Old Europe. As for the cultural vocabulary, while these terms could in theory come from anywhere nearby, there is one culture which was known to have an outsized influence on the Mycenaean Greeks: the Minoans on the island of Crete. Minoan culture was extraordinary for its time, with monumental architecture, sprawling palace complexes, and luxury arts and crafts. The Minoans are often regarded as the first civilization (in the technical sense) in Europe, and their influence spread far across the eastern Mediterranean. Archaeologists refer to the way that Minoan culture radiated outward from Crete as the **Versailles Effect**, by analogy with the way the French court under Louis XIV influenced all of Europe. Minoan was, in other words, an adstrate rather than a substrate, spreading its lexicon to the neighboring languages. The Minoans also developed their own writing system called **Cretan hieroglyphs**, which was not derived from the Egyptian or Mesopotamian systems (Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and later the Phoenician alphabet). Cretan hieroglyphs later evolved into (or perhaps alongside) the still-undeciphered **Linear A** script, which was a combination syllabary and logographic script. The Mycenaean Greeks then adopted a version of Linear A to write Greek. This script is called **Linear B**, and was deciphered by English architect and self-taught linguist Michael Ventris in 1952\. Because 70% of the signs of Linear B are directly inherited from Linear A, we know the *sounds* of many words in Linear A, but we still donā€™t know what most of those Minoan words *mean*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-4.png) A table of Cretan hieroglyphs ([Wikipedia: Cretan hieroglyphs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretan%5Fhieroglyphs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) The intractable nature of Linear A means, unfortunately, that we canā€™t be absolutely certain that any Pre-Greek words were borrowed from Minoan, because we donā€™t know what the Linear A words meant. There are nonetheless some strong candidates for borrowings from Minoan: - In Linear A, thereā€™s a logogram š›¢, which is one of the minority of signs we happen to know the meaning ofā€”ā€˜woolā€™. We know this because in Linear B the same sign means ā€˜woolā€™. In Linear A, the sign appears in bookkeeping contexts next to numerals, and often near the ideogram for sheep āŸØš˜āŸ© (also the sign for /qi/)ā€”exactly what youā€™d expect for a sign meaning ā€˜woolā€™. But more importantly, if you look closely, you can see that the logogram is actually a composite of two syllabic signsā€”š™ (*ma*) and š˜˜ (*ru* or *lu*)ā€”indicating that the word for ā€˜woolā€™ was *maru* or *malu*. It not-so-coincidentally happens that the Greek word for ā€˜woolā€™ was Ī¼Ī±Ī»Ī»ĻŒĻ‚ (*mallĆ³s*)ā€”a word with no Indo-European etymology. Thus *mallĆ³s* is almost undoubtedly a borrowing from Minoan. - Labyrinths are strongly associated with Minoan culture, having been built in Greek mythology for King Minos of Crete to hold the Minotaur. The word Ī»Ī±Ī²ĻĻĪ¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*labĆ½rinthos*) ā€˜labyrinthā€™, it again not-so-coincidentally happens, is one of those rare cultural terms with a Pre-Greek *ā€‘nth* suffix. It even appears in Linear B (not Linear A) as š€…š†š€Ŗš€µš€ (*daā€‘puā‚‚ā€‘riā€‘toā€‘jo*) ā€˜of the labyrinthā€™, meaning that the word was borrowed very early into Mycenaean Greek. Minoan culture would have exerted its influence on the Pre-Greeks just as it did the later Mycenaean Greeks. So in all likelihood, the Pre-Greeks borrowed the word for ā€˜labyrinthā€™ and tacked their *ā€‘nth* suffix on the end of it, then later gave the word to the Greeks. - The Minoans also boasted the oldest known personal bathtubs in the ancient world, a technology which then spread elsewhere in the Aegean. The Greek word for ā€˜bathtubā€™, į¼€ĻƒĪ¬Ī¼Ī¹Ī½ĪøĪæĻ‚ (*asĆ”minthos*), shows the classic *ā€‘nth* suffix even in early Mycenaeanā€”š€€š€­š€–š€µ (*aā€‘saā€‘miā€‘to*)ā€”meaning that this word too was likely borrowed by the Pre-Greeks from the Minoans, and in turn borrowed by the Greeks. - There are also several toponyms which appear in Linear A, Linear B, and Classical Greek, meaning that the names of these places were borrowed from the Minoans. Predictably, these toponyms are all on the island of Crete. We can say with some confidence, then, that the mystery loanwords of Ancient Greek come from at least two languages: the Paleo-European inhabitants of the Greek mainland, and the various other cultures in the surrounding region, most especially the extravagant Minoan palatial culture of Crete. šŸ“° **Want to learn more about how languages borrow writing systems from each other? Check out this article on where writing systems come from.* [Where do writing systems come from?Writing was invented three different times in world historyā€”in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica. But not all writing systems derive from those three original scripts. How can this be?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-60702f16-d13e-4e45-9551-704ebb500413.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/alphabet-HD-449a4ec8-3aa0-4fb5-99a3-2f513ec456cd.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/borrowing-writing/) Languages are a fossil record of the history of their speakers. Hidden beneath the surface of every language are layers upon layers of historyā€”a reflection of millennia of migrations, trade, and conflict. Historical linguistics allows us to recover some of that history, provided we know where and how to look for it. We will probably never fully recover the language of the Pre-Greeks, but it has left an indelible mark on the languages of the Mediterranean and even English. Every time you utter words like *labyrinth*, *mint*, *narcissism*, and *guitar*, you carry on the culture of those Paleo-Europeans who inhabited the Aegean prior to the arrival of the first Indo-Europeans over 4,000 years ago. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-5.png) A reconstruction of the Greek town of Dimini in Thessaly, as it existed ca. 3700 BCE. Source unknown. ## šŸ“š Further Reading ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-7.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781639732586?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-8.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780500028636?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-9.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3QCK5eg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009757997?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## English words from Pre-Greek This is a non-exhaustive list of words that are generally thought to be loanwords from a Pre-Greek substrate language into Ancient Greek, and which later found their way into English. Iā€™ve done my best to represent the consensus view and avoid including dubious cases, but thereā€™s certainly room to disagree with my individual choices. This article is, after all, a high-level summary of a vast field of research with lots of internal debate. ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography *The question of the nature of Pre-Greek and the status of loanwords into Ancient Greek are some of the most well-researched and debated areas in Indo-European linguistics. Below are just a few of the more recent sources that provide decent high-level overviews of the topic.* - Beekes, Robert S.P. 2014\. *Pre-Greek: Phonology, morphology, lexicon* (*Brill Introductions to Indo-European Languages* 2). Brill. - Duhoux, Y. 2007\. Pre-Greek languages: Indirect evidence. In A.-F. Christidis (ed.), *A history of ancient Greek: From the beginnings to late antiquity*, pp. 223ā€“228\. Cambridge University Press. - Meester, Lotte. 2024\. Substrate stratification: An argument against the unity of Pre-Greek. In Guus Kroonen (ed.), *Sub-Indo-European Europe: Problems, methods, results*, pp. 283ā€“300\. De Gruyter. - Verhasselt, Gertjan. 2009\. The Pre-Greek linguistic substratum: An overview of current research. *Les Ɖtudes Classiques* 77: 211ā€“239. --- ## Notes Ā¹ I use the term confamiliar to refer to words that are related through borrowing rather than direct inheritance. Two words that are related to each other because they both derive from the same word in a parent language are called cognates. The term *confamiliar* is meant to be the equivalent of *cognate* for borrowed words. The two terms nicely parallel the distinction in Latin between *cognātus* ā€˜related by birthā€™ vs. *familiāris* ā€˜member of a household (not necessarily related by blood)ā€™. The term *confamiliar* is also used in the life sciences to refer to taxonomic members of the same family; so here I am merely extending the metaphor to refer to members of the same family of words. This is my own unique coinage, though. As far as I know, no other linguists use this term in this way (yet šŸ¤žšŸ¼). Ā² \*/tw/ sometimes underwent this sound change too, which is the source of of the /ss/ \~ /tt/ alternation in Ļ„Ī­ĻƒĻƒĪ±ĻĪµĻ‚ (*tĆ©ssares*) ā€˜fourā€™. This word comes from PIE \* *kŹ·e*tw*Ć³res* rather than a palatalized sound. Ā³ I donā€™t actually love the term ā€œPre-Greekā€ because in historical linguistics the prefix *Preā€‘* is generally reserved for an earlier stage of a single language, usually one reconstructed from language-internal evidence alone. This contrasts with the last common ancestor of a group of related languages, which is reconstructed by comparing those languages, in which case we use the prefix *Protoā€‘*. According to this convention, *Pre-Greek* or *Pre-Proto-Greek* should really refer to a hypothetical dialect of Indo-European from which Proto-Greek later emerged. Regardless, *Preā€‘* is still commonly used for substrates as well, such as *Pre-Greek* or *Pre-Indo-European* (i.e. the languages that existed in Eurasia prior to the arrival of the Indo-Europeansā€”not to be confused with Paleo-European / Old European languages, which refers more specifically to the Neolithic languages of Europe). (Another reason I dislike the term ā€œPre-Greekā€ is because this article would have sounded much cooler titled ā€œPelasgian: The mystery language hidden in Ancient Greekā€, or ā€œParnassianā€ or the like.) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why your foreign accent sucks URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-24/ Last updated: 2026-06-20T09:00:52.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆšŸ³ļøā€āš§ļø Polari and the history of queer language: Learning to live out loud Happy Pride! The video from my commencement speech at the Lavender Celebration at the College of William & Mary is now live! You can watch here: ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Why your foreign accent sucks Did you know that your foreign accent is a lot worse than you think it is? It is. You just canā€™t hear how awful you sound. This is the finding from a study published back in 2020, with some reporting in *Fast Company*: - [Linguistics have discovered why your foreign language accent sucks: You can hear your friendsā€™ bad accent just fine but not your own](https://www.fastcompany.com/90462469/linguists-have-discovered-why-your-foreign-language-accent-sucks?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Fast Company*) - Mitterer, Eger, & Reinisch. 2020\. My English sounds better than yours: Second-language learners perceive their own accent as better than that of their peers. *PLOS One*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227643](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227643?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Statistical physics reveals how languages evolve > Models based on the principles of statistical physics can provide useful insights into how languages change through contact between speakers of different languages. In particular, the analysis reveals how unusual linguistic forms are more likely to be replaced by more regular ones over time. [Statistical physics reveals how languages evolveModels based on the principles of statistical physics can provide useful insights into how languages change through contact between speakers of different languages. In particular, the analysis reveals how unusual linguistic forms are more likely to be replaced by more regular ones over time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-bdcaf7a5-2344-4811-86d5-52a14be5aa8d.svg)Phys.orgSamuel Jarman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/statistical-physics-re-d0e41208-5ba0-404c-b696-640af36effb0.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2023-04-statistical-physics-reveals-languages-evolve.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Luck & Mahta. 2023\. Evolution of grammatical forms: Some quantitative approaches. *The European Physical Journal B* 96(19). DOI: [https://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-023-00488-0](https://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-023-00488-0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Would it be better to learn new languages like a child does? Maybe not! Adults have all sorts of metacognitive and explicit learning abilities they can bring to bear on the task of language learning that children do not. Moreover, children have a great deal more neural plasticity than adults do. It might be better to embrace what makes us good learners as adults than try to imitate the way children learn language. Hereā€™s a good article on the topic from Babbel magazine: [Would It Be Better To Learn A New Language Like A Child Does?Is it possible to learn a new language like a child learns their first? Maybe, but itā€™s not necessarily the best approach.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-e10d974e-b420-4af5-be78-8c64704436c3.ico)BabbelBabbel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Refresh_Learn_Child-38752778-b278-40a0-ab59-189c202cb700.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/learn-language-like-a-child?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- [What is that voice in your head when you read?Called your ā€˜inner voice,ā€™ it develops along with your reading skills.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-b08dfe29-126d-4ca5-a38e-66ceaa1d1603.png)The ConversationBeth Meisinger![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230502-991-yd36r7-707dbddf-daf5-44ce-b5fc-353adcdc674f.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/what-is-that-voice-in-your-head-when-you-read-203379?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Incidentally, one of the tricks to reading faster is to stop these ā€œsubvocalizationsā€, as theyā€™re called. This has been shown to drastically increase a personā€™s reading rate. I learned this trick from this (very full-of-itself but nonetheless very helpful) book: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/06/image.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4e1RL1w?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780735200197?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other reads for your week: [Learn about the linguistic quest to understand the Ź»okinaNew York University linguistics researchers Lisa Davidson and Kevin Roon spoke with HPRā€™s Maddie Bender about the pronunciation of Ź»okina at the beginning of words.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-c01339b4-bf02-4eb1-8da3-12b0848987d2.png)Hawai'i Public RadioMaddie Bender![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-32bd4d66-53ed-4ccf-8260-99a6e08619dc)](https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/the-conversation/2026-05-28/learn-about-the-linguistic-quest-to-understand-the-okina?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What Language Is Spoken in the Netherlands? - Rosetta StoneDiscover what language is spoken in the Netherlands, if English is a common language there, and what other languages to expect.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-57cb1f27-aa9f-473c-8436-0ffe4b9578a9.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Shutterstock_1248634510-1-410758fa-9699-4f4a-9759-300ff6b1ca1a.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-language-is-spoken-in-the-netherlands/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking of Words: Latest News from the HittitesThe Hittites were once a powerful kingdom that, at its peak around 1300 BCE, dominated Anatolia (now Turkey) and even reached as far south as Aleppo (now in modern Syria); they fought a major battle with the Egyptians, led by Ramesses the Great, at Kadesh in 1274![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-d4c44c86-a363-4f4e-b4f0-91a1ea4aeed7.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-4ee5ca76-6cb3-476b-9128-6d8e8edcdc93.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2026/04/20/speaking-of-words-latest-news-from-the-hittites/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Californiaā€™s ā€˜Valley Girlā€™ talk changed the way America speaksWhat started as a stereotype stuck around and evolved.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-144x144-ba7c2e4f-7c70-4f1e-8b5b-a40c955a3caf.png)California PostMatt Elias![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/126579576-687e4ad0-e603-4519-a387-e579c86526dd.jpg)](https://nypost.com/2026/04/29/lifestyle/how-californias-valley-girl-accent-changed-america/?utm%5Fcampaign=applenews&utm%5Fmedium=inline&utm%5Fsource=applenews) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *How to keep your language alive* If youā€™re trying to preserve your heritage language and pass it on to your kids and future generations, youā€™ll want to check out this book: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/06/image-1.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OGmgl2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781890771423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Study skills for linguistics* If you or a college-aged person in your life are studying linguistics or thinking about studying linguistics, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book. Itā€™s got some great advice for linguistics students: it gives you overviews of basic concepts in the field, walks you through how to do a research project, and even talks about what you can do with your linguistics degree when you graduate. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/06/image-2.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4tSybeb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780415720465?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Early Indo-European Online ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/06/image-3.png) The Indo-European family tree of languages (alongside the Uralic family) as rendered by Minna Sundberg in her web comic [Stand Still, Stay Silent](https://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=196&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Do you think ancient languages are freakinā€™ cool? Yeah, same. Then you should check out the incredible *Early Indo-European Online* course, a completely free online course that tours you through all the attested early Indo-European languages. Youā€™ll analyze original texts from each of these languages and learn all about the details of Indo-European grammar. [Early Indo-European Online: Introduction to the Language Lessons![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-c1f211e6-fe92-4fb6-8e55-ab4bb35832db.png)UT Austin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2015_cola_texas3-08acafdb-e040-47ed-bc0d-54c4a49d1343.svg)](https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! If I were a prehistoric linguist Iā€™m not sure whether this would have been really nice or just really boring. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/06/image-4.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Do kids in poor families really hear 30 million fewer words by age 4? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/ Last updated: 2026-06-14T01:20:13.000Z > The process of acquiring a language involves way more than simply mastering heaps of vocabulary and a slew of grammatical rules. In 1995, a now-infamous study claimed that young children in higher socioeconomic status (SES) homes hear up to **30 million more words** over the course of 4 years than those in lower SES households ([Hart & Risley 1995](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-1995-21350a282bc181508315c8bd26cf914a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Does this mean that the more you speak to your child, the better they eventually become at language? Should you be speaking to your child as much as humanly possible? Are children who receive less language input linguistically disadvantaged compared to children of more loquacious parents? In this issue of the newsletter, weā€™ll look at what the research says about how much you should be talking to your child, and discuss the infamous 30-million-word gap and whether itā€™s something you need to worry about. ā„¹ļø This is Part 6 of a series on the science of baby talk. Check out previous issues at the links below. ### šŸ”¢ Articles in This Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your toddler? **\[this issue\]** - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## What is the ā€œword gapā€? In the early 1990s, researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley conducted a longitudinal study in which they spent time in the homes of 42 families over the span of 2Ā½ years to document language use between parents and their young children ([Hart & Risley 1995](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-1995-21350a282bc181508315c8bd26cf914a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Hart & Risley 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-2003-27550a282bc18106a77ded9dd7520cf9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). They found that the amount that parents talked to their children, measured in number of words per hour, varied tremendously by social class. Over four years, they calculated, those hourly differences accrete to create the purported 30-million-word gap. The table below shows the number of words per hour that children of different social classes experienced in their study, and how those numbers add up over a week, a year, and four years. These calculations are based on the assumption of a 100-hour week (14 waking hours per day). __Words heard per hour by children of different socioeconomic status families (based on Hart & Risley 2003)__ | **SES** | **Words/Hour** | **Per Week** | **Per Year** | **4 Years** | **Utterances/Hour** | | ------- | -------------- | ------------ | ------------ | ----------- | ------------------- | | High | 2,153 | 215,300 | 11,195,600 | 44,782,400 | 487 | | Mid/Low | 1,251 | 125,100 | 6,505,200 | 26,020,800 | 301 | | Low | 616 | 61,600 | 3,203,200 | 12,812,800 | 178 | Parents also differed widely in the average number of utterances they made to the child per hour, as the last column in the table shows. High-SES parents werenā€™t just using more words, but they were speaking to their children more frequently overall. Higher SES mothers also used more of the features of child-directed speech that are known to correlate with improved language development ([Hoff 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hoff-2003-21b50a282bc1814fba4bebf05fdd3461?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 1369). Numerous other studies have produced similar results, showing that children from lower SES families expand their vocabularies at a slower rater than children from higher SES families (see [Hoff 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hoff-2003-21b50a282bc1814fba4bebf05fdd3461?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 1368 for a summary, as well as [Fernald, Marchman & Weisleder 2013](https://www.notion.so/Fernald-Marchman-Weisleder-2013-21350a282bc1817c8528dcdf2e07187c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The beginnings of this word gap are evident even as early as 18 months. One study found that by 24 months, children from lower SES households performed at the same level as 18-month-olds from higher SES households on a language processing task ([Fernald, Marchman & Weisleder 2013](https://www.notion.so/Fernald-Marchman-Weisleder-2013-21350a282bc1817c8528dcdf2e07187c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). However, these patterns arenā€™t strictly about the *numbers* *per se*. Instead, itā€™s more that children are simply *mimicking* the speech styles of their parents. Overall, childrenā€™s language use mirrors that of their parents: children of parents with larger vocabularies have larger vocabularies themselves; children of parents who spoke more utterances per hour also produced more utterances per hour; children of parents who used a greater variety of words per hour likewise used a wider array of words per hour ([Hart & Risley 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-2003-27550a282bc18106a77ded9dd7520cf9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Each of these tendencies correlates with social class, as the following table shows (from [Hart & Risley 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-2003-27550a282bc18106a77ded9dd7520cf9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). __Similarities between language use of parents and their children (based on Hart & Risley 2003)__ | | **Professional** | **Working Class** | **Welfare** | | | | | -------------------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ----------- | --------- | ---------- | --------- | | | **Parent** | **Child** | **Parent** | **Child** | **Parent** | **Child** | | Recorded vocabulary size | 2,176 | 1,116 | 1,498 | 749 | 974 | 525 | | Average utterances per hour | 487 | 310 | 301 | 223 | 176 | 168 | | Average different words per hour | 382 | 297 | 251 | 216 | 167 | 149 | Similar word gaps have been documented for reading as well, with a 1.4-million-word gap by kindergarten ([Logan et al. 2019](https://www.notion.so/Logan-et-al-2019-21350a282bc181e99da1c23995743ecc?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Middle- and upper-class families are more likely to both have books in the house and engage in reading as an activity with their children ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 59). High-SES children have also been found to produce more complex grammatical structures at 22 months than low-SES children, and this discrepancy persists for at least the next 18 months ([Vasilyeva, Waterfall & Huttenlocher 2008](https://www.notion.so/Vasilyeva-Waterfall-Huttenlocher-2008-36950a282bc181e4a38de0a940a75d42?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). High-SES parents also use more gestures, which has been found to improve vocabulary learning ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 93). ā„¹ļø Want to learn more about childrenā€™s linguistic capabilities develop over time? Check out this issue of the newsletter about how children learn grammatical rules (and how we know): [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-85d57d6b3a2ca2431384bd402c246775ac5b429a0b5960431130ee0ee17fa6bb.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) Finally, there are notable differences across social classes in the *content* of what parents say to their children. Hart & Risley (2003) also examined the number of affirmatives (encouraging words) and prohibitions that parents used with their children. As the following chart shows, parents on welfare used relatively more prohibitions than affirmations with their children, whereas professional-class parents used predominantly more affirmations. [Hart & Risley 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-2003-27550a282bc18106a77ded9dd7520cf9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) summarize this by stating, ā€œBy the age of 4, the average child in a welfare family might have had 144,000 fewer encouragements and 84,000 more discouragements of his or her behavior than the average child in a working-class family.ā€ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-11.png) Are these early differences offset or smoothed out later? Is vocabulary acquisition in lower SES families simply somewhat delayed compared to higher SES families, similar to the way that Tsimane (isolate) and Yucatec Maya (Mayan) children donā€™t hear much child-directed speech in their earliest years but catch up to American children later on (as we saw [in Part 4 of this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/))? It seems not. These early vocabulary differences persist throughout childhood, correlating to the childā€™s performance during their school years. Hart & Risley followed up with many of the same children from their original study once they reached third grade (age 9ā€“10), and found that the differences they had documented at age 3 predicted the childrenā€™s performance in measures of language skill six years later. And children whose parents engaged in more episodes of joint attention and shared book reading developed larger vocabularies by age 6 ([Farrant & Zubrick 2013](https://www.notion.so/Farrant-Zubrick-2013-36950a282bc181a0ad72df9af6b197d6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ## Problems with the word gap theory > The word gapā€”to the extent it even existsā€”is a symptom, not a cause, of educational disparities. Scholars have directed copious criticism at Hart & Risleyā€™s study since its publication, not just at its methods and assumptions, but perhaps more so at its implications (see especially [Johnson 2015](https://www.notion.so/Johnson-2015-21350a282bc181529cc9eaa5869695c0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). One can acknowledge the existence of a word gap between different families of different socioeconomic statuses while also rejecting the catastrophizing claims of Hart & Risley. (Their 2003 paper is even titled, ā€œThe early **catastrophe**: The 30 million word gap by age 3ā€.) For starters, the number of words parents use with their children is probably not a sufficiently robust measure of what weā€™d consider a ā€œlinguistically stimulating environmentā€. *How* parents use language with their children matters much more than *how much* they use it, as weā€™ll see in the next and last issue in this series. The paperā€™s title also sneakily implies that the 30-million-word gap is already fully present at age 3, but this isnā€™t what they actually claim in the paper. The *initial* disparities are present at age 3, but **the 30-million-word figure is extrapolated based on what would happen if those disparities continued over four years.** *We have no idea whether those projections actually hold true.* In fact, a more recent replication of Hart & Risleyā€™s study with more participants estimates a word gap closer to 4 million words ([Gilkerson et al. 2017](https://www.notion.so/Gilkerson-et-al-2017-36950a282bc181e683f4dcbb6394c60a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Another study found that when the number of words children *overhear* (not just words directed specifically at them) is taken into account, the word count increases by 54% for welfare families and 210% for working-class families, with the result that children in poor black families in the study heard fully 21% *more* words than the professional-class families ([Sperry, Sperry & Miller 2019](https://www.notion.so/Sperry-Sperry-Miller-2019-36950a282bc18108bd87d9815af54a3e?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Equally damaging to Hart & Risleyā€™s thesis is that the 30-million-word gap turns out to be implausible on its face: it amounts to an additional 24 words per minute, or an additional word every other second for 14 hours/day over 4 years ([Purpura 2019](https://www.notion.so/Purpura-2019-21b50a282bc181429954fd439ac82fb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 2). It would be practically impossible to make up for such a colossal gap. So while the many studies I cited in the first section of this article do point to the existence of significant disparities between the language input of children in different SES households, those disparities cannot be nearly as large as they have been claimed to be. Moreover, the existence of a word gap between different SES households may not even tell us anything useful! Childrenā€™s vocabulary size is measured by the number of words they *produce*, but everybody has a much larger **passive vocabulary** (words we understand but hardly use) than **active vocabulary** (words we use regularly). It could be that children in different SES households actually do know the same number of words as each other, but differ in how easily they can recall and use those words, or in the *style* of speaking theyā€™ve been taught ([Hoff 2003](https://www.notion.so/Hoff-2003-21b50a282bc1814fba4bebf05fdd3461?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 1375). You might have a lexicon three times the size of an average person, but that difference is unlikely to come across in casual conversation (unless youā€™re a pedant). Similarly, different families have different speech styles, some more vocabulary-rich than others. (Not every parent is as grandiloquent as Moira Rose, after all.) Itā€™s also a bit naive to think that the primary reason children from more affluent backgrounds do better on language aptitude tests in school is because of their ā€œsupposedly superior linguistic and cognitive capacities that result from early exposure to vocabulary-rich environmentsā€ ([Johnson 2015](https://www.notion.so/Johnson-2015-21350a282bc181529cc9eaa5869695c0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 43). Language aptitude tests by their very nature are forced to utilize objective metrics like understanding word meanings and answering factual questions about a text; but these skills constitute just a small slice of all the things that we use language for. More subjective skills such as making analogies, offering reasons and motivations for a characterā€™s actions, and describing the moral lessons suggested by a text cannot be easily assessed by standardized aptitude tests. Yet it is precisely these more subjective skills that are often the focus of language use in non-affluent households. One seminal study compared the reading and language socialization habits of parents in white middle-class, white working-class, and black working-class communities, and found that parents differed widely on what language skills they focused on most with their children ([Heath 1982](https://www.notion.so/Heath-1982-36950a282bc181b28de3ea4d4b2dae5d?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). One notable difference is that the white middle-class parents in the study had a greater relative focus on *what-explanations* when reading (ā€œWhatā€™s that?ā€, ā€œWhoā€™s that?ā€, ā€œWhat does the doggie say?ā€), while white working-class parents focused more on *moral lessons*, and black working-class parents focused more on *reason-explanations* (ā€œWhyā€™d he do that?ā€) as well as *analogies and metaphors*. All of these are important skills for children to have, but only one of them (what-explanations) can be easily assessed in standardized tests. School curricula generally begin with what-explanations before moving on to reason-explanations or affective commentary, which are considered more advanced. The white working-class children of Heathā€™s study are well served by this instructional sequence, but the black working-class children quickly fall behind because they are assumed to have already been taught to answer what-questions when in fact they havenā€™t. Similarly, while white working-class parents did ask their children plenty of what-questions during reading, they didnā€™t connect that information to their everyday lives in the same way that the white middle-class families did. So while the working-class children performed well in the early stages of their school career when faced with what-questions, they too fell behind in later stages. When asked things like, ā€œWhat did you like about the story?ā€ or ā€œWhat would you have done if you had been \[the main character\]?ā€, the working-class children didnā€™t know how to respond. A final illustration of the subjectivity of academic performance is the behavior of Native American children in predominantly white classrooms. On the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in central Oregon, it was noticed that Native American children were extremely reluctant to talk in class, and didnā€™t always seem to understand when commands were given. While many took this as a kind of linguistic deficiency, comparison of instructional techniques in nonā€“Native American vs. Native American classrooms and home settings shows that whatā€™s actually causing this behavior is drastically different expectations about when and how it is appropriate for children to verbally participate in activities. A cultural difference was thus misinterpreted as either verbal or academic deficiency. ([Philips 2009](https://www.notion.so/Philips-2009-2f650a282bc181568ba8fd16887c30ae?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) These examples demonstrate that the process of acquiring a language involves way more than simply mastering heaps of vocabulary and a slew of grammatical rules. Speakers also have to learn *socially appropriate* ways of using the language, including when, with whom, in what registers/styles, and in what contexts. As anthropologists Elinor Ochs and Bambi Schieffelin put it: > ā€œthe primary concern of caregivers is to ensure that their children are able to display and understand behaviors appropriate to social situations.ā€ ([Ochs & Schieffelin 2009](https://www.notion.so/Ochs-Schieffelin-2009-32250a282bc181538c65fb2bc508bdd6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 296) > ā€œThe process of acquiring a language is deeply affected by the process of becoming a competent member of society.ā€ ([Ochs & Schieffelin 2009](https://www.notion.so/Ochs-Schieffelin-2009-32250a282bc181538c65fb2bc508bdd6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 297) This full suite of knowledge about the *social* functions of language is referred to as a speakerā€™s **communicative competence**, as opposed to the much narrower sense of **linguistic competence**. Itā€™s safe to say that Hart & Risleyā€™s study (and many that have followed it) does not take the full range of communicative competencies of the observed children into account. It also doesnā€™t take into account \*non-\*parental influences on childrenā€™s vocabulary development: > Low-income children are more likely than their higher-income peers to be in factory-like classrooms that allow little interaction and physical movement. As a result, these children spend more time sitting, following directions and listening rather than discussing, debating, solving problems and sharing ideas. > > \~ Molly McManus, ā€œ[Are some kids really smarter just because they know more words?](https://theconversation.com/are-some-kids-really-smarter-just-because-they-know-more-words-47819?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€, *The Conversation* A final alternative explanation for the word gap is that it has more to do with how **talkative** the parent (especially the mother) is than the socioeconomic status of the household. High-SES households do tend to be more talkative in general, but children of talkative parents in *low*\-SES households see the same positive effects. More talkative parents tend to use a richer vocabulary and express more complex ideas, regardless of their socioeconomic status ([Rowe 2012](https://www.notion.so/Rowe-2012-36950a282bc181ec8479d60653cc2f71?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Children of talkative mothers hear ā€œseven times as many words, and three times as many *different* words, as children of less talkative mothersā€ ([Weisleder et al. 2015](https://www.notion.so/Weisleder-et-al-2015-36950a282bc181a1a2a6c76a984a1cf1?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and develop larger vocabularies as a result ([Hoff & Naigles 2002](https://www.notion.so/Hoff-Naigles-2002-36950a282bc181b7afc2d1f7beec922e?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Hurtado, Marchman & Fernald 2008](https://www.notion.so/Hurtado-Marchman-Fernald-2008-36950a282bc18131b3e4ce19803d2a11?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Fernald & Weisleder 2015](https://www.notion.so/Fernald-Weisleder-2015-36950a282bc18140bf3fc5f2e4c4f7dd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Children of more talkative mothers were also more efficient at processing speech in general. One study found that even in infancy, children of talkative mothers look more quickly at a named object ([Hurtado, Marchman & Fernald 2008](https://www.notion.so/Hurtado-Marchman-Fernald-2008-36950a282bc18131b3e4ce19803d2a11?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Overall, the individual loquaciousness of the parent predicts a childā€™s language development better than the particular socioeconomic class they belong to ([Weisleder et al. 2015](https://www.notion.so/Weisleder-et-al-2015-36950a282bc181a1a2a6c76a984a1cf1?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ## The damage caused by the word gap theory Sadly, and despite its numerous deficiencies, the word gap theory has led to all sorts of misconceptions and ill-suited policy prescriptions. Politicians and bureaucrats quickly seized upon the jaw-dropping numerical differences in vocabulary between poor and affluent households, and the word gap was used as a proxy for the socioeconomic achievement gap more broadly. But the word gapā€”to the extent it even existsā€”is a symptom, not a cause, of educational disparities. And interventions aimed at fixing the word gap expend great effort on increasing mere exposure to vocabulary rather than increasing the quality (and equality) of educational opportunities. The hyperfixation on vocabulary size also leads to negative self-perception in low-SES students, who come to view themselves as being in some way deficient compared to their peers. It also sends a message to parents that thereā€™s something wrong with their parenting. But the reality is that this hyperfixation on vocabulary size directly contributes to the discrepancies across households: > Research shows that teachers of poor students and/or students of color often dwell on the experiences and language that their students are missing and default to teaching practices such as vocabulary drills and rote repetition that emphasize obedience and quiet behavior. > > \~ Molly McManus, ā€œ[Are some kids really smarter just because they know more words?](https://theconversation.com/are-some-kids-really-smarter-just-because-they-know-more-words-47819?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€, *The Conversation* Hardly a recipe for educational excellence. So while a word gap of some sort does likely exist between poor and affluent households, the existence of that gap doesnā€™t really tell us anything useful. Worse, interventions aimed at closing the word gap mistake the symptom for the cause, only serving to exacerbate any differences in the process. Resources aimed at closing the word gap directly are probably better targeted at more holistic/global interventions instead. ## So how much should I talk to my child? Given the research on talkative parents discussed above, it does seem that the more you talk to your child, the better they become at language overall. But do you need to be speaking to your child every waking moment of the day lest they fall behind in their linguistic development? Absolutely not. Sheer exposure to lots of vocabulary and grammatical structures isnā€™t what really matters. The *kind* of linguistic input a child receives is far more important. And thatā€™s the topic weā€™ll turn to in the next and final issue in this series on the science of baby talk. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to get notified when it posts! [šŸ“§ Subscribe](#/portal/signup/free) ### šŸ”¢ Articles in This Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your toddler? **\[this issue\]** - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## šŸ“‘ References - Clark, Eve V. 2024\. *First language acquisition*. 4th edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Farrant, Brad M. & Stephen R. Zubrick. 2013\. Parentā€“child book reading across early childhood and child vocabulary in the early school years: Findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. *First Language* 33(3). 280ā€“293\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723713487617](https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723713487617?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Fernald, Anne, Virginia A. Marchman & Adriana Weisleder. 2013\. SES differences in language processing skill and vocabulary are evident at 18 months. *Developmental Science* 16(2). 234ā€“248\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12019](https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12019?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Fernald, Anne & Adriana Weisleder. 2015\. Twenty years after ā€œMeaningful differences,ā€ itā€™s time to reframe the ā€œdeficitā€ debate about the importance of childrenā€™s early language experience. *Human Development* 58(1). 1ā€“4\. [https://doi.org/10.1159/000375515](https://doi.org/10.1159/000375515?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Gilkerson, Jill, Jeffrey A. Richards, Steven F. Warren, Judith K. Montgomery, Charles R. Greenwood, D. Kimbrough Oller, John H. L. Hansen & Terrance D. Paul. 2017\. Mapping the early language environment using all-day recordings and automated analysis. *American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology* 26(2). 248ā€“265\. [https://doi.org/10.1044/2016\_AJSLP-15-0169](https://doi.org/10.1044/2016%5FAJSLP-15-0169?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hart, Betty & Todd Risley. 2003\. The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3\. *American Educator*. - Hart, Betty & Todd R. Risley. 1995\. *Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children*. Baltimore: P. H. Brookes. - Heath, Shirley Brice. 1982\. What no bedtime story means: Narrative skills at home and school. *Language in Society* 11(1). 49ā€“76\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500009039](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500009039?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hoff, Erika. 2003\. The specificity of environmental influence: Socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. *Child Development* 74(5). 1368ā€“1378\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00612](https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00612?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hoff, Erika & Letitia Naigles. 2002\. How children use input to acquire a lexicon. *Child Development* 73(2). 418ā€“433\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00415](https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00415?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hurtado, Nereyda, Virginia A. Marchman & Anne Fernald. 2008\. Does input influence uptake? Links between maternal talk, processing speed and vocabulary size in Spanishā€learning children. *Developmental Science* 11(6). [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00768.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00768.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Johnson, Eric J. 2015\. Debunking the ā€œlanguage gap.ā€ *Journal for Multicultural Education* 9(1). 42ā€“50\. [https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-12-2014-0044](https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-12-2014-0044?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Logan, Jessica A. R., Laura M. Justice, Melike Yumuş & Leydi Johana Chaparro-Moreno. 2019\. When children are not read to at home: The million word gap. *Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics* 40(5). 383ā€“386\. [https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000657](https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000657?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Ochs, Elinor & Bambi B. Schieffelin. 2009\. Language acquisition and socialization: Three developmental stories and their implications. In Alessandro Duranti (ed.), *Linguistic anthropology: A reader* (Blackwell Anthologies in Social & Cultural Anthropology 1), 296ā€“328\. 2nd edn. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. - Philips, Susan U. 2009\. Participant structures and communicative competence: Warm Springs children in community and classroom. In Alessandro Duranti (ed.), *Linguistic anthropology: A reader* (Blackwell Anthologies in Social & Cultural Anthropology 1), 329ā€“342\. 2nd edn. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. - Purpura, David J. 2019\. Language clearly matters; *Methods* matter too. *Child Development* 90(6). 1839ā€“1846\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13327](https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13327?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Rowe, Meredith L. 2012\. A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development. *Child Development* 83(5). 1762ā€“1774\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01805.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01805.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Saxton, Matthew. 2017\. *Child language: Acquisition and development*. 2nd edn. SAGE. - Sperry, Douglas E, Linda L Sperry & Peggy J Miller. 2019\. Reexamining the verbal environments of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. *Child Development* 90(4). 1303ā€“1318\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13072](https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13072?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Vasilyeva, Marina, Heidi Waterfall & Janellen Huttenlocher. 2008\. Emergence of syntax: commonalities and differences across children. *Developmental Science* 11(1). 84ā€“97\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00656.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00656.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Weisleder, Adriana, N. Otero, Virginia A. Marchman & Anne Fernald. 2015\. Child-directed speech mediates SES differences in language-processing skill and vocabulary in Spanish-learning children. In *Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development*. Philadelphia, PA. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why your brain is faster at dismantling some words than others URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-22/ Last updated: 2026-06-06T09:00:08.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Linguistics Commencement Speech The other week I posted the transcript of my commencement speech for the linguistics department at the College of William & Mary (link below). Now you can watch a video of the talk as well! You can also read the entire transcript here: [The curse of knowledge (and what to do about it)Inspiring words for linguistics majors![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/size/w1200/2026/05/mateus-campos-felipe-YYjyJJz2R9w-unsplash.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/linguistics-commencement/) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### On Iran, Persia, Farsi, and Aryan: The many names for Iran, its peoples, and its languages Is the country called *Iran* or *Persia*? What about the language? *Farsi* or *Persian*? And whatā€™s the word *Aryan* got to do with it? Hereā€™s your guide to the many names for Iran, its peoples, and its languages. [Is it ā€œIranā€ or ā€œPersiaā€? ā€œPersianā€ or ā€œFarsiā€?On Persia, Iran, Farsi, and Aryan: The many names for Iran, its peoples, and its languages![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-f5f2abf2-05e2-41d9-975c-2d4b16281aea.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/What-is-the-name-of-Iran-7d258c97-ec47-4f77-9c25-7dc24273dd84.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/name-of-iran/) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Why your brain is faster at dismantling some words than others Before you even know what a written word means, your brain is already playing a rapid-fire game of linguistic LEGO. Imagine catching a flash of the word football on a screen. Before you even register its meaning (ā€˜a gameā€™ or ā€˜a ballā€™), your brain may have already parsed it into *foot* \+ *ball*. A clever new experiment used red-and-blue anaglyph glasses and split-second word flashes to probe this. It found that real compound words (like football) are recognized much faster than lookalikes (like shamrock), suggesting our eyes and brain latch onto word form almost instantly. [Why ā€˜footballā€™ beats ā€˜shamrockā€™ when your brain is dismantling every word at lightning speedBefore you even know what a word means, your brain is already playing a rapid-fire game of linguistic LEGO. Discover how our minds secretly dissect words, piece by orthographic piece, in the blink of an eye.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-ac64cc0bfdf19ac23bb07bfd6c0a37ab48fedc3fb81996aff2a15b31c899a8e7.svg)Science XSayan Tribedi![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/your-brain-starts-pull-2-e91cc1d4e4efd050442d4afabe6e4db6e992db3969ac66f511ea4a1a7b91697d.jpg)](https://sciencex.com/news/2026-05-football-shamrock-brain-dismantling-word.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - de Almeida, Antal, & Salehi. 2026\. Early morpho-orthographic and semantic effects in word recognition: Evidence from a foveal-splitting dichoptic paradigm with anaglyphs. *Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition* 52(7): 1108ā€“1132\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001533](https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001533?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Iā€™ve been social media acquaintances with Michelle Bruni since the early days of shortform video, when her child was just weeks old, and I think sheā€™s a great exemplar for parents who want to give their kids fluency in another language: - [Mom defends decision to teach her kids French over a ā€˜more usefulā€™ language, despite not being a native speaker](https://people.com/mom-defends-decision-to-teach-her-kids-french-despite-not-being-a-native-speaker-exclusive-11955133?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*People*) Why English isnā€™t degenerating: [Despite all the likes, literallys and dropped gā€™s, English isnā€™t decaying before our eyesThroughout the history of the language, what has been considered ā€˜badā€™ speech often becomes ā€˜proper.ā€™ You just have to give it time.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The ConversationValerie M. Fridland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260420-57-digckg-637c7b370273e9161da8bf61438572d4e5defefeda30b26fbacccc736c0990cf.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/despite-all-the-likes-literallys-and-dropped-gs-english-isnt-decaying-before-our-eyes-279955?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) That article also touches on Valerie Fridlandā€™s new book, *Why we talk funny: The real story behind our accents* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ![Book cover for Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents by Valerie Fridland, author of Like, Literally, Dude. On a pale yellow background, the bold black title and red subtitle sit on the left, while four stylized open mouths in red, blue, purple, and green run down the right side, each showing teeth and tongue in mid-speech.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-33.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can also read an excerpt from the book in the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! [Baby, talk to me: How children get their accentsA sneak peek at Dr. Valerie Fridlandā€™s new book, ā€œWhy we talk funny: The real story behind our accentsā€![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Why-we-talk-funny-0e86e003ffe58179213cc7624a3c6bc8ad182ae2bfa9280122e0512ff438613f.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-we-talk-funny/) Other articles from this week: [Hooker, as promisedThe Oxford Etymologist explores the etymological development and history of the word ā€œhooker.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-74f6159f36612eceb7e85df2b6de2a3d92f3883884872acd31c228edbbee5d3a.ico)OUPblogBecky Clifford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Carraroe_boats-v2-d5e007bf0e94a1855f1658fec636aabbafc2868e7ee2e867859b9340e378d525.jpg)](https://blog.oup.com/2023/04/hooker-as-promised/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What Is A Lexicon?At its most general, lexicon can refer to quite a few different things. What is a lexicon, and is it useful in language learning?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-90bb5536798a1ee86b2269e412ffff351a331f1030960d6f6f98c1e9d68f340f.ico)BabbelThomas Moore Devlin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/What_Is_Lexicon_Woman_Reading_on_Couch-9d4bf51ddf343338dd2628133cd2e1ab97d14d73b197d053402fdccffa3beade.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/what-is-lexicon?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Delve Into Diacritics: The Accent Marks That Guide Pronunciation - Rosetta StoneFind out how diacritics and accent marks guide pronunciation in a language, including the different types of diacritics and how to use them.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/diacritics_2188465341-e881088f001a99c2a55c51354b6a834ef85c1da7feb06316566ca545e72b5bb5.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/diacritics/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Old is ā€˜Hahaā€™? The Sound of Medieval LaughterA strange image and the earliest ā€˜hahaā€™ in English.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F8b52ec70-1d25-4968-aae7-763bea84c0f7-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-edd6521b7bcee55664a52c06f3619d5c35a4d5ab6503448d9adfdfa5f5ee63ae.png)IncertusIncertus![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F57d8d645-dc87-4e5d-9d83-6526d6e1b56b_422x253-2a4b8669c6f125ad5144e898217b6c9bbe8aa6f57b7eff48116ffe8fb15ae91e.png)](https://incertus.substack.com/p/how-old-is-ha-ha-the-sound-of-medieval) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Is baby talk bad? > Many parents have heard the warning: Donā€™t use baby talk with babies and toddlers. Instead, caregivers are often encouraged to speak properly and use adultlike language, out of concern that simplified speech could confuse children or delay language development. But research in child language acquisition actually suggests the opposite is true! Dr. Karen Stollznow explains why in this article for *The Conversation*: [Is baby talk bad? Why ā€˜parenteseā€™ actually helps babies learn languageExaggerating phrases and talking in a sing-song way can actually help, not make it harder, for young children to master speaking a language.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The ConversationKaren Stollznow![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260514-69-bkxp2b-94b0cdbfcac1ec45d2e107be26b1cb5fff3b9f1031a9bc3b7abf609d1ea35cf3.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/is-baby-talk-bad-why-parentese-actually-helps-babies-learn-language-282927?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) That article discusses some of the ideas from Dr. Stollznowā€™s new book, [*Beyond words: How we learn, use, and lose language*](https://amzn.to/4uwDelt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which Iā€™m excited to see because there are very few books about first language acquisition out there for a general audience! ![Book cover for ā€œBeyond Words: How We Learn, Use, and Lose Languageā€ by Karen Stollznow. The title appears in large teal serif lettering on a textured cream background, with the authorā€™s name in dark navy small caps at the top and the subtitle in navy at the bottom. Above the title, a scattering of small letters in various sizes drifts upward and disperses into the air.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-34.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4uwDelt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I also have an entire series of articles about baby talk if you want to learn more! #### šŸ‘¶ The science of baby talk - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your toddler?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ### *The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet* I just learned that a second edition of *The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet* was released last year, and I immediately procured a copy because I think this is the best history of writing for a general audience out there. Excited to see whatā€™s new in this version! - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/42AWsdv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781394218196?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1064.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1060.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1059.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1058.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1057.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1056.JPEG) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### The Atlas of Endangered Alphabets ![A screenshot from the Atlas of Endangered Alphabets website. The orange header reads "ATLAS OF ENDANGERED ALPHABETS" with the tagline "Indigenous and minority writing systems, and the people who are trying to save them," followed by social media icons, a search bar, and a navigation menu (Home, About, The Alphabets, Help Wanted, Support Our Work, Contact). Below, a page titled "BERIA" displays the script's name written in the Beria (Zaghawa) alphabet. A row of gallery thumbnails shows a chart of pictographic symbols, a person writing characters on a whiteboard, a camel, and a detailed chart of the alphabet's letters with phonetic values.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-35.png) The online Atlas of Endangered Alphabets is a beautiful testament to many endangered writing systems all over the world. The atlas has photo galleries and informational articles to explore for each endangered writing system. [Atlas of Endangered Alphabets: Indigenous and minority writing systems, and the people who are trying to save them.Our goal is to include scripts from indigenous and minority cultures who are in danger of losing their sense of history, identity and purpose and who are trying to protect, preserve and/or revive their writing system as a way of reconnecting to their past, their dignity, their sense of a way ahead.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/ea-logo-512-538bbfa853eb482f05400b1cd0dea05cfcade64302ad3090e6765acbaf53de5d.png)![](https://www.endangeredalphabets.net/atlas-banner.png)](https://www.endangeredalphabets.net/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! ![A black-and-white cartoon in New Yorker style. Inside a cave, several fur-clad cavemen sit around a small campfire, with spears propped against the walls and gnawed bones scattered on the ground. Through the cave's arched mouth, a mountainous landscape and clouds are visible. One caveman gestures as he addresses the others. The caption reads: "We'll start out by speaking in simple declarative sentences.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-36.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Is it ā€œIranā€ or ā€œPersiaā€? ā€œPersianā€ or ā€œFarsiā€? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/name-of-iran/ Last updated: 2026-06-02T09:00:36.000Z The country of Iran, especially in older or Classical sources, is often referred to as *Persia*, and its official language is likewise called *Persian*, but also called *Farsi*. Where do these words come from? Are they related? Are they interchangeable? Whatā€™s the difference? Today weā€™ll look at the many names for Iran and its language throughout history. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* Letā€™s start with the basics: *Persia* and *Iran* refer to the same country. Historical variants of both terms have been in continuous use by different peoples to refer to roughly the same historical region, empire, or country since at least c. 500 BCE. Modern Iran is, to oversimplify, the modern political and cultural descendant of the Persian Empire, now generally referred to by scholars as the **Achaemenid Empire** (550ā€“330 BCE). Iran is thus home to one of the worldā€™s oldest continuous major civilizations. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-20.png) Map of the Achaemenid Empireā€™s greatest territorial extent, achieved during the reign of Darius the Great (522ā€“486 BCE) ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Achaemenid%5FEmpire%5F500%5FBCE.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ## Persia > Greek historians even contrived a mythical son of Perseus who was said to be the ancestor of the Persians. The original Persians were a nomadic people who migrated into the region of southwestern Iran c. 1000 BCE and called themselves the *Pārsa*, a word whose origin is uncertain. The name might be related to the Sanskrit word ą¤Ŗą¤°ą„ą¤¶ą„ *Parśu*, the name of a warrior tribe, or Sanskrit ą¤Ŗą¤°ą¤¶ą„ *paraśu* ā€˜hatchet, axeā€™, or derive from Proto-Iranian \* *pĆ”rcuÅ”* ā€˜ribā€™, which in later Sanskrit could also be used to mean ā€˜the region of the ribsā€™ or, by metaphorical extension, ā€˜immediate neighborā€™. Regardless, those early Persians bequeathed their name to the area as *Persis*. That region roughly corresponds to the province of Fars in Iran today, which still bears that name in slightly modified form (the initial /p/ having changed to an /f/ā€”more on this in a bit). Those ancient Persians were speaking a dialect of a language called **Proto-Iranian** (spoken c. 1900 ā€“ c. 520 BCE), and they had migrated into the region as part of the ongoing expansion of Indo-European peoples into Central Asia and then southward into India and the Iranian Plateau. The group of Indo-Europeans that moved into Central Asia formed the **Indo-Iranian** branch of the family, which in turn split in two: the **Iranian** branch moved southwest into the Iranian plateau, while the other sub-branchā€”called **Indo-Aryan**ā€”moved into India and produced languages like Sanskrit and Hindi. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-21.png) A simplified family tree of the Indo-Iranian languages One of the southwestern dialects of Proto-Iranian would become **Old Persian** (spoken c. 600 BCE ā€“ c. 300 BCE), which appears in many inscriptions during the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire. The primary administrative language of the Achaemenid Empire was actually Aramaic (a Semitic language related to Arabic and Hebrew, and the language spoken by Jesus), but Old Persian nonetheless played an important local role. In fact, it is one of three languages (along with [Elamite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elamite%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) \[isolate\] and [Babylonian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Dialects) \[Afroasiatic > Semitic\]) in the famous **Behistun Inscription** that was instrumental to the decipherment of cuneiform. This monument is the oldest physical documentation of the Iranian languages ([Windfuhr 2009](https://www.notion.so/Windfuhr-2009-37050a282bc1817bb84fe51a523a0999?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 5). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-22.png) The Behistun Inscription ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Behistun%5FInscription%5Fin%5FPersia%5Fca.%5F520%5FBC-%5FUNESCO%5FWorld%5FHeritage%5FSite.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-23.png) Closeup of the Behistun Inscription ([Wikimedia Commons](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/34950a282bc18061b01cf94e2b832bb7?pvs=25)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-24.png) Drawing of the sections of the Behistun Inscription. ā€œCDLI RIAI 001b (Behistun Old Persian) Artifact Entry.ā€ 2012\. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). June 5, 2012\. [https://cdli.earth/P429857](https://cdli.earth/P429857?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-25.png) Tracing of the beginning of the Column I of the Old Persian section of the Behistun Inscription, with the word for ā€˜Persianā€™, šŽ±šŽ šŽ¼šŽæšŽ”šŽ¹, circumscribed in red. The text is read from left to right, top to bottom. Words are separated by the sign š, and sentences are separated by large gaps in the text. A portion of the first sentence of this section is transcribed and glossed below. Not only that, but the Old Persian word for ā€˜Persianā€™ actually appears within the first sentence of that Behistun Inscription! You can see the word circumscribed in red in the image above. The following example is a transcription and gloss of that first portion of the Old Persian section of the Behistun Inscription. ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** If any of the abbreviations or notations in this article are unfamiliar to you, check out the ā€œ[How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions)ā€ page. But if all this looks too technical/boring, you can skip it without losing the plot. 1. [Old Persian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old%5FPersian?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Indo-European > Indo-Iranian) ššŽ šŽ­šŽ¶ššŽ­šŽ šŽ¼šŽ¹šŽŗšŽ¢šššŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹ššŽŗš€šŽ¼šŽ£ššŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”\[šŽ¹ššŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹\]šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹šŽ šŽ“šŽ šŽ¶ššŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹š**šŽ±šŽ šŽ¼šŽæšŽ”šŽ¹** 1. šŽ šŽ­šŽ¶a-d-madamadam1sg;nomI 2. šŽ­šŽ šŽ¼šŽ¹šŽŗšŽ¢šd-a-r-j-v-u-ŹƒdārayavauÅ”dārayavahuā€‘Å”dariusā€‘nom;sgDarius 3. šŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹x-Źƒ-a-j-Īø-i-jxŔāyathiyaxŔāyathiyaking\[nom;sg\]king 4. šŽŗš€šŽ¼šŽ£v-z-r-kvazrakavazrakagreat\[nom;sg\]great 5. šŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹x-Źƒ-a-j-Īø-i-jxŔāyathiyaxŔāyathiyaking\[nom;sg\]king 6. šŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹šŽ šŽ“šŽ šŽ¶x-Źƒ-a-j-Īø-i-j-a-n-a-mxŔāyathiyānāmxŔāyathiyaā€‘ānāmkingā€‘gen;plof kings 7. šŽ§ššŽ šŽ¹šŽ°šŽ”šŽ¹x-Źƒ-a-j-Īø-i-jxŔāyathiyaxŔāyathiyaking\[nom;sg\]king 8. **šŽ±šŽ šŽ¼šŽæšŽ”šŽ¹** **p-a-r-s-i-j** **pārsiya** **pārsiya** **persian\[nom;m;sg\]** **Persian** ā€˜I (am) Darius, the great king, king of kings, the king of **Persia**, \[ā€¦\]ā€™ \~ The Behistun Inscription, Old Persian Panel, Column I, Lines 1ā€“2 ā„¹ļø In Old Persian cuneiform, the sign š indicates a word break. Square brackets `[ ]` in the transcription indicate portions of the inscription which were damaged but have been reconstructed from context. Parentheses `( )` in the transcription indicate partially obscured characters. We can be reasonably certain what the obscured/damaged sections say because a) they contain frequently-used formulaic constructions common in royal titularies, and b) the other languages in the inscription contain parallel translations. The pronunciation of š‚ is uncertain, but was perhaps a sibilant or affricate. By convention it is typically transcribed as āŸØƧāŸ©. For more details about Old Persian cuneiform signs and their pronunciation, see [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old%5FPersian%5Fcuneiform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Script). My presentation of this example is based in part on the transcriptions and analyses in [Schmitt 1991](https://www.notion.so/Schmitt-1991-37050a282bc181738397fa89604f383d?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and that of the [Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative](https://cdli.earth/artifacts/429857?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#cite) and [Livius.org](https://www.livius.org/sources/content/behistun-persian-text/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’ Did I spend several hours learning the basics of Old Persian writing and grammar and then transcribing and glossing the examples in this article even though theyā€™re not wholly necessary to make my point about the word **Persian* just because I think itā€™s incredibly cool and figured that you, dear reader, would likewise appreciate it? Yes. Yes I did. Feel free to show your appreciation with a paid subscription šŸ˜‰ [šŸ’ Become a supporter](#/portal/account/plans) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-26.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jyenI1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668015452?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The kingdom of Parsis even receives mention in the later parts of the Bible, namely the books of Daniel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah, where it is called פÖøÖ¼×ØÖ·×” *Pārās* in Biblical Hebrew. Moving on: Old Persian is itself the direct ancestor of the Modern Persian language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Yet surprisingly, thatā€™s not why the country is sometimes called Persiaā€”at least not directly. The ancient Iranians preferred to refer to themselves using a historical version of the word *Iranian*, whose etymology weā€™ll return to in a bit. *Persia* referred merely to the specific subgroup of Iranians located in Persis, albeit a prominent subgroup. In the Behistun Inscription, Darius the Great lists Persia as one of the twenty-three countries subject to his rule. How did the name of this one provincial kingdom rise to such prominence? It happened because Cyrus IIā€”commonly known as Cyrus the Great, conqueror of the Median Empire and founder of the Achaemenid Empireā€”was himself descended from the rulers of Parsis. Prior to his rise to power, the Greeks had referred to the region of the Iranian plateau as ĪœĪ·Ī“ĪÆĪ± *MēdĆ­a*, after the kingdom that preceded the Achaemenid Empire. This changed in the 6th century BCE when Cyrus II conquered the region, at which point the Greeks began to use terms such as Ī Ī­ĻĻƒĪ·Ļ‚ *PĆ©rsēs*, Ī ĪµĻĻƒĪ¹ĪŗĪ® *Persikįø—*, Ī ĪµĻĻƒĪÆĻ‚ *PersĆ­s* to refer to his empire. Latin in turn borrowed the name from the Greeks and called the whole empire *Persia*, the adjective form of which is *Persiānus* ā€˜Persianā€™. Darius I (Darius the Great), the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, even claimed ancestry from that original Persian lineage in order to legitimize his rule, despite there being no historical evidence for the claim. For Darius, leaning into the label ā€œPersianā€ was a politically savvy move, and so the term became associated with the Achaemenid Empire, which was at its greatest extent under his rule. Dariusā€™ son Xerxes I (of [*300*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300%5F%28film%29?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) film fame) likewise co-opted the name ā€œPersianā€ to political effect. It so happened that in Greek mythology there was a figure named Perseus, who was the paramount Greek hero and slayer of monsters before Heracles / Hercules. The Greeks noticed the similarity between the words Ī ĪµĻĻƒĪµĻĻ‚ *PerseĆŗs* ā€˜Perseusā€™ and Ī Ī­ĻĻƒĪ·Ļ‚ *PĆ©rsēs* ā€˜Persianā€™, and assumed a linguistic connectionā€”a **folk etymology**. Greek historians even contrived a mythical son of Perseus who was said to be the ancestor of the Persians. Xerxes was apparently aware of this myth, and tried to exploit this putative connection between the Persians and the Greeks to secure neutrality from the Argives during his invasion of Greece. ## Farsi In any case, it is because of the prominence of the Persian royal line that the West has generally referred to the Iranian plateau region using some form of the word *Persia* up until today. Multiple empires throughout history have thus been named the ā€œPersian Empireā€: first the Achaemenid Empire, then (after a brief interruption by Alexander the Great) the Parthian Empire, and lastly the Sasanian Empire. The Sasanian Empire in particular was a conscious revival of the Persian label. But between 633 and 651 CE, the Sasanian Empire fell to the Muslim conquests, which introduced a strong Arabic influence to the region. Since Arabic lacks a /p/ phoneme, Arabic speakers used the closest sound availableā€”/f/ā€”to pronounce the name of the region and language instead. Thus the name became ŁŲ§Ų±Ų³ŪŒ *Fārsi* in Persian. The Anglosphere didnā€™t start using this word as the name of the language, *Farsi*, until the late 1960s or early 1970s ([Spooner 1994](https://www.notion.so/Spooner-1994-37050a282bc1815fb7e4e8436fc64fd4?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 176). However, the Academy of Persian Language & Literature as well as scholars in general prefer the term *Persian* to refer to the language in English. Thus *Persian* is the preferred exonym (the name of the language used by outsiders, i.e. the West) and *Farsi* is the preferred autonym/endonym (the name of the language within the language itself). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-27.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781639732586?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Iran The endonym for the *people* and *country* of Iran, however, has always been some form of the word *Iran* (Modern Persian Ų§ŪŒŲ±Ų§Ł† *ÄŖrān*). The original Proto-Indo-Iranian root was \* *Ɓryas*, whose meaning is uncertain. Proposals include connections to words meaning ā€˜fitting, properā€™, ā€˜unitedā€™, ā€˜born, nurturingā€™, and ā€˜companionableā€™ ([Wiktionary: Reconstruction: Ɓryas](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/%C3%81ryas?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Regardless of its original meaning, in short order the word came to serve as the autonym for the Indo-Iranian peoples and later the Iranian peoples more specifically. In fact, it too pops up in the Behistun Inscription! 1. [Old Persian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old%5FPersian?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Indo-European > Indo-Iranian) ššŽŗššŽ“šŽ ššŽ šŽ¢šŽ¼šŽ¶š€šŽ­šŽ šƒššŽ”šŽ¶ššŽ®šŽ”šŽ±šŽ”(šŽØ)šŽ”(š‚šŽ¶š)šŽ«šŽ¹ššŽ šŽ­šŽ¶ššŽ šŽ¤šŽ¢šŽ“šŽŗšŽ¶ššŽ±šŽ«šŽ”ššŽ¶š**šŽ šŽ¼šŽ”šŽ¹šŽ **š 1. šŽŗššŽ“šŽ v-Źƒ-n-avaÅ”nāvaÅ”nāā€‘āwillā€‘instr;sgby the will 2. šŽ šŽ¢šŽ¼šŽ¶š€šŽ­šŽ šƒa-u-r-m-z-d-a-hauramazdāhaauramazdāā€‘haahuramazdaā€‘gen;sgof Ahuramazda 3. šŽ”šŽ¶i-mimaimathis\[nom;n;sg\]this 4. šŽ®šŽ”šŽ±šŽ”šŽØšŽ”š‚šŽ¶di-i-p-i-c-i-Ƨ-mdipiƧamdipi=Ƨaā€‘minscription=addā€‘acc;sginscription also 5. šŽ«šŽ¹t-ytayatayarel\[nom;n;sg\]which 6. šŽ šŽ­šŽ¶a-d-madamadam1sg;nomI 7. šŽ šŽ¤šŽ¢šŽ“šŽŗšŽ¶a-ku-u-n-v-makunavamaā€‘kunavaā€‘mpastā€‘makeā€‘1sg;actI made 8. šŽ±šŽ«šŽ”ššŽ¶p-t-i-Źƒ-mpatiÅ”ampati=Å”amfurther=disc.addmoreover 9. **šŽ šŽ¼šŽ”šŽ¹šŽ ** **a-r-i-y-a** **ariyā** **ariya**ā€‘iyā**aryan**ā€‘loc;sgin **Aryan** ā€˜By the grace of Ahuramazda this is the inscription which I have made, moreover, in **Aryan**.ā€™ \~ The Behistun Inscription, Old Persian Panel, Column IV, Lines 88ā€“92 One especially neat feature of this example is that Darius goes out of his way to state that he wrote this inscription in the Aryan (i.e. Iranian) language. This was worth mentioning to him because all evidence suggests that Darius invented Old Persian cuneiform specifically for the Behistun Inscription! Even though cuneiform itself had been around for centuries, remember that Old Persian at the time was merely a regional language, not a dominant language of empire. If the government needed to write to its citizens, it typically did so in Aramaic. This is likely why the Old Persian script is unique among cuneiform scripts in how it works. It has only a small set of signs: 3 vowel signs, 33 syllable signs (which can also be used as standalone consonants), 8 ideograms/logograms, numerals, and a word separator š. | | āˆ… | k | x | g | tĶ”Źƒ | tĶ”s | dĶ”Ź’ | t | Īø | d | p | f | b | n | m | j | v | r | l | s | z | Źƒ | h | | -------- | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- | --- | --- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | a(Ė) / āˆ… | šŽ  | šŽ£ | šŽ§ | šŽ„ | šŽØ | š‚ | šŽ© | šŽ« | šŽ° | šŽ­ | šŽ± | šŽ³ | šŽ² | šŽ“ | šŽ¶ | šŽ¹ | šŽŗ | šŽ¼ | šŽ¾ | šŽæ | š€ | š | šƒ | | i(Ė) | šŽ” | | | | | | šŽŖ | | | šŽ® | | | | | šŽ· | | šŽ» | | | | | | | | u(Ė) | šŽ¢ | šŽ¤ | | šŽ¦ | | | | šŽ¬ | | šŽÆ | | | | šŽµ | šŽø | | | šŽ½ | | | | | | *(Hereā€™s a cleaner version of this table* ā¬‡ļø*)* [Old Persian Cuneiform | Created with DatawrapperCreate interactive, responsive & beautiful charts ā€” no code required.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/faviconV2-3cca0bd793b8a9e6c65205e0e1b07902b2a39fe42a874e83319fb083676ff981)Create charts and maps with Datawrapper![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/plain-s-62540339c998704cc318452b30cf058c1f2d390ca3ff364d965627d1523a0a7d.png)](https://www.datawrapper.de/%5F/BQCHo/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Akkadian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Afroasiatic > Semitic) cuneiform, by contrast, had over 1,000 signs, some of them representing sounds, but many of them representing words or grammatical affixes. It thus seems likely that Darius adapted cuneiform to Old Persian, which up until that point didnā€™t have an established set of writing conventions. ([Windfuhr 2009](https://www.notion.so/Windfuhr-2009-37050a282bc1817bb84fe51a523a0999?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 46ā€“47). *Want to learn more about the invention of cuneiform and how languages can borrow writing systems from each other? Check out this issue of the newsletter:* [From counting to cuneiform: How writing was inventedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/proto-cuneiform-accounting-tablet-3bffb32d1f37146a3946173b2d366aeb75e6a24f47d0661a0c66aad43d758cdb.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) ## Aryan You probably also noticed in the above example that the word *ariyā* is glossed as ā€˜Aryanā€™ rather than ā€˜Iranianā€™. Thatā€™s because *Aryan* is the Anglicized version of the word the early Iranians used to describe themselves, *ariya*. By the time of Middle Persian (c. 4th century BCE ā€“ 7th century CE), the pronunciation of the word had shifted to š­ š­©š­„š­ š­­ *Ź¾Ä“rān* ā€˜of the Iraniansā€™ (consisting of the stem \*ērā€‘\*ā  ā€˜Iranianā€™ + the oblique plural suffix *ā€‘ān* ā€˜of, pertaining toā€™). In Classical Persian (c. 10th ā€“ 12th centuries) it became Ų§ŪŒŲ±Ų§Ł† *Ērān* ā€˜(land) of the Iraniansā€™, and in Modern Persian it became Ų§ŪŒŲ±Ų§Ł† *ÄŖrān*, which is where English gets the name of the country today, *Iran*. Thus, *Iran* and *Aryan* are etymologically related. How then did the term *Aryan* come to be associated with the vile scientific racism of Nazi Germany? In the mid-1850s, linguists believed that Sanskrit was the oldest Indo-European language. And because Sanskrit, like Old Persian, also had a version of the word *Aryan* (ą¤†ą¤°ą„ą¤Æ *āĢrya*), linguists at the time quite reasonably surmised that the original Indo-Europeans probably referred to themselves with the self-designation *Aryan*. So it became common to refer to the original Indo-Europeans as the ā€œAryansā€. German philologist Max MĆ¼ller (1823ā€“1900) even formally proposed that the term *Aryan* be used as the scientific name for the common ancestor of Latin, Sanskrit, Greek, Germanic, and Celticā€”what we today call Proto-Indo-European. It was around the same time that French diplomat and writer Arthur de Gobineau alleged that the ā€œAryan raceā€ (i.e. the Indo-Europeans) were a superior kind of human, laying the foundation for the Nazi racial theories of the 1920s. Today we know that Sanskrit is not in fact the oldest Indo-European language. Moreover, thereā€™s no strong evidence that Proto-Indo-European even had a word corresponding to Proto-Indo-Iranian \* *Ɓryas*. That word can only be reconstructed as far back as the Indo-Iranian branch. And while the branch of Indo-European containing the languages of India is still called Indo-Aryan (because those people did in fact refer to themselves using a form of the word *Aryan*, as we have seen), sometimes it is simply called *Indic*. Overall, the term *Aryan* has understandably fallen out of general use in academia due to its strong association with the Nazi party. ## What should you call Iran? In keeping with a tradition extending back to the Ancient Greeks and their wars with the Achaemenid Empire, the West has long referred to the country of Iran using some form of the word *Persia*. That all changed in 1935 when Reza Shah Pahlavi officially requested that other countries begin using the endonym *Iran* to refer to the country. Western countries did so obligingly, reserving the use of the word *Persia* for historical contexts. But this decision was reversed in 1959 by the last Iranian Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. However, the decision stated that it was appropriate to use *either* *Persia* or *Iran*, so most of the world simply continued to refer to the country as they had been doing for the previous quarter centuryā€”*Iran*ā€”and thatā€™s where the situation still stands today. The modern country is typically called *Iran*, but in historical contexts youā€™ll often see it referred to as *Persia*. I hope, however, that this article has given you some historical and linguistic context for precisely *why* both names exist and how they are used today. If I succeeded in that goal, do consider sharing this article with others so that they can learn too! Just click the share button at the top of this page. Thanks for reading! ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-28.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780500028636?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-29.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780691148182?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-30.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - PalmĆ©r, Axel I. 2025\. The archaeology and genetics of Indo-Iranian prehistory. In *Indo-slavic lexical isoglosses and the prehistoric dispersal of Indo-Iranian* (Leiden Studies in Indo-European 26). Brill. [https://brill.com/view/title/72253](https://brill.com/view/title/72253?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). (30 May, 2026). - Schmitt, RĆ¼diger. 1991\. *The Bisitun Inscriptions of Darius the Great: Old Persian Text* (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, Part I: Inscriptions of Ancient Iran, Vol. 1: The Old Persian Inscriptions: Texts I). Vol. 1\. London: School of Oriental & African Studies. - Spooner, Brian. 1994\. Are we teaching Persian? Or Farsi? Or Dari? Or Tojiki? In Mehdi Marashi (ed.), *Persian studies in North America: Studies in honor of Mohammad Ali Jazayery*. Iran Books. - Windfuhr, Gernot. 2009\. Dialectology and topics. In Gernot Windfuhr (ed.), *The Iranian languages* (Routledge Language Family Series). Routledge. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### When words look like their meaning, we process them faster URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-21/ Last updated: 2026-05-31T00:54:01.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Joining Phi Beta Kappa, the United Statesā€™ oldest academic honor society ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-12.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-13.png) Me being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa by Prof. George Greenia at the College of William & Mary last week Last week I was incredibly honored to be inducted as an alumnus into Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), the nationā€™s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary (my alma mater), PBK celebrates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and champions freedom of thought and the value of liberal arts and sciences education. PBKā€™s motto is: > Love of learning is the guide to life. In line with this sentiment, I was nominated by George Greenia, Professor Emeritus of Medieval & Renaissance Studies, as well as several faculty in the Department of Linguistics, for my public scholarship in linguistics. I am truly humbled, to say the least, and excited to continue contributing to lifelong learning about linguistics for the general public. You can learn more about Phi Beta Kappa at their website: [Phi Beta KappaAs Americaā€™s most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa has celebrated excellence in the liberal arts & sciences and championed free thought since 1776.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-06-hover@2x-ed6cbf23cb456ba45d875c675758fed6f9f06b350cced01b60f7fcf234b3f08c.png)Phi Beta Kappa![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/PBK-NEW-TwitterCard-a06d65193be3c8c96956fc2a8a44a3e1c61232941f1248c6b4b758c28912bfcb.png)](https://www.pbk.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### šŸŽ Now you can buy gift subscriptions! The Linguistic Discovery website now allows you to buy gift subscriptions! Itā€™s a great way to give the language lover in your life something fun and interesting that will change the way they think about language! Purchase a subscription here: [šŸŽ Gift a subscription!](#/portal/gift) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸ³ļøā€šŸŒˆšŸ³ļøā€āš§ļø Lavender Linguistics: Learning to live out loud ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1209.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_2821.JPEG) Me giving the commencement talk at the Lavender Celebration at the College of William & Mary In addition to giving the commencement talk for the linguistics department at the College of William & Mary in Virginia (my alma mater) last week, I was also asked to give the keynote for this yearā€™s Lavender Celebration, a graduation ceremony honoring and recognizing LGBTQ+ graduates of the university. This weekā€™s issue of the newsletter is a transcript of that speech. In it, I teach the kiddos about Polari and the history of queer language. [Lavender Linguistics: Learning to live out loudOn Polari and the history of queer language![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-cd9ec3ee32768bc6d3812f35b8c975f4295ca3e8d2e73abd134ad6fcfd38bf4c.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/lavender-celebration/) ### Etymology: *azure* ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-14-1.png) [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsThe color ā€œazureā€ takes its name from the Persian word ā€œlazwardā€. The initial /l/ disappeared because English borrowed the word from French, where speakers mistook the /l/ for the contracted definite article ā€œlā€™ (le)ā€. Yet you can still see the /l/ in the Latin term ā€œlapis lazuliā€, literally ā€˜stone of azureā€™. #etymology #linguistics #language![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Threads![](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s640x640_tt6&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InByb2ZpbGVfcGljLmRqYW5nby4xMDgwLmMyIn0&_nc_ht=scontent.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=108&_nc_oc=Q6cZ2gH9PYqWLTwq-jQxoko4MB7jMz5Vqp5_nXLorZ9eZ_yZuG4Ize7cV5M9eix3lr4A7UI&_nc_ohc=-oqbaOnVvQsQ7kNvwGACquw&_nc_gid=MvhciXqXeg3AmJYlZZGHdQ&edm=APs17CUBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oh=00_Af4vS8v0LsyJA9SVFKOvc2qHhJfgzRclqqBxfq-bMSKfbw&oe=6A1BAA34&_nc_sid=10d13b)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DYxKxDsDpzu?xmt=AQG0vSmjWOfPqc%5FcZGZHWZJPob-OAc51Uj-0lRocvA1Z2Tc&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Mapping Rhode Islandā€™s linguistic diversity ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-15.png) A new research project at the University of Rhode Island seeks to map Rhode Islandā€™s linguistic diversity: [New linguistic professor putting Rhode Island on the language mapKINGSTON, R.I. ā€“ April 29, 2026 ā€“ Moving from Texas to Rhode Island, a new faculty member in the University of Rhode Islandā€™s College of Education says Rhode Islandā€™s language diversity extends far beyond the stateā€™s diminutive size. The lead author of a new article examining the linguistic landscapes in Rhode Island and along the \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-448e08a3b7da2feabf387de2f6880b7dd2802ada39c25ca490e55e03d8820cee.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/preferred-RI-lang-map-9fcd4134e2aaf6400db57b54b50aff57f12d532642647b761d04f0ad444ee169.jpg)](https://www.uri.edu/news/2026/04/new-linguistic-professor-putting-rhode-island-on-the-language-map/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### When words look like their meaning, we process them faster Sometimes written words look vaguely like the thing they represent: *bed* looks kind of like a bed; *blizzard* looks somewhat chaotic. This is called **iconicity**, and new research suggests that the more iconic a written word is, the faster we process it when reading. [When words look like their meaning, we process them faster, new research revealsBubble, hoop, wiggle, bed: Some words bear an uncanny resemblance to the shape of the object or action they describe. And we tend to process them faster.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The ConversationDavid Sidhu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260512-57-irpec1-19b26a5580879c0f2299c6ceb3654912b9f28dd7938405f117fb512cbe11e1f7.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/when-words-look-like-their-meaning-we-process-them-faster-new-research-reveals-282228?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Sidhu. 2026\. The word ā€œbedā€ looks like a bed: Orthographic iconicity in English. *Cognition* 274: 106550\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106550](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106550?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* A member of Canadaā€™s Mohawk community devised a new method to teach their highly endangered language, with glowing success. The article describes the method as the ā€œRosetta Stoneā€ for endangered languages, which is funny for me because I actually helped make the Rosetta Stone language learning software for Mohawk back in the late 00ā€™s! Other reads I came across this week: [Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to a Eurovision Song Contest that embraces linguistic diversityEnglish has long dominated pop music, but it no longer reigns supreme at the Eurovision Song Contest.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-23573dba0752d2357dbff63e4d0d17a3d4c25073b3c0744adcc8e705f25b7f2f.png)AP NewsJill Lawless![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-e41c72e7f189a33a3444f771fa431b10459ab4975ab08cf801bf80cb4b921ef9)](https://apnews.com/article/eurovision-song-contest-languages-e666a561598d8fe4a2242960b92b65d3?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [It takes a body to understand the world ā€“ why ChatGPT and other language AIs donā€™t know what theyā€™re sayingLarge language models canā€™t understand language the way humans do because they canā€™t perceive and make sense of the world.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The ConversationArthur Glenberg![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230405-26-gjfzk5-c9cf813356bd200df52715755cc966fa091df7704e601e363795dbeb5c587772.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-body-to-understand-the-world-why-chatgpt-and-other-language-ais-dont-know-what-theyre-saying-201280?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Rongorongo script: Easter Islandā€™s indecipherable enigmaThe lost writing system from the worldā€™s most remote civilisation![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-c9696b80065084321442a0fcf3c51bef6ccf24adf0240f5d94f08ba97271e7c5.svg)World PoliticsWorld Politics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F7ea805c8-b6fc-4e75-a5a0-9f6a552d6f23_1368x570-9497809ec6db4f34e12ff14420a40a5e71fdd9fdb53633c81c40b0aca3b016a8.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/worldpolitics/p/rongorongo-script-easter-island) [What Language Is Spoken in the Philippines? - Rosetta StoneDo you know what language is spoken in the Philippines? There are more than you think! Discover the most important languages of the Philippines.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneAlexa Bevan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/what-language-is-spoken-in-the-philippines_2407455557-1-23f6a0f58673651c8215fb1daba79cedd5412733425eadd3029634c4d1151a1f.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-language-is-spoken-in-the-philippines/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Why Q needs U*ā€”U.S. edition! ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-17.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Danny Bateā€™s excellent book, *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), was such a sensation across the pond in the UK that the publisher decided to release a US edition as well! So now you can procure a copy of the book from US sellers: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s the description from the publisher: > Why does W sound like ā€œdouble Uā€? > > What has the letter Q got to do with monkeys? > > Why are the two Cā€™s in circus pronounced differently? > > Whatā€™s the point of the second N in the authorā€™s first name, *Danny*? > > And why does Q need to be followed by U? > > *Every letter youā€™re reading right now has a fascinating story to tell, having been on a long linguistic, historical, political and social journey.* > > In *Why Q Needs U*, linguist Danny Bate takes readers on a fascinating odyssey through the English alphabet, diving into history, archaeology, politics and linguistics to discover where we get our writing from. Sharing fun facts and revealing the alphabetā€™s hidden mechanisms, he explains where we get our letters from and why the English language uses them so strangely, including:why a silent final E turns *hop* into *hope*how five English letters come from a single graphic grandparentwhy there is an L in *salmon* and a K in *know*how we may know the specific person who invented the letter Gwhy Z is the sixth letter for the Greeks, yet the last letter for us > > Explaining - and defending - the peculiar way English today uses our ancient letters, Bateā€™s witty and entertaining book will help readers spot connections in languages across the world and inspire a newfound sense of wonder for the letters we use every day. If you want to read a more extensive excerpt, author Danny Bate kindly contributed a guest post to the Linguistic Discovery newsletter which you can read here: [Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely?A new book takes us on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-db94d6e3162c2df741eca04ef98a016ab7d5f311bc4899521e2585b857f61753.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-q-needs-u/) ### *Beyond words: How we learn, use, and lose language* This new book on how children learn language comes out next week! ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4uwDelt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-18.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4uwDelt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! This is accurate I fear ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-19.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Lavender Linguistics: Learning to live out loud URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/lavender-celebration/ Last updated: 2026-05-26T09:00:01.000Z ā„¹ļø This is a lightly-edited transcript of the commencement speech I gave at the Lavender Celebration last week at the College of William & Mary in Virginia (my alma mater) about Polari and the history of queer language. The Lavender Celebration honors and recognizes LGBTQ+ graduates of the university. > Polari reminds us that queer history is full of brilliance under pressureā€”people building a life in the margins with nothing but wit, nerve, good humor, and each other. Iā€™m a linguist, and if you donā€™t know, linguistics is pretty gay. While thereā€™s nothing inherent about the scientific study of language that makes it queer, nonetheless the discipline has a strong tendency to attract queer practitioners to the field. As best I can tell (and stats are hard to come by on this), members of the queer community are overrepresented in linguistics as compared to both the general population and the rest of academia ([Armstrong & Sullivan 2024](https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2024.2369922?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). So I think itā€™s pretty fair to call linguistics the ā€œgay scienceā€. Now, I have a theory about why this is. For many of us growing up, because our sexuality or gender expression set us apart from our peers, we were conscious about the fact that something was different about us. Even for those of us lucky enough to grow up in a supportive environment, that can be a real cause for anxiety. Many members of our community have been understandably afraid to present that side of themselves to the world. That causes us to be hyper-aware of how we present ourselves to others. Of course, one of the most salient ways that we construct our identities for others is through how we talk. As a result, many of us from a very early age were acutely aware of the social connotations of different ways of speaking. Many of us have a ā€œstraight voiceā€ that we shift into in situations where we donā€™t want to highlight our queer identities, when we want to ā€œpassā€ as straight or cisgender. In linguistics this is called **style shifting** (or sometimes **code-switching** when the term is being used loosely). My theory is that the necessity of style shifting has made us as a community more linguistically aware on the whole. So itā€™s no surprise that many of us would wind up in the field of linguistics, because weā€™ve had to be aware of these language dynamics from an early age. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* Now, generally speaking, new linguistic trends tend to start among young females, and propagate out to other demographics. Young women are at the leading edge of linguistic innovation. But one of the other groups thatā€™s often right there with them is the queer community. We pick up on the linguistic strategies that are the most socially successful. This is one of the reasons that so many people think that gay men in particular ā€œsound feminineā€. (That said, I donā€™t want to oversimplify this. The idea of a ā€œgay voiceā€ is a very complex issue, and linguists are still sorting out what exactly makes someone ā€œsound gayā€. We know it varies from community to community and language to language. Nonetheless this does seem to be one of the contributing factors.) Attentiveness to language in the queer community as a tool for identity-building is hardly a new phenomenon either. As early as the 1850s we have documentation of a secret language used by gay subculture in the United Kingdom called **Polari**. Polari itself has roots stretching back to the language of traveling shows and menageries in the 1600s. It contains a mixture of words from Italian, [Mediterranean Lingua Franca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean%5FLingua%5FFranca?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Romani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Yiddish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [rhyming slang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyming%5Fslang?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), sailorsā€™ slang, and [thievesā€™ cant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thieves%27%5Fcant?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€”basically the whole range of alt subcultures. Itā€™s largely because of Polari that gay men have the tradition of inverting grammatical genders (calling males *she/her*), used both as a form of endearment and to protect the identities of the people being discussed. Some words that come from Polari include: - *zhuzh* ā€˜smarten up, stylizeā€™ - *(rough) trade* ā€˜working class / tough-looking sex partnerā€™ - *naff* ā€˜bad, drab/dull, tacky/vile, heteroā€™ - *camp* ā€˜effeminate, absurdly exaggeratedā€™ - *butch* ā€˜masculine; masculine lesbianā€™ - *fruit* ā€˜gay manā€™ - *hoof (it)* ā€˜walk, danceā€™ - *ogle* ā€˜look admiringlyā€™ - *drag* ā€˜entertainmentā€™ Polari reminds us that queer history is full of brilliance under pressureā€”people building a life in the margins with nothing but wit, nerve, good humor, and each other. The queer community has been using language as a tool for cautiously navigating our place in societyā€”and gleefully celebrating our wonderful communityā€”for centuries. Nowadays, Polari is severely endangered, which is sad for me as a linguist, but perhaps a great sign for our community as a whole. The words which do survive have seen broad uptake by the rest of society, which is a testament to the degree queer culture has become not just accepted but sometimes even valorized. Words which even a decade ago were unique to the lexicon of gay subculture are now common parlance. (I never would have imagined that Iā€™d hear the word *twink* thrown around casually on TikTok, for exampleā€”itā€™s a useful word, I guess? šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™‚ļø) Today thereā€™s less of a need for secret argots and style shifting. Our linguistic prowess has shifted from a once-imperative defense mechanism to a robust strength that helps us thrive in the social world. Many of us are fortunate to go through this same shift over the course of our individual lives too. When we were young we had to be circumspect in our language just to get through the day. As we age and come to accept ourselves and find acceptance from others, we no longer feel the need to accommodate the linguistic preferences of others. But I donā€™t want the lesson here to be ā€œwe donā€™t need queer language anymoreā€. In fact, even though weā€™re still tuned in to everything our language signals socially, we nonetheless often choose to flout linguistic norms and embrace queer language in a joyous celebration of our differences. Our very ability to flout those norms is in fact what demonstrates our mastery of them. Instead, my hope for you is that you continue to use queer language in the way itā€™s always been used: for recognition, community, safety, and joy. As you go forward from here, keep using language in a way that invites others to exist out loud with you. Congratulations, Class of 2026! ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-9.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4phmcFm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781789142945?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-10.png) [Amazon](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/35e50a282bc1800e9a57e35c1a4b1461?pvs=25) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780826473431?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Homophones, plurals, and language ā€œrulescucksā€ are roiling prediction markets URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-20/ Last updated: 2026-05-23T09:00:30.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! This weekā€™s issue is shorter than usual because I was traveling last week and havenā€™t had a chance to catch up on the latest news yet. So Iā€™ve given you some extra reading material in the **This Weekā€™s Reads** section instead. Enjoy! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### The curse of knowledge (and what to do about it) ![Photograph of the yard of the Sir Christopher Wren building, shaded by ancient oak trees, at the College of William & Mary in Virginia](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-5.png) Last week I traveled to Williamsburg, VA to give the commencement speech for the linguistics department at the College of William & Mary (my alma mater). Since my remarks are (hopefully) useful for a broader audience, I thought Iā€™d write up the transcript and share it here as well. I also include a list of resources on careers in linguistics at the end of the article. If youā€™re majoring in linguistics or have a linguistics student in your life, be sure to send this their way! [The curse of knowledge (and what to do about it)Inspiring words for linguistics majors![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-1681c867e25a692aa718755e73a207f4dc7d45e2e8704f2c0603fa32432c01e0.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/mateus-campos-felipe-YYjyJJz2R9w-unsplash-624df9d47cedd9acbf41c4c33d6e9b3a1883e576a5c636324bbae8da44f156fc.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/linguistics-commencement/) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* Hereā€™s a little tidbit about the history of the letters āŸØIāŸ© and āŸØJāŸ©: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-6.png) [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsIn Classical Latin, the letter āŸØIāŸ© was used for both the /i/ sound (a vowel) and the /j/ sound (the consonant version of that vowel). The letter āŸØJāŸ© developed as a variant of āŸØIāŸ©. At first the two were used interchangeably as versions of the same letter, but by the 1600s they had become distinct letters representing distinct sounds.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Q7LVlwLasp7-444a3f7101c50ef6a081e06c5ca3cca87419daa50cbf5457b52c30364c0c5dd7.webp)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n-f60f454fcee7f51047802c8a0e67a9a9d8d1fce6eea81ccbef4744472d975c17.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DYKi18dFQGG?xmt=AQG0u7Rr8n2GF207nkeSaV4-iDfdW5eNawD9lA2G5wl8Kg4&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Language is hardā€”who knew? [Homophones, Plurals and Language ā€˜Rulescucksā€™ Are Roiling Prediction MarketsBets decided on linguistic technicalities are exposing how hard it is to turn language into a binary market with payouts hinging on a single word.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-black-fd1ace0f3033ff036069e86ffec8806531ed3465ccb7d16d27dea0f6d368cbbb.png)BloombergChristopher Beam![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1200x800-96e2bd2baf5f862e69c4982460f27b28c986498ff4a367d91aa8a3097c8d6e0a.jpg)](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-27/kalshi-faces-growing-problem-with-grammar-language-disputes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) When people share a space, their collective experience can sprout its own vocabulary, known as a **familect**: [Why We Speak More Weirdly at HomeWhen people share a space, their collective experience can sprout its own vocabulary, known as a ā€œfamilect.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-152x152-aafde20dd981a38fcd549b29b2b3b785-be51ae18a8eef2024d43939444d387d010b94cb958609dfe265de46cee3fbaa3.png)The AtlanticKathryn Hymes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/original-b66eeabd9e5e42a7b0173e98cf993209bfde907573fe5b004a46b970c86ad4b7.jpg)](https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/05/family-secret-language-familect/618871/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) More and more Ukrainians are switching from speaking Russian to Ukrainian, but this trend long predates the Russian invasion of Ukraine: [In Russiaā€™s war against Ukraine, one of the battlegrounds is language itselfThe language question in Ukraine goes back centuries. It is deeply rooted in the history of old empires and Ukraineā€™s position as the borderland between the West and the East.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-a4074fe64088333be2dc9f27a9f30d3bdc58934796b0a9a73732d4925effa40c.png)The ConversationOlga Maxwell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230324-14-nr74wu-06814159b921a99fa0f89f812bb91e8fc3b3cc00a59e5991ca2288c9b2273e81.JPG)](https://theconversation.com/in-russias-war-against-ukraine-one-of-the-battlegrounds-is-language-itself-201170?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) How English got its newest consonant, /Ź’/: [Meet Englishā€™s Newest ConsonantThe slow emergence of a new sound in English speech, and what it evens means to be a sound ā€˜of a languageā€™.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F1f1fc5e2-6f7e-4fd2-abc4-fe78ebd59cc2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-07457e1b7f70e1b5e734c3ac54cf24c14bce960c3a4152593897ceaa11bb68fa.png)Danny Bate, Wanderer in Language HistoryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Ffea10887-2a0c-4ac4-90f2-27edb22f7f12_447x464-128a0392f7a9f6c1f23495ea065c745c3e0e53990428c93ae197ee3ac7ffb1c9.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/meet-englishs-newest-consonant) Colin Gorrieā€™s party trick is guessing the etymology of any word: [A blufferā€™s guide to etymologyHow to guess the age and origin of any English word![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-9bfed3105a3ac99d9895e35214771940f6991bde9a2797a1e2aa84ecbedacf31.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F3f50bd9a-6929-4f73-9391-ea0363877a96_1600x1151-6e789bd2137f8e2663e8bd920a4cafa0d4d3083b3987f775a9557caa04303aa1.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/how-to-guess-etymology-of-english-words) More reads for this week: - [Why judges use dictionaries and grammars](https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2023/05/01/why-judges-use-dictionaries-and-grammars/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*National Review*) - [Do birds have language?](https://bigthink.com/life/birds-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Big Think*) - [Can AI help humans talk to animals? Scientists say weā€™re getting closer to decoding their communication](https://www.miamiherald.com/living/article315447873.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Miami Herald*) [What Language Do They Speak in India? - Rosetta StoneWhat language do they speak in India? Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi are just three of hundreds to discover from Indiaā€™s diverse linguistic landscape.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-553c237d94c5a030830c0a58a97701bbf7c4fd685cb8320d2cfa387c082fa875.png)Rosetta StoneVerity Marques![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/what-language-do-they-speak-in-india_2406630265-1-598b03898cda1fcfb7494237c65c277590a00d5f84abbcd82bd201419c87f1f4.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-language-do-they-speak-in-india/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How to invent a realistic language for fictional speakersLinguists can mix, match or even break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting imaginary ones.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-1068f0343c50456f766ed99896128d6f65ecab70c7133c6173ff0c0316c69a0d.jpg)Science NewsMaria Temming![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/0526_conlang_feat-960c6b6f52c1db88508efe0f069ae0587ece3b2547fe779c4d6b197e3ad81e49.jpg)](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/conlang-fictional-languages-linguistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *How to kill a language* Hereā€™s a review of Sophia Smith Galerā€™s new book, *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): [Why the worldā€™s languages are vanishing one by oneFrom Ladino to Emilian, thousands of dialects and languages are under threat. Can they be saved?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-a75f2c7dfb88d6e1d0107dccc9ae87e0a59e5d8bb3fe45dd84cad1e3c4ed3edf.png)The TelegraphTim Smith-Laing![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/TELEMMGLPICT000480584204_17770326617124_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqykaruO2pLpHCTCcabh-5P0jw4HyAgZshkSZZmbTdJ7Y-43cb9de19df4572ee998d4edd0e2c72c8cfaf7d4b9e464a4f5cb7530dd3aca67.jpeg)](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/how-to-kill-language-sophia-smith-galer-review/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-7.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *True color: The strange and spectacular quest to define colorā€”from azure to zinc pink* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_0618.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_0617.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_0616.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_0614.JPEG) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/488jLhN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781524733032?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Kory Stamper, author of *Word by word: The secret life of dictionaries* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4j8t3yi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781101970263?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), has a new book out! *True color: The strange and spectacular quest to define colorā€”from azure to zinc pink* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/488jLhN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781524733032?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > **begonia (n.): 3 -s :** > > a deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral (see coral 3b), bluer than fiesta, and bluer and stronger than sweet william ā€” called also gaiety > > What could ā€œbluer than fiestaā€ possibly mean? While editing dictionaries for Merriam-Webster, Kory Stamper found herself drawn again and again to the whimsical color definitions in *Websterā€™s Third New International Dictionary*ā€”especially when compared to the dry and impersonal entries that filled the rest of the volume. Stamper couldnā€™t help but wonder: Who was the voice behind these peculiar definitions? > > Meet I. H. Godlove, an erratic but brilliant up-and-coming scientist who was one of the experts Merriam-Webster hired in 1930 to help revise the dictionary to reflect a rapidly modernizing world. His fascinating life mirrors the wild and winding journey that color science, color psychology, and color production took through the twentieth century. Stamper tracks these industries as they move into the atomic age and intertwine in strange and surprising ways, spanning two world wars and involving chemical explosions, an unexpected suicide, dramatic office politics, and an extraordinary love story. > > Filled with captivating facts about color words and colors themselvesā€”did you know that the word ā€œpukeā€ used to refer to a fashionable shade of reddish-brown before it was associated with vomit?ā€”and fueled by Stamperā€™s inexhaustible curiosity, *True Color* will transform the way you see the world, from black-and-white to Technicolor. Order your copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/488jLhN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781524733032?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Check out all the words that derive from Proto-Indo-European \* *(s)ker-* ā€˜to cutā€™ in this infographic from Starkey Comics: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-8.png) I always think itā€™s cool how *skirt* and *shirt* are related. Also, I canā€™t resist noting one word that Ryan omitted from this infographic: *shit*! [Search ā€˜shitā€™ on etymonlineSearch results for ā€˜shitā€™ on etymonline![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-8292ba67631d065f1b840e8ef0189dbc8f39189b975325657fc0383507822d56.ico)etymonline![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/app-icon-medium-858f135c57575a6ddf41dd4757d8052ea9e55cfcc5454b2dba303bb3cd19b804.png)](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=shit&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) More details at [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/2023/04/02/etymological-tree-of-sker/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): [Etymological Tree of Sker - Starkey ComicsI started making an image showing how ā€œskirtā€ and ā€œshirtā€ are from the same origin, but got a bit carried away with all the other words also related. So here are 23 English words all from the Proto-Indo-European word ā€œ\*(s)ker-ā€ (ā€˜to cutā€™). As a general rule: if a PIE word started with ā€œskā€, and it \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Logo-jpg-4-1-5ebe1248ecde09ef10be2a9d28d69f9d916aa757c3ac4860ca6f0fba1bfbb830.jpg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-20-1024x1024-5a4c969586f6b968e9d280d08cb8d2f1ca611098a8866550848597e5a721e81e.png)](https://starkeycomics.com/2023/04/02/etymological-tree-of-sker/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The curse of knowledge (and what to do about it) URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/linguistics-commencement/ Last updated: 2026-05-21T09:00:32.000Z ā„¹ļø This is a slightly modified, cleaned-up transcript of the commencement speech I gave last week to the linguistics department at the College of William & Mary in Virginia (my alma mater). I also included a list of resources on careers in linguistics at the end of this article. > The point of the exercise is to prove to yourself that youā€™re the type of person who is capable of accomplishing your goals. I spent my junior year studying abroad in Kenya, researching language shift in Swahili. At one point while I was there one of the other students asked me about some detail of Swahili pronunciation. While I was answering her I realized I had used the word ā€œaffricateā€, and immediately caught myself, recognizing that that was linguistics jargon she may or may not be familiar with. So I said, ā€œSorry, do you know what an [affricate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affricate?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is?ā€ to which she immediately replied, ā€œYeah, itā€™s a sound from Africa, duh.ā€ All the non-linguists here are confused about why thatā€™s funny. Thatā€™s okay; this speech isnā€™t for you. That conversation was one of the first times I became aware of **the Curse of Knowledge**. This is a cognitive bias where you assume that other people have the same kind of specialized knowledge that you do. Once you know something, itā€™s hard to remember what it felt like *not* to know it. We forget that we had to *learn* what a language family is, or even what it means for languages to be related. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-4.png) This causes two problems: First, it hinders your ability to communicate ideas to others. Second, it means youā€™re very likely to overlook or underappreciate just how much youā€™ve learned, because youā€™re not aware of it. I think high performers and overachievers like us are especially bad about thisā€”not because weā€™re bad communicators, but because we tend to be very forward-thinking. Whatā€™s the next project I wanna tackle? Whatā€™s the next deadline or fire I need to put out? How can I make an impact in the world? But weā€™re not very good at taking a moment to pause and reflect on our wins. This is a quiet but pernicious habit that undermines your own confidence, and makes you feel like youā€™re never enough, youā€™ve never accomplished enough, you donā€™t know enough. The best thing you can do to combat this feeling is to take time on a regular basisā€”daily, weekly, monthly, and yearlyā€”to appreciate your wins and the lessons youā€™ve learned. Write them down in a journal. The point of this habit isnā€™t to just pat yourself on the back to make yourself feel better. The point of the exercise is to prove to yourself that youā€™re the type of person who is capable of accomplishing your goals. You canā€™t do that if you never stop to look at the evidence of your accomplishments. So, in light of that advice, I want to take the rest of this talk to pause and appreciate what youā€™ve learned doing your linguistics degree. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* I think, genuinely, that a linguistics degree is the most useful, versatile, and generally enlightening degree that you can get at university. Allow me to convince you: For starters, **linguistics makes you aware of cognitive bias**. You know that linguistic discrimination is one of the last bastions of socially acceptable discrimination only because the majority of people are largely unaware of it. You understand how it affects hiring decisions and dynamics in the workplace. Youā€™re much better prepared for how to think about and address these issues. **Linguistics also makes you a better communicator.** You know that language is often less about what is *said* and more about what is *implied* or *accomplished* with speechā€”Gricean maxims, and the difference between semantics and pragmatics. Every one of you, Iā€™m sure, has had to explain the difference between prescriptivism and descriptivism to someone else when they were being judgey about language. That makes you a science communicator! (which is what I call myself because itā€™s less cringey than ā€œinfluencerā€). Distilling complex technical ideas in a way thatā€™s accessible to non-specialists is an *incredibly* useful skill to have. **Linguistics teaches you to think like a scientist.** The first thing you learn in LING 101 about how linguists think about language is the difference between **prescriptivism** vs. **descriptivism**. Descriptivism is at the heart of what it is to do science: you seek to describe and understand the world before you judge it. Your methods classes taught you about data collection and data management, and to consider ethical questions surrounding how you acquire that data, who has access to it, and how it is used. Over the course of your degree you learned to use evidence-based analysis to structure an argument and present it in an informative way. In industry thatā€™s called **data science**. Finally, because itā€™s such an interdisciplinary field, **linguistics exposes you to theoretical paradigms and methodologies from a huge array of different fields.** - Phonetics exposes you to physiology and methods of the hard sciences involving physical measurement. - Syntax and semantics familiarize you with abstract formal systems. - Language endangerment and language contact taught you about geopolitics, government policies, and power dynamics. - Youā€™re more aware of issues in accessibility and inclusivity because youā€™ve learned about sign languages and minority languages. - In historical linguistics you might have learned a bit about archaeology and genetics and how they help answer questions about the origins of Indo-European and other language families. - If you took computational linguistics you might have encountered the basic ideas behind speech recognition and speech synthesis, machine translation and machine learning, AI and Large Language Models. Across your courses, youā€™ve engaged with ideas in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, evolution, anthropology, sociology, child development, language education, and speech pathology. Youā€™ve been given an intellectual toolkit unlike that of any other students on this campus. That breadth of knowledge benefits you tremendously because *real* insight comes from making connections *across* domains. Multiple studies of Nobel laureates, for example, show that they are significantly more likely to be polymaths across *multiple* disciplines ([Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein 2020](https://www.notion.so/Root-Bernstein-Root-Bernstein-2020-36650a282bc18172aff1f36300398a6c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein 2023](https://www.notion.so/Root-Bernstein-Root-Bernstein-2023-36650a282bc18197b976d49cfa56e7b6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Other studies of Nobel-winning research show that integrating knowledge from different disciplines is a core feature of major breakthroughs ([Uzzi et al. 2013](https://www.notion.so/Uzzi-et-al-2013-36650a282bc1814facd1f8c8f2d4aeda?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Ren, Wang & Li 2023](https://www.notion.so/Ren-Wang-Li-2023-36650a282bc1811488f3d2e08b0eb8dd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Youā€™ve been given a slew of different frameworks for understanding the world. Youā€™ve been taught to think in systems. You know that itā€™s not enough to find a few similar-sounding words in different languages to call them related, and that you have to look for *systematic* patterns instead. Youā€™ve come to appreciate the fact that bottom-up, emergent systems like grammar function just fine without top-down, authoritarian oversight. You know that there are often competing pressures at work in any given system. Linguistic relativity (the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis) tells us that language influences the way we think, but we also know that language is shaped by how itā€™s used. There are counterbalancing processes at work. And youā€™ll think about that every time someone makes a bold, absolutist claim in a field you know nothing about. It raises a red flag because you know that the world is more complicated than that. Acquiring technical skills like advanced statistical modeling or programming is relatively easy. Youā€™ve just finished a degree in linguistics; youā€™re more than capable of picking up a few books or working through a course and learning what you need to. Whatā€™s hard to learn is the soft skills, the analytical frameworks, and the different ways of thinking about a problemā€”and that is where your degree in linguistics really shines. Indeed, [there are reports](https://www.bbc.com/news/education-28560758?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) that employers look for these ā€œsoftā€ skills in graduates over specific technical expertise. So I hope Iā€™ve convinced you that your linguistics degree is more valuable than you realized, and that you are more knowledgeable than you maybe appreciated. Itā€™s easy to take for granted how much weā€™ve learned in life and just how far weā€™ve come. Youā€™re already suffering from the Curse of Knowledge! But I doubt any other group of students on this campus is graduating with the same breadth of knowledge that you are. Right now you have more competence than confidence, and my goal with this talk was to hopefully help shift that balance in the other direction. This talk is about linguistics, but also not about linguistics. Itā€™s about taking the time to appreciate how far youā€™ve come and what youā€™re capable of. Itā€™s about reminding you that what makes you capable of making an impact in the world isnā€™t your specific skillset or technical expertise, but the fact that you sought out *different ways of seeing the world*. And I think thereā€™s an important lesson in that. Thank you for having me today. Congratulations my fellow linguists! (Also be sure to check out the list of resources on careers in linguistics further below.) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## ā„¹ļø Resources If youā€™re still anxious about job prospects post-degree, here is a list of resources on jobs relating to or utilizing your linguistics training: - [Linguistic Society of Americaā€™s Careers Page](https://www.lsadc.org/careers?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Hadas Kotekā€™s blog](https://hkotek.com/blog/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has lots of posts about linguistics jobs in industry. - [*Linguistics Careercast*](https://www.linguisticscareercast.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ([Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/linguistics-careercast/id1643724263?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5Z4Q488gvn856Hpk4p37ik?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Linguistics Careercast is the podcast devoted to exploring careers for linguists outside academia. We feature interviews with linguists in industry at all stages of their careers: recently graduated, mid-career, and some with 30+ years of industry experience. These career linguists represent tech, marketing, UX, research, data analysis, translation, speech pathology, content creation, and much more. - [*Superlinguo*](https://www.superlinguo.com/post/173873032222/superlinguo-linguist-job-interviews-full-list?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Lauren Gawne has a long-running series of job interviews with linguists in various careers. - [*Linguamonium*](https://linguamonium.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - In the career category thereā€™s a bunch of interviews with linguists. - [*Career Linguist*](https://careerlinguist.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Career Linguist offers personalized consulting, interactive workshops, and engaging webinars designed to help you apply linguistics to your career journey. Whether youā€™re refining your story, building communication skills, or exploring new career paths, our services provide practical tools to move you forward. - *Surviving linguistics: A guide for graduate students* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4gAjEyC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Includes chapters on jobs in industry and jobs in academia. - *Language files: Materials for an introduction to language and linguistics* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OLdp1l?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780814258354?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - The final chapter is about what you can do with a degree in linguistics. - *Why study linguistics* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/428QpMH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781138925885?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Chapter 10: ā€œAfter studying linguisticsā€ ## šŸ“‘ References - Ren, Jingjing, Fang Wang & Minglu Li. 2023\. Dynamics and characteristics of interdisciplinary research in scientific breakthroughs: Case studies of Nobel-winning research in the past 120 years. *Scientometrics* 128(8). 4383ā€“4419\. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04762-x](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04762-x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Root-Bernstein, Michele & Robert Root-Bernstein. 2023\. Polymathy among Nobel laureates as a creative strategyā€”the qualitative and phenomenological evidence. *Creativity Research Journal* 35(1). 116ā€“142\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2051294](https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2022.2051294?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Root-Bernstein, Robert & Michele Root-Bernstein. 2020\. A statistical study of intra-domain and trans-domain polymathy among Nobel laureates. *Creativity Research Journal* 32(2). 93ā€“112\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2020.1751545](https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2020.1751545?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Uzzi, Brian, Satyam Mukherjee, Michael Stringer & Ben Jones. 2013\. Atypical combinations and scientific impact. *Science* 342(6157). 468ā€“472\. [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1240474](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1240474?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### New study links receptivity to corporate bullshit to weaker leadership skills URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-18/ Last updated: 2026-05-09T09:00:20.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (Itā€™s free!) [šŸ“§ Sign up for the newsletter!](#/portal/signup/free) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The *Ass* Camouflage Construction ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image.png) African American English (AAE) has a cool expression called the **Ass Camouflage Construction**: - They done arrested **her stupid ass**. - Iā€™m gonna sue **her ass**. - Get **your triflinā€™ ass** out of here. - I saw **his ass** yesterday. - **His ass** is gonna get fried. This is a great example of **metonymy**, specifically a subtype of metonymy called **synecdoche**, where a part of an object is used to refer to the whole object. And did you know that this process of metonymy is exactly how languages across the world get their reflexive pronouns? Read all the details in this special issue for paid subscribers: [The Ass Camouflage ConstructionWhat this African American English expression teaches us about the worldā€™s languages![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/size/w1200/2026/04/banner-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/p/83b6f779-3e65-4f98-9bc6-f243884b9825/) If youā€™re not yet a paid subscriber and would like to read, sign up below! For $10/month or $100/year, youā€™ll get access to bonus articles like this one and early access to my in-progress book projects. [šŸ’ Become a supporter](#/portal/account/plans) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* This article is from 2023 but still germane and interesting today: ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Receptivity to corporate jargon associated with weaker leadership skills Apparently people who are more easily impressed by buzzword-ladened corporate speak perform worse on measures of workplace leadership and decision-making: [New study finds link between receptivity to ā€œcorporate bullshitā€ and weaker leadership skillsUsing a newly developed ā€œCorporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale,ā€ researchers have uncovered a troubling trend: professionals who view jargon-heavy statements as profound actually perform much worse on tests measuring leadership, reasoning, and situational judgment.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-PsyPost-blue-brain-logo-no-name-270x270.png)PsyPost Psychology NewsMane Kara-Yakoubian![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/jargon.jpg)](https://www.psypost.org/new-study-finds-link-between-receptivity-to-corporate-bullshit-and-weaker-leadership-skills/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Littrell. 2026\. The Corporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale: Development, validation, and associations with workplace outcomes. *Personality & Individual Differences* 255\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2026.113699](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2026.113699?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Isolated human groups speak more diverse languages According to a new international study led by researchers at the University of Zurich, regions with high genetic diversity tend to have more similar languages, while isolated populations with low genetic diversity show the greater linguistic diversity. > ā€œThe key insight is that contact and isolation have opposite effects on genes and languages,ā€ explains Chiara Barbieri, senior author and population geneticist at the University of Cagliari. ā€œContact increases genetic diversity, but it also promotes the spread of linguistic features, making languages more similar. Isolation, by contrast, limits genetic diversity while allowing languages to evolve independently.ā€ [Why isolated human groups speak more diverse languages even as genetic diversity shrinksLanguages and human DNA both capture aspects of human diversity. But how are they related? A new international study led by the University of Zurich finds a clear but counterintuitive pattern: regions with high genetic diversity tend to have more similar languages, while isolated populations with low genetic diversity show greater linguistic diversity. The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Phys.orgStanford University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/isolated-human-groups.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2026-05-isolated-human-groups-diverse-languages.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Graff et al. 2026\. An inverse correlation between structural linguistic and human genetic diversity. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 123(18): e2526762123\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2526762123](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2526762123?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* English only has 2 tenses: past and nonpast. Skeptical? Check out this great explanation from Linguistics Girl: [Lies Your Grammar Teacher Told You: English Verb Tense - Linguistics GirlThe English language has only two verb tenses: past and present. English does not have a future tense.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Linguistics-Girl-Square-Initials-270x270.png)Linguistics GirlHeather![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2023-04-13-Lies-Your-Grammar-Teacher-Told-You-English-Verb-Tense.png)](https://linguisticsgirl.com/english-verb-tense-lies/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other reads from this week: [When Do Geneticists Believe the Human Brain Evolved?Reflections on David Reichā€™s recent interview and preprint![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F44710c29-ae7d-41ae-8d9a-3667c455b508-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Vectors of MindAndrew Cutler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F4ebe2ae8-8fa3-41d9-b08b-173ab8184ab7_1600x753.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/vectors/p/when-do-geneticists-believe-the-human) [How words are disappearing from our digital lives | MintEmojis, GIFs, stickers, reacjis and AI-generated suggestions occupy the spaces where sentences framed by humans once thrived, leaving us to contend with how this changes the way we express, connect with, and understand each other and ourselves![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/mintfavi-1.png)mintShephali Bhatt![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Cover-Balloon_1764315322972_1764315331466.jpg)](https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/ideas/words-being-replaced-by-emojis-stickers-ai-suggestions-in-digital-communication-11764306781625.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [TRT Afrika - How 2,000 languages make Africa the worldā€™s most linguistically diverse continentNigeria alone is home to more than 520 languages and, across the continent, 428 are at risk of disappearing as the number of native speakers dwindles.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-trt-48.png)TRT AfrikaPauline Odhiambo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/70fa21f9735a89ba408d484d8a9e6d3243a6ed0e75a2fd823f02c5974218c106.PNG)](https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/f7df80c68689?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Where Did English Come From? A Brief History of the Language - Rosetta StoneWhere did English come from? Discover how the English language began and changed throughout history, along with how it can influence your learning today.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/where-did-english-come-from-book.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/where-did-english-come-from/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Why Q needs U* (US Edition) I finally set aside time to read *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) by Danny Bate and chat, lemme tell you, this book is *phenomenal*. Who knew that the letter āŸØKāŸ© was actually the comeback kid of the English alphabet? The US edition of the book releases on June 2! You can preorder your copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4myXr6X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1095.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1094.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1092.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/IMG_1093.JPEG) ### *Enough is enuf: Our failed attempts to make English easier to spell* Just learned about this book published last year from an episode of Rob Wordsā€™ YouTube channel: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-2.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OqA3Mx?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780063360211?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > A brief and humorous 500-year language history of the Simplified Spelling Movement from advocates like Ben Franklin, C. S. Lewis, and Mark Twain to texts and Twitter. > > Why does the *G* in *George* sound different from the *G* in *gorge*? Why does *C* begin both *case* and *cease*? And why is it funny when a philologist faints, but not polight to laf about it? Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to write in English has, at one time or another, struggled with its inconsistent English orthography. > > So why do we continue to use it? If our system of writing words is so tragically inconsistent, why havenā€™t we standardized it with a new phonetic alphabet, brought it into line? How many brave linguists have ever had the courage to state, in a declaration of phonetic revolt: ā€œEnough is *enuf*ā€? > > The answer: *many.* In the comic annals of linguistic history, legions of rebel wordsmiths have died on the hill of spelling reform, risking their reputations to bring English into the realm of the rational. This essential guide to language and linguistics is about them: Mark Twain, Ben Franklin, Eliza Burnz, C. S. Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Darwin, and the innumerable others on both sides of the Atlantic who, for a time in their life, became fanatically occupied with writing *thru* instead of *through, tho* for *though, laf* for *laugh, beleev* for *believe,* and *dawter* for *daughter* (and tried futilely to get everyone around them to do it too). > > Henry takes his humorous and informative chronicle right up to today as the language seems to naturally be simplifying to fit the needs of our changing world thanks to technologyā€•from texting to Twitter and emojis, the Simplified Spelling Movement may finally be having its day. > > This laugh-out-loud journey through our languageā€™s chaotic past reveals the forgotten rebels, presidential decrees, and comic failures behind the spelling we use today. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OqA3Mx?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780063360211?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Did you know that English has two unrelated *\-ing* suffixes? Details at [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/2023/04/02/english-has-two-unrelated-ing-suffixes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/05/image-3.png) ## šŸš« Errata *Corrections, clarifications, and omissions.* In the article, ā€œDo Inuit languages really have more words for snow?ā€, I wrote: > Itā€™s been claimed that because some languages lack dedicated morphological markers of future tense, speakers of those languages save less money and are generally worse at long-term, future-oriented decision-making than speakers of languages which do have a future tense (Chen 2013). Chen was actually making the opposite claim: that speakers of languages which code future tense and present tense in the same way grammatically save *more* money and are *better* at future-oriented decision-making. I represent the claim correctly further in the article, but not in the above sentence. Iā€™ve since corrected the article. Thanks to reader Matthew Roth for bringing this to my attention. [Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?A new study shows that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow, but what does that tell us about language?![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/size/w1200/2025/06/social-preview.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Ass Camouflage Construction URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/ass-camouflage-construction/ Last updated: 2026-09-17T22:40:05.000Z African American English (AAE) has a cool expression called the **Ass Camouflage Construction**: - They done arrested **her stupid ass**. - Iā€™m gonna sue **her ass**. - Get **your triflinā€™ ass** out of here. - I saw **his ass** yesterday. - **His ass** is gonna get fried. *(Throughout this article, the examples are all actual instances of use recorded by linguists. See the References list for sources.)* Most varieties of American English have now adopted this or similar expressions from AAE, but the construction originated in AAE, where it is still much more widely used, and used in a wider range of contexts than in Standard American English. Note how *ass* in this construction stands in for the entire person (which is why itā€™s called a ā€œcamouflageā€ construction). This is an example of **metonymy**, a linguistic technique where a concept is referred to by something else which is closely associated with it. Other examples include: - **the White House** issued a statement (White House = executive branch) - **the book** is coming along (book = progress through the book) - **Hollywood** loves sequels (Hollywood = American film industry) The Ass Camouflage Construction is a specific subtype of metonymy called **synecdoche**, where a part of something stands in for the entire object. For example: - all **hands** on deck (hands = sailors) - nice **wheels** (wheels = car) - they done arrested her stupid **ass** (ass = woman) Metonymy and synecdoche are often referred to as ā€œfigures of speechā€, but I donā€™t think this characterization does justice to whatā€™s happening cognitively and linguistically when we use them. Calling them ā€œfigures of speechā€ makes it sound like itā€™s a purely poetic or rhetorical choice, when in fact metonymy arises from how we categorize and conceptualize the world. Metonymy is a cognitive shortcut that allows us to recall a thing by its most salient feature or other things associated with it. It also allows us to highlight those features or associations for others: referring to lawyers as ā€œthe suitsā€ imparts a subtly different pragmatic message than simply calling them ā€œlawyersā€. Other times, we use metonymy to highlight the feature or association that is most relevant in context: saying ā€œwho got the extra large?ā€ is most helpful when there are two different-sized pizzas because it metonymically highlights the most salient difference between them. In the case of the Ass Camouflage Construction, what the choice of *ass* highlights is the informal, derogatory, or jocular intention behind the expression. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-48.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4eaLimD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780521891387?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Thereā€™s also a related AAE expression called the **Attributive Ass Construction**: - We some **punk-ass** parents, see. - That **raggedy-ass** sweater should be thrown out. - This my **cute-ass** friend. - Parents please tell yā€™all **sick-ass** children to cover they mouth when they cough!!! - just another **lame-ass** **sad-ass** excuse of a man Youā€™re reading ****Linguistic Discovery**, a newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. Iā€™m Danny Hieber, a PhD in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: - āš™ļø how language works (cognitive linguistics, language change) - šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) - ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics - šŸ—£ļø language profiles - šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics This is a special bonus issue for paying subscribers. In the rest of this article, weā€™ll look at the cool connection between the Ass Camouflage Construction and reflexive pronouns in the languages of the world, plus what AAEā€™s **ass* constructions teach us about how languages change over time. Become a supporter to keep reading! ****Price:** $10/month or $100/year (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/account/plans) The main difference between an *ugly cat* and an *ugly-ass cat* has nothing to do with the cat or ugliness, and more to do with signaling that the speaker is talking in an informal and uncensored way. The attributive *ass* construction is frequently used in stand-up comedy, for example. For this reason itā€™s called an **expressive**. Notice how, unlike the Ass Camouflage Construction, the *ā€‘ass* in the Attributive Ass Construction has lost its original meaning. While phrases like *her stupid ass* still refer metaphorically to a butt, phrases like *raggedy-ass* cannot possibly be referring to a butt. Instead, *ā€‘ass* in this context has taken on a purely grammatical function: it now operates similarly to the *ā€‘ish* and *ā€‘y* suffixes in that it turns the thing it attaches to into an adjective (*punk* ā†’ *punk-ass* ā€˜punk-likeā€™). The loss of its original meaning as it shifts from a content word to a function word is called **semantic bleaching**, and the broader process by which content words (also called **lexical words**) become function words is called **grammaticalization**. We would say that the word *ass* has become grammaticalized into an attributive suffix *ā€‘ass*, with the result that there are now two different *ass*es in English: lexical *ass*, referring to the butt, and attributive *ā€‘ass*, a suffix that turns words into expressive adjectives. This kind of split where a new use of a word sits alongside its older, original use, is extremely common in cases of grammaticalization, and the technical term for this pattern is **divergence**. Other languages have camouflage constructions too! French uses *pomme* ā€˜appleā€™: 1. French (Indo-European > Romance) 1. Cā€™est pour **ma pomme**. ā€˜Itā€™s for me.ā€™ 2. Je mā€™occupe dā€™abord de **ma pomme**. ā€˜Iā€™m looking after number one.ā€™ 3. Je joue pour **ma pomme**. ā€˜I play for myself.ā€™ (Collins, Moody & Postal [2008](https://www.notion.so/Collins-Moody-Postal-2008-35050a282bc181d49ff2c058da70d1f3?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 63ā€“64) ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** If any of the abbreviations or notations in this article are unfamiliar to you, check out the ā€œ[How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions)ā€ page. Yoruba uses *ara* ā€˜bodyā€™: 1. Yoruba (Atlanticā€“Congo) 1. awe 2. rĆ­saw 3. **ara** **body** 4. **wa** **us/our** ā€˜we saw ourselves / each other / one anotherā€™ (Collins, Moody & Postal [2008](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Collins-Moody-Postal-2008-35050a282bc181d49ff2c058da70d1f3?source=copy%5Flink): 65) In fact, these kinds of camouflage constructions often give rise to reflexives in the worldā€™s languages! Reflexives frequently derive from body part words, especially words meaning ā€˜bodyā€™ or ā€˜headā€™. Basque and Hausa both form reflexive constructions this way: 1. Basque (isolate) 1. Jonā€‘ekjohnā€‘erg 2. **bere** **his.own** 3. **buruā€‘a** **headā€‘det** 4. hilkill 5. zā€‘ueā€‘npastā€‘beā€‘past ā€˜John killed himself.ā€™ (Kuteva et al. [2019](https://www.notion.so/Kuteva-et-al-2019-29e50a282bc181b19e16e619de038c15?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 224) 2. Hausa (Chadic) 1. sunthey 2. kashĆØkill 3. **kĆ¢nsĆ¹** **their.head** ā€˜They have committed suicide.ā€™ (Kuteva et al. [2019](https://www.notion.so/Kuteva-et-al-2019-29e50a282bc181b19e16e619de038c15?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 224) \*ļøāƒ£ Sorry for the lurid examples. The verb ā€˜killā€™ happens to be a useful test case when studying how reflexives work in the worldā€™s languages, so most of the examples in the literature on reflexives are like this. Historically, linguists havenā€™t always been the best about eliciting culturally appropriate and/or culturally relevant examples, choosing instead to fixate on whatever phrases they thought best demonstrated the particular syntactic constructions they were interested in. I could say much more about this practice and how awful itā€™s been for both linguistic theory and language preservation, but Iā€™ll save that for another article. In Semitic languages like Arabic, Geā€™ez, and Biblical Hebrew, reflexives derive from the word ā€˜soulā€™ instead of ā€˜bodyā€™: Arabic *nafsā€‘*, Geā€™ez *nafsā€‘*, and Biblical Hebrew *napÅ”ā€‘* reflexive prefixes, for example, all come from a Proto-Semitic root \* *napÅ”ā€‘* ā€˜soulā€™. You can see the classic signs of grammaticalization at work: these reflexive uses have lost their original meaning and become purely grammatical in function. But they also often exist alongside the original word: Arabic retains the word Ł†ŁŽŁŁ’Ų³ \*nafs ā€˜\*a soul, a lifeā€™ in its original meaning, another example of the divergence during grammaticalization like we encountered earlier. So while the Ass Camouflage Construction and Attributive Ass Construction in African American English might seem like mere expressive wordplay, both actually illustrate one of the most significant ways that languages change over time (grammaticalization), as well as the cognitive principle driving this particular set of changes (metonymy). Together theyā€™re a fantastic illustration of how our brainā€™s cognitive efficiency shapes language over time. And who knows, maybe the Ass Camouflage Construction is on its way to becoming a full reflexive! Only time will tell. ## šŸ“‘ References - Collins, Chris, Simanique Moody & Paul M. Postal. 2008\. An AAE Camouflage Construction. *Language* 84(1). 29ā€“68\. [https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2008.0059](https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2008.0059?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Irwin, Patricia. 2015\. Expressive meaning in an AAE attributive construction. *Language Sciences* 50\. 12ā€“29\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2015.01.002](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2015.01.002?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kuteva, Tania, Bernd Heine, Bo Hong, Haiping Long, Heiko Narrog & Seongha Rhee. 2019\. *World lexicon of grammaticalization*. 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press. - Levine, Robert D. 2010\. The *ass* camouflage construction: Masks as parasitic heads. *Language* 86(2). 265ā€“301\. [https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.0.0212](https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.0.0212?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### New evidence that language evolved before humans did URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-17/ Last updated: 2026-05-02T11:57:39.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### The North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition (NACLO) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-40.png) Can you solve these language puzzles? Test your skills with these problems from North Americaā€™s biggest linguistics competition. For 20 years, this computational linguistics competition has inspired new generations of innovators in AI and language preservation. [Can you solve these language puzzles? Test your skills with these problems from North Americaā€™s biggest linguistics competitionFor 20 years, this computational linguistics competition has inspired new generations of innovators in AI and language preservation![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Scientific AmericanEmma R. Hasson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/RF-GettyImages-1445815034.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/try-these-language-puzzles-north-americas-biggest-linguistics-competition/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)North American Computational Linguistics Open Competition![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/naclo_orange.PNG)](https://www.naclo.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Why we talk funny: The real story behind our accents* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-41.png) This week weā€™ve got a special guest post from sociolinguist [Valerie Fridland](https://www.valeriefridland.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), Ph.D., whoā€™s giving us a sneak peek at her new book, *Why we talk funny: The real story behind our accents* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com))! Iā€™m really happy to see this book come into existence, because there are surprisingly few books on sociolinguistics for popular audiences, even though the field has some of the mostā€”and most importantā€”things to teach the general public about language. Dr. Fridland is also the author of *Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593298329?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), so if you enjoyed that one youā€™ll definitely enjoy this book too! [Baby, talk to me: How children get their accentsA sneak peek at Dr. Valerie Fridlandā€™s new book, ā€œWhy we talk funny: The real story behind our accentsā€![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Why-we-talk-funny.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-we-talk-funny/) Get your copy of the book here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### šŸ“± Shortform Video: Why Homer uses color terms so strangely in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey* I recently partnered with [St. Johnā€™s College](https://www.sjc.edu/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) to produce a video about Homerā€™s strange use of color terms in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey* (based on my newsletter issue on the topic, which you can read here), and thought Iā€™d share the video here as well: We picked this topic for the video because of how nicely it dovetails with St. Johnā€™s unique educational model. Their curriculum focuses around their Great Books program, where students gradually work through the greatest and most significant books in history over the course of their degree. They also learn Ancient Greek sufficiently well that they get to read some of the classics in the original Greek. In general their curricula have a strong language focus, and they even offer graduate programs in Sanskrit, Biblical Hebrew, Classical Chinese, and Classical Arabic. So exploring the fun linguistics behind Homerā€™s use of color terms seemed like the perfect fit, given that both the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey* are included in their Great Books curriculum. You can learn more about their programs here: [St. Johnā€™s College | Liberal Arts College with a World-Class FacultyAt our rigorous liberal arts college, St. Johnā€™s College, students read and discuss the Great Books in small discussion classes with a world-class faculty.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)St. John's College Print Logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/print-logo.png)](https://www.sjc.edu/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### New evidence that language evolved before humans ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-42.png) Itā€™s becoming increasingly clear that the genetic and cognitive capacities necessary for language evolved long before modern humans did, which means that our cousins the Neanderthals likely had an early, perhaps much more primitive, form of language too. A recent study contributes to the converging evidence for this conclusion by using genetic data to show that a set of genes important for language likely evolved before humans did: [How did humans evolve language? It may be far more ancient than scientists realizedA new study links genetic regions that predate the divergence of modern humans and Neanderthals to language![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Scientific AmericanJackie Flynn Mogensen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/dna-language.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetic-origins-of-language-may-predate-modern-humans-splitting-from-neanderthals-a-new-study-suggests/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Did Neanderthals have language? New research suggests they had the genetic hardware for it, like humans](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-neanderthals-have-language-new-research-suggests-they-had-the-genetic-hardware-for-it-like-humans-180988620/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) - [ā€œThe old ā€˜Did Neanderthals even speak?ā€™ question is very hard to sustainā€: Genetic hardware for language abilities evolved long before modern humans appeared](https://www.iflscience.com/the-old-did-neanderthals-even-speak-question-is-very-hard-to-sustain-genetic-hardware-for-language-abilities-evolved-long-before-modern-humans-appeared-83276?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*IFLScience*) - Casten et al. 2026\. Ancient regulatory evolution shapes individual language abilities in present-day humans. *Science Advances* 12(17). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed5260](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed5260?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). I recommend this book on language evolution often, but Iā€™ll recommend it again because itā€™s fantastic and talks a little bit about this issue: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-43.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Universals of swear words ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-44.png) This is reporting on an older study from 2024, but I just recently came across it: Linguists found that swear words share certain universal traits across languages! For example, they all tend to exclude /l, r, w/ sounds (words like *asshole* are the exceptions that prove the rule, because they are quite rare). [Scientists want to know why swear words share this one universal traitTwo studies from the University of London examine common traits between swear words across different languages, finding that most lack approximants.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-7bd7b33879.png)InverseElana Spivack![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/f60e19ab-8573-4b0c-9c6a-6eec4206d18b-shutterstock-2113170011.jpg)](https://www.inverse.com/science/swear-words-share-this-one-common-trait?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Lev-Ari & McKay. 2023\. The sound of swearing: Are there universal patterns in profanity? *Psychonomic Bulletin & Review* 30: 1103ā€“1114\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-022-02202-0](https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-022-02202-0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Cognitive linguistics adheres to two important principles: - **The Generalization Commitment:** Our explanation of language should work for all parts of languageā€”syntax, phonology, morphology, etc. There are no distinct ā€œmodulesā€ within language. Itā€™s a unified phenomenon. - **The Cognitive Commitment:** Our explanation of language should jive with everything we know about the mind and brain from other disciplines. Hereā€™s a great explainer article about cognitive linguistics from 2019: [What Is Cognitive Linguistics?Cognitive linguistics is a radical and exciting approach to language and mind. Find out what makes it new and unique.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Psychology TodayVyvyan Evans Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cognitive_linguistics.png.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-mind/201907/what-is-cognitive-linguistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) An awesome book that explains language from a cognitive perspective is Vyvyan Evansā€™ *The language myth: Why language is not an instinct* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3MHKtGm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781107619753?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-45.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3MHKtGm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781107619753?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- The National Museum of Language has a neat [blog](https://languagemuseum.org/category/blog/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) where they feature a language of the month! They recently pointed me to their article about Hawaiian since I posted about the sound system of the language: - [Language of the Month March 2023: HawaiŹ»ian](https://languagemuseum.org/language-of-the-month-march-2023-hawaiian/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (National Museum of Language) And hereā€™s their most recent language of the month, Tut, an argot created by enslaved African Americans: - [Language of the Month October 2025: Tut](https://languagemuseum.org/language-of-the-month-october-2025-tut/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (National Museum of Language) --- Other articles I came across this week: [Does learning Latin roots really improve SAT scores?In todayā€™s college admissions environment, students look for anything to boost SAT scores. Many ask us, ā€œDoes Latin help your SAT score?ā€ Letā€™s find out.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Brainscape-no-text-logo-1.png)Brainscape AcademyAndrew Cohen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Latin-language.jpg)](https://www.brainscape.com/academy/learning-latin-roots-to-improve-sat-scores/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Understanding English Pronunciation: A Guide To American English Sounds - Rosetta StoneImprove your English pronunciation with a guide to the most common sounds in English, as well as the most challenging pronunciation patterns for beginners.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Shutterstock_2621309387-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/english-pronunciation/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Babel, or the necessity of violence: An arcane history of the Oxford Translatorā€™s Revolution* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-46.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OncMuC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780063021433?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I just finished reading *Babel* and loved all the linguistics that Kuang packed into the book. It seems like every third page introduces another fun etymologyā€”and theyā€™re all accurate! (Or at least, plausible given the extant evidence.) Itā€™s a dark academia fantasy book, heavy on the sociopolitical commentary (the book is essentially a fictional polemic against colonialism, racism, capitalism, classicism, and the West in general), so if that sounds up your alley, grab a copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OncMuC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780063021433?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0915.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0916.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0917.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0919.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0922.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0923.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0925.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0927.JPEG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0928.JPEG) What do we lose when a language stops being spoken? What cultural knowledge tied up in language vanishes forever? *When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780195181920?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) sets out to show just what is lost when a language becomes endangered or entirely dormant. It explores indigenous systems of counting, time-telling, indicating directions, categorizing species, and many other kinds of indigenous knowledge embedded in the worldā€™s languages. This is hands down one of my all-time favorite pop linguistics booksā€”I recommend it every chance I get. Get your own copy here! - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780195181920?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Actual photo of me when the aliens arrive: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-47.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Great Menā„¢ of Language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/great-men-of-language/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T02:12:31.000Z > Many people still adopt a Great Menā„¢ approach to language even if they reject it for history in general. In the 1800s and early 1900s, historians often adopted a [Great Menā„¢ approach to history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great%5Fman%5Ftheory?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), in which history was thought to be largely driven by the actions of a few Great Menā„¢. These titans of history were thought to have such intellect, such heroism, such indomitable will, that the annals of history bent to their whims. Today most historians reject this approach to history. Much more in vogue is **history from below** or **peopleā€™s history**, which analyzes history from the perspective of everyday people, with special emphasis on marginalized groups. A few notable entries in this canon include: - *A peopleā€™s history of the United States* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3R7gObq?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781631492228?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - *A peopleā€™s history of the world* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4uagqr6?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781786630810?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - *An indigenous peopleā€™s history of the United States* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Qw1a9s?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780807057834?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - *SPQR: A history of ancient Rome* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4vMW0WV?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781631492228?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Public school history textbooks have yet to catch up with this trend, focusing instead on the Big Namesā„¢ at the expense of broader, bottom-up social changes. This isnā€™t particularly surprising given that the Great Menā„¢ approach to history tends to aggrandize politicians, who in turn [exert outsized influence](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on what goes into those textbooks in the first place. Yet many people still adopt a Great Menā„¢ approach to *language*, even if they reject it for history in general. They believe that the shape of language is propelled by the literary greats, who then inspire the masses to adroit linguistic performance. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* > While an elite is in command of government, the fluidity of language has no keepers. \~ Ilan Stavans, *The peopleā€™s tongue*, p. 6 I was recently reminded of this attitude while reading Ilan Stavansā€™ 2023 book, *The peopleā€™s tongue: Americans and the English language* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4sjrPU6?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781632062659?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The book is an anthology intended to demonstrate the ā€œtransformationā€ of American English, as told through the lens of: > ā€¦ poets, musicians, Supreme Court justices, historians, linguists, activists, actors, scholars, journalists, scientists, writers, presidents, playwrights, teachers, translators, comedians, politicians, grammarians, lexicographers, and all kinds of other folks. (p. 3) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-39.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4sjrPU6?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781632062659?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) These contributors are all either members of the literati, or the academic and political elite, making this a decidedly Great Menā„¢ perspective on American English. Ironically, Stavans nonetheless states that the anthology is ā€œfully and unapologetically a peopleā€™s historyā€ (p. 3). I donā€™t actually want to criticize *The peopleā€™s tongue* too harshly here. Its aimā€”and that of its publisher, [Restless Books](https://restlessbooks.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), is ā€œchampioning essential voices from around the worldā€ and ā€œto celebrate immigrant writingā€, and the book does both admirably well enough. I was happy to see contributions from an array of immigrant and indigenous writers. And Stavans does also make a nod to the bottom-up nature of language later in the introduction: his answer to the question of why English doesnā€™t have an official regulatory body like so many other languages is, ā€œMaybe because, while an elite is in command of government, the fluidity of the language has no keepers.ā€ (p. 6) This is a much more accurate take on the nature of language. Language has always been a bottom-up phenomenonā€”ā€œthe result of human actions, not of human design,ā€ to quote economist Friedrich Hayek. Language is, in other words, a [spontaneous order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous%5Forder?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). While certain Great Writersā„¢ have serious clout among the erudite and the academic elite, their writings are primarily a *reflection* of their linguistic environment, not progenitors of new linguistic conventions. A personā€™s linguistic habits are established long before they encounter the Great Writersā„¢ in school. When attempting to explain why language is the way it is, we should look to the masses rather than the Great Writersā„¢. We should look to the Great Tweetersā€  and the Great Redditors and the Great Substackers. Heck, forget the Greats. Itā€™s the everyday commentator who changes language, not the Nate Silvers or Derek Thompsons, for all their Substack clout. We should look to the millions of Gen Z TikTokkers appropriating Black English and making it popular. We should look to the millennials who were forced to express themselves via [multi-tap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-tap?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [T9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9%5F%28predictive%5Ftext%29?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) text messages in as few characters as possibleā€”those early LOLā€™ers and FMLā€™ers. Language, like history, is driven by millions of people making everyday language choices that gradually lead to change over time. These are the Everyday Heroes of Languageā„¢. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Weā€™re losing 338 spoken words every year, linguists find URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-16/ Last updated: 2026-04-25T09:00:40.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Weā€™re losing 338 spoken words every year ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-31.png) Linguists and psychologists have discovered that, since 2005, the average person has spoken less each year than the year before, by approximately 338 fewer words per day. [Weā€™re losing 338 spoken words every day | BBC Science Focus MagazineWeā€™ve been nattering less and less each year since 2005, according to research on more than 2,000 people across three continents![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)BBC Science Focus MagazineHatty Willmoth![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Spoken-word.jpg)](https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/losing-spoken-words?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Pfeifer & Mehl. 2026\. Sliding into silence? We are speaking 300 daily words fewer every year. *Perspectives on Psychological Science*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916261425131](https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916261425131?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Sperm whalesā€™ communication closely parallels human language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-32.png) Sperm whales in the ocean. Photograph: Mike Korostelev/Getty Images Researchers with Project CETI (the Cetacean Translation Initiative), an organization dedicated to understanding the communication of sperm whales, has found that the whalesā€™ communication is remarkably similar to our own in several respects: not only do the whales have something akin to an ā€œalphabetā€ and form vowels within their vocalizations, but the structure of these vowels behaves in the same way as human speech. > Sperm whales communicate in a series of short clicks called codas. Analysis of these clicks shows that the whales can differentiate vowels through the short or elongated clicks or through rising or falling tones, using patterns similar to languages such as Mandarin, Latin and Slovenian. [Sperm whales may make their own vowel sounds, similar to human languageSperm whales, which make clicking sounds to communicate, use different ā€œvowelsā€ in ways similar to human speech![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Scientific AmericanAllison Parshall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Sperm-whale-with-open-mouth.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sperm-whales-may-make-their-own-vowel-sounds-similar-to-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Sperm whalesā€™ communication closely parallels human language, study findsAnalysis shows whalesā€™ coda vocalizations are ā€˜highly complexā€™ and remarkably similar to our own![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The GuardianOliver Milman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/5399.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/sperm-whales-alphabet-vocalizations-similar-humans?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - BeguÅ” et al. 2026\. The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences* 293(2069): 20252994\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2994](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2994?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Some new reporting on a study of language universals in 1,700 languages (which I included in the digest a few weeks back): [Surprising hidden pattern connecting over 1,500 languages foundFindings point to shared cognitive pressures forcing evolution of languages![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The IndependentVishwam Sankaran![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/A-world-map-hangs-on-a-wall-in-the-refuge-s-living-area.jpeg)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/languages-universal-grammar-rules-pattern-b2952396.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Toddlers struggle to understand the meanings of the pronouns *I* and *you*. Think about it: the meanings of those words change constantly depending on who is saying them! This article talks about some cool research on how children use pronouns: [Stuff![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Favicon-Stuff-192x192.png)Stuff](https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/131241194/language-matters-if-i-were-you--pronouns-out-of-the-mouths-of-babes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [If I were you: Pronouns out of the mouths of babes](https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/131241194/language-matters-if-i-were-you--pronouns-out-of-the-mouths-of-babes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Stuff*) Home to some of the last speakers of Aramaic, Maaloula was attacked in Syriaā€™s civil war. Its residents are determined to rebuildā€“and preserve their mother tongue from extinction: [This war-torn village is fighting to keep Christā€™s language aliveHome to some of the last speakers of Aramaic, Maaloula was attacked in Syriaā€™s civil war. Its residents are determined to rebuildā€“and preserve their mother tongue from extinction.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/syria8_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/aramaic-jesus-christ-syria?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other reads: [The Etymological Problem with ApplesHow the humble apple can lead us into the murkiest prehistory of the English language.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Danny Bate, Wanderer in Language HistoryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fef63cb16-c38a-476d-8c80-644f89ee2de0_1920x1741.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/the-etymological-problem-with-apples) [What Language Do They Speak in Belgium? - Rosetta StoneBelgium may be small, but its languages are diverse. Learn about Flemish, Belgian French, German, and minority languages.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneJacyb Porter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/What-Language-Do-They-Speak-in-Belgium_1931832515-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-language-do-they-speak-in-belgium/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Why we talk funny* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-36.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Historically itā€™s been difficult to find books aimed a general audience about sociolinguistics, which is a real shame because itā€™s one of the most applicable and relatable areas of linguistics, that probably has the most to teach people. So Iā€™m very happy to see this new book from Valerie Fridland, author of *Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593298329?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > Accents have long held our fascination. As far back as the 7th century BCE, Egyptian pharaohs experimented with babies to test out theories about the ā€œoriginalā€ accent and the Old Testament relays how a small difference in the pronunciation of ā€œsā€ became a fatal litmus test of tribal belonging. Still today, from dinner parties to job interviews, youā€™ll find people kicking up dust about things like where and how to pronounce a ā€˜t,ā€™ as in, never in ā€œoften,ā€ but with proper British poshness, as in ā€œt(y)une.ā€ > > In Why We Talk Funny, linguist Valerie Fridland unlocks the secrets of what linguistic science, psychology and history can tell us about the evolution of human speech, why accents develop, and how they shape our professional and social lives. With a healthy dose of her signature humor and captivating anecdotes, Fridland explores how the twin forces of physiology and psychology along with the need to fit in changes the trajectory of speech over languages and lifetimes, diving deep into the history and social forces driving the way people talk. Along the way, she emphasizes that accents donā€™t always set us apart, they can also bring us together. Whether itā€™s the accent that hints at your hometown, your group, your social status or your ethnicity, the sounds we say reveal a lot about who we are and where weā€™ve been ā€“ even for those who might think they have no accent at all. > > The story of language is the story of humanity, and as Fridland reminds us, the funny sounds we make ā€“ whether from the mouths of ancient ancestors or the tongues of screenbound teens ā€“ all come from the same powerful desire to communicate and belong. Why We Talk Funny will change the way you think about your own accent ā€“ and transform the way you listen to the sounds of others. Get your copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Hereā€™s great blog post from Ryan Starkey showing the etymologies of endonyms (community-internal names for oneā€™s own group) and exonyms (names given to a group by an outsider community) for several different countries. Read the full blog post [here](https://starkeycomics.com/2025/10/31/etymologies-of-endonyms-and-exonyms/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for details. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-35.png) [Etymologies of Endonyms and Exonyms - Starkey ComicsEndonyms are the names countries call themselves in their own language(s), while exonyms are the names foreign languages call them. Often these are clearly related (like English ā€œBrazilā€ and Portuguese ā€œBrasilā€). Other times they are clearly unrelated, like Germany and Deutschland. And sometimes they are related, but donā€™t really look it (like Burma and Myanmar). \[ā€¦\]![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://starkeycomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-6.png)](https://starkeycomics.com/2025/10/31/etymologies-of-endonyms-and-exonyms/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Baby, talk to me: How children get their accents URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-we-talk-funny/ Last updated: 2026-04-21T09:00:29.000Z ā„¹ļø Today weā€™ve got a special guest post from sociolinguist [Valerie Fridland](https://www.valeriefridland.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), Ph.D., whoā€™s giving us a sneak peek at her new book, **Why we talk funny: The real story behind our accents* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com))! Iā€™m really happy to see this book come into existence, because there are surprisingly few books on sociolinguistics for popular audiences, even though the field has some of the mostā€”and most importantā€”things to teach the general public about language. Dr. Fridland is also the author of **Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593298329?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), so if you enjoyed that one youā€™ll definitely enjoy this book too! The book releases today, so you can get a copy at the links below! \~ DWH ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-37.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > ā€œWhen we look at how it is that kids learn not just a language, but the dialect of their environment and its socially relevant variation, we find that adults are the equivalent of linguistic Yodas, subtly providing life lessons through unconscious modeling in how we say what we say to kids.ā€ Accents donā€™t just arrive on the heels of another language; they also arise as a by-product of becoming the socially attuned creatures that we are. Even within our first language, there is a lot of variation in how things are said. Some of this variation comes to be recognized as important, because either it points to a specific group (like a Southerner saying ā€œfarā€ for *fire*) or it points to a social meaning, like knowing that ā€œgot toā€ spoken with all its ā€œtā€s means business, while ā€œgottaā€ comes off a lot more chill. But how is it that kids learn not just the sounds of their language, but which pronunciations are the ones they should use as well as when and where? Well, moms and dads, you might have thought you were off the hook in this whole language learning thing, given the natural predisposition of infants to pick up language, but where would the fun in that be? You still have a linguistic role to play, at least until the teen years, and much of that involves teaching your kiddos the ins and outs of the social meanings associated with the sounds around them. I know, throw this on top of the need to feed them, clothe them, and monitor their social media and youā€™re exhausted already, right? Never fear, you and your kidā€™s natural language instincts are already hard at work, and I bet you barely even noticed. When we look at how it is that kids learn not just a language, but the dialect of their environment and its socially relevant variation, we find that adults are the equivalent of linguistic Yodas, subtly providing life lessons through unconscious modeling in how we say what we say to kids. The secret sauce lies in what we fancy linguists call *child-directed speech* (CDS), or what people who actually have friends call baby talk or caregiverese. Yup, that elongated, repetitious, slowed down, singsongy drivel that we patty-cake to our babies seems to be part of the magic recipe for helping kids learn not just how to divide our speech into separate sounds and words, but also to understand the social patterning of those sounds and when they are important. Now, I know there are often glossy parenting magazines or internet blogs that debate the value of baby talk, but, scientifically speaking, baby talk does seem to offer linguistic pointers to infants, helping them break down the stream of speech coming at them in various ways, and there is no evidence it holds babies back at all. Do we absolutely need to do it? Probably not, as babies in cultures that do not use as much baby talk are able to acquire language without issue. Instead, it merely speeds up a process that happens naturally and it makes us feel like we are connecting with our infants. Not surprisingly, much of the research on baby talk focuses on mothers, possibly because male scientists are never home long enough to chat up their kids. Still, that research has pointed to some interesting patterns in the types of speech moms use with their babies despite pigeonholing them as baby raisers. For one, mothers tend to be hyperarticulate in terms of how they pronounce their vowels when talking to their baby, which is likely a way of helping the little bean learn to recognize the ones that are important in their language. They also have been found to emphasize contrasts between consonants like ā€œtā€ and ā€œdā€ or ā€œkā€ and ā€œgā€ more than when talking to adults. Again, this makes sense as an assist to babies in figuring out the basic categories of their language. But the role of moms doesnā€™t appear to stop with the highlighting of what sounds their language will have. Research suggests mom also models the latest in linguistic fineryā€”early on using the most standard versions of sounds with her pumpkins, even if she rarely uses them when chatting with other adults. Linguist Julie Roberts looked at Southern pronunciations like those of ā€œbahā€ for *bye* and ā€œtoddā€ for *tide* in the speech of moms in Memphis, Tennessee. She found that all the moms she studied used the more standard pronunciations when talking to their kids compared to when they were talking with the interviewer, a pattern echoed in other studies. For example, in a working-class town called Tyneside in Northern England, where residents are known as Geordies, researchers similarly found mothers using fewer local forms with their kids, especially in the earliest years, than they did when speaking to other adults. Why would this be? It might be driven by momā€™s desire to teach her kiddo the speech forms that are most widely accepted, but since kids are often there when mom talks to adults using her more typical speech, it is also a way of introducing babies to the types of variability they will encounter and showing that ā€œfriend talkā€ involves the more local or casual variantsā€”in other words, hinting at values that have become attached to forms. We also find studies that suggest that when moms repeat something, they often use a more reduced form than in their original saying of that word or phraseā€”ā€œIs that your little toe? Whereā€™s yaā€™ liā€™ toe?ā€ā€”which is a signal of intimacy and closeness. In contrast, when moms are in teaching or explanatory modes, they tend to use more full or standard forms. All of this modeling helps teach kids the basic sounds they need to command and provides clues as to how to interpret the different pronunciations they hear around them. Interestingly, what moms highlight in terms of usage norms also seems to change over time. Research finds that moms decrease the use of hyperarticulate forms and standard pronunciations as babies get older. Going back to that study looking at mother/child interactions in Tyneside, moms started using more of the local Geordie accent with their kids as they aged up from two to four years old. This suggests that the earlier pronunciations are focused on helping kids figure out the basic sounds their language has, and once that is accomplished, moms shift to using the specific accents that will prove socially valuable to their kids in their local environment. Some evidence we have for this interpretation is the fact that moms often use more positively valued forms (like ā€œtalkingā€ versus ā€œtalkinā€™ā€) with girls than they do with boys, which tells us that they are trying to use the pronunciations that will prove most socially beneficial to their kids. In this way, moms are attending to the generalized cultural belief that girls need to be ladies, while boys can get a bump for being tougher or coming across as a bit more slangy. When we look at studies of adult speech, this pattern of women tending to use ā€œbetterā€ pronunciations holdsā€”women often use more standard forms of speech compared to men. Dads, on the other hand, donā€™t seem to change up their speech when directed to children nearly as muchā€”something that seems to reinforce the associations of more local or less standard speech as a boy thing. All this brings us back to how we get regional, class, or ethnic accents within the same language. While moms and dads provide some of our initial training, their influence becomes less important once we discover something way more exciting: cool peers. What we find in sociolinguistic research on kids exposed to more than one dialect, say when moving to a new area, is that success in getting a new accent down depends greatly on two factors: the age when they move and their integration with speakers of the new dialect. A number of studies have traced kids from the same families that have moved from one place to another where a different dialect is spoken and discovered that, as with acquiring a completely new language, the youngest kids are more successful at picking up native-like abilities in the new dialect compared to their older siblings. That success is in large part driven by their early exposure to a peer group in preschool or kindergarten, something that also explains why kids who are born into families with a different home language donā€™t end up sounding like their parents. One well-known study looked at kids who had moved to Philadelphia from elsewhere in the country at different ages and found that kids who moved before age four ended up sounding very similar to Philly natives. Those older than four picked up many accent features, i.e., they might drink ā€œwooder,ā€ the iconic Philly pronunciation of *water*, but their accent was not completely native-like. Interestingly, where oneā€™s parents were from made a difference even for locally born kids. Those with parents also from Philly were the only ones who were able to replicate all aspects of the local accent perfectly, while those with out-of-state parents were not. This doesnā€™t mean that they couldnā€™t pass for locals, but simply that, from a linguistic perspective, they were not completely conforming to the local dialect patterns. What this tells us is that our local accents start forming even before we are born, probably when listening to our motherā€™s speech in utero, and are darn hard to get rid of even in the most perfect circumstances. When we consider that most of us grow up and go to school with people from backgrounds, neighborhoods, and ethnicities similar to ours, the idea that it is somehow simple to just ā€œpick upā€ a new or socially preferred accent is pretty ludicrous. Second dialect acquisition works similarly to second language acquisitionā€”once your system is set, picking up another variety gets much more difficult because your mouth and mind have already zeroed in on specific sounds and patterns. Being surrounded by speakers of that new variety certainly helps, especially if you are strongly motivated because of your peer group, but that means most speakers will shift closer to the local accents of their friend group, not toward some other accent that teachers or principals use. And, since a lot of us donā€™t move until we are adults, our ability to do the accent hokey-pokey is often close to nil. The gist is that much of the way we will soundā€”whether we are talking about a foreign accent or an English oneā€”is related to our experience with language and its speakers in early childhood. ā„¹ļø This issue is an excerpt from **Why We Talk Funny* by Valerie Fridland, published by Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright Ā©ļø 2026 by Valerie Fridland. It is available to buy at the links below. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-38.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If youā€™d like to read more about the science of baby talk, check out my own series on the topic: #### šŸ”¢ The science of baby talk - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your child? **\[forthcoming\]** - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child This has been an issue of **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Linguists work to create UKā€™s first swear map URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-15/ Last updated: 2026-04-18T09:00:42.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Baby talk in the languages of the world ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-22.png) In the last issue of my series on baby talk, we saw that all cultures use it. But that doesnā€™t mean that all baby talk is the same! In this latest issue in the series, youā€™ll learn all about the diverse ways that baby talk works in the worldā€™s languages. [Baby talk in the languages of the worldHow parents talk to their children around the globe![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/size/w1200/2026/04/banner.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) #### šŸ”¢ Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your child? **\[forthcoming\]** - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### The College of William & Mary hosts landmark Indigenous Language Symposium ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-23.png) Happy to see this great event happening at my alma mater: > On Feb. 21 ā€” International Mother Language Day ā€” 65 tribal members from across Virginia and the Eastern Seaboard gathered at the Muscarelle Museum of Art for William & Maryā€™s first Indigenous Language Symposium, hosted by the American Indian Research Center and the Powhatan Algonquian Intertribal Roundtable (PAIR). > > The daylong convening was built around a simple question: What role can the university play in supporting Indigenous communities in reclaiming their language? > > The answer, two years in the making, brought together tribal leaders, linguists and W&M students and scholars for workshops, teaching demonstrations and difficult conversations ā€” all of it shaped by the tribal communities themselves. The research underlines W&Mā€™s commitment to civic leadership ā€” among the universityā€™s defining institutional priorities ā€” put into practice through faculty research and tribal partnership. [W&M faculty research leads to landmark Indigenous Language SymposiumTribal members from across Virginia and the Eastern Seaboard gathered at the Muscarelle Museum of Art for William & Maryā€™s first Indigenous Language Symposium.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-cropped-wm_cypher_green-1-270x270.png)W&M NewsDanny Devlin, Strategic Cultural Partnerships![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ILS3-1260-1080x720.jpg)](https://news.wm.edu/2026/04/14/wm-faculty-research-leads-to-landmark-indigenous-language-symposium/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Linguists work to create UKā€™s first swear map ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-24.png) Linguists at the the University of Sheffield are creating the first-ever collection of regional swear words and are asking the public to contribute swear words and phrases they commonly use in their local areas, so that the linguists can study how people really speak in everyday life across the country. You can participate and submit your own swear words here! - [The UK Swear Map](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSef-QCBddaJ9blKczAv%5FmrV3pWDHIKuPJHzDNHZ7U1IK0Rcdw/viewform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) More reporting here: - [Mind your language: Linguists seek to preserve Britainā€™s potty-mouthed put-downs](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/15/language-linguists-preserve-britain-swear-words-phrases-map/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The Telegraph*) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Dating the evolution of language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-25.png) The hominin fossil record as known in 2024 ([Wikimedia Commons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) A new analysis of genetic studies proposes that the cognitive capacity for language was already present at least 135,000 years ago, with language likely becoming a social tool around 100,000 years ago. > The team examined genetic evidence to trace the earliest known divergence of human populations, reasoning that all human languages likely share a common origin. I believe this is actually a flawed assumption. Itā€™s entirely possible (even likely) that humans had the cognitive capacity for language before language actually arose. When it did emerge, language would have then spread as a process of social learning across human populations. A second issue is that evidence increasingly suggests that language evolution was an extremely long, gradual process, with the various prerequisites evolving piecemeal. Attempting to pinpoint a precise point at which it evolved, or even clear boundaries for that evolution, is therefore an abortive endeavor. A great book on the topic is *The dawn of language* by Sverker Johansson ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-26.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Scientists think they have learned exactly when and how humans created the first languageA new analysis of genetic studies proposes that the cognitive capacity for language was already present at least 135,000 years ago.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Earth.comEric Ralls![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/humans_first-language-developed_1m.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/when-humans-created-the-first-language-and-communication-skills/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Miyagawa et al. 2025\. Linguistic capacity was present in the *Homo sapiens* population 135 thousand years ago. *Frontiers in Psychology* 16\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1503900](https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1503900?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Bumble bees show a surprising knack for rhythm ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-27.png) Flexible rhythm perception, once thought to require a big brain, has been shown in humble bumble bees. The fuzzy insects can not only recognize a rhythm but also identify the same pattern when scientists change the tempo, according to research published on 2 April in *Science*ā€”the first time this ability has been documented outside of a few mammals and birds. - [Bumble bees show a surprising knack for rhythm](https://www.science.org/content/article/bumble-bees-show-surprising-knack-rhythm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) - Zeng et al. 2026\. Flexible, abstract rhythm perception in bumble bees. *Science* 392(6793): 93ā€“95\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz2894](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz2894?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [What Is the Cyrillic Alphabet and Should You Learn It? - Rosetta StoneLearn about the Cyrillic alphabet, its history, which languages use the Cyrillic alphabet today, and who should learn it.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cyrillic-alphabet_687314596.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/cyrillic-alphabet/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why the verb ā€œto beā€ is so irregularThe answer is six thousand years old![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F4b634bcd-f48c-43ed-920c-20e87398dacd_1600x1132.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/why-the-verb-to-be-is-so-irregular) When analyzing the oldest books of the Bible, including Genesis and Exodus, scholars have identified the hands of various writers and editors, from the author who produced the first core version in the 10th to 9th century B.C., to Ezra, the religious reformer who likely compiled a final version in the 5th century B.C.: [Who really wrote the Old Testament? These are the theories.When analyzing the oldest books of the Bible, scholars have identified the work of various writers and editors. But how did the final version come to be?![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bible2_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/old-testament-bible-authors?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Neat article about the spread of writing systems in Africa specifically: [The Invention and Spread of Writing in Global and African History.Writing systems were independently invented multiple times across several ancient civilizations, with the earliest evidence coming from Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Meso-America between the 4th and 1st millennium BC.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F7a2f26b7-21ea-4d3b-8955-5e72e05e46c9-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)African History Extraisaac Samuel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F6bff9ac3-a423-4c20-85e0-b3f929539403_1047x645.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/isaacsamuel/p/the-invention-and-spread-of-writing) Danny Bate writes about why his favorite historical document is a unique Armenian text without a word of Armenian: [The Armenian Who Learned Greek in Ancient EgyptWhy my (probably) favourite historical document is a unique Armenian text without a word of Armenian.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F1f1fc5e2-6f7e-4fd2-abc4-fe78ebd59cc2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Danny Bate, Wanderer in Language HistoryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F98c577b5-e660-4c53-86af-5098660a5af3_919x640.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/the-armenian-who-learned-greek-in?r=3clvfj&utm%5Fmedium=ios) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Oxford mania: Why the Oxford comma is cultishly adored and wildly overrated* Style guide nerds will love this one: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-28.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OFa1Fa?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > Did JFK and Stalin moonlight as exotic dancers? > > Was Nelson Mandela an 800-year-old demigod who collected dildos? > > Did Ayn Rand and God fall in love and parent a child? > > ā€œYes, yes, and yes,ā€ say the Oxfordnistas, the fussy cult of grammatical zealots who obsess about that comma between the second *yes* and the conjunctionā€”also known as the Oxford comma. > > **But theyā€™re wrong.** > > In fact, there is a lot that most Oxford comma enthusiasts get wrong. Theyā€™re wrong about the Associated Press ā€œbanningā€ it. Theyā€™re wrong about *Oā€™Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy*, the 2018 court decision they claim set a legal precedent for the comma. Most importantly, theyā€™re wrong about the commaā€™s ability to clarify. > > But when challenged about their devotion to the comma, they will dogmatically reply, ā€œYou can pry my Oxford comma from my cold, dead, and lifeless hands.ā€ > > So, how did one little comma attract so much attention and capture the imagination of millions? > > *Oxford Mania* dives into the commaā€™s rich history and how it became the most famous punctuation mark in the English language. Its meteoric rise to stylistic fame shines light on the litany of bad-faith claims and logical fallacies propagating this overrated punctuation markā€”all of which *Oxford Mania* debunks. > > And if Oxfordnistas insist on prying the Oxford comma from their ā€œcold, dead, and lifeless hands,ā€ *Oxford Mania* accepts that challenge. - **Preorder Here:** [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OFa1Fa?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-29.png) [Grammar![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)xkcdAbout![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/grammar_2x.png)](https://xkcd.com/3229/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Baby talk in the languages of the world URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T18:49:04.000Z > Across all languages, child-directed speech is simplified in both obvious and nonobvious waysā€”whether through overt simplification of words or covert avoidance of complex clausesā€”even when it sometimes *appears* that children are being presented with the full complexity of adult speech. All cultures use baby talk, as we saw in [the previous issue in this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/), but not all baby talk is the same! In this issue, youā€™ll see what baby talk (or, more formally, **child-directed speech**) looks like in the languages of the world! ### šŸ”¢ Articles in This Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world **\[this post\]** - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* A lot of people think that baby talk is something only done by American families, a myth we debunked in the previous issue in this series. But baby talk produced by American caregivers does seem to be unique in one respect: American English-speaking parents showed the most extreme changes to their prosody when compared to French, Italian, German, Japanese, and British English ([Fernald et al. 1989](https://www.notion.so/Fernald-et-al-1989-20c50a282bc1814592d0ef9cc28ee834?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 1989). This probably explains why many people *think* baby talk is a uniquely American phenomenonā€”because American English speakers do it in an especially pronounced, attention-grabbing way (which is also probably grating to some people). Much of the idea that baby talk is a strange Americanism probably stems from this misperception. [Danish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Indo-European > Germanic) speakers have also been documented using exaggerated intonation in baby talk, but unlike American English, they donā€™t hyperarticulate the vowels ([Cox et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/Cox-et-al-2023-20d50a282bc18110b5cff5eb1ba1e7fd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Other cultures donā€™t rely on exaggerated intonation at all. In [QuichĆ© Maya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%CA%BCiche%CA%BC%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Mayan), for example, baby talk does not use heightened pitch because high pitch is reserved for people of higher social status ([Ratner & Pye 1984](https://www.notion.so/Ratner-Pye-1984-34050a282bc1814f9dc3fdd716522402?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The [Miā€™kmaq](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi%27kmaq%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [East Cree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%5FCree?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) languages (both in the Algonquian family) are also reported to not use special pitch modifications in child-directed speech ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 750). And in [Cantonese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Sino-Tibetan) baby talk, it is not the *intonation* that is exaggerated but rather the *tones* ([Xu Rattanasone, Burnham & Reilly 2013](https://www.notion.so/Xu-Rattanasone-Burnham-Reilly-2013-34050a282bc18166b0c9e5c20ca36baf?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). --- ### šŸŒ  Aside: Tones vs. Intonation That last statement merits some additional explication: Both intonation and tone involve changes in pitch, but with different functions. **Intonation** refers to the pitch contour of an entire *utterance*, and signals the emotional state or attitude of the speaker (e.g. excitement, sarcasm) or the function of the utterance (e.g. question vs. statement). **Tone** refers to the pitch contours of individual *words*; for example, the first syllable of the word might be pronounced with a High pitch/tone, and the second syllable with a Low pitch/tone. In tonal languages, changing the pitch contour of a word (say, from High-Low to Low-High) changes the meaning of that word. Here are some examples from a Bantu language called [Fuliiru](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuliiru%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Atlanticā€“Congo > Bantu; [Van Otterloo 2011](https://www.notion.so/Van-Otterloo-2011-34050a282bc181bda31ef6af79d60506?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 128), where an acute accent (ā—ŒĢ) indicates a High tone, and no accent indicates a Low tone. **Minimal Tone Pairs in** [**Fuliiru**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuliiru%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Atlanticā€“Congo > Bantu) | **Kifuliiru** | **English** | vs. | **Kifuliiru** | **English** | | ------------- | ----------- | --- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Ć­kyĆ³Ć³ba | mushroom | | Ć­kyooba | fear | | Ć­nyuungu | squash seed | | Ć­nyĆŗungu | cooking pot | | Ć­Ć­ndĆ” | pregnancy | | Ć­inda | louse | | ĆŗĆŗbĆŗlĆ” | intestine | | ĆŗĆŗbĆŗla | length | | ĆŗkĆŗyĆ”lĆ­ka | to cloister | | ĆŗkĆŗyalĆ­ka | to heat water for ugali \[corn meal dish\] | You can see how the meaning of a word changes based on its tone pattern. Intonation, however, changes the meaning of entire utterances, not individual words. The word *house* still means house regardless of whether you say it as a statement (falling intonation) or a question (rising intonation). In tonal languages, tone and intonation interact, so that the tones on a word will be pronounced relatively higher or lower depending on the intonation of the overall utterance. Returning to Cantonese baby talk: When I say that, ā€œIn Cantonese baby talk, it is not the intonation that is exaggerated but rather the tonesā€, this means that Cantonese parents are exaggerating the pitch contours of individual syllables, but not of the overall utterance. --- In the Australian Aboriginal language [Warlpiri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlpiri%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Pamaā€“Nyungan), speakers change the pronunciation of vowels (their **quality**, in technical terms) during baby talk to match the vowels that children themselves are saying ([Bundgaard-Nielsen et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/Bundgaard-Nielsen-et-al-2023-20d50a282bc1811c84eaeb6e2206d428?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Some vowels are pronounced further forward in the mouth, while others are pronounced lower in the mouth. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-15.png) Scatterplots of the approximate locations in the mouth where vowels in adult-directed speech (ADS) and child-directed speech (CDS) are pronounced in the mouth by Warlpiri participants. Child-directed speech shows a wider range of pronunciations than does adult-directed speech. From[Bundgaard-Nielsen et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Bundgaard-Nielsen-et-al-2023-20d50a282bc1811c84eaeb6e2206d428?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 12. In Japanese baby talk there is no vowel exaggeration, but speakers do emphasize the *rhythm* of Japanese ([Tajima et al. 2013](https://www.notion.so/Tajima-et-al-2013-34050a282bc18195b841f953e30a721c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), in which each **mora** (individual unit of timing) has approximately the same length. ā„¹ļø ****Mora-Timed, Syllable-Timed, and Stress-Timed Languages** Compare Japanese with languages like French, Italian, and Spanish, which give approximately the same amount of time for each **syllable*, or languages like English, which gives approximately the same amount of time between **stressed* syllables. These are called ****mora-timed**, ****syllable-timed**, and ****stress-timed** languages respectively. In addition to changes in prosody and intonation, many languages adjust the pronunciation of individual words in child-directed speech as well. Baby talk in the [Cocopah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocopah%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) language (Yuman-CochimĆ­) spoken in Arizona and Mexico has a complex set of conventions where consonants at the beginnings of syllables are replaced in different ways depending on the place and manner of articulation of the consonant in the adult form, and where the stress is. Here are some examples ([Crawford 1970](https://www.notion.so/Crawford-1970-26550a282bc181abb40ac91b6a6a69bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 10): | **Adult-Directed Speech** | **Child-Directed Speech** | **English** | | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | xuĖˆcĢŒaq | xunĖˆvak | sheā€™s bad | | kaĖˆyus | kanĖˆvus | she somehow | | xuĖˆcĢŒalm | xunĖˆvalm | when sheā€™s pitiful | | nŹømĖˆkur | nmnĖˆvul | her head | | xaĖˆsanŹø | vaĖˆniĖ \~ ĖˆvanĖˆvan | girl before puberty | | nŹøiĖĖˆyu | ninĖˆvu | her eyes | | nŹøiĖĖˆya | ninĖˆva | her mouth | | sĢ£uĖˆŹ”ul | sunĖˆvul | she washes | | nŹøiĖĖˆsĢŒaĖÉ¬Źø | ninĖˆvaĖÉ¬ | her hand | | Ėˆrapm | inĖˆlapm | when it hurts (her) | | nŹøiĖĖˆway | ninĖˆvay | her heart | | awĖˆŹ‚ay | awnĖˆvay | she laughs | | lŹøuĖˆcĢŒasĢŒ | lunĖˆvas | sheā€™s little | | xaĖˆsanŹø kiĖˆyiĖk | ĖˆvanĖˆvan kinĖˆviĖk | little girl, come here | | kŹ·aĖˆnŹøuk | kanĖˆvuk | baby | | luĖˆŹ”uy puĖˆwacĢŒ | lunĖˆvay punvaŹˆ | she sits here and plays | | uĖˆmicĢŒ waĖĖˆyaĖcĢŒ | unĖˆvitĢ£ anĖˆyaĖŹˆ | she cries continually | | misĢŒĖˆkŹ·iɬ ĖˆnŹøaĖm | kinĖˆviɬ naĖm | you are very noisy | | awĖˆnŹøur uĖˆsaĖw | awnĖˆvul unĖˆvaĖw | she goes to school | | nŹøaĖˆwiĖ awĖˆnŹøur puĖĖˆwacĢŒ | nanĖˆviĖ awnĖˆvul punĖˆvaŹˆ | the pencil is here | | nŹøaĖˆwiĖ uĖĖˆnŹøur puĖĖˆwacĢŒ | nanĖˆviĖ unĖˆvul panĖˆvaŹˆ | the cover is here | | nŹøaĖˆwiĖ uĖˆŹ‚icĢŒ puĖĖˆwaya | nanĖˆviĖ unĖˆviŹˆ punĖˆvay(a) | sheā€™s drinking again | | nŹøaĖˆwiĖ ĖˆŹ‚icĢŒ puĖˆwaya | nanĖˆviĖ inĖˆviŹˆ punĖˆvay(a) | Iā€™m drinking again | | nŹøaĖˆwiĖ miĖˆŹ‚icĢŒ pmĖˆwaya | nanĖˆviĖ minĖˆviŹˆ pmnĖˆvaya | youā€™re drinking again | | maĖˆpucĢŒ misĢŒuĖˆsĢŒiĖl | manĖˆputĢ£ misunĖˆviĖl | you donā€™t know | | misĢŒuĖˆray waĖĖˆyaw ĖˆnŹøaĖm | sunĖˆvay anvĖˆyaw ĖˆnaĖm | sheā€™s very angry | | aĖˆŹ‚uĖ Ėˆikm | anĖˆvuĖ Ėˆvikm | a little later | | kiĖˆyiĖ kxmĖˆnŹøaw Ėˆkxir | ĖˆviĖ Ėˆnaw Ėˆvil | come tie my shoe | | ĖˆsĢŒuki kiĖˆyiĖ nŹøaĖˆwiĖ ĖˆknŹøaĖpm kiĖĖˆŹ”iĖp | ĖˆsĢŒuki ĖˆviĖ ĖˆviĖ ĖˆnaĖp ĖˆviĖp | Janice, come here, I want to tell you something | In fact, the entire consonant inventory of the language is simplified, so that only a subset of the languageā€™s sounds appear in child-directed speech. This is what the consonant inventory of adult-directed speech looks like ([Crawford 1970](https://www.notion.so/Crawford-1970-26550a282bc181abb40ac91b6a6a69bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 11): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-16.png) The consonant inventory for adult-directed speech in [Cocopah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocopah%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Yuman-CochimĆ­;[Crawford 1970](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Crawford-1970-26550a282bc181abb40ac91b6a6a69bd?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 11) And this is what the consonant inventory of child-directed speech looks like ([Crawford 1970](https://www.notion.so/Crawford-1970-26550a282bc181abb40ac91b6a6a69bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 11): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-17.png) The consonant inventory for child-directed speech in [Cocopah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocopah%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Yuman-CochimĆ­;[Crawford 1970](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Crawford-1970-26550a282bc181abb40ac91b6a6a69bd?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 11) You can see that there are far fewer consonants used in child-directed speech than adult-directed speech. Similarly, the specialized child-directed vocabulary in [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Wakashan) has a reduced consonant inventory compared to adult-directed speech. Here is the inventory for adult-directed speech: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-18.png) The consonant inventory for adult-directed speech in [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Wakashan;[Kess & Kess 1986](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Kess-Kess-1986-26550a282bc1816b9198ee479c230611?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 206) And here is the inventory for child-directed speech: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-19.png) The consonant inventory for child-directed speech in [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Wakashan;[Kess & Kess 1986](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Kess-Kess-1986-26550a282bc1816b9198ee479c230611?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 207) **Reduplication** (repetition of sounds, syllables, or entire words) is also a common feature of child-directed speech across languages, such as *nana* for *banana* or *numā€‘num* for food). Here are examples of reduplication in child-directed speech (CDS) in [Inuktitut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktitut?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan), compared with their counterparts in adult-directed speech (ADS) ([Crago & Allen 1997](https://www.notion.so/Crago-Allen-1997-34050a282bc181f9b630c7c5ffb4b704?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 96ā€“97): | **ADS Form** | **CDS Form** | **Translation** | | ------------ | ------------ | --------------- | | ipiq | aaqqaaq | ā€˜dirtā€™ | | niqi | apaapa | ā€˜foodā€™ | | qimmiq | lulu | ā€˜dogā€™ | | umajuq | uquuqu | ā€˜animalā€™ | | nunakkuujuuq | vuvu | ā€˜vehicleā€™ | What about grammatical differences? Does child-directed speech work differently in languages with elaborate morphology (like [**polysynthetic languages**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysynthetic%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), which have vastly different grammatical structures than English? Just as an example, hereā€™s a word from the polysynthetic language [Yupik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yupik%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan): ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** If any of the abbreviations or notations in this article are unfamiliar to you, check out the ā€œ[How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions)ā€ page. 1. [Yupik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yupik%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan) tuntussuqatarniksaitengqiggtuq 1. tuntuā€‘ssurā€‘qatarā€‘niā€‘ksaiteā€‘ngqiggteā€‘uqreindeerā€‘huntā€‘futā€‘sayā€‘negā€‘againā€‘3sg.ind ā€˜He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer.ā€™ ([Wikipedia: Polysynthetic language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysynthetic%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Do parents perhaps simplify complex grammatical structures like these for their children in the first year or two? After all, children themselves tend to strip words of their inflection when speaking in the polysynthetic languages [Severn Ojibwe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oji-Cree?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (a.k.a. Oji-Cree; Algonquian), [Inuktitut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktitut?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan), and [Navajo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Na-DenĆ©) ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 756), so it would make sense that parents did so too, as another method of accommodating their speech to match the stage of language development of their child. This isnā€™t an easy question to answer, precisely because very little research on first language acquisition has been conducted with nonā€“Indo-European languages ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 742ā€“743). Nonetheless, there is some evidence to suggest that, while caregivers donā€™t strip otherwise-obligatory affixes from words, they do choose to use simpler (but still grammatical) words. Severn Ojibwe, for example, is about as morphologically complex as it gets, yet child-directed speech in the language tends to use repetition and short constructions, as this example shows: > Ohowe kiniin na. > ā€˜Look at this!ā€™ > > Awanen aha. > ā€˜Whoā€™s that, eh?ā€™ > > Awanen aha. > ā€˜Who is that?ā€™ > > Aacic? > ā€˜Baby?ā€™ You would never know from this example that Severn Ojibwe is a highly morphologically complex language. šŸŒ  Want to learn more about how children acquire the morphology and grammatical inflection of their language? Check out this issue of the newsletter about how children learn grammatical rules (and how we know): [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/size/w1200/2026/02/landscape-cover.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) --- #### šŸŒ  Aside: Ergative-absolutive marking in child-directed speech Hereā€™s an especially fascinating aspect of child-directed speech in [Inuktitut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktitut?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan) which unfortunately requires some robust background in linguistic typology to understand. So if this aside is too technical, just skip it. Inuktitut doesnā€™t indicate subjects vs. objects in quite the same way English does. Instead it has something called **ergative-absolutive** marking: if a clause has two participants (i.e. the verb is transitive), the agentā€”the doer of the actionā€”gets marked in a special way. This helps listeners determine who is doing what to whom in the clause. That marker of the agent of a transitive clause is called the **ergative**. If the clause only has one participant (i.e. the verb is intransitive), no special marking is needed, or the participant gets the ā€œdefaultā€ marking. That non-marking or ā€œdefaultā€ marking is called the **absolutive**. Hereā€™s the cool bit for baby talk: When Inuktitut caregivers use child-directed speech, **they almost exclusively use the absolutive** ([Allen & Crago 1996](https://www.notion.so/Allen-Crago-1996-34050a282bc1812a891cc2a0086fe1cf?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Allen 2013](https://www.notion.so/Allen-2013-34050a282bc1818fbb7ec541a5ec72ec?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 89). This means that they only use intransitive clauses when talking to children! Since adults nevertheless need to talk about events with two participants, accomplishing this involves a bit of syntactic gymnastics. Adults will use passive verbs or other constructions called [**antipassives**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipassive%5Fvoice?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [**noun incorporation**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation%5F%28linguistics%29?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) to express roughly the same event using an intransitive verb. As a result of this, children themselves begin using intransitive clauses before transitive ones, and use intransitives significantly more frequently than transitives overall ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 757). This same intransitive bias in child speech has also been documented in Navajo, East Cree, and Mohawk; in Navajo, fully 77% of verbs in child speech were intransitive ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 757). This is such a fantastic example of how caregivers accommodate their childā€™s language learning in subtle and subconscious ways. No Inuktitut adult is explicitly thinking, ā€œergatives are hard, I should only use the absolutive for nowā€, yet they unwittingly provide an easier entry point into the complexities of Inuktitut grammar by doing so. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-20.png) --- Despite the complexity of Native American languages, child-directed speech in these languages isnā€™t always simplified. Children are often presented with extensively inflected words just like in adult-directed speech. For instance, nouns in East Cree require multiple affixes, and these appear even in child-directed speech, as this example shows: 1. [East Cree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%5FCree?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)(Algonquian) MĆ¢uhĆ® mĆ®n chispituniniuh. 1. mĆ¢uā€‘hĆ®demā€‘inan.pl 2. mĆ®nagain 3. chiā€‘spitunā€‘iniuā€‘h2ā€‘armā€‘1pl.inclā€‘inan.pl ā€˜And here are our arms.ā€™ (Henke 2020: 225) In Inuktitut, even ā€œbaby wordsā€ (vocabulary specific to child-directed speech) can still have the full range of complex inflection! Here are examples of the baby words *aataaqā€‘* ā€˜get hurtā€™ and *aaqqaaqā€‘* ā€˜dirtā€™ in use in childā€‘directed speech in Inuktitut: 1. [Inuktitut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktitut?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€”Unangan) Aataartaulangasijualunga. 1. aataaqā€‘jauluā€‘runaā€‘siā€‘juqā€‘alukā€‘unahurtā€‘passā€‘futā€‘presā€‘ptcp.3sg.subjā€‘emphā€‘this.one ā€˜That guy is going to get hurt.ā€™ (Crago, Allen, & Pesco 1998: 40) 2. [Inuktitut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktitut?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan) Iihiiruluk aaqqaaraaluturumasuuraaluummat. 1. iihiiqā€‘gulukyuckyā€‘bad.little 2. aaqqaaqā€‘alukā€‘tuqā€‘gumaā€‘suuqā€‘alukā€‘uā€‘mmatdirtā€‘emphā€‘consumeā€‘wantā€‘habā€‘emphā€‘beā€‘sub.3sg.subj ā€˜Because the little bugs bit the dirty ones.ā€™ (Crago, Allen, & Pesco 1998: 40) The result is a somewhat ironic contrast between the ā€œbaby wordā€, which parents presumably use because they find it easier for the child to process, and the full complexity of Inuktitut grammar, which is notably less easy to process! Lastly, one feature of child-directed speech that has been noted in Native American languages is how fluidly a word can be used as either a noun, verb, or adjective. The [Acoma Keres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keres%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (isolate) word *Ź”Ć”kā€™aŹ”Ć”kā€™a* can mean ā€˜drinkā€™, ā€˜you drink!ā€™, ā€˜did you drink?ā€™, ā€˜I want a drinkā€™, ā€˜I had a drinkā€™, and more ([Miller 1965](https://www.notion.so/Miller-1965-34050a282bc181ff86bef2bf0441acdd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 112). The Inuktitut root *aahaaqā€‘* can mean ā€˜to hurtā€™, ā€˜thing that causes hurtā€™, ā€˜thing that hurtsā€™, and ā€˜ouchā€™ ([Crago & Allen 1997](https://www.notion.so/Crago-Allen-1997-34050a282bc181f9b630c7c5ffb4b704?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 93). This is especially interesting because many Native American languages are known for blurring the distinctions between parts of speech entirely! (Incidentally, this flexibility in parts of speech was actually the focus of my [dissertation](https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11932.00640?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Hieber 2021](https://www.notion.so/Hieber-2021-34050a282bc181a194c9d8fb4a153980?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com).) So it would seem that this tendency starts early with children. I suspect, however, that Native American languages have been overly-exoticized in this regard, and that if scholars looked at child-directed speech in English theyā€™d find this same flexibility. (Again, this was actually one of the findings from my dissertation: English displays a great deal of part-of-speech flexibility too; this isnā€™t a phenomenon limited to nonā€“Indo-European languages.) In sum, then, baby talk can look dramatically different in the worldā€™s languages. Some languages rely heavily on prosodic changes like exaggerated intonation, others on phonological changes like swapping out consonant sounds, and others on entirely distinct sets of ā€œbaby wordsā€. Across all languages, child-directed speech is simplified in both obvious and nonobvious waysā€”whether through overt simplification of words or covert avoidance of complex clausesā€”even when it sometimes *appears* that children are being presented with the full complexity of adult speech. Caregivers the world over do a great deal of workā€”consciously or subconsciouslyā€”to accommodate their childrenā€™s language-learning process. In the next issue of this series on the science of baby talk, weā€™ll look at one of the most controversial claims in child language acquisition research: the Word Gap, which claims that poor households hear up to **30 million fewer words** by age 4 than more affluent households. In that issue, weā€™ll look at how much you *really* need to be talking to your child. Be sure to sign up below to get notified when the next issue posts! [šŸ“§ Subscribe here!](#/portal/signup/free) ### šŸ”¢ Articles in This Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world **\[this post\]** - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-21.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40v58kl?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009294522?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Allen, Shanley E. M. & Martha B. Crago. 1996\. Early passive acquisition in Inuktitut. *Journal of Child Language* 23(1). 129ā€“155\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010126](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010126?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Allen, Shanley E.M. 2013\. The acquisition of ergativity in Inuktitut. In Edith L. Bavin & Sabine Stoll (eds.), *Trends in Language Acquisition Research*, vol. 9, 71ā€“106\. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. [https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.9.04all](https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.9.04all?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Bundgaard-Nielsen, Rikke L., Carmel Oā€™Shannessy, Yizhou Wang, Alice Nelson, Jessie Bartlett & Vanessa Davis. 2023\. Two-part vowel modifications in Child Directed Speech in Warlpiri may enhance child attention to speech and scaffold noun acquisition. *Phonetica* 80(1ā€“2). 1ā€“42\. [https://doi.org/10.1515/phon-2022-0039](https://doi.org/10.1515/phon-2022-0039?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Chee, Melvatha R. & Ryan E. Henke. 2023\. Child and child-directed speech in North American languages. In Carmen Dagostino, Marianne Mithun & Keren Rice (eds.), *The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America* (World of Linguistics 13.2), vol. 2, 741ā€“766\. De Gruyter. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712742-033](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712742-033?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Cox, Christopher, Christina Dideriksen, Tamar Kerenā€Portnoy, Andreas Roepstorff, Morten H. Christiansen & Riccardo Fusaroli. 2023\. Infantā€directed speech does not always involve exaggerated vowel distinctions: Evidence from Danish. *Child Development* 94(6). 1672ā€“1696\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13950](https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13950?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Crago, Martha B. & Shanley E.M. Allen. 1997\. Linguistic and cultural aspects of simplicity and complexity in Inuktitut child directed speech. In E. Hughes, M. Hughes & A. Greenhill (eds.), *Proceedings of the 21st Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development*, 91ā€“102\. Cascadilla Press. - Crago, Martha B, Shanley EM Allen & Diane Pesco. 1998\. Issues of complexity in Inuktitut and English child directed speech. In *29th Annual Stanford Child Language Research Forum*, 37ā€“46. - Crawford, James M. 1970\. Cocopa baby talk. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 36(1). 9ā€“13\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/465083](https://doi.org/10.1086/465083?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Fernald, Anne, Traute Taeschner, Judy Dunn, Mechthild Papousek, BĆ©nĆ©dicte De Boysson-Bardies & Ikuko Fukui. 1989\. A cross-language study of prosodic modifications in mothersā€™ and fathersā€™ speech to preverbal infants. *Journal of Child Language* 16(3). 477ā€“501\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010679](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010679?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Henke, Ryan E. 2020\. *The first language acquisition of nominal inflection in Northern East Cree: Possessives and nouns*. University of Hawaii at Manoa Ph.D. thesis. - Hieber, Daniel W. 2021\. *Lexical polyfunctionality in discourse: A quantitative corpus-based approach*. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California, Santa Barbara Ph.D. thesis. [https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11932.00640](https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11932.00640?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kess, Joseph Francis & Anita Copeland Kess. 1986\. On Nootka baby talk. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 52(3). 201ā€“211\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/466018](https://doi.org/10.1086/466018?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Miller, Wick R. 1965\. *Acoma grammar and texts* (University of California Publications in Linguistics 40). University of California Press. - Ratner, Nan Bernstein & Clifton Pye. 1984\. Higher pitch in BT is not universal: Acoustic evidence from Quiche Mayan. *Journal of Child Language* 11(3). 515ā€“522\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900005924](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900005924?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Tajima, Keiichi, Kuniyoshi Tanaka, Andrew Martin & Reiko Mazuka. 2013\. Is the mora rhythm of Japanese more strongly observed in infant-directed speech than in adult-directed speech? In *PRoceedings of Meetings on Acoustics*, vol. 19\. Montreal, Canada. [https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4800508](https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4800508?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Van Otterloo, Karen. 2011\. *The Kifuliiru language, Vol. 1: Phonology, tone, and morphological derivation* (Publications in Linguistics 146). SIL International. - Xu Rattanasone, Nan, Denis Burnham & Ronan G. Reilly. 2013\. Tone and vowel enhancement in Cantonese infant-directed speech at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of age. *Journal of Phonetics* 41(5). 332ā€“343\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2013.06.001](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2013.06.001?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Has forensic linguistics solved the mystery of Bitcoinā€™s creator? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-14/ Last updated: 2026-04-11T19:45:29.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### How slang works: Interview with *Psychology Today* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-6.png) Gary Drevitch at *Psychology Today* recently interviewed me for a great piece, published this week, about how slang works, where it comes from, and the role it plays in society. Also interviewed for the piece were Adam Aleksic (@EtymologyNerd, author of *Algospeak: How social media is transforming the future of language* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593804070?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]) and linguist Valerie Fridland (author of *Why we talk funny: The real story behind our accents* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\] and *Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593298329?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]). [No Cap: Slang Is Low-key More Powerful Than EverFor slang to catch on, it has to be funny or cool.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Psychology Today![](https://cdn2.psychologytoday.com/assets/styles/collection_545x321/public/article/teaser/2026-02/teaser-slangs-2.jpg?itok=nH-00h1m)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/articles/202603/no-cap-slang-is-low-key-more-powerful-than-ever?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-7.png) Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind? If not, why does Homer use colors so strangely in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*? Thereā€™s something decidedly weird about the way Homer talks about colors in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*: wine-dark seas, violet sheep, hyacinth hair, and faces green with fear. It turns out itā€™s not just Homer who struggled with colors, but the authors of *all* the ancient textsā€”the Indian Vedic poems, the Old Testament, the Icelandic sagas, and even the Quran. Biblical Hebrew, for instance, lacks a word for ā€˜blueā€™, and the Bible is rife with odd color descriptions: a ā€˜red horseā€™ and a ā€˜red heifer without spotā€™; faces ā€˜turned greenā€™ with panic; the feathers of a dove covered with ā€˜green goldā€™. As for the Vedic hymns, philologist Lazarus Geiger says: > These hymns, of more than ten thousand lines, are brimming with descriptions of the heavens. Scarcely any subject is evoked more frequently. The sun and reddening dawnā€™s play of color, day and night, cloud and lightning, the air and the ether, all these are unfolded before us over and over again, in splendor and vivid fullness. But there is only one thing that no one would ever learn from those ancient songs who did not already know it, and that is that the sky is blue. What could possible be going on? The answer lies in linguistic universals about how color terms evolve across languages. In this bonus issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter, weā€™ll look at Homerā€™s odd use of colors and what it tells us about the evolution of color terms in the worldā€™s languages: [Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind?Why Homer uses colors so strangely in the Iliad and the Odyssey![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/size/w1200/2026/04/newsletter-banner.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/color-term-hierarchy/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### How Black culture shaped Gen Z slang ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-8.png) Linguistics experts say many words and phrases coined by Gen Zers have roots in African American Language that date back centuries. (Shoutout to Jamaal Muwwakkil, a fellow UC Santa Barbara graduate who I overlapped with during my Ph.D. there.) [Appreciation or appropriation? How Black culture is shaping Gen Z slangLinguistics experts say many words and phrases coined by Gen Zers have roots in African American Language that date back centuries.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)NBC NewsMoriah Humiston![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/260401-gen-z-slang-cs-64ab96.jpg)](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/appreciation-appropriation-black-culture-shaping-gen-z-slang-rcna265993?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### ā€œEnglish is the real bottleneck stifling other Indian languagesā€ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-9.png) A chart of Hindi alphabets for Telugu learners. Credit: K Venkataramana, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. A Hindi professor says that Indiaā€™s systems pull one upward into English. Hindi is the corridor, but English is the gate outside which many aspirations land up. This is the second part of a debate on whether Hindi or English are weakening other Indian languages and constricting linguistic diversity. [A Hindi professor responds: English is the real bottleneck stifling other Indian languagesIndiaā€™s systems pull one upward into English. Hindi is the corridor, but English is the gate outside which many aspirations land up.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Scroll.inKrishna Kumar Pandey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/211571-juxpoavief-1769000455.jpg)](https://scroll.in/article/1090132/a-hindi-professor-responds-english-is-the-real-bottleneck-stifling-other-indian-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Has forensic linguistics solved the mystery of Bitcoinā€™s creator? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-10.png) Bitcoinā€™s creator has hidden behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto for 17 years. But a trail of clues buried deep in crypto lore led to a 55-year-old computer scientist named Adam Back. [Mysterious Bitcoin inventor is ā€˜unmaskedā€™ as British nerdIts creator has the mysterious pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, but no individual has so far been decisively identified as Satoshi, now undoubtly one of the worldā€™s richest people.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180.png)Daily MailImogen Garfinkel![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/107736451-0-image-a-11_1775641824217.jpg)](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15715043/Bitcoin-inventor-unmasked-55-year-old-British-encryption-expert-writing-style-gave-away.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Magpies learn ā€œsentencesā€ like human toddlers ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-11.png) New research shows fledgling magpies combine sounds into structured call sequences through social learningā€”the first evidence of learned syntax outside humans. [Young Western magpies learn ā€˜sentencesā€™ like human toddlers - BirdLife AustraliaNew research from the University of Western Australia shows young Western Magpies develop structured, socially learned call sequences.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32.png)BirdLife Australia![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Keith-Ward.jpg)](https://birdlife.org.au/news/young-western-magpies-learn-sentences-like-human-toddlers?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Ancient DNA reshapes the story of early Pacific migrationsā€”and languages ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-12.png) > About 3200 years ago, Southeast Asian seafarers known as the Lapita pushed east into the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean, hitting nearly every habitable isle in that corner of the globe from New Guinea to Fiji and Tonga. As they did so, they left behind artifacts of their culture, including pottery stamped with distinctive geometric patterns. > > But on Palau, thereā€™s not a single shard of Lapita potteryā€”and the islandā€™s inhabitants speak a language thatā€™s distinct from the tongues spoken on other Pacific islands. So who were the first Palauans, and where did they come from? > > A [new study published last week in *Cell*](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.02.011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) suggests an answer. Genetic evidence confirms Palauā€™s first settlers descended from Southeast Asians who had intermingled with the Papuans, Indigenous peoples who settled the island of New Guinea some 50,000 years ago. - [Ancient DNA reshapes the story of early Pacific migrations](https://www.science.org/content/article/ancient-dna-reshapes-story-early-pacific-migrations?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) - Liu et al. 2026\. Papuan admixture predated the settlement of Palau. *Cell*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.02.011](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.02.011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Is it ā€˜Ih-ranā€™ or ā€˜E-ronā€™? Inside the politics of pronunciationBoth President Trump and Vice President Vance pronounce Iran as ā€˜Ih-RAN,ā€™ not ā€˜Ih-RON.ā€™ A linguist says that how the countryā€™s name is pronounced may be a political choice.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The ConversationValerie M. Fridland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260322-57-g3ncqg.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/is-it-ih-ran-or-e-ron-inside-the-politics-of-pronunciation-278954?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A brief introduction to Icelandic and the language history of Iceland: [What Language Do They Speak in Iceland? - Rosetta StoneWhat language do they speak in Iceland? Icelandic, of course! Learn about Icelandicā€™s ancient roots, neologisms, dialects, and the unofficial languages used across the country.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rosetta StoneJacyb Porter![](https://blog.rosettastone.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Shutterstock_2511524839-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-language-do-they-speak-in-iceland/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Gen Z thinks capital letters are just ā€˜too intense.ā€™ And a linguist agrees.Itā€™s not about being lazy.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)UpworthyEmily Shiffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Untitled-design-4.png)](https://www.upworthy.com/gen-z-calls-capital-letters-too-intense-a-linguist-thinks-theyre-right/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why are languages spoken at different speeds?Japanese speakers fire off syllables at lightning speedā€”what gives?![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Popular ScienceRJ Mackenzie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/why-are-languages-spoken-at-different-speeds.jpg)](https://www.popsci.com/science/why-are-languages-spoken-at-different-speeds/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [3 ways couples create their own private language, by a psychologist](https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2026/03/27/3-ways-couples-create-their-own-private-language-by-a-psychologist/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Forbes*) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Llanito: Gibraltarā€™s English-Spanish hybrid A neat video from Rob Words about Llanito, a contact language spoken in Gibraltar that is a mix of Andalusian Spanish, English, Ligurian, and other languages. ### *Language rules! Secrets of a uniquely human ability* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-13.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4cFoieG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009658287?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Asya M. Pereltsvaig, author of the popular textbook *Languages of the world: An introduction*, as a new popular audience book on linguistics coming out in May: *Language rules! Secrets of a uniquely human ability* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4cFoieG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009658287?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > What are the key design elements of human language? How does it work? What makes it different from how animals communicate and convey information? How did it evolve, biologically speaking? In what respects do animals fail to do what we humans do so effortlessly? Language is a uniquely human trait, but without a degree in linguistics, it is difficult to comprehend how it works. This fascinating book addresses these and related questions in a lively and engaging way, and demonstrates the ā€˜nuts and boltsā€™ of how language actually works. Readers are introduced to key discoveries in the study of language, such as Chomskyā€™s ideas about ā€˜language facultyā€™, and parallels are drawn with well-known issues in science, such as ā€˜flat earthā€™, the nature-nurture debate, and the teaching of language to apes. Language ā€“ something so universal to all human experience ā€“ is a fascinating cognitive system, and this book explains how, and why. ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Hereā€™s a fantastic illustration of Grimmā€™s Law at work from Starkey Comics: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-14.png) Hereā€™s the explanation he provides along with it: > 'Grimm's Law' is the collective name for a series of sound changes that happened as Proto-Germanic evolved from Proto-Indo-European, somewhere in Northern Europe around 2500 years ago. > > They explain some of the differences between related words in the Germanic languages and other Indo-European languages. > > These changes are very regular, and discovering them was key to understanding the way the Germanic languages relate to the other branches of the Indo-European tree. > > Jacob Grimm (of "Brothers Grimm" fame) put forward the idea in 1822, which began the process that would lead to us reconstructing a Proto-Germanic language, and helped us better construct the Proto-Indo-European language that forms the base of so many of my images. > > Here I've picked out 9 English words beginning with "f" that have "p"-initial cognates in the Spanish languages. I've tried to select words where the connection in meaning is still obvious. > > I picked English vs Spanish, but you can see the same pattern between any Germanic language and any non-Germanic Indo-European language. You can find more of Ryan Starkeyā€™s excellent infographics at the Starkey Comics website: [Starkey ComicsStarkey Comics: Colourful images about culture and language![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://i0.wp.com/starkeycomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-6.png?resize=710%2C335&ssl=1)](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/color-term-hierarchy/ Last updated: 2026-10-03T15:38:33.000Z > ā€œThere is only one thing that no one would ever learn from those ancient songs who did not already know it, and that is that the sky is blue.ā€ \~ Lazarus Geiger Thereā€™s something decidedly weird about the way Homer talks about colors in the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey*. Take one of his most famousā€”and oddā€”epithets: the ā€œwine-dark seaā€. Homer uses this phrase five times in the *Iliad* and twelve times in the *Odyssey*. The phrase is so ubiquitous that it is frequently used or alluded to in pop culture even today. But how does wine in any way accurately describe the color of the sea? Surely a comparison with something blue or green or even gray would have made for a better descriptor. Homer was writing in [Ancient Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient%5FGreek?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Indo-European > Hellenic), and in actuality, the phrase ā€œwine-darkā€ is already a poetic reinterpretation of the word Homer actually used: Īæį¼¶Ī½ĪæĻˆ *oĆ®nops*, a compound of Īæį¼¶Ī½ĪæĻ‚ *oĆ®nos* ā€˜wineā€™ + į½„Ļˆ *Ć³ps* ā€˜eye; faceā€™, which would have more literally meant ā€˜wine-lookingā€™. What about the sea is so wine-like that Homer uses the phrase not one but *seventeen* times to describe it? It gets weirder: The only other thing Homer describes using the word *oĆ®nops* isā€¦ oxen. (Oxen are, for the record, black, brown, or reddish-brown.) Then thereā€™s the term į¼°ĻŒĪµĪ¹Ļ‚ *iĆ³eis* ā€˜violetā€™, which Homer uses to describe sheep (presumably black sheep), iron, andā€¦ the sea. So the sea is wine-looking and violet-like. Got it. Homer also compares the color of Odysseusā€™ dark hair to the color of a hyacinth, which, in case you didnā€™t know, looks like this: ![A closeup photograph of a vibrantly-colored violent hyacinth](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image.png) I look forward to seeing Tom Holland with violet hair in Christopher Nolanā€™s upcoming film **The Odyssey* ([Wikipedia: Hyacinth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyacinth?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) šŸ“˜ Much of this article is based on the discussion of color terms in Guy Deutscherā€™s excellent book, **Through the language glass: Why the world looks different in other languages* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hsH9tu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780312610494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This also happens to be one of my favorite pop linguistics books. If you enjoy this article, I highly recommend procuring a copy at the links above. ![Book cover for ā€œThrough the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languagesā€ by Guy Deutscher. A white grid background with scattered colorful glass marbles; the title appears in large black and multicolored text, and the authorā€™s name is at the bottom with ā€œPicadorā€ in the corner.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-1.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hsH9tu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780312610494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This is just the beginning of Homerā€™s chromatic curiositiesā€”oddities that have puzzled scholars for centuries. In 1858, for instance, British politician William Gladstone compiled a comprehensive list of Homerā€™s erratic use of colors as part of a massive 1,700-page treatise titled *Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age*. In a chapter tucked away near the end of the book titled ā€œHomerā€™s perception and use of colorā€, Gladstone so thoroughly and rigorously documented Homerā€™s strange use of color terms that the intellectuals of the time were forced to acknowledge that something more was going on with Homerā€™s color vocabulary than mere poetic license. Gladstone carefully laid out five types of evidence showing that something was amiss in Homerā€™s descriptions of colors: First, as we have already seen, Homer often uses the same word to denote colors that areā€”to modern observers, at leastā€”completely different. Another example of this is his use of the word Ļ‡Ī»Ļ‰ĻĻŒĻ‚ *khlōrĆ³s*, which later just came to mean ā€˜greenā€™. But Homer applies *khlōrĆ³s* to faces pale with fear, fresh twigs, the olive wood of the club of Cyclops, andā€¦ honey. Or take the word ĪŗĻ…Ī¬Ī½ĪµĪæĻ‚ *kÅ­įŗÆneos*, which later came to mean ā€˜blueā€™. Homer employs it to describe the eyebrows of Zeus, the hair of Hector, and a dark cloudā€”never anything blue. Second, Homer sometimes characterizes the same objects using contradictory color descriptors. Iron, for instance, is described using terms for violet and gray, as well as the word Ī±į¼“ĪøĻ‰Ī½ *aĆ­thōn* ā€˜a thing which blazes and flashes like burnished metalā€™. *aĆ­thōn* is otherwise only used to refer to the color of horses, lions, andā€¦ oxen. So oxen are wine-looking and blazing like burnished metal. Cool. Third, Homer uses color terms only sparingly, and not at all in places where we might confidently expect it. He never discusses the color of horses despite including extensive descriptions of them. He never describes the sky as blue; it is starry, broad, great, iron, or copper, but never blue. Poppies, spring flowers, fields of wheat, hills and forests are never described in terms of their colors. In contrast, the producers of the 1939 film *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz* specifically elected to use the scene involving a vibrant field of red and pink poppies to flaunt their dazzling new Technicolor technology. They used paper flowers to create the effect of a vast field, making it one of the most expensive and visually iconic sequences in movie history. Yet not once does Homer rely on the color of flowers for his vivid imagery. Fourth, when colors do feature in the Homeric epics, white and black predominate over all other colors. The table below shows how often Homer uses each color term in the *Odyssey* and the *Iliad* combined: | **Ancient Greek** | **Transliteration** | **English** | **Count** | **Notes** | | ----------------- | ------------------- | ----------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------- | | Ī¼Ī­Ī»į¾±Ļ‚ | mĆ©lās | black | \~170 | Originally meant ā€˜darkā€™ | | various | ā€” | white | \~100 | | | į¼Ļįæ ĪøĻĻŒĻ‚ | erÅ­thrĆ³s | red | 13 | | | Ī¾į¾°Ī½ĪøĻŒĻ‚ | xănthĆ³s | yellow | 10 | | | į¼°ĻŒĪµĪ¹Ļ‚ | iĆ³eis | violet | 6 | | | Ļ‡Ī»Ļ‰ĻĻŒĻ‚ | khlōrĆ³s | green | ā€” | Mostly used to describe non-green things. | | ĪŗĻ…Ī¬Ī½ĪµĪæĻ‚ | kÅ­įŗÆneos | blue | ā€” | Never used to describe blue things. | Finally, as illustrated by the above table, the size of Homerā€™s color vocabulary is surprisingly small. There is a complete absence of any terms used to mean ā€˜blueā€™, ā€˜orangeā€™, or ā€˜pinkā€™, and *khlōrĆ³s* doesnā€™t appear to mean ā€˜greenā€™ at this point. Taken together, all the evidence points to something unquestionably strange about Homerā€™s use of color. What could possibly be the cause of his uneven, vague, and inconsistent color descriptions? You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## Why does Homer use colors so strangely? > ā€œIf any man should say that the minstrel was deficient in the organ of colour because he designated the sea by this vague word, I would meet him by saying that the critic is deficient in the organ of poetry.ā€ \~ John Stuart Blackie Homer is often said to have been blind, and some have used this as an explanation for his odd use of color vocabulary, but his blindness is undoubtedly a myth. He may have been prismatically inept, but his visual descriptions are nonetheless vivid. Also, his contemporaries accepted his poetry unquestioningly! The Ancient Greeks found nothing wrong with his monochromatic portrayals of the world. In fact, we find traces of the same chromatic vagueness in other Ancient Greek writers: Pindar (5th C BCE), for example, also wrote about ā€˜violet-colored hairā€™. Gladstoneā€™s proposed explanation for the ā€œfaint and indefiniteā€ color descriptions of the Ancient Greeks was that ā€œthe organ of colour and its impressions were but partially developed among the Greeks of the heroic ageā€. He argued that they saw the world primarily in terms of lightness and darkness rather than hue, save for a splash of red. The word *erÅ­thrĆ³s* ā€˜redā€™ was the only color term other than black and white that Homer used to refer *only* to reddish things (blood, wine, copper). Gladstone argued that the Greeks had been in effect colorblindā€”a claim made all the more remarkable by the fact that colorblindness was not yet known to the scholarly community in 1858\. The reason for this colorblindness, he claimed, was that the Greeks had at the time only just begun to develop artificial dyes. It is only once people are exposed to artificial colors that they evolved the ability to see colors and subsequently name them. Put differently, **the Greeks had not yet conceived of color as an abstract concept**, independent of the objects bearing those colors. This isnā€™t as strange a claim as it might sound: in a similar fashion, it took ancient Sumerians several centuries to conceive of numbers as abstract concepts. Prior to the standardization of their counting system, the Sumerians had different sets of numbers for different commodities. A separate series of numerals was used to count barley and cereal products, malt, barley groats, land area, and calendar time, among others. From todayā€™s standpoint, this proliferation of counting systems seems like an unnecessarily complex deficiency. But given that the primary function of these numeral systems was to tally commodities, having distinct numerals that told you something about *which* commodity was being counted would have been incredibly useful. This meant, however, that numbers were always tied to the specific concrete entities being counted. It took centuries for the Sumerians to conceptualize numerals in the abstract, and when they did the result was the incredibly sophisticated mathematical tradition of the Babylonians. šŸŒ  **If you want to learn more about Sumerian numerals and how they gave rise to the worldā€™s first writing system, cuneiform, check out this free issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter:* [From counting to cuneiform: How writing was inventedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-125.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/proto-cuneiform-accounting-tablet-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) Gladstoneā€™s thesis also has some explanatory power. Ignoring Gladstoneā€™s proposed evolutionary mechanism for a moment, if we interpret Homerā€™s depictions in terms of shades of darkness rather than hue, phrases like ā€˜violet sheepā€™ and ā€˜wine-dark seaā€™ no longer seem so strange. This hypothesis also explains the total absence of blue: it appears that for Homer, *kÅ­įŗÆneos* simply referred to any dark color, rather than ā€˜blueā€™ specifically. And the use of *khlōrĆ³s* to describe non-green things suddenly makes sense when we realize that its original meaning was ā€˜young herbageā€™. As such, it could be used to describe anything fresh, verdant, unripe, or paleā€”including honey and fearful faces. But from our modern vantage point, Gladstoneā€™s explanation for *why* the Ancient Greeks focused on lightness vs. darkness rather than hue seems scientifically antiquated. 2,500 years is not enough time for evolutionary forces to exert sufficient selective pressure on a population that they develop the complexities of color vision. To be fair, however, Gladstoneā€™s *magnum opus* was published just a few months before Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace jointly announced a theory of evolution by natural selection in 1858\. The prevailing explanation for biological change at the time was Jean-Baptiste Lamarckā€™s model of inheritance of acquired characteristics. In this view, traits that an organism acquires during its lifetime can be passed on to their offspring. Early giraffes strained to reach the high boughs of a tree, and so their offspring developed long necks. A blacksmith might get strong muscles from their work, and their children would then be stronger as a result. Thus, to the scholars of the time, an explanation of the Ancient Greeksā€™ color deficiencies in terms of inheritance of acquired characteristics made perfect sense. The Greeks, it was argued, hadnā€™t yet developed color terms because they simply didnā€™t have need of them yet. Once they developed artificial paints and dyes, the Greeks became like those giraffes reaching for the highest leaves, and slowly got better at distinguishing the hues of the rainbow. Nonetheless, Gladstoneā€™s contemporaries were no less harsh in their reception of his ideas. Prominent classicist John Stuart Blackie trenchantly wrote: > If any man should say that the minstrel was deficient in the organ of colour because he designated the sea by this vague word, I would meet him by saying that the critic is deficient in the organ of poetry. Yet Gladstoneā€™s thesis turned out to be prescient. Although he misunderstood the mechanism, he was ultimately correct that the color vocabulary of the Greek languageā€”and indeed *all* languagesā€”shifted its focus over time from shades of darkness to hue. Today we know that Gladstoneā€™s findings actually reflect a universal tendency in how the worldā€™s languages develop color terms over time, and that this **color term hierarchy**, as it is called, arises due to subtle biological influences on language. In the remainder of this article, Iā€™ll explain what the color term hierarchy is, what causes it, and how itā€™s realized in the worldā€™s languages. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-2.png) The color term hierarchy (based on Berlin & Kay 1969) ## The color term hierarchy In the century following Gladstoneā€™s seminal work, scholars came to realize that the Ancient Greeks were not the only ones who were chromatically challenged. About a decade after Gladstoneā€™s *Studies on Homer*, philologist Lazaraus Geiger gave a plenary lecture at the 1867 Assembly of German Naturalists & Physicians titled ā€œOn the Color Sense in Primitive Times and its Evolutionā€, in which he expanded on Gladstoneā€™s work. He realized that it was not just Homer who struggled with colors, but the authors of *all* the ancient textsā€”the Indian Vedic poems ([Vedic Sanskrit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic%5FSanskrit?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): Indo-European), the Old Testament ([Biblical Hebrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical%5FHebrew?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): Semitic), the Icelandic sagas ([Old Icelandic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old%5FNorse?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Old%5FIcelandic): Indo-European > Germanic), and even the Quran ([Classical Arabic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical%5FArabic?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): Semitic). Biblical Hebrew, for instance, lacks a word for ā€˜blueā€™, and the Bible is rife with odd color descriptions: a ā€˜red horseā€™ and a ā€˜red heifer without spotā€™; faces ā€˜turned greenā€™ with panic; the feathers of a dove covered with ā€˜green goldā€™. As for the Vedic hymns, Geiger says: > These hymns, of more than ten thousand lines, are brimming with descriptions of the heavens. Scarcely any subject is evoked more frequently. The sun and reddening dawnā€™s play of color, day and night, cloud and lightning, the air and the ether, all these are unfolded before us over and over again, in splendor and vivid fullness. But there is only one thing that no one would ever learn from those ancient songs who did not already know it, and that is that the sky is blue. Geiger bolsters his case further with etymology: when you examine the history of color terms in modern European languages, it becomes apparent that words for ā€˜blueā€™ are a recent developmentā€”they derive either from an earlier word meaning ā€˜greenā€™ or one that meant ā€˜blackā€™. Similarly, while words for ā€˜greenā€™ extend further back in time than ones for ā€˜blueā€™, they too disappear, suggesting an earlier stage when green was not yet distinguished from yellow. ā€˜yellowā€™, too, appears to have derived from words originally referring to red. Even red, the one color Homer circumscribed distinct from black and white, could be traced back to a generic term meaning ā€˜something coloredā€™, he argued. The result was a timeline of the development of color terms **that holds across languages** that looks like this: black/white ā†’ red ā†’ yellow ā†’ green ā†’ blue ā†’ violet The subsequent several decades of research vindicated Geigerā€™s proposal. As scholars investigated indigenous languages from around the globe, they found increasingly more cases of languages lacking words for ā€˜blueā€™, or ones that only had terms for ā€˜blackā€™, ā€˜whiteā€™, and ā€˜redā€™, or that conflated ā€˜yellowā€™ and ā€˜greenā€™, and so on. Then, due to a general shift in the zeitgeist of the early 1900s, Geigerā€™s work and that of his successors was ignored and forgotten. The reason for this is that Geigerā€™s evolutionary timeline was too suggestive of **evolutionary racism**, the idea that primitive peoples are biologically inferior to more civilized ones. Thanks in part to anthropologist Franz Boas, this type of scientific racism was falling out of favor. Boas and others argued cogently that differences in human behavior are merely the result of cultural differences and social learning, not biological disparities, and that all humans therefore possess the same cognitive capacities. In light of this intellectual shift, it was easy to construe Geigerā€™s evolutionary color sequence as claiming that some peoples were less evolved than others. And so scholars ignored it. That is, until Geigerā€™s findings were independently rediscovered by anthropologist Brent Berlin and linguist Paul Kay and published in their now-famous 1969 book, *Basic color terms: Their universality and evolution*. Using a set of colored chips, Berlin & Kay collected names for colors from speakers of twenty different languages, and in doing so uncovered a pattern almost identical to that proposed by Geiger a century earlier. They found that some languages only had color terms for light vs. dark. If a language had a third color, it was red, and if it had a fourth, it was either yellow or green. The fifth color to emerge is then whichever didnā€™t emerge in the previous stage: yellow or green. (The difference depends on whether the language originally considered yellow to be a shade of green \[uncommon\], or green a shade of yellow \[common\].) At this point, blue is still considered by most languages to be a shade of green. Blue is the last color to emerge in a fixed order; after that, any of the colors brown, purple, pink, orange, or gray can appear. (Berlin & Kay actually originally included a separate stage for brown immediately after blue, but subsequent research showed this separate stage to be unnecessary/untenable.) Some languages develop even more color distinctions after this, contrasting light vs. dark hues of blue or red. Below is the color term hierarchy as first proposed in 1969 (less a distinct stage for brown). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-2.png) The color term hierarchy (based on Berlin & Kay 1969) This model would be amendedā€”and exceptions foundā€”in the years to come as data from more languages became available, but the overall pattern holds for the vast majority of languages whose color systems have been studied. Below are examples of languages at each stage, taken from Berlin & Kayā€™s study and using their transcriptions. - **Stage I (black + white):** [**Dani**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand%5FValley%5FDani?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Transā€“New Guinea) - *mili*: cool/dark shades such as blue, green, and black - *mola*: warm/light colors such as red, yellow, and white - **Stage II (+red):** [**Bambara**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bambara%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Mande) - *fima*: dark green, indigo, and black - *dyema*: white, beige - *blema*: reddish, brownish - **Stage IIIa (+green):** [**Hanunoo**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanunoo%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Austronesian > Malayo-Polynesian > Philippine) - *biru*: black, violet, indigo, blue, dark green, dark gray, and deep shades of other colors - *lagtiŹ”*: white, light tints of other colors - *raraŹ”*: maroon, red, orange, yellow - *latuy*: green, mixtures of green, yellow and light brown - **Stage IIIb (+yellow):** [**Arrernte**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrernte%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Pamaā€“Nyungan) - *urapulla*: black - *churunkura*: white - *tutuka*: red - *tierga*: yellow, green, blue - **Stage IV (yellow + green):** [**Toba Batak**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toba%5FBatak%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Austronesian > Malayo-Polynesian) - *birong, agong*: black - *bontar, bottar*: white - *rara, gara, bara*: red - *hoenik, koening*: yellow, orange, brown - *rata*: green, blue - **Stage V (+blue):** [**Beja**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beja%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Cushitic) - *hadāĢl*: black, blue - *era*: white - *adaro*: red - *asfar*: yellow - *sōĢtay*: green, brown - *delÄ«Ģf*: blue, brown - **Stage VI (+brown):** [**Bari**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bari%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Eastern Sudanic) *(Originally hypothesized as a distinct stage.)* - *lurnƶ*: black - *loā€™kwe*: white, pure, holy - *loā€™tor*: red, reddish - *loā€™forong*: yellow - *lĆ³ā€‘ngem*: green - *murye*: blue - *loā€™jere*: brown - **Stage VI (+other):** [**Malay**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Austronesian > Malayo-Polynesian) - *itam*: black - *poetih, putih*: white - *merah*: red - *koening*: yellow - *idjo*: green - *biroe*: blue - *tjokolat*: brown - *oengoe, ongo*: violet - *djinggo*: orange - *kelaboe*: gray - **Stage VII (+light/dark hues)** - [**Russian**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **(Indo-European > Slavic):** сŠøŠ½ŠøŠ¹ *siniy* ā€˜dark blueā€™ vs. Š³Š¾Š»ŃƒŠ±Š¾Š¹ *goluboy* ā€˜light blueā€™ - [**Hungarian**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **(Uralic > Ugric):** *piros* ā€˜light redā€™ vs. *vƶrƶs* ā€˜dark redā€™ - [**Scottish Gaelic**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish%5FGaelic?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **(Indo-European > Celtic):** *dearg* ā€˜light/bright redā€™ vs. *rua*/*ruadh* ā€˜dark/brownish redā€™ I also discovered while researching this article that [Serbo-Croatian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbo-Croatian?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Indo-European > Slavic) has an especially rich color lexicon: > There are differences in dark brown (*mrk*), brown (*smeđ* and *kestenjast*), red (*crven*), pink (*ružičast*), and orange (*narandžast*), as well as in blue hues: navy blue (*teget*), dark blue (*modar*), blue (*plav*), and ash blue (*sinj*). ([Wikipedia: Color term](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color%5Fterm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Stage%5FVII+)) Itā€™s important to note that the color term hierarchy is a *tendency* only, albeit an incredibly robust one. It should not be taken as categorical. Nonetheless, the similarities in color vocabulary across languages are far too consistent to be mere accident. The overwhelming majority of languages develop color terms in predictable ways over time. ## Hidden color universals Berlin & Kay took their investigation one step further: even though languages can cut up the color spectrum in myriad ways, there was a shocking level of agreement across speakers of all languages on precisely which hue constituted the *best* exemplar of a color. Take [Tzeltal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzeltal%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), a Mayan language spoken in Mexico, as an example: The language has a term *yaÅ”* that covers both green and blue (often referred to when describing languages like this as ā€˜grueā€™). When Berlin & Kay asked Tzeltal speakers to choose the best example of *yaÅ”*, they didnā€™t pick a shade of turquoise right in the middle of grue, halfway between green and blue, as you might expect. Instead, the majority chose a strongly green shade, while a minority chose a strongly blue shade. None chose a shade of turquoise. In language after language, no matter where the languageā€™s vocabulary drew the lines between colors, speakers chose roughly the same hues as the best exemplars (foci) of whatever color term they happened to be a part of. You can think of these exemplars as the most ā€œprototypicalā€ shade of each color. The results of Berlin & Kayā€™s foci experiment are shown in the following graph. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-3.png) Wavelengths of samples chosen by informants that ā€œbestā€ correspond with each of twenty languagesā€™ primary color terms (Deacon 1997: 118, discussing Berlin & Kay 1969) This finding suggests that there is indeed something objective or universal about the organization of color terms in human language, something which, Berlin & Kay speculated, must be rooted in the biology of human vision. Though many of their other additions and changes to Geigerā€™s original sequence turned out to be unfounded, and the exact foci of different color terms were more dispersed than originally thought, Berlin & Kay were nonetheless largely right in this regard. If you compare the color term foci in the above graph to the graph of the responsiveness of neurons to different frequencies of light below, you can see there is a strong correlation. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-4.png) Responsiveness of neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (LGN), the first central nervous system relay for visual inputs, in response to different wavelengths of light (Deacon 1997: 188) The explanation for crosslinguistic agreement about color prototypes is that human biology nudges us towards certain groupings of colors because our sensitivity to light is greater in certain wavelengths than others. And though it is possible to overcome these biological pressuresā€”as evidenced by languages which deviate from the hierarchy in miscellaneous waysā€”the accumulated effects of those pressures applied over many generations of speakers all but ensure that languages will group colors in similar ways. The explanation for the *order* of colors in the hierarchy, however, probably has more to do with culture than biology: - **Red** is a salient color even in the simplest of societies because red is the color of blood. (In fact, the word for ā€˜redā€™ in many languages actually derives from the word for ā€˜bloodā€™. The Hebrew name *Adam*, for example, derives from the Semitic word *adam* ā€˜redā€™, which itself comes from Proto-Semitic \* *damā€‘* ā€˜bloodā€™. The Bible states that Adam is named for the soil, *adamah*, but that term refers specifically to red soil, and is also derived from *adam* ā€˜redā€™.) Red dyes are also the most common and easiest to create. Many cultures have only black, white, and red dyes. One such example is the Chitimacha tribe of Louisiana, whose stunning cane reed baskets were traditionally made using just black and red dyes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/image-5.png) A traditional-style Chitimacha basket using only plain undyed cane or cane dyed black or red. (Photo: Daniel Hieber) [Renaissance on the bayou: Revitalizing the Chitimacha languageThe Chitimacha language was once thought to be extinct, but today is undergoing a renaissance as young people learn the language again.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-126.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-11.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) - **Yellow** and **green** are the next most salient colors because humans have evolved to distinguish them in order to spot ripe fruit against a green forest background. These colors are also brighter than blue and occur frequently in nature. Societies which constantly interact with a variety of plants will need these color distinctions. - By contrast, **blue** is extremely rare in the natural materials that hunter-forager or simple farming societies might interact with. Yes, the sky is blue, of course, but that has no practical consequences for humans most of the time. And even when a community does have need for a word describing blue, it is usually because of a single specific material in the area like lapis lazuli (which eventually [gave us the color term *azure*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/azure?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). It is not until communities learn to develop artificial dyes and paints that speakers need to start describing *many* types of blue things, and the abstract color concept becomes useful. It would seem, in the end, that Gladstone was partly right all along: the Ancient Greeks lacked color terms because they had yet to develop a society which needed them. Colors for the Ancient Greeks were still strongly tied to the specific natural objects which exhibited those colors. Homerā€™s (non-)use of color terms is a reflection of the world at the time and place in which he lived, a world which had little need for the variegated color lexicon we use today. šŸ’ I hope you enjoyed this supporter-only bonus issue of the newsletter! If so, consider sharing the Linguistic Discovery newsletter with others! Thank you so much for your support! ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography - Berlin, Brent & Paul Kay. 1969\. *Basic color terms: Their universality and evolution*. University of California Press. - Deacon, Terrence W. 1997\. *The symbolic species: The co-evolution of language and the brain*. W. W. Norton & Co. - Deutscher, Guy. 2010\. *Through the language glass: Why the world looks different in other languages*. Picador. - Geiger, Lazarus. 1880\. *Contributions to the history and development of the human race: Lectures and dissertations by Lazarus Geiger* (The English and Foreign Philosophical Library 20). (Trans.) David Asher. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. - Gladstone, William E. 1858\. *Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age*. Oxford University Press. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Deciphering the Singapore Stone URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-12/ Last updated: 2026-03-29T12:15:07.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! [šŸ“§ Subscribe](#/portal/signup/free) ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Writing linguistics for general audiences Back in February I joined LingCommers (Linguistics Communicators) [Danny Bate](https://dannybate.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Jess Zafarris](https://jesszafarris.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Gaston Dorren](https://languagewriter.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and [Marco Neves](https://www.marconeves.pt/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) as part of a panel on writing linguistics for general audiences, and now the video is available! If youā€™re also interested in LingComm and want to learn more, have a watch: ### A Language I Love Isā€¦ Chitimacha! ![Podcast cover for ā€œA Language I Love Isā€¦ā€ with bold, high-contrast typography on a colorful background with languages across the background, styled as a modern podcast thumbnail.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-55.png) I appeared on the podcast *A Language I Love Isā€¦* this week to talk to Danny L. Bate, author of the book *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/48cqczp?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), about my work with the [Chitimacha tribe of Louisiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitimacha?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) to help revitalize their language. This is now the second time Iā€™ve been interviewed by Danny (the first being as part of a panel on [writing linguistics for public audiences](https://youtu.be/4%5FolnG0N78c?si=yAALVgVsoVqO6fQr&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and itā€™s quickly become apparent to me that heā€™s very good at it. His excellent questions gave me a chance to talk about language endangerment and revitalization a bit more generally, as well as some cool facts about language isolates and the history of linguistics. Have a listen at the links! Also be sure to check out Dannyā€™s Substack here: [Danny Bate | SubstackPurveyor of articles and fun facts about languages of history and the history of languages. Linguist, writer, broadcaster, podcaster, author of the new book ā€˜Why Q Needs Uā€™. BA, MPhil, PhD, etc. etc.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-10.svg)SubstackSubstack![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Fprofile%2Fassets%2F29599143%2Flight%3FaspectRatio%3Dlink%26version%3D1)](https://substack.com/@dannylbate?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In the podcast I also mention a few chapters Iā€™ve written about the Chitimacha language. You can read those here: - [**The Chitimacha language: A history.** In *Language in Louisiana: Community and culture* (*Americaā€™s Third Coast*), pp. 9ā€“27\. (2019). University Press of Mississippi.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334859871%5FThe%5FChitimacha%5Flanguage%5FA%5Fhistory?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [**Chitimacha.** In *The languages and linguistics of indigenous North America: A comprehensive guide*, Vol. 2 (*The World of Linguistics* 13.2), pp. 1519ā€“1543\. (2024). De Gruyter.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335430338%5FChitimacha?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### What type of language is Eridian, question? ![Screenshot of the character Rocky from the movie Project Hail Mary, saying ā€œLanguage! Amaze! Amaze!ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-56.png) There are few things I enjoy more than a sci-fi story where the characters have to figure out how an alien language works. Why? Because itā€™s linguistic fieldwork! Xenolinguistics! When writers handle this well, the methods of decipherment adopted by the characters look remarkably like how real-world linguists approach the process of documenting a hitherto undocumented language, and you get fantastic stories like Denis Villeneuveā€™s movie *Arrival*, based on Ted Chiangā€™s short story ā€œStory of Your Lifeā€. And when writers handle this poorly, you get *Star Trek*ā€™s universal translatorā€”the most boring and implausible linguistic plot device in the history of linguistic plot devices. (Why would you *minimize* the amount of linguistics in a story? It makes no sense! Even *The Hitchhikerā€™s Guide to the Galaxy* takes a paragraph to explain how babelfish work.) So imagine my delight when I discovered 176 pages into *Project Hail Mary* that I was about to get another interspecies language documentation project! Jazz hands! šŸ‘ In this article I look at the linguistics of *Project Hail Mary* and see how it holds up against the real-world science. Since the movie was pretty faithful to the book in terms of linguistics, this should serve as a useful explainer for the movie as well. [What kind of language is Eridian, question?The linguistics of Project Hail Mary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-121.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Rocky-banner-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/project-hail-mary/) ### Do all cultures use baby talk? ![A baby wearing oversized black glasses sits on the floor holding an open picture book, with scattered letters floating from the childā€™s mouth against a white background.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-57.png) Is baby talk universal? Or is it just a weird American habit that most cultures donā€™t do? In the latest issue of my series on the science of talking to tiny humans, weā€™ll look at claims that some languages donā€™t have baby talk, and see whether they hold up to scrutiny. [Do all cultures use baby talk?Or is baby talk just something that white middle class Americans do?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-122.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-6.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) Check out the rest of the series at the links below! ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/p/9181f587-0494-48ba-87a1-5a6aba5eed4c/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world \[forthcoming\] - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your child? - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### India aims to make its national AI available in the countryā€™s many languages ![Three Indian women sitting together with their attention focused on something on a phone screen in front of the middle woman.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-58.png) > About 2 years ago, Indiaā€™s Maharashtra state took advantage of the nationā€™s government-backed artificial intelligence platform, Bhashini, to launch an AI-powered app for farmers. The goal was to provide information on topics such as government agriculture schemes, weather, pests, and crop prices in the stateā€™s dominant Marathi language. It wasnā€™t long before officials in the largely tribal district of Nandurbar received a call. The app made no sense to people speaking an ancient tribal Bhili language, the caller said. Could their language please be included, too? > > Such are the challenges facing Bhashini, Indiaā€™s ambitious effort to make AI available to everyone in a country of 1.4 billion, with deep disparities in education and economics and countless languages. ā€œThere are over 100 languages spoken in India with thousands of dialects and less than 25 to 30 languages are included in AI space so far,ā€ says Santosh Kevlani, voice and language head at Bengaluru, Indiaā€“based EkStep Foundation, which supports open digital tech for large-scale social impact. - [Indiaā€™s national AI platform tackles the countryā€™s many tongues: Bhashini aims to put the power of AI in the hands of all Indians](https://www.science.org/content/article/india-s-national-ai-platform-tackles-country-s-many-tongues?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) ### Deciphering the Singapore Stone ![A tracing of one of the remnant pieces of the Singapore Stone](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-59.png) Researchers have developed a new text prediction algorithm aimed at deciphering the Singapore Stoneā€”and any other fragmentary texts. [Cracking the code: How a ā€œprediction machineā€ is resurrecting the Singapore StoneSome years ago, my linguistic research team and I started to develop a computational tool aimed at reconstructing the text of the Singapore Stone. Now that software is ready.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-71.png)The ConversationFrancesco Perono Cacciafoco![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260225-71-xjns8f.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/cracking-the-code-how-a-prediction-machine-is-resurrecting-the-singapore-stone-276642?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### More (misrepresentative) reporting on Stone Age proto-writing *Popular Mechanics* reports on a recent study, which I wrote about [the other week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/stone-age-proto-writing/), that finds evidence that Paleolithic engravings were actually a form of proto-writing. But like most media outlets that have reported on the study, *Popular Mechanics* conflates **writing** (the graphical representation of *language*) with **proto-writing** (which only conveys limited, non-linguistic information). Basically, they confuse writing with symbols. All writing is symbolic, but not all symbols are writing. [Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Oldest Form of Writingā€”EverAround 40,000 years ago, Paleolithic people inscribed bone with symbols that appear to be part of some sort of writing system.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.5d5fa0d-3.png)Popular MechanicsElizabeth Rayne![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/four-dits-in-da-wood-royalty-free-image-1772834307.pjpeg)](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a70526396/archaeologists-may-have-discovered-the-oldest-form-of-writingever/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Want to learn more about the difference between writing and proto-writing, and how the findings from that study are even cooler than ā€œoldest writing discoveredā€? Check out this issue of the newsletter: [Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years?Nope. The real finding is even cooler.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-123.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-6.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/stone-age-proto-writing/) ### Your dog might be eavesdropping on you (linguistically) This is some additional reporting on research I reported [a couple weeks back](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-06/) about the certain dog prodigies that learn words like human infants do: [Your dog might be eavesdropping on your conversations ā€“ and learning words from them | BBC Science Focus MagazineCertain extra-clever dogs can learn words like human toddlers, by listening to family membersā€™ conversations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web_kiosk_favicon_1-1.ico)BBC Science Focus Magazineharriet.willmothourmedia.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Dogs-2.jpg)](https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/gifted-dog-eavesdropping-learn-words?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Dror et al. 2026\. Dogs with a large vocabulary of object labels learn new labels by overhearing like 1.5-year-old infants. *Science* 391(6781): 160ā€“163\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq5474](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq5474?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* A brief introduction to Icelandic and the language history of Iceland: [What Language Do They Speak in Iceland? - Rosetta StoneWhat language do they speak in Iceland? Icelandic, of course! Learn about Icelandicā€™s ancient roots, neologisms, dialects, and the unofficial languages used across the country.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-20.png)Rosetta StoneJacyb Porter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Shutterstock_2511524839-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-language-do-they-speak-in-iceland/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why English spelling actually does make senseEnglish spelling is optimal, from a certain point of view![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-19.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F4f1a0fa2-fff3-4d4c-b577-f8f03e0da22d_1600x1178.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/why-english-spelling-does-make-sense) [The beautiful linguistic chaos of modern IranAuthoritarian governments have pushed Farsiā€™s dominance ā€“ but 59 other languages still thrive![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fd837d35b-86f3-46ae-b745-86d5dd4ae214-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-2.png)The New WorldThe New World![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F54616c86-8eff-4513-b389-a1668eaa127e_4800x2700.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/thenewworld/p/the-beautiful-linguistic-chaos-of) [Project Hail Mary is in theatersā€”but do the linguistics work?Ars speaks with linguistics professor Dr. Betty Birner about the ease with which Grace and Rocky communicate.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-ars-logo-512_480-300x300-2.png)Ars TechnicaLee Hutchinson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/phm-text-bubbles-1152x648-1.jpg)](https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/03/project-hail-mary-is-in-theaters-but-do-the-linguistics-work/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Check out my own take on this topic here: [What kind of language is Eridian, question?The linguistics of Project Hail Mary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-124.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Rocky-banner-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/project-hail-mary/) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! The words *muscle* and *mussel* both come from a word meaning ā€˜small mouseā€™! Starkey Comics has the details [here](https://www.facebook.com/starkeycomics/posts/pfbid02DpgQgRP32Xm1Yemoj8xSMfhnTkExRA4XheDYojseeAJCDaHMPtbP4Xe5KxfJhj9jl). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-60.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### What kind of language is Eridian, question? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/project-hail-mary/ Last updated: 2026-04-07T17:02:26.000Z āš ļø ****Spoiler Warning:** This article gives away a major plot point in the book **Project Hail Mary* that starts at the end of Chapter 6\. This article focuses on the content of Chapters 7ā€“12, so if youā€™re past Chapter 12 you can read on safe from spoilers. There are few things I enjoy more than a sci-fi story where the characters have to figure out how an alien language works. Why? Because itā€™s linguistic fieldwork! Xenolinguistics! When writers handle this well, the methods of decipherment adopted by the characters look remarkably like how real-world linguists approach the process of documenting a hitherto undocumented language, and you get fantastic stories like Denis Villeneuveā€™s movie *Arrival*, based on Ted Chiangā€™s short story ā€œStory of Your Lifeā€. And when writers handle this poorly, you get *Star Trek*ā€™s universal translatorā€”the most boring and implausible linguistic plot device in the history of linguistic plot devices. (Why would you *minimize* the amount of linguistics in a story? It makes no sense! Even *The Hitchhikerā€™s Guide to the Galaxy* takes a paragraph to explain how babelfish work.) So imagine my delight when I discovered 176 pages into *Project Hail Mary* that I was about to get another interspecies language documentation project! Jazz hands! šŸ‘ In this article weā€™ll look at the linguistics of *Project Hail Mary* and see how it holds up against the real-world science. Since the movie was pretty faithful to the book in terms of linguistics, this should serve as a useful explainer for the movie as well. ![Book cover for Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: a gold-and-black abstract space scene with large white lettering, showing a small astronaut floating diagonally across the center, tethered by a thin white line. Text notes ā€œAuthor of The Martian,ā€ ā€œ#1 New York Times bestseller,ā€ and ā€œSoon to be a major motion picture starring Ryan Gosling.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-43.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lS728p?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593135228?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ### How the Eridian language works > You can think of tone as like the *melody* with which you say a word (because thatā€™s exactly what it is). You could, if you want, transcribe linguistic tones using musical notation, and linguists have even done so in the past. In the book, scientist Ryland Grace encounters an alien species he names the Eridians, after their home system, 40 Eridani. Grace has to work closely with one member of species, who he names Rocky, to escape various perilous situations and forestall certain death by means of some hardcore sciencing. He soon discovers that the Eridians have language! šŸŽ¶ Amaze! Amaze! šŸŽ¶ One of the hard parts of first contact with intelligent alien lifeā€”in addition to figuring out everyoneā€™s pronouns (p. 172)ā€”is determining the medium of communication. Do the aliens relay information directly via thought waves, like [the Trisolarans in *Three-Body Problem*](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/three-body-problem/)? Or via complex visual symbols, like the heptapods in *Arrival* or Species 10-C in *Star Trek: Discovery*? [What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-114.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-8.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/three-body-problem/) Grace quickly discovers that, like humans, Eridians communicate by propagating sound waves through a medium: > ā€œā™©šŸŽā™Ŗā™ŖšŸŽ,ā€ says Rocky. > > My jaw drops. Yes, Iā€™m in zero g. It still drops. > > There was no pronunciation or inflection of the sounds. Just notes. Like whale song. Except not quite like whale song, because there were several at once. Whale chords, I guess. And he was responding to me. That means he can hear too. > > And notably, the sounds were in my range of hearing. Some of the notes were low, some of them high. But definitely audible. That alone is amazing when I think about it. Heā€™s from a different planet, and totally different evolutionary line, but we ended up with compatible sound ranges. (p. 176) Grace then sets up what documentary linguists would call his first **elicitation session**, where he uses stimuli or prompts that get the speaker to produce certain target words/phrases. This allows him to both record the words and begin associating them with meanings: > I grab my laptops and launch the waveform-analysis software on one and Excel on the other. I hold up the numeral ā…  and point to it. ā€œOne,ā€ I say. ā€œOne.ā€ > > Rocky points to the ā…  and says ā€œā™Ŗ.ā€ > > I pause the waveform analyzer and scroll back a few seconds. Rockyā€™s word for ā€˜oneā€™ is just two notes played at the same time. There are a bunch of harmonics and resonances in there, too, but the main frequency peaks are just two notes. > > I type ā€œoneā€ into the spreadsheet on the other computer and note the relevant frequencies. > > I return to the divider and hold up the ā…¤ symbol. ā€œTwo,ā€ I say. > > ā€œā™Ŗ,ā€ he says. Another one-syllable word. The oldest words in a language are usually the shortest. > > This time, itā€™s a chord made of four distinct notes. I enter ā€œtwoā€ and record the frequencies for that word. > > He starts to get excited. I think he knows what Iā€™m up to and itā€™s got him happy. > > I hold up the Ī» and before I can even speak, he points to it and says, ā€œšŸŽā™Ŗ.ā€ > > Excellent. Our first two-syllable word. The first syllable has just two notes and the second has five! Rocky can make at least five different notes at the same time. He must have multiple sets of vocal cords or something. > > (pp. 199ā€“200, edited for brevity) Based on this description, Eridian sounds similar to the tonal languages of Earth! In **tone languages**, the meaning of a word or affix is determined not just by its vowels and consonants, but also the **pitch** with which you say the word. The classic example is Mandarin Chinese, where the same syllable *ma* can mean 5 different things depending on the pitch of the word: 1. mā (åŖ½/妈) ā€˜motherā€™ 2. mĆ” (éŗ»/éŗ») ā€˜hempā€™ 3. mĒŽ (馬/马) ā€˜horseā€™ 4. mĆ  (ē½µ/éŖ‚) ā€˜scoldā€™ 5. ma (嗎/吗) (question marker) You can think of tone as like the *melody* with which you say a word (because thatā€™s exactly what it is). You could, if you want, transcribe linguistic tones using musical notation, and linguists have even done so in the past, but this usually isnā€™t necessary because any given language only has a few tones. Mandarin, as weā€™ve just seen, has 5 tones, and some languages have been analyzed as having up to 14 tones, but most languages (60%) only make a contrast between two tones, usually high tone (H) vs. low tone (L) or no tone (āˆ…) ([Gordon 2016](https://www.notion.so/Gordon-2016-19c50a282bc18174bdfed70cca87162f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 219ā€“221). In addition, linguistic tone is based on *relative* pitch rather than *absolute* pitch, so the same pitch might be used for a High tone in one context but a Low tone in another. Below are what the 4 primary tones of Mandarin look like when you plot their change in pitch over time ([Wikipedia: Tone (linguistics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone%5F%28linguistics%29?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). (The fifth tone is a **neutral tone** whose pitch is mostly determined by the tone of the preceding syllable.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-44.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-45.png) We can also describe tones in terms of their **levels**. Mandarinā€™s 2nd tone, for example, is a 35 tone, while its 1st tone is 55, and so on. The maximum number of distinct tone levels a language can have is 5 ([Gordon 2016](https://www.notion.so/Gordon-2016-19c50a282bc18174bdfed70cca87162f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 223), a fact which is likely due to perceptual and cognitive limitations on *Homo sapiens*ā€™ ability to discriminate between different pitches in sequence. Coincidentally, the Eridian language appears to allow a maximum of 5 tone levels as well! The second syllable of the Eridian word for ā€˜threeā€™ consists of 5 distinct notes, as the book mentions. Many human tone languages only make simple contrasts between a High (H) tone vs. a Low (L) tone, or High (H) vs. Mid (M) vs. Low (L). Each syllable is either H or L (or M). You donā€™t have to pay attention to whether the pitch is rising or falling, just whether itā€™s high, low, or mid (relative to other tones in the utterance). For example, the [Gusii language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gusii%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) of southwestern Kenya only has High tones and Low tones ([Nash 2011](https://www.notion.so/Nash-2011-32c50a282bc18141a3bee977ae82717c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): - Ć©ndĆ  HL ā€˜stomachā€™ vs. Ć©ndĆ” HH ā€˜louseā€™ These kinds of languages are often called **register tone languages**, and they contrast with languages like Mandarin where the pitch can change even within a single syllable. Since in this latter type of language you need to pay attention to rises and falls in the pitch within a syllable, they are called **contour tone languages**. (In reality, register tone languages also typically involve lots of pitch contours, so the distinction between register and contour tone languages is not entirely principled or clearcut.) Based on how the author, Andy Weir, transcribes Rockyā€™s dialogue, it seems as though Eridian has both **level tones** and **contour tones** (or rather, level chords and contour chords), parallel to human tone languages. Some syllables consist of a single level chord, which Weir transcribes with a single note, ā™© or ā™Ŗ, while other syllables consist of a sequence of two chords, transcribed as šŸŽā€”the Eridian equivalent of a contour tone. However, Weir never uses ā™«, suggesting that Eridian has **falling** contour tones but never **rising** contour tonesā€”and there are some human languages like this too! [Kiowa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiowa%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [Jemez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jemez%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) are two such examples. ![Book cover for ā€œExtraterrestrial Languagesā€ by Daniel Oberhaus. A black background with an orange, pixel-like alien script arranged in vertical rows at the top; the title appears below in large pink and orange letters, with the authorā€™s name in orange near the bottom. A narrow purple-and-orange starry gradient runs down the left edge.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-46.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nR7nJt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262548649?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Finally, the fact that Weir transcribes some syllables using a quarter note (ā™©) and others using an eighth note (ā™Ŗ) suggests that the *length* of the chord makes a meaningful difference in Eridian. This too parallels human languages! Many languages distinguish between **long vowels** and **short vowels**, in the literal sense of long vowels being pronounced for a longer duration than short vowels. Here are some examples of words in Gusii that differ only in their vowel length (indicated by a double vowel; [Nash 2011](https://www.notion.so/Nash-2011-32c50a282bc18141a3bee977ae82717c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 40): - *Ć©mĆØrƬ* ā€˜rootsā€™ vs. *Ć©mĆØĆØrƬ* ā€˜shipā€™ - *Ī²Ć¹tƬƠ* ā€˜concludeā€™ vs. *Ī²Ć¹Ć¹tƬƠ* ā€˜entertain (a guest)ā€™ Some languages also distinguish between long consonants (called **geminate** consonants) and short consonants, like [Berber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ([Wikipedia: Gemination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemination?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Berber)): - *ini* ā€˜sayā€™ vs. *inni* ā€˜those in questionā€™ - *akal* ā€˜earth, soilā€™ vs. *akkal* ā€˜lossā€™ - *imi* ā€˜mouthā€™ vs. *immi* ā€˜motherā€™ - *ifis* ā€˜hyenaā€™ vs. *ifiss* ā€˜he was quietā€™ So Eridian long vs. short chords parallel human long vs. short vowels and consonants. ā„¹ļø What English teachers call ā€œlong vowelsā€ and ā€œshort vowelsā€ are not actually long and short vowels in the linguistic sense of being held for different lengths of time; they are actually **totally distinct vowels*. The reason English uses this confusing terminology is because the difference between those vowels **used* to be length alone; now it is one of quality. The terminology is essentially a holdover from before the Great Vowel Shift. There are however several fundamental differences between Eridian and human tone languages. First, humans can only produce one pitch at a timeā€”at least usually. Some people have learned to produce multiple pitches at once, a technique known as **overtone singing**, **harmonic singing**, or **throat singing**. The Mongolian, Tuvan, Inuit, and Xhosa cultures are all known for this kind of polyphonic singing. But this doesnā€™t work for everyday language because it erases a lot of the acoustic information we need to discriminate between different consonants/vowels. So as far as human *language* goes, tonal languages only get 1 tone per word/syllable/vowel/mora (depending on the language). Eridian, by contrast, can use entire musical chords at once! But we know that these chords are, like human tonal languages, based on *relative* pitch rather than *absolute* pitch, because of passages like these: > That whole sentence seemed lower in pitch than anything Rocky has ever said before. I select the whole segment in the softwareā€™s recording history and bump it up an octave. The octave is a universal thing, not specific to humans. It means doubling the frequency of every note. The computer immediately translates the result. (p. 212) The second major difference between Eridian and human tone languages is that human tones work in *conjunction* with consonants, vowels, and semivowels, whereas Eridian works by tones alone. In this respect, Eridian is similar to **whistle speech** on Earth, where speakers communicate by merely whistling. However, there are no known systems of whistle speech that constitute an entirely independent language. No language is communicated using whistling alone. All whistle communication systems are merely whistled versions of another language. For example, [Silbo Gomero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silbo%5FGomero?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is a whistled form of the Spanish used in the Canary Islands. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/HISTORIA-VIVA-DEL-SILBO-GOMERO.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/Silbo-gomero-750x430.jpg) A man and woman using Silbo Gomero For tonal languages, the whistled version of a word typically mimics the tonal pattern of the word. For non-tonal languages, the corresponding whistles are based on the acoustic profile of each sound in the language. Whistlers whistle at specific pitches that correspond to each vowel or consonant in the language. For example, in Silbo Gomero the tongue is placed in a similar shape as when pronouncing each spoken sound, giving the whistle a similar pitch. In whistled Turkish, /o/ is whistled at a lower frequency than /a/, and at a different frequency than other vowels, etc. ![Book cover with a starry outer-space background and a colorful nebula along the left edge. Large white title text reads ā€œLife and Language Beyond Earth,ā€ and the author name ā€œRaymond Hickeyā€ appears at the bottom in turquoise. A blurb at the top says, ā€œFascinating, valuable and farsighted ā€¦ bringing astronomy and linguistics together.ā€ ā€” Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-47.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jv0Mlv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009226417?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) What kind of language is Eridian, then? It most closely resembles a mix of human contour tone languages, whistle speech, and throat singing, with a distinction between long vs. short chords thrown in. It is, in sum, surprisingly humanlike! But maybe this is to be expected given that both Eridian and human language use the medium of sound. We might expect all sound-based languages in all the galaxies to exhibit some of these same features. So I, for one, laud Andy Weir for creating a fun and surprisingly realistic conlang for the book. But for a more critical take on the linguistics of *Project Hail Mary*, check out this interview that *Ars Technica* did with linguist Betty Birner, professor emerita at Northern Illinois University: [Project Hail Mary is in theatersā€”but do the linguistics work?Ars speaks with linguistics professor Dr. Betty Birner about the ease with which Grace and Rocky communicate.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-ars-logo-512_480-300x300-1.png)Ars TechnicaLee Hutchinson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/phm-text-bubbles-1152x648.jpg)](https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/03/project-hail-mary-is-in-theaters-but-do-the-linguistics-work/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If you want to go deeper into Weirā€™s treatment of Eridian and how realistic it seems compared to human language, paying subscribers can read my line-by-line commentary of the book after the references below. I made note of any passages that give us insight into how the Eridian language works, along with explanations of the linguistics behind it and how each point compares to human language. Along the way youā€™ll get to explore some surprising ways that human languages work as well! ## šŸ“‘ References - Berlin, Brent & Paul Kay. 1969\. *Basic color terms: Their universality and evolution*. University of California Press. - Cheney, Dorothy L. & Robert M. Seyfarth. 1990\. *How monkeys see the world: Inside the mind of another species*. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. - Comrie, Bernard. 2013\. Numeral bases. In *World Atlas of Language Structures Online*. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. [http://wals.info/chapter/131](http://wals.info/chapter/131?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Comrie, Bernard. 2021\. Typology of numeral systems. - Gordon, Matthew K. 2016\. *Phonological typology* (Oxford Surveys in Phonology & Phonetics 1). Oxford University Press. - Harrison, K. David. 2007\. *When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge*. Oxford University Press. - Hieber, Daniel W. 2016\. *The cohesive function of prosody in ƉkegusiĆ­ (Kisii) narratives: A functional-typological approach*. University of California, Santa Barbara M.A. thesis. [http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.17818.18886](http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.17818.18886?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). (22 August, 2025). - Hieber, Daniel W. 2019\. The Chitimacha language: A history. In *Language in Louisiana: Community and culture* (Americaā€™s Third Coast Series), 9ā€“27\. University Press of Mississippi. - Mithun, Marianne. 2012\. Core argument patterns and deep genetic relations: Hierarchical systems in Northern California. In Pirkko Suihkonen, Bernard Comrie & Valery Solovyev (eds.), *Argument structure and grammatical relations: A crosslinguistic typology* (Studies in Language Companion Series 126), 257ā€“294\. John Benjamins Publishing Company. - Nash, Carlos M. 2011\. *Tone in Ekegusii: A description of nominal and verbal tonology*. University of California, Santa Barbara Ph.D. thesis. - Payne, Thomas. 1997\. *Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists*. Cambridge University Press. - Sterelny, Kim. 2011\. From hominins to humans: How *sapiens* became behaviourally modern. *Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences* 366(1566). 809ā€“822\. [https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0301](https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0301?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Velupillai, Viveka. 2012\. *An introduction to linguistic typology*. John Benjamins. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸŒŸ Bonus Commentary Below is my commentary on each passage in *Project Hail Mary* that tells us something interesting about how the Eridian language works. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Did Homo erectus have language? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-11/ Last updated: 2026-03-19T09:00:48.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### How slang works: Interview with *Psychology Today* ### ![Cartoon-style illustration of a group of people talking, with colorful speech bubbles filled with slang terms, including ā€œlow key,ā€ ā€œunalive,ā€ ā€œrizz,ā€ ā€œsix/seven,ā€ ā€œskibidi,ā€ ā€œboss,ā€ ā€œslay,ā€ ā€œmid,ā€ ā€œyeet,ā€ and ā€œsigma.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-37.png) Gary Drevitch at *Psychology Today* recently interviewed me for a great piece, published this week, about how slang works, where it comes from, and the role it plays in society. Also interviewed for the piece were Adam Aleksic (@EtymologyNerd, author of *Algospeak: How social media is transforming the future of language* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593804070?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]) and linguist Valerie Fridland (author of *Why we talk funny: The real story behind our accents* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\] and *Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593298329?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]). [No Cap: Slang Is Low-key More Powerful Than EverFor slang to catch on, it has to be funny or cool.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-71.png)Psychology Today![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/teaser-slangs-2.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/articles/202603/no-cap-slang-is-low-key-more-powerful-than-ever?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Did new research just push back the date of the earliest writing by 30,000 years? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-38.png) The [Adorant figurine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adorant%5Ffrom%5Fthe%5FGei%C3%9Fenkl%C3%B6sterle%5Fcave?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (ca. 35,000ā€“32,000 ya) from GeiƟenklƶsterle cave in Germany depicts an anthropomorphic figure on one side and a sequence of notches and dots along its edges and back. Landesmuseum WĆ¼rttemberg/Hendrik Zwietasch Nope. The findings of a new study are even cooler than that. Researchers looked at over 3,000 engravings on 260 artifacts from the time period when the first *Homo sapiens* arrived in Europe (the Upper Paleolithic), and found that they were strikingly similar to proto-cuneiform, the precursor to cuneiform, the worldā€™s first writing system. Some media outlets reported on this study by saying that ā€œStone Age symbols may push back the earliest form of writingā€ (*New Scientist*) or ā€œAncient art could hold clues to the origins of written languageā€ (*Scientific American*). Big if true. But these headlines are misleading. In the latest issue of the *Linguistic Discovery* newsletter, weā€™ll look at what the new study actually found, why it doesnā€™t push back the date of the earliest writing by tens of thousands of years, and why the findings are actually way cooler, giving us insight into the very nature of what it is to be human. [Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years?Nope. The real finding is even cooler.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-113.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/stone-age-proto-writing/) ā„¹ļø Note that this is a special bonus post for paid subscribers only. If youā€™d like to read it and are not yet a supporter, you can become one for just $10/month here: [šŸ’ Become a supporter](#/portal/account/plans) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Did *Homo erectus* have language? A new review article says yes ![Illustration of a prehistoric human standing inside a cave beside a small fire, holding a flaming torch, with cave walls fading into shadow behind them.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-39.png) Thereā€™s a longstanding debate over the intellectual capabilities of *Homo erectus*, but a new review article in the journal *Biological Theory* looks at the available evidence on brain size, vocal anatomy, genetics / population genetics, and archaeology to conclude that they did indeed have a form of vocal language. [Paper Defends Spoken Language in Homo erectusThe descent of the larynx and the hyoid is among the anatomical traits appealing to research on flexibility and complexity in vocal communication.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270-6.png)Mind MattersCasey Luskin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/prehistoric-caveman-standing-by-a-fire-inside-a-cave-holding-1076342845-stockpack-adobe_stock-scaled.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/2026/02/paper-defends-spoken-language-in-homo-erectus/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Yao & Yao. 2026\. Did *Homo erectus* have a (vocal) language? *Biological Theory*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-025-00521-8](https://doi.org/10.1007/s13752-025-00521-8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Horses whinny by making sounds in a unique way that is not seen in other animals ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-40.png) Iā€™m filing this one under ā€œPhoneticsā€: > How horses whinny has long been a mystery. The sound is quite distinct from any other in the animal kingdom. And now scientists think theyā€™ve discovered why: horses whinny by producing sounds at two frequencies at the same timeā€”much like singing and whistling simultaneously. [Horses whinny by making sounds in a unique way that is not seen in other animalsThe distinctive sound horses produce when they whinny is created by combining low- and high-pitched sounds together, like grunting and whistling at the same time![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-150.ico)Scientific AmericanJackie Flynn Mogensen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Horse-whinny.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-horses-whinny-has-long-been-a-mystery-now-scientists-think-they-know-the/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - LefĆØvre et al. 2026\. The high fundamental frequency in horse whinnies is generated by an aerodynamic whistle. *Current Biology* 36(4): 902ā€“911.e4\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.01.004](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.01.004?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Brain scans show your native language shapes the way your brain is wired ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/5c4b6826-2ac5-4e03-af05-7df5bd316825_1080x1346.webp) - [Brain scans show your native language shapes the way your brain is wired. Different languages carve distinct pathways in the brainā€™s white matter](https://www.instagram.com/goodneuroscience/p/DVCM4acgBHP/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Good Neuroscience*) - Wei et al. 2023\. Native language differences in the structural connectome of the human brain. *NeuroImage* 270(15). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119955](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119955?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Why ancient Egyptians found protection through hieroglyphs ā€” National Geographic HistoryThe Egyptians believed that hieroglyphs offered magical protection to people in this life and the afterlife, so they inscribed the signs on monuments, statues, funerary objects, and papyri.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon_v6-4.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AgEXQXRxdE0xZjBRVHlXLU9KUVdQTnJfYXcAMA)](https://apple.news/AtqtM1f0QTyW-OJQWPNr%5Faw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - How hieroglyphs became the sacred script of the ancient Egyptians: The Egyptians believed that hieroglyphs offered magical protection to people in this life and the afterlife, and inscribed the signs on monuments, statues, funerary objects, and papyri. [Does the US Have an Official Language? - Rosetta StoneDoes the US have an official language? English has recently become the official language, but learn why it hasnā€™t always been.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-19.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Shutterstock_1752804974-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/does-the-us-have-an-official-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Accents Change Our Perceptions Of Characters In Wuthering HeightsCultural and linguistic expert Noel Wolf explains the nuances of accents.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-new.ico)HuffPost UKSarah-Louise Kelly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/69a0291f270000041a472289.png)](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/wuthering-heights-accents%5Fuk%5F69a025f9e4b0953f124404f2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [English doesnā€™t need protecting in New Zealand ā€“ but other languages doThe proposed English Language Bill assumes a problem. In reality, English dominates public life while many heritage languages struggle to survive.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-70.png)The ConversationAndreea S. Calude![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260304-57-sw3cpq.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/english-doesnt-need-protecting-in-new-zealand-but-other-languages-do-276951?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Shifting neural code powers speech comprehensionDynamic coding helps explain how the brain processes multiple features of speechā€”from the smallest units of sounds to full sentencesā€”simultaneously.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-24.svg)The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and PerspectivesClaudia LĆ³pez Lloreda![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cropped-525-social-speech-comprehension.png)](https://www.thetransmitter.org/language/shifting-neural-code-powers-speech-comprehension/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Dynamic coding helps explain how the brain processes multiple features of speechā€”from the smallest units of sounds to full sentencesā€”simultaneously. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Taboos & Slurs: John McWhorter on *Words Unravelled* ### Jess Zafarris and Rob Watts of the *Words Unravelled* podcast recently did an interview with linguist John McWhorter about taboo words and slurs. It was a great interview, well worth checking out! ### The Great Vowel Shift (Rob Words) Rob Words also has an excellent overview of the Great Vowel Shift over on YouTube. ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Did you know that the English word *black* is related to the word for ā€˜whiteā€™ in other Indo-European languages? Starkey Comics has all the details [here](https://www.facebook.com/starkeycomics/posts/pfbid0DyXYA4QwfAKjxmEHHV1bHQ9Y2CAXgmjJULwFb9WLYtqZxgNbpzHU3Jg4sBNDRFqVl). ![Etymology flowchart showing Proto-Indo-European roots meaning ā€œto burnā€ and ā€œto shineā€ branching through Proto-Germanic, Proto-West-Germanic, Old English, and Middle English into modern English words like ā€œblack,ā€ ā€œbleak,ā€ ā€œbleach,ā€ ā€œblench,ā€ and ā€œblink,ā€ alongside Old French ā€œblancā€ (white) and ā€œblanchirā€ (to whiten). Caption: ā€œThe English word ā€˜blackā€™ is related to several words connected with paleness.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-41.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Do all cultures use baby talk? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T18:48:02.000Z If baby talk helps children learn language better or faster, as we saw in [the previous post in this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/), it stands to reason that parents would instinctively use it. But if not all parents and cultures use it, how important could it really be? In this issue of my series on the science of talking to tiny humans, weā€™ll look at claims that some languages donā€™t use baby talk and see whether they hold up to scrutiny. Check out the rest of the series at the links below, and sign up to get notified when subsequent issues are published! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** Do all cultures use baby talk? **\[this post\]** - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## Is baby talk just a weird American habit? > Thereā€™s plenty of opportunity for motivated reasoning all around when it comes to opinions on the universality of baby talk. Many peopleā€”some linguists includedā€”think that baby talk is a uniquely Western phenomenon, or that itā€™s limited to well-educated, white, middle-class parents, or that itā€™s some weird thing that only Americans do. Hereā€™s an example from a pop linguistics book about child language acquisition from 2006: > If anything, motherese reveals more about parents than children: it is a peculiar cultural phenomenon in modern Western industrialized societies, not part of the universal and biological foundation of language. ([Yang 2006](https://www.notion.so/Yang-2006-21350a282bc181d0a850c8e6ef5824b7?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 89) [A *Scientific American* article from 2017](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/parents-in-a-remote-amazon-village-barely-talk-to-their-babies-mdash-and-the-kids-are-fine/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) proclaims that ā€œParents in a remote Amazon village barely talk to their babiesā€ and that ā€œIgnoring a **Western** child-rearing practice does not seem to matter for the [TsimanĆ©](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsimane%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) of Boliviaā€ \[emphasis added\]. At the outset, we should be suspicious of the idea that only educated white parents participate in an activity that demonstrably improves their childrenā€™s language outcomes (as we saw in [the last issue in this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/)). Such a narrative appeals to implicit ethnocentric, racist, or classist biases, so itā€™s worth approaching these claims with some healthy skepticism. Indeed, the vast majority of research in child language acquisition has been conducted on precisely this predominantly white, Western demographic ([Nielsen et al. 2017](https://www.notion.so/Nielsen-et-al-2017-32250a282bc181abbbb4fc0c594f2d31?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), so even if baby talk does exist in other communities (and it does), itā€™s quite likely that Western scholars wouldnā€™t have been aware of it (and they werenā€™t for some time). Of course, the notion that baby talk is unique to Western culture *also* appeals to cultural relativists, who are (quite reasonably) cautious of imposing Western perspectives and assumptions on the analysis of other cultures. Yet this too can be an ideologically-motivated position, one based less on scientific caution and more on anti-Western or anti-colonial sentiments. The risk that comes from adopting this position, however, is undue exoticization or romanticization of other cultures. So thereā€™s plenty of opportunity for motivated reasoning all around when it comes to opinions on the universality of baby talk. For example, widely-reported studies with communities like the [Tsimane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsimane%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in the remote Amazon of Bolivia (mentioned by the *Scientific American* article above; [CristiĆ  et al. 2017](https://www.notion.so/Cristi-et-al-2017-20c50a282bc181b3b90df80ab2a754bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), the [Yucatec Maya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucatec%5FMaya%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in Mexico ([Shneidman & Goldinā€Meadow 2012](https://www.notion.so/Shneidman-Goldin-Meadow-2012-20c50a282bc1818fbd01fd67e84f1a5b?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and the [Kaluli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaluli%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in Papua New Guinea ([Schieffelin 1990](https://www.notion.so/Schieffelin-1990-32250a282bc18155a01ecdc9ef9f4e62?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) led some to claim that these and presumably other cultures essentially lack baby talk. In each case, however, it turns out that child-directed speech (CDS) is simply less frequent, occurs later in development, or works differently than it does in Western/American communities. As research into child language acquisition has broadened to include cultures across the world in the last several decades, itā€™s become increasingly clear that CDS is not limited to white, educated, middle-class families. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## Baby talk in other languages > While baby talk is important for child language development, the exact timing of when children receive it is relatively less important. Consider the [Kaluli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaluli%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) people of Papua New Guinea, for example. The Kaluli are sometimes claimed not to have baby talk because young children among the Kaluli are not viewed as having their own intentions. By tradition, however, when infants first use the words for ā€˜motherā€™ and ā€˜breastā€™, parents very intentionally begin to ā€œteach the child to talkā€. They do this by speaking *for* the child using a special high-pitched, very nasal voice register. Adults spend a lot of time ā€œtalking forā€ children, holding them up to face the addressee and then saying what the child ought to say in that situation, and frequently using the word *ɛlɛma* ā€˜say it like thisā€™ ([Ochs 1982](https://www.notion.so/Ochs-1982-32250a282bc181d8a4c2deed849debd8?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Schieffelin 1990](https://www.notion.so/Schieffelin-1990-32250a282bc18155a01ecdc9ef9f4e62?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Hereā€™s an example of what this looks like in practice, where a mother is teaching her son, Wanu, how to interact with another child, Binalia (adapted from [Ochs & Schieffelin 2009](https://www.notion.so/Ochs-Schieffelin-2009-32250a282bc181538c65fb2bc508bdd6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 306ā€“307): | **Speaker** | **Kaluli** | **English** | | ----------------- | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | | Mother (to Wanu) | Abɛnowo? ʐlɛma. | Whose is it? Say it like that. | | Wanu (to Binalia) | Abɛnowo? | Whose is it? | | Mother | Gɛnowo? ʐlɛma. | Is it yours? Say it like that. | | Wanu | Gɛnowo? | Is it yours? | | Mother | Ge oba? ʐlɛma. | Who are you? Say it like that. | | Wanu | Ge oba? | Who are you? | | Mother | Gi suwo? ʐlɛma. | Did you pick it? Say it like that. | | Wanu | Gi suwo? | Did you pick it? | | Mother | Ni nuwɛ sukel! ʐlɛma. | My grandmother picked it! Say it like that. | | Wanu | Ni nuwɛ sukel! | My grandmother picked it! | | Mother | We ni nuwɛ sukel. ʐlɛma. | This my grandmother picked! Say it like that. | | Wanu | We ni nuwɛ sukel. | This my grandmother picked. | This is different from what baby talk looks like in other cultures, but it has the same function of adjusting oneā€™s speech in a way to make it both attention-grabbing and comprehensible to the child. Another culture sometimes claimed not to use baby talk is that of the [Tsimane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsimane%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) people of Bolivia. A 2017 study found that Tsimane parents speak to young children for less than one minute every hour ([CristiĆ  et al. 2017](https://www.notion.so/Cristi-et-al-2017-20c50a282bc181b3b90df80ab2a754bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), which is only about ā…’ the amount of time that U.S. mothers speak to their children of the same age. The graph below shows the average minutes per hour of CDS received by Tsimane children at different age ranges. As you can see, the amount of CDS received stays pretty minimal until about age 4. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-32.png) Frequency of speech directed to children (Directed-F), directed to other people in the same interaction (Directed-O), or directed to a group which includes the child (Undirected), as a function of age range. Bars indicate 95% conļ¬dence intervals. (Cristia et al. 2019) The reason for this, tragically, may be the high infant mortality rate in the community. Fully 13% of infants die in their first year, mainly due to infectious diseases ([Smith 2017](https://www.notion.so/Smith-2017-26650a282bc181e4896ce5ec66e88cb6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). As a result, parents may try not to be as emotionally attached to their children. Many children arenā€™t given names until after their first birthday ([Smith 2017](https://www.notion.so/Smith-2017-26650a282bc181e4896ce5ec66e88cb6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Whatever the cause, this study led [*Scientific American* to proclaim](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/parents-in-a-remote-amazon-village-barely-talk-to-their-babies-mdash-and-the-kids-are-fine/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) that, ā€œParents in a remote Amazon village barely talk to their babiesā€. The researchers also noted (anecdotally), that this relative dearth of child-directed speech seems to have a dilatory effect on child language development, so that children begin to speak later than their U.S. counterparts ([Smith 2017](https://www.notion.so/Smith-2017-26650a282bc181e4896ce5ec66e88cb6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). But if we burrow into the details of the study a bit further, we find that the *Scientific American* headline lacks some important context (which they do admittedly provide in the article). Firstly, Tsimane children *overhear* adult speech for about 7 minutes/hour ([Smith 2017](https://www.notion.so/Smith-2017-26650a282bc181e4896ce5ec66e88cb6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), which matters because cultures vary as to how much learning happens through direct instruction and modeling versus observation and mimicry. Secondly, sometimes differences in the amount of child-directed speech that infants receive is partly due to differences in overall talkativeness across cultures. Accounting for these differences greatly reduces discrepancies in how much CDS infants hear across cultures ([CristiĆ  et al. 2017](https://www.notion.so/Cristi-et-al-2017-20c50a282bc181b3b90df80ab2a754bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 761). Lastly, we canā€™t actually compare the results of this study to any others, because they use widely differing methods for measuring the amount of CDS that children hear. This study focuses explicitly on 1-on-1 speech, whereas itā€™s unclear whether previous studies included overheard speech or speech directed at a group that the child just happened to be part of. It could actually be that CDS rates in other studies and even U.S. households look similar once the same methods are applied. These methodological differences are so significant that it leads the authors to state: > The evidence on who talks to infants is extremely scarce at present. \[ā€¦\] Further work employing homogeneous, cross-culturally appropriate methods is needed to more accurately measure the extent of this variation and to make strict comparisons possible. Therefore, we do not attempt direct comparisons. ([CristiĆ  et al. 2017](https://www.notion.so/Cristi-et-al-2017-20c50a282bc181b3b90df80ab2a754bd?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 767) Moreover, even though children arenā€™t receiving much directed speech in their early years, they *are* hearing a great deal of CDS as they move out of infancy. This pattern was also documented among the [Yucatec Maya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucatec%5FMaya%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), who hear significantly less child-directed speech than children of the same age in the U.S. ([Shneidman & Goldinā€Meadow 2012](https://www.notion.so/Shneidman-Goldin-Meadow-2012-20c50a282bc1818fbd01fd67e84f1a5b?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-33.png) Mean number of utterances that 1-year-old children in US and Maya households heard in an hour, classified according to whether the utterances were directed to the child or overheard by the child. ([Shneidman & Goldinā€Meadow 2012](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Shneidman-Goldin-Meadow-2012-20c50a282bc1818fbd01fd67e84f1a5b?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) But in their second and third years, Maya children hear an increasingly large amount of CDS, eventually matching that of U.S. children by about 35 months: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-34.png) Percent of total language input in child-directed speech over development in US and Maya households. ([Shneidman & Goldinā€Meadow 2012](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Shneidman-Goldin-Meadow-2012-20c50a282bc1818fbd01fd67e84f1a5b?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) This study demonstrates that directed speech doesnā€™t have to happen within the first year or so to be effective. The authors found that the number of word types used by Maya adults in their child-directed speech at 24 months predicted the childrenā€™s vocabulary size a year later. So while CDS is important for child language development, the exact timing of when children receive it seems relatively less important. Even in those early years, however, children *are* receiving child-directed speechā€”just not from adults! Among the Maya, 90% of child-directed speech at age 3 comes from other children ([Shneidman & Goldinā€Meadow 2012](https://www.notion.so/Shneidman-Goldin-Meadow-2012-20c50a282bc1818fbd01fd67e84f1a5b?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 761). By comparison, for Americans only about 10% of CDS comes from other children. This underscores the importance of understanding cross-cultural differences in child language development: communities vary as to which members of the community are most actively involved in child-rearing, and how, and this has effects on the type and amount of child-directed speech that children receive. ā„¹ļø Want to learn more about how childrenā€™s linguistic capabilities develop over time? Check out this issue of the newsletter about how children learn grammatical rules (and how we know): [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-111.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-7.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) ## Is baby talk universal? > Even people who claim they donā€™t engage in baby talk actually do. Stepping back and looking more broadly at the body of research on child-directed speech across cultures, the sum of the evidence currently suggests that at least *some* form of CDS is present in all cultures ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 62ā€“67; [Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 112ā€“114). Exaggerated intonation, for instance, has been documented in English, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, [Swedish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Luo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dholuo%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (a Nilotic language of East Africa), [Severn Ojibwe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oji-Cree%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (a Native American language of Ontario and Manitoba also known as Oji-Cree; [Upper 1993](https://www.notion.so/Upper-1993-32250a282bc181ba97e9c42dda94d2af?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 121), and [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (a Native American language of British Columbia; [Kess & Kess 1986](https://www.notion.so/Kess-Kess-1986-26550a282bc1816b9198ee479c230611?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 203) ([Burnham, Kitamura & Vollmer-Conna 2002](https://www.notion.so/Burnham-Kitamura-Vollmer-Conna-2002-20b50a282bc181a2a4b2f7529149497c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 1435; [Soderstrom 2007](https://www.notion.so/Soderstrom-2007-25950a282bc181e5b1efcbc97c595cd4?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This feature abounds especially during the childā€™s first year, and so might be considered special to infant-directed speech (IDS) specifically rather than child-directed speech (CDS) more broadly. One experiment also showed that people from 187 countries could recognize IDS even when it wasnā€™t in a language they knew ([Hilton et al. 2022](https://www.notion.so/Hilton-et-al-2022-20c50a282bc181d19220e3cd5b3bc9b6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Repetitions and recastsā€”saying words back to the child as a model of correct pronunciationā€”also appear to be universal features of CDS, and are documented for [Danish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), English, French, Hebrew, Japanese, [Kā€™icheā€™ Maya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%CA%BCiche%CA%BC%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Guatemala), Korean, Mandarin Chinese, [Manus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (New Guinea), Persian (Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan), [Samoan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoan%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Samoan Islands), and [Warlpiri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlpiri%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Australia) ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 113). And just like English caregivers enunciate individual sounds (as discussed in [a previous issue of this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/)), [Hidatsa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidatsa%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) caregivers have also been documented slowing and emphasizing their speech, exaggerating certain sounds, and fully pronouncing consonant clusters that would ordinarily be reduced or simplified in adult speech ([Voegelin & Robinett 1954](https://www.notion.so/Voegelin-Robinett-1954-32250a282bc1810086a3ee4ad084cb64?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Even people who claim they donā€™t engage in baby talk actually do. A study of the African American community of Trackton, South Carolina ([Heath 1983](https://www.notion.so/Heath-1983-25950a282bc1811cabaaf1491ee62fb9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) found that adults consider the idea of modifying their speech to talk to infants irrational, yet they engage in the same kinds of structured repetitions and recasts as documented in other communities ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 113). Another study found that 18 out of the 82 Kuwaiti parents who were interviewed insisted they made no modifications to their speech when speaking to their children. Yet every one of those 18 were observed to use typical features of CDS with their children ([Haggan 2002](https://www.notion.so/Haggan-2002-25950a282bc18153a042fe269ab4e9a3?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). A similar study conducted in the city of Babol, Iran, found that parents generally deny correcting their childrenā€™s speech errors even though most parents actually did so ([Birjandi & Nasrolahi 2012](https://www.notion.so/Birjandi-Nasrolahi-2012-32250a282bc181349e84dc72c23ba7eb?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Even if parents donā€™t engage in CDS with their children, parents are not the only caregivers who children receive linguistic input from. Older siblings and other family members play a large role in child language development in many communities. Even children as young as 4 years old will modify their speech when talking to toddlers! ([Shatz & Gelman 1973](https://www.notion.so/Shatz-Gelman-1973-32250a282bc18146a392e8ef29c5da58?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Weppelman et al. 2003](https://www.notion.so/Weppelman-et-al-2003-32250a282bc18116a0cbc4aaea0fe181?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) All this leads prominent child language researcher Eve Clark to conclude that ā€œadult speech with young children appears to play a critical role in early acquisition, even in communities where adults may talk rather less with their children than in many middle-class Western societies.ā€ ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 66). At present, then, there is little reason to suspect that CDS is not a universal feature of the worldā€™s cultures. It may not be strictly *necessary*, but all communities seem to use it regardless. Whatā€™s equally clear, however, is that CDS can look very different across languages! In the next issue weā€™ll look at some of the neat ways that baby talk varies in the languages of the world. Sign up below to be notified when the next installment in this series is published! ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** Do all cultures use baby talk? **\[this post\]** - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-112.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-8.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) ### *First language acquisition* ![First Language Acquisition (4th edition) by Eve V. Clark book cover, with a red upper section and a photo below of an adult and a toddler playing with stacked letter blocks.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-35.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40v58kl?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009294522?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Understanding child language acquisition* ![Book cover of Understanding Child Language Acquisition by Caroline Rowland. A close-up photo of a red flower with a yellow center against a green-blue blurred background. ā€œUnderstanding Language Seriesā€ appears along the left side, and the Routledge logo is at the bottom.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-36.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OfDR2J?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781444152654?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Birjandi, Parviz & Atefeh Nasrolahi. 2012\. Negative evidence in iranian children: How do Iranian parents correct their childrenā€™s errors? *Journal of Language Teaching and Research* 3(4). 700ā€“706\. [https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.3.4.700-706](https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.3.4.700-706?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Burnham, Denis, Christine Kitamura & UtĆ© Vollmer-Conna. 2002\. Whatā€™s new, pussycat? On talking to babies and animals. *Science* 296(5572). 1435ā€“1435\. [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069587](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069587?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Clark, Eve V. 2024\. *First language acquisition*. 4th edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - CristiĆ , Alejandrina, Emmanuel Dupoux, Michael Gurven & Jonathan Stieglitz. 2017\. Childā€directed speech is infrequent in a foragerā€farmer population: A time allocation study. *Child Development* 90(3). 759ā€“773\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12974](https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12974?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Haggan, Madeline. 2002\. Self-reports and self-delusion regarding the use of Motherese: Implications from Kuwaiti adults. *Language Sciences* 24(1). 17ā€“28\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0388-0001(00)00044-9](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0388-0001%2800%2900044-9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Heath, Shirley Brice. 1983\. *Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms*. Cambridge University Press. - Hilton, Courtney B., Cody J. Moser, Mila Bertolo, Harry Lee-Rubin, Dorsa Amir, Constance M. Bainbridge, Jan Simson, et al. 2022\. Acoustic regularities in infant-directed speech and song across cultures. *Nature Human Behaviour* 6(11). 1545ā€“1556\. [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01410-x](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01410-x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kess, Joseph Francis & Anita Copeland Kess. 1986\. On Nootka baby talk. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 52(3). 201ā€“211\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/466018](https://doi.org/10.1086/466018?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Nielsen, Mark, Daniel Haun, Joscha KƤrtner & Cristine H. Legare. 2017\. The persistent sampling bias in developmental psychology: A call to action. *Journal of Experimental Child Psychology* 162\. 31ā€“38\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.017](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.017?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Ochs, Elinor. 1982\. Talking to children in Western Samoa. *Language in Society* 11(1). 77ā€“104\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500009040](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500009040?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Ochs, Elinor & Bambi B. Schieffelin. 2009\. Language acquisition and socialization: Three developmental stories and their implications. In Alessandro Duranti (ed.), *Linguistic anthropology: A reader* (Blackwell Anthologies in Social & Cultural Anthropology 1), 296ā€“328\. 2nd edn. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. - Saxton, Matthew. 2017\. *Child language: Acquisition and development*. 2nd edn. SAGE. - Schieffelin, Bambi B. 1990\. *The give and take of everyday life: Language socialization of Kaluli children* (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language 9). Cambridge University Press. - Shatz, Marilyn & Rochel Gelman. 1973\. The development of communication skills: Modifications in the speech of young children as a function of listener. *Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development*. Oxford University Press 38(5). [https://doi.org/10.2307/1165783](https://doi.org/10.2307/1165783?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Shneidman, Laura A. & Susan Goldinā€Meadow. 2012\. Language input and acquisition in a Mayan village: How important is directed speech? *Developmental Science* 15(5). 659ā€“673\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01168.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01168.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Upper, Mary. 1993\. Lessons from language acquisition: Reports on a study of Oji-Cree first language learning in the home. In Jo-Ann Archibald & Sheena Selkirk (eds.), *Selected papers from the 1988 and 1990 Mokakit conferences: Establishing pathways to excellence in First Nations Education*. Vancouver, BC: Mokaki Indian Education Research Association. - Voegelin, C. F. & Florence M. Robinett. 1954\. ā€œMother Languageā€ in Hidatsa. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 20(1). 65ā€“70\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/464252](https://doi.org/10.1086/464252?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Weppelman, Tammy L, Angela Bostow, Ryan Schiffer, Evelyn Elbert-Perez & Rochelle S Newman. 2003\. Childrenā€™s use of the prosodic characteristics of infant-directed speech. *Language & Communication* 23(1). 63ā€“80\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5309(01)00023-4](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5309%2801%2900023-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Yang, Charles D. 2006\. *The infinite gift: How children learn and unlearn the languages of the world*. Scribner. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Baby chicks know their kiki from their bouba URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-10/ Last updated: 2026-03-12T15:01:00.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The Wug Test: How children learn grammar ![A chick-like wug on a blue background, with a bold title, ā€œThe Wug Testā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-23.png) This is a wug. šŸ¤ Now there is another one. šŸ¤šŸ¤ There are two of them. There are two \_\_\_\_\_. Youā€™ve just participated in one of the most famous linguistics experiments of all time, called **The Wug Test**. In addition to furnishing the field of linguistics with an unofficial mascot in the form of an adorable wug, this was one of the first scientific experiments in child language acquisition, and it continues to have an enduring impact on the field of linguistics. In this latest issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter, weā€™ll see just how much this tiny experiment can teach us about how children learn grammar. [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-108.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) ### ā€œWhy English needs *yā€™all*ā€ in *Upworthy* ### ![Alt text: Side-by-side photos highlighting ā€œyā€™allā€: a red-and-white water tower labeled ā€œFLORENCE Yā€™ALL,ā€ and a blue roadside sign reading ā€œIf you litter SHAME ON Yā€™ALL! Up to $250 fine.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-24.png) *Upworthy* recently featured my video about the history of second person plural pronouns in English in an article on the topic: [A linguist from Alabama explains the surprising origin story of the Southern word ā€˜yā€™allā€™Itā€™s spreading to every corner of America.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-upworthy-site-icon_2ff506.png)UpworthyEmily Shiffer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Untitled-design-2026-03-02T213255.159.png)](https://www.upworthy.com/a-linguist-from-alabama-explains-the-surprising-origin-story-of-the-southern-word-yall/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Just to clarify, the linguist from Alabama is Paul E. Reed, not me. I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia!) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Linguist Deborah Cameron passes at age 67 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-25.png) Linguist Deborah Cameron (1958ā€“2026) Deborah Cameron, a linguist known for her pithy and forensic dismantling of common linguistic and societal myths, has died at age 67\. Cameron is best known among the general public for her 2007 book *The myth of Mars and Venus: Do men and women really speak different languages?*, which took aim at John Grayā€™s popular 1992 book *Men are from Mars, women are from Venus*. [Deborah Cameron obituary: linguist, feminist and firebrandLinguist, feminist, firebrand and scholar known for her pithy and forensic dismantling of societal myths dies aged 67![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/4e2c5841-df25-42a6-8b74-065cc072e1e8.png)The TimesThe Times![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/c59d7b15-e7c7-4cf1-8e34-24bb43d8ccb6.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/deborah-cameron-obituary-linguist-feminist-and-firebrand-b3cxj9dnr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### New Zealand coalition advances bill to make English an official language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-26.png) Bilingual rubbish and recycling bins in English and te reo Māori, an official language of New Zealand, in Picton, on South Island. Photograph: Brian Hartshorn/Alamy New Zealand coalition votes to make English an official language as critics decry ā€˜cynicalā€™ bill. Push to give English same status as Māori and NZ sign languages triggers backlash from opposition parties and linguistic experts. [New Zealand coalition votes to make English an official language as critics decry ā€˜cynicalā€™ billPush to give English same status as Māori and NZ sign languages triggers backlash from opposition parties and linguistic experts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-16.png)The GuardianEva Corlett![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2848.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/04/new-zealand-english-official-language-bill?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### šŸ¤ Baby chicks know their kiki from their bouba ![Two baby chickens, one looking at a spiky-shaped object and one looking at a roundish-shaped object](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-27.png) The **bouba-kiki effect** or **takete-maluma effect** refers to the association we have between certain speech sounds and certain visual shapes. Two famous experiments that involved presenting participants with pairs of nonsense words and asking them to associate those nonsense words with different random shapes find strong associations between certain types of sounds and certain types of shapes, and this effect holds for languages all over the world. Across languages, over 90% of people consistently choose *kiki* for the shape on the left below and *bouba* for the shape on the right. ![A spiky kiki and a roundish bouba](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-28.png) Now enter new research that shows that the bouba-kiki effect is not just pan-linguistic, but also pan-species! A study showed that newborn chicks connect sounds with shapes just like humans. And I donā€™t just mean that the researchers found evidence of a similar phenomenon; I mean that they *literally* ran the bouba-kiki experiment on baby chicks and got shockingly similar results as they do with humans. Almost immediately after hatching, the chicks were placed in front of two panelsā€”one with bouba and one with kiki. Researchers then played recordings of humans saying either ā€œboubaā€ or ā€œkikiā€ and observed the chicksā€™ behavior. When the chicks heard ā€œboubaā€, 80% approached the round shape first and spent an average of more than 3 minutes exploring it compared with an average of just under 1 minute spent exploring the spiky shape. This preference flipped when they heard ā€œkikiā€. Because the chicks were exposed to the bouba-kiki stimuli immediately after hatching, they couldnā€™t have learned this association from experience, which suggests an innate perceptual association which far predates the *Homo* branch of the evolutionary tree. Yet for some reason other primates like Kanzi (the bonobo who learned rudimentary language using a sign board) fail the bouba-kiki test, making this present study all the more surprising. All this calls into question the idea that these sound-shape associations were an important factor in the original development of language, as some scholars believe. [Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-109.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-6.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) [ā€˜Mind-blowingā€™ baby chick study challenges a theory of how humans evolved languageNewborn chicks connect sounds with shapes just like humans, suggesting deep evolutionary roots of the ā€œbouba-kikiā€ effect![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-148.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bouba-chicken.jpeg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/baby-chicks-pass-the-bouba-kiki-test-challenging-a-theory-of-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Loconsole, Benavides-Varela, & Regolin. 2026\. Matching sounds to shapes: Evidence of the bouba-kiki effect in naĆÆve baby chicks. *Science* 391(6787): 836ā€“839\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq7188](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq7188?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Why human language isnā€™t like computer code ![Side profile of a man wearing glasses speaking, with scattered letters flying out from his mouth against a dark background.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-29.png) > Human language may seem messy and inefficient compared to the ultra-compact strings of ones and zeros used by computersā€”but our brains actually prefer it that way. New research reveals that while digital-style encoding could theoretically compress information more tightly, it would demand far more mental effort from both speaker and listener. Instead, language is built around familiar words and predictable patterns that reflect our real-world experiences, allowing the brain to constantly anticipate what comes next and narrow down meaning step by step. [Scientists reveal why human language isnā€™t like computer codeHuman language may seem messy and inefficient compared to the ultra-compact strings of ones and zeros used by computersā€”but our brains actually prefer it that way. New research reveals that while digital-style encoding could theoretically compress information more tightly, it would demand far more mental effort from both speaker and listener. Instead, language is built around familiar words and predictable patterns that reflect our real-world experiences, allowing the brain to constantly anticipate what comes next and narrow down meaning step by step.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-149.ico)ScienceDaily![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/man-speaks-letters.webp)](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260219040811.htm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Linguistic structure from a bottleneck on sequential information processing - Nature Human BehaviourFutrell and Hahn argue that languages can be understood as codes that minimize predictive information; that is, they express approximately independent features systematically and locally.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-25.png)NatureRichard Futrell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2025_2336_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02336-w?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [What Is Etymology? Meaning and 35 Examples - Rosetta StoneDiscover how a wordā€™s etymology can reveal its true meaning, including its language of origin and how its meaning has changed over time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-18.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/etymology-mother-son-ruin-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/what-is-etymology/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Monica, Erica, Rita, Tina: Why do so many womenā€™s names end in A?A pattern among modern womenā€™s names gives me an excuse to dig very deep into linguistic prehistory, there to unearth lost grammar and a sense of languageā€™s arbitrariness.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-9.svg)Danny Bate, Wanderer in Language HistoryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F96c676ba-a3ff-4766-b515-5f6cd19007c1_410x406.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/monica-erica-rita-tina-why-do-so) - A pattern among modern womenā€™s names gives linguist Danny L. Bate an excuse to dig very deep into linguistic prehistory, lost grammar, and languageā€™s arbitrariness. [Whatā€™s the best way to learn a new language?Krupa Padhy uncovers how we really learn foreign languages ā€“ in a dual challenge involving both Portuguese and Mandarin.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-70.png)BBCKrupa Padhy![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/p0n28j0x.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260220-whats-the-best-way-to-learn-a-new-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Your brain can crack a new languageā€™s patterns in three days. Fluency take 64 weeks, according to an experiment by a BBC journalist. [Speaking of Words: Are There Really Eight Parts of Speech?Many of us oldsters remember being taught in school that there are eight parts of speech, but I find that, when I try to remember what I was taught, I usually come up with nine. When I look at various websites that agree that there are eight, I see that their lists are not identical.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-10.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-10.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2026/02/24/speaking-of-words-are-there-really-eight-parts-of-speech/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why the worst idea in linguistics wonā€™t dieThe Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is mostly wrong![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-18.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fb5aa7c7e-dc04-416a-b46a-3b1d5e96c061_1920x1082.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/sapir-whorf-worst-idea-in-linguistics) - Colin Gorrie wrote a truly excellent take on the idea of **linguistic determinism**ā€”the idea that language determines how we thinkā€”and its weaker version, **linguistic relativity**ā€”that language merely influences how we think. I highly recommend taking the time to read this one. Itā€™s paywalled, but I believe Substack allows you to read one paid article for free. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### The Celtic languages of Britain Rob Words has a great YouTube video not just explaining the different Celtic languages of Britain, but interviewing language experts from each. Definitely recommend a watch if you want to learn more about these different and awesome languages. ### *A history of the English language* ![Book cover for A History of the English Language (Seventh Edition) by Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, with a blue-and-green watercolor-style background and the Routledge logo at bottom right.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-30.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4s0YEpL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781032953618?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) First published in 1935 and regularly updated and republished in new editions ever since, *A history of the English language* has been the authoritative textbook on the history of English for nearly a century. And now the 7th edition has just been released! Grab a copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4s0YEpL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781032953618?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! ### The most-spoken language other than English in each U.S. state ![Color-coded map of the United States labeled with the most-spoken language in each state besides English and Spanish (e.g., Chinese, German, French, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Portuguese, Hmong, Haitian Creole, Navajo, Dakota languages, Aleut languages, and Japanese).](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-31.png) [The Most-Spoken Language Besides English and Spanish in Every State, MappedThe analysis from WordFinderX revealed some fascinating trends.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x-6.png)Mental FlossPaul Anthony Jones![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/01j5r205mgyw8y9knzre.png)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/geography/maps/most-spoken-language-in-every-state-besides-english-and-spanish-map?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/stone-age-proto-writing/ Last updated: 2026-03-18T23:23:01.000Z Did researchers just find evidence that writing is tens of thousands of years older than previously thought? Nope, but youā€™d be forgiven for reaching that conclusion after reading these headlines reporting on [research](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2520385123?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) published in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* last week: > Archaeologists may have discovered the oldest form of writingā€”ever ([*Popular Mechanics*](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a70526396/archaeologists-may-have-discovered-the-oldest-form-of-writingever/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > Stone Age symbols may push back the earliest form of writing ([*New Scientist*](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2516606-stone-age-symbols-may-push-back-the-earliest-form-of-writing/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > Ancient art could hold clues to the origins of written language ([*Scientific American*](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stone-age-art-may-reveal-40-000-year-old-precursor-to-writing/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > Ancient artifacts hint at earliest protowriting ([*Science*](https://www.science.org/content/article/ancient-artifacts-hint-earliest-protowriting?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) And hereā€™s how the *New Scientist* article opens: > Stone Age people 40,000 years ago used a simple form of writing comparable in complexity to the earliest stages of the worldā€™s first writing system, cuneiform, according to a study of mysterious signs engraved on figurines and other artefacts found in Germany. If confirmed, this pushes back the emergence of a proto-writing system by more than 30,000 years. ([*New Scientist*](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2516606-stone-age-symbols-may-push-back-the-earliest-form-of-writing/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Big if true. In todayā€™s issue weā€™ll look at what the study found, why it doesnā€™t push back the date of the earliest writing by tens of thousands of years, and why the findings are actually way cooler, giving us insight into the very nature of what it is to be human. ## Background: Behaviorally modern humans in Europe > The fact that sequences of geometric signs recur so frequently and systematically in the archaeological record of this period suggests that they had some sort of meaning. The earliest groups of *Homo sapiens* to arrive in Europe appear ca. 45,000 years ago (ya), and with them an artistic explosion in the form of cave paintings, petroglyphs, carvings, and engravings on bone or ivory, and a marked increase in the overall diversity of the types of artifacts associated with human activity. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-8.png) An Upper Paleolithic cave painting (ca. 16,000 ya) from the Lascaux cave in France ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lascaux%5Fpainting.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) This archaeological period is known as the **Upper Paleolithic (Late Stone Age)**, and is typically associated with the emergence of **behavioral modernity**ā€”when humans begin to exhibit abstract and symbolic thought, advance planning, and social learning. During this era, we see a dramatic increase in figurines of people and animals as well as objects adorned with sequences of geometric signs like lines, crosses, and dots. This archaeological industry associated with the first modern humans in Europe is known as the **Aurignacian** complex. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-9.png) A 40,000-year-old mammoth figurine from Vogelherd Cave in Germany. UniversitƤt TĆ¼bingen/Hildegard Jensen ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-10.png) The [Venus of Hohle Fels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus%5Fof%5FHohle%5FFels?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (ca. 42,000ā€“40,000 ya), the oldest undisputed depiction of a human being ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VenusHohlefels2.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-11.png) The [Adorant figurine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adorant%5Ffrom%5Fthe%5FGei%C3%9Fenkl%C3%B6sterle%5Fcave?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (ca. 35,000ā€“32,000 ya) from GeiƟenklƶsterle cave in Germany depicts an anthropomorphic figure on one side and a sequence of notches and dots along its edges and back. Landesmuseum WĆ¼rttemberg/Hendrik Zwietasch \*ļøāƒ£ Note that ****anatomically modern humans**, i.e. **Homo sapiens*, existed well before behaviorally modern humans. While the earliest remains of **Homo sapiens* date to 300,000 ya, widespread evidence of behavioral modernity doesnā€™t appear consistently in the archaeological record until the Upper Paleolithic, ca. 50,000 ya. The development of these cognitive traits is often associated with evidence of denser populations and larger social networks in early humans. This fact has in turn led to the ****social intelligence hypothesis**, the idea that the need to engage in and keep track of complex social interactions within large groups was a major evolutionary driver of increases in human brain size and intelligence. [![Book cover of ā€œBaboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mindā€ by Dorothy L. Cheney and Robert M. Seyfarth, featuring a photo of two baboons sitting on a tree branch with a baby between them, with the title in large tan letters at the top and a short quote from Nature along the bottom.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-12.png)](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780226102443?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Linguist Christian Bentz and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz were especially curious about the sequences of geometric marks: Were they just decorative, or did they have specific meanings? The fact that sequences of geometric signs recur so frequently and systematically in the archaeological record of this period suggests that they had some sort of meaning, maybe as tallies of kill counts, or marks on a lunar calendar, etc. For example, the Adorant figurine shown above, carved from mammoth ivory, depicts a lion-human, and is engraved with dots and notches in rows of 13 or 12\. These engravings could well be calendric observations made to keep track of the passing of time. In fact, [another study from 2023](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-archaeological-journal/article/an-upper-palaeolithic-protowriting-system-and-phenological-calendar/6F2AD8A705888F2226FE857840B4FE19?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) argues that sequences of lines, dots, and Y shapes frequently found on European cave paintings of animals from the same time period were used to record information about the mating and birthing cycles of commonly-hunted animals (a **phenological calendar**). So itā€™s entirely plausible that the sequences of marks in Aurignacian artifacts have some type of symbolic meaning, but how could we ever possibly know? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-13.png) Examples of possible proto-writing in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings, thought to represent phenological calendars ([Bacon et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Bacon-et-al-2023-14a50a282bc181dda521cfef43244eb0?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) **Reporting** - [Could these cave markings be the earliest form of writing? New research proposes that symbols in 20,000-year-old cave drawings are a proto-writing system, but not all scientists are convinced](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/could-these-cave-markings-be-the-earliest-form-of-writing-180981403/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) - [20,000-year-old cave painting ā€˜dotsā€™ are the earliest written language, study claims. But not everyone agrees.](https://www.livescience.com/ice-age-cave-art-proto-writing-claim?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Live Science*) You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media This article is for paying subscribers only. If youā€™d like to read it, become a Linguistic Discovery supporter! ****āœØ Perks āœØ** āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles šŸ“˜ early access to chapters of my book šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $10/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/signup) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How your brain separates sounds into words URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-09/ Last updated: 2026-03-03T17:16:46.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Is baby talk good for your child? ![A toddler wearing oversized black glasses sits on the floor holding an open picture book, with scattered black letters floating from the childā€™s mouth against a white background.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image.png) Does using nonsense or simplified words hinder your childā€™s language development? Or does it make acquiring language easier for them? Parents are often deeply divided on this issue. Some parents insist that you should only speak to children like adults because it models correct language for them, while others say that baby talk is helpful and makes it easier for your child to learn language. Which take is correct? In the latest (free) issue of the newsletter, we look at the advantages and disadvantages of baby talk, as part of my series on the science of talking to babies. You can see all the issues in the series below. [Is baby talk good for your child?Does using baby talk make language learning easier, or does it hinder your childā€™s language development?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-105.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-9.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) #### Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** Do all cultures use baby talk? **\[forthcoming\]** - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your child? - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child ### Whatā€™s the past tense of *cost*? I posted this on Threads recently and a lot of people werenā€™t happy about it: > The use of *costed* as the past tense of *cost* over time in the Google Books corpus If this continues, eventually ā€œcostā€ will become a regular past tense verb. ![A screenshot from the Google Ngrams Viewer of the frequency of the phrase ā€œit costedā€ and the word ā€œapricityā€ over time in the Google Books corpus. Both words increase in frequency starting around 2010, but ā€œit costedā€ is notably more frequent than ā€œapricityā€.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-1.png) - [Google Ngrams: *it costed* vs. *apricity*](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=it+costed%2Capricity&year%5Fstart=1900&year%5Fend=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case%5Finsensitive=false&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I also had to clarify that thereā€™s a difference between the use of *costed* meaning ā€˜to estimate the cost of somethingā€™, e.g. ā€œwe found out the project was unfeasible after we costed it outā€, vs. the meaning ā€˜to have a price ofā€™. The phrase ā€œit costedā€, which was used in the Google Ngrams search above, is typically only used in the latter sense. Several people claimed that this graph was irrelevant because the numbers were so small, but this usage is actually above other widely accepted words, e.g. *apricity*, as the graph demonstrates. One of the funny things you learn when working with corpora that even some words that everybody knows can nonetheless have remarkably low corpus frequencies, appearing one or two times or sometimes not at all, even in a corpus of millions or billions of words. Just goes to show how good humans are at learning vocabulary with even a few exposures to the word. [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsUse of ā€œcostedā€ as the past tense of ā€œcostā€ over time in the Google Books corpus If this trend continues, ā€œcostā€ will eventually no longer be an irregular past tense verb![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-16.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/640288991_17942275332120110_8365653554916745779_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DVL4GfPiClm?xmt=AQF0X8Cwm3uUVtBUD2TUKZe01yr2VWGlTEfHNzCjoZyuOg&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### How toddlers in Finland are saving an endangered Saami language ![Three children in winter clothing play on a mound of snow in a snowy yard, with a green-and-yellow fence and snow-covered trees behind them.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-2.png) Endangered language communities around the world have seen great success with using ā€œlanguage nestsā€ā€”immersion programs for very young childrenā€”to help revitalize their languages. Now the SĆ”mi people of Finland are giving it a try so as to pass their language on to the next generation. [How toddlers in Finland are saving an endangered SĆ”mi languageSpecial nurseries are helping the SĆ”mi people in Finland to bring their almost-lost language back from the brink of extinction.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-68.png)BBCErika Benke![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/p0n1vggf.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260218-saving-the-inari-smi-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Language learning can help lower dementia risk by almost 40% ![An older woman reading a book.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-3.png) > Reading, writing and learning a language or two can lower your risk of dementia by almost 40%, according to a study that suggests millions of people could prevent or delay the condition. [Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study suggestsCognitive health in later life is ā€˜strongly influencedā€™ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-15.png)The GuardianAndrew Gregory![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/4917.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/feb/11/reading-writing-lower-dementia-risk-study-finds?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Zammit et al. 2026\. Associations of lifetime cognitive enrichment with incident Alzheimer disease dementia, cognitive aging, and cognitive resilience. *Neurology* 106(5): e214677\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000214677](https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000214677?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How your brain separates speech into words ![A colorful audio waveform illustration with the quote ā€œthe brain somehow puts individual speech sounds together into word forms,ā€ plus an annotation noting there is a pause between the syllables of ā€œtogetherā€ but not between the words ā€œtogetherā€ and ā€œinto.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-4.png) In natural speech, there are no clear acoustic boundaries separating words; we pause about as many times within words as we do between them. This is especially evident when listening to an unfamiliar language being spoken: words often seem to ā€œblurā€ together into one smeared stream of sound. So how do our brains figure out word boundaries? Recent research finds that the power of specific ā€œhigh-gammaā€ brain waves consistently plummets about 100 milliseconds after a word boundary. Another study showed that this effect only occurs for languages that the speaker is fluent in. Researcher Edward Chang says, ā€œTo my knowledge, this is the first time that we have a direct neural brain correlate of words. Thatā€™s a big deal.ā€ [Speech sounds are a blurā€”hereā€™s how your brain sorts them outSpeech blurs together unless you know the language; scientists found the brain signal that separates the words![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-146.ico)Scientific AmericanElise Cutts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/sa0326Adva09.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-research-reveals-how-the-brain-separates-speech-into-words/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Zhang et al. 2026\. Human cortical dynamics of auditory word form encoding. *Neuron* 114(1): P167ā€“180.E6\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.10.011](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.10.011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Bhaya-Grossman et al. 2026\. Shared and language-specific phonological processing in the human temporal lobe. *Nature* 649: 140ā€“151\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09748-8](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09748-8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* - [How Indiaā€™s language diversity is shaping global AI](https://inc42.com/resources/how-indias-language-diversity-is-shaping-global-ai/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Inc42) [How printing presses ignited the first information revolutionThe printing press helped build libraries that were impossibly large by ancient standards. That created its own new challenges.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180_ed57c890.png)Reason.comJoel Miller![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/excerpt.jpg)](https://reason.com/2025/11/18/the-first-information-revolution/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - The printing press helped build libraries that were impossibly large by ancient standards. That created its own new challenges, and led to early library science. - This is an excerpt from the recent book *The Idea Machine: How books built our world and shape our future* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aRga8k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781493088935?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). [![Red book cover titled ā€œThe Idea Machineā€ by Joel J. Miller, with the subtitle ā€œHow Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future,ā€ featuring small lightbulb and gear icons.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-5.png)](https://amzn.to/4aRga8k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aRga8k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781493088935?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Designing Language with Care: The Human-Centered Work of Dmitry Tereshenko - Grit Daily NewsAs generative AI and language technologies reshape education, health care, and public life, linguists now play a vital role in guiding how these systems![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/GD-favicon-300x300.png)Grit Daily NewsMatthew Kayser![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image1-20.jpg)](https://gritdaily.com/the-human-centered-work-of-dmitry-tereshenko/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - As generative AI and language technologies reshape education, health care, and public life, linguists now play a vital role in guiding how these systems interact with real people. [AAVE Meaning: The Basics of African American Vernacular English - Rosetta StoneDiscover the history and basic traits of African American Vernacular English, and how the AAVE meaning of common conversational words has deep roots in history.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-17.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/aave-menaing-friends-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/aave-meaning/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The secret to authentic Russian accents on Heated RivalryHow a Russian dialect coach helped Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie master challenging Russian sounds and build a believable accent![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-147.ico)Scientific AmericanKendra Pierre-Louis, Allison Parshall, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2602_SQ_WED_HEATED_RIVALRY.png)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/inside-the-russian-dialect-coaching-behind-heated-rivalry/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - How a Russian dialect coach helped *Heated Rivalry* star Connor Storrie master challenging Russian sounds and build a believable accent ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Madeleine Beekmanā€™s Substack Madeleine Beekman, author of the recent book, *The origin of language: How we learned to speak and why* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668066058?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), has recently started a Substack! Hereā€™s the description from her About page: > If you are interested in evolution, in particular how evolution relates to our own behaviour, then this is the Substack for you. In my essays I try to explain how a particular issue can be explained by seeing it in the context of evolution. > > Theodosius Dobzhansky famously wrote: ā€œNothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolutionā€. It is just that we donā€™t always immediately understand how. Nor do we necessarily appreciate that our own biology is also subject to evolution. Time for some explaining. [Madeleineā€™s Substack | SubstackIf you are interested in evolution, then this is the place for you. Click to read Madeleineā€™s Substack, by Madeleine Beekman, a Substack publication. Launched 23 days ago.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-8.svg)Madeleine's SubstackMadeleine Beekman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fmadeleinebeekman.substack.com-2Ftwitter-2Fsubscribe-card.jpg%3Fv%3D817278906%26version%3D9)](https://madeleinebeekman.substack.com/) [![Book cover with a turquoise background. Title in large red serif text: The Origin of Language. Subtitle in black: ā€œHow We Learned to Speak and Why.ā€ Author name at bottom: Madeleine Beekman. An illustration near the bottom shows a human head in profile with a speech bubble inside the brain area.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-6.png)](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668066058?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How does your baby learn words? HELLO Lab has a new video in their series on a childā€™s first wordsā€”how babies connect words to meanings, long before they can talk. They break down the science of early word learning in a parent-friendly way, focusing on everyday interactions that support healthy language growth. And if you want to learn more about how children learn words, be sure to check out my article on the Wug Test! [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-106.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! How all the Indo-European words for ā€˜tenā€™ are related, from Starkey Comics. Read all the details in the blog post [here](https://starkeycomics.com/2025/06/23/indo-european-words-for-ten/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![A wheel-like infographic with the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜tenā€™ at the center, and all its reflexes (etymological descendants) fanning out from it like leaves on tree branches, with each branch of the Indo-European tree in a different color.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/03/image-7.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Wug Test: How children learn grammar URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/ Last updated: 2026-02-28T10:00:14.000Z This is a wug. šŸ¤ ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!J0s9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0ed5c2ae-792c-41d6-b7bc-e42f1c6d5c61_1080x1080.png) Now there is another one. šŸ¤šŸ¤ ![Two wugs, an imaginary critter that looks like a blue peep or chick.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5U-v!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1e70e63b-4775-44fd-a590-8d3c52cfd00d_1080x1080.png "Two wugs, an imaginary critter that looks like a blue peep or chick.") There are two of them. There are two \_\_\_\_\_. Youā€™ve just participated in one of the most famous linguistics experiments of all time, called **The Wug Test**. In todayā€™s issue, weā€™ll see just how much this tiny experiment can teach us about the way children acquire language and how language itself works. You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## How do children learn grammatical rules? > The task facing children when they learn new inflections is actually much more challenging than simply adding an *ā€‘s* or *ā€‘ed* to the ends of words. The creator of the Wug Test, Jean Berko Gleason, wanted to understand how children acquired the rules of English grammar. For example, most English nouns form their plural in the regular way, by adding the *ā€‘s* suffix: - cat ā†’ cats - dog ā†’ dogs - house ā†’ houses But English also has plenty of irregular plurals: - man ā†’ men - mouse ā†’ mice - sheep ā†’ sheep Regular plurals comport well with the perspective that children learn a rule STEM + *ā€‘s* \= PLURAL, but irregular plurals make it seem like children have to memorize each plural individually. Gleason wanted to know which strategy children were using when they learned different grammatical affixes like plural *ā€‘s*, past tense *ā€‘ed*, and progressive *ā€‘ing*ā€”what linguists call the different **inflections** of a word. Do they simply memorize each form on a case-by-case basis, or do they learn a more abstract rule that they can then apply to new words? Complicating matters, the task facing children when they learn new inflections is actually much more challenging than simply adding an *ā€‘s* or *ā€‘ed* to the ends of words. In many cases, English uses different pronunciations of an affix depending on the sound around it. In fact, there are actually *three* different pronunciations of each of the plural *ā€‘s*, the possessive *ā€‘s*, and the past tense *ā€‘ed*, depending on the sound at the end of the word they attach to. Take plural *ā€‘s* to start: If a noun ends in what linguists call a **voiceless consonant**ā€”a sound where your vocal folds arenā€™t vibrating, any of the sounds /f, k, p, t, Īø/ā€”then the plural is simply pronounced /s/. So *cat* /kƦt/ becomes *cats* /kƦts/, *cup* /kŹŒp/ becomes *cups* /kŹŒps/, and so on: - *cat* /kƦt/ ā†’ *cats* /kƦts/ - *cup* /kŹŒp/ ā†’ *cups* /kŹŒps/ - *month* /mŹŒnĪø/ ā†’ *months* /mŹŒnĪøs/ ā„¹ļø Here Iā€™m writing words as they are **pronounced*, not as they are **spelled*, so you can see these pronunciation rules at work. To do so, I use the [International Phonetic Alphabet](https://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/ipa-sounds/ipa-chart-with-sounds/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (IPA). When a word/affix is written in the IPA in this article, itā€™ll be between /slashes/. Words are transcribed using a [General American accent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General%5FAmerican%5FEnglish?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), so you might pronounce these words differently depending on your own accent. However, if the word ends in a **voiced** soundā€”where your vocal folds *are* vibratingā€”then the plural *ā€‘s* is pronounced /z/. Voiced sounds in English include: - vowels - semivowels: /w, j/ - voiced consonants: /b, d, Ć°, g, l, r, m, n, ŋ, v/ So you say *dogs* /dɑgz/ not \*/dɑgs/, *beds* /bɛdz/ not \*/bɛds/, and *cans* /kƦnz/ not \*/kƦns/. ā„¹ļø An asterisk `*` is used to indicate an incorrect or ungrammatical form. - *dog* /dɑg/ ā†’ *dogs* /dɑgz/ - *bed* /bɛd/ ā†’ *beds* /bɛdz/ - *can* /kƦn/ ā†’ *cans* /kƦnz/ Notice that these plural forms end in /z/, even though the word is spelled with an āŸØsāŸ©. English spelling is insensitive to this particular pronunciation rule (because we apply it subconsciously). If youā€™re having trouble convincing yourself thereā€™s actually a /z/ there, here are a few contrasting pairs of words (**minimal pairs**) that show what happens if you pronounce the plural as /s/ instead. You get an entirely different word! These should convince you that the plural is in fact pronounced as /z/, distinct from /s/. __**Table 1.** Minimal pairs contrasting word-final /s/ vs. /z/__ | **Plural with /z/** | **Pronunciation** | **Contrasting Word with /s/** | **Pronunciation** | | ------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------- | | hens | /hɛnz/ | hence | /hɛns/ | | pews | /pjuz/ | puce | /pjus/ | | ells | /ɛlz/ | else | /ɛls/ | | bays | /beį¶¦z/ | base | /beį¶¦s/ | | dues | /duz/ | deuce | /dus/ | Finally, if the word ends in one of Englishā€™s **sibilant** soundsā€”/s, z, Źƒ, Ź’, tŹƒ, dŹ’/ā€”then the plural is pronounced /ÉŖz/. English inserts a separator vowel (called an **epenthetic** vowel) to keep the two sibilants apart (otherwise theyā€™d be unpronounceable). So *house* /haį¶·s/ becomes /haį¶·sÉŖz/, not /haį¶·ss/; *maze* /meį¶¦z/ becomes /meį¶¦zÉŖz/, not /meį¶¦zs/, etc. - *house* /haį¶·s/ ā†’ *houses* /haį¶·sÉŖz/ - *maze* /meį¶¦z/ ā†’ *mazes* /meį¶¦zÉŖz/ - *glass* /glƦs/ ā†’ *glasses* /glƦsÉŖz/ You can think of these three different forms of the plural *ā€‘s* as context-conditioned pronunciation variants of the same suffix. The technical term for this type of variant is an **allomorph**. Suddenly ā€œadd an *ā€‘s* to make it pluralā€ doesnā€™t seem so straightforward after all! Thankfully, the pronunciation rules for the possessive *ā€‘ā€™s* are exactly the same as for plural *ā€‘s*: - *cat* /kƦt/ ā†’ *catā€™s* /kƦts/ - *cup* /kŹŒp/ ā†’ *cupā€™s* /kŹŒps/ - *month* /mŹŒnĪø/ ā†’ *monthā€™s* /mŹŒnĪøs/ - *dog* /dɑg/ ā†’ *dogā€™s* /dɑgz/ - *bed* /bɛd/ ā†’ *bedā€™s* /bɛdz/ - *can* /kƦn/ ā†’ *canā€™s* /kƦnz/ - *house* /haį¶·s/ ā†’ *houseā€™s* /haį¶·sÉŖz/ - *maze* /meį¶¦z/ ā†’ *mazeā€™s* /meį¶¦zÉŖz/ - *glass* /glƦs/ ā†’ *glassā€™s* /glƦsÉŖz/ These possessives may be *spelled* differently from their plural forms, but they are *pronounced* the same. The rules for the pronunciation of different allomorphs of the past tense *ā€‘ed* parallel those of the plural and the possessive. After voiceless consonants, *ā€‘ed* is pronounced as /t/: - *look* /lŹŠk/ ā†’ *looked* /lŹŠkt/ - *ask* /Ʀsk/ ā†’ *asked* /Ʀskt/ - *help* /hɛlp/ ā†’ *helped* /hɛlpt/ After voiced sounds, *ā€‘ed* is pronounced as /d/: - *use* /juz/ ā†’ *used* /juzd/ - *call* /kɑl/ ā†’ *called* /kɑld/ - *try* /traį¶¦/ ā†’ *tried* /traį¶¦d/ But after a similar soundā€”an **alveolar stop** /t d/ā€”an epenthetic vowel is inserted, so that *ā€‘ed* is pronounced /ÉŖd/: - *want* /wɑnt/ ā†’ *wanted* /wɑntÉŖd/ - *need* /nid/ ā†’ *needed* /nidÉŖd/ - *start* /stɑrt/ ā†’ *started* /stɑrtÉŖd/ We can generalize the rules for all three of these suffixes in the following way: 1. If the word ends in a similar sound as the suffix, insert an epenthetic vowel to separate the two sounds: - sibilant + *ā€‘s* ā†’ /ÉŖz/ - alveolar stop + *ā€‘ed* ā†’ /ÉŖd/ 2. Otherwise, use the form of the suffix that matches the voicing of the preceding consonant: - voiceless: /s/ or /t/ - voiced: /z/ or /d/ Yet even this ā€œsimplificationā€ is a complex, highly abstract rule! English spelling often obscures the intricacies of these pronunciation rules, but all native English speakers are nonetheless aware of these rules at a subconscious level. But are children? And if so, when do they become aware of them? Do they learn all the allomorphs of an affix at once? Do they memorize individual forms, or do they learn the abstract rules for each of these forms? Obviously children learn the rules *eventually*, but what happens while theyā€™re learning the language? When Gleason first conducted the Wug Test in 1958, linguists didnā€™t yet have answers to these questions. In fact, Gleasonā€™s study can perhaps be considered the first ever scientific experiment in child language research ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 12). Thatā€™s only part of what has given the study its enduring fame, however. In addition to furnishing the field of linguistics with an unofficial mascot in the adorable wug (you can grab your own wug merch [here](https://wugstore.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), the experimentā€™s astute design provided the first method in linguistics for interrogating the internal grammatical knowledge of children, and it was one of the first studies to offer experimental evidence that children regularize irregular forms ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 225). Letā€™s look at how the experiment worked and what Gleason discovered. [Wug Store ā€“ The Official Wug Site![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-145.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Wug-Test-Book-1-683x1024.jpg)](https://wugstore.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## How the Wug Test works Gleason reasoned that if children learned plurals and other inflections by rote, they shouldnā€™t make inflectional errors. They would say *cats* and *men* because thatā€™s what the adults say. But if children are learning patterns and applying them productively, they should sometimes overgeneralize, producing forms like these: - **Past Tense *ā€‘ed*** - fall ā†’ \*falled (fell) - go ā†’ \*goed (went) - break ā†’ \*broked (broke) - sing ā†’ \*singed (sang) \*ļøāƒ£ **singed* is of course the correct past tense of **singe*, but thatā€™s a different verb with a different pronunciation that just happens to be a homograph. - **Plural *ā€‘s*** - man ā†’ \*mans (men) - foot ā†’ \*foots (feet) - tooth ā†’ \*teeths (teeth) - person ā†’ \*peoples (people) To find out what children were actually doing, Gleason created a number of nonsense words to describe colorful pictures of fantastical creatures (including the wug) and people performing novel actions. Below are a few of the original elicitation stimuli she used. The first four are designed to test for plural nouns, and the last two are designed to test for past tense verbs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/wug.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/kazh-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/cra-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/gutch-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/rick-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/spow-1.jpg) Elicitation stimuli from the original Wug Test (Berko 1958) Gleason also created cards to test for the progressive *ā€‘ing*, the third person singular *ā€‘s*, and the possessive *ā€‘ā€™s* and plural possessive *ā€‘sā€™*, but most items focused on plural *ā€‘s* and past tense *ā€‘ed*. This experimental format worked particularly well with young children because it mirrors picture books, which they all had experience with. The nonsense words were also carefully built to obey English sound patterns. In fact, they were so plausible that Gleason writes: > It was, moreover, evident that a great number of these children thought they were being taught new English words. It was not uncommon for a child to repeat the nonsense word immediately upon hearing it and before being asked any questions. Often, for example, when the experimenter said ā€œThis is a *gutch*ā€, the child repeated, ā€œ*Gutch*ā€. Answers were willingly, and often insistently, given. (p. 3ā€“4) The words were designed to test whether children had internalized the various pronunciation rules explained above. Some ended in voiceless consonants, others in voiced sounds, others in sibilants, and others in alveolar stops. If the child really knew these rules, they should be able to apply them to *new* words to produce the right allomorph: /wŹŒgz/ for *wugs*, /rÉŖkt/ for *ricked*, and so on. Gleason also included a few real words to compare childrenā€™s performance on familiar words versus made-up ones. These came later in the experiment so that they would not prime the childrenā€™s responses for the nonsense words. For example, *glass* only appeared several turns after *tass*. Before running the experiment with children, Gleason tested the materials with twelve adults, and used their answers as the standard of correctness. A childā€™s response was considered ā€œcorrectā€ if it matched any adult response. The experiment was conducted with two groups of children in the U.S.: one group in preschool (where students are between 4 and 5 years old) and one group in first grade (where children are between 5.5 and 7 years old). ## Results I: How children learn plural nouns > The Wug Test demonstrates that two individuals can produce the same surface forms but have *different underlying grammars.* What did we learn from the Wug Test? Table 2 lays out the raw results, which weā€™ll break down in a moment. It shows the percentage of correct answers given for each test item in each age group. __**Table 2.** Percentage of correct answers for each item, by age group__ | | **Preschool** | **First Grade** | | ------------------ | ------------- | --------------- | | **Plurals** | | | | glasses | 75 | 99 | | wugs | 76 | 97 | | luns | 68 | 92 | | tors | 73 | 90 | | heafs | 79 | 80 | | cras | 58 | 86 | | tasses | 28 | 39 | | gutches | 28 | 38 | | kazhes | 25 | 36 | | nizzes | 14 | 33 | | **Progressive** | | | | zibbing | 72 | 97 | | **Past** | | | | binged | 60 | 85 | | glinged | 63 | 80 | | ricked | 73 | 73 | | melted | 72 | 74 | | spowed | 36 | 59 | | motted | 32 | 33 | | bodded | 14 | 31 | | rang | 0 | 25 | | **Third Singular** | | | | loodges | 57 | 56 | | nazzes | 47 | 49 | | **Possessive** | | | | wugā€™s | 68 | 81 | | bikā€™s | 68 | 95 | | nizā€™s | 58 | 46 | | wugsā€™ | 74 | 97 | | biksā€™ | 74 | 99 | | nizzesā€™ | 53 | 82 | Letā€™s start with plural nouns. Table 3 combines the data from the two age groups for plurals. __**Table 3.** Percentage of children supplying correct plural forms for each item__ | **Item** | **Allomorph** | **% Correct** | | -------------- | ------------- | ------------- | | glasses | /ā€‘ÉŖz/ | 91 | | wugs | /ā€‘z/ | 91 | | luns | /ā€‘z/ | 86 | | tors | /ā€‘z/ | 85 | | heafs / heaves | /ā€‘s/ or /ā€‘z/ | 82 | | cras | /ā€‘z/ | 79 | | tasses | /ā€‘ÉŖz/ | 36 | | gutches | /ā€‘ÉŖz/ | 36 | | kazhes | /ā€‘ÉŖz/ | 31 | | nizzes | /ā€‘ÉŖz/ | 28 | The word *bik* was also used in a pretest with the children, and Gleason reports that they used the correct form of *bik* with the same degree of accuracy as they did for *wug*. The first thing to notice is the huge spread in accuracy across itemsā€”from 91% for *glasses* to 28% for *nizzes*. What explains this disparity? First, children have little trouble with the simpler allomorphs /ā€‘s/ and /ā€‘z/, even for novel words. Any difficulty they do have vanishes by first grade, as Table 2 shows. So at the outset we have strong evidence that children have in fact internalized an abstract rule about the formation of English plurals by age 7ā€”already a very cool and (at the time) groundbreaking result. Yet even among the /ā€‘s/ and /ā€‘z/ forms, childrenā€™s accuracy varies. Why do they perform so well with *bik* and *wug* but relatively worse on *cra*? Gleason posits that this is due to a quirk of the English sound system: Every language has rules about which sounds are allowed to appear next to each other and how they can be arranged within syllables and words. These are called the **phonotactics** or **phonotactic rules** for a language. One phonotactic rule of English is certain consonant clusters are disallowed at the ends of syllables. In particular, sibilants must match the voicing of the previous consonant. This means that the sequences \*/kz/ and \*/gs/ never occurā€”which coincidentally rules out forms like \*/wŹŒgs/ and \*/bikz/. Because of this phonotactic rule, *bik* and *wug* are not actually the decisive test cases they seem to be. Correctly using /ā€‘s/ with *bik* and /ā€‘z/ with *wug* isnā€™t technically enough to demonstrate that children know the pronunciation rules for plural nouns. They might just be following a more general pattern about how English sounds can be arranged. The real test case, therefore, is nouns that end in vowels, the semivowels /w j/, or the liquid consonants /l r/. Thatā€™s precisely what *lun*, *tor*, and *cra* are designed to test. The fact that children perform well with these nouns shows definitively that they have internalized the pronunciation rules for the /ā€‘s/ and /ā€‘z/ variants of the English plural. And childrenā€™s mastery of these forms solidifies between preschool and first grade. At the same time, however, children did not perform as well on *lun*, *tor*, and *cra* as they did on *bik* and *wug*. Why? It may be that children do better when plural form *also* aligns with Englishā€™s natural sound patterns. But for *lun*, *tor*, and *cra*, there is no such general pattern to follow. Children are forced to choose between /ā€‘s/ and /ā€‘z/ based on some other principle. The children who missed these items may have learned the general phonotactic rule about English but *not* the pronunciation rules for the English plural. What I find especially cool about this is that it demonstrates how two individuals can produce the same surface forms but *have different underlying grammars*. Linguists call this **grammatical isomorphism**. Next, notice how poorly children performed with sibilant-final nounsā€”*tass*, *gutch*, *kazh*, *nizz*. The one exception was the word they already knew, *glass*. They performed better with *glass* than any of the nonsense words, but they struggled to extend /ā€‘ÉŖz/ to *new* words, even by age 7\. At first glance, this looks like rote learning: children produce *glasses* because theyā€™ve memorized it; they havenā€™t learned the rule for /ā€‘ÉŖz/ yet. But a closer look suggests something much more advanced (and cooler!) is going on. To understand what, we need to understand the difference between **rules** and **schemas**. ## Rules vs. Schemas > The rule these children have internalized isnā€™t, ā€œAdd an *ā€‘s* to make a noun plural,ā€ itā€™s ā€œNouns that end in sibilants are plural.ā€ Whatā€™s striking is not that children got these items wrong, but how *confidently* they got them wrong: > It must be noted, however, that in these items, the children delivered the wrong form with a great deal of conviction: 62% of them said ā€œone *tass*, two *tass*ā€ as if there were no question that the plural of *tass* should and must be *tass*. (p. 163) Contrast this with the childrenā€™s behavior when they were uncertain: > Every child interviewed understood what was being asked of \[them\]. \[ā€¦\] In some instances they pronounced the inflexional endings they had added with exaggerated care, so that it was obvious that they understood the problem and wanted no mistake made about their solution. Sometimes, they said ā€œThatā€™s a hard one,ā€ and pondered a while before answering, or answered with one form and then corrected themselves. The answers were not always right so far as English is concerned; but they were consistent and orderly answers, and they demonstrated that there can be no doubt that children in this age range operate with clearly delimited morphological rules. Elsewhere, Gleason notes that the most common response when children were uncertain was simple silence. So why the enthusiasm with sibilant-final nouns? It seems like children actually *have* learned a ruleā€”just not the correct one. But what rule? The rule these children have internalized isnā€™t, ā€œAdd an *ā€‘s* to make a noun plural,ā€ itā€™s ā€œNouns that end in sibilants are plural.ā€ When they hear *gutch* or *tass*, they assume itā€™s already plural because it ends in a sibilant. The difference between these two formulations is that the former is a **rule-based** approach with inputs and outputs (STEM + *ā€‘s* ā‡’ PLURAL), and the latter is a **schematic** approach that checks whether the word matches a template or pattern. A rule-based approach suggests that children pay attention to the **source** or input form and then add inflectional endings to it, while a schematic approach suggests that children pay attention to the **goal** or target form and check whether the word theyā€™re using fits the schema. Subsequent research supports the schematic perspective. Children do in fact rely on schemas rather than rules in their acquisition of inflection ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 239ā€“240). Childrenā€™s performance with *heaf* is also revealing in this regard: While 42% of adults gave *heaves* as the plural of *heaf*, only 3 out of 89 children did. Most children said *heafs*. This shows that children have not yet acquired the irregular /f/ \~ /v/ alternation, as in *leaf \~ leaves*. But more relevantly to the point about schemas, 9 children (10%) produced the singular *heaf*, and 4 used /ā€‘ÉŖz/ as though /f/ were a sibilant. While /f/ is not actually a sibilant, it *is* perceptually very similar. Children who said *heaf* or *heafes* were treating /f/ as a sibilant, and either correctly applied the /ā€‘ÉŖz/ suffix like any other sibilant, or matched it to the sibilant schema and treated it as already plural. What incredible pattern-matching and analogical reasoning skills these kids have! ## Results II: Past tense and tricksy possessives Childrenā€™s difficulty with the /ā€‘ÉŖz/ form of the possessive *ā€‘ā€™s* mirrored their difficulty with the /ā€‘ÉŖz/ form of the plural *ā€‘s*, as you can see in Table 4: __**Table 4.** Percentage of children supplying the correct possessive form for each test item__ | **Form** | **Allomorph** | **% Correct** | | -------- | ------------- | ------------- | | bikā€™s | /ā€‘s/ | 87 | | wugā€™s | /ā€‘z/ | 84 | | nizā€™s | /ā€‘ÉŖz/ | 49 | This is no surprise, since the possessive *ā€‘ā€™s* follows the same pronunciation rules as plural *ā€‘s*. For plural possessives *ā€‘sā€™*, however, children didnā€™t add anything. They simply repeated the singular. While this is traditionally correct for plural possessives (e.g. the possessive of *girls* is *girlsā€™*, and both words are pronounced the same: /ɔɝlz/), the children were probably producing the correct form for the wrong reason: they treated any noun ending in a sibilant as already possessive (and plural). Same output, but different underlying grammar. šŸ˜„ Amusingly, it was actually the **adults* who had trouble with plural possessives: 33% of them said **wugses* /ā€‘zÉŖz/ and **bikses* /ā€‘sÉŖz/, although none said **nizzeses* /ā€‘ÉŖzÉŖz/. Gleason believes this is due to influence from proper names like ā€œthe Jonesesā€ and states, ā€œNo adult would say that if two dogs own hats, they are the \* *dogses* /ā€‘zÉŖz/ hats.ā€ But I get the impression that now, 70 years later, people do in fact say this, at least when theyā€™re trying to enunciate or clarify a plural possessive. And thereā€™s certainly been an increase in the jocular use of this form thanks to Gollum in the **Lord of the Rings* movies. But even setting aside jocular uses, it seems to me that the use of /ā€‘ÉŖz/ for plural possessives is actually starting to gain some acceptance. Perhaps in a hundred years weā€™ll all be saying ā€œthe girlses booksā€ instead of ā€œthe girlsā€™ booksā€. ![Alt text: Meme image showing Gollum from The Lord of the Rings crouched in a dark rocky setting, staring intensely at the camera. Large white all-caps text reads: ā€œSUCH TRICKSY NOUNSES THEY ARE, PRECIOUS.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-24.png) As for the past tense *ā€‘ed*, children could easily handle the /ā€‘t/ and /ā€‘d/ variants, but not the /ā€‘ÉŖd/ variant. Like with /ā€‘ÉŖz/, they could correctly apply the /ā€‘ÉŖd/ version to the real word *melt* ā†’ *melted*, but not the nonsense words *mot* and *bod*. And also like /ā€‘ÉŖz/, their performance with /ā€‘ÉŖd/ improved with time (14% of younger children correctly produced *bodded* as compared to 31% of older children), but overall their performance for this variant was dismal. Here again it is likely that children internalize a schema ā€œverbs that end in an alveolar stop /t d/ are past tenseā€ rather than a rule ā€œadd *ā€‘ed* to the stemā€. Another pattern that emerges from the past tense data is that children do not create irregular past tense forms like *bing ā†’ bang* or *gling ā†’ glung*. Virtually every English verb whose stem ends in *ā€‘ing* has an irregular past: - sing ā†’ sang - ring ā†’ rang - cling ā†’ clung So itā€™s reasonable to expect that children might pick up on this pattern too, as common as it is. Yet while 50% of adults use an irregular past for the nonsense words *bing* and *gling*, only one child did so for *bing* and one for *gling*. Remember that children likewise do not form an irregular plural *heaves* from *heaf*, even though adults do. Taken together, these results suggest that children at this age have not yet begun to internalize the handful of patterns governing irregular inflectionsā€”theyā€™re still working on the regular ones! ## What grammatical words/affixes do children learn first? Overall, childrenā€™s performance with past tense verbs parallels their performance with plurals, with one notable difference: they do better with plurals than past tense. And thatā€™s not surprising, because the plural *ā€‘s* suffix is generally acquired before the past tense *ā€‘ed* suffix! ([Brown 1973](https://www.notion.so/Brown-1973-30e50a282bc181c5a9eec499c18aef43?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Table 5 shows the order of acquisition for 14 grammatical words and affixes in English. *(Spock apparently never made it past stage 12, since he doesnā€™t use contractions.* šŸ––šŸ¼*)* __**Table 5.** Order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes in English (Brown 1973)__ | Order | Grammatical Construction | Meaning | Example | | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | 1 | progressive: *ā€‘ing* | ongoing process | Heā€™s sitt**ing** down. | | 2 | *in* | containment | Itā€™s **in** the box. | | 3 | *on* | support | Itā€™s **on** the chair. | | 4 | plural: *ā€‘s* | number | The dog**s** bark. | | 5 | irregular past: e.g. *went* | earlier in time | He **went** home. | | 6 | possessive: *ā€‘ā€™s* | possession | The girl\*\*ā€™s\*\* dog ran away. | | 7 | uncontractable copula: *was*, *are* (as in questions) | number; earlier in time | **Are** they boys? | | 8 | articles: *a*, *the* | nonspecific, specific | Jan has **a** book. | | 9 | regular past: *ā€‘ed* | earlier in time | He jump**ed** the stream. | | 10 | 3rd person singular regular verb inflection: *ā€‘s* | number; earlier in time | She run**s** fast. | | 11 | 3rd person irregular verb inflection: *has*, *does* | number; earlier in time | **Does** that dog bark? | | 12 | uncontractable auxiliary verb: *is*, *were* | number; earlier in time; ongoing process | **Is** he coming? | | 13 | contractable copula verb: *ā€‘ā€™m*, *ā€‘ā€™re*, *ā€‘ā€™s* | number; earlier in time | That\*\*ā€™s\*\* a spaniel. | | 14 | contractable auxiliary verb: *ā€‘ā€™m*, *ā€‘ā€™re*, *ā€‘ā€™s* | number; earlier in time; ongoing process | They\*\*ā€™re\*\* running fast. | The three factors which most strongly influence this order are semantic complexity, formal complexity, and frequency ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 227). **Semantic complexity** refers to the number of meanings conveyed by a word/affix. The more meanings a word encodes, the longer children take to learn it. Notice how, in Table 5, the further down the list a word is, the more meanings it encodes. **Formal complexity** refers to the number of forms that a word/affix has for the same function. The more forms there are, the more ā€œmoving partsā€ children have to learn. In [Dutch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), for example, there are two totally distinct plurals, *ā€‘s* and *ā€‘en* (which English has a remnant of in *brethren*), and the plural ending you use depends on the specific noun: - Nouns that take the *ā€‘en* plural - *boek* ā€˜bookā€™ ā†’ *boeken* ā€˜booksā€™ - *kat* ā€˜catā€™ ā†’ *katten* ā€˜catsā€™ - Nouns that take the *ā€‘s* plural - *tafel* ā€˜tableā€™ ā†’ *tafels* ā€˜tablesā€™ - *dokter* ā€˜doctorā€™ ā†’ *dokters* ā€˜doctorsā€™ Even more complex is [Swahili](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), where the plural prefix depends on the noun class, of which there are many. (Think of noun classes like grammatical gender, but situated around other semantic categories than masculine/feminine/neuter. Possible categories include humans, plants, body parts, man-made objects, animals, etc. The semantic basis of noun classes varies by language.) So the plural in Swahili is not one affix, but rather a whole set of affixes: __**Table 6.** Examples of Swahili noun classes__ | **Noun Class** | **Singular** | **Plural** | **Semantic Basis** | | -------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | mā€‘/waā€‘ | *mtu* ā€˜personā€™ | *watu* ā€˜peopleā€™ | humans, animates | | mā€‘/miā€‘ | *mti* ā€˜treeā€™ | *miti* ā€˜treesā€™ | plants, inanimates | | jiā€‘/maā€‘ | *jicho* ā€˜eyeā€™ | *macho* ā€˜eyesā€™ | various, body parts, fruits, pairs/groups of things | | kiā€‘/viā€‘ | *kitu* ā€˜thingā€™ | *vitu* ā€˜thingsā€™ | various, manner/way, languages | | uā€‘/nā€‘ | *uso* ā€˜faceā€™ | *nyuso* ā€˜facesā€™ | things with extended outlines/shapes | | nā€‘/nā€‘ | *ngā€™ombe* ā€˜cowā€™ | *ngā€™ombe* ā€˜cowsā€™ | animals, inanimates | As you can see, Swahili plural nouns are quite complex, and children generally take longer to master all their nuances than English-speaking children do to master the comparatively simple *ā€‘s* suffix and its variants. Finally, the more frequently a child is exposed to a form, the earlier they typically acquire it. This is one reason child-directed speech (ā€œbaby talkā€) can have such an outsized effect on language acquisition. I discuss these factors in more detail in [this article on baby talk](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/). [Is baby talk good for your child?Does using baby talk make language learning easier, or does it hinder your childā€™s language development?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-101.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-8.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) ## Words or rules? > Children arenā€™t acquiring *rules* so much as they are learning to recognize *schemas* or templates. So what are children actually learning: productive rules or a big catalog of memorized forms? One popular textbook on child language acquisition frames the problem this way: > In principle, a child could get by in life without any knowledge of \[grammatical affixes\]. All we would need is a powerful long-term memory storage system, something which humans do, in fact, possess. Using a sufficiently extensive memory, we could learn every word form as it stands, with no reference to or acknowledgement of any internal morphological structure. On this model of learning, the child would treat words like *parrots*, *believing* and *wanted* as indivisible wholes. The child would never need to analyse words into their constituent parts (e.g., *parrot* \+ *ā€‘s*). ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 178) There is in fact good evidence that this is how children start out. They begin as whole-word learners, memorizing specific inflections for specific uses, and only later generalize the pattern to other words ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 178; [Evans 2019](https://www.notion.so/Evans-2019-30f50a282bc18100bb06ce7318cc9660?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 154; [Zukowski & Bernstein Ratner 2022](https://www.notion.so/Zukowski-Bernstein-Ratner-2022-30e50a282bc181bba75beea8159022bb?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 155ā€“156; [Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 228). This means that children may produce adult-like forms long before they learn a productive rule. Children acquiring [Hungarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), for instance, produce correctly-inflected words even during the earliest one-word stage of language ([MacWhinney 1985](https://www.notion.so/MacWhinney-1985-31350a282bc181c696f9f0efa2d8d09d?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Initially, there are no signs that the inflectional affixes are productive. Children only produce inflected forms that theyā€™ve already heard from their parents ([Tomasello & Brooks 1998](https://www.notion.so/Tomasello-Brooks-1998-31350a282bc18141a5ddd0fff63785ee?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Children also *produce* inflected forms before they *understand* them. In one experiment, toddlers were presented with pictures of 1 novel object on one side and 2 novel objects on the other, and were told ā€œLook at the X!ā€, where X would be a nonsense word either in the singular or plural, e.g. ā€œLook at the jeels!ā€ If children understand plural *ā€‘s*, they should look reliably at the correct picture. But children as old as 24 months were insensitive to the plural marker. Theyā€™d stare at either picture with equal likelihood. Only around 30 months did they begin to look consistently at the picture that matched the singular or plural form, even though they correctly produce plural markers well before 30 months! ([Jolly & Plunkett 2008](https://www.notion.so/Jolly-Plunkett-2008-31350a282bc181cf8f1ae4b3c110e948?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Another strategy children rely on, especially in highly inflected languages with lots of noun cases or verb conjugations, is to pick one form as the defaultā€”e.g., the infinitive form of the verbā€”and use it everywhere. So while the word itself may be well-formed, its use in context is often ungrammatical. But because, as we saw earlier, children tend to acquire the most frequent forms, this strategy may actually mean that children are getting the form right in the majority of cases! This is another example of children using grammatical assumptions that approximateā€”but donā€™t *quite* matchā€”adult grammar, like the plural and past tense schemas we saw earlier. Since numerous equivalent (isomorphic) grammars could produce the same surface-level output, children are faced with the unenviable task of inferring exactly *which* grammatical rules will best result in language that matches that of their caregivers. What this means in practice is that children constantly (and subconsciously) massage their grammatical assumptions in order to more and more closely approximate what they hear, until their speech converges on the adult target. Of course, sometimes they land on *slightly* different rules than their parents did, with the result that language changes with each generation, and now we have things like [lonely transitives](https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/gen-z-constructions?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#lonely-transitives) and [*costed* as a regular past tense instead of *cost*](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=it+costed&year%5Fstart=1800&year%5Fend=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Thatā€™s language change for ya šŸ¤·šŸ¼ So do children learn abstract grammatical rules? Yes, eventually. They learn the most general rules first (e.g. add an /ā€‘s/ to make a word plural) and only later do they master more specific rules that only apply in certain contexts (e.g. add an /ā€‘ÉŖz/ only if the word ends in a sibilant). But evidence suggests that children arenā€™t so much acquiring *rules* as they are *schemas* or templates, and this explains their poor performance with the /ā€‘ÉŖz/ form of the plural and the /ā€‘ÉŖd/ form of the past. And for the children who do *not* answer items on the Wug Test correctly but nonetheless *do* produce correct plurals for real words, it is safe to say that they have not yet learned the abstract schema. They are still memorizing words on an item-by-item basis. It is only after sufficient exposure to the pattern/template that they learn to generalize. Of course, children eventually *do* become sensitive to the internal structure of words and master all the grammatical rules of their language, and to this day one of the best demonstrations of that fact is the Wug Test. ![Alt text: A small blue cartoon wug stands on a light blue textured background, facing right, with a speech bubble that says ā€œThanks for reading!ā€.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-25.png) ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading Gleasonā€™s original 1958 article (published under her maiden name, Berko) is available via open access here: - Berko, Jean. 1958\. The childā€™s learning of English morphology. *Word* 14(2ā€“3). 150ā€“177\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1958.11659661](https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1958.11659661?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). I have an entire series of articles on the science of baby talk here: ### šŸ‘¶ The science of baby talk - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** Do all cultures use baby talk? **\[forthcoming\]** - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your child? - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child This is (in my opinion) the best introduction to child language acquisition: ![First Language Acquisition (4th edition) by Eve V. Clark book cover, with a red upper section and a photo below of an adult and a toddler playing with stacked letter blocks.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!I407!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F50a8e993-e43b-49a6-98e4-48fc95d7e4c8_1000x1437.png "First Language Acquisition (4th edition) by Eve V. Clark book cover, with a red upper section and a photo below of an adult and a toddler playing with stacked letter blocks.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40v58kl?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781009294522?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Here are two popular YouTube videos about Gleasonā€™s seminal contribution to the field of linguistics: ## šŸ“‘ References - Berko, Jean. 1958\. The childā€™s learning of English morphology. *Word* 14(2ā€“3). 150ā€“177\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1958.11659661](https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1958.11659661?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Brown, Roger. 1973\. *A first language: The early stages*. Harvard University Press. - Clark, Eve V. 2024\. *First language acquisition*. 4th edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Evans, Vyvyan. 2019\. *Cognitive linguistics: A complete guide*. 2nd edn. Edinburgh University Press. - Jolly, Helen R. & Kim Plunkett. 2008\. Inflectional bootstrapping in 2-year-olds. *Language & Speech* 51(1ā€“2). 45ā€“59\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/00238309080510010401](https://doi.org/10.1177/00238309080510010401?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - MacWhinney, Brian. 1985\. Hungarian language acquisition as an exemplification of a general model of grammatical development. In *The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition*. Psychology Press. - Saxton, Matthew. 2017\. *Child language: Acquisition and development*. 2nd edn. SAGE. - Tomasello, Michael & Patricia J. Brooks. 1998\. Young childrenā€™s earliest transitive and intransitive constructions. *Cognitive Linguistics* 9(4). 379ā€“396\. [https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1998.9.4.379](https://doi.org/10.1515/cogl.1998.9.4.379?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Zukowski, Andrea & Nan Bernstein Ratner. 2022\. Putting words together: Comprehension and production of morphology and syntax in the preschool years. In Jean Berko Gleason & Nan Bernstein Ratner (eds.), *The development of language*. 10th edn. Plural Publishing. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Bilingualism affects your moral decision-making URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-08/ Last updated: 2026-02-24T10:00:38.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The science of libfixes ![Illustration of the word ā€œstem-ā€ separated from ā€œ-affix,ā€ with the ā€œ-affixā€ piece shown flying away with wings against a light blue watercolor background.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!IHk9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F28005295-eb39-4d76-8096-9c9ba6c51613_1280x720.png "Illustration of the word ā€œstem-ā€ separated from ā€œ-affix,ā€ with the ā€œ-affixā€ piece shown flying away with wings against a light blue watercolor background.") A **libfix** is a ā€œliberated affixā€ā€”a part of a word that has escaped its parent word and become a new affix. Examples include: - ā€‘core ā†’ cottagecore, Barbiecore, hopecore - ā€‘cation ā†’ staycation, girlcation, kidcation - cryptoā€‘ ā†’ crypocurrency, cryptobro, cryptoverse In a previous issue of the newsletter we explored the meandering history of the libfix *ā€‘holic* and saw tons of examples of libfixes from both English and other languages. In this second part of this 2-part series on libfixes, weā€™ll dig into what makes libfixes tickā€”the subconscious sound rules youā€™re following when you use them, how they form in the first place, and how our brains process themā€”and what all this teaches us about how language works. [The science of libfixesHow libfixes work, where they come from, and what they teach us about language and the mind![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-99.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/libfix-banner-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-2/) #### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Libfixes: When word parts go rogue](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-1/) - **Part 2:** [The science of libfixes: How libfixes work, where they come from, and what they teach us about language and the mind](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-2/) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Do apes have imagination? A new study suggests Kanzi the bonobo did ![A closeup face picture of Kanzi the bonobo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bWkP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdf2fad08-625a-4aa2-a4b5-8898cd7bc721_900x675.png "A closeup face picture of Kanzi the bonobo") Kanzi is a bonobo who became famous for learning to communicate with humans using a keyboard of symbols, and who sadly passed away in 2025\. However, Dr. Amalia Bastos, after spending time with Kanzi in 2023 and coming away in awe of his capabilities, was curious to know: Could Kanzi understand the difference between pretend actions and real ones? Before Kanzi passed away, Bastos conducted an experiment with him based around developmental psychology research with children where they had a pretend birthday or tea party (except in Kanziā€™s case he opted for fruit juice instead of tea). Bastos and her team showed Kanzi two empty, transparent cups and an empty jug. The researchers then pretended to put juice into the cups and then ā€œpoured outā€ one of them. They then asked Kanzi where the juice was. He pointed to the cup that hadnā€™t been poured out. The researchers performed several variations on this experiment, each time coming to the conclusion that Kanzi was indeed capable of imagination. [Do apes have an imagination? A new study suggests Kanzi the bonobo didThis famous ape may have understood pretend actionsā€”suggesting he had the capacity to imagine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-144.ico)Scientific AmericanJackie Flynn Mogensen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-a-language-trained-bonobo.JPG)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kanzi-the-famous-bonobo-may-have-understood-pretend-objects/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Imagination isnā€™t just for humans, this famous ape shows](https://www.science.org/content/article/imagination-isn-t-just-humans-famous-ape-shows?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) - This article includes a video of the experiment itself being conducted. - Bastos & Krupenye. 2026\. Evidence for representation of pretend objects by Kanzi, a language-trained bonobo. *Science* 391(6785). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz0743](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz0743?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). If you want to learn more about Kanziā€™s linguistic abilities, check out this free issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter: [Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-100.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-5.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) ### How bilingualism affects moral decision-making ![Person with long red hair in a black-and-white striped shirt holds their chin and looks up thoughtfully against a solid yellow background.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ysDA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf31914d-4298-4296-83cd-febe1bc99045_1920x640.png "Person with long red hair in a black-and-white striped shirt holds their chin and looks up thoughtfully against a solid yellow background.") If youā€™re bilingual, moral choices can often feel more urgent and emotionally charged in one language yet distant and rational in another. This raises an intriguing question: does language merely shape how we express our thoughts, or can it also influence what we judge to be right or wrong? Studies have shown that people tend to make less emotionally-driven decisions when reasoning in a second language rather than their mother tongueā€”a phenomenon called the **moral foreign language effect**. It is thought that this happens because people are socialized in their mother tongues as children, along with all the attendant emotions of that period of life, whereas second languages are often learned later, as adults. A new study challenges this paradigm. It found ā€œno consistent evidence that moral judgments differ systematically between a first and a second language.ā€ Instead, it was differences in cognitive abilities and cognitive control that played the biggest role in explaining how people approach moral dilemmas. [Impulse and inhibition: the complex ways bilingual brains balance reason with emotionSpeaking a second language doesnā€™t impact moral decisions as much as previously thought.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-69.png)The ConversationAndrea RĆ©vĆ©sz![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260209-56-phikfd.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/impulse-and-inhibition-the-complex-ways-bilingual-brains-balance-reason-with-emotion-275140?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Mavrou et al. 2026\. Cognition and emotion in moral decision-making: The role of working memory, emotional intelligence, and language factors in bilingualsā€™ moral judgments and emotions. *Studies in Second Language Acquisition*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263125101484](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263125101484?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* - [Hereā€™s where the word ā€œdudeā€ came fromā€”and trust us, you are never going to guess this one](https://www.rd.com/article/where-the-word-dude-came-from/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Readerā€™s Digest*) [Nerdā€™s Eye View: 11 things you need to know about talking animalsDigging into the detail and data to separate the noise from the news![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fd837d35b-86f3-46ae-b745-86d5dd4ae214-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)The New WorldThe New World![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fba23fa59-5707-487b-8fd9-0b5c2adb0afa_1920x1080.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/thenewworld/p/nerds-eye-view-11-things-you-need-65f) [Were Old Norse and Old English a single language?I say hām, you say heimr, letā€™s call the whole thing off.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-17.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F046bd538-77fc-4124-80ed-bbcc9fd31748_1528x954.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/old-norse-old-english-mutually-intelligibility) [What is (or was) Linear B?The one stop shop for administrative paper(clay)work!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fb6d8a462-1087-443a-ab22-810b19c64430-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)ProtomologyProtomology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fprotomology.substack.com%2Fapi%2Fv1%2Fpress_kit%2Fasset%2F185619314%2Foverlay%2Fcomposed%3FaspectRatio%3Dlink)](https://open.substack.com/pub/protomology/p/what-is-or-was-linear-b?r=3clvfj&utm%5Fmedium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay) [What Is a Lexicon? Definition, Examples, and More - Rosetta StoneDiscover the definition of a lexicon, a lexiconā€™s meaning, examples of lexicons, how lexicons are formed, and whether a lexicon is the same thing as a dictionary.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-16.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/lexicon-definition-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/lexicon-definition/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Shavian: A better English alphabet? The Shavian alphabet is a constructed alphabet that aims to provide a simpler, phonemic orthography for English, where each letter corresponds to one phoneme in the language. It includes 48 letters and is featural in a way similar to Korean Hangul, in that the shape of the letter tells you about features of the sound itself, such as whether itā€™s voiced or voiceless. Rob Watts has a wonderful breakdown of how the alphabet works, including an interview with Evan Gallagher, who runs [shavian.info](https://shavian.info/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). A fun video worth the watch! ### HELLO Lab Presents The Hearing Experience & Language Learning Outcomes (HELLO) Lab at the University of Connecticut has a great series of YouTube Videos about child language acquisition for parents. ![Logo for HELLO Lab Presents](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bLU0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4bfc9e37-7fe9-49ea-a648-eccd581ccc5c_1235x282.png "Logo for HELLO Lab Presents") - [HELLO Lab on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@thehellolab?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Did you know that the words *hemp*, *cannabis*, and *canvas* are all related? Starkey Comics has an interesting post [over on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/starkeycomics/posts/pfbid0yW8JZvmiat6cd8VZZJ8Xv9RssrZtSG2eAbzEKqAKngR51tfNwiTCZas6EiratFkul) with all the details: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-23.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Is baby talk good for your child? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T18:46:50.000Z Is baby talk good or bad for your child? Does using nonsense or simplified words hinder their language development? Or does it make acquiring language easier for them? Parents are often deeply divided on this issue. Some parents insist that you should only speak to children like adults because it models correct language for them, while others say that baby talk is helpful and makes it easier for your child to learn language. Here are just a few of the comments I got on social media when I asked for opinions about it: > Thereā€™s a difference between ā€œparenteseā€ and baby talk! Parentese is used in conjunction with English (or whatever your native tongue is). Gibberish generally isnā€™t helpful in developing language skills. ([link](https://www.facebook.com/linguisticdiscovery/posts/pfbid02vCoWvFGHt3aYFDDAjE6nyrSLD7cFdYPwErEfQi351NF5syJ11KixECVPVnntCaZEl)) > ā€œMothereseā€ is pervasive across cultures and may be something we've evolved to do. It would seem odd to me that we do it as we do if there weren't some evolutionary advantage. ([link](https://www.facebook.com/linguisticdiscovery/posts/pfbid02vCoWvFGHt3aYFDDAjE6nyrSLD7cFdYPwErEfQi351NF5syJ11KixECVPVnntCaZEl)) > I never bothered with baby talk with all of the bubs I've cared for, including my 2\. I couldn't see the point. Not sure if this was the reason, but my siblings & my children & now my grandchildren, all have an extensive & varied vocabulary & excellent command of the English language. ([link](https://www.facebook.com/linguisticdiscovery/posts/pfbid02vCoWvFGHt3aYFDDAjE6nyrSLD7cFdYPwErEfQi351NF5syJ11KixECVPVnntCaZEl)) > It seems to me that baby talking to them teaches them a particular pitch, prosody, and vocabulary that theyā€™ll then have to unlearn whenever the parent decides to start talking ā€œnormallyā€ to them. I have four children and while one is just barely past a year old, the others are 2.5, 4, and 13, and they have all three spoken very well for their agesā€”we never allowed baby talk around them. Perhaps a case of ā€œcorrelation but not causation,ā€ but I donā€™t believe so. ([link](https://www.facebook.com/linguisticdiscovery/posts/pfbid02vCoWvFGHt3aYFDDAjE6nyrSLD7cFdYPwErEfQi351NF5syJ11KixECVPVnntCaZEl)) > It depends on what you mean? Short sentences and sweet nicknames? Fine. Making up silly words, speaking incorrectly or saying words wrong on purpose to be cute? Bad. ([link](https://www.threads.com/@maraaaaa.333/post/DNo2aacp-FP?xmt=AQF0TILqdqmX5Zp25j4NdqNFTvXinPDDAcaj25x%5F7VLn8Q&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > Good! When kids are very little, using the two-word sentences they say can help with comprehension. Not saying to do baby talk exclusively, but a well placed ā€œfind shoes?ā€ or ā€œwant snuggle?ā€ can streamline understanding and effective communication ([link](https://www.threads.com/@jessicasillers/post/DNoxwb%5Fs-5F?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > You are raising adults! Go ahead and baby talk if you have speech therapy money ([link](https://www.threads.com/@readerronald/post/DNouyVHs-Uh?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > What do you mean by baby talk? Slow, sing-song intonation? Great! Adults deliberately using incorrect grammar like ā€œme want cookieā€ when speaking to babies? Bad! And also fuckin weird! Nursery words? No idea but Iā€™ve never met a six year old who doesnā€™t know that ā€œchoo chooā€ and ā€œtrainā€ are the same thing so I doubt itā€™s a big deal and I have had fights in person about it when someone other than the kidā€™s parents tried to tell me not to say ā€œbunny rabbit.ā€ ([link](https://www.threads.com/@aoifeoconnor%5F18/post/DNosxQ4s2Vg?xmt=AQF04lUnQUfoJpueXc%5FTgYvPHigrVM48UnWFwZ473bzufQ&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > I always talked my kids with an adult voice. Why should they have to learn a second vocabulary and grammar? ([link](https://www.threads.com/@patrickkelly368/post/DNomgtkP5rY?xmt=AQF0IauaH-NE7qGH%5FuMJYvhgiVUP7eD0XUVSyhsJZSlYyw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > Itā€™s not beneficial. Infants are apers. They mimic their parents and learn. Talk to them like people, so they learn to speak like people. ([link](https://www.threads.com/@jmurdock1901/post/DNok1OYyNCO?xmt=AQF0skaw6puUvNor9CITULLwQPgEOcbXg%5F5H4so6tIkqfA&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) This question got a lot more responses than I was expecting! According to a poll I posted on Instagram and Threads with several hundred responses on each platform, the overall bias was in favor of baby talk: **Poll: Is baby talk good or bad for your child?** | | **Instagram** | **Threads** | | ------------- | ------------- | ----------- | | **Itā€™s good** | 40% | 37% | | **Itā€™s bad** | 30% | 36% | | **Not sure** | 30% | 26% | This is an issue that people are divided and passionate about! So which take is correct? Today weā€™ll consider the advantages and disadvantages of baby talk in this third installment in my series on the science of talking to babies. Be sure to subscribe below to get notified when the other issues in this series go live! ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** Is baby talk good for your child? **\[this issue\]** - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## Does baby talk even work? > The amount and type of input that children receive does matter, contra the claims of the linguistic nativists. A 2006 book about child language acquisition states: > \[Being told\] ā€œYour instinct is supported by scienceā€ is, of course, just the kind of thing that parents like to hear. But letā€™s get the facts right. Preference for motherese does not establish its necessity, or even its usefulness. \[ā€¦\] For all we know, motherese is neither good nor bad for child language learning: it is simply irrelevant. Language learning is remarkably resilient. All you need to do is to talk to childrenā€”baby-talk or otherwiseā€”and biology will take care of rest. ([Yang 2006](https://www.notion.so/Yang-2006-21350a282bc181d0a850c8e6ef5824b7?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 101ā€“103) While the second part of this claim is undeniably trueā€”your children will learn language proficiently as long as you speak to them regularlyā€”the subsequent two decades of research since the book was published have shown a number of benefits from using baby talk (also called **infant-directed speech (IDS)**). The perspective represented in that book stems from a time when the majority of linguists believed that grammar is genetically endowedā€”that we have a ā€œlanguage instinctā€, to use Steven Pinkerā€™s phraseā€”a position called **linguistic nativism**. Because grammar is hardwired into us, the thinking goes, it doesnā€™t really matter how *much* or what *kind* of language children are exposed to. Children merely need to be exposed to a language, and then their language instinct will kick in and apply those innate grammatical rules to whatever language it is theyā€™re hearing (or seeing, in the case of infants exposed to sign language). That innate grammarā€”called **Universal Grammar**ā€”is thought to help children make sense of the messy, overwhelming, inconsistent language input they encounter in the world. ![Cover of The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker. Two human figures face each other against a blue background, with looping snake-like shapes below. Large title ā€œTHE LANGUAGE INSTINCTā€ appears over an orange band, and ā€œNATIONAL BESTSELLERā€ is printed at the top.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GBqQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff1340ddb-4153-455e-9399-999638b7107e_306x466.png "Cover of The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker. Two human figures face each other against a blue background, with looping snake-like shapes below. Large title ā€œTHE LANGUAGE INSTINCTā€ appears over an orange band, and ā€œNATIONAL BESTSELLERā€ is printed at the top.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iXRu1k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780061336461?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Linguist Noam Chomsky famously claimed that without an innate grammar, it was impossible for children to learn grammatical rules as proficiently as they do. He posited that the amount of linguistic data that children receive in infancy is simply insufficient for them to work out the complex rules of languageā€”there exists a **Poverty of the Stimulus**, to use his term. For linguistic nativists, whether adults use baby talk or regular speech with children is irrelevant, because Universal Grammar will impose the same innate grammatical rules regardless. However, advances in our understanding of cognition in the last several decades have inclined more and more researchers away from the nativist position. Many, perhaps the majority, of linguists now believe that children have all the cognitive tools they need to make sense of the messy language input they receive in infancy, without having to posit an innate grammar mechanism. This approach to language is typically referred to as **cognitive linguistics** due to its emphasis on aligning linguistic theory with insights from the rest of cognitive science. ![Book cover for The Language Myth: Why Language is Not an Instinct by Vyvyan Evans, on a teal background, showing a line drawing of a crawling baby and a large speech bubble containing the title text.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!auTp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F37d32e26-faff-46f5-8477-1371a366b203_880x1360.png "Book cover for The Language Myth: Why Language is Not an Instinct by Vyvyan Evans, on a teal background, showing a line drawing of a crawling baby and a large speech bubble containing the title text.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3MHKtGm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781107619753?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) One of the many pieces of evidence supporting the cognitive approach is the fact that baby talk *does* in fact have significant effects on a childā€™s linguistic proficiency. In the last three decades especially, a growing body of research has demonstrated that the *amount* and *type* of linguistic input children receive really does affect their knowledge of language. For example, children tend to master the most frequent elements of their language first. Morphemes that are used with high frequency on many different word stems in adult speech, such as the plural *ā€‘s* in English, typically appear early in the childā€™s speech ([Clancy 2018](https://www.notion.so/Clancy-2018-30850a282bc1803ea814d0105a6f631a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 352). Children of mothers who use more yes/no questions in their speech acquire auxiliary verbs earlier ([Newport, Gleitman & Gleitman 1977](https://www.notion.so/Newport-Gleitman-Gleitman-1977-2ff50a282bc181b6b5c2e4c6e61ace9f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ). And the frequency of a given word in adult speech, along with the number of uses in one-word utterances and the length of the word, predicts childrenā€™s comprehension and production of those words at 15 months ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 38). Another great example of the importance of frequency in language acquisition is how children learn Peninsular (Spain) Spanish vs. Mexican Spanish: In Peninsular Spanish, the present perfect tense (e.g. *he comido* ā€˜I have eatenā€™) is more common than it is in Mexican Spanish. As a result, the first tense contrast that Spanish children learn is the present tense vs. the present perfect tense, whereas the first tense contrast that Mexican children learn is the present tense vs. the past preterite tense (e.g. *comĆ­* ā€˜I ateā€™) ([Chee et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-et-al-2023-2f650a282bc181e386e5d603a3ccbbcc?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 381). Similarly, in Mexican Spanish the plural /s/ is almost always expressed, but in Chilean Spanish the /s/ is unpronounced in certain contexts. As a result, Chilean children take longer to master the formation of plurals than Mexican children do ([Chee et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-et-al-2023-2f650a282bc181e386e5d603a3ccbbcc?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 381). ā„¹ļø Want to learn more about how childrenā€™s linguistic capabilities develop over time? Check out this issue of the newsletter about how children learn grammatical rules (and how we know): [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-104.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) The *type* of input children receive matters too: one study found that the greater the proportion of commands that a caregiver used with their children (as opposed to questions), the *less* complex the childrenā€™s verb phrases and noun phrases were later on. The same researchers also found that more frequent use of words that rely on context (**deixis**), such as *this*, *that*, *then*, *you*, *here*, *them*, etc., correlates with vocabulary growth and childrenā€™s later development of noun phrases. ([Newport, Gleitman & Gleitman 1977](https://www.notion.so/Newport-Gleitman-Gleitman-1977-2ff50a282bc181b6b5c2e4c6e61ace9f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) All this shows us that the amount and type of input that children receive does matter, contra the claims of the linguistic nativists. But what about baby talk specifically? We turn to this in the next section. ## Is baby talk good for your child? > Social interaction is key to the language-learning process. The main way that baby talk helps children learn language is by making it *easier* for children to understand whatā€™s being said to them, through slower, exaggerated speech, simpler syntactic constructions, and targeted choice of vocabulary. This was the main point of [Part 2 of this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) on baby talk, so you can read all about the details of those features of baby talk there. But thatā€™s only part of how baby talk benefits children. [Why do people use baby talk? The science of baby talk, Part 2How caregivers instinctively simplify their speech for childrenā€”and how it helps![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-98.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) For starters, itā€™s well established that babies prefer listening to infant-directed speech (IDS)ā€”and particularly IDS with exaggerated prosodyā€”over other types of speech ([Cooper & Aslin 1990](https://www.notion.so/Cooper-Aslin-1990-20b50a282bc18143822fc846d1ef5917?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Cooper 1993](https://www.notion.so/Cooper-1993-30b50a282bc18164a8a6fe6a1fdf9a6c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Hernik & Broesch 2019](https://www.notion.so/Hernik-Broesch-2019-21250a282bc181a7a759dc00da658daf?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [The ManyBabies Consortium et al. 2020](https://www.notion.so/The-ManyBabies-Consortium-et-al-2020-20c50a282bc181c9957fd48ab5bf226a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This matters for language learning because it helps get the childā€™s attention! Infants remember individuals who address them in IDS better than those who donā€™t, and look longer at them. This in turn makes the *child* more interesting to the adult, who is then more likely to continue using IDS with them! ([Schachner & Hannon 2011](https://www.notion.so/Schachner-Hannon-2011-30b50a282bc181bb92dafbb0b8b56bcb?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) One study shows that infants who are good at observing their caregiverā€™s mouth and following their gaze acquire vocabulary especially quickly ([Tenenbaum et al. 2015](https://www.notion.so/Tenenbaum-et-al-2015-30b50a282bc1819baa98d4ea8c0217e7?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). However, the preference for IDS over adult-directed speech starts to wane around the childā€™s first birthday ([Ibbotson 2022](https://www.notion.so/Ibbotson-2022-21c50a282bc18173a988efedeb83a258?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 66), which may be why adults use IDS most prominently during the childā€™s first year but less so later ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 88). This is another great example of how adults subconsciously adjust their speech to the needs and preferences of the child over time, as I emphasized in [Part 2 of this series](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/). The exaggerated prosody and pronunciation used in baby talk also have positive effects for childrenā€™s language acquisition: infants whose parents hyperarticulate speech sounds perform better at discriminating between consonants in their parentsā€™ language ([Liu, Kuhl & Tsao 2003](https://www.notion.so/Liu-Kuhl-Tsao-2003-20b50a282bc181ff97c4ca08eb51af97?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and exaggerated vowels and slower speaking rates help infants recognize words better ([Song, Demuth & Morgan 2010](https://www.notion.so/Song-Demuth-Morgan-2010-20b50a282bc1810e9b93f06be79d5a0f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Infants who were receiving a greater amount of IDS at 18 months also had larger expressive vocabularies by 25 months ([Weisleder & Fernald 2013](https://www.notion.so/Weisleder-Fernald-2013-20c50a282bc1812abe45f6ea7656b473?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This was specifically correlated with IDS, and not speech simply *overheard* by the child. Social interaction is key to the language-learning process. Use of IDS with an infant also predicts greater lexical diversity, length of utterances, and frequency of conversational turn-taking in the childā€™s speech at age 5 ([Ferjan RamĆ­rez et al. 2024](https://www.notion.so/Ferjan-Ram-rez-et-al-2024-21b50a282bc181809d1eff9e252d2106?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). (Itā€™s important to point out here that this is just a correlation. Other aspects of the childā€™s environment likely contribute to their conversational style, vocabulary size, and utterance lengths as well.) Weā€™ll explore other benefits of IDS in a later installment in this series, but suffice it to say for now that baby talk is basically all benefits and no drawbacks. So if youā€™re a caregiver worried about the detrimental effects of baby talk on your infant, rest easyā€”youā€™re simply making the incredibly complex task of language learning easier for them. Nonetheless, baby talk isnā€™t strictly *necessary* for successful child language acquisition. This raises some fascinating questions: Is baby talk universal? Do all parents use it? Do all cultures use it? In the next issue, weā€™ll look at baby talk in the languages of the world! Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter if you havenā€™t already in order to receive future issues in this series. [šŸ“§ Subscribe to read more!](#/portal/signup/free) ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** Is baby talk good for your child? **\[this issue\]** - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ### *How babies talk: The magic and mystery of language in the first three years of life* ![Book cover of How Babies Talk by Roberta M. Golinkoff and Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek. A baby sits holding a telephone receiver. Subtitle: ā€œThe magic and mystery of language in the first three years of life.ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qH11!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa6a861df-8ec7-4a70-b7a1-399dd32615e7_319x425.png "Book cover of How Babies Talk by Roberta M. Golinkoff and Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek. A baby sits holding a telephone receiver. Subtitle: ā€œThe magic and mystery of language in the first three years of life.ā€") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3FXGQsE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780452281738?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Understanding child language acquisition* ![Book cover of Understanding Child Language Acquisition by Caroline Rowland. A close-up photo of a red flower with a yellow center against a green-blue blurred background. ā€œUnderstanding Language Seriesā€ appears along the left side, and the Routledge logo is at the bottom.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1z-q!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7810bccb-a665-484d-912c-72643b87b79e_348x522.png "Book cover of Understanding Child Language Acquisition by Caroline Rowland. A close-up photo of a red flower with a yellow center against a green-blue blurred background. ā€œUnderstanding Language Seriesā€ appears along the left side, and the Routledge logo is at the bottom.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OfDR2J?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781444152654?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Chee, Melvatha R., Frances V. Jones, Jill P. Morford & Naomi L. Shin. 2023\. Usage-based approaches to child language development: Insights from studies of Navajo, ASL, and Spanish. In Manuel DĆ­az-Campos & Sonia Balasch (eds.), *The handbook of usage-based linguistics* (Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics), 379ā€“392\. Wiley-Blackwell. - Clancy, Patricia M. 2018\. First language acquisition. In Carol Genetti (ed.), *How languages work: An introduction to language and linguistics*. 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108553988](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108553988?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Clark, Eve V. 2024\. *First language acquisition*. 4th edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Cooper, R. P. 1993\. The effect of prosody on young infantsā€™ speech perception. *Advances in Infancy Research* 8\. 137ā€“167. - Cooper, Robin Panneton & Richard N. Aslin. 1990\. Preference for infant-directed speech in the first month after birth. *Child Development* 61(5). 1584ā€“1595\. [https://doi.org/10.2307/1130766](https://doi.org/10.2307/1130766?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Ferjan RamĆ­rez, Naja, Yael Weiss, Kaveri K. Sheth & Patricia K. Kuhl. 2024\. Parentese in infancy predicts 5-year language complexity and conversational turns. *Journal of Child Language* 51(2). 359ā€“384\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000923000077](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000923000077?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hernik, Mikołaj & Tanya Broesch. 2019\. Infant gaze following depends on communicative signals: An eyeā€tracking study of 5ā€ to 7ā€monthā€olds in Vanuatu. *Developmental Science* 22(4). e12779\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12779](https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12779?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Ibbotson, Paul. 2022\. *Language acquisition: The basics* (The Basics Series). Routledge. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003156536](https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003156536?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Liu, Hueiā€Mei, Patricia K. Kuhl & Fengā€Ming Tsao. 2003\. An association between mothersā€™ speech clarity and infantsā€™ speech discrimination skills. *Developmental Science* 6(3). [https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00275](https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00275?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Newport, Elissa L., Henry Gleitman & Lila R. Gleitman. 1977\. Mother, Iā€™d rather do it myself: Some effects and non-effects of maternal speech style. In Catherine E. Snow & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), *Talking to children: language input and acquisition*, 101ā€“149\. Cambridge University Press. - Saxton, Matthew. 2017\. *Child language: Acquisition and development*. 2nd edn. SAGE. - Schachner, Adena & Erin E. Hannon. 2011\. Infant-directed speech drives social preferences in 5-month-old infants. *Developmental Psychology* 47(1). 19ā€“25\. [https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020740](https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020740?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Song, Jae Yung, Katherine Demuth & James Morgan. 2010\. Effects of the acoustic properties of infant-directed speech on infant word recognition. *The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America* 128(1). 389ā€“400\. [https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3419786](https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3419786?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Tenenbaum, Elena J., David M. Sobel, Stephen J. Sheinkopf, Bertram F. Malle & James L. Morgan. 2015\. Attention to the mouth and gaze following in infancy predict language development. *Journal of Child Language* 42(6). 1173ā€“1190\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000914000725](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000914000725?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - The ManyBabies Consortium, Michael C. Frank, Katherine Jane Alcock, Natalia Arias-Trejo, Gisa Aschersleben, Dare Baldwin, StĆ©phanie Barbu, et al. 2020\. Quantifying sources of variability in infancy research using the infant-directed-speech preference. *Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science* 3(1). 24ā€“52\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245919900809](https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245919900809?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Weisleder, Adriana & Anne Fernald. 2013\. Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. *Psychological Science* 24(11). 2143ā€“2152\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613488145](https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613488145?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Yang, Charles D. 2006\. *The infinite gift: How children learn and unlearn the languages of the world*. Scribner. šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Swearing could give you a physical edge URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-07/ Last updated: 2026-02-17T10:00:35.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The linguistic influence of the theory of the humors ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-12.png) 16th-century German illustration of the four humors: **Flegmat* (phlegm), **Sanguin* (blood), **Coleric* (yellow bile) and **Melanc* (black bile), divided between the male and female sexes ([Wikipedia: Humorism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Until the 17th century most approaches to medicine relied on the [theory of the humors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which explained various medical issues as imbalances in the amount of four bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. As a result, humoric theory has had a pervasive (and rather sordid) influence on language as well: I recently learned that *sanguine*, for example, came to mean ā€˜hopeful, optimisticā€™ instead of the original ā€˜blood-redā€™ (*sanguine* is cognate with Spanish *sangre* ā€˜bloodā€™) because this attitude was thought to arise when there was too much blood in the body compared to the other humors. Other humor-ous words that are based on some aspect of humoric theory include: - *humor*: originally ā€˜bodily fluidsā€™, which need to be in balance to be in good humor - *complexion*: combination of humors - *crude*: producing unnatural humors - *equate*: make similar, balance or harmonize, in reference to humors - *evacuate*: expel humors from the body - *evaporate*: draw off humors as vapor - *flux*: abnormal flow of humors - *gout*: thought to be caused by drops of humors seeping into the joints - *impulsive*: pushing against the humors - *melancholy*: etymologically ā€˜black bileā€™ - *repercussion*: act of driving back humors - *repulsive*: able to repel the humors - *temperament*: proportion of bodily humors ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* [Cook Islands community turns to full immersion education to save Māori languageThe Cook Islands community celebrated the launch of the first full immersion Te Reo Māori Kuki Airani primary school in Rarotonga.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-143.ico)Te Ao Māori NewsTiana Haxton of RNZ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/7MHN5FUB6BAM7LWN5AHMGQJ6IQ.jfif)](https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2026/02/10/cook-islands-community-turns-to-full-immersion-education-to-save-maori-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### 16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellumā€™s crucial role in human language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-13.png) Language-responsive regions of the cerebellum. Credit: **Neuron* (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.030 > The cerebellum, often called the little brain, plays a much bigger role in language processing than once believed. Located at the base of the brain, the cerebellum has long been thought to be mainly responsible for motor response, balance, and basic coordination. A recent large-scale study analyzing brain scans from over 900 participants revealed a surprising new specialization within this region. - [16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellum's crucial role in human language](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-years-brain-scans-reveal-cerebellum.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Medical Xpress*) - Casto et al. 2026\. The cerebellar components of the human language network. *Neuron*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.030](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.030?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Swearing could give you a physical edge ![Illustration of two people at a gym: one person in white struggles to lift a small barbell while looking worried, while another person in red easily lifts a massive barbell overhead while shouting curse words (shown as symbols "!?Xāš”šŸ’€!!" in a black speech bubble).](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-14.png) New research says that swearing can boost our physical performance, improving both strength and endurance. To determine this, the research team asked 192 participants to perform a chair push-up and hold (lifting their body weight from a seated position using only their arms). One group repeated a swear word while doing so, and the other repeated a neutral word. The results showed unequivocally that when people swore, they could support their body weight for longer. Dr. Richard Stephens, who led the research, believes this performance-enhancing effect stems from people feeling less held back when swearing. [Scientists are now searching for the ā€˜strongestā€™ swear word. Hereā€™s why ā€” BBC Science Focus MagazineCursing isnā€™t just for when you stub your toe or miss your train. Science says it can boost your physical performance![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon_v6-3.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AgEXQXI1SHVwV25ZUUJLdlZZeUZ1and2cVEAMA)](https://apple.news/Ar5HupWnYQBKvVYyFujwvqQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Stephens et al. 2025\. ā€œDonā€™t hold backā€: swearing improves strength through state disinhibition. *American Psychologist*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001650](https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001650?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Without a Rosetta Stone, can linguists decipher Minoan script? | Aeon EssaysLinear B has yielded its secrets, but Linear A remains elusive. Can linguistic analysis unlock the meaning of Minoan script?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/safari-pinned-tab-3.svg)Aeon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/gettyimages-577729121.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The dead language tier listWhat I learned studying 7 historical languages![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-16.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F2a69adda-cb31-40e4-8f54-9122d334d2b8_1278x1414.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/the-dead-language-tier-list) [Humans may communicate with aliens in mathematical language: StudySince humans and bees share a grasp of math, scientists believe mathematical concepts could bridge the gap between us and aliens.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180-5.png)Interesting EngineeringRupendra Brahambhatt![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/alien-communication.jpg)](https://interestingengineering.com/culture/bee-shows-aliens-may-understand-maths?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Slanguage: How ā€˜6-7ā€™ makes sense even though it means nothingSeemingly meaningless adolescent slang isnā€™t ā€œbrain rot,ā€ itā€™s linguistically normal, developmentally appropriate and a way of belonging.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-68.png)The ConversationNicole Rosen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260105-62-7qwn5j.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/slanguage-how-6-7-makes-sense-even-though-it-means-nothing-270006?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What Is the Latin Alphabet? - Rosetta StoneDiscover the history of many modern languages with a guide to the Latin alphabet, including how itā€™s changed throughout the centuries and how itā€™s stayed the same.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-15.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/latin-alphabet-inscription-stone-1.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/latin-alphabet/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Crystalā€™s Curiosity Cabinet* ![Book cover for Crystal's Curiosity Cabinet by David Crystal, designed as an orange cabinet of curiosities with compartments containing playful language-related objects: "LOL", punctuation marks "!?!!", an ampersand, a globe, a parrot, a robot, a British license plate reading "UK PL8TE", a pub sign, and a bust of Shakespeare. The subtitle reads "A Collection of English Language Curiosities" and a vintage microphone appears next to the title sign.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-15.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4pqWUUP?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399823890?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) David Crystal, author of many popular language books, including *How language works* and *The stories of English*, has just released a new book, *Crystalā€™s Curiosity Cabinet: A collection of English language curiosities* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4pqWUUP?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399823890?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Following in the tradition of the Victorian miscellany and cabinets of curiosities, the book is a set of observations on random, weird, and witty words and expressions that Crystal has collected over his many years working as a linguist. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4pqWUUP?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399823890?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Hereā€™s a wonderful etymological flowchart for each of the primary colors in English, from [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/2024/12/31/the-etymology-of-english-colours/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Read the entire blog post with more details [here](https://starkeycomics.com/2024/12/31/the-etymology-of-english-colours/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-16.png) ### The etymology of ā€œloveā€ URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/love/ Last updated: 2026-03-15T14:18:45.000Z The Proto-Indo-European language had a word \*leubŹ°- ā€˜love, care, desireā€™, and today Iā€™m going to tell you all the ways this word has come down to us in English 6,000 years laterā€”a kind of ā€œreverse etymologyā€. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here:* For those not familiar with Proto-Indo-European: itā€™s the hypothetical, reconstructed ancestor language from which all modern Indo-European languages descend and was spoken around 4000 BCE. There are an estimated 454 living Indo-European languages in the family, including English, Hindi, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese, German, Persian, and many others. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-20.png) The approximate present-day distribution of the Indo-European language family within Europe and Asia, color-coded by branch. ([Wikipedia: Indo-European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ### **šŸ” ** Abbreviations Used in this Article | | | | --- | ------------------- | | D | Dutch | | L | Latin | | ME | Modern English | | OE | Old English | | PG | Proto-Germanic | | PIE | Proto-Indo-European | The first **reflex** (descendant) of \*leubŹ°- in this list comes via Latin. In the Italic branch of Indo-European, \*leubŹ°- developed into the Latin word *libēre* ā€˜to pleaseā€™ and the derived noun *libÄ«dō* ā€˜desireā€™. As you can guess, that noun was then borrowed into English at the turn of the 1900s as the word *libido*. šŸ” PIE \*leubŹ°- ā€˜love, care, desireā€™ ā†’ L **libēre* ā€˜to pleaseā€™ ā†’ L **libÄ«dō* ā€˜desireā€™ ā‡¢ ME **libido* ā„¹ļø The asterisk `*` before a word indicates that it has been reconstructed using the [****comparative method**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative%5Fmethod?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in historical linguistics. The word was never actually attested in any written source. Instead, it is a hypothetical reconstruction based on available evidence and the many techniques linguists have at their disposal for winding back the clock on language history. If an entire parent language has little or no extant written texts and has been reconstructed using these techniques, it has the prefix ā€œProto-ā€. Proto-Indo-European is the reconstructed parent language of all the modern Indo-European languages, while Proto-Germanic is the reconstructed parent language of all the modern Germanic languages (and is itself a child language descended from Proto-Indo-European). In the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family, however, the word took on a new meaning: Proto-Germanic \*laubō ā€˜permissionā€™. This is a great example of how the meanings of words can sometimes shift from one stage of an action to another, or from one concept to something closely related. In this case, if you desire something, you may be looking for permission to do or acquire it, and so the meaning of the word expanded to include not just ā€˜desireā€™ but also ā€˜permissionā€™. This word then evolved into the Old English *lēaf*, which became Modern English *leave*, as in, ā€œto take oneā€™s leaveā€. (This sense of *leave* is unrelated to the sense of ā€˜to go awayā€™; the two words just happen to be homonyms.) šŸ” PIE \*leubŹ°- ā€˜love, care, desireā€™ ā†’ PG \*laubō ā€˜permissionā€™ ā†’ OE **lēaf* ā€˜leaveā€™ ā†’ ME **leave* There was also a prefixed form of that Old English word: *belēfan* ā€˜to give leave or permission toā€™, or perhaps literally ā€˜to hold dearā€™ (possibly retaining some of the original meaning from Proto-Indo-European), and that led to the Modern English *believe*. šŸ” PIE \*leubŹ°- ā€˜love, care, desireā€™ ā†’ PG \*laubō ā€˜permissionā€™ ā†’ OE **belēfan* ā€˜believeā€™ ā†’ ME **believe* ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* The Proto-Germanic word \*laubō ā€˜permissionā€™ was also inherited by Dutch and appears in the prefixed word *verlof* ā€˜permissionā€™, literally ā€˜for-leaveā€™. In the 1600s the Dutch word was borrowed into English and the final /f/ sound was lost, yielding Modern English *furlough*. šŸ” PIE \*leubŹ°- ā€˜love, care, desireā€™ ā†’ PG \*laubō ā€˜permissionā€™ ā†’ D **verlof* ā€˜permissionā€™ ā‡¢ ME **furlough* Lastly, that Proto-Indo-European root \*leubŹ°- didnā€™t *only* change its meaning to ā€˜permissionā€™ in Proto-Germanic. It also kept its original meaning ā€˜loveā€™ in the form \*lubō. In Old English \*lubō became *lufu*, and that evolved into the word *love*. šŸ” PIE \*leubŹ°- ā€˜love, care, desireā€™ ā†’ PG \*lubō ā€˜loveā€™ ā†’ OE **lufu* ā€˜loveā€™ ā‡¢ ME **love* You can see the complete etymological flowchart for all these word histories below. Happy Valentineā€™s Day! šŸ’œ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-21.png) ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading ![Book cover for Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds by Jess Zafarris, featuring a teal background with ornate white line art and a large ribbon banner reading ā€œUseless,ā€ plus small illustrated motifs including planets, a crescent moon, a quill in an ink bottle, an apple, mushrooms, and two vintage typewriters.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KNoU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c3fcfcb-c30e-4424-af0d-2af50ceaee07_956x1500.png "Book cover for Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds by Jess Zafarris, featuring a teal background with ornate white line art and a large ribbon banner reading ā€œUseless,ā€ plus small illustrated motifs including planets, a crescent moon, a quill in an ink bottle, an apple, mushrooms, and two vintage typewriters.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![Book cover for Etymologicon: The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth, featuring a bright yellow background with large, stylized black lettering spelling ā€œETYMOLOGICONā€ across the cover and the authorā€™s name in a black band at the bottom.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zqmr!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4e7149d4-8250-420b-90d6-10ff763b957e_304x466.png "Book cover for Etymologicon: The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth, featuring a bright yellow background with large, stylized black lettering spelling ā€œETYMOLOGICONā€ across the cover and the authorā€™s name in a black band at the bottom.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4eupBKB?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780425260791?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![Book cover for The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson, with a dark blue header featuring a review quote, the title in white, ā€œbill brysonā€ in large red lowercase letters on a white background, and a collage along the bottom including a portrait of Shakespeare, a photo of Bryson, and historical imagery.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tvQh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5204ea95-0058-4287-a157-247459b838fe_310x466.png "Book cover for The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson, with a dark blue header featuring a review quote, the title in white, ā€œbill brysonā€ in large red lowercase letters on a white background, and a collage along the bottom including a portrait of Shakespeare, a photo of Bryson, and historical imagery.") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hAn1oZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780380715435?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ Sources - [*The Oxford dictionary of word origins*](https://amzn.to/40XqE11?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*The Chambers dictionary of etymology*](https://amzn.to/4jVF4HD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*The American Heritage dictionary of Indo-European roots*](https://amzn.to/4hCLFoH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The science of libfixes URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-2/ Last updated: 2026-02-14T20:42:51.000Z A **libfix** (short for **lib*erated af*fix**) is a part of a word that has escaped its parent word and become a new affix, such as *ā€‘core* (*cottagecore*, *Barbiecore*, *hopecore*), *ā€‘cation* (*staycation*, *girlcation*, *kidcation*), or *cryptoā€‘* (*cryptocurrency*, *cryptobro*, *cryptoverse*). In [the first part](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-1/) of this 2-part series, we explored the meandering history of the libfix *ā€‘holic* and saw tons of examples of libfixes from both English and other languages. In this second part, weā€™ll dig into the linguistic mechanisms that make libfixes tickā€”the subconscious sound rules youā€™re following when you use them, how they form in the first place, and how our brains process themā€”and what all this teaches us about how language works. ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Libfixes: When word parts go rogue](https://open.substack.com/pub/linguisticdiscovery/p/libfix-1) - **Part 2:** The science of libfixes: How libfixes work, where they come from, and what they teach us about language and the mind \[this issue\] ## Libfixes vs. blends Like all newer technical terms, the exact definition of a libfix is still contentious, but we can nonetheless delineate the concept a bit more precisely. First off, libfixes are more than just simple rebracketings. What do I mean by this? The English words *apron*, *newt*, and *umpire* were originally more like *napron*, *ewt*, and *numpire*, but the boundary between the indefinite article *a/an* and the word was reanalyzed in a process of rebracketing: - a napron ā†’ an apron - an ewte ā†’ a newt - a noumpere ā†’ an umpire A similar process happened with the [Romanian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) adjectival suffix *ā€‘os* ā€˜abounding in ā€¦ā€™. It was originally used like so: - *dealuri* ā€˜hillsā€™ ā†’ *delur*os** ā€˜hillyā€™ - *coltĢ¦uri* ā€˜cornersā€™ ā†’ *coltĢ¦ur*os** ā€˜edgyā€™ Speakers saw the sequence *ā€‘uros* frequently enough that they took it as the adjectival suffix, and now it can be used to form adjectives like *buburos* ā€˜pimplyā€™ (*bubă* ā€˜pimpleā€™ + *ā€‘uros*) ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 244). Neither of the above sets of examples are considered libfixes. They merely adjust the boundaries of existing words/affixes rather than create new ones. While libfixes do always involve some type of ā€œreā€bracketing (more on this later), rebracketing alone isnā€™t what defines them. Secondly, existing affixes used on new words with their original meaning intact also do not count as libfixes ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 244). For example, *ā€‘cracy*, from the Ancient Greek suffix ā€‘ĪŗĻĪ±Ļ„ĪÆĪ± *ā€‘kratĆ­a* ā€˜rule, governmentā€™, has been used playfully/critically in recent years to form new words such as *idiocracy*, *shopocracy*, *kakistocracy*. Likewise, we now have *rizzology* to accompany older uses of *ā€‘ology* ā€˜the study of a particular subjectā€™. But no new affix has been created in these cases. However, libfixes *do* include cases of existing affixes that have undergone significant changes in meaning. For example, *ā€‘verse* is generally considered a libfix because it now refers to ā€˜community of Xā€™ rather than its originally meaning ā€˜turnedā€™ (*uniā€‘verse* etymologically meant ā€˜turned into oneā€™). This is also the case for many of the prefixal libfixes listed above: - *cyberā€‘* (*cybercensorship*, *cyberbully*) counts as a libfix because it means ā€˜relating to the internet or computers generallyā€™, and no longer has any connection to the original Greek ĪŗĻ…Ī²ĪµĻĪ½Ī®Ļ„Ī·Ļ‚ *kÅ­bernįø—tēs* ā€˜steersmanā€™. *cyberā€‘* is simply a blending of *cybernetic*. - *petroā€‘* (*petrodollar*, *petrostate*) counts as a libfix because it isnā€™t based on the original Latin or Greek roots *petra* or Ļ€Ī­Ļ„ĻĪ± *pĆ©tra* ā€˜stone, rockā€™, but instead comes blends involving *petroleum*. - *cryptoā€‘* (*cryptocoin*, *cryptoverse*) counts as a libfix because itā€™s based on the term *cryptocurrency* and refers to the ā€˜currencyā€™ part of its source word rather than ā€˜cryptographyā€™ part. This connection between libfixes and blends turns out to be key to their definition, as weā€™ll see in a bit. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## The phonology of libfixes > It may be more useful to think of libfixes not so much as a new type of affix, but rather as a new *template* that can be used to create new blends. The boundaries of libfixes are often fuzzy. Consider two different versions of the *ā€‘geddon* libfix: *ā€‘geddon* vs. *ā€‘mageddon*: - ā€‘geddon: cyber**geddon** - ā€‘mageddon: [gay**maggedon**](https://arnoldzwicky.org/2012/05/11/a-topical-mageddon/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Or *ā€‘holic* vs. *ā€‘aholic*/*ā€‘oholic*: - sugar**holic** - work**aholic** The reason for this variation is that libfixes like to preserve the syllable structure and stress pattern (the **prosody**) of their original source word ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 246). For example, most (but not all) *ā€‘tainment* derivatives are 4-syllable words stressed on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable, just like *entertainment*: - e.du.Ėˆtain.ment - in.fo.Ėˆtain.ment - sci.en.Ėˆtain.ment ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** If any of the abbreviations or notations in this article are unfamiliar to you, check out the ā€œ[How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions)ā€ page. It lists all the abbreviations, conventions, and notations used in Linguistic Discovery content. In the case of *ā€‘geddon*, the speaker chooses whichever version of the libfixā€”*ā€‘geddon* or *ā€‘mageddon*ā€”best preserves the prosodic template of the original word *armageddon*. When *ā€‘geddon* attaches to a word with 2 or more syllables, the simple *ā€‘geddon* version suffices to fill out the template: - cy.ber.**ged.don** - [ba.na.na](http://ba.na.na/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com).**ged.don** But when *ā€‘geddon* attaches to a 1-syllable word, speakers recruit more material from the original *armageddon* to fill in the rest of the template, usually *ā€‘mageddon* but sometimes just *ā€‘aggedon*: - car.**ma.ged.don** - snow.**ma.ged.don** - porn.**a.ged.don** Another great example of this template-filling process is the word *Whoniverse* ā€˜all the fictional media related to the television program *Dr. Who*ā€™. Almost always, the libfix *ā€‘verse* appears as *ā€‘verse*, but in this case it recruits the *ā€‘niā€‘* of *universe* as well, because the resulting derivation *Whoniverse* almost *exactly* matches the prosodic template of the original word, *universe* (just with an extra /h/ sound at the beginning). Of course, sometimes the prosodic templates of the original word and the new base word match so closely that itā€™s impossible to tell where the boundary lies: - *Karmageddon* (a 2011 movie) ā† *karma* \+ ??? It is this preference for preserving the prosodic template of the source word that motivates the insertion of a dummy vowel (called an **epenthetic vowel**) in many libfixes: - workā€‘**a**ā€‘holic - hackā€‘**a**ā€‘thon - crunchā€‘**a**ā€‘licious - blogā€‘**o**ā€‘sphere In fact, most libfixes are semantically transparent precisely because they preserve enough of the original word and its prosodic template that you know the original word being referred to. Some researchers actually include this in their definition of a libfix: ā€œword parts emerging in blends that are analogically used in coining new words, **while still preserving the connection with their source-words**ā€ ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 241). So even if youā€™ve never encountered the word *snowmageddon*ā€”or the libfix *ā€‘geddon* in generalā€”you can still guess its meaning because enough of the original word *armageddon* is preserved, either directly in its consonants and vowels, or indirectly in its overall prosodic profile. Given this behavior, it may be more useful to think of libfixes not so much as a new type of affix, but rather as a new *template* that can be used to create new blends. Lastly, letā€™s look at what happens to libfixes when thereā€™s a mismatch between their *spelling* and their *pronunciation*. Take the libfix *ā€‘splain* as an example. It originates as a blend with the word *explain*, but itā€™s spelled *ā€‘splain* not *ā€‘xplain*. The reason for this is because the letter āŸØxāŸ© in the Roman alphabet typically represents a sequence of two sounds /ks/, and the syllable boundary in *explain* just so happens to fall right between those two soundsā€”right in the middle of the āŸØxāŸ©, so to speak. If I were to write *explain* phonemically (according to its sounds rather than its spelling), itā€™d be /ɛk.spleį¶¦n/. The part of the word that became the libfix was only the second syllable, /spleį¶¦n/, so we write it as *ā€‘splain*. What all this demonstrates is that speakers create blends and libfixes based on their *sounds* rather than their *spelling*ā€”and do so without even realizing it! In fact, all the phonological behaviors in this section illustrate just how much unconscious knowledge speakers have about sound patterns in their own language. We apply these moderately complex rules about prosodic profiles and syllable boundaries with no awareness that thatā€™s what weā€™re doing, and I think thatā€™s pretty remarkable. ## Where do libfixes come from? > Libfixes are always based on an initial blend, *not* the words that originally made up the blend or their etymologies. All libfixes start out as parts of a **blend**. A blend is a word formed by combining parts of existing words ([Bauer 2004](https://www.notion.so/Bauer-2004-29e50a282bc18168a7a0dd12c26b31d8?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 22). Canonical examples in English are *smog* (*smoke* \+ *fog*) and *motel* (*motor* \+ *hotel*). Blends were also famously called **portmanteau** words by Lewis Carroll, who coined the term to describe the words of the Jabberwocky poem in *Through the Looking Glass* (1871), like *slithy* (*slimy* \+ *lithe*) and *mimsy* (*miserable* \+ *flimsy*): > You see itā€™s like a portmanteauā€”there are two meanings packed up into one word. > \~ Humpty Dumpty explaining words in the Jabberwocky poem to Alice. In the English of the time, a portmanteau was a suitcase that opened into two equal sections, from the French *porteā€‘manteau* (*porter* ā€˜to carryā€™ + *manteau* ā€˜cloakā€™) ([Etymonline: *portmanteau*](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=portmanteau&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). In this article, however, Iā€™ll continue to refer to them as **blends**. The chopped up bits of words that arise from blends are often called **splinters**. Every libfix starts out life as a splinter. Very occasionally, splinters can even transcend the affix stage and become fully independent words. This is what happened with *burger*: The word *burger* comes, of course, from *hamburger*, but the internal boundaries of that word were not originally *hamā€‘burger*. Instead the word is a reference to the city of Hamburgā€”a ā€œHamburger sandwichā€, as it was originally called. But the presence of *ham* in that word motivated English speakers to reanalyze its internal boundaries as *hamā€‘burger*ā€”a process called **analogical reanalysis**, **etymological reinterpretation**, or most commonly, **folk etymology**, where speakers reinterpret the internal pieces of a word to match other words or affixes theyā€™re already familiar with. This reanalysis then made it possible to use *hamburger* in a number of blends: *cheeseburger*, *veggieburger*, *fishburger*, *nothingburger*, etc. The new libfix *ā€‘burger* was born. In addition to its status as a libfix, *burger* also became an independent word. This happened early in the libfixation process: *cheeseburger* is first documented in 1938 (and is the earliest *ā€‘burger* blend Iā€™m aware of), but *burger* appears by itself as an independent word just a year later ([Etymonline: *burger*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/burger?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Because of its early appearance, many linguists analyze *burger* as simply a clipping (shortening) of *hamburger* rather than a *bona fide* libfix. You should be starting to notice a pattern at this point: libfixes always follow the same diachronic (historical) trajectory ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 245): 1. \[optional\] Speakers reanalyze an existing word as having different internal boundaries than it did historically (**analogical reanalysis / etymological reinterpretation / folk etymology**). This is what happened with the *ā€‘burger* of *hamburger*, and maybe the *ā€‘copter* of *helicopter* and the *ā€‘ol* of *alcohol*. This step isnā€™t necessary, but it can strengthen the perception of an internal boundary at the place where blending later happens (Step 2). 2. Two words are blended (e.g. *workaholic*, *cheeseburger*, *Brexit*). 3. The new blend becomes popular. The popularity of the original blend serves as a template by which subsequent blends are formed: *shopaholic*, *veggieburger*, *Grexit*). The splinter from the original blend (*ā€‘holic*, *ā€‘burger*, *ā€‘exit*) can now be reused with a variety of words. ![A left-to-right flowchart that says: independent word ā†’ splinter in a blend ā†’ libfix](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/diagram-1.png) The key point in all this is that **libfixes are always based on an initial blend, *not* the words that originally made up the blend or their etymologies.** *chocoholic* and *twitterholic* were formed by analogy to *workaholic*, not *alcoholic*. *Tipflation* and *shrinkflation* were formed by analogy to *stagflation*, not *inflation*. This better explains why forms like *cryptoā€‘*, *cyberā€‘*, and *petroā€‘* count as libfixes but ones like *ā€‘cracy* and *ā€‘ology* donā€™t. Because every libfix is based on a blend and relies on that blend for its meaning, the original pieces of that blend and their etymologies are irrelevant. *cryptoā€‘* is based on *cryptocurrency*, not *cryptography*; *cyberā€‘* is based on *cybernetics*, not the Greek ĪŗĻ…Ī²ĪµĻĪ½Ī®Ļ„Ī·Ļ‚ *kÅ­bernįø—tēs* ā€˜steersmanā€™; *ā€‘gate* is based on *Watergate*, not the original word *gate*. By contrast, new uses of *ā€‘cracy* and *ā€‘ology* are always based the same original ā€‘ĪŗĻĪ±Ļ„ĪÆĪ± *ā€‘kratĆ­a* and ā€‘Ī»ĪæĪ³įæĢį¾± *ā€‘logÄ­ĢÄ* suffixes that theyā€™ve always been. ![Book cover for "The Unfolding of Language: an evolutionary tour of mankind's greatest invention" by Guy Deutscher, published by Picador. The cover features a minimalist black and white design showing three figures in an evolution-style progression from left to right: a crouched ape-like figure, a stooped intermediate figure, and an upright walking human silhouette. The first two figures are composed of the repeated text "LANGUAGE" arranged to form their shapes. A quote from The Boston Globe at the top reads "Fascinating . . . imaginative . . . vivid.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-17.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIdxAJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780805080124?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## The cognitive linguistics of libfixes > What all this teaches us about language is that we as language-users care more about *patterns* than *structure* per se. From a cognitive perspective, it makes perfect sense that libfixes refer to the meaning of their source blend and not the meanings or etymologies of the *parts* of the source blend, because our brains donā€™t generally pay attention to the internal structure of words. You learn *Watergate* as a holistic unit, a single proper noun, not as two pieces, *water* \+ *gate*. When the libfix *ā€‘gate* hearkens back to the meaning of *Watergate*, that holistic meaning is the one thatā€™s being referenced. Same with *cryptoā€‘*: the libfix relies on the entire word *cryptocurrency* for its meaning, not its individual parts. And since the word *cryptocurrency* refers to a type of currency and not a type of cryptography, it is the currency meaning that gets highlighted every time *cryptoā€‘* forms a new word. A cryptocoin is any specific cryptocurrency; the cryptoverse is the world of cryptocurrency; a cryptobro is a bro whoā€™s overzealous about cryptocurrency; and so on. This also explains why the libfix *ā€‘doodle* exists as such rather than as \* *ā€‘oodle*. The blend that originally made the form popular was *Labradoodle*, whose splinters were *Labradā€‘* (< *Labrador*) and *ā€‘oodle* (< *poodle*). But it didnā€™t matter to speakers what the original splinters were, because speakers donā€™t pay attention to the internal structure of words! *ā€‘doodle* is based on an analogy to the entire word *Labradoodle*, not its parts. All that mattered was the prosodic profile of the whole word, *Labradoodle*. When speakers used *Labradoodle* as a template for other blends, it felt more natural to begin the libfix at the syllable boundary, as *ā€‘doodle*, than awkwardly in the middle of a syllable, as \* *ā€‘oodle*, even though \* *ā€‘oodle* was the original splinter. *Labradoodle* basically underwent rebracketing before spawning the libfix *ā€‘doodle*. Even if our brains were capable of breaking down every word into its pieces every time we heard it (an implausibly cognitively demanding task), we simply donā€™t have the option. Unless youā€™re a lover of etymology (and even if you are), you probably arenā€™t aware of the historical meaning of the vast majority of words and their parts. As a result, blends often give rise to libfixes that look exactly the same as a word or affix that was part of the original blend. But due to the libfixation process, these are now two totally distinct affixes! The Greek prefix *cryptoā€‘* is not the same entity as the libfix *cryptoā€‘*; the English noun *gate* is not the same entity as the libfix *ā€‘gate*. They are splinters of blends that **just so happen to have the exact same boundaries as the original parts of the blend.** This is what I meant earlier when I said that libfixes always involve ā€œreā€bracketing: two words are blended together in a way that creates a new word-internal boundary. Sometimes those new internal boundaries are different than they were before (*helicoā€‘pter* ā†’ *gyroā€‘copter*, or *alā€‘kuįø„Å«l* ā†’ *workā€‘aā€‘holic*), but sometimes they coincidentally happen to stay in the same spot (e.g. *Waterā€‘gate* ā†’ *nippleā€‘gate* or *cryptoā€‘graphy* ā†’ *cryptoā€‘currency*). Nonetheless, a reanalysis always takes place. What all this teaches us about language is that we as language-users care more about *patterns* than *structure* per se. Your brain doesnā€™t care where the internal boundaries of a word areā€”all it cares about is that *ā€‘doodle* has the same prosodic profile as *poodle*; hence *bernadoodle* instead of \* *bernaā€‘oodle* or \* *bernoodle*. Your brain doesnā€™t care that *ā€‘gate* has nothing to do with actual gates, or that *ā€‘aholic* chops the word *alcohol* in two. Once it spots a pattern, it runs with itā€”even if that pattern is etymological nonsense. ## Are libfixes just slang? > Neologisms like libfixes donā€™t violate or break the grammar of a languageā€”they expand on it. You probably noticed that the majority of libfixes convey a sense of either jocularity or pejoration ([Gorman 2013](https://www.notion.so/Gorman-2013-2ef50a282bc1812eb130e478280a673f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com))ā€”basically a kind of wordplay or slang. Some scholars relegate libfixes to the margins of grammar or discount them entirely because of this ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 241). These scholars view libfixes as mere acts of sporadic creativity rather than stable, rule-governed, productive affixes. In reality, creativity and productivity sit on either end of a continuum. On the creative side of the continuum are the many, many, many [**nonce words**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonce%5Fword?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (one-off creations or **occasionalisms**) coined for a specific context that never garner uptake outside that context. They are essentially wordplay. For example, itā€™s quite common for specific libfixes to be popular but still have none of their derivatives gain traction. *ā€‘core* and *ā€‘ception* are good examples of this: itā€™s easy to find one-off examples like *momcore* or *dogception* all over the internet because they were funny and made sense in the specific context they were used for, but outside that context they have no uptake. The libfix *ā€‘ception* comes from the name of the movie *Inception*, in which characters create alternate realities within a personā€™s mind, each reality embedded within the last. The *ā€‘ception* libfix now refers to any type of recursion like this. Thus the word *dogception* is incredibly useful for the [TikTok video of a dog barking at a video of a dog barking at a video of a dog](https://www.tiktok.com/@mayapolarbear/video/7078678754079460613?is%5Ffrom%5Fwebapp=1&sender%5Fdevice=pc&web%5Fid=7452426953708570158&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), but not a particularly helpful word otherwise. The vast majority of neologisms are like this: mere twinkles in the linguistic starscapeā€”a brief flash and then theyā€™re gone. But occasionally conditions are propitious for broader adoption. If the new construction catches the right cultural wave, or maybe that playful one-off use becomes a viral TikTok, it can become ensconced within a particular linguistic community. One such use of the otherwise ephemeral *ā€‘core* libfix that seems to have reached this point is *cottagecore*, an internet aesthetic and subculture concerned with an idealized rural lifestyle. The word now has a stable meaning outside its individual contexts of use. Similarly, with sufficient repeated use, individual libfixes may even become extremely productive for the entire language community, like *ā€‘holic*, *ā€‘gate*, and *ā€‘licious* have. ![Book cover for "Why Do Languages Change?" by R. L. Trask, published by Cambridge. The cover features a pixelated heat map background with overlaid words in various colors including "laptop," "reggae," "jumbo jet," "bikini line," "miniskirt," "toyboy," "aromatherapy," "body piercing," and "trophy wife," illustrating examples of recent language change. The title appears in large white text across the center, with the author's name in gold below.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-18.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3AnbKb9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780521546935?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The single best example of this is probably *ā€‘exit*, which began life in the blend *Brexit* (*British* \+ *exit*), referring to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). It first appeared in a [blog post from 2012](https://www.euractiv.com/news/oxford-english-dictionary-the-man-who-coined-brexit/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), where it seemed to be little more than witty word play. But the topic was so widely discussed, and term so widely adopted, that it swiftly spawned numerous derivatives, such as terms referring to other countries leaving the EU: - *Frexit* (France) - *Grexit* (Greece) - *Itexit* (Italy) - *Spexit* (Spain) And the possibility of Scotland leaving the UK in response to Brexit: - *Scexit* (Scottish exit) And then the possibility of US states seceding: - *Calexit* (California) - *Texit* (Texas) And then use in popular media: - [*Bakexit*](https://www.today.com/food/prue-leith-leaves-great-british-bake-off-rcna255233?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (see also its use on X [here](https://x.com/search?q=bakexit&src=typed%5Fquery&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Finally, the blend *Brexit* itself started to be used in other blends! Blends of blends! - *regrexit* ā€˜regret over Brexitā€™ - *Lexit* ā€˜left-wing supporter of Brexitā€™ And not just the ending, but the beginning of *Brexit* was coopted for blends as well: - Braccident - Breferendum - Bregret - Bremain - Bremorse - Brextension - Brexistential crisis - Brexpert - in-Bretween - Brentry ![Alt text: Wide shot of the Jeopardy! stage during Final Jeopardy. The category screen reads ā€œPORTMANTEAU WORDS,ā€ and the clue text says: ā€œA play on a portmanteau coined in 2012, this 7-letter word is now used to describe a similar U.K. headline from 1973.ā€ Three contestants stand at podiums with scores visible (about 32,000, 20,800, and 1,200).](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-19.png) The blend **Brentry* made headlines recently after stumping a contestant on **Jeopardy*, leading to a heartbreaking loss ([TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1193458/jeopardy-masters-roger-craig-loss-quarterfinals-reaction/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) We know these are blends of blends because, unlike the original libfix *ā€‘exit* which meant ā€˜end association with Xā€™, these mean ā€˜X in relation to Brexitā€™. This is the meaning youā€™d expect from blending *Brexit*: *regrexit* means ā€˜regret about Brexitā€™ because itā€™s a blend of *regret* \+ *Brexit* rather than *regret* \+ *ā€‘exit*; *Brexpert* means ā€˜expert on Brexitā€™ because itā€™s a blend of *Brexit* \+ *expert* rather than *British* \+ *expert*. This reblending is really surprising (and cool) because blended blends are naturally quite confusing, especially in this case since the boundaries between the splinters are exactly the same in the first blend and the reblend. In any case, its reblendability is a beautiful illustration of just how deeply ensconced *Brexit* has become in the British lexiconā€”a ā€œrealā€ word if ever there was one. Fittingly, the *Collins English Dictionary* selected *Brexit* as the word of the year for 2016\. *Brexit* thus makes for a great illustration of how a new expression can go from a playful one-time creation to a stable term with a predictable meaning in relatively short order, sliding all the way from one end of the creativity ā†” productivity scale to the other. This process of graduating from creative ā†’ productive has as its keystone one crucial fact: **speakers would not take up a new expression if it didnā€™t utilize existing words and rules of the language in the first place. Neologisms like libfixes donā€™t violate or break the grammar of a languageā€”they expand on it.** Libfixes work precisely because existing popular blends provide them with lots of affordances: a speaker hears *chocoholic* for the first time and can (unconsciously) rely on *workaholic* and *shopaholic* and the general principles of how libfixes work to figure out that it means ā€˜person addicted to chocolateā€™. Far from being ā€œmere slangā€, libfixes are in fact illustrative of one of the most foundational processes by which languageā€”and the human mind in generalā€”operates: analogy. And in my opinion, they demonstrate that we humans are pretty damn good at it. I hope this article has given you lots of good affixana to share with your acquaintances. I encourage you to share your favorite libfix from this article and tag me on social media! Thanks for joining me in this deep-dive into the linguaverse! ## šŸ™ Credits This issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was edited by Amy Treber. If youā€™re looking for professional copyediting services, email Amy at [amytreberedits@gmail.com](mailto:amytreberedits@gmail.com). The final responsibility for any mistakes or omissions is of course still wholly my own. ## šŸ“‘ References - Bauer, Laurie. 2004\. *A glossary of morphology*. Georgetown University Press. - Gorman, Kyle. 2013\. Defining libfixes. *Wellformedness*. [https://www.wellformedness.com/blog/defining-libfixes/](https://www.wellformedness.com/blog/defining-libfixes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). (20 January, 2026). - Vasileanu, Monica & Anabella-Gloria Niculescu-Gorpin. 2025\. Romanian libfixes in the making. In Sabine Arndt-Lappe & Natalia Filatkina (eds.), *Dynamics at the lexicon-syntax interface* (Formulaic Language 6), 241ā€“266\. De Gruyter. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111321905-009](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111321905-009?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Language may not be so hierarchical after all: A new study challenges 70 years of linguistic theory URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-06/ Last updated: 2026-02-10T10:00:04.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Why is *February* spelled with two āŸØrāŸ©ā€™s? ### ![The word "February" in pink serif text on a light textured background with a pink conversation heart in the lower left corner](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-4.png) **Hint:** Itā€™s not because English speakers originally pronounced it that way! Find out more in this free issue of the newsletter: [Why is ā€œFebruaryā€ spelled with two āŸØrāŸ©ā€™s?Why is ā€œFebruaryā€ spelled with two āŸØrāŸ©ā€™s even though most people only pronounce one of them?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-94.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-7.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/february/) ### Why do people use baby talk? The science of baby talk, Part 2 ![A baby wearing glasses sits holding a colorful book, with scattered alphabet letters floating around their head](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-5.png) What is baby talk, and why do parents use it in the first place? Does it really have a role to play in a childā€™s language acquisition, or is it nothing but useless cutesy word play? Learn all about the surprisingly sophisticated strategies and tactics that caregivers use to make their speech more accessible to their children in this second issue of my special series on the science of baby talk: [Why do people use baby talk? The science of baby talk, Part 2How caregivers instinctively simplify their speech for childrenā€”and how it helps![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-95.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) Hereā€™s the entire series: #### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** [Why do people use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** Is baby talk good for your child? (forthcoming) - **Part 4:** Do all cultures use baby talk? - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your child? - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Some dogs can pick up hundreds of wordsā€”do they learn like children? ![A border collie facing the camera against a yellow background](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-6.png) A new study finds that certain exceptional dogs, called ā€œgifted word learnersā€, may have learned the names of objects (like a squirrel) merely from overhearing their owners talking. Interestingly, this ability doesnā€™t seem to be breed-specific. The study used an approach designed to study how well human toddlers understand words, but applied it to dogs. They found that the dogs in the study were able to learn words through overhearing just like 1.5-year-old childrenā€”and sometimes even better! [Some dogs can pick up hundreds of words ā€“ do they learn like children?Some dogs can remember the names of hundreds of objects.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-66.png)The ConversationJuliane Kaminski![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260120-66-q5n7zb.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/some-dogs-can-pick-up-hundreds-of-words-do-they-learn-like-children-273620?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Dror et al. 2026\. Dogs with a large vocabulary of object labels learn new labels by overhearing like 1.5-year-old infants. *Science* 391(6781). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq5474](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq5474?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Language may not be so hierarchical after all Noam Chomsky popularized a highly formalized, highly mathematized model of language in the 1960s which assumes that language is fundamentally hierarchicalā€”that is, tree-like, as in the following diagram. ![A syntax tree diagram showing the hierarchical structure of the sentence "The small dog ran quickly home to his owner." The tree has labeled nodes including CP (Complementizer Phrase) at the top, branching down through TP (Tense Phrase) to NP (Noun Phrase) containing "The small dog" and VP (Verb Phrase) containing "ran quickly home to his owner," with further branches showing the grammatical relationships between words and phrases.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-7.png) This approach predicts that when people construct sentences in their heads as theyā€™re speaking, theyā€™re not merely thinking about the next word in the sentence, but rather building an entire complex hierarchy, and paying attention to the relationships between each of words and phrases and their constituents. However, humans are capable of recognizing simple linear patterns too, so itā€™s not strictly necessary to assume that all language is hierarchical. Instead, it may be that people construct sentences more like assembling a puzzle, where pieces of different templates fit into each other, like the image below. ![Two diagrams illustrating a non-hierarchical, template-based approach to language structure. Diagram (a) shows three boxes: "On the top" and "the tallest mountain" with dotted lines connecting down to a shared template box labeled "top of the". Diagram (b) shows an abstract version with "NOUN" and "DETERMINER" boxes connected by dotted lines to a template box below labeled "NOUN PREPOSITION DETERMINER", demonstrating how linguistic units fit together like puzzle pieces rather than hierarchically.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-8.png) A new study uses a set of experiments to show that this non-hierarchical approach to language structure may in fact be more realistic than traditional hierarchical ones. - [Have we been wrong about language for 70 years? New study challenges long-held theory](https://scitechdaily.com/have-we-been-wrong-about-language-for-70-years-new-study-challenges-long-held-theory/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (SciTechDaily) [Evidence for the representation of non-hierarchical structures in language - Nature Human BehaviourLanguage is often thought to be represented through hierarchically structured units. Nielsen and Christiansen find that non-hierarchical structures are present across reaction-time tasks, eye-tracked reading and natural conversation.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-24.png)NatureYngwie A. Nielsen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2025_2387_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02387-z?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [The roots of writing lie in hopes and dreams, not in accounting | Aeon EssaysWas writing invented for accounting and administration or did it evolve from religious movements, sorcery and dreams?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/safari-pinned-tab-2.svg)Aeon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/essay-gettyimages-122214619_master.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/the-roots-of-writing-lie-in-hopes-and-dreams-not-in-accounting?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - For my own take on this topic, check out this article on the origins of writing: [From counting to cuneiform: How writing was inventedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-96.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/proto-cuneiform-accounting-tablet-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) [The 3,000-year-old story hidden in the @ signIn Taiwan they call @ ā€œlittle mouseā€. Itā€™s ā€œstrudelā€ in Hebrew, ā€œdogā€ in Russian and ā€œmonkeyā€™s tailā€ in Dutch. The @ sign is a mirror, and its story goes back thousands of years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-67.png)BBCThomas Germain![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/p0m4jqsc.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250923-the-3000-year-old-story-hidden-in-your-keyboard?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - In Taiwan they call @ ā€œlittle mouseā€. It's ā€œdogā€ in Russian, ā€œstrudelā€ in Hebrew and ā€œmonkeyā€™s tailā€ in Dutch. The @ sign is a mirror, and its story goes back thousands of years. [Why people fail at learning languagesAnd how you can do it better in 2026![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-15.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F48fcde57-b339-4665-acd2-379411807257_1320x1059.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/why-people-fail-at-learning-languages) [Greek, the Asian and African LanguageGreekā€™s place in the story of European language is well known, but its part in the linguistic history of Asia and Africa is just as impressive.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-6.svg)Danny BateDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F9ca6fea6-7cb8-4034-933a-5cc63180d484_1254x1200.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/greek-the-asian-and-african-language) - Greek's place in the story of European language is well known, but its role in the linguistic history of Asia and Africa is just as impressive. [The 6-7 craze offered a brief window into the hidden world of childrenFrom Pig Latin to Punch Buggy, kids have long used nonsensical language, gestures and games to carve out cultures of their own.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-67.png)The ConversationAmanda Levido![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20260109-55-j451c9.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/the-6-7-craze-offered-a-brief-window-into-the-hidden-world-of-children-272327?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The language of liars* ![Book cover for "The Language of Liars" by S.L. Huang. The title and author name appear in yellow text against a dark background featuring colorful octopus tentacles in turquoise, purple, gray, and orange radiating outward. At the bottom, a tagline reads "Can words burn down an empire?ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-9.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3NCvlua?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781250405333?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > Speak another peopleā€™s language. Know them. Become them. And discover youā€™ve destroyed them. A forthcoming sci-fi book is causing some buzz among language nerds: *The language of liars*, by S.L. Huang. One reviewer says, ā€œPitch-perfect science fiction about linguistics and consequences. This book destroyed me.ā€ Itā€™s also been selected as a *New Scientist* Best of 2026 Pick and a Most Anticipated Pick for *Library Hub*, *Book Riot*, and *Shelf Reflection*. The book has definitely piqued my interest, so I might try to get an advance reviewer copy and let you know what I think. - [**Amazon**](https://amzn.to/3NCvlua?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [**Bookshop**](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781250405333?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *How to kill a language: Power, resistance, and the race to save our words* ![Book cover for "How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance, and the Race to Save Our Words" by Sophia Smith Galer. The title and author name appear in large orange-red text against a cream background, with the subtitle in smaller black text between them.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-10.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A forthcoming book from UK journalist and fellow content creator Sophia Smith Galer looks and how languages are lost and what happens when they disappear: > An urgent, globe-spanning exploration of languages at risk, from Kichwa to Ukrainian, that asks: What do we loseā€”culturally, politically, and personallyā€”when a language is silenced? > > Languages can be killed in many ways: war, the climate crisis, nationalism, and even quiet choices made at the dinner table. Around the world, an unprecedented shift is drawing speakers toward national and global lingua francas. For some, that means losing the language of parents or grandparents; for many, it is a permanent farewell to systems that carry knowledge, culture, and belonging. With half of our 7,000 languages due to disappear this century, linguicide is one of the most pressing cultural emergencies of our age. > > In How to Kill a Language, journalist Sophia Smith Galer travels across continents and generations to chart this phenomenon. In Ecuador, she sees firsthand how shame deters parents from passing Kichwa onto their children. In Oman, she learns about languages with roots older than Arabic but never officially recognized. And in Italy, she searches for her Nonnaā€™s dialect, which is vanishing from diaspora communities and Italy itself. But languages can also be reclaimed: We meet the Karuk tribe of California, pioneering a grassroots language immersion program, and the storytellers challenging the criminalization of Kurdish. And in her discussion of Hebrew, Smith Galer reckons with the unintended consequences of raising a language seemingly from the grave. > > Part investigation, part travelogue from a disappearing world, How to Kill a Language exposes the true costs of this mass extinction event. Brought to life by vivid storytelling and Smith Galerā€™s own experience with language loss, itā€™s a fierce rallying cry for a multilingual future. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3K3VrF0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798217086979?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Till next week! Hereā€™s another fun etymological diagram from [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), this time some surprising doublets! Did you know that *merry*, *brief*, *embrace*, *brace*, *bra*, and *pretzel* are all related? Read the blog post [here](https://starkeycomics.com/2024/12/31/unexpected-doublets-how-merry-bra-and-pretzel-are-related/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for details. ![An etymology diagram from Starkey Comics showing how the English words 'merry', 'brief', 'embrace', 'brace', 'bra', and 'pretzel' share a common Proto-Indo-European root mrĆ©ĒµŹ°us meaning "short, brief". The diagram uses a color-coded flowchart structure to trace the words through different language families: the Germanic branch (in pink/red) shows the evolution from Proto-Germanic murguz through Old English myrge to modern English "merry" and "brief"; the Italic/Romance branch (in blue) traces from Proto-Italic breÉ£Ź·is through Latin bracchium ("arm") to Old French brace and embracier, eventually yielding English "embrace" and "brace" as well as French brassiĆØre (shortened to "bra"); and a German dialectal branch shows the path to "Pretzel" (from Old High German brezitella meaning "pastry shaped like folded arms"). The diagram also shows the Greek branch through Proto-Hellenic brokŹ°Ćŗs and Ancient Greek brakhĆŗs meaning "short".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-11.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Whatā€™s the point of baby talk? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T18:45:31.000Z > There is no empirical evidence suggesting that baby talk in any way hinders child language developmentā€”quite the opposite, in fact. What exactly is **baby talk** and how is it different from the way adults regularly speak? More importantly, *why* do adults use it with children? In this second issue of my special series on the science of baby talk, weā€™ll look at all the surprisingly sophisticated strategies and tactics that parents use to make their speech more accessible to their children. ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** Whatā€™s the point of baby talk? **\[this issue\]** - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* The technical term for baby talk is **infant-directed speech** (IDS) or **child-directed speech** (CDS), depending on the focus (younger children or children of any age). Baby talk is a way of speaking used specifically during the process of socializing young childrenā€”teaching them how to be competent members of society, which includes understanding how to use the language of the community. This makes baby talk a special **register**ā€”a way of speaking associated with specific social situations or specialized activities of particular groups. Baby talk used to be called **motherese**, but scholars now eschew this term to avoid gender stereotyping. More recently, as researchers have realized the important role that caregivers other than parents often play in child language development, the term **caregiver speech** has emerged as a more broadly-encompassing expression. In this and the other articles in this series Iā€™ll simply use **baby talk** unless I want to be more specific. Some people also distinguish between baby talk and **parentese**, the idea being that baby talk uses cutesy, shortened, or nonsense words (*nana* for *banana*, *num-num* for food) whereas parentese doesnā€™t. Those who make this distinction typically claim that baby talk is bad for your child but parentese is good for them. They assert that using nonsense words and incorrect grammar with children hinders their language development. This idea is, to put it frankly, total bullshit. There is no empirical evidence suggesting that baby talk in any way hinders child language developmentā€”quite the opposite, in fact, and weā€™ll look at the cool ways that baby talk actually abets your childā€™s language learning in the following issues in this series. The idea that baby talk is harmful for your childā€™s language development is simply a holdover from the stigma against any type of infant-directed speech in general (and probably also due to the fact that many adults find it annoying to listen to). In reality, using simplified pronunciations and grammatical structures may actually do a better job of meeting infants where theyā€™re at in their language-learning journey: children progress from extremely simple syllable structures and grammatical structures to more complex ones over time (e.g. only consonant-vowel (CV) syllables \[[Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 752\], and only 2-word combinations with no function words). (You can listen to a timelapse of this happening with a single child in [this fantastic TED Talk](https://youtu.be/RE4ce4mexrU?si=ksUQwGSJSW0gPCBA&t=266&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com).) Consider, for example, some ways that infants simplify words early in their language acquisition process ([Ibbotson 2022](https://www.notion.so/Ibbotson-2022-21c50a282bc18173a988efedeb83a258?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 145ā€“146): - **reduplication:** the complete or partial repetition of a syllable, replacing other syllables - *bottle* ā†’ *bobo* - *dummy* ā†’ *dudu* - **consonant harmony:** adjusting the consonants in a word so that they are more similar to (or exactly match) other consonants in the word - *cat* ā†’ *tat* - *dog* ā†’ *dod* - **context-sensitive voicing:** voicing all the consonants in certain positions, such as at the start of words - *pat* ā†’ *bat* - *pig* ā†’ *big* - **final devoicing:** devoicing all consonants at the ends of words - *pad* ā†’ *pat* - *bag* ā†’ *bak* - **fronting:** articulating sounds further forward in the mouth - *car* ā†’ *tar* - *goat* ā†’ *doat* - *pig* ā†’ *pid* - **final consonant deletion:** deleting the consonant at the end of a word or syllable(Notice how this change results in CV syllables.) - *dog* ā†’ *do* - *mum* ā†’ *mu* - **cluster reduction:** reducing or simplifying consonant clusters to a single consonant - *plane* ā†’ *pane* - *flag* ā†’ *fag* - *spoon* ā†’ *poon* - *splash* ā†’ *plash* - **weak syllable deletion:** dropping the unstressed syllable entirely - *banana* ā†’ *nana* - **stopping:** pronouncing fricatives as stops (plosives) - *van* ā†’ *pan* - *jump* ā†’ *dump* - *sun* ā†’ *tun* - *that* ā†’ *dat* - **gliding:** pronouncing liquid consonants as glides, so that /r/ ā†’ /w/ and /l/ ā†’ /j, w/ - *red* ā†’ *wed* - *yellow* ā†’ *yeyow* - **metathesis:** switching the order of sounds - *elephant* ā†’ *efalent* English is hardly alone in this. Native American children learning a variety of indigenous languages have also been reported to change, replace, simplify, or delete syllables, as shown in the table below ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 753). | **Language** | **Child Speech** | **Target Form** | **Meaning** | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | --------------- | ---------------------------- | | [Algonquin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquin%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | kakac | ki kakaciki | ā€˜dirt, filth, uncleanlinessā€™ | | [Quileute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quileute%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | āā€™Äā€™ | kāā€™ayoā€™ | ā€˜crowā€™ | | [Hopi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | kwaŹ”a | ikwaŹ”a | ā€˜my grandfatherā€™ | | [Dakota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | kĆ³ka | ŝũkā€™Ć£Ģ | ā€˜horseā€™ | | [Navajo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | kaya | ayąĢ | ā€˜he is eatingā€™ | | [Navajo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | zhinĆ­ | jinĆ­ | ā€˜one saidā€™ | Reduplication is also quite common in child speech around the world. Here are examples from several Native American languages ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 753): | **Language** | **Child Speech** | **Target Form** | **Meaning** | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | | [Mohawk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohawk%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | tata | kanĆ :taro | ā€˜breadā€™ | | [Zuni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuni%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | weā€™we | waā€™tsita | ā€˜dogā€™ | | [Quileute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quileute%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | dÄ«ā€™diā€™ | yiā€™sdakā€™ | ā€˜clothesā€™ | | [Hopi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | tĆ”ta | itĆ”Ź”a | ā€˜my fatherā€™ | | [Comanche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | Ź”erorĆ³Ā·Ź” | tĆ”ivoĀ·Ź” | ā€˜white manā€™ | | [Cocopah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocopah%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | vĆ”nvĆ”n | xasĆ”nŹø | ā€˜little girlā€™ | | [Inuktitut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuktitut?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | piupuu | piu- | ā€˜be niceā€™ | | [East Cree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%5FCree?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | kiikii | aahkuhiiwaau | ā€˜it causes hurtā€™ | These words sound a lot like baby talk, donā€™t they? Itā€™s no coincidence that caregivers make phonotactic simplifications when talking to infants, because baby talk is really about *linguistic accommodation*ā€”meeting children where theyā€™re at in their language development by making communication as clear and understandable as possible. Parents naturally and intuitively adjust their speech to their childā€™s linguistic capabilities and preferences as the child learns ([Kitamura & Lam 2009](https://www.notion.so/Kitamura-Lam-2009-2ff50a282bc18178b5c9fd8cff164f44?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Theyā€™ll often use the same pronunciations in baby talk that children are capable of producing themselves. As children master increasingly more sophisticated sounds and sound combinations, parents gradually raise their expectations of their childrenā€™s phonetic abilities, and normalize their own pronunciations in baby talkā€”all without even realizing theyā€™re doing it! As another example of this linguistic accommodation, IDS tends to be more emotional at three months, more approving at six months, and more directive (ā€yes, look at the doggieā€) at nine months ([Kitamura & Burnham 2003](https://www.notion.so/Kitamura-Burnham-2003-2ff50a282bc18150859fd8d1f5092e33?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). All this accommodation makes it easier for the child to sift through the enormous amount of linguistic input they receive and generalize grammatical patterns from it. ā„¹ļø Want to learn more about how childrenā€™s linguistic capabilities develop over time? Check out this issue of the newsletter about how children learn grammatical rules (and how we know): [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-103.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) ## Why do people use baby talk? > Parents naturally and intuitively adjust their speech to their childā€™s linguistic capabilities and preferences as the child learnsā€”all without even realizing they're doing it! When speaking to young children, one problem that caregivers have to solve is getting children to realize that speech is being directed towards them in the first place. These **attention-getting** (and holding) devices are a major factor shaping baby talk ([Dawson, Hernandez & Shain 2022](https://www.notion.so/Dawson-Hernandez-Shain-2022-2f650a282bc181fe9ba3eb7938bd0098?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 351). The most salient tactic that caregivers use to capture and retain young childrenā€™s attention is exaggerated prosodyā€”higher pitch and a broader pitch range ([Soderstrom et al. 2008](https://www.notion.so/Soderstrom-et-al-2008-20b50a282bc181bbbbbedd2f015a1622?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). **Prosody** is the set of phonetic and phonological cues that speakers use to structure their speech ([Hieber 2016](https://www.notion.so/Hieber-2016-25750a282bc18176be26c7bfa6d331ad?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). It includes things like intonation, rhythm and timing, voice quality, pausesā€”anything that helps signal where one stretch of speech (syllables, words, clauses, etc.) ends and another begins, and how those sections of speech relate to one another. For example, a recent study shows that consonants at the beginnings of words are systematically lengthened across languages ([Blum et al. 2024](https://www.notion.so/Blum-et-al-2024-2ff50a282bc181199dfcdd100a928914?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), which helps listeners determine where one word ends and the next begins. In baby talk, adults generally use a wider pitch range and higher overall pitchā€”ā€œgreat swooping curves of sound over an extended pitch rangeā€ ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 88; [Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 40). Their speech tends to be slower, with lengthened syllables, longer pauses, and fewer disfluencies (hesitations and restarts) ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 88). Baby-talking adults also tend to place object words at the ends of sentences and pronounce them fairly loudly, thus giving them special prominence ([Messer 1981](https://www.notion.so/Messer-1981-30750a282bc18148b81dcc9163e7eaeb?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Very young children especially are strongly attracted to this type of exaggerated prosody, so it serves as an excellent attention-getting device. At the same time, you can see how exaggerating these types of cues would be useful for infants trying to figure out how their language works. Deaf parents of deaf children have additional attention-getting devices at their disposal: signs are often made in the visual field of the child rather than in their typical position near the signer. The two-handed ASL sign RABBIT, for example, is normally signed with both hands on either side of the head, but can be articulated in the childā€™s visual field, such as close to a picture of a rabbit in a book, or on the head of the child ([Baker et al. 2016](https://www.notion.so/Baker-et-al-2016-2f650a282bc18173a8b4f0eb4328ca48?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 56). Deaf adults make sure that they sign to their deaf child when the child is actually looking at them, but they can also gain the childā€™s attention by tapping the child or waving their hand in the childā€™s visual field. Another strategy for retaining a childā€™s attention is by attending to things that the child is already paying attention to. Adults generally follow up on topics introduced by children (whether verbally or whether with their gaze, pointing, or other vocalizations), so much so that children set the agenda much more often than not. One study found that a particular child introduced about 20 new topics per hour, whereas her mother only introduced 5\. And the mother followed up on the topics her daughter introduced ([Moerk 1983](https://www.notion.so/Moerk-1983-2ff50a282bc181e29223f91e1232ae7d?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This responsiveness has been directly linked to later vocabulary size, but only when the response is linked to the childā€™s vocalization or babble ([Clark 2024](https://www.notion.so/Clark-2024-21b50a282bc181998c49ed8af80c3fc0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 49). Another factor that plays a strong influence on baby talk is **topic choice**ā€”adults choose topics that maximize the likelihood that the child will understand what is being said. This results in a smaller range of words ([Ibbotson 2022](https://www.notion.so/Ibbotson-2022-21c50a282bc18173a988efedeb83a258?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 57), and words that focus on the here-and-now, rather than concepts removed in time or space. CDS thus includes a higher frequency of concrete terms like *cup*, *juice*, and *tree* than abstract concepts like *kindness*, *beauty*, and *justice* ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 89). Five topics in particular dominate infant-directed speech ([Ferguson 1977](https://www.notion.so/Ferguson-1977-2ff50a282bc1813085b0d771f2b700c3?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Ferguson & Debose 1977](https://www.notion.so/Ferguson-Debose-1977-2ff50a282bc1819487cafd2538b04ed4?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Dawson, Hernandez & Shain 2022](https://www.notion.so/Dawson-Hernandez-Shain-2022-2f650a282bc181fe9ba3eb7938bd0098?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 351): 1. members of the family: *mommy*, *daddy* 2. animals, games, and toys: *peek-a-boo*, *choo-choo* ā€˜trainā€™ 3. parts of the body / bodily functions and routines: *wee-wee* ā€˜urinateā€™, *night-night* ā€˜go to sleepā€™ 4. food 5. clothing This trend holds across spoken and signed languages. Work with the [Comanche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [East Cree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%5FCree?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and [Twana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twana%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) languages, for instance, has found that common categories for specialized CDS vocabulary include kinship terms, body parts and bodily functions, and everyday actions, animals, and objects ([Chee & Henke 2023](https://www.notion.so/Chee-Henke-2023-26450a282bc181c09e3cd9da5fd4d34c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 748), and work with sign languages shows that the most frequently-discussed semantic domains are the same ones listed above ([Fenson et al. 1994](https://www.notion.so/Fenson-et-al-1994-2ff50a282bc18100a11be3efb6ac69db?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). *Linguist Madeline Beekman talks more about the functions of baby talk on her Substack:* [Baby TalkHave you ever wondered why almost everyone speaks differently to a little child?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-7.svg)Madeleine's SubstackMadeleine Beekman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fmadeleinebeekman.substack.com-2Ftwitter-2Fsubscribe-card.jpg%3Fv%3D-845649352%26version%3D9)](https://open.substack.com/pub/madeleinebeekman/p/baby-talk) ## What are the features of baby talk? > Caregivers continuously try to determine their infantā€™s state of knowledgeā€”a skill called **theory of mind**ā€”and knowingly or unknowingly adjust their speech to accommodate that state of knowledge. Letā€™s look at some other ways caregivers adjust their speech to infants. Not all caregivers engage in all of these strategies, and the details vary by individual and by culture (more on that in Part 4 of this series), but these are recurring patterns observed by child language acquisition researchers. Generally speaking, baby talk is characterized by shorter sentences, simpler words, more repetition, and slower speech. This is true for both spoken and signed languages: adults articulate their signs more slowly with young children, making it easier for the child to see their signs ([Baker et al. 2016](https://www.notion.so/Baker-et-al-2016-2f650a282bc18173a8b4f0eb4328ca48?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 56). In spoken language, individual sounds are pronounced more clearly than in adult-directed speech (ADS) ([Dilley et al. 2014](https://www.notion.so/Dilley-et-al-2014-2ff50a282bc181bcb52bd39224911818?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), whether vowels ([Burnham, Kitamura & Vollmer-Conna 2002](https://www.notion.so/Burnham-Kitamura-Vollmer-Conna-2002-20b50a282bc181a2a4b2f7529149497c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) or consonants ([CristiĆ  2010](https://www.notion.so/Cristi-2010-20b50a282bc181068933d2b8e3a52ddc?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Sounds are also more evenly timed in IDS than ADS ([Payne et al. 2010](https://www.notion.so/Payne-et-al-2010-21350a282bc1811d8e81f60d62d159c9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). In normal adult speech, vowels and consonants are pronounced longer or shorter depending on the sounds around them; in IDS, by contrast, vowels and consonants are given more similar lengths. Caregivers also use vocabulary unique to the CDS register, such as *tum-tum* ā€˜tummyā€™, *din-din* ā€˜dinnerā€™, and *go bye-bye* ā€˜leaveā€™. Usually this child-directed vocabulary is based on words in the adult lexicon, but with simplification, sound substitution, or other sound changes. Here are similar examples from the [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) language ([Kess & Kess 1986](https://www.notion.so/Kess-Kess-1986-26550a282bc1816b9198ee479c230611?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 209): | **ADS Form** | **CDS Form** | **Meaning** | | ------------ | ------------ | ----------- | | tuĀ·xŹ·Å”i | tuĀ·xŹ· | ā€˜jump!ā€™ | | tĆ­Ā·qÅ”i | tĆ­Ā·q | ā€˜sit down!ā€™ | | taĀ·qyiči | taĀ·q | ā€˜stand up!ā€™ | | yaĀ·cÅ”i | yaĀ·c | ā€˜walk!ā€™ | However, the CDS register can include words that are completely unrelated to their ADS counterparts, such as how the word *boo-boo* isnā€™t related to any word like *injury* or *wound*. Here are similar cases from [Nuuchahnulth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuu-chah-nulth%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), where the CDS form is unrelated to the ADS form ([Kess & Kess 1986](https://www.notion.so/Kess-Kess-1986-26550a282bc1816b9198ee479c230611?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 209): | **ADS Form** | **CDS Form** | **Meaning** | | ------------ | ------------ | -------------- | | naqÅ”i | maĀ·h | ā€˜drink!ā€™ | | haŹ”ukŹ·ā€™i | paĀ·paÅ” | ā€˜eat!ā€™ | | waŹ”ičuŹ”i | huĀ·Å” | ā€˜go to sleep!ā€™ | | huĀ· | Ź”iĀ·x | ā€˜watch out!ā€™ | Words used in CDS are also: - short, containing fewer sounds (phonemes) on average than words used with adults - higher frequency, i.e. words that adults use the most often in everyday speech - more predictable, in that they contain very common sound sequences, e.g. the sequence /Ć°i/ in the word *the* is a much more common sequence than the reverse, /iĆ°/, as in *seethe*, *teethe*, or *wreathe*. - more similar to each other, meaning that there are a higher number of words that sound similar to any given word ([Jones et al. 2023](https://www.notion.so/Jones-et-al-2023-2ff50a282bc181f1988cd95f37b4df79?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) This last feature results in a large number of pairs of words that differ only by a single sound, e.g. *pat* vs. *bat*, called **minimal pairs**. Such minimal pairs are extremely useful for children learning to differentiate sounds in a language. In terms of syntax, words are also more likely to be delivered in isolation in IDS ([Ibbotson 2022](https://www.notion.so/Ibbotson-2022-21c50a282bc18173a988efedeb83a258?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 57), and there are fewer instances of both negation and complex clauses ([Sachs, Brown & Salerno 1976](https://www.notion.so/Sachs-Brown-Salerno-1976-2ff50a282bc181d59447c7ef02df2258?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Parents often leave out function words and grammatical endings ([Dawson, Hernandez & Shain 2022](https://www.notion.so/Dawson-Hernandez-Shain-2022-2f650a282bc181fe9ba3eb7938bd0098?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 353), and use entire noun phrases instead of pronouns. Because pronouns stand in for a noun phrase and/or refer back to them, understanding them requires the ability to track topics over the course of a conversation or text, making them difficult for children to master. Subjects of sentences in IDS have a strong tendency to be **agents** (the person doing the action) ([Rondal & Cession 1990](https://www.notion.so/Rondal-Cession-1990-2ff50a282bc181ecb02af2f6aad2a634?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), even though this is just one of the very many functions that subjects have in English. For example, the subject of a passive sentence is a **patient** (person affected by the action) rather than an agent, and the subject of a meteorological verb like *to rain* is a meaningless dummy subject *it* (an [**expletive**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expletive%5F%28linguistics%29?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) or [**pleonastic**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleonasm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) subject), e.g. *it is raining*. In fact, the notion of a grammatical subject is so complex that children donā€™t demonstrate full control over the category until age 9! ([Braine et al. 1993](https://www.notion.so/Braine-et-al-1993-2ff50a282bc181c8a173db2ec643ce57?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Limiting the use of subjects to just agents when children are young helps ease infants into grasping this multifaceted construction. Deaf caregivers have another means of simplifying the syntax of baby talk. In sign languages, facial expressions, mouth movements, or body movements can also be part of the grammar or lexicon of the language. For instance, it is common for sign languages to use facial expressions like raised eyebrows to mark questions (much like many spoken languages use rising intonation to mark questions). Such gestures can also be part of the form of individual signs. For example, the sign for SEARCH in [Sign Language of the Netherlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch%5FSign%5FLanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is produced with the eyebrows lowered, and the sign for BE-PRESENT in [British Sign Language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%5FSign%5FLanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and Sign Language of the Netherlands is produced with a mouth movement *sh*, even though that sound is not part of either the corresponding Dutch or English word ([Baker et al. 2016](https://www.notion.so/Baker-et-al-2016-2f650a282bc18173a8b4f0eb4328ca48?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 4). Signers would be surprised or confused about these signs if they did not include these facial gestures. This group of linguistic gestures and facial expressions made in addition to hand movements are called **non-manual features/components/gestures**. They can be difficult for a child to learn because the face is also used to display emotion, so the child has to learn to distinguish when a facial expression or gesture is being used *linguistically* versus *emotively / gesturally*. So it should come as no surprise that one of the ways deaf mothers accommodate their childā€™s learning process is by avoiding the use of non-manual markers in a grammatical way until children are between 2;0 and 2;6 ([Baker et al. 2016](https://www.notion.so/Baker-et-al-2016-2f650a282bc18173a8b4f0eb4328ca48?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 60). ā„¹ļø In first language acquisition research, age is written as `years;months`, so that ā€œ3;9ā€ means ā€˜3 years, 9 months oldā€™. Other ways that adults assist children in language learning are even more subtle. In his [brilliant TED Talk](https://youtu.be/RE4ce4mexrU?si=InAD6vcZQu39nAXO&t=373&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) summarizing his equally brilliant research, Deb Roy shows how anytime his son started using a new word, it coincided with him and his wife subconsciously shortening any utterances containing that word when they spoke to their son ([Roy et al. 2015](https://www.notion.so/Roy-et-al-2015-2ff50a282bc181b2b8efe2556deb61be?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This unintentionally gave their son focused, targeted practice with that word. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image.png) A graph showing months before/after the birth of a word on the X axis vs. the mean length of caregiver utterances using that word on the Y axis. The graph very clearly illustrates the overall tendency for utterances containing the target word to become shorter leading up to the point at which the child begins using a word, and then gradually becoming longer after that ([Deb Roy: The birth of a word](https://youtu.be/RE4ce4mexrU?si=4j4%5FCBnv9qWuP5u-&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Finally, CDS utterances are also *remarkably* well-formed. Normal adult conversation is riddled with errors and restarts. We tend not to notice these errors because theyā€™re a natural part of conversation, but if you look at the raw transcripts of conversations, you quickly realize how remarkable it is weā€™re ever able to make sense of anything we say to each other. But IDS is almost completely devoid of both **disfluencies** (false starts, mispronunciations, hesitations) and grammatical errors. The table below shows just how few disfluencies occurred, on average, per 100 words in CDS vs. ADS ([Broen 1972](https://www.notion.so/Broen-1972-2ff50a282bc181908586d88f61fa50d3?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 11). Another survey found just *one* grammatical error in a corpus of 1,500 utterances ([Newport, Gleitman & Gleitman 1977](https://www.notion.so/Newport-Gleitman-Gleitman-1977-2ff50a282bc181b6b5c2e4c6e61ace9f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). | **Addressee (Age)** | **Free Play** | **Storytelling** | **Conversation** | | ------------------- | ------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | | 2;3ā€“3;5 | 0.58 | 0.66 | ā€” | | 3;10ā€“5;10 | 1.61 | 0.77 | ā€” | | Adults | ā€” | ā€” | 4.70 | *Disfluencies per 100 words in child-directed speech vs. adult-directed speech (*[*Broen 1972*](https://www.notion.so/Broen-1972-2ff50a282bc181908586d88f61fa50d3?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)*: 11)* Taken together, it is clear that the modifications adults make in IDS are done for the benefit of the childā€™s language development. Caregivers continuously try to determine their infantā€™s state of knowledgeā€”a skill called **theory of mind**ā€”and knowingly or unknowingly adjust their speech to accommodate that state of knowledge. šŸŒ  The fact that baby talk is all about theory of mind probably also explains why other primates donā€™t do it. A recent study showed that the other great ape species directed almost none of their vocalizations towards their infants ([Wegdell et al. 2025](https://www.notion.so/Wegdell-et-al-2025-22850a282bc181149b95e431050efabf?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This is likely because non-human primates (with some borderline exceptions like Kanzi, as I discuss in [this newsletter issue](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/)), generally donā€™t exhibit much in the way of theory of mind. For humans, on the other hand, theory of mind is absolutely central to all our social interactions. [Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-93.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-4.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) Yet even though the *intent* (conscious or subconscious) of baby talk is to facilitate child language development, this doesnā€™t mean itā€™s *necessary*ā€”or even useful. All developmentally normal children follow roughly the same stages of language development regardless of what percentage of the speech they hear is baby talk (although these stages vary by language, and the exact timing varies by individual). So whatā€™s the point of baby talk? Iā€™ve already hinted at its potential benefits in this series, but in the next issue of this series weā€™ll look more extensively at the evidence that IDS actually improves child language acquisition. Be sure to subscribe to receive the rest of the issues in the series! [šŸ“§ Subscribe](#/portal/signup/free) ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Why you should be talking to your infant](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** Whatā€™s the point of baby talk? **\[this issue\]** - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ### ā€œThe birth of a wordā€ MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned languageā€”so he wired up his house with video cameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life, then parsed 90,000 hours of home video to watch *gaaaa* slowly turn into *water*. Astonishing, data-rich research with deep implications for how we learn. ### HELLO Lab Presents The Hearing Experience & Language Learning Outcomes (HELLO) Lab at the University of Connecticut has a great series of YouTube Videos about child language acquisition for parents. ![The HELLO Lab logo](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-1.png) - [HELLO Lab on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@thehellolab?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *How babies talk: The magic and mystery of language in the first three years of life* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-2.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3FXGQsE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780452281738?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Baker, Anne, Beppie Van Den Bogaerde, Roland Pfau & Trude Schermer (eds.). 2016\. *The linguistics of sign languages: An introduction*. John Benjamins. [https://doi.org/10.1075/z.199](https://doi.org/10.1075/z.199?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Blum, Frederic, Ludger Paschen, Robert Forkel, Susanne Fuchs & Frank Seifart. 2024\. Consonant lengthening marks the beginning of words across a diverse sample of languages. *Nature Human Behaviour* 8(11). 2127ā€“2138\. [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01988-4](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01988-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Braine, Martin D.S., Patricia J. Brooks, Nelson Cowan, Mark C. Samuels & Catherine Tamis-LeMonda. 1993\. The development of categories at the semantics/syntax interface. *Cognitive Development* 8(4). 465ā€“494\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(05)80005-X](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014%2805%2980005-X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Broen, Patricia Ann. 1972\. *The verbal environment of the language-learning child* (ASHA Monographs 17). - Burnham, Denis, Christine Kitamura & UtĆ© Vollmer-Conna. 2002\. Whatā€™s new, pussycat? On talking to babies and animals. *Science* 296(5572). 1435ā€“1435\. [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069587](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069587?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Chee, Melvatha R. & Ryan E. Henke. 2023\. Child and child-directed speech in North American languages. In Carmen Dagostino, Marianne Mithun & Keren Rice (eds.), *The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America* (World of Linguistics 13.2), vol. 2, 741ā€“766\. De Gruyter. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712742-033](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712742-033?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Clark, Eve V. 2024\. *First language acquisition*. 4th edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009294485?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - CristiĆ , Alejandrina. 2010\. Phonetic enhancement of sibilants in infant-directed speech. *The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America* 128(1). 424ā€“434\. [https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3436529](https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3436529?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Dawson, Hope, Antonio Hernandez & Cory Shain (eds.). 2022\. *Language files: Materials for an introduction to language and linguistics*. 13th edn. The Ohio State University Press. - Dilley, Laura C., Amanda L. Millett, J. Devin Mcauley & Tonya R. Bergeson. 2014\. Phonetic variation in consonants in infant-directed and adult-directed speech: the case of regressive place assimilation in word-final alveolar stops. *Journal of Child Language* 41(1). 155ā€“175\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000912000670](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000912000670?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Fenson, Larry, Philip S. Dale, J. Steven Reznick, Elizabeth Bates, Donna J. Thal & Stephen J. Pethick. 1994\. *Variability in early communicative development* (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 242). Vol. 59\. [https://doi.org/10.2307/1166093](https://doi.org/10.2307/1166093?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Ferguson, Charles A. 1977\. Baby talk as a simplified register. In Catherine E. Snow & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), *Talking to children: language input and acquisition*. Cambridge University Press. - Ferguson, Charles A. & C. E. Debose. 1977\. Simplified registers, broken language, and pidginization. In A. Valdman (ed.), *Pidgin and creole linguistics*. Indiana University Press. - Fernald, Anne, Traute Taeschner, Judy Dunn, Mechthild Papousek, BĆ©nĆ©dicte De Boysson-Bardies & Ikuko Fukui. 1989\. A cross-language study of prosodic modifications in mothersā€™ and fathersā€™ speech to preverbal infants. *Journal of Child Language* 16(3). 477ā€“501\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010679](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010679?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hieber, Daniel W. 2016\. *The cohesive function of prosody in ƉkegusiĆ­ (Kisii) narratives: A functional-typological approach*. University of California, Santa Barbara M.A. thesis. [http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.17818.18886](http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.17818.18886?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). (22 August, 2025). - Ibbotson, Paul. 2022\. *Language acquisition: The basics* (The Basics Series). Routledge. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003156536](https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003156536?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Jones, Gary, Francesco Cabiddu, Doug J. K. Barrett, Antonio Castro & Bethany Lee. 2023\. How the characteristics of words in child-directed speech differ from adult-directed speech to influence childrenā€™s productive vocabularies. *First Language* 43(3). 253ā€“282\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/01427237221150070](https://doi.org/10.1177/01427237221150070?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kess, Joseph Francis & Anita Copeland Kess. 1986\. On Nootka baby talk. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 52(3). 201ā€“211\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/466018](https://doi.org/10.1086/466018?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kitamura, Christine & Denis Burnham. 2003\. Pitch and communicative intent in motherā€™s speech: adjustments for age and sex in the first year. *Infancy* 4(1). 85ā€“110\. [https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327078IN0401\_5](https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327078IN0401%5F5?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kitamura, Christine & Christa Lam. 2009\. Ageā€specific preferences for infantā€directed affective intent. *Infancy* 14(1). 77ā€“100\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/15250000802569777](https://doi.org/10.1080/15250000802569777?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Moerk, Ernst L. 1983\. *The mother of Eveā€”as a first language teacher* (Monographs on Infancy). Ablex. - Newport, Elissa L., Henry Gleitman & Lila R. Gleitman. 1977\. Mother, Iā€™d rather do it myself: Some effects and non-effects of maternal speech style. In Catherine E. Snow & Charles A. Ferguson (eds.), *Talking to children: language input and acquisition*, 101ā€“149\. Cambridge University Press. - Payne, Elinor, Brechtje Post, LluĆÆsa Astruc, Pilar Prieto & Maria del Mar Vanrell. 2010\. Rhythmic modification in child directed speech. In Michela Russo (ed.), *Prosodic universals: Comparative studies in rhythmic modeling and rhythm typology*, 147ā€“184\. Aracne Editrice. - Rondal, Jean A. & Anne Cession. 1990\. Input evidence regarding the semantic bootstrapping hypothesis. *Journal of Child Language* 17(3). 711ā€“717\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010965](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000900010965?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Roy, Brandon C., Michael C. Frank, Philip DeCamp, Matthew Miller & Deb Roy. 2015\. Predicting the birth of a spoken word. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 112(41). 12663ā€“12668\. [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419773112](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419773112?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sachs, J., R. Brown & R. Salerno. 1976\. Adultā€™s speech to children. In W. von Raffler Engel & Y. Lebrun (eds.), *Baby talk and infant speech* (Neurolinguistics 5). Peter de Ridder Press. - Saxton, Matthew. 2017\. *Child language: Acquisition and development*. 2nd edn. SAGE. - Soderstrom, Melanie. 2007\. Beyond babytalk: Re-evaluating the nature and content of speech input to preverbal infants. *Developmental Review* 27(4). 501ā€“532\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.06.002](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.06.002?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Wegdell, Franziska, Caroline Fryns, Johanna Schick, Lara Nellissen, Marion Laporte, Martin Surbeck, Maria A. Van Noordwijk, et al. 2025\. The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes. *Science Advances* 11(26). eadt7718\. [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt7718](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt7718?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Honeyguide birds learn regional human dialects URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-05/ Last updated: 2026-02-03T10:00:24.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### 2026 LingComm Grants ![Poster for the LingComm grants that says: Working on a project bringing linguistics to broader audiences? Apply for a 2026 LingComm grant! Due: April 30, 2026. LingComm.org](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-45.png) *Small grants for communicating linguistics to wider audiences* The 2026 LingComm Grants are $300 (USD) to support linguistics communication projects that bring pop linguistics to broader audiences in new and engaging ways. The grants also include a mentoring meeting with Gretchen McCulloch, Lauren Gawne, and/or an experienced lingcommer who Gretchen & Lauren have personally selected to be relevant to your project to ask your lingcomm process questions, and promotion of your project to their lingthusiastic audience. \[Note that Iā€™ve volunteered as one of the ā€œexperienced lingcommersā€ they mentioned, so thereā€™s a chance I could wind up being the person assigned to your mentoring meeting!\] There are six $300 LingComm Grants on any topic related to linguistics and an additional $300 Kirby Conrod and Friends LGBTQ+ LingComm Grant. The initial grants are funded by Lingthusiasm and judged by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. You can help [fund the grants and other LingComm projects here](https://lingcomm.gumroad.com/l/grants?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). For more information, and to apply, visit the [Grants page of the LingComm](https://lingcomm.org/grants/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) website. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Libfixes: When word parts go rogue ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-46.png) Thereā€™s a revolution happening in English, and the affixes are winning. Theyā€™re breaking free from their original words, declaring independence, and forming new allegiances. - *ā€‘cation* no longer belongs to *vacation* - *ā€‘pocalypse* has abandoned *apocalypse* - *ā€‘flation* has defected from *inflation* Now they league with the likes of *staycation*, *snowpocalypse*, and *stagflation*. The affixes have been liberated. Call it what you wantā€”Affixgate, Affexit, Affixceptionā€”but in linguistics these rogue word parts are known as **libfixes** (ā€˜**lib**erated af**fix**esā€™). In this weekā€™s newsletter I provide you with some linguotainment about these unusual words: [Libfixes: When word parts go rogueWhat happens when parts of words declare independence![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-91.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/libfix-banner.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-1/) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### People with personality disorders often use language differently ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-47.png) A new study finds that personality dysfunction leaves detectable traces in everyday communication. The researchers analyzed the written essays of 530 people and collected data on their levels of personality dysfunction. (Personality functioning exists on a spectrum.) > Those with greater personality dysfunction used language that carried a sense of urgency and self-focus ā€“ ā€œI needā€¦ā€, ā€œI have toā€¦ā€, ā€œI amā€¦ā€. This was expressed alongside ruminative, past-tense wording. They also had more negative, particularly angry, emotion terms, such as ā€œfuriousā€ and ā€œannoyedā€. At the same time, they used noticeably less intimate or affiliative language such as ā€œweā€, ā€œloveā€ and ā€œfamilyā€. In a second study, the researchers looked at both essays and conversations: > Across both written and spoken communication, those with more dysfunctional or disordered personalities used more negative emotion words ā€“ and a wider variety of them. Even during mundane conversations, their language carried heavier negative affect, indicating a preoccupation with negative feelings. Finally, the researchers examined nearly a million Reddit posts from 992 people who self-identified as having a personality disorder: > Those who frequently engaged in self-harm used language that was markedly more negative and constricted. Their posts contained more self-focused language and more negations ā€“ such as ā€œcanā€™tā€. They also used more sadness and anger terms, and more swearing, while referencing other people less. Their wording was also more absolutist, reflecting all-or-nothing thinking, favouring words like ā€œalwaysā€, ā€œneverā€, or ā€œcompletelyā€. Awareness of these tendencies can help friends, family, and mental health professionals better identify and assist people of varying levels of personality functioning. [People with personality disorders often use language differently ā€“ our research reveals howWords reflecting anger and swearing are more common in people with personality dysfunction.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-64.png)The ConversationCharlotte Entwistle![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251210-56-dhm402.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/people-with-personality-disorders-often-use-language-differently-our-research-reveals-how-271109?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Honeyguide birds learn human signals for hunting honey ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-48.png) Honey-harvest in the Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique. Credit: Claire Spottiswoode In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, honey-hunters and honeyguides \[a wild bird that guides people to beesā€™ nests in exchange for access to beeswax\] cooperate with each other to gain access to wild beesā€™ nests, and coordinate their behavior using distinctive calls. Cooperation between species allows humans to find and harvest more honey, and honeyguides to feed on more wax, thanks to honey-huntersā€™ skilled use of fire and tools to subdue the bees and open their nest. This long-standing partnership is one of the few known cases of cooperation between humans and wild animals. A new study finds that there is regional variation in the specific calls, trills, grunts, whoops, and whistles that honey-hunters use to attract a honeyguide over long distances, and the quieter coordination calls used while following a honeyguide at close range. But whatā€™s especially neat about this is that the honeyguide *learns the regional dialects*. [Humans use local dialects to communicate with honeyguide birds, research showsResearchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT), working with international collaborators, have shown that people in northern Mozambique use regionally distinct ā€œdialectsā€ when communicating with honeyguide birds, revealing a striking parallel to the way human languages diversify.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-23.svg)Phys.orgUniversity of Cape Town![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/humans-use-local-diale-1.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2026-01-humans-local-dialects-communicate-honeyguide.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - van der Wal et al. 2026\. Cooperative human signals to honeyguides form local dialects. *People & Nature*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fpan3.70234](https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fpan3.70234?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-49.png) [How Egyptology can help us to future-proof our culture | Aeon EssaysIf we want to safeguard our languages, stories and ideas against extinction, we had better study Egyptology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/safari-pinned-tab-1.svg)Aeon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/can-egyptology-teach-us-to-future-proof-our-culture.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/how-egyptology-can-help-us-to-future-proof-our-culture?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What makes a word ā€˜Canadianā€™? These linguistic warriors are working hard to find outFrom ā€˜Canadianoā€™ to ā€˜duotang,ā€™ the origins of Canadian terms are often anything but straightforward![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-66.png)The Globe and MailLeah Eichler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/R57HNCMNWFDH3IHS6WUY6IZMFM.jpg)](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/social-trends/article-what-makes-words-canadian/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Babblers, cops and quacks: the sometimes dark ā€“ but often amusing ā€“ origins of nicknames for jobsAustralians love a nickname, and certain jobs are no exceptions. So whether youā€™re a journo, brickie, shrink or cop, thereā€™s a rich history behind the slang.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-65.png)The ConversationHoward Manns![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251209-56-28amqa.png)](https://theconversation.com/babblers-cops-and-quacks-the-sometimes-dark-but-often-amusing-origins-of-nicknames-for-jobs-270647?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Rage bait, goblin mode ā€¦ do words of the year have any real value?Analysis shows obscure and barely used choices, drawn from online slang, do not stand the test of time![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-14.png)The GuardianYassin El-Moudden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/3830.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/31/rage-bait-goblin-mode-do-words-of-the-year-have-any-real-value?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I strongly disliked this article and its title. If a word had no use/value, people wouldnā€™t use it. Obviously, however, an incredibly large number of people find the words discussed in this article to be useful and meaningful. Word of the Year announcements also do more than merely ā€œdraw attentionā€ to their publishers. The purpose of this tradition for many organizations, and especially the American Dialect Society, is to educate people about how language works, and hopefully combat some of the negative ideologies people have towards different ways of speaking. The article also foregrounds the fact that most words of the year donā€™t have significant longevity, but the vast majority of new words donā€™t last long, no matter how ā€œlegitimateā€ they may seem. Itā€™s anybodyā€™s guess which ones will actually still around in the long run. You can read my more detailed defense of a recent word of the year here: [ā€œ6-7ā€ belongs in the dictionary, actuallyIn defense of Dictionary.comā€™s 2025 Word of the Year![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-92.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/6-7-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/67/) [Decoding Linear Elamite and the lost scripts of the ancient worldAcross the globe, a race is under way to crack some of the last mysterious forms of writing that have never been translated. Can new technology help scholars rewrite history?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-6.png)History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/MM10409_250918_0075_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/decoding-ancient-languages-linear-elamite?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Across the globe, a race is under way to crack some of the last mysterious forms of writing that have never been translated. Hereā€™s how new technology and fresh breakthroughs might help scholars solve the worldā€™s most vexing puzzles and rewrite history. And a couple articles on the Naā€™vi language from James Cameronā€™s *Avatar* movies: [How to invent a language ā€” like that of Avatarā€™s Naā€™viLinguists can choose to follow, mix or break the rules of real-world languages to create interesting fictional ones.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/SNE_favicon_2025-186x186-1.png)Science News ExploresMaria Temming![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1440_conlang_feat.png)](https://www.snexplores.org/article/language-conlang-avatar-navi-klingon-dothraki?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [ā€˜Avatarā€™: How the Naā€™vi language was constructedVery few people get to invent a new language that is heard by millions: DW talked to linguist Paul Frommer about how he developed the ā€œAvatarā€ aliensā€™ language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-7.png)Deutsche WelleElizabeth Grenier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/75189245_6.jpg)](https://www.dw.com/en/avatar-how-the-navi-language-was-constructed/a-75206320?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And some accompanying book recs: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-50.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4qrt8Rm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781108995610?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-51.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3WPztc1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780385529716?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### The Voynich Manuscript on *Lingthusiasm* *Lingthusiasm*ā€™s latest bonus episode is all about the mysterious Voynich manuscript, which was discovered in the 1600s and dates to the 1400s, and contains an undeciphered (and perhaps undecipherable) script. I greatly admire all of Dr. Bowernā€™s work, and her work on the Voynich manuscript is especially fun. Well worth a listen. (Patreon offers a 7-day free trial if you want to listen without becoming a paid supporter.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-52.png) A floral illustration from page 29 of the Voynich manuscript [The mysterious Voynich manuscript: Interview with Claire Bowern](https://www.patreon.com/posts/144558456?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Lingthusiasm*) ### *Why we talk funny* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-53.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Historically itā€™s been difficult to find books aimed a general audience about sociolinguistics, which is a real shame because itā€™s one of the most applicable and relatable areas of linguistics, that probably has the most to teach people. So Iā€™m very happy to see this new book from Valerie Fridland, author of *Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593298329?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > Accents have long held our fascination. As far back as the 7th century BCE, Egyptian pharaohs experimented with babies to test out theories about the ā€œoriginalā€ accent and the Old Testament relays how a small difference in the pronunciation of ā€œsā€ became a fatal litmus test of tribal belonging. Still today, from dinner parties to job interviews, youā€™ll find people kicking up dust about things like where and how to pronounce a ā€˜t,ā€™ as in, never in ā€œoften,ā€ but with proper British poshness, as in ā€œt(y)une.ā€ > > In Why We Talk Funny, linguist Valerie Fridland unlocks the secrets of what linguistic science, psychology and history can tell us about the evolution of human speech, why accents develop, and how they shape our professional and social lives. With a healthy dose of her signature humor and captivating anecdotes, Fridland explores how the twin forces of physiology and psychology along with the need to fit in changes the trajectory of speech over languages and lifetimes, diving deep into the history and social forces driving the way people talk. Along the way, she emphasizes that accents donā€™t always set us apart, they can also bring us together. Whether itā€™s the accent that hints at your hometown, your group, your social status or your ethnicity, the sounds we say reveal a lot about who we are and where weā€™ve been ā€“ even for those who might think they have no accent at all. > > The story of language is the story of humanity, and as Fridland reminds us, the funny sounds we make ā€“ whether from the mouths of ancient ancestors or the tongues of screenbound teens ā€“ all come from the same powerful desire to communicate and belong. Why We Talk Funny will change the way you think about your own accent ā€“ and transform the way you listen to the sounds of others. The book releases on April 21\. You can preorder your copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4rXkM4I?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593830482?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! The etymology of months in English, from [Starkey Comics](https://www.facebook.com/starkeycomics/posts/pfbid0xEb9MnLkoGrFthj7aCFrwvCCbGQMXZrj3B61bGtWbMH1seY8APxMntaDcXLHL9w4l). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-54.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why is ā€œFebruaryā€ spelled with two āŸØrāŸ©ā€™s? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/february/ Last updated: 2026-03-08T21:38:06.000Z The word for *February* in Latin was *Februarius*, and at that point in time every letter was pronounced, including both āŸØrāŸ©ā€™s. But by the time English borrowed the word from Old French in the late 1300s, it was pronounced *Feverer* or *Feoveral*. So even though that first /r/ was pronounced in Latin, it was gone by the time the word got to English. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here:* However, *February* is one of those words which underwent **etymological respelling**, where scholars during the Renaissance changed the spelling of the word to match its original Classical Latin or Greek spelling, even though the word was no longer pronounced that way. If youā€™ve been following the newsletter for a while, you might have read about another case of etymological respelling as wellā€”*herb*! [Why do the British pronounce ā€œherbā€ with an /h/?Why donā€™t Americans pronounce herb with an /h/?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-90.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1417533366444-43834ad6b3bb-2)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/herb/) Here are some other examples: - *aisle* - *debt* - *doubt* - *indict* - *island* - *plumber* - *receipt* - *salmon* - *subtle* The silent consonants in those examples were pronounced in Latin but lost by the time those words got to English. Then they were later respelled to more closely resemble the original Latin. What did the English call February before they borrowed the word from Old French? The word that roughly corresponded to that same time of year was *solmonaĆ°*, but scholars are unsure of its meaning. Possible meanings are ā€˜Mud Monthā€™ (from sol ā€˜mud, wet sandā€™), or (according to Bede) ā€˜Cake Monthā€™ because this was purportedly the time when Anglo-Saxons would offer cakes to their gods. (Given Englandā€™s weather at that time of year, I find the ā€˜Mud Monthā€™ to be the most plausible.) Hereā€™s the etymological flowchart for *February*: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-42.png) ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-43.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## **šŸ“‘ Sources** - [Etymonline: February](https://www.etymonline.com/word/February?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#etymonline%5Fv%5F1185) - [Wiktionary: February](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/February?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Is the dictionary dead? Or merely changing? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-04/ Last updated: 2026-01-27T15:30:50.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸŽ—ļø Reminder about price changes Quick reminder that the price for a paid subscription to the newsletter will increase to $10/mo. (USD) starting on February 1\. But if youā€™d like to keep the old price of $5/mo. for another year, you can buy an annual subscription now for $50 (which also gives you 2 months free). [šŸ”’ Lock in the $5/mo. price](#/portal/signup) *Free subscriptions will remain free.* Free subscribers get access to: - regular articles - weekly digest Paying subscribers get access to bonus articles throughout the year, including: - previews of my in-progress book - behind-the-scenes content about my work documenting and revitalizing languages - deep-dives on special niche topics Donā€™t hesitate to [email me](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) if you have any questions or concerns. ### šŸŽ™ļø Panel: Writing linguistics for public audiences ![An event poster for "An Author's Guide to: Public Linguistics and Publishing Books" scheduled for January 27th. The poster features framed photos of five participants arranged on a dark background, along with images of their book covers. The exact text reads: Free talk! Jan 27th An Author's Guide to: Public Linguistics and Publishing Books Come join four current writers at work in the world of language and linguistics, discussing their inspirations and experiences! A word-nerdy Zoom interview and Q&A with: Jess Zafarris, author of *Useless Etymology* and *Words from Hell* Gaston Dorren, author of *Babel* and *Lingo* Marco Neves, author of *HistĆ³ria do PortuguĆŖs desde o Big Bang* and *Atlas HistĆ³rico da Escrita* Danny Hieber, founder of the platform *Linguistic Discovery* Hosted by Danny Bate, author of *Why Q Needs U* Date: Tuesday 27th January Time: 7 PM UTC / 6 PM GMT / 1 PM EST Language: English Registration required, sign up at the link!](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-44.png) If youā€™re a fellow LingCommer (linguistics communicator), you may be interested in a panel Iā€™m participating in later today: ā€œAn authorā€™s guide to public linguistics and publishing booksā€. I have no small amount of imposter syndrome about participating in this panel since Iā€™ve only just recently embarked upon my own book-writing journey, but nonetheless I hope to contribute some useful insights into writing linguistics for a public audience, and maybe some good questions for the other panelists too. [Register for the session here.](https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/3vtcugW9QaG7lj8nWW%5Ff0A?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Why do some people pronounce the āŸØgāŸ© in *longevity* twice? ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-34.png) Some people pronounce *longevity* with one G and some people say it with two, but why? And why isnā€™t the word spelled āŸØlonggevityāŸ©? In this weekā€™s issue of the newsletter, I explain how *longevity* got its pronunciation: a combination of the evolution of Latin into the Romance languages, how our brains process language, how spelling relates to pronunciation, and how language changes over time. Thereā€™s a lot packed into understanding such an innocuous word! Learn all about the history of *longevity* and its pronunciation here: [Why is the āŸØgāŸ© in ā€œlongevityā€ pronounced twice?How the spelling of ā€œlongevityā€ is playing a mental trick on you![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-88.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/longevity/) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### How your brain understands language may be more like AI than previously thought ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-35.png) > A new study reveals that the human brain processes spoken language in a sequence that closely mirrors the layered architecture of advanced AI language models. Using electrocorticography data from participants listening to a narrative, the research shows that deeper AI layers align with later brain responses in key language regions such as Broca's area. The findings challenge traditional rule-based theories of language comprehension and introduce a publicly available neural dataset that sets a new benchmark for studying how the brain constructs meaning. [How your brain understands language may be more like AI than previously thoughtA new study reveals that the human brain processes spoken language in a sequence that closely mirrors the layered architecture of advanced AI language models. Using electrocorticography data from participants listening to a narrative, the research shows that deeper AI layers align with later brain responses in key language regions such as Brocaā€™s area. The findings challenge traditional rule-based theories of language comprehension and introduce a publicly available neural dataset that sets a new benchmark for studying how the brain constructs meaning.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-22.svg)Medical XpressHebrew University of Jerusalem![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/how-your-brain-underst.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-brain-language-ai-previously-thought.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Temporal structure of natural language processing in the human brain corresponds to layered hierarchy of large language models - Nature CommunicationsThe way in which the brain processes language from a collection of sounds to meaningful concepts remains poorly understood. Here, the authors show that the brainā€™s temporal responses to speech closely follow the layer-by-layer progression of LLMs, revealing shared computational principles.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-23.png)NatureAriel Goldstein![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41467_2025_65518_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65518-0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Words affect us based on how they sound ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-36.png) A new study finds that highly vivid words sound more surprising to us than other words, challenging the traditional assumption in linguistics that the relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary and conventionalized. \[I actually take issue with this characterization. Linguistic science has accumulated evidence for over half a century that the connection between words and their meanings isnā€™t *entirely* arbitrary. For example, linguists have been aware of [iconicity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconicity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in language since at least as early as Roman Jakobsonā€™s 1965 article ā€œ[Quest for the essence of language](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3822852?seq=1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€, and later John Haimanā€™s work in the 1980s (e.g. [*Iconicity in syntax*](https://amzn.to/3KXegdi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The concept of iconicity predates even them, going back to [Charles S. Pierce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles%5FSanders%5FPeirce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), a philosopher of language. Yet another study showing that language is *marginally* sound symbolic therefore isnā€™t particularly iconoclastic, nor does it alter the consensus that language is at its core an arbitrary system of conventional signs. Of course, that doesnā€™t make this study any less interesting!\] [Some words affect us more than others. It boils down to how they soundNot all words are created equal ā€“ and those that sound more surprising are more likely to grab our attention and stick in our memory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-63.png)The ConversationRikke Louise Bundgaard-Nielsen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250910-64-3o8idx.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/some-words-affect-us-more-than-others-it-boils-down-to-how-they-sound-264677?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Kilpatrick & Bundgaard-Nielsen. 2025\. Say it like you mean it: Linguistic vividness and the attentional optimization hypothesis. *Cognition* 269(106406). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106406](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2025.106406?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* - [Polari: The lost-and-found language of gay men](https://babelzine.co.uk/digital-archive/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Babel: The Language Magazine*) - Accessible online to *Babel* subscribers. [A Detailed Look at How Many People Speak English Globally - Rosetta StoneKnow how many people speak English around the world? Discover the total number of speakers (both as a native and second language), and more.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-14.png)Rosetta StoneAlexa Bevan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/how-many-people-speak-english_2224071209.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/how-many-people-speak-english/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: When did languages come up with standardized spelling?Explore how and when languages like French, English, and Spanish created spelling rulesā€”and why power and politics shaped the languages we use today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-19.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_blue-3.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/history-of-standardization/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Renaming the AlphabetWhen did alpha, beta, gamma and delta become a, bee, cee and dee?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-5.svg)Danny BateSubstack![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fe02e0bc4-2674-471a-9f78-4e787a0856de_500x600.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/dannylbate/p/renaming-the-alphabet?r=3clvfj&utm%5Fmedium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay) [Is the Dictionary Done For?The print edition of Merriam-Webster was once a touchstone of authority and stability. Then the internet brought about a revolution.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-141.ico)The New YorkerLouis Menand![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r48182.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/29/unabridged-the-thrill-of-and-threat-to-the-modern-dictionary-stefan-fatsis-book-review?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Merriam-Webster recently released the 12th edition of their popular collegiate dictionary, which is probably what spurred this article into creation. I got my own copy of it and I have to say, itā€™s pretty darn nice. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-37.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4qEScnz?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780877794066?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Why Morse Code didnā€™t work for Chineseā€”and the genius fix ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-38.png) Viguierā€™s Chinese telegraph codes from 0001 to 0200 (Wikimedia Commons) Morse code revolutionized global communication in the 1840s, but it posed a unique challenge for Chinese: how do you encode tens of thousands of characters using just dots and dashes designed for 26 letters? The ingenious solution was the Chinese telegraph code, developed in 1871 by the Great Northern Telegraph Company of Denmark. The system assigned each Chinese character a unique four-digit number from 0000 to 9999\. Telegraph operators would look up characters in a codebook arranged by radical and stroke order, transmit the numbers using standard Morse code, and the receiving operator would reverse the process. This meant that instead of devising entirely new dot-dash patterns for thousands of characters, Chinese could piggyback on existing telegraph infrastructure. This early encoding system was more than just a practical communication toolā€”it represented a crucial moment in the history of Chinese language technology. The four-digit codes later influenced the development of Chinese typewriters and ultimately paved the way for modern Chinese computing. The Chinese telegraph code remained in use well into the 20th century, and the challenge of inputting Chinese characters on keyboards with limited keys continues to this day, though solutions like pinyin input and predictive text have made it seamless. ### The history of the history of Indo-European ![The Lingthusiasm podcast logo](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-39.png) *Lingthusiasm* recently aired a great interview with Danny L. Bate, linguist and author of the book *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* (which Linguistic Discovery readers recently got a [sneak preview](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/p/467e06d3-00d4-4502-a7a4-5f887b360f0a/) of). - [Lingthusiasm.com: Episode Notes](https://lingthusiasm.com/post/800779694367703040/lingthusiasm-episode-110-the-history-of-the?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely?A new book takes us on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-89.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/p/467e06d3-00d4-4502-a7a4-5f887b360f0a/) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-40.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/48cqczp?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781785307447?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! Family trees for Indo-European are often pretty messy and hard to read, so it was nice to come across this one thatā€™s neatly laid out in *Babel: The Language Magazine*. (Note that this tree is based on a [1973 book](https://amzn.to/4pJRXX7?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), so it doesnā€™t represent the current consensus about branching etc.) Get your own subscription to Babel: The Language Magazine here: [Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsThe quarterly language magazine that brings you Babelzine, the cutting-edge linguistic research in an accessible and colourful format.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-142.ico)Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsStephen Fry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babel-Best-Of-cover-5.jpg)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![A detailed language family tree diagram showing the branching structure of Proto-Indo-European languages. At the top, a dark green oval labeled "Proto-Indo-European" branches downward into major language families arranged horizontally: Hittite, Indo-Iranian, Greek, Illyrian, Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic. Each branch further subdivides showing intermediate stages (like Old Indic, Mid-Iranian, West Greek, Latin, Old Norse) and descends to modern languages at the bottom (such as Hindi, Persian, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, English, German, Polish, Russian). A vertical timeline on the right spans from 1500 BCE to modern times. The background is pale green. Source attribution reads "Text based on Benveniste, Indo-European Language and Society (Faber and Faber, 1973)" at bottom. From Babel The Language Magazine, February 2013, pages 26-27.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-41.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Libfixes: When word parts go rogue URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-1/ Last updated: 2026-06-05T23:06:59.000Z Thereā€™s a revolution happening in English, and the affixes are winning. Theyā€™re breaking free from their original words, declaring independence, and forming new allegiances. *ā€‘cation* no longer belongs to *vacation*; *ā€‘pocalypse* has abandoned *apocalypse*; *ā€‘flation* has defected from *inflation*. Now they league with the likes of *staycation*, *snowpocalypse*, and *stagflation*. The affixes have been liberated. Call it what you wantā€”Affixgate, Affexit, Affixceptionā€”but in linguistics these rogue word parts are known as **libfixes** (ā€˜**lib**erated af**fix**esā€™), and today Iā€™m providing you with some linguotainment about these unusual words in this first of a 2-part series. ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** Libfixes: When word parts go rogue \[this issue\] - **Part 2:** [The science of libfixes: How libfixes work, where they come from, and what they teach us about language and the mind](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-2/) You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* āš ļø ****Content Warning** This article contains a number of sexually explicit and derogatory terms (but not pictures or videos). These terms are included here solely for educational purposes and are merely discussed, not used with their normal pragmatic intent. (See the [Use-Mention Distinction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use%E2%80%93mention%5Fdistinction?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for more on this difference.) Nonetheless, you may want to screen this article before sharing it with kids, and/or exercise judgement if viewing this at work. ## No Longer Bound: The Libfix Revolution > The fateful day came in 1965, when an unwitting English speaker, perhaps influenced by words like *ethanol* into thinking that *alcoholic* too contained the suffix *ā€‘ol*, rent the word *alcohol* asunder, cast down the beginning *alcoā€‘*, and in a flash of creative insight coined a strange new frankenword: *sugarholic*. The *ā€‘holic* in *chocoholic* and *shopaholic* and *workaholic* didnā€™t start out free. Its path to liberation was long and circuitous: It began its life in the depths of history as the Akkadian word *guįø«lum*, referring to a lustrous gray mineral we today call **stibnite**. Traditionally, stibnite was reduced to a cosmetic powder called **kohl** that was then used to darken the skin around the eyes. Thus the word *guįø«lum* could refer to either the mineral or the cosmetic powder. Aramaic later borrowed this word as *kuįø„lā*, and Arabic then borrowed it from Aramaic as the word ŁƒŁŲ­Ł’Ł„ *kuįø„l* sometime during the Old Arabic period (c. 1st millennium BCE) ([Wiktionary: ŁƒŲ­Ł„](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D9%83%D8%AD%D9%84?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Arabic)). The Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Umayyad Caliphate brought the word with it in the form of Andalusian Arabic ŁƒŁŲ­ŁŁˆŁ„ *kuįø„Å«l* ([Wiktionary: *alcohol*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alcohol?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#English)). This period was the beginning of the Islamic Golden Age as well as the Islamicā€“European knowledge exchange, when the Islamic world contributed significantly to the intellectual advancement of Europe. These contributions came in many forms, including Latin translations of previously lost Ancient Greek texts (like Aristotle), and numerous Arabic texts in astronomy, mathematics, science, and medicine. Many technical terms in English originate from words borrowed from Arabic during this period: *algebra*, *algorithm*, *chemistry*, *cipher*, *zero*, *zenith*, and many others. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-29.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Among those words was *alcohol*, the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic phrase Ų§ŁŽŁ„Ł’ŁƒŁŲ­ŁŁˆŁ„ *al-kuįø„Å«l* ā€˜the kohlā€™. *alā€‘* is the definite article ā€˜theā€™ in Arabic, but many European scholars mistook it as part of the following word, which is why so many Arabic borrowings in European languages begin with *aā€‘* or *alā€‘* (e.g. Spanish *azĆŗcar* ā€˜sugarā€™ and *algodĆ³n* ā€˜cottonā€™). In Medieval Latin *alcohol* initially referred only to kohl, the cosmetic powder, but soon it took on a more generic meaning, referring to any powder obtained from titrating a material. This was the meaning it had when it was subsequently borrowed into Spanish and French. English got ahold of the word in the 1540s from either Spanish, French, or Medieval Latin, and it quickly expanded in meaning to not just powders but distillates of liquids as well. By the 1670s, *alcohol* could refer to any sublimated substance, or metaphorically to the ā€œessenceā€ or ā€œspiritā€ of anything. The first use of the modern sense of the word, referring to intoxicating beverages, appears in 1753 in the phrase ā€œalcohol of wineā€. ([Barnhart 1988](https://www.notion.so/Barnhart-1988-5230cabc36624ca981e687f51f25512d?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 22ā€“23; [Etymonline: *alcohol*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/alcohol?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) *ā€‘holic* entered its captivity in 1790 when the word *alcoholic* first appears in the record. At the time, the word simply meant ā€˜of or pertaining to alcoholā€™. The meaning ā€˜caused by drunkennessā€™ is attested in 1872, and finally the modern sense of ā€˜habitually drunkā€™ in 1910\. It was at this point that a fortuitous coincidence occurred: just a few years prior, the International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature resolved to name alcohols using a shortened form of the word *alcohol* as a suffix, *ā€‘ol*, coining terms like *ethanol* (ethyl alcohol), *methanol* (methyl alcohol), and *phenol* (benzine alcohol) ([Wikipedia: Ethanol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Name)). (Those coinages also include an infix *ā€‘anā€‘* meaning ā€˜a single bondā€™.) Suddenly, *ā€‘ol* was a productive suffix that could be used to form new words at will, and in this suffix *ā€‘holic* received its first glimpse of freedom. If *ā€‘ol* could run wild, attaching itself to any word it pleased, why couldnā€™t the adjective form *ā€‘(h)olic*? The fateful day came in 1965, when an unwitting English speaker, perhaps influenced by words like *ethanol* into thinking that *alcoholic* too contained the suffix *ā€‘ol*, rent the word *alcohol* asunder, cast down the beginning *alcoā€‘*, and in a flash of creative insight coined a strange new frankenword: *sugarholic*. After centuries of captivity, *ā€‘holic* seized upon its chance and was at last free. Within the year it had formed an alliance with *food* to create *foodoholic*, and in 1968 it achieved its masterstroke: *workaholic*. This confederation proved to be unstoppable, rocketing *ā€‘holic* to such heights that it would never have to worry about lexical captivity again: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-30.png) Frequency of the word **workaholic* over time in the Google Books corpus ([Google Ngrams](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=workaholic&year%5Fstart=1950&year%5Fend=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&case%5Finsensitive=false&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) With the model of *workaholic* deeply entrenched and popularized, other words soon fell into line: *golf* and *chocolate* succumbed quickly as *golfaholic* and *chocoholic* in 1971, then *shopping* as *shopaholic* in 1984 ([Etymonline: *\-aholic*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-aholic?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Today there are entire [Wikipedia](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English%5Fterms%5Fsuffixed%5Fwith%5F-holic?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [pages](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English%5Fterms%5Fsuffixed%5Fwith%5F-aholic?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) filled with *ā€‘holic* offspring, a testament to its ascendancy. ## What are libfixes? > ā€œSo, if youā€™re a really dedicated coffee artist and you really put your whole baristaussy into this latte, Iā€™m expecting some killer latte art.ā€ \~ Kirby Conrad, Ph.D. The etymological history in the previous section illustrates several common types of language change: - **borrowing** words between languages, which often involves adapting the pronunciation of the word to the new language (termed **phonological adaptation**), e.g. Andalusian Arabic *al-kuįø„Å«l* ā†’ Medieval Latin *alcohol*, where Latin replaced the foreign āŸØįø„āŸ© (voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/) sound with native /h/. - **rebracketing**, where the boundaries of words or affixes are reanalyzed. In the case of *al-kuįø„Å«l* becoming *alcohol*, the boundary was lost entirely, a process called **juncture loss**. - **blending**, combining parts of two or more words, such as *ethyl* \+ *alcohol* ā†’ *ethanol*. - **libfixation**, the focus of todayā€™s article, when parts of words escape their parent words and become new affixes. ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** If any of the abbreviations or notations in this article are unfamiliar to you, check out the ā€œ[How to read linguistics](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions)ā€ page. It lists all the abbreviations, conventions, and notations used in Linguistic Discovery content. The term **libfix** was first coined by linguist Arnold Zwicky on [his blog](https://arnoldzwicky.org/2010/01/23/libfixes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in 2010 and defined as follows: > The ā€œliberationā€ of parts of words \[ā€¦\] to yield word-forming elements that are semantically like the elements of compounds but are affix-like in that they are typically bound. ([Arnold Zwickyā€™s blog: Libfixes](https://arnoldzwicky.org/2010/01/23/libfixes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) The word itself is a blend of ***liberated affix***, and follows the pattern of other affix names in linguistics: prefix, suffix, circumfix, infix, and others. Other terms used to describe libfixes include **fragment**, **secreted affix** (gross), **combining form**, and **splinter** (see [Delhem & Marty 2024](https://www.notion.so/Delhem-Marty-2024-2ec50a282bc1813cbf21c6dba48f315e?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 5 for sources). The best-known libfix is *ā€‘gate*, originally part of *Watergate*, the name of a hotel where an infamous political scandal involving former US President Richard Nixon occurred in the early 1970s. The episode quickly became known as ā€œthe Watergate scandalā€, and soon commentators were using that phrase as a template for creating other neologisms like *Volgagate* (in a 1973 article in *National Lampoon*; [OED: *ā€‘gate*](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/gate%5Fcombform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). *New York Times* columnist William Safire popularized the construction soon after, writing about *Vietgate* in September 1974, and then applying the pattern with abandon: *Billygate*, *Briefingate*, *Contragate*, *Debategate*, *Lancegate*, *Nannygate*, *Raidergate*, and many others. His intention may have been to ā€œminimize the relative importance of the crimes committed by his former boss with this sillinessā€ ([source](https://archive.org/details/soundfurymakingo00alte/page/79)), but the inadvertent effect of his sarcastic use of *ā€‘gate* was to ensconce the suffix in public consciousness. Today *ā€‘gate* is used for all manner of scandals and controversies, with a [giant Wikipedia list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%5Fof%5F-gate%5Fscandals%5Fand%5Fcontroversies?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) dedicated to its appearances in English. Some examples from recent memory include [gamergate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [nipplegate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super%5FBowl%5FXXXVIII%5Fhalftime%5Fshow%5Fcontroversy?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [emailgate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary%5FClinton%5Femail%5Fcontroversy?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and [poopgate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave%5FMatthews%5FBand%5Fbus%5Fincident?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (which will forever be part of local Chicago loreā€”but donā€™t let it deter you from doing the fantastic architectural boat tour!). Some other well-known libfixes include: - *ā€‘cation* ā€˜a specific type of vacationā€™ ā† *vacation* - *girlcation* ā€˜vacation with girl friendsā€™ - *kidcation* ā€˜vacation without kidsā€™ - *staycation* ā€˜vacation at homeā€™ - *ā€‘copter* ā€˜having a spinner rotor for flightā€™ ā† *helicopter* - *gyrocopter* - *quadcopter* - *ā€‘dar* ā€˜ability to perceive Xā€™ ā† *radar* - *gaydar* - *humordar* - *jewdar* - *sarcasmdar* - *ā€‘doodle* ā€˜cross with a poodleā€™ ā† *labradoodle* - *bernadoodle* - *goldendoodle* ![A cartoon showing two people in a park with a city skyline in the background. On the right, a person walks what appears to be a small regular dog on a leash. On the left, another person holds a leash attached to an enormous, dark triceratops dinosaur that dwarfs both humans. The triceratops has three horns and a frill, rendered in a stippled black texture. The caption reads "Triceradoodle." Cartoon by Michael Shaw, November 27, 2024.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-31.png) - *ā€‘erati* ā€˜the elite within a groupā€™ ā† *illuminati* - *literati* ā€˜the educated/literate eliteā€™ - *digerati* ā€˜internet eliteā€™ - *glitterati* ā€˜famous, wealthy, and attractive peopleā€™ - *twitterati* ā€˜Twitter eliteā€™ - *wokerati* ā€˜extremely woke peopleā€™ - *ā€‘flation* ā€˜growth in Xā€™ ā† *inflation* - *tipflation* ā€˜growth in the size of tipsā€™ - *shrinkflation* ā€˜increase in the reduction of the size of goodsā€™ - *stagflation* ā€˜increase in stagnationā€™ / ā€˜stagnation + inflationā€™ - *ā€‘gasm* ā€˜explosive or pleasurable experienceā€™ ā† *orgasm* - *braingasm* ā€˜intense intellectual stimulationā€™ - *eargasm* ā€˜climax of musical excitementā€™ - *foodgasm* ā€˜intense enjoyment of a foodā€™ - *nerdgasm* ā€˜intense excitement at nerdy things/topicsā€™ - *ā€‘iversary* ā€˜yearly recognition of Xā€™ OR ā€˜recognizing an event every X intervalsā€™ ā† *anniversary* - *blogiversary* ā€˜anniversary of a blogā€™ - *adoptiversary* ā€˜anniversary of an adoptionā€™ - *weekiversary* ā€˜weekly recognition of an eventā€™ - *monthiversary* ā€˜monthly recognition of an eventā€™ - *ā€‘licious* ā€˜appealing in reference to Xā€™ ā† *delicious* - *babelicious* - *bubblelicious* ā€˜appealing bubblesā€™ (gum, boba tea) - *bootylicious* - *Fergalicious* ā€˜the sexual appeal of music artist Fergieā€™ - *ā€‘(ma)geddon* ā€˜disastrous or cataclysmic eventā€™ ā† *armaggedon* - *carmaggedon* ā€˜incredible amount of traffic; large pileupā€™ - *snowmaggedon* - [toemaggedon](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/lifestyle/article-2330532/I-feel-Julianne-Moore-reveals-completely-oblivious-toe-mageddon-Cannes-red-carpet.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - *ā€‘nomics* ā€˜pseudo-scientific; economic policy of Xā€™ ā† *economics* - *Freakonomics* - *Reaganomics* - *hope-a-nomics* - *ā€‘preneur* ā€˜type of entrepreneurā€™ ā† *entrepreneur* - *kidpreneur* - *mompreneur* - *solopreneur* - *ā€‘pocalypse* ā€˜a catastrophic event relating to or caused by Xā€™ ā† *apocalypse* - [*beepocalypse*](https://science.time.com/2011/01/03/wildlife-where-have-all-the-bumble-bees-gone/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - *snowpocalypse* - *ā€‘scape* ā€˜environment of Xā€™ ā† *landscape* - *mindscape* - *seascape* - *soundscape* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-32.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - *ā€‘splain* ā€˜explain condescendingly or to one who is more knowledgeable in an areaā€™ ā† *explain* - *ablesplain* ā€˜to explain a disability-related topic without knowledge of itā€™ - *goysplain* ā€˜to explain a Judaism-related topic to a Jewish personā€™ - *mansplain* ā€˜to explain condescendingly to a female listenerā€™ - *whitesplain* ā€˜to explain a race-related topic to a non-white personā€™ - *ā€‘tainment* ā€˜type of entertainmentā€™ ā† *entertainment* - *edutainment* - *familytainment* - *gastrotainment* / [*eatertainment*](https://www.reservewithrex.com/blog/what-is-eatertainment?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - *infotainment* - *scientainment* - *ā€‘tarian* ā€˜one who eats Xā€™ ā† *vegetarian* - *flexitarian* - *pescetarian* - *pizzatarian* - *ā€‘thon* ā€˜event characterized by intense effort and/or long duration ā† *marathon* - *boreathon* - *hackathon* - *excuseathon* - *knitathon* - *readathon* - *telethon* - *walkathon* - *ā€‘Tok* ā€˜TikTok subcommunityā€™ ā† *TikTok* - *BookTok* - *CleanTok* - *DanceTok* - *MusicTok* - *PlantTok* - *TechTok* - *ā€‘ussy* ā€˜resemblance to a vulva or vaginaā€™ ā† *pussy* - *bussy* ā€˜boy pussyā€™ or ā€˜butt pussyā€™ (anus) - *thrussy* ā€˜throat pussyā€™ - *donutussy* ā€˜donut holeā€™ (the physical hole) - *baristaussy* ā€˜barista pussyā€™ ([source](https://web.archive.org/web/20240406120458/https://www.inquirer.com/news/ussy-american-dialect-society-word-suffix-of-year-20230111.html)) - Swarthmore College linguistics professor Kirby Conrad explained the use of the ā€‘*ussy* libfix by saying, ā€œSo, if youā€™re a really dedicated coffee artist and you really put your whole baristaussy into this latte, Iā€™m expecting some killer latte art.ā€ Incidentally, this is also a great example of the [ass camouflage construction](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7CjIkvP3V4/?img%5Findex=1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) at work, where the body part stands in metonymically for the entire person. - *ā€‘ussy* was actually selected as the Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society for 2022. - *ā€‘verse* ā€˜the community of Xā€™ ā† *universe* - *cryptoverse* - *Twitterverse* - *ā€‘zilla* ā€˜biggest/baddest/meanest/nastiest of its typeā€™ ā† *Godzilla* - *dogzilla* - *bridezilla* - *momzilla* Technologies seem to be an especially fertile ground for libfixes (or blends in general) ([Oā€™Dell 2016](https://www.notion.so/O-Dell-2016-2ee50a282bc181e69ec5d23f3489e7a4?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): - *blog*\-based - *blogosphere* - *bloggerati* ā€˜the blogger eliteā€™ - *Twitter*\-based - *twitterati* - *twittersphere* - *twitterpated* ā€˜making excessive use of Twitter to tell the world about the minutiae of oneā€™s lifeā€™ - *twittercide* ā€˜deleting oneā€™s Twitter accountā€™ - *twittercation* ā€˜a break from using Twitterā€™ - *twitterhoea* ā€˜sending too many tweets in a short span of timeā€™ - *twisticuffs* ā€˜strong disagreement between tweetersā€™ - *twitterholic* Libfixes donā€™t have to be suffixes either; some are prefixes: - *altā€‘* ā€˜outside the mainstreamā€™ ā† *alternative* - *altcoin* - *alt-history* - *alt-right* - *alt-rock* - *cryptoā€‘* ā€˜related to cryptocurrencyā€™ ā† *cryptography* - *cryptobro* - *cryptocoin* - *cryptocurrency* - *cryptoverse* - *frankenā€‘* ā€˜human-altered interference with natureā€™ ā† *Frankenstein* - *frankenfood* - *frankenplant* - *frankenword* - *heliā€‘* ā€˜type of helicopterā€™ ā† *helicopter* - *helipad* - *heliport* - *helidrome* - *hyperā€‘* ā€˜relating to hypertextā€™ ā† *hypertext* - *hyperlink* - *hypermedia* - *petroā€‘* ā€˜relating to petroleumā€™ ā† *petroleum* - *petrodollar* - *petrochemical* - *petrocurrency* - *petrostate* All this is just a small sampling of libfixes. There are [many many more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). This sampling doesnā€™t include Covid- and pandemic-related terms (*quarantini*, *quarantigue*, *maskne*, *maskulinity*, *maskhole*, *covidiot*, *moronovirus*, *Faucism*, *Magat*, or Spanish *pandejo* ā† *pandemic* \+ *pendejo* ā€˜assholeā€™ \[[Berry 2022](https://www.notion.so/Berry-2022-2f150a282bc18138ab76e08e9dbfd710?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]) because it would be too exhausting to catalog them all. Something about that time periodā€”perhaps the fact that everyone was chronically online, but more likely because there were so many new concepts and experiences that needed namingā€”led to a shocking proliferation of new blends and libfixes. The big list of examples above notwithstanding, libfixation seems to be a relatively novel word-formation strategy, at least in English. By any measure of **productivity** (how readily a construction can be applied to new words or contexts), the most common English libfixes have become more productive over time. The charts below show a few different measures of productivity for the libfixes *ā€‘holic*, *ā€‘licious*, and *ā€‘nomics*, as well as the traditional suffixes *ā€‘dom* and *ā€‘hood* for comparison. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-33.png) [Delhem & Marty 2024](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Delhem-Marty-2024-2ec50a282bc1813cbf21c6dba48f315e?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 5 Given how closely libfixes are associated with the tech and internet spaces, their rise to prominence was probably spurred by the rise of computing and internet terminology, in much the same way that scientific terminology gave rise to an increase in acronyms and initialisms as a word-coinage strategy in the early 20th century. (Before the 1990s, acronyms and initialisms simply werenā€™t used to create new words. *shit* does not come from *ship high in transit*; *news* does not come from *north-south-east-west*; and so on. A good rule of thumb is: if someone tells you that a word was originally an acronym, no it wasnā€™t.) Regardless, libfixes have now become so common that other languages in contact with English are starting to adopt the strategy for new words ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). So letā€™s look at libfixes in other languages too. ## Libfixes in languages other than English > I see the influence of English all the time in my language revitalization work. English speakers *love* to use noun compounding when coining words. This is unfortunate for language revitalization because most Native American languages are extremely verb-oriented: traditionally, nouns were derived from complex descriptive verbs whenever possible. Of course, other languages have their own native libfixes. Just because English has influenced other languages in a way that makes libfixes more common doesnā€™t mean that libfixes werenā€™t already present in those languages. Some examples: - **Italian:** ā€‘*opoli* ā€˜ā€‘villeā€™, referring to a scandal ā† *Tangentopoli* ā€˜Bribesvilleā€™ ([Wikipedia: Libfix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Italian)) - [*Bancopoli*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bancopoli?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*Calciopoli*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calciopoli?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Brazilian Portuguese:** *ā€‘Ć£o* ā€˜scandalā€™ ā† *MensalĆ£o* ā€˜Monthly paymentā€“gateā€™ ([Wikipedia: Libfix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libfix?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Portuguese%5F%28Brazil%29)) - [*PetrolĆ£o*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrol%C3%A3o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*MetrolĆ£o*](https://pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/metrol%C3%A3o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [*TrensalĆ£o*](https://pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/trensal%C3%A3o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Dutch** ([Hamans 2021](https://www.notion.so/Hamans-2021-2f150a282bc181cd8177f5eeafb83857?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - *ā€‘taliĆ«* ā€˜Italyā€™ (but used generically to mean ā€˜countryā€™ - *vertalen* ā€˜interpretā€™ ā†’ *VertaliĆ«* ā€˜country of interpretersā€™ - *hospitaal* ā€˜hospitalā€™ ā†’ *hospitaliĆ«* ā€˜hospital as long-term residenceā€™ - *kapitaal* ā€˜capitalā€™ ā†’ *KapitaliĆ«* ā€˜country where capital rulesā€™ - *betalen* ā€˜payā€™ ā†’ *BetaliĆ«* ā€˜country where one has to pay for everythingā€™ - **Romanian:** *ā€‘izdă* ā€˜vulvaā€™ (offensive/sarcastic) ā† *pizdă* ā€˜vulvaā€™ \[slang\] ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - *feminizdaĢ†* ā€˜female feministā€™ \[offensive\] ā† *feministaĢ†* ā€˜female feministā€™ - *MerkelizdaĢ†* ā€˜Merkelā€™ \[offensive\] ā† *(Angela) Merkel* - **Spanish:** *pandejo* ā€˜covidiotā€™ ā† *pandemic* \+ *pendejo* ā€˜assholeā€™ Itā€™s difficult to know, however, how much the origin of the Italian and Portuguese libfixes can be attributed to influence from English *ā€‘gate*, especially given that *ā€‘gate* is by far the most popular English libfix, and also the one most likely to appear in international news outlets because of its political nature. Perhaps those two libfixes should be considered **calques** (loan translations) rather than truly native constructions. I leave it to other linguists to sort that one out. (Anybody need a good thesis topic?) The Romanian libfix, on the other hand, likely isnā€™t a calque of English *ā€‘ussy*, since *ā€‘ussy* is very recent and data on *ā€‘izdă* comes from a corpus spanning the last 15 years ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). *ā€‘izdă* also only attaches to animate nouns, and refers derogatorily to the entire person rather than to a specific body part, unlike *ā€‘ussy* which may attach to inanimate nouns, refers specifically to the body part, and also (surprisingly) is typically used in a positive and playful manner rather than derogatorily. Despite *pizdă* being a feminine noun, a few masculine versions of the libfix have been back-formed from the feminine ones too: - *ziarizd* ā€˜male journalistā€™ \[offensive\] ā† *ziarizdaĢ†* ā€˜female journalistā€™ \[offensive\] ā† *ziaristaĢ†* ā€˜female journalistā€™ - *minimalizd* ā€˜male adept of minimalismā€™ \[offensive\] Notably, no use of the feminine version, *minimalizdaĢ†*, has been documented, suggesting the emergence of an independent masculine version of the suffix. Because scholarly awareness of libfixes is still so recent, there havenā€™t yet been good studies of them in other languages. There have however been a few studies which examine the influence of English libfixes on other languages. Other languages can outright borrow English libfixes and attach them to native words (with minor spelling changes and phonological adaptation), as shown in the examples below. - **Polish** *Rywin*gate** ā€˜political scandal caused by Lech Rywinā€™ *tele*holik** ā€˜teleholicā€™ ([Konieczna 2012](https://www.notion.so/Konieczna-2012-2f050a282bc18161a4a1f2093a081b5f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - **Romanian** *BaĢ†sescu*gate** ā€˜scandal involving former Romanian president BaĢ†sescuā€™ *SRI*gate** ā€˜scandal involving the SRI \[Romanian intelligence service\]ā€™ *rom*gate** ā€˜scandal involving Romeā€™ *curcubeo*holic** ā€˜addicted to rainbowsā€™ ā† *curcubeu* ā€˜rainbowā€™ *ihtio*holic** ā€˜addicted to fishā€™ (literally ā€˜ichthyoholic) ā† *ihtioā€‘* ā€˜ichthyoā€‘ā€™ *caĢ†laĢ†to*holic** ā€˜addicted to travelingā€™ ā† *caĢ†laĢ†tori* ā€˜to travelā€™ *veverit*zilla** ā€˜huge squirrelā€™ ā† *veveritĢ¦aĢ†* ā€˜squirrelā€™ *sĢ¦nit*zilla** ā€˜huge schnitzelā€™ ā† *sĢ¦nitĢ¦el* ā€˜schnitzelā€™ *var*aton** ā€˜long vacation session during the summerā€™ ā† *varaĢ†* ā€˜summerā€™ *sarma*ghedon** ā€˜a meal where one eats too many meat rollsā€™ ā† *sarma* ā€˜meat rollsā€™ *porna*ghedon** ā€˜a sudden end to a politicianā€™s career due to video recordings of him having sexā€™ ā† *porno* ā€˜pornā€™ ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Italian has also borrowed *ā€‘gate* and *ā€‘nomics*, and Bulgarian has borrowed *ā€‘holic* ([Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 248). As mentioned above, languages can also borrow entire word-formation *strategies* like libfixation without borrowing specific *words* or libfixes. One study documents the increased use of **clipping** (truncation/shortening of words) in Polish and noun-noun compounding in both French and Polish due to influence from English ([Renner 2018](https://www.notion.so/Renner-2018-2f150a282bc181f5bd73f3c9a2d01349?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Another showed that Dutch libfixing has increased under influence from English ([Hamans 2021](https://www.notion.so/Hamans-2021-2f150a282bc181cd8177f5eeafb83857?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and a third showed that blends (defined below) have increased in Bulgarian, Italian, and Dutch (see [Vasileanu & Niculescu-Gorpin 2025](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-2025-2ec50a282bc181e3879cdaacad4a82e0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 248 for sources). In Romanian, pervasive influence from English has led blending to become the default strategy for naming hybrid objects in younger generations. In one experiment, subjects were asked to name, using only a single word, some imaginary hybrid entities. Fully 68.31% of the words they created for these hybrid entities were blends, and only 12.22% were compounds, which was unexpected because compounding has been a major word-formation process in Romanian but blending was not (until recently). ([Vasileanu, Niculescu-Gorpin & Radu-Bejenaru 2024](https://www.notion.so/Vasileanu-Niculescu-Gorpin-Radu-Bejenaru-2024-2f150a282bc1819c81d4db8fcfc7c004?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) I also see the influence of English word-formation processes all the time in my language revitalization work: Many Native American communities are working to revitalize their endangered languages, and part of this process involves coining new words for things and activities in the community. However, because these languages are endangered, many of the members within these communities speak English rather than their heritage language. And English speakers *love* to use noun compounding when coining words. This is unfortunate, because most Native American languages are extremely verb-oriented: traditionally, nouns were derived from complex descriptive verbs whenever possible. As an example, the traditional [Chitimacha](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) word for ā€˜writing utensilā€™ (pen, pencil) is *naakxtempuyna*, which literally means ā€˜they habitually write with itā€™, from the verb *naakxteā€‘* ā€˜writeā€™ (literally ā€˜to paperā€™). Similarly, ā€˜bridgeā€™ is *pamtuyna* ā€˜they habitually cross itā€™, from the verb *pamteā€‘* ā€˜crossā€™. But when the Chitimacha tribe needed a word for ā€˜netā€™ (in sports), they chose to create the compound noun *cii tuukun*, literally ā€˜rope bagā€™ (*ciq* ā€˜ropeā€™ + *tuukun* ā€˜bagā€™), rather than something like \* *dzehtuyna* ā€˜they usually catch/trap with itā€™, from the verb *dzehtā€‘* ā€˜to trap/catch ā€¦; to make a play in stickballā€™. Since I began working with the Chitimacha tribe in 2008, I have gently encouraged them to reach for verbs before nouns when coining new words. Nonetheless, years of English influence have resulted in a significantly higher proportion of compound nouns in the lexicon than traditional Chitimacha had. Shifts in grammatical tendencies like this are common in endangered languages ([Palosaari & Campbell 2011](https://www.notion.so/Palosaari-Campbell-2011-2f150a282bc181f2b3baf4e2f3bb35f7?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). [Renaissance on the bayou: Revitalizing the Chitimacha languageThe Chitimacha language was once thought to be extinct, but today is undergoing a renaissance as young people learn the language again.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-87.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-6.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) In the second half of this series, weā€™ll explore the science behind libfixes: the sound patterns they follow, where they come from, how your brain processes them, and what they teach us about how language changes. If you havenā€™t subscribed already, be sure to do so to receive Part 2! [šŸ“§ Subscribe](#/portal/signup/free) ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** Libfixes: When word parts go rogue \[this issue\] - **Part 2:** [The science of libfixes: How libfixes work, where they come from, and what they teach us about language and the mind](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/libfix-2/) ## šŸ“‘ References - Barnhart, Robert K. (ed.). 1988\. *Chambers dictionary of etymology*. Chambers. - Berry, Jack. 2022\. Neologasming: Topics in Modern English word formation. Term paper. - Delhem, Romain & Caroline Marty. 2024\. Measuring the correlation of productivity rates for English libfixes. Presented at the Unraveling linguistic productivity: Insights into usage, processing and variability. - Hamans, Camiel. 2021\. A lesson for covidiots about some contact induced borrowing of American English morphological processes into Dutch. *Studia Anglica Posnaniensia* 56(s1). 659ā€“691\. [https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2021-0009](https://doi.org/10.2478/stap-2021-0009?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Konieczna, Ewa. 2012\. Lexical blending in Polish: A result of the internationalisation of Slavic languages. In Vincent Renner, FranƧois Maniez & Pierre Arnaud (eds.), *Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Lexical Blending* (Trends in Linguistics: Studies & Monographs 252), 51ā€“74\. De Gruyter. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110289572.51](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110289572.51?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Oā€™Dell, Felicity. 2016\. Creating new words: affixation in neologisms. *ELT Journal* 70(1). 94ā€“99\. [https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccv054](https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccv054?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Renner, Vincent. 2018\. French and English lexical blends in contrast. *Languages in Contrast* 19(1). 27ā€“47\. [https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.16020.ren](https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.16020.ren?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Vasileanu, Monica & Anabella-Gloria Niculescu-Gorpin. 2025\. Romanian libfixes in the making. In Sabine Arndt-Lappe & Natalia Filatkina (eds.), *Dynamics at the lexicon-syntax interface* (Formulaic Language 6), 241ā€“266\. De Gruyter. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111321905-009](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111321905-009?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Vasileanu, Monica, Anabella-Gloria Niculescu-Gorpin & Cristina-Andreea Radu-Bejenaru. 2024\. Keep calm and carry on blending: Experimental insights into Romanian lexical blending. *Word Structure* 17(1ā€“2). 56ā€“90\. [https://doi.org/10.3366/word.2024.0236](https://doi.org/10.3366/word.2024.0236?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Worldā€™s oldest alphabet discovered URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-03/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:31:10.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Should you be talking to your infant? The science of baby talk, Part 1 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-20.png) Is it pointless to speak to children before they start speaking themselves? This isnā€™t necessarily a dumb question. In some cultures parents rarely talk to infants, and those children learn their native languages just fine. How important can talking to your newborn really be if not everybody does it? Well, pretty important actually. In this weekā€™s article I kick off a 7-part series on the science of baby talk by exploring just how important talking to your child is for their linguistic development: [Should you be talking to your infant? The science of baby talk, Part 1Is it pointless to speak to children before they start speaking themselves?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-85.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) In the coming weeks (probably every other week, to give yā€™all some topical variety on the other weeks), weā€™ll explore the following aspects of baby talk: #### Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** [Should you be talking to your infant?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/) - **Part 2:** What is baby talk? - **Part 3:** Is baby talk good for your child? - **Part 4:** Do all cultures use baby talk? - **Part 5:** Baby talk in the languages of the world - **Part 6:** How much should you talk to your infant? - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your toddler ### The etymology of ā€˜fiveā€™: From Proto-Indo-European to Modern English Hereā€™s another video from the archives this week! ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Worldā€™s oldest alphabet discovered ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-21.png) Two of the four clay cylinders from Umm el-Marra, Syria. Johns Hopkins University. An archaeological team working at a mortuary complex in Umm el-Marra, northern Syria, stumbled upon a collection of clay cylinders incised with symbols that may be the first known instance of alphabetic writing. The cylinders date to 2400 BCE, approximately 500 years earlier than other known alphabetic scripts. [Worldā€™s oldest alphabet discovery changes everything we thought about writing ā€” National Geographic HistoryClay cylinders offer scholars a new way to investigate the timeline and development of alphabetic symbols.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon_v6-2.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AgEXQWUtU3dDYzhLUWdDNENORms0S1pMa3cAMA)](https://apple.news/Ae-SwCc8KQgC4CNFk4KZLkw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Worldā€™s Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift TagA finger-sized clay cylinder from a tomb in northern Syria appears to be the oldest example of writing using an alphabet rather than hieroglyphs or cuneiform![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-139.ico)Scientific AmericanStephanie Pappas![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/clay_cylinder_from_ancient_syrian_city_1.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/worlds-oldest-alphabet-discovered/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Archaeologists say these mysterious markings could be the worldā€™s oldest known alphabet writing](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-say-these-mysterious-markings-could-be-the-worlds-oldest-known-alphabetic-writing-180985525/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) [Where do writing systems come from?Writing was invented three different times in world historyā€”in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica. But not all writing systems derive from those three original scripts. How can this be?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-86.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/alphabet-HD.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/borrowing-writing/) šŸ’ If you appreciate this weekly digest, consider becoming a supporter! Youā€™ll get occasional ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to articles as well as chapters of my book! [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### One-third of grammatical universals stand up to rigorous testing ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-22.png) Despite the vast diversity of human languages, certain grammatical patterns appear again and again. A new study reveals that around a third of the long-proposed ā€œlinguistic universalsā€ā€”patterns thought to hold across all languagesā€”are statistically supported when examined with state-of-the-art evolutionary methods. Below is a research briefing (summary) of the article. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-23.png) [Enduring patterns in worldā€™s languages: One-third of grammatical ā€˜universalsā€™ stand up to rigorous testingDespite the vast diversity of human languages, specific grammatical patterns appear again and again. A new study reveals that around a third of the long-proposed ā€œlinguistic universalsā€ā€”patterns thought to hold across all languagesā€”are statistically supported when examined with state-of-the-art evolutionary methods.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-21.svg)Phys.orgSandra Jacob![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/enduring-patterns-in-w.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-11-patterns-world-languages-grammatical-universals.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Enduring constraints on grammar revealed by Bayesian spatiophylogenetic analyses - Nature Human BehaviourDespite their great diversity, human languages are shaped by recurring grammatical universals. Verkerk et al. show that about one-third of the proposed universals hold cross-linguistically through analyses of the Grambank database.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-22.png)NatureAnnemarie Verkerk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2025_2325_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02325-z?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Bees understand morse code ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-24.png) Since decoding the ā€œwaggle danceā€ in the 1940s, bees have been at the forefront of research into insect intellect. A new study shows that bees can be trained to understand the dot-dash behavior of morse code when those short dots and long dashes are associated with sugary rewards. While bees obviously canā€™t use this skill with human-level complexity, any level of recognition does provide compelling evidence that bees can differentiate between short and long time durations. [Bees Understand Morse Code. It Could Change How We See Human Intelligence.Bees obviously canā€™t use this skill on human level, but this progress could help scientists better grasp complex cognitive-like traits.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.5d5fa0d-2.png)Popular MechanicsDarren Orf![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bumblebee-macro-royalty-free-image-1763586164.pjpeg)](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a69446658/morse-code/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Davidson et al. 2025\. Duration discrimination in the bumblebee *Bombus terrestris*. *Biology Letters* 21: 20250440\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0440](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0440?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Itā€™s not you ā€“ some typefaces feel differentThe different personalities of typefaces and how it affects our psychology.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-62.png)The ConversationAndrea Piovesan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251121-56-i1kh1f.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/its-not-you-some-typefaces-feel-different-270192?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Hereā€™s a fun summary of some of the data from a study mentioned in this article: How happyā€“sad each typeface is perceived. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-25.png) [Talking To Dolphins Isnā€™t As Far Away As You Might Think ā€” Hereā€™s Why - CutenessDolphinGemma is a Google-backed LLM that is working to understand and predict the meaning behind dolphin sounds. The program hopes to be able to communicate.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cuteness-favicon.png)CutenessSheri Radford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/l-intro-1764688967.jpg)](https://www.cuteness.com/2042229/talking-dolphins-isnt-far-away-as-might-think-heres-why/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How debt shaped the way we speakAnd what it shows about how language works![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-14.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F56fa04cf-9eb3-4f3e-a14c-4ced154dc9f0_1520x1600.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/how-debt-shaped-the-way-we-speak) [The linguistic logic behind dropped syllablesWhat triggers haplology ā€“ why do speakers omit whole syllables?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-tnw-270x270.png)The New WorldPeter Trudgill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/463_TRUDGILL_SPEECH.jpg)](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/peter-trudgill-the-linguistic-logic-behind-dropped-syllables/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Haplology** is the phenomenon where speakers drop an entire syllable from a word. This can happen over time, leading to new words (*Engla land* ā†’ *England*) or as a variation on a current word (*probably* ā†’ *prolly*). [What Is Occitan? Discover Its History and Unique Factors - Rosetta StoneInterested in the Occitan language? Learn about this Romance language with close ties to French, Spanish, and Catalan and its history.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-13.png)Rosetta StoneJamie Edwards![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/occitan_1246345588.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/occitan-spanish/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *E pluribus English: The many languages we speak when we speak English* English is a language of other languagesā€”and therein lies its magic. A new book explores the etymology of over 450 words: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-26.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4oE8njX?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781733937566?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Inventing languages: A practical introduction* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-27.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/48q6GRy?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781108799416?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This new textbook on inventing languages was just released, and it looks like a great introduction. Iā€™m not even quite sure ā€œtextbookā€ is the right term, since it doesnā€™t mention that itā€™s designed for classroom use in particular, but you could most definitely use it in a conlanging class designed to introduce students to linguistic typology. Otherwise, it would make a great handbook for anybody interested in conlanging. This would also make a great Christmas gift for the language nerds and creative writers in your life! - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/48q6GRy?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781108799416?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! What if English never adopted Latin names for months? From [Starkey Comics](https://www.facebook.com/starkeycomics/posts/pfbid0payeyJy7vFndAYgTq99ZsmZegJHgCuMHGKvowtkFs7E6KUUNuLjBy9ZwehvAiDwGl). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-28.png) šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why you should be talking to your infant URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-1/ Last updated: 2026-09-12T18:44:09.000Z > The word *infant* comes from the Latin ā€œ*Ä«nfāntemā€* ā€˜unable to speakā€™. A [TikTok mom](https://www.tiktok.com/@clipsvideos033/video/7509613901529632031?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) recently went viral because she asked: > Does anybody else not talk to their baby? My daughter is 11 months old, and she canā€™t talk so I donā€™t talk to her. Is that weird? Should I be just saying things so she can learn how to talk? I make noises, I do funny faces, I dance, but I donā€™t converse. > [@slrlshar](https://www.tiktok.com/@slrlshar?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "@slrlshar") > > Like how ? But you sitting on your phone talking to strangers @mak\_and\_momlife ā€¦..[#resilientjenkins](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/resilientjenkins?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "resilientjenkins")[#badmom](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/badmom?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "badmom")[#kidsoftiktok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/kidsoftiktok?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "kidsoftiktok")[#fyp](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "fyp")[#viral](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/viral?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "viral")[#mom](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "mom")[#needtoknow](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/needtoknow?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "needtoknow") > > [ā™¬ original sound - SoftLifeRichLife](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7509873126688197406?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "ā™¬ original sound - SoftLifeRichLife") Unfortunately this mom was so thoroughly excoriated in the comments and in numerous response videos that she took the original video down. But this isnā€™t a dumb question! If you arenā€™t familiar with research on child language acquisition, itā€™s entirely reasonable to wonder whether baby talk is bad for your child, or whether itā€™s pointless to speak to children before they begin speaking themselves. The word *infant* itself even comes from the Latin *Ä«nfāntem* ā€˜unable to speakā€™. In some cultures parents rarely talk to infants, and those children learn their native languages just fine. How important can talking to your newborn really be if not everybody does it? Well, pretty important actually. Even those purportedly low-conversation parents in other cultures actually talk to their kids quite a bit, just in different ways and on different timetables. (Weā€™ll learn more about that in [Part 4](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) & Part 5 \[forthcoming\] of this series.) On the other end of the spectrum, many parents have been terrified into thinking that theyā€™re not speaking to their children *enough* because of an infamous 1995 study showing that **children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds hear up to 30 million fewer words** by age 4 than their high-income peers, and that this gap correlates with reduced vocabulary development and educational outcomes ([Hart & Risley 1995](https://www.notion.so/Hart-Risley-1995-21350a282bc181508315c8bd26cf914a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). But as weā€™ll see in Part 6 of this series, the sheer amount of exposure kids have to language doesnā€™t actually make much difference for their language development. Those reported differences in vocabulary size are a) questionable, and b) have more to do with other socioeconomic factors than hitting a daily word count with your toddler. So in this series, weā€™ll look at what the research has to say about speaking to your infant, answering the following questions along the way: ### ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** Why you should be talking to your infant **\[this issue\]** - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## Should you talk to your newborn? > Simply plopping your child on the couch to watch some reality TV wonā€™t teach them language. Should you be talking to your newborn child? The short answer is decidedly **yes**. Infants need *some* type of linguistic input to be able to learn a languageā€”itā€™s not as though theyā€™re born with an innate knowledge of English or any other language. Instead, theyā€™re born with an incredibly advanced cognitive toolkit that allows them to learn any language theyā€™re exposed to within just a few years. But that exposure is crucial. We know from cases of extreme childhood neglect that if children arenā€™t sufficiently exposed to language before puberty (a timeframe known as the **critical period** or **sensitive period** in linguistics and developmental psychology), language acquisition becomes significantly more difficult and ultimately less successful. The most infamous and heart-wrenching case is that of Genie, who was confined in a dark room with minimal contact from about 20 months of age until she was almost 14 years old. \*ļøāƒ£ The following summary of Genieā€™s case is based on Lust ([2006](https://www.notion.so/Lust-2006-21c50a282bc181439400cae8281cc10f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): Ā§5.8.1). When Genie was finally discovered she was extremely malnourished. Physically, she looked like a 6- or 7-year-old, weighed 59 pounds, had difficulty standing and walking, and couldnā€™t chew solid food. She never spoke, and seemed to only understand a few words at best. As she was treated and given a healthier cognitive and social environment, her rehabilitation quickly triggered the onset of puberty. Her cognitive development reached that of a 6- to 8-year-old by the following year. After 5 months she began to use single words, and her vocabulary grew quickly. She started to combine two, then three, then four words (1), and after two years she produced apparent cases of embedded clauses (2): 1. want milk Genie love Curtiss big elephant long trunk 2. ask \[go shopping\] tell \[door lock\] However, Genie never mastered the complexities of English morphology and syntax. All grammatical words and morphology were missing. ā„¹ļø Want to learn more about how childrenā€™s linguistic capabilities develop over time? Check out this issue of the newsletter about how children learn grammatical rules (and how we know): [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-110.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-6.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) Less lurid but still unfortunate cases have also been documented for profoundly deaf children who were not exposed to sign language in childhood. Because 90ā€“95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents ([Baker et al. 2016](https://www.notion.so/Baker-et-al-2016-2f650a282bc18173a8b4f0eb4328ca48?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 66), it occasionally happens that those parents fail to realize that their child is deaf, so the child doesnā€™t receive any useful linguistic input until much laterā€”usually not until they start school. These children are called **late learners**. Many late learners will nonetheless spontaneously develop a manual communication system using a combination of gestures they observe in their surroundings and signs they invent. This creates an idiosyncratic form of communication called **homesign** ([Baker et al. 2016](https://www.notion.so/Baker-et-al-2016-2f650a282bc18173a8b4f0eb4328ca48?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 53). Homesign is generally not a fully-developed language, but rather is more like a pidgin: an extremely limited lexicon with no grammatical constructions. Unfortunately, late learners suffer lifelong consequences from their delayed acquisition. Deaf children who began learning a sign language at age 5 were significantly less fluent than native signers (who are exposed to sign language from birth) even after 30 years of daily use. While able to fully express themselves, their use of complex morphology and syntax is systematically different from that of deaf children who learned sign from birth ([Sandler & Lillo-Martin 2017](https://www.notion.so/Sandler-Lillo-Martin-2017-2f650a282bc181a78037ec7f8465a60b?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 386). Deaf children who werenā€™t exposed to sign language until age 12 or later were profoundly hindered in their ability to learn sign ([Newport 1990](https://www.notion.so/Newport-1990-22850a282bc1814db378cff801502e76?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). In one case of three deaf children who were not exposed to language of any kind until they were about 14 years old, by two years later they were acquiring vocabulary on a timeline similar to typical toddlers, with many words for concrete objects and actions but few grammatical words like prepositions ([RamĆ­rez, Lieberman & Mayberry 2013](https://www.notion.so/Ram-rez-Lieberman-Mayberry-2013-2f950a282bc181288be3d8d4850890b0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). In another case, a deaf boy was raised in a rural area with little formal education before age 12, and no access to the deaf community. At age 15, he was fitted with hearing aids and began learning Spanish, but he struggled to learn grammatical constructions like pronouns and the singular-plural distinction ([Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 80). A final case is Chelsea, a deaf woman who did not start learning language until her early thirties, who showed similar results to Genie ([Curtiss 1988](https://www.notion.so/Curtiss-1988-2f950a282bc1818985d5db985c3bdcea?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). So weā€™ve established that children need linguistic input as early in childhood as possible in order to fully master language. But does any kind of input work? Could you simply plop your child on the couch to watch some reality TV? If only it were that easy! Itā€™s well established that children cannot learn language from media alone. In fact, a 2024 study even found that the greater the total screen time of children aged 2;5 to 4;0 on weekends, the *worse* their vocabulary and grammar skills ([Tulviste & Tulviste 2024](https://www.notion.so/Tulviste-Tulviste-2024-2f650a282bc181519de9d5e6603ef7dc?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Children need social cues to help direct their attention and start associating social meaning with linguistic meaning. One salient illustration of this is the case of Jim, a hearing child born to deaf parents whose only exposure to English was via (a great deal of) television, and whose parents did not generally speak or sign to him ([Sachs, Bard & Johnson 1981](https://www.notion.so/Sachs-Bard-Johnson-1981-25550a282bc181578f3cfc864d0201a0?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). By age 3;9, Jimā€™s language use was decidedly abnormal for children his age: - *This is how plane* - *I want that make* - *House chimney my house chimney* Jim could learn new vocabulary, but was limited in his ability to form grammatical sentences. ā„¹ļø In first language acquisition research, age is written as `years;months`, so that ā€œ3;9ā€ means ā€˜3 years, 9 months oldā€™. ā„¹ļø If youā€™re concerned that your childā€™s language development might be abnormal, hereā€™s a summary of developmental milestones you can expect: [Age-Appropriate Speech and Language Milestones](https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=age-appropriate-speech-and-language-milestones-90-P02170&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Stanford Medicine Childrenā€™s Health) \*ļøāƒ£ The following summary of research on language acquisition from television is based on Saxton ([2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 94ā€“96). Other studies have shown that children canā€™t learn new words from television before the age of 2 ([Snow et al. 1976](https://www.notion.so/Snow-et-al-1976-2ea50a282bc181f8bb08cc9af7a69a7e?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Kuhl, Tsao & Liu 2003](https://www.notion.so/Kuhl-Tsao-Liu-2003-25550a282bc18144ac84e3d24f235dba?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Mumme & Fernald 2003](https://www.notion.so/Mumme-Fernald-2003-25550a282bc18194a7f1dd4cde2e5d40?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Anderson & Pempek 2005](https://www.notion.so/Anderson-Pempek-2005-25550a282bc18194b5d1fe766d328ee6?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Krcmar, Grela & Lin 2007](https://www.notion.so/Krcmar-Grela-Lin-2007-25550a282bc181e49c40d6393114270b?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). After age 2, itā€™s possible for children to learn some vocabulary from television, but only from shows designed specifically for children, and only well-designed ones ([Rice & Woodsmall 1988](https://www.notion.so/Rice-Woodsmall-1988-25550a282bc18174a930e8cdc76121b3?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Rice et al. 1990](https://www.notion.so/Rice-et-al-1990-25550a282bc1818e8a4ce5efe78c7025?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Barr & Wyss 2008](https://www.notion.so/Barr-Wyss-2008-25550a282bc1813fb4b8c1d5a59749ad?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). (Children who watched *Teletubbies* did not show significant vocabulary development, while children who watched *Dora the Explorer*, *Blueā€™s Clues*, or *Dragonā€™s Tales* showed greater vocabulary gains \[[Linebarger & Walker 2005](https://www.notion.so/Linebarger-Walker-2005-25550a282bc181c6bc44ca8cdcfd3155?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com); [Uchikoshi 2005](https://www.notion.so/Uchikoshi-2005-25550a282bc1819c80aaf8c62c1b0f9a?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\].) One study showed that children only learned new vocabulary from video when an adult facilitated their learning with concomitant social interaction ([Oā€™Doherty et al. 2011](https://www.notion.so/O-Doherty-et-al-2011-25550a282bc18113a444cbe0f5b948e9?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), again showing the importance of socially-directed cues for child language learning (see also [Anderson & Hanson 2017](https://www.notion.so/dwhieb/Anderson-Hanson-2017-2f650a282bc18110ade9dd1ca6017c90?pvs=24&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). By comparison, one study showed that children aged 21ā€“27 months learned new vocabulary from a shared book reading activity, but none from TV viewing ([Patterson 2002](https://www.notion.so/Patterson-2002-25550a282bc1810aad7df45557b9d4dc?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Linguist Noam Chomsky actually once claimed explicitly that ā€œa child may pick up a large part of his vocabulary and ā€˜feelā€™ for sentence structure from televisionā€ ([Chomsky 1959](https://www.notion.so/Chomsky-1959-25550a282bc18109928dfcf94cfcaa27?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 42). Chomsky believes that mere exposure *is* sufficient for language acquisition, because he thinks that some part of grammar is innate rather than learned, a position known as **linguistic nativism**. But as [Saxton 2017](https://www.notion.so/Saxton-2017-21c50a282bc1819bb43fdd945ca80eb5?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 131 trenchantly states, ā€œChomskyā€™s early assertions about language acquisition are the result of armchair speculation, not empirical enquiry.ā€ In reality, the amount of speech that children *overhear* does not predict vocabulary size, whereas the amount of speech specifically *targeted at them* does ([Shneidman et al. 2013](https://www.notion.so/Shneidman-et-al-2013-25550a282bc181ecbce5ffe9d8840313?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The body of first language acquisition research has shown that targeted social interaction is crucial for child language development. So weā€™ve established that *some* type of interactive linguistic input is necessary for children to learn language. But what kind of language works best? Baby talk? Normal adult speech? Weā€™ll look at this question in the next two issues of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! If you havenā€™t already subscribed, be sure to do so to receive the other issues in this series. [šŸ“§ Subscribe now!](#/portal/signup/free) ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this Series - **Part 1:** Why you should be talking to your infant **\[this issue\]** - **Part 2:** [Whatā€™s the point of baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-2/) - **Part 3:** [Is baby talk good for your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-3/) - **Part 4:** [Do all cultures use baby talk?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-4/) - **Part 5:** [Baby talk in the languages of the world](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-5/) - **Part 6:** [How much should you talk to your child?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-talk-6/) - **Part 7:** What really matters when talking to your child **\[forthcoming\]** ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ### The Wug Test: How children learn grammar [The Wug Test: How children learn grammarWhat can a simple word game teach us about how language works?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-102.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/wug-test/) ### ā€œThe birth of a wordā€ MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned languageā€”so he wired up his house with video cameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life, then parsed 90,000 hours of home video to watch *gaaaa* slowly turn into *water*. Astonishing, data-rich research with deep implications for how we learn. ### HELLO Lab Presents The Hearing Experience & Language Learning Outcomes (HELLO) Lab at the University of Connecticut has a great series of YouTube Videos about child language acquisition for parents. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-19.png) - [HELLO Lab on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@thehellolab?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *How babies talk: The magic and mystery of language in the first three years of life* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-17.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3FXGQsE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780452281738?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Understanding child language acquisition* ![Book cover of Understanding Child Language Acquisition by Caroline Rowland. A close-up photo of a red flower with a yellow center against a green-blue blurred background. ā€œUnderstanding Language Seriesā€ appears along the left side, and the Routledge logo is at the bottom.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/02/image-22.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3OfDR2J?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781444152654?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Anderson, Daniel R. & Tiffany A. Pempek. 2005\. Television and very young children. *American Behavioral Scientist* 48(5). 505ā€“522\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764204271506](https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764204271506?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Baker, Anne, Beppie Van Den Bogaerde, Roland Pfau & Trude Schermer (eds.). 2016\. *The linguistics of sign languages: An introduction*. John Benjamins. [https://doi.org/10.1075/z.199](https://doi.org/10.1075/z.199?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Barr, Rachel & Nancy Wyss. 2008\. Reenactment of televised content by 2-year olds: Toddlers use language learned from television to solve a difficult imitation problem. *Infant Behavior & Development* 31(4). 696ā€“703\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2008.04.006](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2008.04.006?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Chomsky, Noam. 1959\. Review of ā€œVerbal behaviorā€ by B.F. Skinner. *Language* 35(1). 26ā€“58\. [https://doi.org/10.2307/411334](https://doi.org/10.2307/411334?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Curtiss, Susan. 1988\. Abnormal language acquisition and the modularity of language. In Frederick J. Newmeyer (ed.), *Linguistic theory: extensions and implications* (Linguistics: The Cambridge Survey), vol. 2\. Cambridge University Press. - Hart, Betty & Todd R. Risley. 1995\. *Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children*. Baltimore: P. H. Brookes. - Krcmar, Marina, Gernard Grela & Kirsten Lin. 2007\. Can toddlers learn vocabulary from television? An experimental approach. *Media Psychology* 10\. 41ā€“63\. [https://doi.org/10.108/15213260701300931](https://doi.org/10.108/15213260701300931?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Kuhl, Patricia K., Feng-Ming Tsao & Huei-Mei Liu. 2003\. Foreign-language experience in infancy: Effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 100(15). 9096ā€“9101\. [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1532872100](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1532872100?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Linebarger, Deborah L. & Dale Walker. 2005\. Infantsā€™ and toddlersā€™ television viewing and language outcomes. *American Behavioral Scientist* 48(5). 624ā€“645\. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764204271505](https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764204271505?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Lust, Barbara. 2006\. *Child language: Acquisition and growth* (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics). Cambridge University Press. - Mumme, Donna L. & Anne Fernald. 2003\. The infant as onlooker: Learning from emotional reactions observed in a television scenario. *Child Development* 74(1). 221ā€“237\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00532](https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00532?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Newport, Elissa L. 1990\. Maturational constraints on language learning. *Cognitive Science* 14(1). 11ā€“28\. [https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1401\_2](https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1401%5F2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Oā€™Doherty, Katherine, Georgene L. Troseth, Priya M. Shimpi, Elizabeth Goldenberg, Nameera Akhtar & Megan M. Saylor. 2011\. Third-party social interaction and word learning from video: Social interaction and video. *Child Development* 82(3). 902ā€“915\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01579.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01579.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Patterson, Janet L. 2002\. Relationships of expressive vocabulary to frequency of reading and television experience among bilingual toddlers. *Applied Psycholinguistics* 23(4). 493ā€“508\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716402004010](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716402004010?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - RamĆ­rez, Naja Ferjan, Amy M. Lieberman & Rachel I. Mayberry. 2013\. The initial stages of first-language acquisition begun in adolescence: when late looks early. *Journal of Child Language* 40(2). 391ā€“414\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000911000535](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000911000535?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Rice, Mabel L., Aletha C. Huston, Rosemarie Truglio & John C. Wright. 1990\. Words from ā€œSesame Streetā€: Learning vocabulary while viewing. *Developmental Psychology* 26(3). 421ā€“428\. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.26.3.421](https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.26.3.421?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Rice, Mabel L. & Linda Woodsmall. 1988\. Lessons from television: Childrenā€™s word learning when viewing. *Child Development* 59(2). 420\. [https://doi.org/10.2307/1130321](https://doi.org/10.2307/1130321?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sachs, Jacqueline, Barbara Bard & Marie L. Johnson. 1981\. Language learning with restricted input: Case studies of two hearing children of deaf parents. *Applied Psycholinguistics* 2(1). 33ā€“54\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400000643](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400000643?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sandler, Wendy & Diane Lillo-Martin. 2017\. Sign languages. In Mark Aronoff & Janie Rees-Miller (eds.), *The handbook of linguistics* (Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics), 371ā€“396\. 2nd edn. Wiley-Blackwell. - Saxton, Matthew. 2017\. *Child language: Acquisition and development*. 2nd edn. SAGE. - Shneidman, Laura A., Michelle E. Arroyo, Susan C. Levine & Susan Goldin-Meadow. 2013\. What counts as effective input for word learning? *Journal of Child Language* 40(3). 672ā€“686\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000912000141](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000912000141?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Snow, C. E., A. Arlman-Rupp, Y. Hassing, J. Jobse, J. Joosten & J. Vorster. 1976\. Mothersā€™ speech in three social classes. *Journal of Psycholinguistic Research* 5(1). 1ā€“20\. [https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067944](https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067944?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Tulviste, Tiia & Jaan Tulviste. 2024\. Weekend screen use of parents and children associates with child language skills. *Frontiers in Developmental Psychology* 2\. 1404235\. [https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2024.1404235](https://doi.org/10.3389/fdpys.2024.1404235?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Uchikoshi, Yuuko. 2005\. Narrative development in bilingual kindergarteners: Can Arthur help? *Developmental Psychology* 41(3). 464ā€“478\. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.3.464](https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.3.464?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why is the āŸØgāŸ© in ā€œlongevityā€ pronounced twice? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/longevity/ Last updated: 2026-03-13T18:10:47.000Z Why is the āŸØgāŸ© in *longevity* pronounced twice? To some of you, this may seem like an odd question. If so, thatā€™s probably because you *donā€™t* pronounce the āŸØgāŸ© in *longevity* twice. You see, there are two common pronunciations of *longevity*: one where the first syllable sounds like *lawn*, and one where that syllable sounds like *long*. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), for a General American dialect, those two pronunciations might be transcribed like this: - When the first syllable sounds like *lawn,* āŸØgāŸ© is pronounced once: /lɑnĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›v.ÉŖ.ti/ - When the first syllable sounds like *long,* āŸØgāŸ© is pronounced twice: /lɑŋĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›v.ÉŖ.ti/ There is of course a lot of additional variation in how this word is pronounced across various dialects, but the relevant difference here is whether the nasal consonant before the āŸØgāŸ© is pronounced as /n/ (like at the end of the word *sin*) or /ŋ/ (like at the end of the word *sing*). That /ŋ/ sound is called **eng** (or **engma**) in linguistics. From what I can tell, the use of eng in *longevity* is more common in North American English, Australian English, and New Zealand English than it is in British English, but both pronunciations can be heard anywhere in the core Anglosphere. The eng pronunciation also seems to be a more recent development, based solely on the fact that major dictionaries (the [OED](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/longevity%5Fn?tab=factsheet&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#38801132), [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longevity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/longevity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) donā€™t even list that pronunciation yet. [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/longevity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), however, *does* list this variant (which is an excellent example of how good Wiktionaryā€™s descriptive coverage has become, thanks to crowdsourcing its data). Among those who do pronounce *longevity* with an eng, however, the mystery of why the āŸØgāŸ© gets pronounced twice is deeply puzzling, at least if the number and view count of online videos about this question are any indication: > [@iambrianfink](https://www.tiktok.com/@iambrianfink?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "@iambrianfink") > > How do YOU pronounce it? šŸ˜¤ [#english](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/english?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "english") [#weirdwords](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/weirdwords?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "weirdwords") [#longevity](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/longevity?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "longevity") [#brianfink](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/brianfink?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "brianfink") [#fyp](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "fyp") > > [ā™¬ original sound - Brian Fink](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7563823696176040717?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "ā™¬ original sound - Brian Fink") It even caught the attention of some popular online educators! > [@jasonkpargin](https://www.tiktok.com/@jasonkpargin?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "@jasonkpargin") [ā™¬ Elevator Music - Bohoman](https://www.tiktok.com/music/Elevator-Music-6781515050600368129?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "ā™¬ Elevator Music - Bohoman") ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-11.png) Even the brilliant science communicator [Ashley Christine](https://www.tiktok.com/@modernday%5Feratosthenes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) was stymied by the mystery that is **longevity*. Of course, videos like these tend to spark backlash in the comments from people who either insist that thereā€™s only one correct pronunciation of a controversial word, or claim to have never heard the alternate pronunciation. [What to do when someone corrects your pronunciationSome strategies for educating people about linguistics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-84.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/social-preview-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/correcting-pronunciation/) I say ā€œclaimā€ because few people are actually so linguistically isolated that theyā€™ve genuinely never heard common alternate pronunciations of everyday words. If theyā€™re globally connected enough to be commenting on language videos on the internet, theyā€™ve likely encountered those other pronunciations but simply werenā€™t paying attention. This isnā€™t a criticism of how observant people are. Your brain ignores a great deal of the linguistic variation it encounters because itā€™s focused not just on the sounds you hear but on identifying the words being used and the message being conveyed. Our brains are incredible categorization machines, capable of disregarding incidental differences between stimuli in order to identify instances of the same abstract type. Even widely variant pronunciations of a word still get categorized as instances of the ā€œsameā€ word by your brain. We would not be able to do language with each other if our brains werenā€™t capable of ignoring these interpersonal disparities. Ironically, itā€™s precisely our incredible linguistic abilities and our brainsā€™ ability to filter out semantically irrelevant differences which make people so upset when those differences are pointed out to them. It makes for some great internet ragebait, as the above videos show. > ā€œIā€™ve never heard anybody say it that way.ā€ \~ somebody on the internet who has in fact heard many people say it that way many many times because itā€™s a common pronunciation but they just werenā€™t paying attention, probably Anyway, I digress. Now that weā€™ve established that both /lɑnĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›v.ÉŖ.ti/ and /lɑŋĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›v.ÉŖ.ti/ are in fact common pronunciations of *longevity*, letā€™s talk about how it got to be pronounced that way, and how its spelling is actually playing a neat mental trick on you. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of languageā€”a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages. Topics covered in this newsletter include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects! Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## The spelling of *longevity* is messing with your head You might be tempted at first to explain the eng pronunciation by saying that the āŸØgāŸ© is shared by two different syllablesā€”itā€™s part of both the first syllable, *long-*, and the second syllable, *\-gev-*. And youā€™d be clever for suggesting this, because this is in fact something that happens occasionally in English. Linguists often analyze words like *dinner* and *donor* as containing an **ambisyllabic** consonantā€”a consonant sound that is part of two syllables at once. (Note that weā€™re talking about *sounds* here, not *letters*.) However, the āŸØgāŸ© in *longevity* isnā€™t one of those cases. The syllable boundary around that āŸØgāŸ© is actually quite clear: the first syllable is /lɑŋ/ or /lɑn/ depending on your pronunciation, and the second syllable is /dĶ”Ź’É›v/. šŸŒŸ ****Bonus Content: How do we know where syllable boundaries are?** What are the syllables in **donor*, **hurry*, and **lemon*? Does thinking about that make your head hurt? If so, youā€™re not alone! Linguists puzzle over this same problem. If youā€™re a paid subscriber, stick around til [the end of this article](#%F0%9F%8C%9F-bonus-content-how-do-we-know-where-syllable-boundaries-are) for some bonus content about ambisyllabic consonants and how linguists think about syllable boundaries. In order to understand whatā€™s happening with *longevity*, you need to make a mental distinction between how the word is *spelled* and how itā€™s *pronounced*: - **spelling:** āŸØlongevityāŸ© - **pronunciation:** /lɑŋĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›v.ÉŖ.ti/ (eng pronunciation) Youā€™ll notice that the spelled version of *longevity* has āŸØangle bracketsāŸ© around it, while the pronunciation version has /slashes/ around it. Linguists use these conventions to clarify when we are talking about the *written* representation of a word (its spelling) versus when we are talking about the *spoken* representation of a word (its pronunciation). If you pay attention to the pronunciation of *longevity* rather than its spelling, you might notice something odd given the subject of this article: thereā€™s no /g/! Even though *longevity* is spelled with one āŸØgāŸ© letter, it doesnā€™t have a /g/ sound when you write it phonetically. Thatā€™s because in the International Phonetic Alphabet, the symbol /g/ *always* refers to the ā€œhardā€ /g/ as in *go* or *good*. Since *longevity* doesnā€™t have a ā€œhardā€ /g/ in the pronunciation, thereā€™s no /g/ in its phonetic transcription. ā„¹ļø Some people actually **do* pronounce a /g/ in **longevity*, inserting it immediately after the eng, as /lɑŋgĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›v.ÉŖ.ti/. Yes, this means that these people say the āŸØgāŸ© not just twice, but **thrice*! They might pronounce it this way because theyā€™re hyperarticulating for clarity, or do so as a form of hypercorrectionā€”a topic that deserves an entire article in itself! But Iā€™ll save that for another day. In English spelling conventionsā€”Englishā€™s **orthography**, if you prefer the technical termā€”the letter āŸØgāŸ© is commonly used to write a few different sounds: | **Name** | **IPA Symbol** | **Example Words** | | ----------- | -------------- | -------------------------- | | hard G | /g/ | *go*, *garden*, *gum* | | soft G | /dĶ”Ź’/ | *giant*, *gentle*, *gym* | | fricative G | /Ź’/ | *beige*, *mirage*, *rouge* | | silent G | ā€” | *gnat*, *sign*, *foreign* | And certain combinations of letters (known as **digraphs**) with āŸØgāŸ© also commonly represent certain sounds: | **Digraph** | **Pronunciation** | **Example Words** | | ----------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------- | | āŸØngāŸ© | /ŋ/ | *sing*, *ring*, *bang* | | āŸØghāŸ© | /g/ | *ghost*, *ghetto*, *Afghanistan* | | āŸØghāŸ© | /f/ | *laugh*, *cough*, *enough* | | āŸØghāŸ© | ā€” | *high*, *though*, *sigh* | In the word *longevity*, the letter āŸØgāŸ© is being used to represent two of these ā€œg soundsā€ at once: the eng sound /ŋ/ and the ā€œsoft gā€ sound /dĶ”Ź’/. Even though neither of these is technically a /g/ sound in the sense of being a ā€œhard gā€, thatā€™s why you perceive there to be two āŸØgāŸ©ā€™s in the wordā€”it contains two different sounds commonly associated with the letter āŸØgāŸ© in English. You may have also just noticed that the word *English* itself has this same quirk: the āŸØgāŸ© represents both /ŋ/ and /g/ at the same time (though [the story behind why that happens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation%5Fof%5FEnglish%5F%E2%9F%A8ng%E2%9F%A9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in the word *English* is actually different from why it happens in *longevity*, even though the result is similar). How did this dual use of āŸØgāŸ© come about? Which sound did that āŸØgāŸ© originally represent? Why isnā€™t it spelled āŸØlonggevityāŸ© instead? To understand how we got here, we need to trace *longevity*'s journey from Classical Latin to modern English. ## The history of *longevity* > Even as Latin broke up into the distinct Romance languages we have today, people still thought they were speaking Latin, and so they would have read Latin texts with their own vernacular pronunciations. The word *longevity* was first documented in English in 1569, making it one of the many words borrowed from Latin during the Renaissance. The Latin word it came from was *longaevitās* ā€˜long lifeā€™, which itself is a combination of *longus* ā€˜longā€™ + *aevum* ā€˜time, eternity; age, generationā€™ + *\-tās*, an abstract noun suffix indicating states of being. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-12.png) If you enjoy learning about etymology like this, be sure to check out Jess Zafarrisā€™ book **Useless etymology* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Itā€™s important to note that not all sounds are meaningful in all languages. For example, Latin didnā€™t make a meaningful contrast between /n/ and /ŋ/ like English does. You can find pairs of words in English like *sin* /sÉŖn/ vs. *sing* /sÉŖŋ/ which prove that /n/ and /ŋ/ are meaningfully distinct sounds in the language, but you canā€™t find such pairs in Latin. Pairs of words like this which differ by only a single sound are called **minimal pairs**, and they are how linguists determine which sounds are distinct and meaningful in a language. In English, you *have* to be able to recognize the difference between /n/ and /ŋ/ if you want to be able to distinguish *sin* from *sing* or *kin* from *king*. This is what I mean what I say that thereā€™s a ā€œmeaningful contrastā€ between /n/ and /ŋ/ in English. When a language does make a meaningful contrast between two sounds like this, we call them distinct **phonemes**. Latin had a phoneme /n/, written as āŸØNāŸ©, but not a phoneme /ŋ/. Instead, /n/ could be pronounced as either \[n\] or \[ŋ\] depending on the sounds around it. So while Latin speakers *pronounced* an eng \[ŋ\] in many words, they didnā€™t *perceive* it as a distinct sound; they perceived it as just a variation of /n/. In particular, the \[ŋ\] variant was only used before other velar consonants like /g, k/. (When a phonemeā€™s pronunciation changes to be more like the sounds around it in this way, the process is called **assimilation**.) In technical terms, weā€™d say that the \[ŋ\] pronunciation is an **allophone** of the phoneme /n/. An allophone is simply a pronunciation variant of a particular phoneme, usually conditioned by the sounds around it. In English, for instance, the phoneme /t/ can be pronounced \[t\] (plain), \[tŹ°\] (aspirated), \[Ź”\] (glottalized), \[tĢš\] (unreleased), and \[ɾ\] (flapped). Each of these pronunciations is a different allophone of /t/, and each has its own rules about when itā€™s used. The aspirated \[tŹ°\], for example, is generally the pronunciation used at the beginnings of syllables. But if youā€™re a native English speaker, you just hear all these different sounds as /t/. \[t, tŹ°, Ź”, tĢš, ɾ\] are not *meaningfully* distinct in English, just like \[n\] and \[ŋ\] were not meaningfully distinct sounds in Latin. Notice the additional transcription convention Iā€™ve introduced here too: when a sound is a distinct phoneme in a language, we write it between /slashes/; but when a sound isnā€™t a meaningfully distinct phoneme, we write it between \[square brackets\]. The first is a **phonemic** transcription and the second is a **phonetic** transcription. Putting all this together, it means that *longaevitās* in Classical Latin would have been pronounced as \[laŋĖˆÉ”aįµ‰.wÉŖ.taĖs\] but perceived as /lanĖˆÉ”aįµ‰.wÉŖ.taĖs/, with /n/ pronounced as \[ŋ\] due to assimilation with the following /g/. Confusingly but unsurprisingly, however, Latin pronunciation changed over the centuries. Even as Latin broke up into distinct languages like French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and numerous others (what we today call **Romance languages**, or descendants of Latin), people still thought they were speaking Latin, and so they would read Latin texts with vernacular pronunciations. For example, the Latin word *saeculum* ā€˜generationā€™ was pronounced /Ėˆsaįµ‰.ku.lum/ in Classical Latin, but in ninth-century Spain it was read as /sjeglo/ (Modern Spanish *siglo* ā€˜centuryā€™). To us, that might not seem like a very logical way to pronounce āŸØsaeculumāŸ©, but the same kind of ā€œillogicalā€ transformation also happened in English: think about how English speakers today say *knight* as /naį¶¦t/ today rather than the original pronunciation /knÉŖxt/ ([Wikipedia: Ecclesiastical Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastical%5FLatin?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). It took scholars centuries to recognize the Romance descendants of Latin as distinct languages. The first grammar of a Romance language wasnā€™t even published until 1492! It came in the form of Antonio de Nebrijaā€™s grammar of Castilian Spanish (although we see hints of early Spanish as far back as the 900s in the [*Glosas Emilianenses*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glosas%5FEmilianenses?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and early French in the [Oaths of Strasbourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaths%5Fof%5FStrasbourg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in 842). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-13.png) A page from the Latin codex **Aemilianensis 60*, which has glosses in the margin in an early Iberian Romance variety (a precursor to Modern Spanish). ([Wikipedia: ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glosas%5FEmilianenses?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[Glosas Emilianenses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glosas%5FEmilianenses?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-14.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3AkK32K?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) As a result of the sound changes throughout Europe and in Italy specifically, the pronunciations used by the Catholic Church for Latin wound up being quite different from the original pronunciations of Classical Latin. Today we call this **Ecclesiastical Latin**, the variety of Latin used in Christian literature throughout the Middle Ages and in the Catholic Church today. The genesis of Ecclesiastical Latin had an odd result for our history of *longevity*: because English scholars during the Renaissance only knew Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation and not Classical pronunciation (linguists didnā€™t fully piece together how Classical Latin sounded until the florescence of historical linguistics in the 1800s), whenever they borrowed words from Latin, they did so with their Ecclesiastical pronunciations. This meant that when *longevity* first entered English in 1569, it was probably pronounced something like /lɑnĖˆdĶ”Ź’É›.vi.tas/ instead of the Classical \[laŋĖˆÉ”aįµ‰.wÉŖ.taĖs\]. The āŸØgāŸ© was now pronounced as a ā€œsoft gā€ /dĶ”Ź’/, and the /n/ pronounced as \[n\] rather than the traditional eng \[ŋ\]. So when the word *longevity* first entered English, the āŸØgāŸ© only represented the ā€œsoft gā€ sound /dĶ”Ź’/ā€”it wasnā€™t yet doing double duty as it does for many speakers today. The eng pronunciation actually had to be *re*introduced later, ironically making the pronunciation *more* like the original Classical Latin pronunciation. What caused the eng pronunciation to come full circle like this? Well we know itā€™s *not* due to assimilation like it was in Latin. In Classical Latin, the /n/ in *longevity* was pronounced as \[ŋ\] because that made the sound more similar to the /g/ which followed itā€”both \[ŋ\] and \[g\] are pronounced with the tongue touching the velum (soft palate) at the back of the roof of the mouth. But this canā€™t have happened in English because the sound following the /n/ is /dĶ”Ź’/ rather than /g/, and /dĶ”Ź’/ is pronounced at the *front* of the mouth at the alveolar ridge. So pronouncing *longevity* with an eng \[ŋ\] arguably makes the word *harder* to pronounce because the tongue has to move rapidly between more distant articulatory targets. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-15.png) A sagittal section (side view of the center) of the vocal tract, showing the locations of various articulatory targets in the mouth. Instead, it seems that the main reason for the shift in the pronunciation of *longevity* is because speakers made an analogy to the word *long* in English, which of course is pronounced with an eng, as /lɑŋ/. And this is a very reasonable thing to do! The word *long* is, after all, historically related to *longus*, which was part of that Classical Latin word *longaevitās*. The English word *long* wasnā€™t borrowed from Latin *longus*, though; instead they developed independently, in parallel, from the original Proto-Indo-European root \* *dlongŹ°os* ā€˜longā€™. And even if you didnā€™t know that *longevity* actually comes from Latin, itā€™s entirely reasonable to make an association between *long* and *longevity* since the latter literally means ā€˜a long duration of individual lifeā€™. English speakers may not know the exact details of how *long* and *longevity* are related, but it seems to them that there must be *some* connection between them. ![An etymological flowchart showing how the Proto-Indo-European word *dlongŹ°os ā€˜longā€™ evolved independently in Latin and Germanic into longevity and long respectively.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-16.png) This makes the word *longevity* a subtle case of **folk etymology**ā€”reinterpreting a word or phrase as having different elements than it originally did because the original elements are unfamiliar to the speaker. In this case, few English speakers know that *longevity* is actually from a Latin word *longaevitās*, so they reanalyze it as being from the English word *long* instead, and assume the *\-ev-* part just has some other meaning theyā€™re not aware of, maybe connected to words like *brevity* and *levity*. Of course, there is no actual connection between *brevity*/*levity* and *\-ev-* or the original Latin *aevum*, but the mere existence of other words ending in *\-evity* this makes it easier for speakers to analogically reinterpret *longevity* this way. This is why I actually like calling folk etymology **analogical reanalysis** or **etymological reinterpretation** instead ([Cienkowski 2008](https://www.notion.so/Cienkowski-2008-29d50a282bc181158437c90331f50cff?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The word *folk* has subtle pejorative implications of ignorance, when whatā€™s actually happening here is some clever analogical reasoning on the part of speakers. And whatā€™s pretty incredible about this is that almost no one is sitting around consciously thinking about *longevity* this way before they say it with an /ŋ/. All this analogizing is happening subliminally and automatically. Humans are incredible pattern-recognition machines, especially when it comes to language. And so we now have the complete answer to our orthographic mystery: the āŸØgāŸ© in *longevity* is pronounced twice because it was borrowed from Latin at a point when the pronunciation of Latin had undergone significant changes, and then it was reinterpreted as being based on the English word *long* rather than the original Latin word *longaevitās*. Along the way, we learned a little about how our brains process language, how spelling relates to pronunciation, and how language might change over time. So next time you notice someone pronounce *longevity*ā€”or any word!ā€”differently from how you do, itā€™s worth pausing to appreciate the amazing confluence of cognitive, historical, physiological, and analogical factors that brought those differences about, and yet still make us capable of understanding each other. ## šŸ™ Credits This issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was edited by Amy Treber. If youā€™re looking for professional copyediting services, email Amy at [amytreberedits@gmail.com](mailto:amytreberedits@gmail.com). The final responsibility for any mistakes or omissions is of course still wholly my own. ## šŸ“‘ References - Cienkowski, Witold. 2008\. The initial stimuli in the processes of etymological reinterpretation (soā€called folk etymology). *Scando-Slavica* 15(1). 237ā€“245\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/00806766908600524](https://doi.org/10.1080/00806766908600524?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Gordon, Matthew K. 2016\. *Phonological typology* (Oxford Surveys in Phonology & Phonetics 1). Oxford University Press. - Jensen, John T. 2000\. Against ambisyllabicity. *Phonology* 17(2). 187ā€“235\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952675700003912](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952675700003912?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Treiman, Rebecca & Catalina Danis. 1988\. Syllabification of intervocalic consonants. *Journal of Memory and Language* 27(1). 87ā€“104\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(88)90050-2](https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X%2888%2990050-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ“š The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸŒŸ Bonus Content: How do we know where syllable boundaries are? > Our judgements about syllable boundaries are inconsistent and unreliable, which is probably a reflection of the fact that syllables themselves are, like almost everything in language, fuzzy categories centered around a clear prototype. As mentioned above, linguists often analyze some words in English as containing an **ambisyllabic** consonantā€”one which is part of two syllables at once. Note that weā€™re talking about *sounds* here, not *letters*. Frequently in English a single *sound* will be written using more than one *letter*, and thatā€™s whatā€™s happening in the words below. How would you divide these words into syllables? Is the middle consonant sound part of the preceding syllable, the following syllable, or both? - better - butter - dinner - donor - funny - habit - hammer - happy - hobby - hurry - lemon - running If trying to figure out the syllable boundaries in these words makes your head hurt, youā€™re not alone: ā€œDetermining the exact nature of syllables and their boundaries has proved notoriously difficultā€ ([Jensen 2000](https://www.notion.so/Jensen-2000-29950a282bc18136977be24a8048b7d2?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 187). Linguists debate whether these cases should even be analyzed this way ([Jensen 2000](https://www.notion.so/Jensen-2000-29950a282bc18136977be24a8048b7d2?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and speakers often disagree on exactly where syllable boundaries lie ([Gordon 2016](https://www.notion.so/Gordon-2016-19c50a282bc18174bdfed70cca87162f?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): 83). In experiments, speakers do have strong intuitions that words like *happy*, *hammer*, and *hobby* have an ambisyllabic consonant ([Rubach 1996](https://www.notion.so/Rubach-1996-29a50a282bc1819fa555d446b423367d?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), but they seem to be influenced by the fact that these words also happen to be *spelled* with two consonants ([Treiman & Danis 1988](https://www.notion.so/Treiman-Danis-1988-29a50a282bc181888faee9d2bd15a971?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Speakers are less likely to consider the /n/ in *pony* to be ambisyllabic than they are the /n/ in *punny*, even though *pony* and *punny* have the same syllable structure (*pony* /poį¶·ni/ vs. *punny* /pŹŒni/). Liquid consonants /l, r/ and nasal consonants /m, n, ŋ/ were also judged to be ambisyllabic more often than other consonants ([Treiman & Danis 1988](https://www.notion.so/Treiman-Danis-1988-29a50a282bc181888faee9d2bd15a971?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). So our judgements about syllable boundaries are inconsistent and unreliable, which is probably a reflection of the fact that syllables themselves are tricky to define and not nearly as cleanly delineated in language as you were taught in school. They are, like almost everything in language, fuzzy categories centered around a clear prototype. šŸ˜… My copyeditor, [Amy Treber](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-treber/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), tells me that ā€œOne of the first times I remember realizing that teachers arenā€™t always right was in about 3rd grade when my teacher said that the word January has 3 syllables: Jan-u-ary.ā€ Thankfully, this fuzziness isnā€™t actually a problem for our understanding of *longevity*, because the āŸØgāŸ© in *longevity* isnā€™t ambisyllabic anyway, as explained in the article. Linguists may not know what syllables are, but we can still identify the clear cases, and this is one of them. However, there *is* disagreement amongst dictionaries about whether the /v/ in *longevity* belongs to the second syllable or the third. (For the purpose of this article I assumed it belongs to the second.) Whatā€™s neat about this disparity is that it shows how syllable boundaries can sometimes be sensitive to morpheme boundaries: /v/ is syllabified as part of the syllable /dĶ”Ź’É›v/ because thatā€™s where the stem ends and the suffix *\-ity* begins. If not for that suffix, the /v/ would be the start of the following syllable instead, which is more typical for English. ### The way we read in our first language influences how we read in other languages URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-01/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:31:20.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of the *Discovery Digest*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸŽ† One year of *Linguistic Discovery* 2025 was the official first year of the *Linguistic Discovery* newsletter! I soft-launched the newsletter with a few articles in late 2024, then published my first weekly digest in late January 2025\. What a year itā€™s been! Here are some quick stats from the year: | | | | ----------------------- | ------- | | Digest Issues Published | 42 | | Articles Published | 28 | | Readers | 6,456 | | Reads | 141,881 | ### Top Articles [Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?A new study shows that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow, but what does that tell us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-77.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/social-preview-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/) [Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-78.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-3.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) [From counting to cuneiform: How writing was inventedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-79.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/proto-cuneiform-accounting-tablet-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) [The etymology of ā€˜oneā€™: From Proto-Indo-European to Modern EnglishThere are over thirty English words that derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™. This is the story of how they came to be, and what that story teaches us about how language works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-80.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/infographic-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/one/) [Why English needs ā€œyā€™allā€Why doesnā€™t English just have a plural ā€œyouā€ like other languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-81.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/you--pl.--1.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/yall/) At various points throughout the year, the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was also featured as a [Rising Newsletter](https://substack.com/leaderboard/science/rising?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in the Science category on Substack, reaching #33 at its peak! Read more about my thoughts on 2025 and whatā€™s coming next for 2026 in this issue of the newsletter: [One year of Linguistic DiscoveryA look back at the first year of the newsletter, and whatā€™s changing in 2026![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-82.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2026-Social-Previews--1-.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-review/) ### 2ļøāƒ£0ļøāƒ£2ļøāƒ£6ļøāƒ£ Whatā€™s changing (or not changing) in 2026 Iā€™m making a few changes to the newsletter in 2026: - **Iā€™ll continue publishing this digest of the latest news and research in linguistics.** Many of you told me in your responses to the reader survey how much you value this digest, so Iā€™ll keep it going! However, the digest will probably be shorter going forward, if only because Iā€™ve now worked through my backlog of content for it. (There simply isnā€™t that much new linguistics stuff to talk about each week!) I may also experiment with a biweekly posting schedule (every other week). - **Iā€™ll aim to publish one new longform article each week.** Each week Iā€™ll publish an article about grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages, how language works, explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics, or profiles of specific languages. You told me through the reader survey that youā€™re especially interested in the first two topics, so most of the articles will be in those areas. - **New publishing schedule.** You also told me in the reader survey that youā€™re a bunch of morning birds! A majority of you prefer to have the newsletter delivered in the early morning before work, so thatā€™s what Iā€™ll do: Iā€™ll aim to have the newsletter in your inbox by the time you wake up (probably 4am ET). *The weekly digest will now be delivered on Tuesdays, and articles will be delivered on Saturdays.* (These times/schedules are subject to change if I notice significant changes in open rates etc.) - **Digest:** Tuesdays @ 4am ET - **Articles:** Saturdays @ 4am ET - **Iā€™m starting a book project!** And paying supporters will get early access! The working title is *The Linguarium: A field guide to the worldā€™s languages*. The book is a tour of the diversity of the worldā€™s languages, from click languages to reconstructed languages to whistled languages to secret languages to the language of thought to animal languages to the very first human language, and many more. Iā€™ll syndicate the book so that each section/chapter is an issue of the newsletter. But because I want to pitch the book to a traditional publisher, those issues will be paywalled and only available to paying supporters. [šŸ“– Get early access to my book!](#/portal/signup) - **More articles will be paywalled.** I expect about half of the articles in 2026 will be paywalled as part of the book, and the other half will be free. Some paywalled articles may also be behind-the-scenes content about my work documenting and revitalizing languages, or deep-dives on special niche topics. The digest, however, will never be paywalled. [šŸ”“ Remove the paywall](#/portal/signup) - **The price of paid subscriptions will increase to $10/mo. (USD).** Since Iā€™ll be publishing about twice as many articles this year (\~50) and significantly more bonus articles (\~25), Iā€™ve decided to increase the price of a monthly subscription to $10/mo. (USD). *Free subscriptions will remain free*, and free subscribers will still have access to all my regular articles (\~25/yr.). The new pricing model will go into effect on February 1, but if youā€™d like to lock in the old price of $5/mo. (USD) for another year, you can purchase an annual subscription for $50 now and avoid the price increase until 2027. [Subscribe now for a lower price](#/portal/signup) To recap, hereā€™s the new pricing structure: | | **Cost** | **Benefits** | | ------------------ | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Free Subscribers | free | digest + 25 free articles/year | | Paying Subscribers | $10/mo. OR $100/yr. | digest + 25 free articles/year + 25 bonus articles/year | ### 23rd International Linguistics Olympiad ![The logo for the International Linguistics Olympiad](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-1.png) The International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) is an annual international competition that brings together secondary school students and experts from various fields of linguistics. Since its inception in 2003, the IOL has been hosted in a different country each year, traditionally between late July and mid-August. The competition challenges participants to analyze the grammar, structure, culture, and history of different languages and to demonstrate their linguistic abilities through puzzles and problem-solving challenges. The IOL encourages creativity and imagination and helps participants develop skills in language analysis and problem-solving. By promoting awareness and understanding of diverse cultures and histories, the competition plays a vital role in nurturing future linguistics experts and contributing to the development of this academic field. No prior knowledge of linguistics or languages is required, as even the most challenging problems only require logical ability, patient work, and a willingness to think outside the box. Why not give some of their [**past problems**](https://ioling.org/problems/by%5Fyear/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) a try and see if you have what it takes to compete in the worldā€™s toughest puzzles in language and linguistics? This yearā€™s IOL is being hosted in Bucharest, Romania in late July 2026\. Learn more at the link below! [International Linguistics OlympiadInternational Linguistics Olympiad official website![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-precomposed.png)International Linguistics Olympiad![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/thumbnail.png)](https://ioling.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸ†“ \[no paywall\] Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-2.png) Do Inuit languages really have hundreds of words for snow? ā„ļø And if so, does it even matter? A recent study uses data from 616 languages to claim that Inuit languages really do have disproportionately more words for snow than other languages. In this issue of the newsletter (which is no longer paywalled), I explain the history of the ā€œInuit words for snowā€ myth, what this new study says about it, and whether language really does influence how we think: [Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?A new study shows that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow, but what does that tell us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-83.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/social-preview-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/) ### How Spanish evolved from Latin Another video from the archives this week: How Latin gradually evolved into Spanish (and various other Romance languages): ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Linguists work to preserve Arapaho language with digital tools ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-3.png) The Young Falcons drum group practices at the Arapahoe School's 21st Century Community Learning Center in the after school learning program. Students learn the Arapaho language, culture, history, and traditions of the Arapaho tribe on the Wind River reservation on February 27, 2017 in Wyoming. Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images Linguists have built databases of over 100,000 Arapaho sentences and 20,000 Arapaho words, representing data from almost 100 speakers, as part of an effort to document and revitalize the Arapaho language. > Arapaho is one of the many an Indigenous languages that are severely at risk of disappearing. According to the United Nations, 4 in 10 Indigenous languages are currently at risk due to aging populations and ongoing discrimination against native speakers. For Arapaho, the population of native speakers of the language rooted in the Great Plains is aging. Arapaho is part of the extensive Algonquian language family, which spans much of northeast North America. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-4.png) Pre-contact distribution of Algonquian languages ([Wikipedia: Algonquian languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquian%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) [Digital linguists work to save the Arapaho languageNew database built with over 100,000 Arapaho sentences.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-ps-FE5102-1-5.png)Popular ScienceMargherita Bassi![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/arapaho-drums.png)](https://www.popsci.com/science/linguists-arapaho-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A database could help revive the Arapaho language before its last speakers are goneMany Native American languages only have a few native speakers left.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-58.png)The ConversationAndrew Cowell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251125-56-97hdz3.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/a-database-could-help-revive-the-arapaho-language-before-its-last-speakers-are-gone-269592?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### First-ever monolingual Irish dictionary published ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-5.png) *An FoclĆ³ir Nua Gaeilge* is the first monolingual ā€˜Irish-Irishā€™ dictionary, allowing anyone searching for the meaning of an Irish word to do so without turning to English first. Until now, anyone wishing to look up a word in Irish had to rely on an Irishā€“English dictionary, meaning that a person seeking the meaning of a phrase as Gaeilge was first required to view it through the lens of English. - [Launch of first-ever Irish dictionary hailed as ā€˜historic momentā€™ for the language](https://www.joe.ie/news/launch-of-first-ever-irish-dictionary-hailed-as-historic-moment-for-the-language-860766?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (JOE) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### AI models can now analyze language as well as humans ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-6.png) A recent study put a number of large language models (LLMs) through a gamut of linguistic tests, similar to the types of problem sets given to undergraduate linguistics students. > ā€œWhile most of the LLMs failed to parse linguistic rules in the way that humans are able to, one had impressive abilities that greatly exceeded expectations. It was able to analyze language in much the same way a graduate student in linguistics wouldā€”diagramming sentences, resolving multiple ambiguous meanings, and making use of complicated linguistic features such as recursion.ā€ [In a First, AI Models Analyze Language As Well As a Human Expert | Quanta MagazineIf language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained ā€œmetalinguisticā€ abilities?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-8.png)Quanta MagazineSteve Nadis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Metalinguistics-cr-Robert-Neubecker-Social-1.jpg)](https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-ai-models-analyze-language-as-well-as-a-human-expert-20251031/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Large Linguistic Models: Investigating LLMsā€™ Metalinguistic AbilitiesThe performance of large language models (LLMs) has recently improved to the point where models can perform well on many language tasks. We show here thatā€”for the first timeā€”the models can also generate valid metalinguistic analyses of language data. We outline a research program where the behavioral interpretability of LLMs on these tasks is tested via prompting. LLMs are trained primarily on textā€”as such, evaluating their metalinguistic abilities improves our understanding of their general capabilities and sheds new light on theoretical models in linguistics. We show that OpenAIā€™s \[56\] o1 vastly outperforms other models on tasks involving drawing syntactic trees and phonological generalization. We speculate that OpenAI o1ā€™s unique advantage over other models may result from the modelā€™s chain-of-thought mechanism, which mimics the structure of human reasoning used in complex cognitive tasks, such as linguistic analysis.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-136.ico)IEEE Xplore![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ieee_logo_smedia_200X200-1.png)](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11022724?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The way we read in our first language influences how we read in other languages ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-7.png) An example of eye tracking data, showing how each readerā€™s eyes move across the page while reading. Languages are not all written in the same way. Some writing systems use letters (like English, Turkish), others use logographs (Chinese, Japanese), syllable characters (Hindi), and more. Some languages are read left to right (Russian, Spanish), and some right to left (Arabic, Hebrew). Considering how diverse writing systems are, an interesting question is whether the way we read in our native language influences how we read in other languages. The answer appears to be yes, according to a recent study conducted using the Multilingual Eye-Movement Corpus (MECO). Approximately half of the variance in eye movement measures in the second language is explained by respective measures in the first language. For example, writing systems like Korean pack a lot of information into smaller units, and eye-tracking data reflect this: Korean readers skip many words and have shorter eye movements, but make a lot more of them. In a language like Finnish, where words are much longer, information is more distributed and readers tend to spend more time on words and donā€™t skip them often. These are strategies that they carry over to their second language, even when the writing system is different. [New global research shows eye movements reveal how native languages shape readingThe language you learn as a child becomes the lens through which you understand the world. A team of researchers from over 30 countries has found it also affects how you read in your second language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-59.png)The ConversationNadia Lana![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251105-56-fugn7f.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/new-global-research-shows-eye-movements-reveal-how-native-languages-shape-reading-268698?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Text reading in English as a second language: Evidence from the Multilingual Eye-Movements Corpus | Studies in Second Language Acquisition | Cambridge CoreText reading in English as a second language: Evidence from the Multilingual Eye-Movements Corpus - Volume 45 Issue 1![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-137.ico)Cambridge CoreVictor Kuperman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/studies_in-20second-20language-20acquisition.jpg)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-second-language-acquisition/article/text-reading-in-english-as-a-second-language-evidence-from-the-multilingual-eyemovements-corpus/31CE1F8A8D33F93EE31B75AF26F76DB5?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Is a veggie burger still a burger? A linguist explainsThe shape of a burger is reinforced in our mental linguistic definitions every time we see a burger but there isnā€™t a straight-forward definition.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-60.png)The ConversationVictoria-Elliot Bush![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251105-56-u9l1d5.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/is-a-veggie-burger-still-a-burger-a-linguist-explains-267386?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A database could help revive the Arapaho language before its last speakers are goneMany Native American languages only have a few native speakers left.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-61.png)The ConversationAndrew Cowell![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251125-56-97hdz3-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/a-database-could-help-revive-the-arapaho-language-before-its-last-speakers-are-gone-269592?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to beThe AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-65.png)The VergeBenjamin Riley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/258108_language_is_not_intelligence_CVirginia37.jpg)](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/827820/large-language-models-ai-intelligence-neuroscience-problems?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - In contrast to the study above about LLMs doing metalinguistics. [A Very Big Fight Over a Very Small LanguageIn the Swiss Alps, a plan to tidy up Romanshā€”spoken by less than one per cent of the countryā€”set off a decades-long quarrel over identity, belonging, and the sound of authenticity.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-138.ico)The New YorkerSimon Akam![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r47550.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/a-very-big-fight-over-a-very-small-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - My two cents: Languages donā€™t need ā€œtidying upā€! [Dear Duolingo: Whatā€™s the least spoken language in the world?Thousands of languages are fading fast. Hereā€™s why it matters.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-18.png)Duolingo BlogEmilie Zuniga, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_darkPurple.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/least-spoken-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - A look at a few highly endangered languages: Taushiro (Peru), Kusunda (Nepal), Njerep (Cameroon), Ket (Siberia), and Tanema (Solomon Islands). ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Immigrant tongues: Exploring how languages moved, evolved, and defined us* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-8.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3KhkyUK?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781684818150?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This book was released in August 2025 but only just came across my radar, and personally Iā€™m pretty excited to read it. It looks similar in some ways to one of my all-time favorite books, *Empires of the word: A language history of the world* by Nicholas Ostler ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > Patrick Footeā€™s *Immigrant Tongues* is the ultimate language history book, blending stories of migration, culture, and evolution to uncover how languages have shaped our world. Perfect for fans of linguistics gifts and etymology dictionaries, this book combines the fascinating history of English language development with tales of other lingua francas and their profound global impact. > > From the history of the English languageā€™s arrival in the United States to the spread of Arabic across North Africa and the enduring legacy of the Latin language, *Immigrant Tongues* explores the journeys of tongues across continents. Each chapter delves into the origins of a language, the native tongues it encountered, and how it adapted and evolved in its new home. With a style that balances entertainment and depth, this linguistics book also highlights the cultural exchanges that enriched language along the way. Grab a copy here: - [Amazon](https://www.notion.so/12f50a282bc18181badecf128832ec3c?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781684818150?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *The origin of language: How we learned to speak and why* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-9.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668066058?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s a review of the book from *New Scientist*: [Did childcare fuel language? A new book makes the caseRearing our unusually underdeveloped young may account for the evolution of language. Michael Marshall is intrigued, but wants more evidence from Madeleine Beekmanā€™s The Origin of Language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-15.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_261899220.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735570-200-did-childcare-fuel-language-a-new-book-makes-the-case/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Grab a copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668066058?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! Apropos my article about Inuit words for snow: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image-10.png) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### One year of Linguistic Discovery URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-review/ Last updated: 2026-01-02T02:18:24.000Z Happy New Year! šŸŽ‰ 2025 was the official first year of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! In this issue Iā€™ll show you some fun stats from this year and tell you whatā€™s coming up for 2026! Launching this newsletter was one of the best decisions Iā€™ve ever made. It allows me to explore ideas in more depth than short videos on TikTok/Instagram, and helps establish me as a public intellectual so that I can pursue my dream of publishing a pop linguistics book in the near future. (More on that in a bit!) Newsletter subscriptions also finally give me a path to financial viability for Linguistic Discovery. Even though my social media posts sometimes get millions of views, the earnings from them are paltry at best, or nonexistent depending on the platform. Plus, consistently churning out that much social media content is simply unsustainable, and Iā€™ve experienced extended burnout from it on more than one occasion. So while 2025 served as proof of concept for the newsletter, 2026 is the year I go all in! Iā€™ll be shifting my primary focus from social media to weekly articles exploring the incredible diversity of the worldā€™s languages and how they work instead. Of course, none of this would be possible without you, my dear reader. Thank you to every single one of you who took the time to subscribe, read my articles and the digest each week, and reshare issues of the newsletter on social media. An especially huge thank-you goes out to my paid subscribers, who have now made it possible to cover the most important bills associated with Linguistic Discovery (website hosting, social media scheduling tools, etc. etc.) instead of paying for them out of pocket like I had been for years. If youā€™re not yet a paid subscriber and would like to support my mission to educate the world about the science and diversity of language, you can subscribe here: [šŸ’ Become a supporter](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/#/portal/signup) Iā€™d also like to thank those couple hundred readers who have been following my intermittent blog posts since before I even launched the newsletter: if youā€™ve been subscribed to these posts since early 2024 or before, you were part of the reason I felt like producing this newsletter was possible. Finally, a special thank you to my fantastic copyeditor [Amy Treber](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-treber/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), whose keen eye has greatly improved a number of my articles this year. Now for the fun stuff! Here are some neat stats from 2025: ## šŸ“Š Stats ### Newsletter Stats | | | | ----------------------- | ------- | | Digest Issues Published | 42 | | Articles Published | 28 | | Readers | 6,456 | | Reads | 141,881 | ### Top Articles [Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?A new study shows that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow, but what does that tell us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-77.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/social-preview-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/) [Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-78.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-3.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) [From counting to cuneiform: How writing was inventedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-79.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/proto-cuneiform-accounting-tablet-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) [The etymology of ā€˜oneā€™: From Proto-Indo-European to Modern EnglishThere are over thirty English words that derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™. This is the story of how they came to be, and what that story teaches us about how language works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-80.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/infographic-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/one/) [Why English needs ā€œyā€™allā€Why doesnā€™t English just have a plural ā€œyouā€ like other languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-81.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/you--pl.--1.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/yall/) ### Social Media Stats These stats are an aggregate across all the social media platforms I post to (Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube). | | | | | ---------------- | ---------- | --------------------- | | Posts | 2,500 | | | Longform Videos | 3 | | | Shortform Videos | 26 | | | Carousels | 26 | | | Views | 75,401,445 | Almost *double* 2024. | | Followers | 1,012,470 | +116,229 from 2024. | ## šŸ† Milestones - At various points throughout the year, the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was featured as a [Rising Newsletter](https://substack.com/leaderboard/science/rising?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in the Science category on Substack, reaching #33 at its peak! - Reached **1 million** followers across platforms. Hereā€™s what my follower growth looks like each month since I started Linguistic Discovery in December 2020. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/01/image.png) ## 2ļøāƒ£0ļøāƒ£2ļøāƒ£6ļøāƒ£ 2026 My mission with Linguistic Discovery has always been the same: **to educate the public about the science and diversity of language.** To me, that means focusing on how language *works*, and the *principles* and *processes* that shape languageā€”cognitive linguistics, social dynamics, language change, etc. It also means showcasing the wonderful diversity of the worldā€™s languages, and highlighting indigenous, endangered, and minority languages whenever possible. I try *not* to focus on trivia, current fads (like slang), or artificial languages. However, I havenā€™t always lived up to this mission. So in 2026 I hope to embody that mission with a more focused set of topics in the newsletter. Iā€™ve also been inspired by Erik Hoel, author of [*The Intrinsic Perspective*](https://www.theintrinsicperspective.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): > if I write at least an essay a week as Iā€™ve been doing, and continue this for 20 years, I will have written more than 1,000 essays in my life. The more I think on it, the more this seems a worthy goal. If I could accomplish 1,000 good essays, perhaps even a few great ones, touching at various points on every topic of my age about which I have something worthwhile to say, I could die with dignity. With a mind finally, after all that time, spent and at rest. \~ Erik Hoel, [ā€œGoodbye academia, hello Substackā€](https://open.substack.com/pub/erikhoel/p/goodbye-academia-hello-substack) The newsletter gives me a chance to make a real intellectual contribution to the world, so Iā€™m excited to start making that vision reality with more articles in 2026. Hereā€™s whatā€™s changing (or not changing) in 2026: - **Iā€™ll continue publishing a digest of the latest news and research in linguistics.** Many of you told me in your responses to the reader survey how much you value this, so Iā€™ll keep it going! However, the digest will probably be shorter going forward, if only because Iā€™ve now worked through my backlog of content for it. (There simply isnā€™t that much new linguistics stuff to talk about each week!) I may also experiment with a biweekly posting schedule (every other week). - **Iā€™ll aim to publish one new longform article each week.** Each week Iā€™ll publish an article about grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages, how language works, explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics, or profiles of specific languages. You told me through the reader survey that youā€™re especially interested in the first two topics, so most of the articles will be in those areas. - **New publishing schedule.** You also told me in the reader survey that youā€™re a bunch of morning birds! A majority of you prefer to have the newsletter delivered in the early morning before work, so thatā€™s what Iā€™ll do: Iā€™ll aim to have the newsletter in your inbox by the time you wake up (probably 4am ET). *The weekly digest will now be delivered on Tuesdays, and articles will be delivered on Saturdays.* (These times/schedules are subject to change if I notice significant changes in open rates etc.) - **Digest:** Tuesdays @ 4am ET - **Articles:** Saturdays @ 4am ET - **Iā€™m starting a book project!** And paying supporters will get early access! The working title is *The Linguarium: A field guide to the worldā€™s languages*. The book is a tour of the diversity of the worldā€™s languages, from click languages to reconstructed languages to whistled languages to secret languages to the language of thought to animal languages to the very first human language, and many more. Iā€™ll syndicate the book so that each section/chapter is an issue of the newsletter. But because I want to pitch the book to a traditional publisher, those issues will be paywalled and only available to paying supporters. [šŸ“– Get early access to my book!](#/portal/signup) - **More articles will be paywalled.** I expect about half of the articles in 2026 will be paywalled as part of the book, and the other half will be free. Some paywalled articles may also be behind-the-scenes content about my work documenting and revitalizing languages, or deep-dives on special niche topics. [šŸ”“ Remove the paywall](#/portal/signup) - **The price of paid subscriptions will increase to $10/mo. (USD).** In 2025 I published 26 articles, including one bonus article ([The Boasian Trilogy for Chitimacha](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/chitimacha-trilogy/)) and one early access article ([Inuit words for snow](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/)) for paying supporters only. Going forward, I plan to publish twice as many articles each year (\~50), and significantly more bonus articles. Because paying supporters will now be receiving drastically more bonus content (\~25 articles per year instead of 1ā€“2), Iā€™ve decided to increase the price of a monthly subscription to $10/mo. (USD). *Free subscriptions will remain free*, and free subscribers will still have access to all my regular articles (\~25/yr.). The new pricing model will go into effect on February 1, but if youā€™d like to lock in the old price of $5/mo. (USD) for another year, you can purchase an annual subscription for $50 now and avoid the price increase until 2027. [Subscribe now for a lower price](#/portal/signup) To recap, hereā€™s the new pricing structure: | | **Cost** | **Benefits** | | ------------------ | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Free Subscribers | free | digest + 25 free articles/year | | Paying Subscribers | $10/mo. OR $100/yr. | digest + 25 free articles/year + 25 bonus articles/year | Thank you again for an incredible first year of the newsletter! I hope youā€™ve enjoyed reading each of these issues as much as I have writing them. Hereā€™s to a language-filled 2026! šŸ„‚ \~ Danny ### Men speak with vocal fry just as much as women URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-50/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:31:30.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸŽ„ Christmas Break Reminder that there will be no issue of the digest next week (Dec. 25) or the week following (Jan. 1) since Iā€™ll be on Christmas vacation in the Shenandoah Valley, nestled within the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, which themselves are part of the broader Appalachian range. They look something like this around this time of year: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-8.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-9.png) Ed Fuhr Photography: [Shenandoah Winter, 2014 | Ed Fuhr Photography](https://www.edfuhr.com/gallery/shenandoahwinter/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can see in the second picture especially why the Blue Ridge Mountains got their name. Their distinctive blue/purple hue comes from isoprene emitted by oak trees in the area: - [Why are the Blue Ridge Mountains blue?](https://www.mentalfloss.com/geography/why-are-the-blue-ridge-mountains-blue?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Mental Floss*) - [Why are the Blue Ridge Mountains blue?](https://www.ourstate.com/why-are-the-blue-ridge-mountains-blue/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ([OurState.com](http://ourstate.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) I think itā€™s also neat and unsurprising that the Cherokee referred to these mountains as įŒįŽŖį‚įŽØ į£įŽ“įŽ© *Shaconage* ā€˜Land of Blue Smokeā€™ (according to various internet sources as well as [Glosbe](https://glosbe.com/en/chr/Blue%20Ridge%20Mountains?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), but I canā€™t confirm this from a more reputable source, except that Durbin Feelingā€™s (1975) dictionary does list įŒįŽŖį‚įŽØ *sakonigeŹ”i* as ā€˜blueā€™). This might also refer to the Great Smoky Mountains, a smaller range within the Blue Ridge. Another fun fact: The Appalachian Mountains are so old that theyā€™re older than *trees*, and about the same age as *bones*, so the only fossils you find in the mountains are trilobites. In any case, there actually might be a special issue of the newsletter coming on Jan. 1, but weā€™ll see how much work I get done before I start traveling. Otherwise, the digest will resume on Jan. 8. To everyone celebrating holidays over the next several weeks, I hope theyā€™re wonderful! ### šŸŽ Need a last-minute gift for the language nerd in your life? You can gift them a Substack subscription to this newsletter! I plan to write significantly more longform articles about a wider array of topics in 2026, but more of them will be paywalled as well. Why more paywalled articles? Because theyā€™ll be part of a forthcoming book project! So nowā€™s the perfect time to gift the language nerd in your life a 1-year subscription to the newsletter. That way theyā€™ll get access to all the extra content in 2026. [šŸŽ Give the gift of Linguistic Discovery](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/gift) (Note that you can also send the gift anonymously, and/or schedule it to be delivered on a specific date.) ### šŸŽ‰ Linguistic Discovery @ 1 million followers ![A blue banner with gold lettering that says ā€œ1M followersā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-10.png) An exciting bit of news to share from this week: the Linguistic Discovery social media channels reached a combined total of 1 million followers! For those curious, hereā€™s what the distribution of followers across different channels looks like: ![A pie chart showing Linguistic Discovery's follower breakdown, as follows: Facebook: 371,540 (37%), Instagram: 308,048 (31%), TikTok: 217,266 (22%), Threads: 73,377 (7%), YouTube: 18,499 (2%), X: 8,696 (1%). The remaining platforms (Bluesky, Ghost, Substack, Patreon) each constitute less than 1%.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-11.png) And hereā€™s my follower growth over time. I started on TikTok in December 2020, and had a points of saltatory growth thanks to particularly viral videos, interspersed with periods of stagnation when I wasnā€™t posting consistently. ![A stacked area chart showing Linguistic Discovery's follower growth across platforms from November 2020 to November 2025, reaching approximately 1 million total followers by the end of the period. The chart displays several distinct phases of growth: initial growth primarily on TikTok (green) starting in late 2020, a sharp vertical increase around September 2023 showing rapid follower acquisition across multiple platforms, another steep jump around January 2024, and then continued steady growth through 2025. The largest contributors to total followers are Facebook (dark blue, bottom layer), Instagram (orange), and TikTok (green), which together make up the majority of the follower base. Smaller but visible contributions come from Threads (light blue), YouTube (purple), X (yellow-green), and minimal contributions from Bluesky, Website, Substack, and Patreon at the top.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-12.png) ### 2025 Words of the Year with *Grammar Girl* and Jess Zafarris ### ![Cover for the Grammar Girl podcast.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-13.png) This week I joined Mignon Fogarty and [Jess Zafarris](https://jesszafarris.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on the [*Grammar Girl*](https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast to talk about the 2025 Words of the Year! We explain all the words that were chosen by different organizations this year and give our reactions. Have a listen at the links! ### šŸ‘šŸ‘Ž Tell me what you think about the newsletter! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-14.png) Iā€™ve been publishing this newsletter for almost a year now! So this seems like a felicitous moment to get your feedback on how this first year has been, things you like about the newsletter, areas it could improve, etc. Iā€™ve put together a quick survey (20 questions, \~5 minutes) for you to give your feedback: [Take the 2025 Reader Survey](https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAYAAMN93-JUQVIwSVUxTkZMUzNBWUIyVVBFQzJESFJPNi4u&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Youā€™re also welcome to simply [email me your thoughts here](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com)! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter each week, and an especially huge thank you to those of you whose financial support helps keep the newsletter running. The costs of running Linguistic Discovery arenā€™t insignificant (graphic design software, website hosting, a Notion subscription, video editing software, etc.), and I still donā€™t have very many paid supporters, so your individual support really has made a big difference in keeping this sustainable. Thank you šŸ™šŸ¼ If you arenā€™t yet a supporter and would like to become one, you can do so for $5 USD/mo. by clicking the button below. Paying supporters get: - āž• bonus articles about niche or advanced topics - šŸ”“ behind-the-scenes articles about my work revitalizing indigenous languages - šŸ‘€ early access to regular articles - šŸ“– previews of my in-progress book projects - šŸ‘ØšŸ¼ā€šŸ« to support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### What are protolanguages? Hereā€™s another video from the archives this week: Did you know that linguists can reconstruct what ancient languages sound like? Hereā€™s how: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Merriam-Webster chooses (AI) *slop* as the 2025 Word of the Year ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-15.png) Merriam-Webster is one of the dictionaries that uses data on how frequently users are looking up words to choose the word of the year, and this year *slop*ā€”as in *AI slop*ā€”was among the top lookups. M-W defines the word as ā€œdigital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.ā€ Other considerations for word of the year were *gerrymander*, *touch grass* (another term arising from the social media space), *performative*, *tariff*, *6-7* ([Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€™s choice, which I defended as the word of the year [here](https://www.notion.so/6-7-2ac50a282bc180438b25e4b29f0bc547?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), *conclave*, and *Lake CharĀ­gogĀ­gaĀ­goggĀ­manĀ­chaugĀ­gaĀ­goggĀ­chauĀ­buĀ­naĀ­gunĀ­gaĀ­maugg*. [ā€œ6-7ā€ belongs in the dictionary, actuallyIn defense of Dictionary.comā€™s 2025 Word of the Year![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-76.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/6-7-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/67/) [2025 Word of the Year: SlopPlus ā€˜gerrymanderā€™, ā€˜touch grassā€™, ā€˜performativeā€™, and other words that defined the year![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-19.svg)Merriam-WebsterEditors of Merriam-Webster![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a-20bizarre-20collection-20of-20ai-generated-20illustrations-20including-20a-20sign-20that-20reads-20wood-20of-20of-20year-20and-20a-20chyron-20that-20reads-20breaking-20news-12973-25cf29c814c90c238aec2d2797306e40@1x.jpg)](https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/word-of-the-year?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Merriam-Websterā€™s 2025 word of the year is ā€˜slopā€™Merriam-Websterā€™s 2025 word of the year is ā€œslop.ā€ The word was first used in the 1700s to mean soft mud. It evolved more generally to mean something of little value.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-62.png)AP NewsANNA FURMAN![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-4)](https://apnews.com/article/merriam-webster-dictionary-word-year-2025-slop-2dffb2379cac6001aa30e148669e3393?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [ā€˜Slopā€™ Is Merriam-Websterā€™s 2025 Word of the Year as AI Content Floods the Internetā€œAI Slopā€: a succinct definition of the current state of the internet.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-v3-1.png)CNETSee full bio![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/screenshot-2025-12-15-at-1-18-52pm.png)](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/slop-is-merriam-websters-2025-word-of-the-year-as-ai-content-floods-the-internet/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Slop, vibe coding and glazing: AI dominates 2025ā€™s words of the yearSignificant time is spent on tracking the usage of words throughout the year before making decisions on contenders.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-56.png)The ConversationGail Flanagan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251215-56-kwbalu.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/slop-vibe-coding-and-glazing-ai-dominates-2025s-words-of-the-year-269688?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Gaelic and Scots now recognized as official languages in the UK ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-16.png) > Gaelic and Scots have now been recognised as official languages as part of a range of new measures coming into force on St Andrew's Day. > > The Scottish Languages Act, which MSPs voted through in June, also empowers parents to ask for a Gaelic school to be established in their area and aims to ensure that more qualifications are available in Gaelic. > > It includes powers for ministers to commission research into the use of Gaelic and Scots and establish teaching standards for the languages. As a refresher, **Gaelic** is a Celtic language (related to Irish, Welsh, and others) also known as Scottish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic. It is typically pronounced /ĖˆÉ”ƦlÉŖk/ (whereas Irish Gaelic is typically pronounced /ĖˆÉ”eÉŖlÉŖk/, although in the U.S. youā€™ll often just hear /ĖˆÉ”eÉŖlÉŖk/ for both). The Celtic languages are actually distantly related to English: they form one branch of the Indo-European family tree, whereas English sits in another branch called Germanic. Celtic separated from the other Indo-European languages perhaps as early as 1300 BCE. **Scots**, on the other hand, is a West Germanic language that descends from Early Middle English. The Northumbrian dialect of English started to branch off from other dialects as early as the 7th century, and became more distinct around the 12th century. This makes Scots one of the most closely-related languages to English (although it is nonetheless a distinct, nonā€“mutually intelligible language). Scots is also distinct from **Scottish English**, which simply refers to the dialects of English spoken in Scotland. [Gaelic and Scots now recognised as official languagesThe milestone is one of a number of new measures taking effect on St Andrewā€™s Day from the Scottish Languages Act.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-63.png)BBC NewsBBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cf909b30-7a5a-11ee-8eb5-a513c079e034.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9891455007o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Canadaā€™s prime minister called out for using British spelling ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-17.png) Canadian prime minister Mark Carney Canadaā€™s prime minister Mark Carney has been criticized this week for using British rather than Canadian spelling conventions. This oneā€™s a little funny to me, because Canadaā€™s spelling conventions are an interesting mix of American and British conventions in the first place. *But*, that mix is nonetheless fairly standardized in Canadaā€”Canadians generally know which spelling of any given word is used in their country, regardless whether it aligns with the American or British version. So for Prime Minister Mark Carney to adopt British spellings like āŸØutiliseāŸ© instead of the standard Canadian/American spelling of āŸØutilizeāŸ© (hence the pun in the title of the article) feels to some like a bit of a betrayal of his Canadian nationality. [Linguists call out Canadaā€™s Carney for ā€˜utilizingā€™ British spellingA group of linguists are asking Prime Minister Carney to ditch British English in official documents, saying it is a matter of ā€œprideā€.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-64.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/dd2a0110-d9de-11f0-ba85-09c2975a5393.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj69d89l8l5o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Men speak with vocal fry just as much as women ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-18.png) Males speak with vocal fry (known as **creaky voice** within linguistics) just as much as females, according to a new study that looks at three decades of data. While the data do show that the prevalence of creaky voice among female (but not male) speakers has increased over the last 30 years, this merely means that the use of creaky voice by female speakers has *caught up with* (and very slightly surpassed) that of male speakers. Females are not disproportionately using creaky voice as compared to their male counterparts. [Men speak with a vocal fry just as much as womenLinguists bust another gender myth.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-ps-FE5102-1-4.png)Popular ScienceAndrew Paul![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Business-Room-Meeting.jpg)](https://www.popsci.com/science/vocal-fry-men/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - White, Penney, & Cox. 2025\. Change in the prevalence of creaky voice over time in Australian English. *Journal of the Acoustical Society of America* 5(9). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0039080](https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0039080?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [A CHRISTMAS Full of EtymologyReading time: 5 minutes Itā€™s December now, the month when the calendar helpfully provides me with a topic for the monthly article. So, hereā€™s a short and sweet linguistic post with a feā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/webclip-3.png)Danny L. Batedannylbate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/looking_up_at_a_large_christmas_tree.jpg)](https://dannybate.com/2024/12/23/a-christmas-full-of-etymology/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - 9 fun Christmas etymologies from linguist Danny L. Bate. [The psychology behind ā€˜6-7ā€™ and ā€˜skibidiā€™: why gibberish took over the playground in 2025From ā€œskibidiā€ to ā€œbrain rot,ā€ the words dominating your childā€™s group chat might sound like nonsense ā€“ but linguists say thereā€™s more to these words than you might think.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-135.ico)MadeForMumsSerafina Kenny![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-2148294955-af8d988.jpg)](https://www.madeformums.com/apple-news/the-psychology-behind-gen-alpha-slang/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > From ā€œskibidiā€ to ā€œbrain rot,ā€ the words dominating your childā€™s group chat might sound like nonsense ā€“ but linguists say there's more to these words than you might think.ā€ [Slop, vibe coding and glazing: AI dominates 2025ā€™s words of the yearSignificant time is spent on tracking the usage of words throughout the year before making decisions on contenders.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-57.png)The ConversationGail Flanagan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251215-56-kwbalu-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/slop-vibe-coding-and-glazing-ai-dominates-2025s-words-of-the-year-269688?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why people feel entitled to correct your grammar onlineA natural history of the language police![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-13.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fe5d5e133-36db-4e9a-bf9f-d59043308f11_1260x1600.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/history-of-the-language-police) - As a public linguist who posts about language, I think people feel *especially* compelled to ā€œcorrectā€ every nuance of my grammar, word choice, and style. Itā€™s rough out there on the interwebs šŸ˜­ [Rethinking where language comes from: Framework reveals complex interplay of biology and cultureA new study challenges the idea that language stems from a single evolutionary root. Instead, it proposes that our ability to communicate evolved through the interaction of biology and culture, and involves multiple capacities, each with different evolutionary histories. The framework, published in Science, unites discoveries across disciplines to explain how the ability to learn to speak, develop grammar, and share meaning converged to create complex communication.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-20.svg)Phys.orgMax Planck Society![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/rethinking-where-langu.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-11-rethinking-language-framework-reveals-complex.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Rob Watts has a fantastic interview with Merriam-Webster lexicographer Peter Sokolowski about how dictionaries work, how theyā€™re made, and how theyā€™re changing. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Rob Words on Substack ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-19.png) RobWords of [YouTube fame](https://www.youtube.com/@RobWords?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has recently started a newsletter! You can join his 11,000 other subscribers on Substack: [RobWords | SubstackInternet word nerd. Click to read RobWords, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F83e12d6d-f68b-4527-96e4-2c3b3d1cb978-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)RobWordsRobWords![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Frobwords.substack.com-2Ftwitter-2Fsubscribe-card.jpg%3Fv%3D-1844793827%26version%3D9)](https://robwords.substack.com/) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next year! The etymology of state names and capitol city names, from Word Tips. Read all the details [here](https://word.tips/literal-translations-us-cities-states/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-20.png) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Some dogs learn word categories like human toddlers do URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-49/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:31:38.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Tell me what you think about the newsletter! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image.png) Iā€™ve been publishing this newsletter for almost a year now! So this seems like a felicitous moment to get your feedback on how this first year has been, things you like about the newsletter, areas it could improve, etc. Iā€™ve put together a quick survey (20 questions, \~5 minutes) for you to give your feedback: [Tell me what you think](https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAYAAMN93-JUQVIwSVUxTkZMUzNBWUIyVVBFQzJESFJPNi4u&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Youā€™re also welcome to simply [email me your thoughts here](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com)! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter each week, and an especially huge thank you to those of you whose financial support helps keep the newsletter running. The costs of running Linguistic Discovery arenā€™t insignificant (graphic design software, website hosting, a Notion subscription, video editing software, etc.), and I still donā€™t have very many paid supporters, so your individual support really has made a big difference in keeping this sustainable. Thank you šŸ™šŸ¼ If you arenā€™t yet a supporter and would like to become one, you can do so for $5 USD/mo. by clicking the button below. Paying supporters get occasional **bonus articles** and **early access** to articles as well as my in-progress book projects. [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Why Old Latin writing looks like Greek I dug up an old video recently (Iā€™ve been slowly cataloguing my old videos) inspired by a wild conspiracy theorist on TikTok who believes that the Latin language is a hoax invented by the Catholic church in the 1500s. Her antics turned out to be a great teaching moment about how writing systems spread. Hereā€™s my video response: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Pomoan Languages at the California Language Archive ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-1.png) Some of the cassette tapes and notebooks containing data on Pomoan accessioned by the California Language Archive. For 50 years, linguist Sally McLendon worked to document the Native Pomoan languages of California. Now, her trove of materials is being accessioned at the California Language Archive at UC Berkeley, where itā€™s helping shape the future of the Pomoan languages. UC Berkeley News has a great write-up about these materials and the Archiveā€™s work: [23 boxes and a suitcase full of tapes: How a linguistā€™s lifelong work is shaping Indigenous language today - Berkeley NewsCollections at UC Berkeleyā€™s California Language Archive help keep Indigenous languages alive. This is the story of one of them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-16.svg)Berkeley NewsJason Pohl, Anne Brice![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/BV-S1E1-CLA-05-2560.jpg)](https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/11/06/23-boxes-and-a-suitcase-full-of-tapes-how-a-linguists-lifelong-work-is-shaping-indigenous-language-today/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And the *Berkeley Voices* podcast, about the people and research happening at UC Berkeley, has an episode dedicated to this work: [For 50 years, she recorded her Pomo language. Her voice is helping this student reclaim his culture. - Berkeley NewsIn this Berkeley Voices episode, Tyler Lee-Wynant discusses how linguistic materials in the California Language Archive featuring his great-great aunt have opened a portal to his familyā€™s history and led him to teach their language to new generations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-17.svg)Berkeley NewsAnne Brice, Jason Pohl![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/BV-S2E1-CLA-01-2560-1024x585.jpg)](https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/11/06/berkeley-voices-s2e1-california-language-archive/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How Wiki for Minorities is helping preserve languages in Nigeria ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-2.png) A student at one of the Wiki for Minorities projects in Nigeria In Nigeria, Wiki for Minorities is helping contributors use Wikipedia and its sister projects to document, bring awareness, and digitally preserve languages considered minor or small in terms of speaker populations, documentation, and institutional support. Through training sessions, edit-a-thons, and digital literacy workshops, volunteers learn the skills needed to contribute to Wikimedia projects ā€“ and in turn, they share their stories, culture, and knowledge. These activities celebrating Nigeriaā€™s diverse culture and languages have led to the creation of more than 450 new Wikipedia articles and the addition of over 600 culturally-relevant photos to Wikimedia Commons. [How Wiki for Minorities (WfMin) Is Changing the Narrative of Small Languages in NigeriaNigeria is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world, with over 500 indigenous languages spoken across its regions. Many of these languages are considered minor or small in termā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-1024px-Wikimedia-logo.svg_.png)DiffFulani215![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_0159.jpeg)](https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/10/11/how-wiki-for-minorities-wfmin-is-changing-the-narrative-of-small-languages-in-nigeria/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Some dogs can learn categories like human toddlers do ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-3.png) A new study had owners of 10 talented dogsā€”mostly border colliesā€”teach them words for objects in two categories: tug toys, called ā€œpullsā€, and fetch toys, called ā€œthrowsā€. All toys were different in size, shape, and color, so appearance could not guide learning. After four weeks of training, the researchers introduced brand new toys with a variety of designs. This time the dogs only used the toy, but were not taught words for any of them. After a week of playing with the new toys, the owners then asked the dogs to retrieve either a ā€œpullā€ or a ā€œthrowā€. The seven dogs that had completed all experimental phases chose the right toy about two-thirds of the timeā€”well about the 12.5 percent expected for selections by chance. This parallels how human infants extend meanings to new words as well. At first, babies rely on how things look to understand words, but by age 14 months they can also use the role or function of an object to understand them. [These Clever Dogs Know the Difference between ā€˜Pullā€™ and ā€˜Throwā€™ ToysThese dogs can extend words to new objects based on function the way children do in early language learning![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-134.ico)Scientific AmericanAnirban Mukhopadhyay![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Border-collier-holding-ball.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dogs-with-large-vocabularies-can-understand-category-words-not-just-names/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Fugazza, Sommese, & MiklĆ³si. 2025\. Dogs extend verbal labels for functional classification of objects. *Current Biology* 35(19): DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.08.013](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.08.013?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### New study maps how we simultaneously process different words ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-4.png) The figure shows how the brain works to decode the different aspects of words over time, with phonetics (i.e., sounds) processed first and most quickly and semantic meaning coming later and taking longer. Credit: Laura Gwilliams A new study looks at how the brain organizes and interprets information about speech as it unfolds in real time, showing that our brains process both multiple words and multiple types of information (phonetic, syntactic, semantic, etc.) in parallel. [New study maps how we simultaneously process different wordsTrains move through the worldā€™s subway stations in a consistent pattern: arriving, stopping, and moving to the next stopā€”and repeated by other trains throughout the day. A new study by a team of New York University psychology and linguistics researchers finds that our brains work much the same way when processing several words at onceā€”as we routinely do when listening to others speak.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-18.svg)Medical XpressJames Devitt![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/when-is-the-brain-like.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-simultaneously-words.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Gwilliams et al. 2025\. Hierarchical dynamic coding coordinates speech comprehension in the human brain. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 122(42): e2422097122: DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422097122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422097122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [New linguistics research casts doubt on decades-old murder convictionStephen ā€˜Shortyā€™ Jamieson has been behind bars since 1988\. Fresh research critically examines the confession that put him there.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-55.png)The ConversationEleanor Kettle![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251031-56-khofp8.png)](https://theconversation.com/new-linguistics-research-casts-doubt-on-decades-old-murder-conviction-267425?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Much of ā€˜Predator: Badlandsā€™ is in an alien language. We asked a Yautja expert to break it downā€˜Predator: Badlandsā€™ director Dan Trachtenberg and Yautja language creator Britton Watkins discuss creating an alien language for the film, plus some tips for those who want to learn it.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-61.png)Los Angeles TimesFollow![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/75)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-11-10/predator-badlands-yautja-alien-language-dan-trachtenberg-britton-watkins?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Etymological excavation: What is a fossil word?The following is an excerpt from the book Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds. A fossil word is a word that primarily appears in the context of phrases or idioms. It typicallyā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-useless-etymology-logo-circle.png)Useless EtymologyJess Zafarris![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/fossil-words-useless-etymology.png)](https://uselessetymology.com/2025/11/11/etymological-excavation-what-is-a-fossil-word/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A Voice for the Voiceless: Englishā€™s Lost ConsonantsWhat a linguist takes away from a medieval song about happy animals![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-4.svg)Danny BateDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fa83d13ef-b053-4320-a168-d34e8f4826df_600x382.jpeg)](https://dannylbate.substack.com/p/a-voice-for-the-voiceless-englishs) [What Is Castilian Spanish? Discover Where Itā€™s Spoken And How It Differs - Rosetta StoneMaster Spanish prepositions with a complete breakdown of these common connecting words, their meanings, and examples of their function.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-12.png)Rosetta StoneJamie Edwards![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/castilian-spanish_2384123989.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/castilian-spanish/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Bringing the Navajo language to *Rez Ball* ### *Rez Ball* is a basketball drama film about a high school team in the Navajo Nation. This behind-the-scenes video features the cast and crew discussing their commitment to authentic Navajo language representation in the film. Itā€™s great to see that indigenous languages are getting greater representation in mainstream media like this. And in case youā€™re not already familiar with it, Navajo (*DinĆ© bizaad*) is an Athabaskan language spoken primarily in the southwestern United States. It has approximately 170,000 speakers, making it one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in North America. ### *The atlas of languages* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-6.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4a8D5Nw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781419766831?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A new language book for kids was published earlier this year! A beautifully illustrated overview of the history of languages around the world, filled with maps, sidebars, and unusual facts. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4a8D5Nw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781419766831?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! ### Applying prescriptivist principles to zoology Ryan Starkey ([Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/2019/04/18/linguistic-prescriptivists-make-terrible-zoologists/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) explores what zoology would be like if zoologists applied prescriptive linguistic principles to their field. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/image-7.png) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Oxford chooses ā€œragebaitā€ as the 2025 Word of the Year URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-48/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:31:56.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Tell me what you think about the newsletter! ![a row of yellow stars sitting on top of a blue and pink surface](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1633613286991-611fe299c4be?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxfHxyYXRpbmd8ZW58MHx8fHwxNzY0ODUwNTAwfDA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080 "a row of yellow stars sitting on top of a blue and pink surface") Photo by [Towfiqu barbhuiya](https://unsplash.com/@towfiqu999999?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Iā€™ve been publishing this newsletter for almost a year now! So this seems like a propitious moment to get your feedback on how this first year has been, things you like about the newsletter, areas it could improve, etc. Iā€™ve put together a quick survey (20 questions, \~5 minutes) for you to give your feedback: (If the embedded form above doesn't work, click the button below to go directly to the form page.) [Take the 2025 Reader Survey](https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAYAAMN93-JUQVIwSVUxTkZMUzNBWUIyVVBFQzJESFJPNi4u&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Youā€™re also welcome to simply [email me your thoughts here](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com)! ### World Linguistics Day This past week on November 26th was World Linguistics Day! Hereā€™s the content I posted from the day, talking about what linguistics is: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/01---Cover.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/02---Linguistics.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/03---Misconceptions.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/04---Phonetics.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/05---Phonology.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/06---Morphology.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/07---Syntax.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/08---Semantics---Pragmatics.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/09---Historical.png) What is linguistics? (Part 1) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/10---Sociolinguistics.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/11--Acquisition.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/12---Documentation.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/13---Cognitive.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/14---Computational.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/12/15---Typology.png) What is linguistics? (Part 2) ### Mapping Black Language ![Colorful graphic titled ā€˜The Phonological Atlas of African American Languageā€™ over a stylized map of the United States. Subheading text reads: ā€˜We are dedicated to documenting how Black folks speak across the entire nation. Weā€™re creating an atlasā€”a map showing how Black speech is different across the map.ā€™ The background is divided into large overlapping pastel shapes in yellow, orange, purple, and green with thin red, yellow, and purple borders at the top and bottom.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ahZb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8199f753-b683-4501-b33e-b1d392d94246_1440x1843.png "Colorful graphic titled ā€˜The Phonological Atlas of African American Languageā€™ over a stylized map of the United States. Subheading text reads: ā€˜We are dedicated to documenting how Black folks speak across the entire nation. Weā€™re creating an atlasā€”a map showing how Black speech is different across the map.ā€™ The background is divided into large overlapping pastel shapes in yellow, orange, purple, and green with thin red, yellow, and purple borders at the top and bottom.") The Mapping Black Language project is working to document how Black Americans speak, and how their language shifts and variesā€”and theyā€™re looking for people to interview! If you identify as African American and are 18ā€“44 years old, you can participate in a 45-minute virtual interview and receive a $20 Visa e-gift card as a thank you. You can learn more about the project and sign up for an interview by clicking the button below. [Get interviewed](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7KkeGCF3Der45HlPsJF9rxN082gXxfPnYt0P9T463yoFdgg/viewform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### In defense of Dictionary.comā€™s Word of the Year When [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [recently anointed](https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year-2025/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *6-7* as their 2025 Word of the Year, it felt to many like ragebait (which is, ironically, [Oxfordā€™s 2025 Word of the Year](https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The resolution was greeted with furor and frustration by language purists everywhere. ā€œItā€™s meaningless,ā€ the critics said. ā€œItā€™s a passing fad.ā€ ā€œItā€™s not even a word.ā€ But dictionaries are cultural records, not arbiters of lexical correctness. Hereā€™s why *6-7* has earned its place in the dictionary. [ā€œ6-7ā€ belongs in the dictionary, actuallyIn defense of Dictionary.comā€™s 2025 Word of the Year![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-75.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/6-7.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/p/365201b7-8321-4242-87e8-875117cd7393/) ### Semantic change in borrowed words I reposted an older video this week about how and why the meanings of words change when we borrow them from other languages: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Oxford chooses *ragebait* as the 2025 Word of the Year ![A dual-axis line and bar chart showing the rising use of a term from early 2023 through late 2025. The horizontal axis lists months from 2023-02 to 2025-09. Blue vertical bars show absolute frequency, mapped to a right-hand axis labeled ā€œAbsolute frequencyā€ from 0 to 100. An orange line shows relative frequency, mapped to a left-hand axis labeled ā€œRelative frequencyā€ from 0.00 to 0.25. Both measures stay near zero through most of 2023, begin climbing in midā€‘2024, and then accelerate sharply in 2025, ending at the highest values in the series.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LMX5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9fad53a9-9b7a-4093-ba33-36f9ba6da91c_1600x841.png "A dual-axis line and bar chart showing the rising use of a term from early 2023 through late 2025. The horizontal axis lists months from 2023-02 to 2025-09. Blue vertical bars show absolute frequency, mapped to a right-hand axis labeled ā€œAbsolute frequencyā€ from 0 to 100. An orange line shows relative frequency, mapped to a left-hand axis labeled ā€œRelative frequencyā€ from 0.00 to 0.25. Both measures stay near zero through most of 2023, begin climbing in midā€‘2024, and then accelerate sharply in 2025, ending at the highest values in the series.") > Oxford University Press has chosen ā€œrage baitā€ ā€” defined as ā€œonline content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensiveā€ ā€” as its 2025 Word of the Year. > > ā€œRage bait,ā€ which triumphed over the more upbeat ā€œbiohackā€ and ā€œaura farming,ā€ goes back at least to 2002, when it appeared in a post on a Usenet discussion group to describe a particular kind of driver reaction to being flashed by another driver seeking to pass. Since then, it has become an increasingly common slang term for an attention-seeking form of online behavior. > > Over the past year, according to Oxfordā€™s data, frequency of use spiked by a factor of three. The two-syllable open-compound word lands with blunt force. It also sparks an immediate ā€œaha.ā€ > > ā€œEven if people have never heard it before, they instantly know what it means,ā€ Casper Grathwohl, the president of Oxford Languages, said in an interview. ā€œAnd they want to talk about it.ā€ > > Oxfordā€™s Word of the Year, which began in 2004, is based on usage evidence drawn from its continually updated corpus of some 30 billion words, which is compiled from news sources across the English-speaking world. The idea is to identify new or emerging words with social and cultural significance, backed by data. [Oxford Word of the Year 2025 - Oxford University PressRage bait is the Oxford Word of the Year 2025\. Find out why our experts picked it as our winner, and discover more about this yearā€™s shortlist.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-1-1.png)Oxford University Press![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/OUPcom_featuredimg_1200x800.png)](https://corp.oup.com/word-of-the-year/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Skobot: A robot designed to help preserve indigenous languages ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tfWh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc09f4ce-f4f8-4b85-9083-102f5be33a21_1844x818.png) Danielle Boyer, a 24-year-old Anishinaabe roboticist, designed the ā€œSkobotā€ to converse in endangered Indigenous languages, thereby helping to keep them alive. Made of brightly colored plastic, the bots are customizable and often adorned with accessories from pink tutus to top hats. Growing up below the poverty line in Michigan, Boyer was inspired to make technical education more accessible to Indigenous youth like herself. Her charity helps distribute the Skobots and teach students about robotics and innovation. Her creation joins a new and burgeoning group of initiatives that utilize A.I. language tools to preserve dying or endangered languages, with some arguing that such technology shows promise for endangered Indigenous languages in particular. - [Can A.I. help revitalize indigenous languages? Indigenous researchers and roboticists are crafting innovative tools to help save endangered dialects](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-ai-help-revitalize-indigenous-languages-180987060/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) - (Quick note: *Smithsonian Magazine* uses the term ā€œdialectsā€ in the title of this article, but they really should have written ā€œlanguagesā€. Theyā€™re using the term *dialect* to essentially mean ā€˜minority languageā€™ here, which is a somewhat pejorative way of referring to languages since it implies that they are not ā€œrealā€ languages in the same way that standard/majority languages are, but merely ā€œdialectsā€. See [this section](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialect?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Colloquial%5Fmeaning%5Fof%5Fdialect) of the Wikipedia article on dialects for more detail.) [This new tech could save old languages from dying out | CNN BusinessLike many of the young people in her Indigenous Anishinaabe community in the upper peninsula of Michigan, Danielle Boyer grew up speaking only a little of her peopleā€™s native language, Anishinaabemowin.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-60.png)CNNClare Duffy![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/gettyimages-1234200181.jpg)](https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/tech/ai-endangered-language-preservation?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Whales use ā€œvowelsā€, new research finds ![Composite scientific illustration comparing sperm whale clicks with human speech to show vowel-like patterns in whale communication. At the top left, a cutaway drawing of a sperm whale head highlights the sound **source** at the ā€œphonic lipsā€ near the nose and a **filter** in a distal air sac. Red sound waves radiate from the head. To the right are three rows of acoustic analyses of whale clicks. The first row shows a waveform and spectrogram of raw sperm whale click sequences. The clicks appear as separated vertical spikes in the waveform and thin vertical stripes in the spectrogram. The second row, labeled ā€œREMOVE TIMING,ā€ shows the same data after timing information has been removed: the waveform pulses are now evenly spaced, and the spectrogram shows more regular vertical patterns across time. The third row shows a normalized waveform and a clearer spectrogram with darker horizontal bands. Red arrows point to these bands, which are labeled ā€œaā€‘coda vowelā€ and ā€œiā€‘coda vowel,ā€ indicating that different coda types have distinct, vowel-like spectral concentrations. In the lower half, the diagram switches to humans. A side-view cutaway of a human head shows the **source** at the vocal folds in the larynx and the **filter** in the vocal tract (tongue, oral and nasal cavity). Red sound waves again radiate outward. To the right of this are a pulsed waveform and spectrogram of human voicing, with strong periodic waves in the waveform and stacked horizontal formant bands in the spectrogram. A dashed arrow labeled ā€œparallels to human vowelsā€ connects this panel to two final panels. At the bottom, two side views of a human head show articulatory positions for an **aā€‘ vowel** (open mouth, low tongue) and an **iā€‘ vowel** (spread lips, high front tongue). Next to each head is a small waveform and spectrogram: the aā€‘vowel shows one pattern of horizontal formant bands, while the iā€‘vowel shows a different pattern, paralleling the vowel-like banding indicated earlier in the whale coda spectrograms.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wJO_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F37daa8b6-4773-4904-80c3-0df22648a5a5_520x656.png "Composite scientific illustration comparing sperm whale clicks with human speech to show vowel-like patterns in whale communication. At the top left, a cutaway drawing of a sperm whale head highlights the sound **source** at the ā€œphonic lipsā€ near the nose and a **filter** in a distal air sac. Red sound waves radiate from the head. To the right are three rows of acoustic analyses of whale clicks. The first row shows a waveform and spectrogram of raw sperm whale click sequences. The clicks appear as separated vertical spikes in the waveform and thin vertical stripes in the spectrogram. The second row, labeled ā€œREMOVE TIMING,ā€ shows the same data after timing information has been removed: the waveform pulses are now evenly spaced, and the spectrogram shows more regular vertical patterns across time. The third row shows a normalized waveform and a clearer spectrogram with darker horizontal bands. Red arrows point to these bands, which are labeled ā€œaā€‘coda vowelā€ and ā€œiā€‘coda vowel,ā€ indicating that different coda types have distinct, vowel-like spectral concentrations. In the lower half, the diagram switches to humans. A side-view cutaway of a human head shows the **source** at the vocal folds in the larynx and the **filter** in the vocal tract (tongue, oral and nasal cavity). Red sound waves again radiate outward. To the right of this are a pulsed waveform and spectrogram of human voicing, with strong periodic waves in the waveform and stacked horizontal formant bands in the spectrogram. A dashed arrow labeled ā€œparallels to human vowelsā€ connects this panel to two final panels. At the bottom, two side views of a human head show articulatory positions for an **aā€‘ vowel** (open mouth, low tongue) and an **iā€‘ vowel** (spread lips, high front tongue). Next to each head is a small waveform and spectrogram: the aā€‘vowel shows one pattern of horizontal formant bands, while the iā€‘vowel shows a different pattern, paralleling the vowel-like banding indicated earlier in the whale coda spectrograms.") Project CETI (the Cetacean Translation Initiative) at UC Berkeley is interested in the similarities between human and cetacean (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) vocalizations. In recent work, researchers found that sperm whale calls may be far more complex than previously thought, featuring vowel-like sounds that resemble elements of human speech. UC Berkely also put out a video summarizing this research on Instagram and YouTube: [](https://instagram.com/p/DQ-HNMFEl6L?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [UC Berkeley and Project CETI study shows sperm whales communicate in ways similar to humansThe way sperm whales communicate may be more similar to human language than previously thought. The acoustic properties of whale calls resemble vowels, a defining feature of human language, according to a new study from UC Berkeleyā€™s Linguistics Department and Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative). These findings could revolutionize our understanding of the animal world. ā€œIn the past, researchers thought of whale communication as a kind of morse code,ā€ said Berkeley Linguistics Professor GaÅ”per BeguÅ”, who is the linguistics lead at Project CETI.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-132.ico)Letters & ScienceAubrey Spowart![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ssd_feature_image_template_2.png)](https://ls.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berkeley-and-project-ceti-study-shows-sperm-whales-communicate-ways-similar-humans?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - BeguÅ” et al. 2025\. Vowel- and diphthong-like spectral patterns in sperm whale codas. *Open Mind* 9: 1849ā€“1874\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1162/OPMI.a.252](https://doi.org/10.1162/OPMI.a.252?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### 6,000-year-old Mesopotamian seals linked to the dawn of writing ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kiuZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9f383346-92b2-4b29-b34a-c81b7119422f_2000x1125.png) Example of a cylinder seal (left) and its design imprinted onto clay (right). Franck Raux 2001 GrandPalaisRmn (MusĆ©e du Louvre) A team of archaeologists has identified correlations between the designs of seals used before the origin of writing (like that in the image above) and later proto-cuneiform signs (the earliest writing). The tablets were found in the ancient city of Uruk, tucked between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq, which was the cultural center of the Sumer civilization. Beginning around the mid-fourth millennium BCE, around Urukā€™s halcyon period, cylinder seals like these were used as part of an accounting system. The system tracked the production, storage, and transport of various consumer goods in and out of the city, particularly agricultural and textile products. The archaeologists found correlations between the use of this cylinder seal system and the eventual invention of writing. For example, a proto-cuneiform symbol designated as ZATU639 is comparable in both shape and context to an impression of a bull found on the cylinders. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Tz6H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7cdb1201-5925-4b32-95a0-67aafa5d6e74_2048x1185.png) Comparisons of proto-cuneiform signs with pre-literate seal elements. Signs are rotated for comparison with iconography. [6,000-year-old Mesopotamian artifacts linked to the dawn of writingThe cylinders worked like a cookie press and were part of an accounting system.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-ps-FE5102-1-3.png)Popular ScienceLaura Baisas![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cylinder-seal.jpg)](https://www.popsci.com/science/ancient-writing-artifacts/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Seals and signs: tracing the origins of writing in ancient South-west Asia | Antiquity | Cambridge CoreSeals and signs: tracing the origins of writing in ancient South-west Asia - Volume 99 Issue 403![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-133.ico)Cambridge CoreKathryn Kelley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/S0003598X24001650_figAb.png)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/seals-and-signs-tracing-the-origins-of-writing-in-ancient-southwest-asia/B3C2D400F3F80A7A0162D9035C9C2804?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [When did English become English?Linguistics confronts the ā€œspecies problemā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-12.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F50635bd5-a4fd-47a8-a7fd-b36432bcaa9f_1041x699.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/when-did-english-become-english-history-language) [Cracking the code of Papua New Guineaā€™s undocumented languages | The ObserverNicholas Evans has spent decades trying to decipher the undocumented tongues of Papua New Guinea and Australia. His work has redefined the way we think about human communication![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-7.png)The ObserverLaura Spinney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/63502-1.jpeg)](https://observer.co.uk/news/science-technology/article/they-were-grabbing-me-saying-marrald-kirrk-thukand?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Nicholas Evans has spent decades trying to decipher the undocumented tongues of Papua New Guinea and Australia. His work has redefined the way we think about human communication. He is also the author of a fantastic book about endangered languages called *Words of wonder: Endangered languages and what they tell us* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781119758754?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!V1uo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F58e66dd7-83ef-427e-9665-02d79af3600d_365x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781119758754?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: How does a wordā€™s meaning change over time?Discover the history of 15+ English words, and the patterns and processes that caused their meanings to change.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-17.png)Duolingo BlogOlivia Thayer, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_blue.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-change-meaning/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Hereā€™s some additional reporting from the *New York Times* about the potential decipherment of the glyphs at Teotihuacan, which I discussed in [a recent issue of the digest](https://www.notion.so/29050a282bc180638d97d93903a03e79?pvs=21&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - [This newly deciphered papyrus scroll reveals the location of Platoā€™s grave](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/platos-elusive-grave-located-after-bionic-eye-penetrates-2000-year-old-papyrus-180984221/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) - This is a development that came out of efforts to use AI to read the scorched scrolls of Herculaneum back in 2024, which I reported in [an issue of this digest](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-42/) earlier this year. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* Iā€™ve got some linguistics-adjacent fiction reads for you this week: ### *Native Tongue* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4RZV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2ec9e48-88db-480a-8332-64705edfdf90_315x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3IOcf2k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781936932627?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Originally published in 1984, *Native Tongue* is a dystopian trilogy about the power of language and womenā€™s collective action. > In 2205, the 19th Amendment has long been repealed and women are only valued for their utility. The Earthā€™s economy depends on an insular group of linguists who ā€œbreedā€ women to be perfect interstellar translators until they are sent to the Barren House to await death. But instead, these women are slowly creating a language of their own to make resistance possible. Ignorant to this brewing revolution, Nazareth, a brilliant linguist, and Michaela, a servant, both seek emancipation in their own ways. But their personal rebellions risk exposing the secret language, and threaten the possibility of freedom for all. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3IOcf2k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781936932627?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Embassytown* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YrFq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd9eccf35-f05e-4598-a9fc-049d7d4dea5f_307x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/48Ag4mb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780345524508?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > In *Embassytown*, China MiĆ©ville describes the Arieki, a race of creatures that have bodies but whose edges are ill-defined and in flux. However, it is in their extreme language distance from the human visitors that the novel offers an insight for the xenolinguist. The Arieki can only communicate if they are convinced that there is an intention behind someoneā€™s speech, and since they seem to have doubled minds and to speak simultaneously with their mouths and stomachs, they simply do not hear any human speaking to them in anything other than noises. They donā€™t even believe we are individually conscious. The humans on Arieka have genetically cloned Ambassador couples whose twin minds and ability to speak simultaneously convince the Arieki they are persons. \~ ā€œHow to speak Venusianā€, by Peter Stockwell ([*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) No. 1) - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/48Ag4mb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780345524508?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *The dictionary of lost words* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HfDo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F975944a2-d1d4-4700-8448-a5d100f9d303_302x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3W9wbj8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781984820747?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A novel about the making of the *Oxford English Dictionary* may not seem like the most riveting reading material, but *The dictionary of lost words* became a *New York Times* bestseller when it was released in 2020 and has received wide acclaim and numerous awards. Itā€™s been described as ā€œA marvelous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress.ā€ Hereā€™s the publisherā€™s blurb: > Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first *Oxford English Dictionary*. Young Esmeā€™s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word *bondmaid* flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means ā€œslave girl,ā€ begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men. - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3W9wbj8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781984820747?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! I was reminded recently of one of my favorite fun bits of linguistics in science fiction: the discussion of tenses for time travelers in *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe*, the second book in Douglas Adamsā€™ beloved *Hitch-hikerā€™s Guide to the Galaxy* series. So Iā€™ll end this week by leaving this here for your reading pleasure: > The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is one of the most extraordinary ventures in the history of catering. It has been built on the fragmented remains ofā€¦ it will be built on the fragmentedā€¦ that is to say it will have been built by this time, and indeed has beenā€” > > One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem in becoming your own father or mother that a broad-minded and well-adjusted family canā€™t cope with. There is no problem with changing the course of historyā€”the course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. All the important changes have happened before the things they were supposed to change and it all sorts itself out in the end. > > The major problem is simply one of grammar, and the main work to consult in this matter is Dr. Dan Streetmentionerā€™s Time Travelerā€™s Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations. It will tell you, for instance, how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it. The event will be described differently according to whether you are talking about it from the standpoint of your own natural time, from a time in the further future, or a time in the further past and is further complicated by the possibility of conducting conversations while you are actually traveling from one time to another with the intention of becoming your own mother or father. > > Most readers get as far as the Future Semiconditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional before giving up; and in fact in later additions of the book all pages beyond this point have been left blank to save on printing costs. > > The Hitchhikerā€™s Guide to the Galaxy skips lightly over this tangle of academic abstraction, pausing only to note that the term ā€œFuture Perfectā€ has been abandoned since it was discovered not to be. > > To resume: > > The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is one of the most extraordinary ventures in the history of catering. > > It is built on the fragmented remains of an eventually ruined planet which is (wioll haven be) enclosed in a vast time bubble and projected forward in time to the precise moment of the End of the Universe. > > This is, many would say, impossible. > > In it, guests take (willan on-take) their places at table and eat (willan on-eat) sumptuous meals while watching (willing watchen) the whole of creation explode around them. > > This, many would say, is equally impossible. > > You can arrive (mayan arrivan on-when) for any sitting you like without prior (late fore-when) reservation because you can book retrospectively, as it were, when you return to your own time (you can have on-book haventa forewhen presooning returningwenta retrohome). > > This is, many would not insist, absolutely impossible. > > At the restaurant you can meet and dine with (mayan meetan con with dinan on when) a fascinating cross-section of the entire population of space and time. > > This, it can be explained patiently, is also impossible. > > You can visit it as many times as you like (mayan on-visit re-onvisitingā€¦ and so on - for further tense correction consult Dr. Streetmentionerā€™s book) and be sure of never meeting yourself, because of the embarrassment this usually causes. > > This, even if the rest were true, which it isnā€™t, is patently impossible, say the doubters. > > All you have to do is deposit one penny in a savings account in your own era, and when you arrive at the End of Time the operations of compound interest means that the fabulous cost of your meal has been paid for. > > This, many claim, is not merely impossible but clearly insane, which is why the advertising executives of the star system of Bastablon came up with this slogan: ā€œIf youā€™ve done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?ā€ ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8uA7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faf1f6f3e-52c7-4ad9-940f-c1d8ef434cb6_293x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3JDyR5l?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781400052929?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Check out my Bookshop storefront here.](https://bookshop.org/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### ā€œ6-7ā€ belongs in the dictionary, actually URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/67/ Last updated: 2025-11-22T15:00:46.000Z When [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [recently anointed](https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year-2025/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *6-7* as their 2025 Word of the Year, it felt to many like ragebait. The resolution was greeted with furor and frustration by language purists everywhere. ā€œItā€™s meaningless,ā€ the critics said. ā€œItā€™s a passing fad.ā€ ā€œItā€™s not even a word.ā€ But dictionaries are cultural records, not arbiters of lexical correctness. Hereā€™s why *6-7* has earned its place in the dictionary. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rHLc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd01e8b09-df66-4111-b64f-2d46bdfecc26_528x453.png) A Threads user expresses frustration at Dictionary.comā€™s choice of **6-7* as the Word of the Year For the not chronically online among you who might not have encountered the expression yet, *6-7* is meant to be nonsensical, playful, and absurd. Like most slang, itā€™s [intentionally obscure](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/style/gen-z-six-seven-meme-gen-alpha-absurdity.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and aims to disrupt common social expectations. A well-placed *6-7* is one that comes when itā€™s least expected. *6-7* is an example of a specific type of slang that has received its own category of late, called **brainrot**, referring to expressions that arise in ā€œchronically onlineā€ communities and are said to be the result of consuming large amounts of low-value internet content. Itā€™s also one of a fascinating set of expressions where what you *do* with the word, socially, is more important than what is *meant* by the word. *Ta-da!* marks a reveal. *Oops* acknowledges a mistake. *Ugh* expresses disgust or frustration. The definitions of these words *are* the social deed you accomplish in the mere act of uttering them. In the technical jargon of philosophy of language, weā€™d say that the **illocutionary** or pragmatic meaning of these words is more prominent than their **locutionary** or semantic meaning. Although in some contexts *6-7* can mean ā€˜so-soā€™ or ā€˜maybe this, maybe thatā€™ (especially when paired with an alternating hand gesture), its primary meaning is the social function of indicating playfulness, surprisal, and absurdity. Yet even many of those who appreciate *6-7*ā€™s whimsy oppose [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€™s decision to recognize it, citing objections such as ā€œItā€™s a passing fadā€ or ā€œItā€™s meaningless.ā€ Here are a few of the more common objections and what linguisticsā€”the scientific study of how language worksā€”has to say about them. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## ā€œItā€™s a phrase, not a word.ā€ Lots of dictionary entries are what are technically called **multi-word expressions** (MWEs), or compound words. Dictionaries record any MWE whose meaning is more than just the sum of its parts: *give up* and *self-esteem* are two examples. *6-7* isnā€™t structurally different from other hyphenated numeral expressions like *to sixty-nine* (the sexual act) or *to eighty-six* (to refuse to serve a customer; to eject or ban). Each of these are MWEs. ## ā€œOnly kids use it.ā€ Many words are restricted in their usage or demographics. Only older generations say ā€œThatā€™s swellā€, and only people in New England say ā€œWicked!ā€ as an expression of approval. Regional words or generational words are still words, even if not everybody uses them. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9xnY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Faeb1bfbc-8e02-4304-8d63-f4ba5de7cabf_1588x555.png) Frequency of the use of the phrase ā€œThatā€™s swellā€ from 1900 to today (Google Ngrams Viewer) ## ā€œItā€™s meaningless.ā€ No word in common use is truly meaningless. Why would people say something if not to express some kind of meaning? Just because the meaning isnā€™t obvious (to you) doesnā€™t imply itā€™s meaningless. As discussed above, oftentimes the **pragmatic** meaning of a word (the contextual/situational meaning) is more important than the **semantic** (literal) meaning of a word anyway. Thatā€™s whatā€™s happening with *6-7*: itā€™s an intentionally absurdist use of otherwise dull words. ## ā€œItā€™s not even a word! Itā€™s just numbers!ā€ A **number** is a mathematical object, a concept. A **numeral** in linguistics is a *word* for a number. 6 and 6th are numbers. *six* and *sixth* are numerals (cardinal and ordinal numerals specifically). So to be precise, [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€™s Word of the Year is the linguistic expression *six-seven* and not the numbers 6-7. ## ā€œItā€™ll be gone in a year. Dictionaries should only record words likely to stick around.ā€ Itā€™s true that *6-7* has seen a rapid ascension to lexicographical greatness, from complete obscurity in January to one of the most widely-used and widely-discussed expressions of the year. And precisely because of its recency, [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has for now marked the entry as slang and included it in its distinct [slang dictionary](https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d6WA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0835db71-d31f-4838-bf14-29dcaeda7991_1024x635.png) Growth in relative frequency of the expression **6-7* compared to 2024 (Dictionary.com) And yes, the vast majority of slangā€”and words in general!ā€”have short lifespans. But plenty of ā€œrealā€ words that once illuminated our lexicon have now dimmed into obscurity, such as *wherefore*, *thither*, and *overmorrow*. There are over [500,000 words](https://www.oed.com/information/about-the-oed?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in the OED, but the average native American English speaker [only knows about 42,000](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01116/full?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), meaning that many words have fallen out of use. A century from now, readers will encounter *6-7* in texts from this period and want to know what it meant. A dictionaryā€™s job is to document all of the words, not just the ones you like. In all likelihood, weā€™ll have forgotten about *6-7* in a year. But who knows? Perhaps *6-7* will graduate from mere slang to the respected rank of Real Word, and in a hundred years weā€™ll be grateful to the dictionaries for documenting its whimsical rise to lexicographic legitimacy. Either way, we should appreciate the socially complex and linguistically creative nature of *6-7* and enjoy it while we still can. If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support Linguistic Discoveryā€™s mission to educate the world about the science and diversity of language, consider becoming a supporter! Youā€™ll get **bonus articles** and **early access** to articles and chapters of my book! ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YClR!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3cc9bbe1-7974-44b7-a6de-d8dba240dab7_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593804070?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uug1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60d0f180-05cc-47d6-ae8b-8fb266a52b63_348x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hCjd74?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781250143785?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Dictionary.com announces 6-7 as the word of the year URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-45/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:04.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! Not yet a subscriber? Sign up below! (It's free!) Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### 5,000 readers šŸŽ‰ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-4.png) The Linguistic Discovery newsletter recently passed 5,000 readers! This combines readers from the website, Substack, and Patreon. The website alone makes up almost 3,000 of this! I only soft-launched the newsletter in August 2024, and then began publishing consistently in January, so itā€™s incredibly humbling that over 5,000 of you have signed up in a little over a year. Iā€™m grateful for every single one of you! My ultimate goal is to transition into writing for Linguistic Discoveryā€”and writing books!ā€”full time once my work for the Chitimacha tribe is done. In pursuit of that goal, Iā€™d love it if youā€™d consider sharing the newsletter with your friends and social media networks! Word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways for a newsletter like this to grow, and recommendations would go a long way towards helping me build an audience that would let me do this full time. If youā€™d like to help spread the word, the easiest way to do so is to pick your favorite article from the archives and post about it on social media, with text like: > I highly recommend the @LinguisticDiscovery newsletter to anybody whoā€™s interested in language or linguistics! Hereā€™s my favorite article: {{ link }} You can explore the newsletter archives here: [Newsletter - Linguistic DiscoveryA semiweekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the worldā€™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.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-72.png)Linguistic Discovery![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Ghost-Newsletter-Tag.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/articles/) Thank you so much for your support! šŸ’ ### Chitimacha language revitalization on NPR New Orleans ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/school-lobby1.jpg) A mural inside the Chitimacha tribal school depicting some traditional Chitimacha legends This week myself and Chitimacha language instructor Erin Daniels went on *Louisiana Considered* (New Orleans Public Radio) to talk about our work to revitalize the Chitimacha language. Itā€™s a quick interview (about 15 minutes), but Iā€™m happy that the tribe is getting some local attention in Louisiana for their great work, and grateful for WWNO in New Orleans and WKRF in Baton Rouge for setting up the interview. You can listen at any of the links below. Our segment of the show starts around 9:35. [LSU finds new athletic director, continues search for head football coach; Chitimacha language revitalization effortsToday on Louisiana Considered, we learn all about LSUā€™s new athletic director and hear about some of the names in mind to replace Brian Kelly as head football coach. We also discuss modern and historical efforts to revitalize Louisianaā€™s indigenous Chitimacha language. Thatā€™s just ahead.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-59.png)WWNOKaren Henderson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-3)](https://www.wwno.org/show/louisiana-considered/2025-11-10/lsu-finds-new-athletic-director-continues-search-for-head-football-coach-chitimacha-language-revitalization-efforts?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### World Linguistics Day ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-7.png) For a few years now Linguistics HQ in the UK has been popularizing a new [National Linguistics Day](https://www.linguisticshq.co.uk/national-linguistics-day?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on November 26th each year. The idea is starting to gain traction among the international community of lingthusiasts as well. As such, many of us ā€œlinguistics communicatorsā€ are now taking the idea global, and are anointing November 26th as World Linguistics Day each year going forward. [National Linguistics Day ā€” Linguistics HQ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-128.ico)Linguistics HQ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/NLD-poster---Copy.jpg)](https://www.linguisticshq.co.uk/national-linguistics-day?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Exploring linguistic curiosities with Joshua Blackburn ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-8.png) This week I had a special guest post from Joshua Blackburn, author of *The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia: An Aā€“Z of Linguistic Curiosities* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) and creator of *League of the Lexicon*, the most successful word game in Kickstarter history. In the spirit of his book, in this article Joshua takes us on a circumambulatory intellectual adventure as he follows the thread of linguistic curiosity, beginning with the first keyboards. [Curiouser and curiouserā€¦ A (short) journey through words and languageJoin League of the Lexicon game creator Joshua Blackburn as he follows the threads of his curiosity about keyboards![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-73.png)Linguistic DiscoveryJoshua Blackburn![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/social-preview-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/linguistic-curiosities/) If youā€™d like to purchase *The language-loverā€™s lexipedia* book or *The league of the lexicon* game, you can do so at the links below. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-9.png)](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-10.png)](https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Website](https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *man* vs. *human* Someone asked on Threads recently: > Serious question: > > Why is it ā€œhumansā€ and not ā€œhumenā€? Thereā€™s a fascinating bit of etymology behind this so I penned a quick reply! > Because ā€œmanā€ and ā€œhumanā€ are completely unrelated words! > > ā€œmanā€ is a Germanic word that comes from Proto-Indo-European \*man- ā€˜manā€™, but ā€œhumanā€ is from Latin ā€œhumanusā€ ā€˜of man, humanā€™, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European word \*dhghem- ā€˜earthā€™! > > In Old English, ā€œmanā€ meant ā€˜person, human beingā€™, not a male specifically. > > Thatā€™s why ā€œmanā€ is still used as the generic, gender-neutral term in expressions like ā€œmankindā€ or ā€œmanslaughterā€. > > The word for ā€˜male personā€™ was ā€œwerā€, and sticks around in the word ā€œwerewolfā€! > > The word for ā€˜female personā€™ was ā€œwifā€, and sticks around in the word ā€œwifeā€. > > Thatā€™s why the word ā€œwifeā€ still just means ā€˜womanā€™ in some contexts: ā€œmidwifeā€ was originally ā€˜with-womanā€™. [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsBecause ā€œmanā€ and ā€œhumanā€ are completely unrelated words! ā€œmanā€ is a Germanic word that comes from Proto-Indo-European \*man- ā€˜manā€™, but ā€œhumanā€ is from Latin ā€œhumanusā€ ā€˜of man, humanā€™, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European word \*dhghem- ā€˜earthā€™!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-14.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n-5.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DQ9-rlxiXek?xmt=AQF0NHAsQ9hghZmAmQHwTExYEpbu5l0hYAVbGdCeMTEvPA&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Dictionary.com announces *6-7* as the word of the year ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-11.png) Itā€™s Word of the Year season again, which means all the major dictionaries as well as the American Dialect Society are beginning to choose their words of the year for 2025! Dictionary.com is kicking off the season with a strong statement this year, electing the popular Gen Alpha slang *6-7* as this yearā€™s word. The phrase *6-7* is meant to be nonsensical, playful and absurd. Like much slang, itā€™s intentionally obscure and aims to disrupt common social expectations. A well-placed *6-7* is one that comes when itā€™s least expected. *6-7* is an example of a specific type of slang thatā€™s received its own category of late, called **brainrot** slang, referring to expressions that arise in ā€œchronically onlineā€ communities and are said to be the result of consuming large amounts of low-value internet content. Dictionary.com notes, appropriately, that they donā€™t base their choice for Word of the Year on mere popularity: > To select the 2025 Word of the Year, our lexicographers analyzed a large amount of data including newsworthy headlines, trends on social media, search engine results, and more to identify words that made an impact on our conversations, online and in the real world. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-12.png) Some others words on the shortlist were: - agentic - aura farming - broligarchy - clanker - overtourism - tariff - tradwife Hereā€™s Dictionary.comā€™s official announcement about *6-7*: [Dictionary.comā€™s 2025 Word of the Year Isā€¦ - Dictionary.comEach year, Dictionary.comā€™s Word of the Year and short-listed nominees capture pivotal moments in language and culture. These words serve as a linguistic time capsule, reflecting social trends and global events that defined the year. The Word of the Year isnā€™t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how weā€™ve changed over the year. And for these reasons, Dictionary.comā€™s ā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Dictionary_Favicon.jpg)Dictionary.com![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Dictionarycom_WOTY_2025_2_1920x1080_10-27-25-1024x653.jpeg)](https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year-2025/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And hereā€™s their official entry for the expression: [67 Meaning & Origin | Slang by Dictionary.com67, pronounced ā€œsix-seven,ā€ is a viral slang term.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Dictionary_Favicon-1.jpg)Dictionary.com![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/DICTCON-453-67-1080X1080.png)](https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/67/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Matthew Cantor at *The Guardian* offers a good opinion piece about the social meaning of slang expressions like *6-7*: [Slang terms like ā€˜six-sevenā€™ have no definition. But theyā€™re loaded with meaning | Matthew CantorOlder generations are demanding explanations of the viral phrase ā€“ but slang doesnā€™t have to make logical sense![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-12.png)The GuardianMatthew Cantor![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/4898.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/30/six-seven-meaning-slang?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And since weā€™re on the topic of slang, here are some other relevant articles and opinion pieces from this week: [New words are good, however bad they seemThe worlds of film and books may seem stuck, but we are living through an unprecedented era of linguistic innovation![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72-4.png)The TimesJames Marriott![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2Fmethode-2Ftimes-2Fprod-2Fweb-2Fbin-2F9d435ef6-975b-44f6-b305-32f40e94313f.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/new-words-are-good-however-bad-they-seem-tsr83l7mq?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why Every Language Has Slang, and Why It MattersSlang isnā€™t just funā€”it reveals culture, identity, and social groups. Explore how slang forms, spreads, and changes in languages around the world.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-15.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_darkPurple-1.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/slang-all-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Lastly, hereā€™s some additional reporting on Dictionary.comā€™s announcement: [Dictionary.com reveals ā€™67ā€² is its 2025 Word of the YearDictionary.comā€™s word of the year has been used by kids and teenagers over the past year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-129.ico)ABC NewsABC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/six-seven-gty-jt-251028_1761685157444_hpMain_16x9.jpg)](https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/dictionary-67-2025-word-year/story?id=126947602&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dictionary.com reveals ā€™67ā€² is its 2025 Word of the YearDictionary.comā€™s word of the year has been used by kids and teenagers over the past year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-130.ico)ABC NewsABC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/six-seven-gty-jt-251028_1761685157444_hpMain_16x9-1.jpg)](https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/dictionary-67-2025-word-year/story?id=126947602&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Turkic states agree on a common Latin alphabet ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-13.png) > The five countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) have overcome years of disagreements about letters and diacritical marks to agree on a common Latin alphabet for their languages that consists of 34 letters. > > Adopting a standard alphabet could prove relatively easy for Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, who already use the Latin script, as well as Kazakhstan, which is in the process of transitioning away from Cyrillic. > > But it remains a sensitive topic in Kyrgyzstan, the only OTS member that has not decided to switch to the Latin alphabet amid long-standing debates by scholars, politicians, and the public. [Turkic States Agree On Common Latin Alphabet, But Kyrgyzstan Happy With Its Cyrillic ScriptThe Organization of Turkic States has agreed to adopt a common Latin alphabet, but it remains a sensitive topic in Kyrgyzstan, the only member state that has not decided to make the switch.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-15.svg)RFE/RLRFE/RLā€™s Kyrgyz Service![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/D9FD363A-C288-452E-81B9-C05FBA902569.jpg)](https://www.rferl.org/a/common-turkic-alphabet-kyrgyz-kazakh-uzbek-turkmen-latin-cyrillic/33137392.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Radio Free Europe also has a [shortform video on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP-qlIxFMSa/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) covering the topic. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Researchers decode Mandarin Chinese from brain activity [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-14.png)](https://www.science.org/content/article/researchers-decode-mandarin-chinese-neural-signals?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Researchers used a brain implant to decode the Mandarin sentence ā€œHappy New Year 2025ā€ from a womanā€™s brain activity while she spoke aloud. Youkun Qian > Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can restore communication for people who have lost their speech to a stroke or neurological disease. But these experimental systems, which combine sensors placed in the brain with algorithms that turn the neural signals of attempted speech into words, have so far been developed mostly for English speakers. New research uses this kind of brain-computer interface with Mandarin Chinese, which is a major step forward for these technologies since Mandarin is a tonal language (and there are more tonal languages in the world than non-tonal languages). The technology that this research enables could help more people with speech impairments around the world. - **Reporting:** [Researchers ā€˜decodeā€ Mandarin Chinese from neural signals](https://www.science.org/content/article/researchers-decode-mandarin-chinese-neural-signals?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) - **Research:** Qian et al. 2025\. Real-time decoding of full-spectrum Chinese using brain-computer interface. *Science Advances* 11(45). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz9968](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz9968?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Babiesā€™ brains recognize foreign languages they heard before birth ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-15.png) A recent study suggests that babies start processing language before they are born. A research team in Montreal has found that newborns who had heard short stories in foreign languages while in the womb process those languages similarly to their native tongue. Previous research had shown that fetuses and newborns can recognize familiar voices and rhythms and even that they prefer their native language soon after birth. But these findings come mostly from behavioral cuesā€”sucking patterns, head turns or heart rate changesā€”rather than direct evidence from the brain. This is the first study to use brain imaging to show what neuroscientists and psychologists had long suspected. [Babies Start Processing Foreign Languages before They Are BornBabies process foreign languages they heard in utero much like their mother tongue, researchers find![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-131.ico)Scientific AmericanMeghie Rodrigues![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/newborn-looking-at-camera.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/babies-brains-recognize-foreign-languages-they-heard-before-birth/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Prenatal linguistic exposure shapes language brain responses at birth - Communications BiologyNeonatal brain responses to a foreign language are modulated by brief prenatal linguistic exposure in utero.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-21.png)NatureAndrĆ©anne RenĆ©![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/42003_2025_8594_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08594-8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [New words are good, however bad they seemThe worlds of film and books may seem stuck, but we are living through an unprecedented era of linguistic innovation![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72-5.png)The TimesJames Marriott![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2Fmethode-2Ftimes-2Fprod-2Fweb-2Fbin-2F9d435ef6-975b-44f6-b305-32f40e94313f-1.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/new-words-are-good-however-bad-they-seem-tsr83l7mq?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Slang terms like ā€˜six-sevenā€™ have no definition. But theyā€™re loaded with meaning | Matthew CantorOlder generations are demanding explanations of the viral phrase ā€“ but slang doesnā€™t have to make logical sense![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-13.png)The GuardianMatthew Cantor![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/4898-1.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/30/six-seven-meaning-slang?CMP=oth%5Fb-aplnews%5Fd-1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why Every Language Has Slang, and Why It MattersSlang isnā€™t just funā€”it reveals culture, identity, and social groups. Explore how slang forms, spreads, and changes in languages around the world.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-16.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_darkPurple-2.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/slang-all-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [This linguist has invented over 20 languagesMargaret Ransdell-Green draws on her expertise in linguistics and music to create new, fictional languages ā€” and sings in them, too.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-SNE_favicon_2025-270x270.png)Science News Exploresatremper![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1440_Margaret-Ransdell-Green_feat.jpg)](https://www.snexplores.org/article/linguist-invented-contructed-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [ā€œBigā€ is a weird wordEtymology and the limits of explanation![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-11.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F864e8a0f-8a50-4541-a7a9-60d653cea179_800x1034.png)](https://deadlanguagesociety.com/p/etymology-of-big?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s some additional reporting on Danny Bateā€™s new book, *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them*, which Linguistic Discovery readers got a preview of the other week: [Why does Q always need a U? A quirky guide to the alphabetThe letter A was once an oxā€™s head and O was an eye ā€” youā€™ll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading Danny Bateā€™s fascinating linguistic history![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72-6.png)The Sunday TimesJames McConnachie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2Fdf8b1621-b6fc-4976-8f68-bb38eea6bd4c.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/why-q-needs-u-history-letters-how-use-them-danny-bate-review-3wkw7ls3f?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely?A new book takes us on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-74.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-q-needs-u/) Nicholas Evans has spent decades trying to decipher the undocumented tongues of Papua New Guinea and Australia. His work has redefined the way we think about human communication: [Cracking the code of Papua New Guineaā€™s undocumented languages | The ObserverNicholas Evans has spent decades trying to decipher the undocumented tongues of Papua New Guinea and Australia. His work has redefined the way we think about human communication![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-6.png)The ObserverLaura Spinney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/63502.jpeg)](https://observer.co.uk/news/science-technology/article/they-were-grabbing-me-saying-marrald-kirrk-thukand?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Linguistics HQ Podcast* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-16.png) A new linguistics podcast just launched in September called *Linguistics HQ*. Hereā€™s the description: > Are you curious about how languages work? Have you ever wondered, for example, why humans speak and animals donā€™t, or why there are so many different languages? Maybe at some point youā€™ve asked yourself why some people start a sentence in one language and finish it in another, or whether women really do talk more than men, or who invented the alphabet, or where we get new words from. Perhaps you want to know why the language youā€™re learning has masculine and feminine words, or youā€™ve heard rumours of languages that consist entirely of whistling! And where do designer dogs fit into all this?! > > Well, youā€™ve come to the right place, because the Linguistics HQ podcast will answer all of these questions and many more! Weā€™ll explore every aspect of the science of language, starting with the basics, from how languages are structured to how we can use our knowledge of linguistics to discover exciting things and even make our world a better place. Whatever sort of language enthusiast you are, Linguistics HQ has got something for you. Iā€™m Dr Rebecca Mitchell and Iā€™m a lecturer, teacher and public speaker, and Iā€™m on a mission to make the science of language everyoneā€™s business. So hit subscribe and letā€™s get thinking, talking and learning about linguistics! ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-17.png) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Curiouser and curiouserā€¦ A (short) journey through words and language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/linguistic-curiosities/ Last updated: 2025-11-11T14:59:59.000Z ā„¹ļø Today weā€™ve got a special guest post from Joshua Blackburn, author of **The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia: An Aā€“Z of Linguistic Curiosities* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) and creator of **League of the Lexicon*, the most successful word game in Kickstarter history. In the spirit of his book, in this article Joshua takes us on a circumambulatory intellectual adventure as he follows the thread of linguistic curiosity, beginning with the first keyboards. \~ DWH Before I wrote *The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia*, and before I created my game [*League of the Lexicon*](https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€”a quiz game about words and languageā€”I ran a communications agency. For over a decade I told clients that it wasnā€™t what I knew about their business that mattered, but my curiosity about what I *didnā€™t* know. It might sound like an ingenious excuse for being ill-informed, but what I meant was that because I didnā€™t know what they knew, I asked questions; and because I asked questions, I saw their world differently. I mention this because thatā€™s how I think about words and language too. Iā€™m neither a linguist nor a lexicographerā€”I didnā€™t even take English at university; but loving language doesnā€™t need an English degree, only curiosity. And it is this curiosity that has led me deep into the rabbit holes of language. It often begins with a questionā€”something that occurs to me mid-conversation or while staring at an ad on the London Underground. Questions like: - *Where does punctuation come from?* - *How do Chinese keyboards work?* - *How can I get a word in the dictionary?* - *Why are pedants pedantic?* - *Why are words with a K funny? (And why are words with a T not?)* - *How are IKEA products named?* And on it goes. For me, language is a loose thread that I canā€™t resist pulling on; and when I start, itā€™s hard to stop, because the thread is infinite. So Iā€™m going to try an experiment for this article about linguistic curiosity; Iā€™m going to write about the first thing my eyes land on, then keep pulling the thread to see where it leadsā€¦ ## *keyboard* (n.) The first *key-boards* \[sic\] were found on musical instruments, specifically organs, pianos, harpsicords and the like, with the word first appearing in the *Oxford English Dictionary* (*OED*) in 1776\. The first citation for a type-based keyboard is 1846, in relation to a telegraphy machine. Given the early design of these devices, it was an obvious choice, since they used actual piano keys, transposed from hammering strings to inputting letters. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yJ0N!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8476654-6e00-43aa-931c-222fffba60cc_427x260.png) Hughes printing telegraph keyboard (1860) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fsmd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F93352008-574d-4e3b-a00f-8f4b9107b302_426x261.png) Apple Magic Keyboard (2024) ## Speaking of ancient keyboardsā€¦ ā€¦it seems strange to see the ampersandā€”the squiggly symbol that means *and*ā€”featured on such an old keyboard; after all, it doesnā€™t get much use these days. But the truth is, the fortunes of this elegant glyph have plummeted over the last century. Up to the 20th century, the ampersand was often taught as the 27th letter of the alphabet; today, it is relegated to corporate logos and space-squeezed signs. Indeed, as grammarian June Casagrande wrote in 2019: ā€œHereā€™s a simple guideline for using ampersands: Donā€™t.ā€ How the mighty have fallen. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!imBS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F35fb16b0-94fe-4602-b959-0e2bb5054904_723x357.png) The New England Primer (1843) The earliest ampersand was found on a wall in Pompeii (see below) where it was a ligature combining *e* and *t* of the Latin *et*, meaning ā€˜andā€™. Its name is a contraction of *and per se and*, a Latin-English hybrid that essentially means: ā€˜this symbol means ā€œandā€ā€™. Children chanting their ABCs would conclude with: ā€œX, Y, Z, *and per se and*ā€; spoken quickly, those last syllables combined to create its name, *ampersand*. When people wrote by handā€”or carved on stoneā€”the ampersand was no doubt useful; but modern keyboards have made its time-saving qualities redundant. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qroA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5d883c49-5586-40ef-a3a2-f984f12e0903_1456x356.png) Incidentally, the ampersand wasnā€™t the first symbol to represent ā€˜andā€™. A century and a half before the destruction of Pompeii, Tiro, secretary and slave of the Roman statesman Cicero, invented the Tironian *et*, that looked like this: āŸØāŠāŸ©. It was used in the Gothic script known as blackletter, but is now only found in Irish Gaelic. ## Speaking of Ciceroā€¦ ā€¦you may be more familiar with his work than you realise. When graphic designers lay out work, they use placeholder text, and for as long as most people can remember, itā€™s been a chunk of Latin-sounding words starting ā€œLorem ipsumā€¦ā€ But where this text came from, and when it was first used, was a mystery for a long time. Itā€™s often said that the practice started among 16th-century printers, but this is untrue. The first evidence of *Lorum ipsum* is the 1960s, where it appeared in adhesive transfer sheets made by Letraset which were used for text layout. It then secured its place among graphic designers when it was adopted in 1985 by Aldus PageMaker, the desktop publishing software for Apple computers. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jb0l!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ec42fe0-658f-429a-8e18-6a5219016fb4_715x290.png) A Letraset transfer sheet used for text layouts The text itself was assumed to be gibberish, until classicist Richard McClintock showed that it came from mangled fragments of Ciceroā€™s *De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum* (ā€˜About the Ends of Good and Evilā€™), written around 45 BC. It has thus become one of the most accidentally (mis-)quoted Latin texts in history. ## Speaking of misquotationsā€¦ ā€¦did Groucho Marx *really* say, ā€œI didnā€™t say that, and even if I did, I didnā€™t mean itā€? Sadly not. Despite being widely shared online, it is, appropriately, a misquotation. Or rather, a misattribution. Likewise Yogi Berraā€™s ā€œI never said half the things I saidā€, which he famously didnā€™t say, but people like to say he did. Misquotations are nothing new, but thanks to social media and hallucinatory AI, theyā€™re booming. There are three types of misquotation: the thing that was almost said, the thing that was never said and the thing that may have been said, but not by the person said to have said it. The problem is that determining the truth can be complicated, but sharing a misquotation is easy. Or as quotation compiler Robert Andrews is said to have saidā€”but, again, didnā€™tā€”ā€œMost quotations end up being misquotations.ā€ ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xpWN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1562436-d495-4d16-a15e-c5a52e354e64_780x629.png) A much-repeated quotation also attributed to George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Max Nordau, Rita Mae Brown and many more People love reading clever things said by famous peopleā€”Oscar Wilde, Coco Chanel, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein and the like. As a result, well-known figures are commonly attached to nuggets of wisdom they never uttered. But correcting these errors is difficult when people donā€™t want them corrected. ā€œIf youā€™re going through Hell, keep goingā€ wasnā€™t Winston Churchill, but itā€™s what people *want* him to have said. Just as they want to believe Marilyn Monroe delivered the sassy line, ā€œWell-behaved women seldom make history.ā€ Itā€™s a lot less exciting that the real author was Harvard professor, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Mark Twain probably didnā€™t say ā€œNever let the facts get in the way of a good storyā€ either, making it an apt motto for those who share dubious quotations. However, if you belong to the minority of people who care about the accuracy of quotations, visit the [Quote Investigator](https://quoteinvestigator.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), who provides both facts *and* good stories. ## Speaking of mistakesā€¦ ā€¦errors in books are called **corrigenda** or **errata**. For a long time, such mistakes were common in printing. Shakespeareā€™s First Folio is full of them, and many first editionsā€”from writers like NiccolĆ² Machiavelli, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and moreā€”feature errata slips. Even the Declaration of Independence has errata, with an erratum in the errata itself. Today, however, mistakes can be embarrassing and costly. It certainly was for Penguin Australia who had to destroy 7,000 copies of *The Pasta Bible* in 2010 because the recipe for tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto listed ā€œfreshly ground black peopleā€ in the ingredients. Fortunately not all mistakes require a work to be pulped, often an errata slip will doā€”but these can be awkward too. When Faber and Faber published *Moortown* by Ted Hughes in 1979, there was a typo in ā€œNight Arrival of Sea Troutā€, that required the correction, ā€œfor ā€˜rapeā€™, read ā€˜napeā€™.ā€ But at least there was good news when the publisher of the *Australian Dictionary of National Biography* corrected one entry with the information: ā€œFor ā€˜died in infancyā€™ read ā€˜lived to a ripe old age at Orangeā€™.ā€ ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6V3_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F84ad58d3-61ee-4182-80f3-5e318cb272c6_277x345.png) The Regretful Printerā€”art for Errata slips created by John DePol Some mistakes are so bad theyā€™re good. Susan Anderson says sheā€™s still haunted by the typo on page 293 of her sizzling romance novel, *Baby, Iā€™m Yours*: ā€œHe stiffened for a moment but then she felt his muscles loosen as he shitted on the ground.ā€ And scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Cern have stopped counting the number of references to their work at the ā€œLarge Hardon Colliderā€. But not all mistakes are costly. One of the most valuable *Harry Potter* books sold in auction was a first edition hardback, where the title on the back cover is misspelled ā€œHarry Potter and the Philospherā€™s Stoneā€. Itā€™s not even the only mistake in the book. But thanks to these typos, it sold for Ā£68,812 in 2019. ## Speaking of typosā€¦ ā€¦brings us back to keyboards and the origin of the QWERTY layout, a subject that has been much debated. Whatā€™s known is that the QWERTY arrangement was created by Christopher Latham Sholes for the ā€œSholes and Glidden type-writerā€ \[sic\], which became the Remington No. 1, the first commercially viable typewriter. Itā€™s commonly said that Sholesā€™ layout, first documented in an 1878 patent, was designed to avoid the mechanical problem of type bars clashing within the machine. Far from being the best layout for speed, the story goes, QWERTY was designed to slow typists down so they wouldnā€™t jam the type basket. Itā€™s also been claimed that the QWERTY layout was chosen so that salesmen could type TYPEWRITER with one finger from the first line of letters. Itā€™s true that you can, but I wouldnā€™t read anything into it. Since many of the early users of typewriters were morse code operators, for whom speed was a priority, it is highly improbable that Sholes would design a keyboard to deliberately inhibit speed. In the early days of the typewriter, inventors explored different layouts (see below), but all with the aim of improving typing speed. As John Harrison wrote in his 1888 Manual of the Type-Writer: > Why its alphabet should begin with Q, and end with M, is mysterious at first sight. But the reason of this disorder soon becomes clear. The keys are arranged so that greater facility is given to fingering letters than if the letters were placed in their usual order. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mcMe!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5fec4df8-73a2-4631-965a-f1693bb17add_1456x441.png) The question is not so much how QWERTY came to be devised as how it came to dominate, and the answer to this lies in Remingtonā€™s position as the leading manufacturer of typewriters. As their typing schools and teaching methods promoted QWERTY, other manufacturers fell into line and it became the de facto standard. QWERTY almost certainly isnā€™t the best keyboard layoutā€”even Sholes proposed a new design before his deathā€”but the combination of technology lock-in, the network effect and the efforts of the leading manufacturers cemented its position. And thus we come full circle, almost as if I engineered it that way. But I had to. I could have gone from mistakes to malapropisms to humour to sound symbolism to language learning and beyond. Because the world of words never ends. And for those with a curious mind, that is the joy of it. ā„¹ļø If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out Joshuaā€™s new book, **The language loverā€™s lexipedia: An Aā€“Z of linguistic curiosities* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and grab a copy of **League of the Lexicon* [here](https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image.png)](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-1.png)](https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Website](https://www.leagueofthelexicon.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Have scholars finally deciphered the mysterious writing of Teotihuacan? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-44/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:12.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* You may have noticed there was no digest last Thursdayā€”my apologies for that! I was busy preparing for a talk at Miami University (Ohio, not Florida) about language endangerment and revitalizationā€”which went great! Iā€™ll post the recording for it if I get it. An unfortunate feature of timely newsletters like this one is that I can never be several weeks ahead, so I have no buffer for weeks like the last one when Iā€™m behind or have other deadlines. Frustratingly, this does mean Iā€™ll likely miss the occasional week when my other work and scholarly commitments eat into my writing time. (Linguistic Discovery is still just a side project for me, while my main job is working for the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.) Regardless, Iā€™ll do my best to give you fun and interesting things to read about linguistics in your inbox each week! On the topic of the newsletter schedule, Iā€™m planning *not* to publish a digest on the following weeks: - November 27 (Thanksgiving) - December 25 (Christmas) - January 1 (New Year) Otherwise, you can continue to expect a digest from me each week on Thursday! Thank you for being a reader! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### How Guy Fawkes gave English a new pronoun Guy Fawkes Day was this Thursday, November 5th, and in memory of that event I pulled an old video out of the archive: how the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 led to the creation of a new English pronoun: ### The history of *sex* Just for fun, here are two quick videos about the history of the word *sex* in English that I also pulled out of the archive and reposted recently: ### Deciphering the writing of Teotihuacan ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZihU!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa48815cd-579c-4b23-b258-192fc8961228_1091x746.png) Example of a linear text in Teotihuacan writing painted in three columns on the floor of the Plaza de los Glifos in La Ventilla sector (Pharao Hansen & Helmke 2025) The city of Teotihuacan /te.o.ti.waĖˆkan/, which sits about 25 miles northeast of modern-day Mexico City, ā€œis known today as the site of many of the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americasā€ ([Wikipedia: Teotihuacan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Although many people think of these as Aztec (Mexica / Nahua) pyramids, they actually predate the Aztec Empire by almost a millennium. At its height, the city may have had a population as large as 125,000 people, making it the largest city in the Americas and sixth-largest city in the world at the time. Within the ruins are various inscriptions and symbols that have led to debate among scholars as to whether they were actually writing or just decorative. If the inscriptions are a kind of writing, it also isnā€™t clear which language or languages the writing system represents, since Teotihuacan appears to have been a multi-ethnic city. Totonac, Mixe-Zoquean, or an earlier form of Nahuatl have been considered plausible candidates. Now, a new paper proposes that the Teotihuacan glyphs represent a Uto-Aztecan language that would have been the ancestor of Nahuatl, Cora, and Huichol, which are other, later, more well-documented Uto-Aztecan languages. This family tree shows about where they posit the language of the Teotihuacan inscriptions to sit in the family tree: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YB6w!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff365f1b1-1b0e-4a2f-a84d-75bb22bd7352_957x824.png) Genealogical tree of Uto-Aztecan languages, with Proto-Corachol-Nahua, the proposed language of the Teotihuacan inscriptions, circled (Pharao Hansen & Helmke 2025) While not all scholars who work in this area are convinced of their claim, their paper does seem to have advanced scholarship in this area in several ways regardless whether their linguistic claim is true. They seem to be the first to attempt to decipher these glyphs using linguistic reconstructions at an appropriate time depth in the family tree. They also resituate the role of Teotihuacan in Mesoamerican history: the city has long been considered culturally distinct by scholars, but this paper suggests that the culture of Teotihuacan may have been more contiguous with other cultures in the region than previously appreciated. The response articles to the proposal make for some fascinating reading. Even those who disagree with the conclusion think that the authors have found a viable avenue for future decipherment using the techniques they applied in this research. **PS:** The online abstract for the research article is written in English, Spanish, and [Modern Nahuatl](https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/737863?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which I thought was pretty cool. Here's some various reporting on the paper: [Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan languageMore than two millennia ago, Teotihuacan was a thriving metropolis in central Mexico with up to 125,000 inhabitants. The city had gigantic pyramids and was a cultural center in Mesoamerica at the time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-13.svg)Phys.orgSimon Thinggaard HjortkjƦr![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/researchers-on-the-ver-1.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-10-mysterious-teotihuacan-murals-reveal-early.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Researchers Claim They Have Cracked the Code of Teotihuacanā€™s Mysterious Writing SystemScientists believe theyā€™ve decoded the mysterious symbols of Teotihuacan, revealing a potential ancient ancestor of Nahuatl.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-logo-zmescience-270x270.png)ZME ScienceTudor Tarita![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Figure01_Teo1100x600.jpg)](https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/researchers-claim-they-have-cracked-the-code-of-teotihuacans-mysterious-writing-system/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Ancient Teotihuacan murals reveal possible 2,000-year-old Uto-Aztecan language](https://archaeologymag.com/2025/10/teotihuacan-murals-reveal-uto-aztecan-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Archaeology News)* - [A new anthropological discovery is giving us more understanding into the Nahuatl language](https://wearemitu.com/wearemitu/culture/nahuatl-language-teotihuacan-civilization/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(mitĆŗ)* And here's the research paper itself: - Pharao Hansen, Magnus & Christophe Helmke. 2025\. The language of Teotihuacan writing. *Current Anthropology* 66(5). 705ā€“739\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/737863](https://doi.org/10.1086/737863?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [What does ā€˜abracadabraā€™ mean?The earliest mention of ā€˜abracadabraā€™ comes from a text in the second century A.D., which used the term as a treatment for fevers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-5.png)Premium![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/BAL_3666684___16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/abracadabra-meaning-malaria-spell-magic?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - The earliest mention of ā€˜abracadabraā€™ comes from a text in the second century A.D., which used the term as a treatment for fevers. [The strangest letter of the alphabetThe rise and fall of yogh![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-10.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fe6819afa-8f15-4a27-9412-623f62f1130f_1149x978.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/history-of-letter-yogh) - The surprisingly complex history of a lost letter of the English alphabet, yogh (*Ȝ* *ȝ).* [In a First, AI Models Analyze Language As Well As a Human Expert | Quanta MagazineIf language is what makes us human, what does it mean now that large language models have gained ā€œmetalinguisticā€ abilities?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-5.png)Quanta MagazineSteve Nadis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Metalinguistics-cr-Robert-Neubecker-Social.jpg)](https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-ai-models-analyze-language-as-well-as-a-human-expert-20251031/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - This is some additional reporting on a [study](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11022724?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I included in the digest [earlier this year](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-31/), showing that the most recent large language models are now capable of doing metalinguistic analysis of the type we ask undergraduates to do in their homework and problem sets. [Q&A: Racing against timeā€”the challenge of preserving languages before they vanishAs local languages continue to disappear, Associate Professor Natsuko Nakagawa from the Faculty of Humanities is dedicated to documenting and preserving them while uncovering the linguistic principles hidden within. She also harnesses digital technology, collaborating closely with local communities to ensure the transmission of their language and culture. Nakagawa spoke about the allure of linguistics and the field of digital humanities.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-14.svg)Phys.orgKyushu University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a-race-against-time-th-1.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-10-qa-languages.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - In this interview, linguist Natsuko Nakagawa discusses her work with the minority and endangered languages of Japan, including the Tohoku dialects in the north and the Ryukyuan languages in the southwest. - Large language models for small languages ([*Endangered Languages & Cultures Blog*](https://www.paradisec.org.au/blog/2025/10/large-language-models-for-small-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Speech recognition models typically require mountains of data, but advances in the technology for language models have allowed scholars working with endangered languages of the Pacific to create automatic speech recognition using just 38 hours of transcribed audio. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *How to create a language: The conlang guide* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TsQt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7a833713-9dd0-4b70-885c-a95cc34b2d6c_298x425.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4qrt8Rm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) For those of you interested in conlanging (constructing languages), a new guide to language creation was just released. Whatā€™s interesting about this book is that itā€™s designed specifically for use as a class, and not just for the purpose of introducing linguistics, but as a course focused on conlanging in its own right. ### *Extraterrestrial languages* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Cs-l!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbc8d3c1-1220-47de-9c86-16024b2878e4_313x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nR7nJt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > The endlessly fascinating question of whether we are alone in the universe has always been accompanied by another, more complicated one: if there is extraterrestrial life, how would we communicate with it? In this book, Daniel Oberhaus leads readers on a quest for extraterrestrial communication. Exploring Earthlingsā€™ various attempts to reach out to non-Earthlings over the centuries, he poses some not entirely answerable questions: If we send a message into space, will extraterrestrial beings receive it? Will they understand? What languages will they (and we) speak? Is there not only a universal grammar (as Noam Chomsky has posited), but also a grammar of the universe? > > Oberhaus describes, among other things, a late-nineteenth-century idea to communicate with Martians via Morse code and mirrors; the emergence in the twentieth century of SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence), CETI (communication with extraterrestrial intelligence), and finally METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence); the one-way space voyage of Ella, an artificial intelligence agent that can play cards, tell fortunes, and recite poetry; and the launching of a theremin concert for aliens. He considers media used in attempts at extraterrestrial communication, from microwave systems to plaques on spacecrafts to formal logic, and discusses attempts to formulate a language for our message, including the Astraglossa and two generations of Lincos (*lingua cosmica*). > > The chosen medium for interstellar communication reveals much about the technological sophistication of the civilization that sends it, Oberhaus observes, but even more interesting is the information embedded in the message itself. In *Extraterrestrial Languages*, he considers how philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, science, and art have informed the design or limited the effectiveness of our interstellar messaging. For the record, if aliens do arrive during my lifetime, Iā€™m immediately switching subfields and becoming a xenolinguist like Uhura, just sayinā€™. ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### *The worldā€™s major languages* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!z8jM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1bcd14e6-62ed-459f-9109-8582d65654d9_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/417JbJ4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780367580711?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If youā€™re looking for a handy reference on the worldā€™s major languages, this is the authoritative source. Now in its third edition, I reference this book whenever I need a basic overview of one of the large languages of the world: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n4KW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc501a58f-a24f-47d5-b09c-00ef974a2e7d_2048x2731.png) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! I read [*How to not die alone*](https://amzn.to/4mMEcX1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) recently (donā€™t judge me, itā€™s a fantastic book), and had to laugh (and cry) at these people who rejected fantastic dates who were a great fit for them just because of how they spoke: > ā€œWhat is it about your current girlfriend thatā€™s bothering you now?ā€ I asked. > > ā€œI know this sounds snobby, but itā€™s the way she speaks. She misuses and mispronounces words. She says ā€˜pitcherā€™ instead of ā€˜picture.ā€™ I think itā€™s a Boston thing.ā€ > > I once coached a guy named Grant who was incredibly negative. Almost every sentence started with ā€œYes, butā€¦ā€ He lived life with his arms crossed over his chest, ready to challenge even good news. Unsurprisingly, his post-date texts to me were like miniā€“Mean Girls burn books: ā€œToo short, didnā€™t laugh, boring job, might want to move back to Canada, mispronounced the word ā€˜concomitant.ā€™ ā€ Donā€™t be like these jerks! [How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love - Kindle edition by Ury, Logan. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love - Kindle edition by Ury, Logan. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading How to Not Die Alone: The Surprising Science That Will Help You Find Love.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-127.ico)Shop the Store on Amazon ā€ŗFollow![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ATVPDKIKX0DER-133-6718561-2582831-MX250B044BFQX992DMF7-uedata-s--2Frd-2Fuedata-3Fstaticb-26id-3DMX250B044BFQX992DMF7-0)](https://amzn.to/4mMEcX1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Weā€™re finally starting to read the scrolls burnt in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-42/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:19.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* Pulled this old video out from the archives this week: Marc Okrand, creator of the Klingon language, snuck *ghoti* into the lexicon as the word for ā€˜fishā€™ as a joke. Scholars had used this as a joke to illustrate the inconsistencies in English spelling since at least the 1850s. I also did a quick stitch with a creator on TikTok about some etymologies of fortifications and the like: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Reading the burnt scrolls from Mt. Vesuvius ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eZYV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbd8f348-3267-42a9-8743-10ff497ef3ee_2048x953.png) Image of the text inside a scroll from Herculaneum that was turned to charcoal during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. I reported on this [earlier this year](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-24/), and Iā€™m thrilled to see that the work on the Herculaneum scrolls continues to bear fruit. The town of Herculaneum was one of two towns, along with Pompeii, which were destroyed during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Julius Caesarā€™s father-in-law owned a villa there which included a great library of papyrus scrolls that were unfortunately turned to charcoal by pyroclastic flows during the eruption. For centuries these scrolls have been largely unreadable because any attempt to unroll them caused them to crumble. Now, however, digital scanning technology an AI are enabling us to finally peer into these texts, potentially unlocking a trove of new insights into the classical world. Iā€™m so excited to how this project develops, and of course Iā€™ll keep you up to date as well. [Weā€™re finally reading the secrets of Herculaneumā€™s lost libraryA whole libraryā€™s worth of papyri owned by Julius Caesarā€™s father-in-law were turned to charcoal by the eruption of Vesuvius. Nearly 2000 years later, we can at last read these lost treasures![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-13.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_269392875.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2498245-were-finally-reading-the-secrets-of-herculaneums-lost-library/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### How playing a musical instrument helps children learn to read ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rmGX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e971243-ab7b-4f4f-8539-21e79502140d_837x558.png) Music training seems to boost reading skills in young children by enhancing their ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds that make up words. Learning to play an instrument has long been linked to improved early reading abilities, as well as mathematical ones, but how it does this wasnā€™t clear, because playing an instrument involves many skills. A new study of 57 children found that those who were learning a musical instrument outperformed the others on tests of phonological awarenessā€”the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds of speech (phonemes)ā€”and they also demonstrated better reading abilities. [How playing a musical instrument helps children learn to readLearning to play an instrument has long been linked to improved reading skills among children, and we may finally understand why![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-14.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_268361619.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2498314-how-playing-a-musical-instrument-helps-children-learn-to-read/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Garcia-de-Soria et al. 2025\. Benefits of music training for learning to read: Evidence from cortical tracking of speech in children. Preprint. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.05.674218](https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.05.674218?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [You Are Not a ParrotAnd a chatbot is not a human. And a linguist named Emily M. Bender is very worried what will happen when we forget this.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon.180x180-1.png)IntelligencerElizabeth Weil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2fa484190172e09ac140a16b232a4d6533-0523FEA-AIEthics--IAN7000-flat.1x.rsocial.w1200.jpg)](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-chatbots-emily-m-bender.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - This is an article from 2023 with linguist Emily Bender making an incisive and insightful critique of AIā€™s capabilities. I think itā€™s still relevant two years later. - Dr. Bender also went on to coauthor the recent book, *The AI Con: How to fight Big Techā€™s hype and create the future we want*. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Oc3m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7fc075b3-75e2-488a-899a-86f8874ac3de_303x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47ofc1K?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780063418561?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - A new book exploring the origins of common food terms ā€” from bialy to lima bean to bibimbap ā€” is a fascinating history of how we eat and cook. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iwJb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F236b9ca9-bcfa-4f35-8d1c-c63bdf55b491_319x425.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ovGLNu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780316389372?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Who were the Phoenicians? Archaeologists are unraveling the mystery.Despite being known as masters of trade, these seafarers were never a single collective. Different groups built powerful cities across the Mediterranean and the latest research shows they date back earlier than we thought.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-4.png)History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/newphony_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/phoenicians-bible-archaeology-canaanites?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > Despite being known as masters of trade, these seafarers were never a single collective. Different groups built powerful cities across the Mediterranean and the latest research shows they date back earlier than we thought. - A great history of the Phoenicians which also includes a brief discussion of the Phoenician alphabetā€”the first known alphabet in history. Even though most of the article isnā€™t about language, knowing how the Phoenicians influenced the rest of the Mediterranean helps us understand how the alphabet spread. [How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiralMachine translators have made it easier than ever to create error-plagued Wikipedia articles in obscure languages. What happens when AI models get trained on junk pages?![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)MIT Technology ReviewJacob Judah![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/0924f.png)](https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1124005/ai-wikipedia-vulnerable-languages-doom-spiral/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The hidden logic of nicknamesWhat ā€œRobā€ and ā€œAndyā€ teach us about language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-9.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fc612a209-50fd-4e17-b210-3677e16a0af3_1600x956.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/the-hidden-logic-of-nicknames) - Another great article from Colin Gorrie walking you through the data behind a neat linguistic phenomenon, until you can fully describe the phonological rules behind nicknames. Again, more complex than youā€™d expect! It never fails to amaze me how much we know intuitively about how our own native languages work without realizing we know it, and this article is a great example of that. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Lingthusiasm*, Ep. 102: The science and fiction of Sapir-Whorf ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DC3r!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5876df1e-ee87-45bb-a26f-0d40d10fb0a1_500x500.png) If youā€™re not already familiar with the *Lingthusiasm* podcast, donā€™t miss this episode in particular, because itā€™s one of the best introductionsā€”and debunkingā€”of **linguistic relativity** (a.k.a. the **Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis**) Iā€™ve come across. Gretchen & Lauren do a fantastic job explaining the origin of the idea, different ways you can understand it, and what subsequent research has had to say about it in the decades since its inception. Well worth a listen. ### *Butter No Parsnips* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!lC9b!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcf515d94-2258-428b-b0d8-2f0ea10d87e7_300x300.png) I discovered another linguistics-related podcast this week: *Butter No Parsnips*, a weekly podcast that takes you on an adventure through the weird, wacky, wonderful, and sometimes wicked history of one wayside word. Strange characters, delightful bits, and general joyousness abound, join them as they test each otherā€™s etymological expertise! [Butter No Parsnips Podcast![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-126.ico)Butter No Parsnips Podcast164\. Necropants![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/BNP_Logo_Black.png)](https://www.butternoparsnipspodcast.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Butter No ParsnipsEvery week on Butter No Parsnips, your hosts Emily Moyers and Kyle Imperatore take you on an adventure through the weird, wacky, wonderful, and sometimes wicked history of one wayside word. Strange characters, delightful bits, and general joyousness abound, join them as they test each otherā€™s etymological expertise!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon_144x144-3.png)YouTube![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/03LVZUonT-2lrZ29eGYQjylX_f1t6_H8L1hviGBpLc14wXim-oxL2sCxpyXnYvBUyDt4f3nn8Q-s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)](https://www.youtube.com/@butternoparsnips?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can see the entire database of linguistics-related podcasts here: - [Podcasts](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/podcasts) (Linguistic Discovery) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! To end this week, Iā€™ll leave you with a snippet I found in [*The American heritage dictionary of Indo-European roots*](https://amzn.to/45m9sFX?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): a nice concise summary of how the sounds of various Indo-European languages correspond with one another: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!h63V!,w_5760,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F15bc12fe-8abd-49ff-818b-e9f17958023f_2048x1243.png) A detailed table showing Indo-European sound correspondences across different languages. The image includes explanatory text describing how Proto-Indo-European sounds evolved in various languages, using the example of how initial ā€œpā€ remains ā€œpā€ in Latin, becomes ā€œfā€ in Germanic and Old English, and disappears in Old Irish. Below the text is a comprehensive comparative chart organized by language families, showing consonants (stops, continuants, laryngeals), sonorants (nasals, liquids, glides), and vowels (short, long, syllabic sonorants) across multiple Indo-European languages including Hittite, Sanskrit, Latin, Germanic languages, and others. Here is the explanatory text at the top of the image: Probably the most basic element of language change is a gradual shift in the way individual speech sounds are pronounced. As the Indo-European speech community expanded over the centuries into new territories, local dialectal variations gave rise to increasingly divergent language families. This table shows the historical development of sounds from Proto-Indo-European to the principal older Indo-European languages. For example, reading down the first column, it can be seen that Proto-Indo-European initial p remains p in Latin, but it is lost entirely in Old Irish and becomes f in Germanic and consequently in Old English; thus Indo-European \*peter-, meaning ā€œfather,ā€ becomes Latin pater, Old Irish athir, and Common Germanic \*fadar, Old English fƦder. A more precise way of describing this relationship is to say that initial p in Proto-Indo-European corresponds to p in Latin, to f in Germanic and Old English, and to zero in Old Irish. The correspondences shown in the table are regular. That is, they always occur as stated unless specific factors intervene. This table shows only the initial consonants and vowels in initial syllables, which are generally the simplest elements involved in sound change. All other phonetic elements including stress and environment also show regular correspondences, but often with considerable complexity. šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Momā€™s voice boosts language-center development in preemiesā€™ brains URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-41/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:26.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Words Unravelled* @ 100,000 šŸŽ‰ Congratulations to Jess Zafarris and Rob Words of the [*Words Unravelled*](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast for reaching 100,000 YouTube subscribers! Be sure to check out their celebration episode of their 100 favorite etymology facts: ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸ¹ *ham(p)ster* I went to spell *hamster* this week and itā€™s been so long since I had to write the word that I completely forgot it *doesnā€™t* have a āŸØpāŸ© in it! And then of course that got me to thinking about epenthetic consonants. Hereā€™s a brief thread I wrote on it: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xtQl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45674d0a-3711-4272-a340-99a6befde37c_563x164.png) > *hampster* is an example of what linguists call **epenthesis**, when a sound is inserted into a word. When you do it with consonants specifically itā€™s called **excrescence** (horrible name, I know). > > Another example is pronouncing *something* as *sumpthing*. > > Sometimes the epenthetic sound becomes permanent and the pronunciation of the word changes: > > *tremble* comes from Latin *tremulāre*, but notice how English has a āŸØbāŸ© and the Latin doesnā€™t. That āŸØbāŸ© was added in Old French. Another example someone gave me in the comments which I had never realized is the surname *Thompson*, which etymologically is ā€˜Thomasā€™ sonā€™, but with an intrusive /p/. [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsWHAT DO YOU MEAN ā€œHAMSTERā€ DOESNā€™T HAVE A ā€œPā€ IN IT![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-13.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n-4.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DPwdI9HEdIT?xmt=AQF0Uh0dd-YZ3AWTR5Ml33fvSycH5s60GAYj3qoCeu%5FK-Ik&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Smart dogs have a humanlike knack for naming new objects ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gOJc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F561aa960-5936-4afb-b46f-0ffe8606ab7e_1216x804.png) Border collie Whisky knew individual names for all her toys. Helge O. Svela A new study finds that certain dogs are ā€œgifted word learnersā€, and can apply the name of a category of toy to a new toy that shares the same purpose, even though the dog has never heard the name used for the new toy before. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ss7F!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F575b3185-971e-4562-8cd0-3d9e9c3a9282_507x737.png) A visual representation of the methods used in the study - [Smart dogs have a humanlike knack for naming new objects](https://www.science.org/content/article/smart-dogs-have-humanlike-knack-naming-new-objects?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Science)* - Fugazza, Sommese, & MiklĆ³si. 2025\. Dogs extend verbal labels for functional classification of objects. *Current Biology* 35: 1ā€“7\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.17632/jrktkb8s99.1](https://doi.org/10.17632/jrktkb8s99.1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Momā€™s voice boosts language-center development in preemiesā€™ brains ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!y5OD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6f127cc1-7c81-4edc-a688-a1598d5c69f6_1024x576.png) A mother reads to her newborn son. Premature infants who heard recordings of their mothersā€™ voices showed more advanced brain development. Todd Holland Premature babies who heard recordings of their mothers reading to them had more mature white matter in a key language area of the brain, a Stanford Medicine-led study found. During the study, hospitalized premature babies regularly heard recordings of their mothers reading to them. At the end of the study, MRI brain scans showed that a key language pathway was more mature than that of preemies in a control group who did not hear the recordings. It is the first randomized controlled trial of such an intervention in early development. [Momā€™s voice boosts language-center development in preemiesā€™ brains, study findsPremature babies who heard recordings of their mothers reading to them had more mature white matter in a key language area of the brain, a Stanford Medicine-led study found.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-6.png)News CenterErin Digitale![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/scala-melissa-headshot.jpeg)](https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/10/mothers-voice-premature.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Frontiers | Listening to mom in the neonatal intensive care unit: a randomized trial of increased maternal speech exposure on white matter connectivity in infants born pretermObjectiveEarly speech experiences are presumed to contribute to the development of brain structures involved in processing speech. Previous research has beenā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon_32-tenantFavicon-Frontiers-1.png)FrontiersKatherine E. Travis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/WebsiteWebP_XL-FNHUM_Main-20Visual_Red_Website.webp)](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1673471/full?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Birds all over the world use the same sound to warn of threats ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MK2_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F21fa8cd6-036f-4713-8148-6122d58a6623_1920x640.png) An angry Australian Superb Fairy-wren confronting a Horsfieldā€™s bronze-cuckoo. [David Ongley](https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/281503311?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) At some point in the evolution of human language, our species transitioned from instinctual vocalizations to ones that had to be learned and passed down through culture rather than genetics. A new study finds a bird call that appears to be a mix of instinct and learning: over 20 species of birds from around the world, separated by 50 million years of evolution, using the same call when they see a brood parasite (birds that trick other species into raising their young). But while birds that have never seen a brood parasite know how to respond to this call, they donā€™t know how to produce it. They only do it after watching others produce it when a brood parasite is nearby. So while the response to the call is instinctive, producing the call itself is learned behaviorā€”representing a midpoint between instinctive and learned vocalizations. [Birds all over the world use the same sound to warn of threatsThe findings of a new study about communication between birds also offer key insights into the origins of language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-53.png)The ConversationJames Kennerley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20251003-56-5sec6z.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/birds-all-over-the-world-use-the-same-sound-to-warn-of-threats-266618?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Birds make an alarm call that spans species and continentsā€”and may offer insight into the evolution of human language](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/birds-make-an-alarm-call-that-spans-species-and-continents-and-may-offer-insight-into-the-evolution-of-human-language-180987475/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Smithsonian Magazine) [Learned use of an innate sound-meaning association in birds - Nature Ecology & EvolutionOver 20 species of geographically and phylogenetically diverse bird species produce convergent whining vocalizations towards their respective brood parasites. Model presentation and playback experiments across multiple continents suggest that these learned calls provoke an innate response even among allopatric species.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-20.png)NatureWilliam E. Feeney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41559_2025_2855_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02855-9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Hindi, Greek and English all come from a single ancient language ā€“ hereā€™s how we knowThis now-extinct tongue was probably spoken somewhere in Eurasia as many as 8,000 years ago. But how do we know Proto-Indo-European must have existed?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-54.png)The ConversationMark W. Post![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250923-56-k4ilbt.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/hindi-greek-and-english-all-come-from-a-single-ancient-language-heres-how-we-know-264588?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Iā€™d also like to point out that this article includes a really cool visualization (using a JavaScript library called D3) of the branches of the Indo-European language family, which allows you to hover over individual branches to inspect them more clearly. (Having a background in JavaScript myself, I may have to start using D3 for family tree visualizations like this. I had never thought of this use case.) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ErvM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8fd30a3e-c231-442d-be4a-00ea1ffcd464_934x830.png) Graphic: The Conversation. Source: [D. Moskov, Loanwords and Language Unification (Theorised on the Basis of English, French and Russian) - Figure 1](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Proto-Indo-European-family%5Ffig4%5F379376274?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vqTr!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F002a4cf3-c48f-4de2-8b23-ebdf766ca388_1220x986.png) [Your Guide to Endangered Languages and How To Support Them - Rosetta StoneUnderstand endangered languages with an explanation of language vulnerability, lists of at-risk languages by continent, and how you can help preserve them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-11.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/shutterstock_1581481039-min.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/endangered-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How rhyme works (and why)A lesson in the anatomy of the syllable![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-8.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F36d751a0-e9a1-4cff-bc45-4ac90d8db189_1200x874.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/how-rhyme-works-and-why) - An especially neat article because Colin Gorrie walks you through the data step-by-step to figure out what the actually rules for rhyming are. Itā€™s more complex than youā€™d expect! [Dogs name toys while elephants name each other. Animal language is more complex than we imagine | Helen PilcherIf we really want to grasp what animals are ā€˜sayingā€™, we need to understand their communication on their terms, not ours, says science writer Helen Pilcher![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-11.png)The GuardianHelen Pilcher![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/3500.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/09/dogs-elephants-animal-language-complex?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking of Words: How Many Words Could English Have?If you count chemical names such as dimethylformamide and monothioglycerol, or medicines such as rivaroxaban and zanubrutinib, you would think the number of possible English words is effectively infinite, even if you place a limit on the number of syllables they can have.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-9.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-9.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/10/14/speaking-of-words-how-many-words-could-english-have/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia: An Aā€“Z of Linguistic Curiosities* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-ixW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b7d78c8-9e99-4e0e-97e6-bc11fee8e871_852x1391.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > A delightful rollick through language unlike any youā€™ve ever experienced. As the inventor of the bestselling game about words, *League of the Lexicon*, Joshua Blackburn has created an Aā€“Z thatā€™s part-encyclopedia, part-treasure map, and an all-around joy for anyone interested in words and language. Meticulously researched, joyfully written, and beautifully designed, *The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia* dives into the quirky, the curious, and the unexpected to reveal a world of language you never knew existed. > > Discover the biting humor of Scottish insults (*youā€™re talking mince*), the curious history of the Chinese typewriter, and the strange yet vivid color names of Elizabethan Englandā€”like ā€œdead Spaniardā€ and ā€œlusty gallant.ā€ Whether itā€™s the dark history of the Index of Banned Books or the bewildering grammar of Yoda, each pithy entry is brimming with knowledge and wit. Illustrated with enchanting line art that evokes a 19th-century reference book, *The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia* is as visually delightful as it is intellectually captivating. Itā€™s stuffed with quirky lists, surprising facts, and illuminating stories, making it the ultimate gift for any language lover. Want to uncover the secret of Ikea product names? Decode the euphemisms of Victorian England? Or understand why pedants are pedantic? This book has you coveredā€”and then some. > > Blackburnā€™s infectious enthusiasm turns linguistic oddities into pure entertainment and offers up endless rabbit holes to dive down, with each thoughtful entry promising to charm, educate, and tickle. From the linguistic history of marijuana to the origins of nonsense, *The Language-Loverā€™s Lexipedia* is a must-read for anyone who revels in the beauty, humor, and sheer weirdness of language. The book was just released this week! Procure your own copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nHJNOf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781668098844?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Living Dictionaries ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fdMg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06e3667d-2219-40e2-b8fe-2dfd4733556c_2048x1092.png) Living Dictionaries are mobile-friendly web tools that support endangered, under-represented and diasporic languages. Led by community activists around the globe, Living Dictionaries are collaborative multimedia projects that help languages survive for generations to come. [Living Dictionaries | Living DictionariesLiving Dictionaries are language documentation tools that support endangered and under-represented languages. This online platform was created by Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages as a free multimedia resource for community activists and linguists who want to build digital dictionaries and phrasebooks.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-58.png)Living Dictionaries![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/livingdictionary-2Fimages-2FNEW_Living_Tongues_logo_with_white_around_it.png)](https://livingdictionaries.app/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! ### Chicagoā€™s hidden etymologies Hereā€™s one for my fellow Chicagoans and Chicago-lovers, from [Adam Aleksic](https://open.substack.com/users/193395523-adam-aleksic?utm%5Fsource=mentions) (@EtymologyNerd): [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SC8C!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F478ea0dd-94b9-4cc3-a5d3-6f9bf654647a_540x590.png)](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bix89vuFTAL/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&ig%5Frid=9e35cb2d-5eba-422c-b84a-9df4cb51fb6a) Adam doesnā€™t mention it in the infographic, but the word *Chicago* may be distantly related to the word *skunk*, both coming from an Algonquian root meaning ā€˜smell badā€™. The original name for Chicago was either from the Fox language, *sheka:ko:heki* ā€˜place of the wild onionā€™ or from the Ojibwe language, *shika:konk* ā€˜at the skunk placeā€™. Both ā€˜onionā€™ and ā€˜skunkā€™ would have been based on that root meaning ā€˜smell badā€™. šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### China lays claim to Austronesian languages URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-40/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:32.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Useless etymology: Offbeat word origins for curious minds* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!g3ck!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbbdccbb-9dc4-457a-832f-bb8e7a3855f7_1024x512.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Jess Zafarrisā€™ new book, [*Useless etymology: Offbeat word origins for curious minds*](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), was released on Tuesday, and Jess kindly agreed to share an excerpt of the book with *Linguistic Discovery* readers! Learn all about eponymous etymology here: [Whatā€™s in a name?: Eponymous etymologyA sneak peek at Jess Zafarrisā€™ new book, ā€œUseless etymology: Word origins for curious mindsā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-69.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-6.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/p/6e59c5db-dbf8-476e-918b-7581371c1faf/) Jess is a fellow content creator ([TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@jesszafarris?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/uselessetymology/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), cohost of the wonderful *Words unravelled* podcast ([YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/7yeADN5OX1m9RPImv1mFhb?si=18b43690a3ee41ea&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/words-unravelled-with-robwords-and-jess-zafarris/id1737751787?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and author of the books [*Words from hell: Unearthing the dark secrets of English etymology*](https://amzn.to/3UQYCSI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [*Once upon a word: A word-origin dictionary for kids*](https://amzn.to/3YH2SGH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Her writing is always fun, effervescent, and super accessible. Jess sent me an early review copy of *Useless etymology*, and itā€™s a absolute treat to read. She had been [wanting to write this book for years](https://uselessetymology.com/2025/09/10/useless-etymology-the-book-hits-shelves-oct-7/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and the culmination of those years of rooting around in etymology (her pun, not mine) and cogitating about it really shows. The result is a book that is more than just a collection of assorted factoids (or factlets if youā€™re feeling pedantic); instead, itā€™s a fascinating look at the themes and lessons we can take from etymology. I highly recommend procuring yourself a copy of the book at one of the links below: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Metaphors for linguistics I was talking to an acquaintance this week and came up with what I think is a great analogy to explain what linguistics is about: > Studying linguistics is kind of like reading a car manual: itā€™ll teach you everything about how the car works, but when youā€™re done reading it you still wonā€™t know how to drive.As a linguist, I can tell you tons of things about the grammars of languages all over the world, how they work, and how they got that way, but I still canā€™t speak them. I only speak the languages Iā€™ve gotten behind the wheel and practiced with. šŸš˜šŸ—£ļø ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Kjaw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffb99dfd5-4969-4315-9823-073c9a295368_566x291.png) [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsStudying linguistics is kind of like reading a car manual: itā€™ll teach you everything about how the car works, but when youā€™re done reading it you still wonā€™t know how to drive. As a linguist, I can tell you tons of things about the grammars of languages all over the world, how they work, and how they got that way, but I still canā€™t speak them. I only speak the languages Iā€™ve gotten behind the wheel and practiced with. šŸš˜šŸ—£ļø![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-12.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n-3.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DPbjedsioUz?xmt=AQF0HHmBz0TVrX1DRwsoBCQF9Keev5OwSlD9g9KcLHD6tfc&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Head on Fire* Hereā€™s the last of my podcast interviews from recent years, this time with Don Martin, author of several books, most recently the young adult novel [*Verity Vox and the curse of Foxfire*](https://amzn.to/3JGQEJ0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and the nonfiction book [*Where did everybody go? Why weā€™re lonely but not alone*](https://amzn.to/4n1m6Qs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). He also hosts the *Head on Fire* podcast, where we chatted about language documentation, language endangerment, the surprising differences between languages, and prescriptive vs. descriptive approaches to languageā€”among other topics! Have a listen at the links: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Race Across the World ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_jeV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc286e369-c88e-4f61-89b3-15ea50b9a673_1024x575.png) Fin Gough and Sioned Cray from Race Across the World A word which baffled the producers of the latest series of Race Across the World is among 10 Welsh words to be added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its latest update. Fin Gough and Sioned Cray confused Race Across the World producers with the word *poody* earlier this year. [Welsh word from Race Across the World added to OEDFin Gough and Sioned Crayā€™s saying poody confused producers but is in the Oxford English Dictionary.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-57.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/426d0c50-9a1c-11f0-92bd-0166dfabcb1b.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwydlj2nll3o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### China lays claim to Austronesian languages ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!v2p5!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff20cae53-2a18-4103-b390-dd90a022c9bb_1216x804.png) Visitors examine artifacts at the Keqiutou Branch of China Archaeological Museum in [Pingtan.Li](http://pingtan.li/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Xin/Xinhua via ZUMA Iā€™m going to quote from this article extensively because it covers the topic well and provides good background for understanding it: > A newly opened museum in China appears to be devoted to the origins of the Austronesian-speaking peoples, who some 5,000 years ago spread from East Asia across the Pacific, seeding it with a distinctive culture and some 1,200 languages. > > Since the 1980s, most archaeologists and historical linguists have thought Austronesian languages and culture first developed in Taiwan some 5000 years ago, then spread southward through the Philippines into the Pacific. But Chinese researchers working in Fujian are challenging the ā€œout-of-Taiwanā€ hypothesis, arguing that the language family and associated culture developed in mainland China, on Pingtan and the nearby coast. In recent papers and in museum exhibits, they claim that artifacts and remains excavated there resemble those of early Austronesian speakers found in Taiwan. > > That picture, largely dismissed by archaeologists elsewhere, reinforces claims that Taiwan was part of China from the beginning. ā€œLanguage is regularly used to legitimize a shared cultural history,ā€ says Marian Klamer, a linguist specializing in Austronesian and Papuan linguistics at Leiden University. ā€œI think that plays a role here as well.ā€ > > Linguistic evidence, too, overwhelmingly points to Taiwan as the cradle of Austronesian languages and their related culture, says Malcolm Ross, a linguist at the Australian National University. The language family is divided into several primary branches: All Austronesian languages outside Taiwan belong to a single subgroup, Malayo-Polynesian, whereas Taiwan alone contains multiple distinct subgroups. The island is uniquely diverse, says historical linguist Hsiu-Chuan Liao of National Tsing Hua University. ā€œFor example, *mata* is the word for ā€˜eyeā€™ in most Austronesian languages, but in Taiwan you also find *matsa*, *maca*, and *mtsoo*.ā€ Such variation can only be explained if the language family began diverging on the island. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!p3zj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa716468c-5709-439c-a281-5aac9ae8d32e_1280x934.png) The distribution of Austronesian languages (but note that the Western/Central Malayo-Polynesian split is no longer accepted). (Wikimedia Commons) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!d9n6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e52748c-f41f-499c-ad9e-2001cc365203_960x388.png) A map of the Austronesian expansion. Periods are based on archeological studies, though the association of the archeological record and linguistic reconstructions is disputed. (Wikimedia Commons) - China bolsters controversial claim to Pacific languages with new museum ([*Science*](https://www.science.org/content/article/china-bolsters-controversial-claim-pacific-languages-new-museum?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) [Austronesian languages - Wikipedia![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/wikipedia-3.png)Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1200px-Austroneske_jazyky.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austronesian%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### The Linguistics of a Showgirl ![Taylor Swift giving a commencement speech at New York University.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-03E!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb7539f34-cfcf-44b6-a6ec-c54263c44e60_900x659.png "Taylor Swift giving a commencement speech at New York University.") An analysis of Taylor Swiftā€™s interviews from three different eras of her career (and I donā€™t just mean the Eras Tour) show that her accent has shifted over time, from a notably Southern accent to now one that reflects the Pennsylvania dialect where she grew up. This confirms what people have long notedā€”ā€œthat Swift had a fairly marked shift in her pronunciation once she moved to Tennessee and then back to Pennsylvania again.ā€ This study is an excellent example of how the way we speak can change even as adults, when we tend to think of our language as fairly stable. And if you want to learn more about the kinds of changes in language that happen over the course of individual lifespans, Iā€™ve got an entire article that teaches you about exactly that: [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 2How does your grammar change over the course of your lifetime?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-70.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-1-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) **Reporting:** [ā€˜Shake it offā€™: Taylor Swiftā€™s changing voice shows how our accents evolveAn analysis of Swiftā€™s interviews suggests her speech pattern has changed over her career.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-19.png)NatureMohana Basu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/d41586-025-03087-4_51470778.jpg)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03087-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Scientists are using Taylor Swift interviews to crack the secrets of human languageTaylor Swift has had many different eras during her two-decade-long career, and now theyā€™re at the centre of a language study which could influence the next generation of scientific findings.The pop starā€™s speech patterns over the years from interviews have been analysed at the University of Minnesoā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/img.png)indy100Sinead Butler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image.jpg)](https://www.indy100.com/celebrities/taylor-swift-interviews-language-new-scientific-study?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Research Article:** Mohamed & Winn. 2025\. Acoustic analysis of Taylor Swiftā€™s dialect changes across different eras of her career. *Journal of the Acoustical Society of America* 15: 2278ā€“2289\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0039052](https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0039052?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Genetics reflects how languages mixed in the past Hereā€™s some additional reporting from *Scientific American* of the study I covered [a few weeks back](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-35/), on how genetic intermixing of populations mirrors their linguistic intermixing, in the form of borrowed vocabulary and grammatical structures. [Languages Have Mixed through History. Our Genes Can Reveal HowNew research shows that wherever human populations mix, their languages blend as well![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-123.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/speech_bubble_puzzle_pieces.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetics-can-track-how-languages-mixed-in-the-past/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Research Article:** Graff et al. 2025\. Patterns of genetic admixture reveal similar rates of borrowing across diverse scenarios of language contact. *Science Advances* 11(35). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [We will soon be able to talk with other species. Which will be first?Scientists have long and studiously avoided claiming that other animals have language. Now, using the power of AI, they are on the verge of deciphering one![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-12.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_261996433.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2492442-we-will-soon-be-able-to-talk-with-other-species-which-will-be-first/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Dr. Erica Brozovsky explains what folk etymologies are and how they work. [Does Language Shape Thought? From Philosophy to NeuroscienceRevisiting Wittgenstein with Neuroscience![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fcc218277-6b4a-48d0-956f-6061a3588ad5-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Tim SeyrekTim Seyrek![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Ffa71e96d-d7e6-40c0-b669-bf86d7ef45c6_1920x1381.jpeg)](https://timsey.substack.com/p/does-language-shape-thought-from) [ā€˜Skibidiā€™ and ā€˜Brain Rotā€™ Are Part of Millennia-Old Patterns of Language EvolutionLinguist Adam Aleksic explains how viral slang and algorithm-driven speech arenā€™t destroying languageā€“ā€“theyā€™re accelerating its natural evolution.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-124.ico)Scientific AmericanRachel Feltman, Allison Parshall, Jeffery DelViscio![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2509_SQ_FRI_ETYMOLOGY-Podcast-Span-Art.jpeg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/etymology-nerd-adam-aleksic-on-how-internet-culture-is-transforming-the-way/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - This is some additional reporting on Adam Aleksicā€™s (@EtymologyNerd) new book *Algospeak: How social media is transforming the future of language* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593804070?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Deborah Tannen on how her love for language began ([The Washingtonian](https://www.washingtonian.com/2025/08/22/deborah-tannen-on-how-her-love-for-language-began/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Deborah Tannen is the author of the widely acclaimed books [*You just donā€™t understand: Women and men in conversation*](https://amzn.to/3J6jClD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), as well as [*Talking from 9 to 5: Women and men at work*](https://amzn.to/3L2lj41?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and several others. - Māori language: A renaissance at risk? ([Babel: The Language Magazine, No. 52](https://babelzine.co.uk/digital-archive/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *The search for the perfect language* Hereā€™s an older but fun book by Umberto Eco all about the philosophy, motivation, and mindset behind conlanging (inventing languages). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qNji!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F241a6f6b-2363-42a3-bec8-974377b92958_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4k308uD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Another excellent, more recent book on the same topic is *In the land of invented languages* by Arika Okrent: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bDhV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2879888d-5718-46de-85e7-1193ddc84b15_303x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3WPztc1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *A language I love isā€¦* ![Podcast cover for ā€œA language I love isā€¦ā€, featuring the title on a blue background, overlaid against the names of dozens of languages in those languagesā€™ scripts.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8UIn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F57f23f54-537f-43c0-90f5-3eb850421213_1568x1568.png "Podcast cover for ā€œA language I love isā€¦ā€, featuring the title on a blue background, overlaid against the names of dozens of languages in those languagesā€™ scripts.") I discovered a newer podcast recently and wanted to recommend it to yā€™all. *A language I love isā€¦* hosts a different language expert each week and focuses on a different language, asking three key questions: 1. What is your story and connection to this language? 2. What do you love about this language? 3. What is something you want the audience to know about this language? Itā€™s got rave reviews on all the podcast platforms so far too. Itā€™s hosted by Danny Bate, author of the new book *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them*, which you can read an excerpt of in this issue of the *Linguistic Discovery* newsletter: [Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely?A new book takes us on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-71.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-q-needs-u/) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Linguistics League ![Banner image for Linguistics League, showing two heads facing each other speaking the words Linguistics League in stylized curly script.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4Uu0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e0b0-842b-4c52-b270-a77c414b8b16_1060x490.png "Banner image for Linguistics League, showing two heads facing each other speaking the words Linguistics League in stylized curly script.") Linguistics League is a worldwide organization of volunteers creating programming and resources for teens interested in linguistics. They have a quarterly newsletter and provide resources on how to start your own linguistics club in your school. [Linguistics League![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-125.ico)Linguistics League![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/logo-4.png)](https://www.linguisticsleague.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! ![An xkcd comic showing two stick figures in conversation. The left figure has short hair, and the right figure has longer hair tied back. The left figure says: ā€œYou should come to our linguistics clubā€™s sesquiannual meeting. Membership is open to anyone who can figure out how often we meet.ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4dGh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbde817c2-a658-49db-a1d7-1e129e3a4732_420x589.png "An xkcd comic showing two stick figures in conversation. The left figure has short hair, and the right figure has longer hair tied back. The left figure says: ā€œYou should come to our linguistics clubā€™s sesquiannual meeting. Membership is open to anyone who can figure out how often we meet.ā€") [https://xkcd.com/1602/](https://xkcd.com/1602/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Whatā€™s in a name?: Eponymous etymology URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/useless-etymology/ Last updated: 2025-10-07T14:00:41.000Z ā„¹ļø Today weā€™ve got a special guest post from etymologist [Jess Zafarris](https://jesszafarris.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), co-host of the [**Words Unravelled*](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast and author of the books [**Once upon a word: A word-origin dictionary for kids*](https://amzn.to/3YH2SGH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [**Words from hell: Unearthing the dark secret of English etymology*](https://amzn.to/3UQYCSI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and now her newest book, [**Useless etymology: Offbeat word origins for curious minds*](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€”which comes out today! Jess has kindly agreed to share an excerpt from the book for **Linguistic Discovery* readers, to get a taste of all the fun that the book has to offer. Enjoy this etymological deep dive into eponymous etymology, and get your own copy at the links below! \~ DWH - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/useless-etymology-jess-zafarris/1144364885?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) What better way to leave our mark upon the world than to name something after ourselves? If something is named after someone, or another proper noun like a place, thatā€™s an eponym, from the Greek ā€˜given as a nameā€™ or ā€˜named afterā€™ (*epi* ā€˜upon, (called) afterā€™ + *onyma* ā€˜nameā€™). For example, **Vanderbilt University** is eponymously named after the American industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt. **Shrapnel** is named after Lieutenant General Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), a British army officer and artillery specialist who invented a special kind of exploding shellā€”which produced, you guessed it, shrapnel. One of our most common modern words is secretly an eponym: The word **guy** is ultimately derived from the name of the infamous Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators in the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, which sought to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The plot is now remembered on Guy Fawkes Day, and his infamy (at least according to Protestant royalists) fully embedded Guy into the English languageā€”but first, in the 1600s and 1700s as a pejorative, meaning a grotesque- or shabby-looking person. Its derogatory sense faded with popular usage, especially after it made its way into American English in the 1840s. Separation from the historical event ameliorated the term. Prior to *guy*, names such as *Jack* were often used as similar placeholders or generic termsā€”and we treat names in the same way today in phrases like *average Joe*. Similarly, **pants** are named after a fictional Italian fellow. The word *pants* is a shortened version of the word *pantaloons*. The word pantaloons has referred to several types of legwear since the 16th century. Originally it was a word for menā€™s tights or hose. Later, *pantaloons* would refer to menā€™s knee breeches and women's baggy under-trousers, both of which were gathered at the knee or the ankle. This eventually gave us the word **panties** for womenā€™s undies, and the British English use of the word *pants* for underpants in general, regardless of gender. In the late 18th century, *pantaloons* was extended to our modern-day idea of long trousers and later shortened to *pants* as well. The etymological source of the word *pantaloons*, and therefore all pants, is *Pantaloun* (or *Pantalone*), a recurring comedic character in 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte who famously wore red rights. Pantalone was a silly, avaricious old man who tended to get into humorous entanglements with women and servants who openly mocked him. Another eponymous article of clothing is the **fedora**. Even though itā€™s largely associated with menā€™s fashion today, the fedora was first popularized byā€”and indirectly named afterā€”a woman. If youā€™re a theater aficionado, youā€™ve probably heard of Sarah Bernhardt. She was a famous French stage actress in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She frequently played the female lead in popular French plays by the likes of Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. And she was one of the first big-name actresses to act in motion pictures. But she was also well known for playing male roles, earning critical acclaim for her performance as Shakespeareā€™s *Hamlet* in 1899\. She was a leading figure in the womenā€™s rights movement, and was one of the first women to publicly wear a pantsuit. But back to the hat. In the 1880s, Bernhardt wore a hat in this style as she performed the role of the title character in the play *FĆ©dora* by Victorien Sardou, which is about the Russian princess FĆ©dora Romazov. Thanks to the popularity of Bernhardtā€™s performance, the hat was named after the character she played. Thereafter, around the turn of the century, it was adopted as a defining symbol of the womenā€™s rights movement. It didnā€™t become a popular menā€™s fashion item until the fashion-forward Prince Edward started wearing one in 1924. **Sequoia** trees are named after Sequoya, a Cherokee innovator who developed the Cherokee syllabary, the first Cherokee writing system. His work not only allowed Cherokee literacy to surge to nearly 100%, but also improved relations between the U.S. government and indigenous groups, and formed the basis for writing systems used in a total of 65 languages in North America, Africa and Asia. He also became a critical representative for the Cherokee people in a deeply contentious sociopolitical landscape. This one sounds far too fanciful to be true, but I assure you it is an eponym: **Sideburns** are named after the resplendent and voluminous whiskers of Union Civil War General Ambrose E. Burnside. Starting around the 1870s, they were called *burnsides*, but shortly thereafter, the words were transposed. But the transposition of *burnsides* wasā€”er, burned by etymologists, lexicographers and grammarians of the time. Literary legend Ambrose Bierce included *sideburns* on a "blacklist" of words to never use in his 1909 book *Write it Right*, instead insisting that *burnsides* is correct: > Sideburns for Burnsides. A form of whiskers named from a noted general of the civil war, Ambrose E. Burnside. It seems to be thought that the word side has something to do with it, and that as an adjective it should come first, according to our idiom. In addition to being famously pedantic and a fellow Ambrose, Bierce was also a Union Civil War veteran so it makes sense that this malapropism would have rankled. ## **Embedded brands: Proprietary eponyms** **Eponyms** usually refer to people giving human names to thingsā€”like the **Fahrenheit** scale for temperature, which is named after Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheitā€”but eponyms can also come from brands. You probably know that **Kleenex** and **Band-Aid** are **genericized trademarks**, but you might not know that theyā€™re also **proprietary eponyms**, meaning ā€˜something named after its ownershipā€™. (*Proprietary* means ā€˜ownedā€™ or ā€˜pertaining to ownershipā€™, from the Latin *proprietarius* ā€˜owner of propertyā€™.) Some proprietary eponyms, like *Kleenex* and *Band-Aid*, have been genericized for so long that they are almost fully divorced from their original brand name usage. Here are a few others: **Bubble Wrap** is owned by Sealed Air Corporation. The stuff was invented by two guys who were attempting to make three-dimensional plastic wallpaper. They failed, but they did make a useful (and entertaining) packing material. **Moxie**, used generally from 1930, comes from the brand name of a bitter syrup first marketed as the medicine Moxie Nerve Food in 1876, then sold as a soft drink starting in 1884\. The brand may be from a Native American Abenaki word for ā€˜dark waterā€™ that appears in the names of several lakes and rivers in Maine. **Ping-Pong** is currently owned by Parker Brothers, though it was first trademarked by the British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd in 1901\. The game ping-pong, or table tennis, did exist before that, though, and the term may have been used before the trademark. Same with **Breathalyzer**, **Jacuzzi**, **Rollerblade**, **Super Glue**, **Windbreaker**, **Zipper** and even **TV Dinner**. The word **soccer** is a twisted eponymā€”one named after an association rather than a commercial brand. *Soccer* is short for *association* because, in the 1800s, in British universities, the sport was differentiated from Rugby football by calling it *Association football*, after the International Football Association Board that governed the sport. It was originally called *Assoc*, but in British university slang youā€™d often add *\-er* onto a syllable of a word, so *rugby* became *rugger* or *footer*, and *Assoc football* became *soccer*. So despite the British insistence that Americans call ā€œfootballā€ by the wrong name, it was the Brits themselves who first gave it that name. **Gasoline** is oddly somewhat eponymous and somewhat proprietary. It all has to do with John Cassell, an Englishman who sold refined petroleum for powering lamps. Based on his name, he called it *Cazeline*. You might think he used the Latin-derived chemical or elemental suffix *\-ine*, to make it sound sciency, but nope: he used a Greek derived suffix *\-elene*, from Greek *elaia*, ā€˜oliveā€™. He even had a fancy ad placed for it: ā€œThe Patent Cazeline Oil: safe, economical, and brilliant ā€¦ possesses all the requisites which have so long been desired as a means of powerful artificial light.ā€ Shortly thereafter, an Irishman named John Boyd began selling counterfeit cazeline in his shop. Cassell found out and sent a nastygram insisting he desist. Boyd changed the spelling of his product to begin with a G: *Gazeline*. American refineries took the name *gazeline* and turned it into *gasoline*. Hereā€™s where a little bit of chemistry logic does start to come in: , *gas-* because it combusts, *\-oli-* from the Latin *oleum* meaning ā€˜oilā€™ (just like in *petroleum*), and *\-ine* from that Latin elemental ending *\-ine/-ene*. The use of *gasoline* in the States and *petrol* or *petroleum* in most other places pretty much boils down to marketing. **Petroleum** is first recorded in the 1400s, first in reference to crude oilā€”or literally ā€˜rock oilā€™ (Latin *petra* ā€˜rockā€™ + *oleum* ā€˜oilā€™). The shorter *petrol* was also used as a word for crude oil as early as the 1580s. *Petroleum* was applied to the refined liquid used in internal combustion engines starting in the late 1850s, and *petrol* was first used to market refined petroleum as a solvent in the 1860s by British wholesalers, and then as a fuel shortly thereafter. Entirely coincidentally, the first British company to use the word petrol to describe its products was co-founded by a fellow inaptly named Eugene Carless. British refineries also used *motor spirit* as a generic name for automotive fuel and *aviation spirit* for aviation fuel. ā„¹ļø If this kind of etymological spelunking delights you, youā€™ll find more from Jess Zafarris [@jesszafarris](https://www.tiktok.com/@jesszafarris?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on TikTok, [@uselessetymology](https://www.instagram.com/uselessetymology/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on Instagram, in the podcast [Words Unravelled](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and in the book Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds. Get it at the links below! - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/useless-etymology-jess-zafarris/1144364885?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image-7.png)](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/useless-etymology-jess-zafarris/1144364885?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Could Neanderthals handle language variation? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-39/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:41.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Think Queen* Continuing my series of podcast interviews from the last few years, this week Iā€™m sharing a really fun interview I did with Kyne Santos on her *Think Queen* podcast. Kyne is well known for her educational math videos on social media, and is the author of the excellent book [*Math in drag*](https://amzn.to/3VxPdiB?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). We talk about whether whales have languages, how languages are invented or go extinct, and Quebecā€™s language police. ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Jane Goodall dies at 91 ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image.png) Jane Goodall is a famous primatologist and conservationist who chronicled the social lives of chimpanzees. She died Wednesday at the age of 91\. While Goodall didnā€™t directly study primate communication, her work in understanding chimpanzee social structures has been useful to linguists in understanding primate theory of mind (what they know about the minds of others), which gives us insights into the cognitive skills that were probably necessary for language. The New York Times has a nice obituary here: ### Merriam-Webster adds over 5,000 words to the collegiate dictionary ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image-1.png) > Merriam-Webster announced \[last\] Thursday it has taken the rare step of fully revising and reimagining one of its most popular dictionaries with a fresh edition that adds over 5,000 new words, including ā€œpetrichor,ā€ ā€œteraflop,ā€ ā€œdumbphoneā€ and ā€œghost kitchen.ā€ > > The 12th edition of ā€œMerriam-Websterā€™s Collegiate Dictionaryā€ comes 22 years after the bookā€™s last hard-copy update and amid declining U.S. sales for analog dictionaries overall, according to Circana BookScan. It will be released Nov. 18, with preorders now available. [Hard pass. Cold brew. Dad bod. Merriam-Webster adds over 5,000 words to ā€˜Collegiateā€™ dictionaryMerriam-Webster has fully revised its popular ā€œCollegiateā€ dictionary with over 5,000 new words. They include ā€œpetrichor,ā€ ā€œdumbphoneā€ and ā€œghost kitchen.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-55.png)AP NewsLEANNE ITALIE![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-2)](https://apnews.com/article/merriamwebster-collegiate-print-dictionary-update-b5bd37f92fe20c28ac70bd166cd89a60?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Could Neanderthals handle language variation? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image-2.png) Simplified representation of when, in relation to the 156evolution of Neanderthals and H. sapiens, we consider the emergence of the basic language faculty (common to both 157species) and then the emergence of linguistic evolution, unique to our species. Itā€™s now widely accepted that Neanderthals likely possessed some form of language-like communication, but we donā€™t know how different their language would have been from that of *Homo sapiens*. A new but unreviewed study suggests they may have been different in one crucial respect: language variation. In modern language, different ways of speaking are associated with different social groups. Indeed, different communities can speak entirely different languages. This type of variation within language is an example of a broader type of cultural variation called **polyphilia**ā€”a tendency to diversify local norms as markers of group identity. Importantly, individual languages and dialects can vary even though our ability to do language itself doesnā€™t changeā€”a property of language that the authors call **ergodicity** (borrowing the term as a metaphor from [mathematics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodicity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). You might think of ergodicity as essentially ā€œlinguistic driftā€. If language werenā€™t ergodic, your genetics wouldnā€™t allow you to learn another language. Language change would be tied inextricably to genetic change. This new study (in my reading of it anyway) implies that this was exactly how Neanderthal language worked. Since the archaeology of Neanderthal culture shows no cultural variation across different groups (no polyphilia), itā€™s reasonable to assume that their language likewise didnā€™t exhibit cultural variation. [Neanderthals Had Their Own Language ā€“ But Was It Like Ours?And could our linguistic differences have led to their extinction?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-56.png)IFLScienceBenjamin Taub![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/language-meta.jpg)](https://www.iflscience.com/neanderthals-had-their-own-language-but-was-it-like-ours-80509?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Research:** Cerrito et al. 2025\. Pleistocene origins of cultural and linguistic diversification: how Homo sapiens and Neanderthals differed. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.32942/X2C35Z](https://doi.org/10.32942/X2C35Z?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Speaking of Words: Words for NumbersWhen we learn to count, we rattle off the first ten numbers as a set of arbitrary sounds as if they were proper names and have no other meaning.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-8.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-8.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/05/31/speaking-of-words-words-for-numbers/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - A neat look at counting systems in the worldā€™s languages. [The hidden word order rules for English adjectivesThere are a lot of rules about the order that English adjectives have to go in. This guide includes them all!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-14.png)Duolingo BlogLindsey Lange-Abramowitz, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enAdjectiveOrder.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/adjective-order/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What it means if you donā€™t hear your own thoughts: the mysterious world of anendophasia ā€” BBC Science Focus MagazinePeople whose lives arenā€™t narrated by a voice in their head may have ā€˜anendophasiaā€™. Experts are now investigating whatā€™s actually going on in there![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon_v6-1.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AgEXQWY5MFRqSWdwVHp5Qmp2Wkp3NGhETWcAMA)](https://apple.news/Af90TjIgpTzyBjvZJw4hDMg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Quiz: can you pick a Victorian from a Queenslander? How our accents change from state to stateHave you ever wondered why Australian accents are so similar compared to the US and UK? There are some subtle differences between states, though.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-52.png)The ConversationFelicity Cox![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250331-56-1s9t55.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/quiz-can-you-pick-a-victorian-from-a-queenslander-how-our-accents-change-from-state-to-state-250908?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [No, that word doesnā€™t come from an acronymNeither does that one.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-7.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F3b0f02a3-f1e1-40da-8ab4-ce0cb9ddc4c3_944x809.jpeg)](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/acronym-etymology-debunked?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Louder for the people in the back! (Itā€™s almost comical how frequently people tell me or claim online that a word comes from an acronym, when acronyms are actually a fairly new source of words.) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image-3.png) This week we have a special guest post from linguist Danny L. Bate, Ph.D., with an excerpt from his new book, [*Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them*](https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). If youā€™ve ever wondered where we get the letters of the alphabet from, and why English uses them so strangely, this is the book for you! Danny takes you on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet. [Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely?A new book takes us on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-68.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDanny Bate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-q-needs-u/) At the moment I believe the book is only available from UK sellers, but hereā€™s the link: - [*Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them*](https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Early Indo-European Online ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image-4.png) Have you ever wanted to learn one of the ancient Indo-European languages, like Hittite, Sanskrit, Gothic, Old Norse, Tocharian, or Old English? [Early Indo-European Online](https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has free courses on all the well-studied ancient Indo-European languages. [Early Indo-European Online: Introduction to the Language Lessons![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-5.png)UT Austin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2015_cola_texas3-2.svg)](https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! As a *Star Trek* fan, I appreciated this funny from *Star Trek: Strange New Worlds* in Season 1, Episode 9, ā€œAll Those Who Wanderā€ @ 16:00: > **Captain Pike:** Whatā€™s he saying? > > **Laā€™An:** The universal translator isnā€™t processing it. Uhura, do something. > > **Uhura:** Thatā€™s not how linguistics works! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/10/image-5.png) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/why-q-needs-u/ Last updated: 2025-09-30T14:00:10.000Z ā„¹ļø Today weā€™ve got a special guest post from linguist [Danny Bate, Ph.D.](https://dannybate.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), giving us a sneak peek at his new book, [Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them](https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). The book releases on October 2nd and can be ordered [here](https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). \~ DWH It is a sunny day, and a man takes shelter from the heat in a street not far from the east bank of the river Nile. Between the houses, he can catch glimpses of that mighty river, full of ships travelling up and down. He, a humble merchant, had himself arrived by one such boat, travelling upriver to visit this city of Thebes, which is prosperous and bustling. The crowds increase as he walks towards the temple of the god Amun, where he is to meet with a potential client. The temple is a grand site with royal patronage, having been constructed on the orders of pharaoh Senusret I himself. The current ruler is Amenemhat III, and Egypt is enjoying a state of unity and stability that historians of the future will call its Middle Kingdom, 1,800 years before Christā€”not that our merchant thinks of his day and age as being ā€˜beforeā€™ anyone or anything. Looking up at the great temples, statues and obelisks, it is clear to the visitor that these Egyptians are a highly literate people; the buildings are covered with hieroglyphs, many painted and carved with painstaking detail. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-10.png) Egyptian hieroglyphs at the Karnak Temple Complex ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancient%5FEgypt%5Fhistory%5Fin%5Fhieroglyphic%5Flanguage%5Fat%5FKarnak.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) These are official inscriptions intended to impress and to endure, existing somewhere between writing and art. However, when he had stopped at a tavern for a drink, the visitor had also seen people writing in a more casual style, composing messages and lists with a brush, ink and papyrus. The local language is Egyptian, which our visitor to Thebes understands and speaks pretty well, but the written language remains tricky. Having been around for over a thousand years, this system of pictures and symbols is sophisticated and complex. He knows that some hieroglyphs simply stand for a particular object or idea, the thing that they appear to represent. Others stand for a sound, or two sounds together, or even three. Others are used instead to tell you something about the type of the thing that precedes themā€”whether it is a man or a woman, a god, a building, a drink, a boat. To complicate matters, in principle, a given hieroglyph can be put to all three of these uses in different contexts and by different scribes. Moreover, the number of hieroglyphs that the Egyptians use seems beyond count; future experts will reckon around 700\. Try as he might, Egyptian writing still makes the visitorā€™s head spin. He himself is not Egyptian. His origins lie far to the north-east, beyond the kingdom of the Nile, and his mother tongue is very different. What he and his people speak is one dialect of an expanding family of languages that will one day include internationally famous members, such as Arabic and Hebrew. His people can be found throughout Egypt, though especially concentrated in Lower Egypt, where the Nile spills out into the Mediterranean, and where he has set up a business trading papyrus. Many of his people have been employed by the Egyptians as soldiers and servants. Though he lives and works among the Egyptians, the visitor is a linguistic outsider to this complex world of hieroglyphs and the Egyptian language that they write down. Their symbols and speech share an ancient association, while his own language is a newcomer on the scene. If he wants to write in his language, not theirs, he and his people must either invent their own writing system from scratch, or adapt the Egyptiansā€™ characters. They are opting for the latter. Their adaptation has already begun, and with it, the first shoot of a new tree of writing is sprouting. With his business in Thebes concluded, our visitor begins his return journey northwards. However, this time, rather than sailing along the Nile around the Qena Bend, he chooses to cut a corner and take the FarshĆ»t road over land. Itā€™s a sensible decision; itā€™s quicker, and the waters of the Nile can be difficult and unkind. The route takes him away though from the lush, green landscape of the Nile valley and off into wilder land. Halfway through this shortcut, the man stops in a valley that will be known in Arabic as Wadi el-Hol. There he chats to his travelling companions, eats and drinks with them and takes a break from the journey. Wadi el-Hol is a popular spot; soldiers, pilgrims and merchants are all passing through, and many people have left behind messages in the surrounding limestone rock. To pass the time, the man decides to add to the lithic literature. Rather than in the Egyptiansā€™ formal hieroglyphs, or their more casual ā€˜hieraticā€™ script, he carves from right to left 16 hieroglyph-like symbols that work according to a much newer system. It is something his people have been developing recently, and it is not the first example at Wadi el-Hol; he spots a previous message by a fellow compatriot, written instead from top to bottom. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-11.png) Drawing of Wadi el-Hol inscription I. These two inscriptions are taken to be the oldest examples of alphabetic writing. ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wadi%5Fel-Hol%5Finscriptions%5FI%5Fdrawing.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-12.png) Drawing of Wadi el-Hol inscription II ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wadi%5Fel-Hol%5Finscriptions%5FII%5Fdrawing.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Compared with the complexities of hieroglyphs, the principle behind the manā€™s system is simple: every image looks like a thing, and it stands for the first sound of the word for that thing in his language. For example, he carves an oxā€™s head, with eyes and horns, facing to the left: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-13.png) The Proto-Sinaitic letter **aleph* ([Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Proto-Canaanite%5F-%5Faleph.png?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) For him, an ox is a *Ź¾alp*. The word *Ź¾alp* begins with a glottal stop. This is a sound produced when the glottis, an opening between the vocal folds in our throats, quickly closes then opens. In doing so, it briefly stops any exiting airflow. Itā€™s a very common sound in speech, made when English speakers for example will say *uh-oh*. The travellerā€™s revolutionary principle says that, because the word for an ox begins with a glottal stop, the symbol of an ox now stands for that sound. No more ambiguities about whether the symbol refers to a thing, an idea, a category, a sound, two sounds, three soundsā€”just one symbol, for one sound. His inscription completed and his companions well rested, the man continues on his way north, and so vanishes from history and our imagination. In truth, we know nothing about the individuals who carved the two inscriptions in the new script at Wadi el-Hol, nothing certain about their origins, languages, profession, status or gender. All we have is what they left behind there, but itā€™s enough to know that they were part of something big. Over the course of almost 4,000 years, that head of cattle would develop beyond recognition and travel far, all the way to this very text. Its horns would become a letterā€™s legs, and its mouth would come to point upwards. It would become our letter A. --- This short narrative is the opening section of ā€˜Chapter Aā€™ in *Why Q Needs U*, a new book about the history of the alphabet and how we today spell the English language. It sets out to answer, in an accessible and entertaining style, two broad questions. First, where did we get the alphabet from? Second, why does English use it in such a strange way? To tackle the first topic, *Why Q Needs U* starts off in Ancient Egypt. It assembles the story of the alphabetā€™s birth from ancient fragments of text and modern academic scholarship. The new principle mentioned in that story is a milestone in human history; it was a deliberate departure from the Egyptian tradition of writing, and so launched a new tradition that has endured all the way up to the very letters that your eyes are reading right now. We humans as a species come out well from this story, because it shines a light on our shared linguistic ingenuity. The evidence suggests that the alphabetā€™s ancient innovators were humble people, whose status as ethno-linguistic outsiders in the Kingdom of Egypt motivated their repurposing of old symbols. They understood the value of writing, what it offered their speech. They also understood what in the new medium their language needed to have represented, if it was to be written down and read successfully. Clearly, though, from those first sparks of alphabetic fire, our letters have a long way to goā€”our capital letter A definitely doesnā€™t look like an oxā€™s head anymore! To tell the full tale, *Why Q Needs U* spends time with each character in the cast of this long story. For instance, Chapter A goes on to track the alphabetā€™s anti-clockwise journey around the Mediterranean Sea, until it lands in the hands of the Greeks. It was in Greece that A was reassigned to represent a vowel sound, no longer a glottal stop. It was also in Greece that a left-to-right direction of writing first won out, having fought off the older right-to-left direction that Arabic and Hebrew still go by today. This shift, and its possible psychological origins, are discussed in Chapter B. Indeed, every letter is a chance to explore some aspect of the international collaborative project that is the alphabet. Some of the chapters of Why Q Needs U spend time with certain peoples who have played a part in how we now spell English; Chapter C exalts the Etruscans, while Chapter K acknowledges the linguistic imports of the Vikings. Other chapters, like Chapters G, J and P, look at how specific individuals can leave a lasting legacy, if the societal conditions are right. Others, like Chapters O and V, look at the multi-faceted shape of the English language, with all its different dialects and disagreements in sound. Letters like E, H and N invite us in their chapters to step back and admire ingenious systems quietly at work in how we spell, such as the matter of doubled consonant letters that assist in the spelling of the vowel that they follow. *Why Q Needs U* is a linguistic love letter to language, speech and spelling, and an attempt to capture in one book the world of human experience behind our letters, from A to Z. ā„¹ļø **Why Q Needs U* is written by Dr Danny Bate, and is published by Blink, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK. It is available to buy from October 2nd and can be ordered [here](https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-14.png)](https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Analysis of a centuryā€™s worth of political speeches challenges our understanding of how language changes URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-38/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:49.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates & Announcements *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Surviving linguistics* launch event ### ![Event flyer for the ā€œSurviving linguisticsā€ book launch. Details provided below.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-15.png) Are you or someone you know considering grad school in linguistics, or already in a program? If so, you might want to attend the virtual launch event for the newest edition of [*Surviving linguistics: A guide for graduate students*](https://amzn.to/4gAjEyC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), by linguist and professor Monica Macaulay (U Wisconsin-Madison). The event is **tomorrow, September 26th** @ 12pm PT | 3pm ET. Youā€™ll have a chance to hear from author, linguistics professor Monica Macaulay, about grad school, ask questions, and hear people share their own grad school stories and experiences. This trusted and much-loved guide has been helping linguistics students for yearsā€”myself included! Itā€™s packed with practical advice, exercises, and a focus on both academic and industry career paths. Topics include speaking at conferences, publishing journal articles, writing grant applications, finishing a thesis/dissertation, how to make connections within the field, and much more. I highly recommend giving this a read as early as possible into your graduate program. - **Date:** September 26 @ 12pm PT | 3pm ET - **Registration Link:** [https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zU8Yr-ORTzSrYfiP8dN41g](https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zU8Yr-ORTzSrYfiP8dN41g?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Book Link:** [https://amzn.to/4gAjEyC](https://amzn.to/4gAjEyC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Pecan is a rising Fall flavorā€”however you pronounce it ![AI-generated image of a pecan bearing a #1 award badge.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-16.png) I recently consulted on a brief article in AXIOS about the pronunciation of *pecan* and its etymology: - [Pecan is a rising fall flavorā€”however you pronounce it](https://www.axios.com/2025/09/13/pecan-pie-fall-starbucks-pronounce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (AXIOS) ### *Profoundly Pointless* ![Podcast cover for the ā€œProfoundly Pointlessā€ podcast, featuring headshots of the various people interviewed.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-17.png) Recently I shared the first in a series of [podcast interviews](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/media/#podcast-interviews) Iā€™ve done over the past several years, and today Iā€™m sharing the second interview, this time with John Shull of the *Profoundly Pointless* podcast. We talk linguistics, the first languages, the great vowel shift, race and language and the only real curse word left. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Bilingualism is reworking this languageā€™s rainbow ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-18.png) Thomas Fuchs I reported on this [a few weeks back](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-34/), but a writer at *Scientific American* replied to another post about this on social media telling me that she actually had a chance to interview the researchers about the study. She said, ā€œ\[I\] remember the interview with one of the researchers as one of the most interesting ones Iā€™ve had.ā€ So I thought Iā€™d pass along this article too! In short, the Tsimane language only has basic color terms for blackish, whitish, and reddish (which is exactly what youā€™d expect in a language with only three color terms). However, Spanish-Tsimane bilinguals are starting to change that. [Bilingualism Is Reworking This Languageā€™s RainbowThe Tsimaneā€™ language divides the rainbow into blackish, reddish and whitish. But bilingual Spanish and Tsimaneā€™ speakers are changing that![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-122.ico)Scientific AmericanElise Cutts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/E661B151-CAEB-470A-A73FFE3ED709C0B5_source.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bilingualism-is-reworking-this-languages-rainbow/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Semantic change doesnā€™t require new speakers Until recently, it was largely assumed within linguistics that the primary driver of language change is new generations of speakers: as children learn their first language, the meanings and grammatical structures they settle on are inevitably slightly different from that of their parents. In recent decades, a growing number of studies have challenged this assumption by showing that language changes happen over the course of an individualā€™s lifespan as wellā€”most especially pronunciation changes, but also changes in grammar. (I summarize some of this research on linguistic lifespan changes in my article, ā€œAre we stuck with the same grammar for life?ā€) [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 2How does your grammar change over the course of your lifetime?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-66.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-1-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) Now, a recent study shows that the meanings of words in a personā€™s lexicon can also change over the course of their lifetimes. Itā€™s not just kids that use existing words in new ways. In fact, sometimes older speakers are even on the leading edge of semantic changes in society. The study analyzed over 7.9 million U.S. congressional speeches from 1873 to 2010, focusing on 100 words that were thought to have undergone significant shifts in their meaning during that time period. They found that individual representatives did indeed change the way they used these words over the course of their careers giving speeches. Hereā€™s a neat graph showing how some specific representatives decreased their use of *outstanding* to mean ā€˜still remainingā€™ (as opposed to ā€˜standing outā€™) over their careers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-19.png) And the following graph shows some semantic changes in the aggregate. For example, *article* originally meant ā€˜an objectā€™ (e.g. *an article of clothing*), but shifted to mean ā€˜a news/literary itemā€™ (e.g. *a news article*), and you can see that semantic shift happen over the period of years examined in the corpus. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-20.png) [Analysis of more than a centuryā€™s worth of political speeches challenges theory about how linguistic usage evolvesA study led by McGill University researchers challenges the theory that language change over time requires new generations to replace older generations of speakers. Rather, when words change meaning, speakers of all ages participate; while older speakers might take two or three years longer than their younger colleagues to adopt new word usage, in some cases they lead the way in introducing new word meanings into the common vocabulary, the researchers found.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-12.svg)Phys.orgAurĆ©lie Boucher![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/analysis-of-more-than.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-08-analysis-century-worth-political-speeches.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Research:** Kamath et al. 2025\. Semantic change in adults is not primarily a generational phenomenon. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 122(31): e2426815122\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426815122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2426815122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [How speaking in a second language directly affects your moral judgementThe ā€˜moral foreign language effectā€™ makes you more rational, and less emotional.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-51.png)The ConversationAndreas Kyriakou![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250919-56-tvntii.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-speaking-in-a-second-language-directly-affects-your-moral-judgement-265211?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Your guide to the German alphabetLearn the German alphabet from A to Z. Understand letter sounds, improve your pronunciation, and start speaking German with confidence.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-13.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_your-guide-to-the-German-alphabet.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/german-alphabet-pronunciation/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - The remarkable brain of a carpet cleaner who speaks 24 languages ([The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2022/multilingual-hyperpolyglot-brain-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Purrieties of language: How we talk about cats online* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-21.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3KeqdLe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781108825634?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Check out this recent book that uses the study of online cat discourse to teach sociolinguistics! > After conquering the Internet, cats are now taking on linguistics! Since the advent of social media, cats have become a topic central to online communication, and the multitude of cat-related accounts now online has made this a world-wide phenomenon. Through cat-inspired varieties of language, we have developed a genre of cat-inspired vocabulary. And on our special social media accounts for our cats, we take on their identities, as we post, write, talk, and chat - as our feline friends. This innovative book provides linguistic analyses of the cyber ā€˜Cativerseā€™, exploring online language variation, and explaining key linguistic concepts ā€“ all through the lens of cat-related communication. Each chapter explores a different sociolinguistic phenomena, drawing on fun and engaging examples including memes, hashtags, captions and ā€˜LOLcatsā€™, from platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Innovative yet accessible, it is catnip for all ā€˜hoomansā€™ interested in how language is used online. Purchase a copy here: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3KeqdLe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781108825634?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If this sounds up your alley, you might also be interested in the authorā€™s newsletter, [*Purrspectives in language*](https://purrspectives.substack.com/). [Purrspectives in Language | Edith Podhovnik, PhD | SubstackPurrspectives in Language brings you linguistics with cats ā€” šŸ˜» purrfect for you if you love language and cats and want to discover linguistics with a pawsome feline touch šŸˆā€ā¬›. Click to read Purrspectives in Language, by Edith Podhovnik, PhD, a Substack publication. Launched 6 months ago.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F2a5c5cba-f2df-4f2b-a0a1-d605e8171bdd-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Purrspectives in LanguageEdith Podhovnik, PhD![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fpurrspectives.substack.com-2Ftwitter-2Fsubscribe-card.jpg%3Fv%3D-1443758931%26version%3D9)](https://purrspectives.substack.com/) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### 101 places to get enthusiastic about linguistics ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-22.png) In honor of their 100th episodiversary earlier this year, the *Lingthusiasm* podcast put together an excellent list of 101 places to get enthusiastic about linguistics: - [101 places to get enthusiastic about linguistics](https://lingthusiasm.com/post/774152059126792192/101-places-to-get-enthusiastic-about-linguistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Lingthusiasm) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! This was literally what my [Ph.D. dissertation](https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.11932.00640?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) was about šŸ¤“ [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-23.png)](https://xkcd.com/1443/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [https://xkcd.com/1443/](https://xkcd.com/1443/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸš« Errata *Corrections, clarifications, and omissions.* In my most recent article, [ā€œYour cryptogram is lying to youā€”/t/ isnā€™t the most frequent consonant in Englishā€](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/english-consonant-frequencies/), I occasionally forgot to clarify that I was focused on the most frequent *consonants* in English, rather than the most frequent letters/sounds in general. The most frequent letter in English is āŸØeāŸ©, and the most frequent sound in English is /ə/. The letter āŸØtāŸ© and the sound /n/ are merely the most frequent *consonants* in English. [Your cryptogram is lying to youā€”/t/ isnā€™t the most frequent consonant in EnglishWhat are the most frequent sounds across languages (and why)?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-67.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cryptogram-1.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/english-consonant-frequencies/) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this page are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How a deaf quarterback invented the huddle + Linguists explain the life of slang URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-37/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:32:57.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! It was a quiet week in linguisticsland, with no language-related events or new research in the news cycle, so this weekā€™s issue is nice and succinct! ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸ“ø Instagram @ 300,000 ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L58l!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F453867dd-27ec-4f47-a8b3-5be1f0529830_1545x2000.png) Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Instagram account just reached 300,000 followers! Thank you so much to those of you who follow me there and are helping support my mission to educate the world about the science and diversity of language. Youā€™re such a great community! As a thank you, hereā€™s a 50% discount on an annual subscription to the paid version of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter: [Get 50% off one year](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/300KINSTA) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The most frequent consonant in Englishā€”and the worldā€™s languages ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HZWD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F33ad7454-4c1f-4a45-8100-55971c097ff3_1140x588.png) If youā€™ve spent much time solving [cryptograms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptogram?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), you probably already know that āŸØtāŸ© is the most frequently used letter in English. Given that, itā€™s reasonable to assume that /t/ would be the most frequent sound in English too. So imagine my surprise earlier this week when, as I was reading the latest issue of [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), I learned that the most frequent consonant in spoken English isnā€™t /t/ at allā€”itā€™s /n/! Whatā€™s going on here? Why the discrepancy? The fact that the relative frequency of āŸØtāŸ© and /t/ differ immediately tells us something interesting: either a) many of the written āŸØtāŸ©s in English are not pronounced as /t/ (or are silent), or b) in speech we use more words with /n/ and fewer words with /t/ than we do in writing. So which is it? In this special supporter-only bonus issue, weā€™ll look at the frequencies of sounds in English and discover a fascinating pattern about how they compare to sounds in the rest of the worldā€™s languages. [Your cryptogram is lying to youā€”/t/ isnā€™t the most frequent sound in EnglishWhat are the most frequent sounds across languages (and why)?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-64.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cryptogram.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/english-consonant-frequencies/) ā„¹ļø Note that this post is for paid subscribers only. If youā€™d like to read it and are not yet a supporter, you can become one for just $5/month by clicking the button below. [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Discover the Oldest Language in the World - Rosetta StoneDiscover which is actually the oldest language in the world, and find out which of the oldest languages are still spoken around the world today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-10.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/oldest-language-in-the-world-min.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/oldest-language-in-world/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Actually, AI is a ā€˜word calculatorā€™ ā€“ but not in the sense you might thinkHow do we make a complex piece of tech easy to understand? An analogy helps ā€“ as long as itā€™s not misleading.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-50.png)The ConversationEldin Milak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250908-56-qvj75z.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/actually-ai-is-a-word-calculator-but-not-in-the-sense-you-might-think-264494?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Why do some slang words come and go quickly while others have staying power? Linguists explain ([Upworthy](https://www.upworthy.com/linguists-explain-why-some-slang-words-stick-and-some-dont?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - How a deaf quarterback changed sports forever by inventing the huddle ([Smithsonian Magazine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/deaf-quarterback-changed-sports-forever-inventing-huddle-180987178/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Paul Hubbard first called for the football team at Gallaudet University to circle around him back in 1894! ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Useless etymology: Offbeat word origins for curious minds* Jess Zafarrisā€™ newest book, [*Useless etymology*](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), hits shelves on October 7! ![Cover of the book ā€œUseless etymologyā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9aI7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb5f72ef7-b335-42c8-8d0f-f46188c7d20e_1024x512.png "Cover of the book ā€œUseless etymologyā€") Jess is a fellow content creator ([TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@jesszafarris?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/uselessetymology/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), cohost of the wonderful *Words unravelled* podcast ([YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/7yeADN5OX1m9RPImv1mFhb?si=18b43690a3ee41ea&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/words-unravelled-with-robwords-and-jess-zafarris/id1737751787?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and author of the books [*Words from hell: Unearthing the dark secrets of English etymology*](https://amzn.to/3UQYCSI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [*Once upon a word: A word-origin dictionary for kids*](https://amzn.to/3YH2SGH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Her writing is always fun, effervescent, and super accessible. Jess kindly sent me an early review copy of *Useless etymology*, and itā€™s a absolute treat to read. She had been [wanting to write this book for years](https://uselessetymology.com/2025/09/10/useless-etymology-the-book-hits-shelves-oct-7/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and the culmination of those years of rooting around in etymology (her pun, not mine) and cogitating about it really shows. The result is a book that is more than just a collection of assorted factoids (or factlets if youā€™re feeling pedantic); instead, itā€™s a fascinating look at the themes and lessons we can take from etymology. I highly recommend procuring yourself a copy of the book at one of the links below: - [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Linguists explain slang trends through history Hereā€™s the video referenced above in which linguists Ben Zimmer and Nicole Holliday discuss the history of slang, and why some words have staying power (but most donā€™t). ### IPA Wordle ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-WCV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0cec006c-dd53-4249-ba1c-2a8c63138ebf_397x820.png) Did you know you can play Wordle in the International Phonetic Alphabet? Itā€™s called Heardle! Instead of guessing words using their spelling, you have to guess them using their pronunciations! [Heardle - a sound and word game![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/heardle_square-1.png)a sound and word game](https://joshuamandel.com/heardle/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! P.S. New linguistics experiment just dropped: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JkBc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe18425ae-5720-40af-8496-87ee285b5954_1780x1416.png) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Your cryptogram is lying to youā€”/t/ isnā€™t the most frequent consonant in English URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/english-consonant-frequencies/ Last updated: 2026-03-13T18:10:03.000Z If youā€™ve spent much time solving [cryptograms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptogram?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), you probably already know that āŸØtāŸ© is the most frequently used consonant in written English. Given that, itā€™s reasonable to assume that /t/ would be the most frequent *sound* in English too. So imagine my surprise earlier this week when, as I was reading the latest issue of [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), I learned that the most frequent consonant in spoken English isnā€™t /t/ at allā€”itā€™s /n/! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image.png) Frequency of the top 10 most frequent phonemes in English (Mines, Hanson & Shoup 1978) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-1.png) Relative frequencies of English phonemes (Blumeyer 2012) ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics** In linguistics, āŸØangle bracketsāŸ© refer to the **written* (****orthographic**) representation of a word or letter, while /slashes/ refer to the **spoken* (****phonemic**) representation of a word or sound. For example, the word **house* is written as āŸØhouseāŸ© but pronounced as /haŹŠs/ in most dialects of American English. You can learn more about how to read linguistics on [this page](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/conventions). Whatā€™s going on here? Why the discrepancy? The fact that the relative frequency of āŸØtāŸ© and /t/ differ immediately tells us something interesting: either a) many of the written āŸØtāŸ©s in English are not pronounced as /t/ (or are silent), or b) in speech we use more words with /n/ and fewer words with /t/ than we do in writing. So which is it? šŸ”’ This is a special bonus issue for paying subscribers. In the rest of this article, weā€™ll look at the frequencies of sounds in English and discover a fascinating pattern about how they compare to sounds in the rest of the worldā€™s languages. If youā€™d like to read the rest of the article, become a supporter using the button below. [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) Thereā€™s good reason to suspect the former. The most frequent words from the [Oxford English Corpus](https://www.sketchengine.eu/oxford-english-corpus/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (OEC) and [Corpus of Contemporary American English](https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (COCA), are listed below. (These rankings are roughly the same for other dialects of English too.) | **Word** | **OEC Rank** | **COCA Rank** | | -------- | ------------ | ------------- | | *the* | 1 | 1 | | *be* | 2 | 2 | | *to* | 3 | 6 | | *of* | 4 | 5 | | *and* | 5 | 3 | | *a* | 6 | 4 | | *in* | 7 | 7 | | *that* | 8 | 13 | | *have* | 9 | 11 | | *I* | 10 | 8 | | *you* | 18 | 9 | | *it* | 11 | 10 | Hereā€™s a graph of the COCA frequencies, per million words: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-2.png) Frequency of the top 20 most frequent words of English, per million words. Data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English, made available at [WordFrequency.info](http://wordfrequency.info/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). \*ļøāƒ£ Note that the two instances of **to* in this chart are different parts of speech. The higher-frequency **to* is the infinitive (e.g. **to run*) while the lower-frequency **to* is the preposition (e.g. **to the park*). The word *the* appears drastically more often than any other word, which explains why āŸØtāŸ© is the most frequent consonant *letter* of English. However, the āŸØtāŸ© in āŸØtheāŸ© isnā€™t *pronounced* as a /t/; as part of the two-letter combination (**digraph**) āŸØthāŸ©, itā€™s pronounced as a voiced dental fricative /Ć°/, which is a completely different consonant sound than /t/. Compare the following pairs of words that differ by only a single sound (called **minimal pairs**), /t/ vs. /Ć°/. \*ļøāƒ£ The transcriptions in this article are based on a [General American English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General%5FAmerican%5FEnglish?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) pronunciation unless otherwise indicated. | **Word with /t/** | **Pronunciation** | **vs.** | **Word with /Ć°/** | **Pronunciation** | | --------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------- | ----------------- | -------------------- | | *toe* | /toŹŠ/ | | *though* | /Ć°oŹŠ/ | | *tear* \[separate or pull apart\] | /tɛɹ/ | | *there, their* | /Ć°É›É¹/ | | *tea* | /ti/ | | *the* | /Ć°i/ (before vowels) | | *tan* | /tƦn/ | | *than* | /ưƦn/ | | *ten* | /tɛn/ | | *then* | /ưɛn/ | So while the *letter* āŸØtāŸ© occurs more frequently than any other consonant by virtue of its appearance in *the* at rank 1, the *sound* /t/ doesnā€™t even make its appearance on the COCA frequency list until *to* at rank 6! By contrast, the /n/ sound appears in the word *and* at rank 3, as well as the word *in* at rank 7\. And, on the COCA list, instances of *a* also include instances of *an*, so /n/ is used at rank 4 as well. This discrepancy between the frequency of written āŸØtāŸ© and spoken /t/ explains why their rankings differ in written vs. spoken English. But the frequency of /n/ in English surprised me for another reason too: We know that thereā€™s a strong correlation between the number of languages that have a sound and the frequency of that sound *within* individual languages (Gordon 2016: 74). The following chart demonstrates this, showing the intralanguage vs. interlanguage frequency of different consonants. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-3.png) The frequency of occurrence of the 25 consonants most frequently attested cross-linguistically as compared to the intralanguage frequency (computed as the ratio of the observed number of tokens relative to the number of expected tokens were each sound to occur with equal frequency). (Gordon 2016: 73) And I *thought* (incorrectly, it turns out) that the most common consonant sounds in the worldā€™s languages were the voiceless stops /p, t, k/. Therefore, I reasoned, it would be unsurprising for /p, t, k/ to be the most frequent consonants within English as well. Why did I think this? Because thatā€™s what Iā€™d been taught! One widely-used textbook on the sounds of the worldā€™s languages, for example, says the following: > Some consonants occur more frequently than others. The most common are the voiceless stops. About 98 percent of the worldā€™s languages have the three voiceless stops /p, t, k/, and every known language has sounds similar to two of these three. (Ladefoged & Disner 2012: 158) Itā€™s unclear to me where this claim comes from, and Iā€™m not able to replicate that statistic using the well-known phonological databases [UPSID](http://web.phonetik.uni-frankfurt.de/upsid%5Finfo.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) or [PHOIBLE](https://phoible.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). In reality, the most frequent consonant in the worldā€™s languages is not actually /t/, butā€”you guessed itā€”/n/! It turns out that the frequency rank of /n/ in English actually *does* match its rank crosslinguistically, in line with the pattern we saw above. And while /p, t, k/ *are* among the most frequent consonants crosslinguistically, they compete with /m/, /j/, and /s/, as the following chart shows. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-4.png) The percentage of languages possessing the 25 most common consonants (Gordon 2016: 45) Why do many linguists think that voiceless stops are the most common consonants in the worldā€™s languages? I believe we were misled by the idea that some sounds are more ā€œdefaultā€ than others, either by virtue of being easier to pronounce, or being acquired earlier in the language learning process, or by being the sound that appears in the absence of any other conditioning factors. For example, the plural suffix *\-s* in English actually has three different pronunciations depending on the sound that comes before it: | **Pronunciation** | **Conditioning Factor** | **Example** | | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | \[ÉŖz\] | after sibilants /s, z, Źƒ, Ź’, tŹƒ, dŹ’/ | *house* ā†’ *houses*\[haŹŠs\] ā†’ \[haŹŠzÉŖz\] | | \[z\] | after voiced sounds: vowels, /b, d, g, m, ā€¦/ | *home* ā†’ *homes*\[hoŹŠm\] ā†’ \[hoŹŠmz\] | | \[s\] | everywhere else | *cat* ā†’ *cats*\[kƦt\] ā†’ \[kƦts\] | The last of these is the ā€œelsewhere conditionā€, i.e., the default realization of this sound. Since that pronunciation is used in a much larger set of contexts than the other pronunciations, itā€™s the most frequent pronunciation. Linguists call this the **unmarked** pronunciation. For plural *\-s*, \[z\] is a **marked** pronunciation in comparison to \[s\]. Now look at the crosslinguistic frequencies of /s/ and /z/ in the chart above. Notice that /s/ is substantially more frequent in the worldā€™s languages than /z/. This is partially a reflection of the fact that /s/ is more likely to be the default pronunciation of sounds in the worldā€™s languages than /z/ is, just like the English plural *\-s*. Similarly, the sounds /p, t, k/ are typically considered the unmarked option when compared to other consonants (Haspelmath 2006: 28). So it seems reasonable to assume that /p, t, k/ would be the most frequent consonant sounds in the worldā€™s languages too. The problem with this way of thinking is that it has the direction of causation backwards. Markedness is just an observed pattern of asymmetries between different sounds in the worldā€™s languages. Itā€™s a description, not an explanation. Itā€™s the patterns of markedness themselves that need explaining, and those patterns are better explained by factors like ease of articulation, distribution, or conditioning factors than some vague notion of ā€œdefaultnessā€ (Haspelmath 2006). Even though /p, t, k/ are usually the unmarked option in any given comparison, there are plenty of other factors which contribute to the frequencies of different sounds within languages, and that is why /p, t, k/ are less frequent than other, more marked sounds like /n, m, j/. Interestingly, /t/ *is* the most common consonant sound in English in terms of how many *dictionary words* and their various forms (i.e. how many **lexemes**) it appears in, as the graph below shows. But since some dictionary words are used much more often in speech than others (like *the*), the frequencies of different sounds are biased towards the sounds in those more commonly used words. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-5.png) Relative frequency of different consonants in English (Gordon 2016: 78) This hasnā€™t always been the case in English, though. In Old English, the most common consonant sound when measured by dictionary words was /n/! (Are you starting to see the pattern here?) The following chart compares the dictionary frequencies of consonants in Old English vs. Modern English. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-6.png) Relative frequency of different consonants at two historical stages of English (Gordon 2016: 79) In Old English, /n/ was not only the most frequent consonant in spoken speech (presumably), but *also* occurred in more words than any other consonant. The frequency of Old English sounds more closely matched the frequency of Old English letters because English spelling was still largely ā€œphoneticā€ at that point. For the most part there was a one-to-one correspondence between letters and **phonemes** (distinctive sounds in a language). It wasnā€™t until the Great Vowel Shift and the era of the printing press (c. 1400sā€“1600s) that English pronunciation diverged drastically from its written form. In conclusion, your cryptograms have probably tricked you into thinking that /t/ is more frequent than it actually is in English. Wouldnā€™t it be cool if there were a version of cryptograms (or Wordle!) that used the International Phonetic Alphabet instead of English spelling? Well guess whatā€”there is! For Wordle at least: [Heardle - a sound and word game![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/heardle_square.png)a sound and word game](https://joshuamandel.com/heardle/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’ I hope you enjoyed this supporter-only bonus issue of the newsletter! If so, please consider sharing the Linguistic Discovery newsletter with others! Thank you so much for your support! ## šŸ™ Credits This issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was edited by Amy Treber. If youā€™re looking for professional copyediting services, email Amy at [amytreberedits@gmail.com](mailto:amytreberedits@gmail.com). The final responsibility for any mistakes or omissions is of course still wholly my own. ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/09/image-7.png)](https://amzn.to/3EATGvO?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3EATGvO?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Blumeyer, Doug. 2012\. Relative frequencies of English phonemes. *Cmloegcmluin*. [https://cmloegcmluin.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/relative-frequencies-of-english-phonemes/](https://cmloegcmluin.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/relative-frequencies-of-english-phonemes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Davies, Mark. 2008ā€“present. The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). Available online at [https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/](https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Mines, M. Ardussi, Barbara F. Hanson, & June E. Shoup. 1978\. Frequency of occurrence of phonemes in conversational English. *Language & Speech* 21(3): 221ā€“241\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1177/002383097802100302](https://doi.org/10.1177/002383097802100302?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Oxford Dictionaries Online. 2012\. *The Oxford English Corpus*. Available online at [https://www.sketchengine.eu/oxford-english-corpus/](https://www.sketchengine.eu/oxford-english-corpus/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Birdsong exhibits a hidden feature of human language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-36/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:05.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### āœļø Babel Young Writerā€™s Competition 2025 ![A promotional flyer for Babel Young Writers' Competition featuring two stylized portrait silhouettes on a teal-to-blue gradient background with halftone dot patterns. The flyer announces "GET PUBLISHED IN BABEL No.54!" and includes competition details: This is the 11th edition encouraging young linguists starting their language studies. Open to all linguistics students in further education, ages 16+ in sixth form, college or university. The flyer provides guidelines including a December 1, 2025 deadline, 2,000-2,500 word length requirement, any linguistic topic, Word file format with high-resolution JPEG images, and submission instructions to email babelthelanguagemagazine@gmail.com with subject "Young Writers' Competition". The winner will be announced in January 2025.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iXeT!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12f49d1f-bd3b-444d-830d-613b14c666d2_848x1200.png "A promotional flyer for Babel Young Writers' Competition featuring two stylized portrait silhouettes on a teal-to-blue gradient background with halftone dot patterns. The flyer announces "GET PUBLISHED IN BABEL No.54!" and includes competition details: This is the 11th edition encouraging young linguists starting their language studies. Open to all linguistics students in further education, ages 16+ in sixth form, college or university. The flyer provides guidelines including a December 1, 2025 deadline, 2,000-2,500 word length requirement, any linguistic topic, Word file format with high-resolution JPEG images, and submission instructions to email babelthelanguagemagazine@gmail.com with subject "Young Writers' Competition". The winner will be announced in January 2025.") Every year, *Babel: The Language Magazine* runs a Young Writerā€™s Competition which aims to encourage young linguists, who are invited to submit articles on a linguistics topic of their interest for publication in *Babel* magazine. The winner also receives a yearā€™s subscription! Be sure to let the young linguists in your life know about this opportunity. #### **Guidelines** - **Deadline:** Monday, December 1, 2025 - **Length:** 2,000ā€“2,500 words - **Topic:** Any linguistic topic. The important thing is that your discussion is accessible and interesting for *Babel* readers. - **Format:** Entries should be clearly presented in a Word file, with images submitted as separate high-resolutions JPEGs. - **Submission:** Email your entry to [babelthelanguagemagazine@gmail.com](mailto:babelthelanguagemagazine@gmail.com) with the subject ā€œYoung Writerā€™s Competitionā€. ### šŸ“ā€ā˜ ļø Talk Like a Pirate Day ![A boy dressed up like a pirate.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Fvjt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffb5de68b-ae94-4d1f-b151-c851bd21242c_1170x676.png "A boy dressed up like a pirate.") Ahoy mateys! September 19th be Talk Like a Pirate Day! Here be the ways to speak like a true buccaneer for all ye landlubbers out there, ye scurvy dogs! [Shiver Me Timbers! Talk Like a Pirate Day Phrases, Origins, and Celebrations - Rosetta StoneCelebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day with the best pirate expressions to make you sound like a true buccaneer! Plus activity ideas, origins, and phrases to learn!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-9.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/talk-like-a-pirate-day-feature.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/talk-like-a-pirate-day/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Why would you tell me thatāˆ ![Podcast album cover for the ā€œWhy would you tell me thatāˆā€ podcast.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ww6K!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1490d2f-37ba-4fa3-8156-4990f7695dbb_640x640.png "Podcast album cover for the ā€œWhy would you tell me thatāˆā€ podcast.") It occurred to me this week that many of my more recent readers/followers probably arenā€™t aware that Iā€™ve done a number of podcast interviews over the years, so I thought Iā€™d share them over the next several weeks, starting with the *Why would you tell me thatāˆ* podcast. I talk with award-winning comedians and broadcasters Neil Delamere and Dave Moore about the most important number in the world, and how that number pops up in surprising places all over language today. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Zipfā€™s Law of Abbreviation applies to birdsong ![A small gray bird perched on a branch singing.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6XCx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb31393c7-cc6f-481f-a563-0abd0ddcc415_4200x2839.jpeg "A small gray bird perched on a branch singing.") Photo by [Yomex Owo](https://unsplash.com/@yomex4life?utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=unsplash) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/a-small-bird-on-a-branch-DSfVNhONMBE?utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=unsplash) **Zipfā€™s Law of Abbreviation** states that the more frequently a word is used, the shorter that word tends to be. New research now finds that this law applies to birdsong as well: the most frequently used chirps and tweets tend to be shorter, while infrequently-used ones tend to be longer. [Birds Are Obeying a Secret Law of Human LanguageZipfā€™s law of abbreviation explains how commonly spoken words tend to be shorter. The idea is so intuitive, birds appear to use it, too.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.5d5fa0d-1.png)Popular MechanicsDarren Orf![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/close-up-of-birds-perching-on-rock-montecito-royalty-free-image-1755552772.pjpeg)](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a65792382/birdsong-language-law/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [All Human Languages Mysteriously Obey Zipfā€™s Law Of Abbreviation. It Applies To Bird Songs Too.Who knew a tweet tweet could be so fascinating?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-53.png)IFLScienceTom Hale![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/carolina-wren-meta.jpg)](https://www.iflscience.com/all-human-languages-mysteriously-obey-zipfs-law-of-abbreviation-it-applies-to-bird-songs-too-80414?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Birds may follow a hidden pattern of human languageNew research suggests that bird vocalizations may follow hidden rules similar to those that govern human language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-120.ico)Earth.comNoulida Nahan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Birds-human-language.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-follow-a-hidden-pattern-of-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Does Zipfā€™s law of abbreviation shape birdsong?Author summary Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by birdsong, and imagined it to be the ā€œlanguage of birds.ā€ This analogy has become more exciting as researchers have discovered that many genes and parts of the brain involved in birdsong learning and development are also involved in human speech. But, there is still much we do not know about how birdsong and human language are similar or different. Recently, researchers have been interested in whether Zipfā€™s Law of Abbreviation (ZLA) holds in birdsong. In human language, ZLA says that words that are used more frequently tend to be shorter, because communication is more efficient if we have short words for the ideas we use most often. In birdsong, researchers have asked whether more frequently used notes are shorter, but results so far have been inconclusive. We developed a new computational tool for studying ZLA in birdsong and applied it to songs from 11 bird populations. We found evidence for ZLA in the set of populations we studied, but the pattern is weaker than in written human languages. More bird populations will need to be studied to confirm our results, and our computational tool will help researchers do that work.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)PLOS Computational BiologyR. Tucker Gilman ,![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-4)](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013228?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Bilingualism possible in people with rare genetic condition that normally limits speech abilities > Rett syndrome is a rare neurological condition that disrupts physical and linguistic development, affecting around one in 10,000 women and even fewer men. For decades, researchers assumed that people with the condition, many of whom lose speech during early childhood, were confined to a limited range of cognitive and linguistic abilities. > > But in Wales, where many families are bilingual and speak both English and Welsh at home, our recent case study showed that access to two languages can help the linguistic growth of someone with the speech-limiting developmental condition Rett syndrome. [Bilingualism possible in people with rare genetic condition that normally limits speechA study shows people with Rett syndrome, a rare genetic condition, can be bilingual, challenging long-held assumptions.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-48.png)The ConversationEirini Sanoudaki![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250123-15-15wlcy.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/bilingualism-possible-in-people-with-rare-genetic-condition-that-normally-limits-speech-244858?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Day, Cooper, & Sanoudaki. 2024\. Bilingualism in the preserved speech variant of Rett syndrome: A longitudinal case study. *Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics*, pp. 1ā€“20\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2025.2508260](https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2025.2508260?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Behind Enemy Lines: My Deep Dive Into the Grammar Gene DebateA Personal Perspective: Facing the interplay between genetic factors and linguistic development prompted a question: Should I trust my instincts or those of others?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-54.png)Psychology TodayArturo Hernandez, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/DALL-C2-B7E-202024-04-29-2020.45.43-20--20An-20illustration-20blending-20genetic-20symbols-20with-20language-20elements-2C-20incorporating-20a-20baby-20brain.-20The-20background-20features-20a-20double-20helix-20structure-20of-20DNA-2C-20.jpeg.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-emergence-of-skill/202404/behind-enemy-lines-my-deep-dive-into-the-grammar-gene-debate?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Surzhyk: why Ukrainians are increasingly speaking a hybrid language that used to be a marker of rural backwardnessOnce reviled as a ā€˜humiliatingā€™ Russified form of the language, now Surzhyk is emerging as a tool for Russian speakers to identify as Ukrainians.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-49.png)The ConversationOleksandra Osypenko![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250902-56-g5djnr.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/surzhyk-why-ukrainians-are-increasingly-speaking-a-hybrid-language-that-used-to-be-a-marker-of-rural-backwardness-264280?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Rising above: Language revitalization in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!X_-j!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbb8876a2-bd59-400e-b51d-5a6dce2c9dbe_298x446.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4m2BOKs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In this new book, Cherokee citizen Benjamin E. Frey chronicles his odyssey of being introduced to the Cherokee language with trepidation as a young adult and his eventual work revitalizing the Cherokee language in a Cherokee way. In the first book to examine the process of language shift and revitalization among this band, Frey explores the institutional, economic, and social factors that drove the language shift from Cherokee to English, interpreted through the lens of a member of the Eastern Band Cherokee community in conversation with other community members. *Rising Above* navigates Freyā€™s upbringing, the intricacies of language and relationships, the impact of trauma, and the quest for joy and healing within the community. In addition to language documentation and preservation, *Rising Above* explores how to breathe new life into the language and community, using storytelling to discuss the Cherokee language, its grammatical components, and its embedded cultural ideologies alongside its interactions with broader American society. ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Native Land Digital ![Screenshot of the Native Land map on their website.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RFdL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F99eebc2b-727c-4b1e-b43f-83891a972ff5_1849x946.png "Screenshot of the Native Land map on their website.") Native Land Digital (NLD) is an Indigenous-led non-profit organization that provides a digital map of Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties globally. Their goal is to support education, awareness, and research while respecting Indigenous data sovereignty. The above screenshot shows their current map for the languages of North America. Pretty incredible and detailed work! [Native-Land.ca | Our home on native landNative Land is a resource to learn more about Indigenous territories, languages, lands, and ways of life. We welcome you to our site.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-121.ico)Native-Land.ca![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/mission.webp)](https://native-land.ca/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! ![A comic depicting a caveman walking into a cave while a cavewoman sits on the floor organizing what looks like pieces of paper. The caveman says, ā€œWhat woman have?ā€. The cavewoman responds, ā€œWhile you were hunting, I was gatheringā€”parts of speech. Here, try a pronoun.ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!77Mx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F609615ae-bfc0-45a1-9ba6-0b1bd33b3404_236x280.png "A comic depicting a caveman walking into a cave while a cavewoman sits on the floor organizing what looks like pieces of paper. The caveman says, ā€œWhat woman have?ā€. The cavewoman responds, ā€œWhile you were hunting, I was gatheringā€”parts of speech. Here, try a pronoun.ā€") šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### New DNA data reveals the origins of the Slavic peoples URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-35/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:12.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FG_j!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6dea3259-31de-434a-bbfd-303b6dd36a63_330x237.png) The front entrance of The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago Every week the [Green Mill Cocktail Lounge](https://greenmilljazz.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in Chicagoā€”one of the oldest bars in the city (tracing back to the 1890s!!) and one of the most famous bars in the United Statesā€”hosts a [weekly live show](https://thepapermachete.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) with an awesome lineup of talented musicians and stand-up comedians, including the hilarious (and extremely tipsy) [Chad the Bird](https://www.chadthebird.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (pictured below). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tJP2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F66f05f5d-d9d3-4523-bca3-44bb573f299a_900x900.png) Chad the Bird, a little tipsy as usual Despite being situated a mere two blocks from my apartment, Iā€™d never gotten to patronize the Green Mill until this last weekend, when by sheer luck Chad the Bird had prepared an amazing bit about etymology and the [6,000 new words that were just added to the Cambridge dictionary](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/cambridge-dictionary-adds-skibidi-and-tradwife-among-6000-new-words/ar-AA1KJ6pJ?ocid=BingNewsVerp&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). I could barely contain both my joy and laughter, so I had to share Chad the Birdā€™s bit with you all as well: ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### šŸŽƒ Pumpkin Spice Linguistics Starbucks has officially kicked off pumpkin spice latte season, which means itā€™s time for some Pumpkin Spice Linguistics! Did you know that the word *pumpkin* was most likely borrowed from the Massachusett language by the Plymouth colonists? And that the word *spice* originally comes from a verb meaning ā€˜to observeā€™? In this 20-minute talk given at the [Edmonton Nerd Nite](https://edmonton.nerdnite.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in 2022, I discuss the winding history of these two words and what they can teach us about both language change and indigenous history: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### 6,000 new words added to the Cambridge dictionaryā€”and not everybodyā€™s happy about it ![Screenshot of the definition of delulu: ā€œbelieving things that are not real or true, usually because you choose toā€.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7Nl!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0d479d26-525a-41a1-a405-625f6c0675da_754x542.png "Screenshot of the definition of delulu: ā€œbelieving things that are not real or true, usually because you choose toā€.") The Cambridge dictionary added 6,000 new words to the dictionary this month, including many recent Gen Z neologisms such as *skibidi*, *tradwife*, *broligarchy*, and *delulu*. Itā€™s important to remember that lexicographers donā€™t just add any old fads to the dictionary either. Only words that lexicography researchers believe are likely to stick around get added, although inevitably many will eventually drop out of use and later become marked as archaicā€”a fate shared by probably the majority of new words in a language. [Skibidi and tradwife among words added to Cambridge DictionaryMore than 6,000 new terms feature, including some relating to remote working and rich tech giants.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-51.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/c1c05320-7bfb-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce93ygv4zzlo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Weā€™re delulu if we think new words should be resistedSome 6,000 words or phrases are included in the Cambridge Dictionary for the first time this week: not everyoneā€™s happy![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72-3.png)The TimesOliver Kamm![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2Fmethode-2Ftimes-2Fprod-2Fweb-2Fbin-2Fcf5daf5e-2bce-40f6-805c-02a034aa7134.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/were-delulu-if-we-think-new-words-should-be-resisted-7lpt5btnq?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Iā€™m a linguist and this is what I think of Cambridge Dictionaryā€™s ā€˜playfulā€™ new Gen-Z wordsWith Cambridge Dictionary adding over 6,000 new words into its dictionary this year, including ā€˜skibidiā€™, ā€˜tradwifeā€™, and ā€˜deluluā€™, HELLO! spoke to a linguist from global language company Babbel to get their take on the language changes and how social media ā€˜dictatesā€™ the cultural shiftsā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-2.png)HELLO!Francesca Shillcock![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/35b7fb96b864-tiktok-dictionary.jpg)](https://www.hellomagazine.com/news/851129/im-a-linguist-and-this-is-what-i-think-of-cambridge-dictionarys-new-gen-z-words/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Paraguay is fighting to preserve Guarani ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ixxc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f182541-9e95-42c2-891f-eb3d7d7b8c33_394x332.png) Map of the areas where Guarani is spoken ([Wikipedia: Guarani language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarani%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Paraguay is fighting to preserve Guarani as fluency slips among younger generations. Guarani is a member of the Tupian language family, and is one of the most widely spoken Native American languages. About half the rural population of Paraguay are monolingual speakers of the language. One thing that makes standardization tricky is that Guarani is a dialect continuum. However, fluency among younger generations is slipping. And one thing that makes standardization tricky is that Guarani is a dialect continuum. [Paraguay is fighting to preserve GuaranĆ­, a language of roots and soulGuaranĆ­ is one of Paraguayā€™s two official languages alongside Spanish![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-512x512.png)The IndependentY. Mara Teresa Hernndez![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Paraguay_Guarani_Language_24483.jpg)](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/paraguay-spanish-catholic-asuncion-spain-b2814205.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Genetic mixing correlates to language mixing ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A5O0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7fa64de4-d23e-49f2-b3da-e5fc731e6f71_2048x1814.png) (****A**) Sampling admixture in populations (solid arrow) if their two largest ancestry components amount to at least 70% of genetic ancestry, of which the minor source contributes at least 5%, and if the admixture is evident through at least five different levels of globally assumed components (**K*, tested from 12 to 30, see also fig. S1A for results at **K* \= 12). The two components were manually associated (dashed arrows) with source populations exhibiting the ancestry to at least 80%. Target populations were only considered if their two main ancestries were assigned to populations (source 1 and source 2) speaking languages (language 1 and language 2) from different language families (family 1 and family 2), whereby one of these families (family 1 in this illustration) should be the family of the target language spoken by the target population. Targets were associated (gray arrows) with their now spoken language (ā€œlanguage 1ā€ in the figure) and the source with the phylogenetic clade that best characterizes the language varieties (ā€œlanguage 2ā€) at the time of contact. To control for shared inheritance, we only sampled pairs where target and source are from different families (family 1 and family 2). (****B**) One hundred twenty-six target-source language pairs. Blue, target languages; orange, source clades (centered on one language for visualization purposes only); TLI and GBI, different linguistic datasets (see the main text). (****C**) Languages from which features were drawn colored by geohistorical area from AUTOTYP (fig. S1B for an alternative). W N America, Western North America; E N America. Eastern North America; C America, Central America; S America, South America; W and SW Eurasia, Western and Southwestern Eurasia; N-C Asia, Northern-Central Asia; S/SE Asia, South/Southeast Asia. (Graff et al. 2025) When speakers of different languages are in contact, they often borrow not just words, but also sounds and grammatical patterns from one another. However, most languages of the world are not well documented, and have little to no historical records, making it hard to know which similarities across languages are borrowed or merely coincidental. A new study published in *Science Advances* aims to estimate the degree of language contact in languages of the world by looking at the genetic histories of different populations instead. Using the [AUTOTYP](https://www.isle.uzh.ch/en/DLL/Databases-and-Methods/AUTOTYP.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) database for mapping linguistic features, the authors find that language pairs whose speaker populations underwent genetic admixture or that are located in the same geohistorical area exhibit higher incidences of shared linguistic patterns. However, the effect varies strongly depending on the specific linguistic feature. Their analysis also challenges previous research about the borrowability of certain features of language. **Reporting** [Capturing language change through the genesThroughout human history, there have been many instances where two populations came into contactā€”especially in the past few thousand years because of large-scale migrations as a consequence of conquests, colonialization, and, more recently, globalization. During these encounters, not only did populations exchange genetic material, but also cultural elements.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-11.svg)Phys.orgUniversity of Zurich![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/capturing-language-cha.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-09-capturing-language-genes.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Our DNA holds the hidden history of human languageNew research reveals how human DNA preserves the story of language contact, showing when and where languages converged, diverged, and evolved.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-118.ico)Earth.comAndrei Ionescu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/DNA-language-.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/our-dna-holds-the-hidden-history-of-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Original Research** - Graff et al. 2025\. Patterns of genetic admixture reveal similar rates of borrowing across diverse scenarios of language contact. *Science Advances* 11(35). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv7521?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### The genes of ancient skeletons reveal the origin of the Slavic people ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hVAf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa330249a-95f0-497b-9644-f9e489168318_1216x804.png) Archaeologists attribute these simple pots, buried as grave offerings in the eighth and ninth centuries C.E., to early Slavs. Archaeological museum Zadar A new study published in *Nature* uses DNA evidence to connect the modern Slavic people to a wave of migration following the fall of the Roman Empire. > Today, Slavic languages are spoken from the beaches of the Baltic Sea to Russiaā€™s Pacific coastline. But where the Slavs came fromā€”and how their languages spread out across thousands of kilometers in Eurasiaā€”has long perplexed scholars. Did a small number of Slavic-speaking elites impose their languages and cultures on existing populations? Or did Slavs move in from the east, replacing the previous inhabitants of what are now Poland, Germany, Bohemia, and the Balkans following the Roman Empireā€™s collapse? > > A study of hundreds of ancient genomes published today in Nature backs the second scenario, suggesting Europeā€™s ā€œSlavicizationā€ process was linked to bands of Slavic speakers migrating west in large numbers. - [Ancient skeletonsā€™ genes reveal origin of the Slavic people](https://www.science.org/content/article/ancient-skeletons-genes-reveal-origin-slavic-people?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Science)* - Gretzinger et al. 2025\. Ancient DNA connects large-scale migration with the spread of Slavs. *Nature*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09437-6](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09437-6?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* - Why Brits add an /r/ to words that end in vowels (but only sometimes) ([Upworthy](https://www.upworthy.com/why-brits-add-r-sound-to-words?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Why do we say ā€œumā€ so much? Itā€™s not just a meaningless filler like you might think! ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2025/09/03/nx-s1-5521388/um-filler-word-of-the-week?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) [Most Languages Are Not EnglishResearch conducted in WEIRD countries shouldnā€™t be seen as generalizable, whether itā€™s in psychology or linguistics.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-52.png)Psychology TodayMax Louwerse Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/world.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/keeping-those-words-in-mind/202312/most-languages-are-not-english?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - English is not very representative of what the worldā€™s 7,000 languages are like, yet the majority of research in linguistics focuses on English. [Speaking of Words: Can We Reconstruct the First Language?Given the many thousands of languages spoken today, and records of hundreds of extinct ones, do we have enough evidence to reconstruct ā€œProto-World,ā€ the ancestor of all natural languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-7.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-7.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/03/23/speaking-of-words-can-we-reconstruct-the-first-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: Why do we have capital letters?Discover the history of capital letters and why each language uses them differently.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-12.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_blue-2.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/capital-letters/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### A really short history of words ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hT9T!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa47a5947-c791-4e18-bb7b-4b7ac19ee3f1_297x385.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47RjMXZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Many linguaphiles are already familiar with Bill Brysonā€™s wonderful book [*Mother tongue: English and how it got that way*](https://amzn.to/4hAn1oZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Now Bill Bryson has published an illustrated accompaniment to that book, but written for kids! - [A really short history of words: The story of the English language](https://amzn.to/47RjMXZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### The Indo-European Lexicon ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!tCsm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32c36feb-128d-4f8a-bf96-e20ef9e57060_1062x678.png) A diagram depicting the Indo-European family of languages. Drawn from [**The American HeritageĀ® Dictionary of the English Language*](https://www.ahdictionary.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), Fourth Edition. Copyright Ā© 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. The [Linguistics Research Center](https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) at the University of Texas at Austin hosts the fantastic Indo-European Lexicon, a database of the words and affixes of Proto-Indo-European compiled by [Jonathan Slocum](https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/about/people/former-members/jonathan-slocum.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Each entry also shows all the descendants (**reflexes**) of the word in any of the modern languages that still have it. [Indo-European Lexicon: PIE Etyma and IE Reflexes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-3.png)UT Austin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2015_cola_texas3.svg)](https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/lex?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## ā“ How do you like your Linguistic Discovery articles? I like writing long deep-dives. Itā€™s a great way for me to collect everything about a topic in one place, which people can come back to and reference whenever theyā€™d like. Iā€™m also pretty sure yā€™all enjoy reading these more immersive longform articles (but please reply to this and let me know if this is true!). Iā€™ve usually posted these longer features as a single lengthy article, like so: 2,500 words: [What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-56.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-7.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/reviews/three-body-problem/) 3,500 words: [From counting to cuneiform: How writing was inventedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-55.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/proto-cuneiform-accounting-tablet.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) 3,500 words: [Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-57.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-2.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) 6,000 words: [The etymology of ā€˜oneā€™: From Proto-Indo-European to Modern EnglishThere are over thirty English words that derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™. This is the story of how they came to be, and what that story teaches us about how language works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-58.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/infographic-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/one/) But recently I tried syndicating a long piece as a 4-part series, in my review of the linguistics of *The Iron Dreamers*: [Why do languages change? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 1Could a language stay frozen in time?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-59.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 2How does your grammar change over the course of your lifetime?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-60.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-1-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) [Are some languages more complex than others? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 3Do languages get simpler over time? Could they get more complex?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-61.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-2-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) [How are new languages created? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 4Pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-62.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-3-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-4/) If I had published this series as a single article, it would have been 15,000 words! Similarly, Iā€™m working on a long piece right now that will likely reach about 10,000 words. **My question for you is this:** *Would you rather read longform pieces like these as a single essay, published less frequently, or have them broken up into parts and delivered a week apart?* Let me know in the poll below. Thanks! šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Learning a second language can teach you to distinguish colors you donā€™t have in your first language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-34/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:26.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Learning a second language can teach you to distinguish colors you donā€™t have in your first language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image.png) A 2023 study found that the people of a remote Amazonian society called the Tsimaneā€™, who donā€™t have color terms for ā€˜blueā€™ and ā€˜greenā€™, began to interpret colors in a new way when they learned Spanish as a second language. [How ā€œblueā€ and ā€œgreenā€ appeared in a language that didnā€™t have words for themA new study suggests the way a language divides up color space can be influenced by contact with other languages. Tsimaneā€™ people who learned Spanish as a second language began to classify blue and green into using separate words, which their native tongue does not do.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-10.svg)MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyAnne Trafton | MIT News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/MIT_Color-Language-01-PRESS.jpg)](https://news.mit.edu/2023/how-blue-and-green-appeared-language-1102?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Malik-Moraleda et al. 2023\. Concepts are restructured during language contact: The birth of blue and other color concepts in Tsimaneā€™-Spanish bilinguals. *Psychological Science* 34(12): 1350ā€“1362\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976231199742](https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976231199742?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). **Further Reading:** [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image-1.png)](https://amzn.to/4hsH9tu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hsH9tu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Gesture may have been the origin of language ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image-2.png) Credit: Jannarong/Shutterstock Linguists have long speculated that language may have originated in gesture, as a type of early sign language, before shifting to a spoken medium. Using experimental evidence, a 2022 paper suggests that the meanings of gestures are sufficiently universal to have provided a basis for early language. [Hand Gestures May Have Been the Start of Human LanguageOur unique language systems distinguish us from other species, but researchers explore how early hand gestures paved the way for civilization.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-116.ico)Discover MagazineSara Novak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cave-drawing-of-people-x.jpg)](https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/hand-gestures-may-have-been-the-start-of-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Fay et al. 2022\. Gesture is the primary modality for language creation. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B* 289(1970). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0066](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0066?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Mind-reading AI can turn imagined speech into words ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image-3.png) > A brain-computer interface has enabled people with paralysis to turn their thoughts directly into words, requiring less effort than older techniques where a physical attempt at speech had to be made. [Mind-reading AI can turn even imagined speech into spoken wordsA brain-computer interface has enabled people with paralysis to turn their thoughts directly into words, requiring less effort than older techniques where a physical attempt at speech had to be made![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-11.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_261892861.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2492622-mind-reading-ai-can-turn-even-imagined-speech-into-spoken-words/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Kunz et al. 2025\. Inner speech in motor cortex and implications for speech neuroprostheses. *Cell* 188: 1ā€“16\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.06.015](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.06.015?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [The Language of DeceptionResearchers have been trying to determine whether liarsā€”and truth-tellersā€”have certain linguistic ā€œtells.ā€ Is there such a thing as a linguistic lie detector?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-50.png)Psychology TodayValerie Fridland Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/trust--20Gerd-20Altmann-20from-20Pixabay-20.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-wild/202305/the-language-of-deception?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Do People Who Speak Different Languages Think Differently?McElvenny credits linguist Noam Chomsky (1928ā€“) with revitalizing the idea that we all have the same sort of minds; language does not really change that.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270-5.png)Mind MattersNews![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/mobile-dictionary-translator-and-e-learningconcept-learning-languages-online-smartphone-and-books-with-language-courses-stockpack-adobe-stock-scaled-1.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/2024/01/do-people-who-speak-different-languages-think-differently/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking of Words: Is ASL a Language?A few years ago a controversy arose at UNH over American Sign Language. For a long time the introductory course in it had two or three sections, but suddenly the sections ballooned to eight or ten.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-6.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-6.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/07/16/speaking-of-words-is-asl-a-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: Is laughter the same in every language?Learn how laughter is typed in languages across the world, and what other forms of digital laughter are used.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-11.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_deDDmailbox_pink--2-.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/laughter-in-different-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Louis Braille revolutionized a writing systemā€”despite efforts to stop himTwo hundred years ago, the son of a saddler from a rural French village devised a groundbreaking tactile writing method of raised dots for blind people at the mere age of 15.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-3.png)History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/braillers2_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/louis-braille-writing-system-creator?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What Are Constructed Languages? Learn Through Examples - Rosetta StoneLearn all about constructed languages, their shared traits, and common examples from linguistic history with this in-depth guide.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-8.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/what-are-constructed-languages-library.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/constructed-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How new words enter our languageFrom ā€œyeetā€ to ā€œsocial distancing,ā€ a linguistics expert breaks down how new words go from unknown to mainstream.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/futurity_ico-1.png)FuturityJen Plummer-Syracuse![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/magic-words-language-podcast-1600-1.jpg)](https://www.futurity.org/how-new-words-enter-our-language-3288642/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What languages are most spoken in Minnesota homes?Almost 640,000 people in Minnesota speak a language other than English at home. The state demographer says Minnesotaā€™s unique immigrant populations have fostered more linguistic diversity than in many states.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-3.svg)Rachel Hutton![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/7J7MWADU2NG7BI4YTZBJJOMDBA.jpg)](https://www.startribune.com/top-languages-spoken-at-home-in-minnesota-spanish-hmong-somali/601368610?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [You Know More Finnish Than You ThinkLinguistics illuminates the linguistically obscure ā€“ or so Iā€™ve always thought. Itā€™s a common theme of my online output that a little bit of historical linguistics goes a long way, makiā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/webclip-2.png)Danny L. Batedannylbate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/neitokainen_from_above_in_kittila_lapland_finland_2023_september.jpg)](https://dannybate.com/2025/08/03/you-know-more-finnish-than-you-think/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Why the origin of the word ā€˜dogā€™ remains a mystery ([NPR](https://www.npr.org/2025/08/13/nx-s1-5500476/dog-history-etymology-origin?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Babel* No. 52 ### ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image-4.png) The latest issue of *Babel: The Language Magazine* is out! As always, there are some great articles this quarter, including two on endangered languages and language revitalization: - Bretonā€™s battleground: Repression and revival - Māori language: A renaissance at risk? You can subscribe to *Babel* here! [Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsThe quarterly language magazine that brings you Babelzine, the cutting-edge linguistic research in an accessible and colourful format.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-117.ico)Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsStephen Fry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babel-Best-Of-cover-4.jpg)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *The origin of language: How we learned to speak and why* [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image-5.png)](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/47LjGRC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A new book on the evolution of language is out! The author, Madeline Beekman, professor in biological sciences at the University of Sydney, argues in this book that it was not hunting, fighting, or tool-making that forced early humans to speak, but the inescapable need to care for our children. ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### New atlas of languages of the Americas ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/08/image-6.png) A brand new database of typological features in the languages of the Americas is now available! As described by the authors: > The aim of ATLAs is to capture areally relevant typological variation across North and South America, together with a baseline sample from the rest of the world. Our sample includes 325 languages worldwide, of which 220 are in the Americas. For each typological domain present in the database, we have attempted to encode as fine-grained features as possible, prioritizing typological depth within a given domain over the inclusion of more domains. > > The database is available as a website at [https://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch/](https://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which presents 265 typological variables at the level of languages as a whole. The data is also available on [GitHub](https://github.com/davidainman/atlas-data/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/records/15227808?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). The GitHub repository includes three additional database modules not visible on the website, which exhaustively encode at the construction level the phenomena of (1) nominal possession, (2) morphological alignment, and (3) singular-plural verb stem alternation. Several language-level aggregations of these more detailed constructional databases are presented on the website. - **Web Portal:** [https://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch/](https://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Data:** [https://github.com/davidainman/atlas-data/](https://github.com/davidainman/atlas-data/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Research Paper:** [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05169-4](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05169-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸŽ’ Back to school with linguistics! Itā€™s the start of the school year for many universities, so I want to know: Whoā€™s taking a linguistics class this year, and what classes are you taking? Are you taking your first linguistics class, or taking more? Are you declaring a major? Finishing your degree? Reply to this email and let me know! šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### An experiment with the Aboriginal language Murrinhpatha suggests language influences perception URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-33/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:32.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Assembling *The Oxford Dictionary of African American English* This is some old reporting from back in 2023, but itā€™s an [ongoing project](https://www.oed.com/discover/odaae/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and still very cool to read about! Oxford Languages is hard at work on the *Oxford Dictionary of African American English*, and the *New Yorker* has a great write-up about it: [Assembling the Oxford Dictionary of African American EnglishLinguists from Oxford meet to compare notes on words like ā€œbussinā€ (adj.) and ā€œdo-ragā€ (n.).![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-112.ico)The New YorkerAlex Carp![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/230327_r42083illuweb-site.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/27/assembling-the-oxford-dictionary-of-african-american-english?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can also read the [project description](https://www.oed.com/discover/odaae/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on the Oxford Languages website, or watch this documentary: ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Antarctic leopard seal ā€˜songsā€™ are surprisingly similar to nursey rhymes ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-Q7C!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F79536b09-592f-4da1-9a05-33b407e8425a_685x385.png) Typical behavior of leopard seal vocalizations - the male will sing a sequence of sounds underwater before returning to the surface to breathe (represented by a ā€˜Zā€™) and repeats this cycle for hours at a time. The sequence of sounds is then converted to a symbolic code. > A recent study has found that Antarctic leopard seal mating call sequences seem to be similar in predictability to human nursery rhymes. \[ā€¦\] Although some of the characteristics of animal songs have a lot in common with human songs, they are not made of series of words that each have a specific meaning. Research on vocal sequences and song in animals is therefore mostly focused on identifying patterns in animal vocal communication and studying what function a song or vocal sequence might serve. \[ā€¦\] When compared to humans, the authors found that leopard seal sequences were less random than music by classical and romantic composers or the Beatles, and that they were similar to the randomness found in nursery rhymes. [Antarctic leopard seal ā€˜songsā€™ are surprisingly similar to nursery rhymesThe fact that animals donā€™t use words makes it hard to decode their communication. But technology is starting to make it easier.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-47.png)The ConversationRĆ¼diger Riesch![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250808-56-xmccwq.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/antarctic-leopard-seal-songs-are-surprisingly-similar-to-nursery-rhymes-262822?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Leopard seal song patterns have similar predictability to nursery rhymes - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - Leopard seal song patterns have similar predictability to nursery rhymes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-17.png)NatureLucinda E. H. Chambers![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41598_2025_11008_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-11008-8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### AI helps reconstruct damaged Latin texts ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7vxw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffab6f22e-89d6-45f7-9892-d8d93f2c98f5_685x245.png) This inscription (**Inscriptiones Graecae*, volume 1, edition 3, document 4, face B (**IG* I3 4B)) records a decree concerning the Acropolis of Athens and dates to 485/4 bc. Marsyas, Epigraphic Museum, WikiMedia CC BY 2.5. I already reported on this [the other week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-31/), but hereā€™s some additional reporting from *New Scientist* about how researchers are using AI to help them reconstruct incomplete and damaged Latin texts: [AI helps reconstruct damaged Latin inscriptions from the Roman EmpireGoogle DeepMind and historians created an AI tool called Aeneas that can predict the missing words in Latin inscriptions carved into stone walls and pottery sherds from the ancient Roman Empire.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-10.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_259729679.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2489138-ai-helps-reconstruct-damaged-latin-inscriptions-from-the-roman-empire/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Contextualizing ancient texts with generative neural networks - NatureAeneas, a generative neural network trained on ancient texts, helps historians contextualize inscriptions and perform epigraphic tasks, offering an improved starting point for historical research.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-18.png)NatureYannis Assael![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2025_9292_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09292-5?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can also use the AI models for Latin (Aeneas) and Greek (Ithaca) here: [Predicting the Past | Contextualising, restoring, and attributing ancient textsIthaca and Aeneas are generative AI models designed to assist historians in the study of ancient Greek and Latin inscriptions. They are part of a wider initiative on developing collaborative AI for historical research.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-48.png)Ithaca![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/predicting-the-past-1200.jpg)](https://predictingthepast.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why all languages have words for ā€˜thisā€™ and ā€˜thatā€™ ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XmZp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb33079ca-0399-4fff-887e-3a0bf1e4f3b4_1023x349.png) Experimental setup for the study on spatial communication systems across languages. The experiments used various configurations of speakers and addressees situated around tables with objects at different distances on them. > Researchers studied more than 1,000 speakers of 29 different languages to see how they use demonstrativesā€”words that show where something is in relation to a person talking such as ā€˜this catā€™ or ā€˜that dogā€™. It was previously thought that languages vary in the spatial distinctions they makeā€”and that speakers of different languages may think in fundamentally different ways as a consequence. But the new study shows that all of the languages tested make the same spatial distinctions using words like ā€˜thisā€™ or ā€˜thatā€™ based on whether they can reach the object they are talking about. - [Why all languages have words for ā€˜thisā€™ and ā€˜thatā€™](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1006041?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Eureka Alert) - Coventry et al. 2022\. Spatial communication systems across languages reflect universal action constraints. *Nature Human Behavior* 7: 2099ā€“2110\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01697-4](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01697-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Research with Aboriginal language Murrinhpatha suggests language influences perception ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O_RS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd4c744b8-649a-44b7-b66c-b057a34d7904_900x600.png) Aboriginal elders locate landmarks at Da Ayimeli. The culturally significant site is near Wadeye, a town close to Australia's northern coast. David Maurice Smith The Aboriginal language Murrinhpatha is spoken by about 2,500 people in the town of Wadeye on Australiaā€™s northwestern coast. In the first-ever psycholinguistic study of the language, Rachel Nordlinger, a linguist at the University of Melbourne who has studied Murrinhpatha for 18 years, and her colleagues found that when people are putting their thoughts into words, their mental processes may be shaped by the structure of their language. In particular, they found evidence that word order affects how participants take in a scene, and the order in which they focus on elements in that scene. The *Scientific American* article is from 2023, but a great read. It gives a lot more of the context and history of both this research and the Murrinhpatha language: [Grammar Changes How We See, an Australian Language ShowsAn Aboriginal language provides unexpected insight into how language influences perception![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-113.ico)Scientific AmericanChristine Kenneally![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/55AF0C77-657C-4C1D-B9A7CD94A42E3BAE_source.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/grammar-changes-how-we-see-an-australian-language-shows/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Project MUSE - Sentence planning and production in Murrinhpatha, an Australian ā€˜free word orderā€™ language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-114.ico)Project MUSE logoRachel Nordlinger![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/og_image.jpg)](https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857152?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Further Reading:** ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!j_Tu!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9ac1df1b-ade0-4e98-9bbe-8e63c96d168b_417x630.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hsH9tu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [ā€œItā€™s Like Dropping a Bomb on the Louvre:ā€ The Remarkable Race to Save These Critical Languages Before They DieIndigenous communities are building their own advanced machine-learning tools to preserve languagesā€”and heritagesā€”that are on the brink.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.5d5fa0d.png)Popular MechanicsLuke Ottenhof![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/indigenous-ai-1-652d615c06a71.jpg)](https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a45521181/will-artificial-intelligence-save-native-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Language Clues Can Mislead Cultural PsychologistsFans of detective stories know that a clue may reveal what happened or be a red herring. Cultural psychologists encounter the same dilemma with linguistic clues.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-49.png)Psychology TodayLawrence T. White Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Hello-20Mary-20Pahlke-20Pixabay.png.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-conscious/202303/language-clues-can-mislead-cultural-psychologists?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - People love to claim that language deeply affects how we think, but features of language donā€™t always mirror thinking styles in different societies. [T-Glottalization: The Reason Some People Drop Their ā€™Tā€™s When SpeakingDropping that ā€˜tā€™ sound is an example of what linguists call glottalization.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x-5.png)Mental FlossMarla Mackoul![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/01hfbdk9g66qvp40qmt8.jpg)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/why-people-do-not-pronounce-letter-t-glottalization/partners/47910?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Most British English speakers using a glottal stop \[Ź”\] instead of a \[t\] in the middle or end of words. But Americans are flappers, using \[ɾ\] in those same positions instead. [Elizabeth Bates and the Search for the Roots of Human LanguageIn the 1970s a young psychologist challenged a popular theory of how we acquire language, launching a fierce debate that continues to this day![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-115.ico)Scientific AmericanSamia Bouzid, Katie Hafner, The Lost Women of Science Initiative![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Elizabeth-Bates-Square-16x9-1.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/elizabeth-bates-and-the-search-for-the-roots-of-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - In the 1970s a young psychologist challenged a popular theory of how we acquire language, launching a fierce debate that continues to this day. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Water, whiskey, and vodka: A story of Slavic languages A friend pointed out this fun book to me last year, but I havenā€™t yet shared it with yā€™all, my esteemed readers: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!No2M!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F90e65aef-2e9e-445b-b3f8-2eba200c5ea9_293x425.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4oKMcZW?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Vowel Map-o-Later ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BqAo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffe9f4426-9f70-48e6-80cd-7743047d9fa8_725x475.png) Screenshot of the Vowel Map-o-later, showing a cloud of dots representing the location where various vowel tokens were pronounced in a particular speakerā€™s mouth Linguist Roslyn Burns and the DiversiPHy project has recently launched a free online tool for plotting vowels called the Vowel Map-o-later. This tool is intended for students with little to no coding background such as introductory phonetics students, introductory sociolinguistics students, or honors/thesis students whose specialty is not in phonetics. With this tool, students and instructors can easily plot vowels and update visualizations as parameters in the plot change (e.g. transform the acoustic representation, label vowel classes or speakers, color code vowel classes or speakers, estimate vowel spread in acoustic space, etc.). Students may download their plots for inclusion as graphics in classroom assignments or term papers. [Vowel Map-o-lator![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/VowelMap.png)](https://linguisticking.com/VowelMapolator.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! Iā€™ll leave you this week with a fun reminder about how English spelling is a mess, from Lucille Ball: And if you want to learn more about the history of English spelling, check out this book by David Crystal: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!15DQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5c893860-b95a-4981-8e8c-95edb0b8a280_304x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40I09MB?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Researchers uncover the origins of the Uralic language family URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-32/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:41.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### 7000 Languagesā€™ Revitalization Fellowship ![Banner image from 7000 Languages' website, depicting an indigenous person wearing traditional clothing with her hands folded in front of her.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r7Pt!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1686982-ab8e-4060-9057-1274c8e0d3bc_1821x465.png "Banner image from 7000 Languages' website, depicting an indigenous person wearing traditional clothing with her hands folded in front of her.") If you are interested in working to revitalize your communityā€™s endangered language, you might be interested in this fellowship opportunity from [7000 Languages](https://www.7000.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), a nonprofit organization ā€œwith the mission to empower communities around the world to teach, learn, and sustain their endangered languagesā€. The deadline for applications is August 24. [LINGUIST List 36.2339 Internships: Applied Linguistics, Language Documentation: Language Revitalization Fellowship Opportunity, 7000 Languages, remoteThe LINGUIST List, International Linguistics Community Online.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-106.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/lllogo-large.jpg)](https://linguistlist.org/issues/36/2339/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) More information about the fellowship can be found [here](https://www.7000.org/work-with-us?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Revitalizing a language from old manuscripts ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!f_28!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F272e5b8b-ae11-4be3-b57c-ba5e3cf56e3c_2048x2625.png) The first page of elicitation from Morris Swadeshā€™s Chitimacha field notebook, ca. 1930\. Notice that with the exception of ā€˜clamshellā€™, these are all words from what would later become known as the Swadesh List. Is it possible to revitalize a dormant language thatā€™s no longer spoken? Yes! You just have to have the right materialsā€”a dictionary, grammatical description, and collection of texts/stories. Together these materials are known as the Boasian Trilogy (after Franz Boas, who stated this documentary practice). In this special video issue for paid subscribers, I take you on a tour of the Boasian Trilogy for Chitimacha, a once-dormant language Iā€™m helping to revitalize. I talk a bit about their historical context, how linguists go about documenting a language, and what kinds of modern research these manuscripts have enabled. [Revitalizing a dormant language from 80-year-old manuscriptsHow archival manuscripts are helping revitalize the Chitimacha language of Louisiana![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-54.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/landscape-cover.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/chitimacha-trilogy/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### National Navajo Code Talkers Day ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bjFH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4878c947-d8f5-4945-8d5c-c236dc389fe3_660x529.png) Corporal Henry Bake, Junior, and Private First Class George H. Kirk, Navajos serving in December 1943 with a United States Marine Corps signal unit, operate a portable radio set in a clearing that they have hacked in the dense jungle behind the front lines. Today is National Navajo Code Talkers Day! During WWII the U.S. military recruited speakers of Navajo to create a code based on their incredibly complex language. The Japanese were never able to break the code, and it use contributed significantly to U.S. success in the Pacific theater. Major Howard Connor, 5th Marine Division signal officer during the war, stated: > Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima. The Navajo were the most famous of several Native American groups whose languages were used as codes during the war. Other languages included Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Cree, Fox, Mohawk, Seminole/Creek, and Cree. Despite their patriotism and heroic contributions to the war, in March the Department of Defense and U.S. Army [scrubbed their websites](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/18/navajo-code-talkers-removed-dod-army-websites-trump/82518781007/?taid=67dacbb8a536b2000112c2ab&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) of any mention of the code talkers as part of Trumpā€™s anti-DEI initiatives. So if youā€™re looking for a place to learn more about the code talkers, I highly recommend [*Code Talker*](https://amzn.to/4mgpqHw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), the only memoir of one of the original Navajo code talkers. Iā€™ve read every book on the code talkers and this is by far my favorite: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!URrF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc91a70e3-724e-43cc-825e-5bef47308295_308x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4mgpqHw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Baidu seeks to decipher animal communication Chinaā€™s largest search engine, Baidu, is looking to patent an AI system that would decipher animals sounds - [Chinaā€™s Baidu looks to patent AI system to decipher animal sounds](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/chinas-baidu-looks-patent-ai-system-decipher-animal-sounds-2025-05-08/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Reuters) ### The K-pop band making Korean Sign Language famous ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dM0x!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8cc6e265-84cc-4039-afcc-e21a7d554f41_1205x2048.png) The members of Big Ocean (from left), Kim Ji-seok, Park Hyun-jin and Lee Chan-yeon, in Seoul in 2024\. Tiffany Boubkeur/Getty Images Big Ocean, a K-pop boy band whose members are deaf or hard of hearing, incorporate Korean Sign Language (KSL) into their videos and performances, and fans are loving it ### Archaeologists find oldest rune stone in Norway ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!sHh8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c273a06-cf5f-4cbd-ba76-978f909acd11_2048x2048.png) This could be the oldest runes we know about, carved into a 31x32 cm block of reddish-brown Ringerike sandstone. (Photo: KHM) This is an older bit of news from January 2023, but researchers have found and dated a runestone in Norway to sometime between 0ā€“250 CE, potentially making it the earliest instance of writing in Scandinavia. Known as the Svingerud Stone, it has several types of inscriptions in different areas, including the beginning of the runic alphabet or **futhark**, įš  (f), įš¢ (u) and įš¦ (th). [Worldā€™s oldest rune stone found in Norway, archaeologists believeThe find was kept secret by researchers for more than a year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/sciencenorway_icon.png)ScienceNorwayBĆ„rd Amundsen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2140239.jpg)](https://www.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-language-runes/worlds-oldest-rune-stone-found-in-norway-archaeologists-believe/2141404?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Worldā€™s oldest rune stone found in Norway, archaeologists believe](https://www.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-language-runes/worlds-oldest-rune-stone-found-in-norway-archaeologists-believe/2141404?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science Norway) The research into this runestone was published later in 2023: [Runic fragments from the Svingerud grave field in Norway | John BenjaminsAbstract In 2021ā€“2023, several rune-inscribed sandstone fragments were discovered by archaeologists of the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, at a Roman Iron Age grave field by the Svingerud road at Hole in eastern Norway. Several of these fragments fit together as parts of one larger sandstone slab. The main fragment with multiple inscriptions was unearthed in a flat grave (cremation) in November 2021\. Radiocarbon dating of the organic material dated the burial to before 300 CE (Solheim et al., forthcoming). This article provides a detailed runological and linguistic account of the inscribed fragments, as of July 2023\. The focus is on the main finds, while the work on numerous small fragments is ongoing. This find may shed new light on the features and functions of early runic writing.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)John BenjaminsKristel Zilmer|Krister S.K. Vasshus![](https://doi.org/images/instance/logo/jbe.svg)](https://doi.org/10.1075%2Fnowele.00080.zil?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### The origins of the Uralic language family ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!V3up!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F977e0f21-72aa-47b7-b089-cba58551c571_2048x1479.png) Panel A shows the widespread distribution of individuals with Ancient Paleosiberian (APS) ancestry in Siberia before the Holocene, >10 kya. Panel B shows the formation of the NEAHG cline by \~10 kya, and the formation of the population on its eastern terminus (Transbaikal\_EMN) through admixture between Amur River and Inland East Asian ancestries. Panel C shows the emergence of Cisbaikal\_LNBA and Yakutia\_LNBA in genetic turnovers in the Cis-Baikal and Northeastern Siberian regions in the Mid-Holocene, and the genetic diversity of Seima-Turbino period individuals \~4.0 kya. Panel D shows the genetic gradient between West Eurasian ancestry and Yakutia\_LNBA formed by present-day Uralic populations, along with all locations from which present-day populations with Cisbaikal\_LNBA ancestry were sampled (grey dots ringed with black), alongside the geographic locations of two late Bronze Age/early Iron Age individuals (grey dots ringed with yellow) with >90% Cisbaikal\_LNBA ancestry. A recent study finds genetic evidence that the the Uralic language familyā€”which includes Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, and othersā€”had its origins in people living in northeastern Siberia about 4,500 years ago (c. 2500 BCE). [Ancient DNA solves mystery of Hungarian, Finnish language familyā€™s originsWhere did Europeā€™s distinct Uralic family of languagesā€”which includes Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonianā€”come from? New research puts their origins a lot farther east than many thought.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-8.svg)Phys.orgChristy DeSmith![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ancient-dna-solves-mys.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-07-ancient-dna-mystery-hungarian-finnish.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Ancient DNA reveals the prehistory of the Uralic and Yeniseian peoples - NatureGenome-wide sequencing of 180 ancient individuals shows a continuous gradient of ancestry in Early-to-Mid-Holocene hunter-gatherers from the Baltic to the Transbaikal region and distinct contemporaneous groups in Northeast Siberia, and provides insights into the origins of modern Uralic and Yeniseian speakers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-16.png)NatureTian Chen Zeng![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2025_9189_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09189-3?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Blind people gesture (and why thatā€™s kind of a big deal) Lauren Gawne over at the [Superlinguo](https://www.superlinguo.com/post/789628970959323136/blind-people-gesture-and-why-thats-kind-of-a-big?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) blog reports on new research that shows that both blind and sighted people who speak the same language use similar gestures to represent events. Since these gestures canā€™t have been acquired visually in the case of blind people, this suggests that gesture and speech must be somehow linked in the brain. [https://www.tumblr.com/superlinguo/789628970959323136/blind-people-gesture-and-why-thats-kind-of-a-big](https://www.tumblr.com/superlinguo/789628970959323136/blind-people-gesture-and-why-thats-kind-of-a-big?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - ƖzƧalışkan, Lucero, & Goldinā€Meadow. 2024\. Is vision necessary for the timely acquisition of languageā€specific patterns in coā€speech gesture and their lack in silent gesture?. *Developmental Science* 27(5): e13507\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13507](https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13507?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Each AI chatbot has its own distinctive writing styleā€”just as humans do ![A dot plot showing frequency of use of different expressions by Gemini vs. ChatGPT. Some expressions show drastically different frequencies.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mZfQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F159b8ff7-0898-4b74-b390-a64ea7e5de04_2000x1445.png "A dot plot showing frequency of use of different expressions by Gemini vs. ChatGPT. Some expressions show drastically different frequencies.") Each personā€™s individual way of speaking is called an **idiolect**, and linguists can actually measure differences between individual idiolects, such as frequency of word use or use of grammatical constructions. Linguist Karolina Rudnicka realized she could similarly create a linguistic profile for the different Large Language Models on the market. [ChatGPT And Gemini AIs Have Their Own Distinctive Writing Stylesā€”Just as Humans DoChatGPT and Gemini AI write in different idioms, linguists find![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-107.ico)Scientific AmericanKarolina Rudnicka![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/chatbot_with_speech_bubble_idolect.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chatgpt-and-gemini-ai-have-uniquely-different-writing-styles/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Ridnicka. preprint. The language of AI tools as idiolectsā€”thus comparable to other idiolects. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/7qwzu\_v1](https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/7qwzu%5Fv1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### LLMs do metalinguistic analysis Continuing on the topic of LLMs, hereā€™s some additional reporting on a study I mentioned [last week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-31/) which showed that recent versions of LLMs are now capable of doing metalinguistic analysis: [As chatbots improve, humansā€™ unique language abilities are becoming less specialUC Berkeley researchers say large language models have gained ā€œmetalinguistic ability,ā€ a hallmark of human language and cognition no other animal has displayed.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-9.svg)Phys.orgJason Pohl![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/as-chatbots-improve-hu.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-07-chatbots-humans-unique-language-abilities.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Large linguistic models: Investigating LLMsā€™ metalinguistic abilitiesThe performance of large language models (LLMs) has recently improved to the point where models can perform well on many language tasks. We show here thatā€”for the first timeā€”the models can also generate valid metalinguistic analyses of language data. We outline a research program where the behavioral interpretability of LLMs on these tasks is tested via prompting. LLMs are trained primarily on textā€”as such, evaluating their metalinguistic abilities improves our understanding of their general capabilities and sheds new light on theoretical models in linguistics. We show that OpenAIā€™s (2024) o1 vastly outperforms other models on tasks involving drawing syntactic trees and phonological generalization. We speculate that OpenAI o1ā€™s unique advantage over other models may result from the modelā€™s chain-of-thought mechanism, which mimics the structure of human reasoning used in complex cognitive tasks, such as linguistic analysis.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-109.ico)IEEE Xplore![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ieee_logo_smedia_200X200.png)](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11022724?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Elephants use gestures intentionallyā€”just like humans > For the first time, researchers have collected evidence that African elephants intentionally and creatively use gestures to signal what they want ā€” a method of communication associated with human language. The team found that elephants can recognize when someone is paying attention or not, persist with gesturing when their desire is only partially filled, and make their gesturing more elaborate when their first attempts are unsuccessful. > These are the main criteria for a behavior called ā€œgoal-directed intentionality,ā€ and, outside of human communication, it has only been widely documented in primates, with some individual exceptions in non-primate species, according to the study. - [Elephants use gestures intentionallyā€”just like humans, new evidence shows](https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-world/world/article310481230.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Idaho Statesman) - Eleuteri et al. 2025\. Investigating intentionality in elephant gestural communication. *Royal Society Open Science* 12(7). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242203](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242203?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Minimal Pair Puzzles and Word MeaningHave you ever considered how we differentiate words as meaning-bearing entities? Minimal pair puzzles reveal how we do so, according to a fundamental principle of linguistics.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-46.png)Psychology TodayMarcel Danesi Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/shutterstock_1060926164.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-workout/202206/minimal-pair-puzzles-and-word-meaning?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Criticising mispronunciation is ā€˜hypocritical snobberyā€™Expert argues that ā€˜linguistic puritansā€™ around English will ā€˜eventually be envelopedā€™![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The TelegraphCharles Hymas![](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2025/06/29/TELEMMGLPICT000430589076_17512191936660_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/29/criticising-mispronunciation-hypocritical-snobbery/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [5 Surprising Reasons Unrelated Languages Can Be SimilarWhy do some languages sound alike, even if they arenā€™t related? Sometimes itā€™s more than random chance!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-10.png)Duolingo BlogCindy Blanco, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_blue-1.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/why-unrelated-languages-can-be-similar/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How the alphabet beganAnd some Dead Language Society lore![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-6.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F1bbc2c7d-30aa-42a3-bb6e-d7c124a4e945_1800x1430.jpeg)](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-the-alphabet-began?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Explore the History of the German Language and How It Works - Rosetta StoneFrom Proto-Germanic to Modern Standard German, see how the German language changed and adapted. Discover key aspects of how German works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-7.png)Rosetta StoneJacyb Porter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/german-language-feature.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/german-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking of Words: Language DeathOf the 7,159 living languages in the world that the Ethnologue website now lists, it considers 3,193 to be ā€œendangered,ā€ that is, ā€œIt is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-5.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-5.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/07/12/speaking-of-words-language-death/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Do you really need to read to learn? What neuroscience says about reading versus listeningWhether reading a book or listening to a podcast, the goal is the same: understanding. But these activities support comprehension in different ways.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-45.png)The ConversationStephanie N. Del Tufo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250514-62-1q77zg.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/do-you-really-need-to-read-to-learn-what-neuroscience-says-about-reading-versus-listening-250743?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Is it time to chart a new path for xenolinguistics through sci-fi? | Aeon EssaysTo truly explore alien languages, linguists must open themselves to the maximum conceivable degree of cosmic otherness![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-47.png)Aeon Magazine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/esssay-solaris-1972-067.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/is-it-time-to-chart-a-new-path-for-xenolinguistics-through-sci-fi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Hindi emerged as the lingua franca of the ā€˜Hindi Heartlandā€™ at the cost of other languagesAn excerpt from ā€˜The Hindi Heartland: A Studyā€™, by Ghazala Wahab.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-160x160.7d97c537daffcf114789e9abfa5fb07f.003-2.png)Scroll.inGhazala Wahab![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/208119-czgclejgod-1751449521.jpg)](https://scroll.in/article/1084112/how-hindi-emerged-as-the-lingua-franca-of-the-hindi-heartland-at-the-cost-of-other-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Too many em dashes? Weird words like ā€˜delvesā€™? Spotting text written by ChatGPT is still more art than scienceUnusual words or punctuation may serve as ā€˜tellsā€™ that something has been written by a chatbot. But even with that knowledge, most people struggle to discern human writing from AI-generated text.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-46.png)The ConversationRoger J. Kreuz![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250729-56-rvevve.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/too-many-em-dashes-weird-words-like-delves-spotting-text-written-by-chatgpt-is-still-more-art-than-science-259629?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### Books for Linguistics Students ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pkuY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F63c6c0c3-dc3c-4844-95e8-4668d65e889c_576x864.png) [Cascadilla Press](https://www.cascadilla.com/surviving.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Do you study (or want to study) linguistics? Here are a few books written specifically for linguistics students: [Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Amazon Page - Books for Linguistics StudentsShop recommended products from Linguistic Discovery on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Linguistic Discoveryā€™s favorite products.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-110.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/61qYTOWBt1L._CR0-2C0-2C1080-2C1080_._US500_SCLZZZZZZZ_-4.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery/list/1TYLT714SMP6B?ref%5F=aip%5Fsf%5Flist%5Fspv%5Fons%5Fmixed%5Fd&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Online Database of Interlinear Texts (ODIN) The Online Database of Interlinear Texts (ODIN) is a collection of glossed interlinear texts extracted from documents on the web. v2.1 contains 158,007 instances of interlinear examples from 1,496 languages. [ODIN :: The Online Database of INterlinear glossed text![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-111.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/80x15-1.png)](https://depts.washington.edu/uwcl/odin/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Interlinear gloss - Wikipedia![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/wikipedia-2.png)Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/250px-Toussaint-Langenscheidt_Spanisch_7.13.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlinear%5Fgloss?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Online%5FDatabase%5Fof%5FInterlinear%5FText) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! Iā€™ll leave you this week with a joke I got from [@the.language.nerds](https://www.instagram.com/p/DM5aHOnI3Uz/?igsh=aXQyM3E1cnQ1Z2p6&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on Instagram: > A priest, a pastor, and a rabbit entered a clinic to donate blood. The nurse asked the rabbit: ā€œWhatā€™s your blood type?ā€ > > ā€œIā€™m probably a type O,ā€ said the rabbit. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Revitalizing a dormant language from 80-year-old manuscripts URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/chitimacha-trilogy/ Last updated: 2025-08-10T22:24:58.000Z Is it possible to revitalize a dormant language thatā€™s no longer spoken? Yes! You just have to have the right materialsā€”a dictionary, grammatical description, and collection of texts/stories. Together these materials are known as the Boasian Trilogy (after Franz Boas, who stated this documentary practice), and in this weekā€™s special supporter-only video issue, I take you on a tour of the Boasian Trilogy for Chitimacha, a once-dormant language Iā€™m helping to revitalize. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A mysterious pre-Islamic script from Oman has been deciphered, while AI helps historians complete damaged Latin texts URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-31/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:47.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### What to do when someone corrects your pronunciation A year or so ago, internet friend and fellow science communicator Ashley Christine (whose book you just learned all about in in the past several weeks) asked me what to do when someone tries to correct your pronunciation in a video. This got me to thinking, and I put together an 8-minute video with advice on the topic, including some strategies about how to educate people about linguistics! ### Linguistics in Connections 8/2 ![Logo for Connections on NYT](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-0p-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9dec1d96-298e-4b11-8dde-95726905a150_250x141.png "Logo for Connections on NYT") In the NYT Connections puzzle for 8/2, one of the categories involved a fun concept from linguistics: **contranyms**, i.e. words that mean their own opposite. Some examples include: - *dust:* remove dust / add dust - *fast:* without moving, fixed in place / moving quickly You can play that dayā€™s puzzle here: [Connections Game NYT - Play UnlimitedPlay Connections Game with Unlimited words! Sort 16 Words into 4 Groups that share something in common. Can you find groups of four words?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/site-icon.ico)Connections Game Logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/logo-3.png)](https://connectionsgame.org/?game=02-08-2025&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### New AI models help historians complete damaged Latin texts ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!byS-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff6d0bd4b-0b3b-4012-a2bf-4da9b1309ecb_1216x804.png) Fragment of a bronze military diploma from Sardinia, issued by the emperor Trajan to a sailor on a warship. 113/14 CE (CIL XVI, 60, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain). > Many inscriptions have been separated from their original sources or have been rendered broken and illegible through wear and tearā€”making it incredibly difficult to parse the 1500 new Roman inscriptions that are found annually. Now, filling in the gaps of history has just gotten easier thanks to Aeneas, a large language model (LLM) unveiled yesterday in Nature thatā€™s designed to interpret and contextualize Roman inscriptions. - [New AI model helps historians complete damaged Latin texts](https://www.science.org/content/article/new-ai-model-helps-historians-complete-damaged-latin-texts?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) - Assael et al. 2025\. Contextualizing ancient texts with generative neural networks. *Nature*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09292-5](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09292-5?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Mysterious pre-Islamic script from Oman deciphered ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0sqK!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5065c152-8513-419a-9fd1-5266a745b43c_1216x804.png) For more than a century, researchers have puzzled over the mysterious Dhofari script, which is found on rock faces in what are now Oman and Yemen. A new study makes the case that this inscription and several others like it list out the glyphs that were used to write down an ancient pre-Islamic language indigenous to South Arabia. Michael Macdonald > Rock faces within the caves and dried riverbeds of Omanā€™s Dhofar governorate bear nearly 2400-year-old writings that snake across the surface in a mysterious script. For more than a century, these inscriptionsā€”known as the Dhofari scriptā€”had defied decipherment. Now, in a study in press at the journal *Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux*, a linguist says he has deciphered the main subtype of the Dhofari script, and has found evidence that its alphabet didnā€™t originate in southern Arabia. - [Mysterious pre-Islamic script from Oman finally deciphered](https://www.science.org/content/article/mysterious-pre-islamic-script-oman-finally-deciphered?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) - Al-Jallad. 2025\. The decipherment of the Dhofari script: Three halįø„am abecedaries and the first glimpses into the corpus. *Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux* 49\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15853465](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15853465?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### **Does your native language affect how you feel pain?** > One of the oldest questions in the history of psychology is about how language influences the mind. Does the language we use impact how we see the world? A new study, shows that even the most basic, least abstract mental phenomenon is affected by language: pain. [Does Your Native Language Affect How You Feel Pain?A new study reveals the impact of linguistic context on pain perception.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-44.png)Psychology TodayBence Nanay Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/pexels-kindel-media-7298657.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-tomorrow/202402/does-your-native-language-affect-how-you-feel-pain?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Gianola, Llabre, & Losin. 2024\. Does pain hurt more in Spanish? The neurobiology of pain among Spanishā€“English bilingual adults. *Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience* 19(1): nsad074\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsad074](https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsad074?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### LLMs can now conduct linguistic analysis In a new study, GaÅ”per BeguÅ” and colleagues examined the ability of large language models (LLMs) to conduct linguistic analysis, such as drawing syntactic trees and positing phonological rules. They find that the newest models vastly outperform older ones. - [Chatbots donā€™t just do language, they do metalinguistics](https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-linguistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (IEEE Spectrum) - Begus, Dabkowsky, & Rhodes. 2025\. Large linguistic models: Investigating LLMsā€™ metalinguistic abilities. *IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1109/TAI.2025.3575745](https://doi.org/10.1109/TAI.2025.3575745?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Did language evolve because of tools? This is recent reporting from *New Scientist* on an old 2014 study: > Researchers tasked 24 volunteers with learning to make hand axes from an expert who either talked them through the process or merely made the tools in the volunteersā€™ presence while occasionally pointing to direct their attention. Surprisingly, both methods were effective, suggesting verbal language isnā€™t necessary for complex tool-making. [Ancient humans only evolved language once, but why?Thereā€™s an argument rumbling about why our ancestors evolved language. And surprisingly, one of the possible explanations has nothing to do with communication![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-8.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_255267407.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2484046-ancient-humans-only-evolved-language-once-but-why/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Putt, Woods, & Franciscus. 2014\. The role of verbal interaction during experimental bifacial stone tool manufacture. *Lithic Technology* 39(2): 96ā€“112\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1179/0197726114Z.00000000036](https://doi.org/10.1179/0197726114Z.00000000036?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Or did language evolve because of baby talk? The way that human adults talk to young children is unique among primates, a new study found. That might be one secret to our speciesā€™ grasp of language. > The researchers discovered a stark difference between humans and apes: Young apes hardly ever heard infant-directed communication from the adult apes around them. Even among chimpanzees, which chatter to one another on a regular basis, the adults might call just once to an infant over the course of an entire day. On other days, the young chimps received no communication at all, not even from their mothers. > > Human children have a profoundly different experience with language, the researchers found. In every culture, children were spoken to by adults many times a day ā€” every few minutes, in some cases. The rate that children heard infant-directed communication was 69 times as high as what Dr. Fryns observed among chimpanzees, and 399 times as high as what Dr. Wegdell observed among bonobos. - Wegdell et al. 2025\. The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes. *Science Advances* 11(26). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt7718](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt7718?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### AI isnā€™t good at detecting bullying because Gen Alphaā€™s slang is still so new > Generation Alphaā€™s internet lingo is mutating faster than teachers, parents and AI models can keep up ā€“ potentially exposing youngsters to bullying and grooming that trusted adults and AI-based safety systems simply canā€™t see. [Generation Alphaā€™s coded language makes online bullying hard to detectAdults and AI models fail to recognise messages with harmful intent expressed with Gen Alpha slang or memes, raising concerns about youngstersā€™ online safety![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-9.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_256690189.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2485808-generation-alphas-coded-language-makes-online-bullying-hard-to-detect/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Mehta & Giunchiglia. 2025\. Understanding Gen Alphaā€™s digital language: Evaluation of LLM safety systems for content moderation. *FAccT ā€˜25: Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency*, pp. 2863ā€“2873\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1145/3715275.3732184](https://doi.org/10.1145/3715275.3732184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Linguistics Explains Why Some Names Capture Oneā€™s ā€˜Essenceā€™Why do we have strong negative or positive associations with certain names? Sound symbolism suggests certain sounds have intrinsic meaning, making some names more memorable.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-45.png)Psychology TodayValerie Fridland Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/chuttersnapunsplash.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-wild/202205/linguistics-explains-why-some-names-capture-ones-essence?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The city of 700 languagesNew York is the most linguistically diverse city on the planet. Can it stay that way?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-2.png)Culture![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/MM10221_20250227_488_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/new-york-city-700-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - The author of this article is Ross Perlin, author of [*Language city: The fight to preserve endangered mother tongues in New York*](https://amzn.to/49TumNj?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: How did writing systems evolve?Learn how writing systems around the world evolved, including which ones are related and some that were invented recently!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-9.png)Duolingo BlogOlivia Thayer, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_darkPurple.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/evolution-of-writing-systems/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How the Industrial Revolution changed EnglishTechnology and the birth of new dialects![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-5.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F97f01840-dd79-455f-9d86-2fbb9e2d370e_1600x1026.jpeg)](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-the-industrial-revolution-changed?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How using a full stop could give away your ageWhere text message punctuation is merely good grammar for older people, Gen Z sees all kinds of hidden meanings, say linguists![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)The TelegraphIndia McTaggart![](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/briefs/2025/06/27/TELEMMGLPICT000430341611_17510471629610_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?impolicy=OG-Standard)](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/27/using-full-stop-gives-away-your-age/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - (A *full stop* in British English is a *period* in American English.) [Is being bilingual good for your brain?Perhaps. Learning languages offers other, more concrete benefits![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon-2.svg)The EconomistThe Economist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/20250705_STD001-1.jpg)](https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/06/27/is-being-bilingual-good-for-your-brain?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - (The answer may not be a straightforward ā€œyesā€.) [Writing Systems of the World From Incan to Japanese and More - Rosetta StoneA writing system isnā€™t just an alphabet. Learn how different languages are represented in writing systems that convey meaning in various ways.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-6.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/writing-systems-feature.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/writing-systems/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Weā€™re finally understanding what animals are saying to us ā€“ and itā€™s not what we expected ā€” BBC Science Focus MagazineWeā€™re on the verge of decoding animal communication. Hereā€™s what weā€™ve learned so far ā€“ and how AI could finally help us decipher their languages![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon_v6.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AgEXQXRhQnY1b0p0UmZpNjVHNEhOVE5iVlEAMA)](https://apple.news/AtaBv5oJtRfi65G4HNTNbVQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Pop, soda or coke? The fizzy history behind Americaā€™s favorite linguistic debateAn expert in American dialects explains how a ā€˜health drinkā€™ from the early 1800s spawned so many names and variations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-44.png)The ConversationValerie M. Fridland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250630-56-kq4lmf-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/pop-soda-or-coke-the-fizzy-history-behind-americas-favorite-linguistic-debate-259114?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - The author of this article is Valerie M. Fridland, author of [*Like, literally, dude: Arguing for the good in bad English*](https://amzn.to/42THdO9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Typological Atlas of the Languages of Daghestan ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0N2-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb906c734-345f-4fbb-a77b-4271df29f907_2048x703.png) Daghestan The languages of Daghestan have a long descriptive tradition. Available grammars contain a wealth of data which, however, have not been analyzed from an areal point of view. The goal of this project is to develop a tool for the visualization of information about linguistic structures characteristic of Daghestan. TALD is a tool for the visualization of information about linguistic structures typical of Daghestan. The scope of the project currently covers all East Caucasian languages and several other languages spoken in Daghestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and adjacent territories. The Atlas consists of: - Chapters describing linguistic phenomena typical of the area (some of the chapters are linked to a major topic, i.e., a more descriptive chapter to which several features are related) - Datasets with information on particular features - Map visualizations of how these features are distributed - A bibliography of literature on languages of the area In its current version the Atlas consists of 62 datasets and 5 major topics with information on linguistic features mostly in the areas of phonology, morphology, the lexicon and discourse. New topics covering the areas that have not been dealt with so far will be added in later versions. [Typological Atlas of the Languages of Daghestan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-4.png)TALD![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/80x15.png)](https://lingconlab.ru/tald/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QvvM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F69248e2d-93f0-4fb8-995b-a7150dd8397b_435x435.png) [xkcd: Garden Path Sentence](https://xkcd.com/2793/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### What to do when someone corrects your pronunciation URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/correcting-pronunciation/ Last updated: 2025-08-02T16:19:26.000Z As someone who talks about language on the internet and whose audience is mostly language nerds, people *love* to correct my pronunciationā€”but not always for good reasons! Here are some strategies Iā€™ve discovered over the years for what to do when someone corrects your pronunciation of a word, and how you can educate them a little about linguistics while theyā€™re at it! Also, if youā€™re interested in the *Speaking American* book I mention in the video, I have a review of the book here: [Speaking American: How yā€™all, youse, and you guys talkA beautiful and engaging coffee table book of 122 dialect maps showing how different regions of the U.S. say different things. A wonderful illustration of dialect diversity in the United States, this book is sure to spark great conversations. A must-have for any language lover.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-50.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Speaking-American-3.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/speaking-american-2e/) Enjoy the video! ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XPGW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F99fee482-310d-4848-a368-047066412d90_295x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4htZFkN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-BVG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F11c634e8-72d6-4392-90f9-bc87edef6b26_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4194dYb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uNz1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F972a60ab-2e4d-4f03-82ee-feb097e87d00_302x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/42qvOoe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Cdmw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7d730603-8702-4217-9f15-8c813a61d9a0_1750x1663.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The last native speaker of Caddo dies at age 95 URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-30/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:33:55.000Z Welcome back to *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! This weekly digest has been on an unintentional hiatus the past two weeks because I overoptimistically thought I could publish both this digest *and* two articles each week! Turns out thatā€™s not so sustainable. Lesson learned! Iā€™ll stick to the digest plus one other original article per week for the time being. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### *The Iron Dreamers* Fellow science communicator and internet friend Ashley Christine (@ModernDayEratosthenes: [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@modernday%5Feratosthenes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/modernday%5Feratosthenes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@modernday%5Feratosthenes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Website](https://www.moderndayeratosthenes.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) has just published her debut sci-fi novel, [*The Iron Dreamers*](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and it presents a fascinating linguistic thought experiment! The novel is set in a dystopian future, so Ashley had to think through what language would be like in that future world. Over the last two weeks Iā€™ve posted a 4-part series on the linguistics of *The Iron Dreamers*, covering everything from why languages change, whether you can change your grammar as an adult, whether some languages are more complex than others, and how new languages are formed. We then use that knowledge to think about language in *The Iron Dreamers*. Hereā€™s the entire series! - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-4/) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!WY2H!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff692b25f-8166-44f3-a122-c5f065cb4afe_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *escalate* Fun fact: The word *escalate* is a backformation from the word *escalator*, which was originally a trademark for the type of moving stairs. [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rTr0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd1ad4add-2a56-4c8b-bac7-0bbe80b7e170_558x183.png)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DMqESJnRwM4?xmt=AQF04SeQ%5F7jVe0LdutdwaTUEp%5F8pOH0-UREDKLSCggaHHm4&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsThe word ā€œescalateā€ is a backformation from the word ā€œescalatorā€, which was originally a trademark for the type of stairs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-10.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n-2.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DMqESJnRwM4?xmt=AQF04SeQ%5F7jVe0LdutdwaTUEp%5F8pOH0-UREDKLSCggaHHm4&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Indigenous classification systems Hereā€™s a short thread on indigenous systems of classifying plants and species: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!BafJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea52c0a3-4159-492d-bbee-8fa6e86d9505_558x677.png)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DMGwbMkJ02I?xmt=AQF09a9EEo9VxXYDmLxm4Z66OtDUnj6Wg-Wwek8iPciQgbk&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsIndigenous cultures around the world often categorize local plants and animals in ways that are drastically different than their scientific classifications in the Linnean system. šŸ§µ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-11.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/520292596_17913149868120110_3657339157208939988_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DMGwbMkJ02I?xmt=AQF09a9EEo9VxXYDmLxm4Z66OtDUnj6Wg-Wwek8iPciQgbk&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The graphics in that thread are taken from one of my favorite pop linguistics books, all about indigenous knowledge systems: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Mme!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F421fbe95-58c4-423c-aa8d-034d0796d8bc_350x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### The long-lost Chinese typewriter that changed modern computing ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Cg0S!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F207ef993-0963-4307-ab84-803b4e6f1414_800x533.png) The MingKwai typewriter's keys enable the typist to find and retrieve Chinese characters. Elisabeth von Boch/Stanford > Scholars in the U.S., Taiwan and China are buzzing about the discovery of an old typewriter, because the long-lost machine is part of the origin story of modern Chinese computing\[.\] > > China's entry into modern computing was critical in allowing the country to become the technological powerhouse it is today. But before this, some of the brightest Chinese minds of the 20th century had to figure out a way to harness the complex pictographs that make up written Chinese into a typewriter, and later, a computer. - [How this long-lost Chinese typewriter from the 1940s changed modern computing](https://www.npr.org/2025/07/05/nx-s1-5405452/chinese-typewriter-mingkwai-stanford?utm%5Fterm=nprnews&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=npr&utm%5Fsource=bsky.app) (NPR) ### Last native speaker of Caddo dies ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!s_5Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fea7f3b30-1110-48dc-a833-81c680375b79_750x500.png) Edmond Johnson. Credit: Caddo Nation of Oklahoma ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!to59!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F794f6b2e-bcdd-40ca-926b-20e4fcf54d36_1920x1162.png) Pre-contact distribution of Caddoan languages ([Wikipedia: Caddoan languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddoan%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Edmond Johnson, the last fluent speaker of the Caddo language, has passed away at age 95\. The Caddo Nation still has some speakers as well as written materials in and about the language going back almost 200 years, but Johnsonā€™s passing is nonetheless a devastating cultural and linguistic loss to the community. [Last Fluent Speaker of Ancient Native American Language Dies at 95: ā€˜Irreplaceable Loss to Our Heritageā€™Edmond Johnson, the last fluent speaker of an ancient Native American language, has died at age 95\. The Caddo Nation of Oklahoma announced Johnsonā€™s death on July 14 and vowed to preserve the Caddo language for future generations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-1.png)PEOPLEPeople Editorial Guidelines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Ancient-American-language-Caddo-No-Longer-Exists-after-last-fluent-speaker-Edmond-Johnson-Dies-071825-1-bd5b5cfd56b9455daac00ba953a861a1.jpg)](https://people.com/last-fluent-speaker-of-ancient-native-american-language-dies-at-95-11775193?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### National Linguistics Day ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Ho3n!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe228432e-6d4e-4b0a-8e53-b465f1775fd9_720x960.png) Flyer for National Linguistics Day For those of you that live in the UK, [Linguistics HQ](https://www.linguisticshq.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is promoting a [National Linguistics Day](https://www.linguisticshq.co.uk/national-linguistics-day?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on November 26th! Linguistics HQā€™s website includes free educational resources about linguistics for teachers as well. - [National Linguistics Day](https://www.linguisticshq.co.uk/national-linguistics-day?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Linguistics HQ) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Semantic predictions and the waves of speech: How acoustic information is used to aid predictions ([Psychology Today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-and-its-place-in-nature/202104/semantic-predictions-and-the-waves-speech?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) How does the brain use the information provided by the acoustic ā€œenvelopeā€ or ā€œwaveā€ of ongoing speech to predict what's coming next? Going beyond this, is it possible that the brain can recruit semantic information to facilitate this component of speech perception? A recent study led by Nicola Molinaro at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language explored these interesting questions. ### Can AI models show us how people learn? Impossible languages point the way ([Quanta Magazine](https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-ai-models-show-us-how-people-learn-impossible-languages-point-a-way-20250113/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Certain grammatical rules never appear in any known language. By constructing artificial languages that have these rules, linguists can use neural networks to explore how people learn. ### AI outperforms humans in understanding speechā€”with one notable exception ([Science Blog](https://scienceblog.com/ai-outperforms-humans-in-understanding-speech-with-one-notable-exception/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) In a study published in new study published in JASA Express Letters, researchers have discovered that OpenAIā€™s latest speech recognition system can now outperform human listeners in most challenging conditions ā€“ with one telling exception: the noise of a crowded pub still proves too complex for AI to match human performance. ### Mothersā€™ language choices have double the impact in bilingual families ([The Suburban](https://www.thesuburban.com/townnews/phonetics/mothers-language-choices-have-double-the-impact-in-bilingual-families-concordia-research/article%5F43c4428a-d2a8-11ef-8f54-7fc62bef8c02.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) New research shows that mothers have twice the impact on language exposure, challenging traditional parenting advice. Parents hoping to raise bilingual children have long been given the advice to follow a strict one-parent-one-language approach. However, a recent Concordia University study reveals that bilingual Montreal families are charting their own path ā€” with mothers having an extensive impact on childrenā€™s language exposure. ### Polysynthesis is more likely to evolve in small, isolated populations ([PNAS](https://www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10.1073/pnas.2504483122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) This research article doesnā€™t have an accompanying explainer, but Iā€™m including it in this weekā€™s digest because itā€™s directly relevant to [Part 3](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) of my series on the linguistics of *Iron Dreamers*! **Polysynthesis** is tricky to define, but describes languages which are highly synthetic (with lots of morphemes / meaningful parts per word) that can express entire events and their participants in a single clause. Hereā€™s a classic example from Central Alaskan Yupā€™ik: 1. Central Alaskan Yupā€™ik (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan; Alaska) 1. tuntussuqatarniksaitengqiggtuqtuntuā€‘ssurā€‘qatarā€‘niā€‘ksaiteā€‘ngqiggteā€‘uqreindeerā€‘huntā€‘futā€‘sayā€‘negā€‘againā€‘3sg:ind ā€˜He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer.ā€™ Payne (1997: 28) | | | | --- | --------------- | | FUT | future | | NEG | negation | | 3 | third person | | SG | singular | | IND | indicative mood | What this study finds is that these types of languages are more likely to emerge in small, isolated populations. I discuss prior evidence we had for this correlation in [Part 3](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) of the *Iron Dreamers* series, and explain why this might be. So itā€™s great to see additional evidence for this correlation. [Are some languages more complex than others? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 3Do languages get simpler over time? Could they get more complex?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-51.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) I should note that not all linguists find the idea of polysynthesis to be a coherent one, however. Linguist Martin Haspelmath has critiqued the notion in a review article: - Haspelmath, Martin. 2018\. The last word on polysynthesis: A review article. *Linguistic Typology* 22(2). 307ā€“326\. [https://doi.org/10.1515/lingty-2018-0011](https://doi.org/10.1515/lingty-2018-0011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [How Those Incredible Interpreters Do ItLanguage interpreters accomplish one of the most difficult linguistic tasks humans can undertake.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-43.png)Psychology TodayFrancois Grosjean Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/interpreter_photo_copy.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/life-bilingual/201904/how-those-incredible-interpreters-do-it?msockid=2508237e28896ee82fce361e29c66f83&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why some endangered language speakers have to get creative with AI preservation efforts - WHYYRevitalizing endangered Indigenous languages that have little or no digital presence is challenging with artificial intelligenceā€”but not impossible.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-rebrand.png)WHYYBy![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/pexels-markus-winkler-1430818-18548425.jpg)](https://whyy.org/segments/endangered-language-speakers-get-creative-with-ai/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why is it so hard to type in Indigenous languages?A recent update to the Unicode Standard means that HaĆ­É«zaqvįø·a can finally be fully written and read on all digital platforms.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-43.png)The ConversationMark Turin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241212-21-1p1usn-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-type-in-indigenous-languages-245247?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [From Igbo to Angika: how to save the worldā€™s 3,000 endangered languagesWith half of all languages predicted to die out in decades, activists are turning to online tools to preserve them![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-9.png)The GuardianKaamil Ahmed![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/5573-1.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/07/cultural-identity-saving-worlds-endangered-languages-activists-online-tools-rohingya-igbo-angika?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Language Matters | You may hate words like ā€˜skibidiā€™, but they define Gen Z and Gen AlphaIt would not be very demure of you to whine about Gen Z/Alpha slang like ā€˜rizzā€™ or ā€˜skibidiā€™ ā€“ these are words shaped by shared experiences.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/scmp-icon-256x256.png)South China Morning PostLisa Lim![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/689ef386-556b-4bac-b947-d47f43753457_97ed46c9.jpg)](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3294225/millennial-or-older-youll-hate-skibidi-brat-ate-they-define-gens-z-and-alpha?utm%5Fsource=cm&utm%5Fmedium=txn&utm%5Fcampaign=enlz-NOT-Follow&utm%5Fcontent=20250112&d=874f0135-d9c8-430e-8707-c0d0f0dde9de) [Learning to read in a foreign language has taught me to embrace ambiguity ā€“ one sentence at a time | Patrick LumIn striving to understand Japanese books and comics, Iā€™ve adopted the habits of a weightlifter: I find my comfort zone then push beyond it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-10.png)The GuardianPatrick Lum![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/7500.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jan/13/learning-to-read-in-a-foreign-language-has-taught-me-to-embrace-ambiguity-one-sentence-at-a-time?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Donā€™t let ancient languages diethink again![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-1.jpg)UnHerdGeorgy Kantor![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-1243883975.jpg)](https://unherd.com/2025/01/dont-let-ancient-languages-die/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Keeping Kids Interested in Science Is a Matter of LanguageAs children get older, their understanding of science and being a scientist changes. The words adults use are a critical part of keeping them engaged in discovery![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-104.ico)Scientific AmericanRyan F. Lei![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/child_performing_science_experiment_illustration.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/keeping-kids-interested-in-science-is-a-matter-of-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Can the Fulaniā€”Africaā€™s great nomadic peopleā€”save their way of life?Across the continent, thousands of Fulani people are holding fast to their ancient customsā€”while reshaping their traditions for a new age.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180-1.png)Culture![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/NGS-59031S-19_FUL_SEN_220516_06401_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/fulani-africa-nomadic-people?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* The hot new release last week was fellow linguistics communicator Adam Aleksicā€™s (@EtymologyNerd) debut book [*Algospeak: How social media is transforming the future of language*](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1u08!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30ec5395-83c0-43f0-82d7-f67ae519dd30_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The book debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, and Adam has been on the talk show and podcast circuit promoting it over the last two weeks. Here are some initial reviews and interviews: - [The Harvard-educated linguist breaking down ā€˜skibidiā€™ and ā€˜rizzā€™](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/style/algospeak-etymology-nerd-adam-aleksic-slang.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (NYT) - [ā€˜Algospeakā€™ says weā€™re living through a linguistic revolution](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/07/07/algospeak-social-media-language-adam-aleksic-review/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Washington Post) - [Slay the new slang: check out a guide to social mediaā€™s baffling lingo](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26735512-200-slay-the-new-slang-check-out-a-guide-to-social-medias-baffling-lingo/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (New Scientist) - [How the TikTok algorithm created new words like ā€˜unaliveā€™](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/newsletter/2025-07-19/how-the-tiktok-algorithm-birthed-new-words-like-unalive?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (LA Times) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Grammar Watch ![Logo for the Association for Linguistic Typology](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UhSx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fde540780-c15c-44e2-b3b8-130cffc523ae_300x300.png "Logo for the Association for Linguistic Typology") The Association for Linguistic Typology maintains Grammar Watch, a database of reference grammars of the worldā€™s languages: [Grammar Watch ā€“ A service from the Association for Linguistic Typology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-105.ico)Grammar Watch](https://linguistic-typology.org/grammarwatch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ‘‹šŸ¼ Til next week! Iā€™ll end this weekā€™s digest with a great infographic from the ever-fantastic Ryan Starkey (Starkey Comics). Be sure to read all the details in the accompanying blog post: [The Etymology of English Colours - Starkey Comicsā¤ļøRed, šŸ’šgreen, šŸ©¶grey and šŸ¤Žbrown just evolved fairly simply from Proto-Indo-European colour names, with their meanings unchanged in the last 6000 or so years of evolution. The only twist being that ā€œgreenā€ and ā€œgreyā€ seem to be from the same root.. There is no clear explanation for this, although something similar seems to have happened \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Logo-jpg-4-1-4.jpg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-951x1024.png)](https://starkeycomics.com/2024/12/31/the-etymology-of-english-colours/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7p0i!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6294d165-283b-4f42-8541-4426d9968654_768x827.png) ## šŸ“‘ References Payne, Thomas. 1997\. *Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists*. Cambridge University Press. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How are new languages created? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 4 URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-4/ Last updated: 2026-03-26T19:51:23.000Z > Most contact languages are not, like you might expect, just a mix of the 2+ languages that came together to form them. Time and time again throughout history, groups of people without a common language have been thrown together and left floundering for a way to communicate. This can happen for a number of reasons: multilingual work environments, conquest, long-distance trade, plantation slavery, or other more mundane causes. And whenever people are tossed into the linguistic mix like this, new languagesā€”called **contact languages**ā€”have a tendency to form. Today weā€™ll learn about the linguistics of contact languages and then use that knowledge to think about language in science communicator [Ashley Christine](https://www.moderndayeratosthenes.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€™s (@ModernDayEratosthenes) debut sci-fi novel, [*The Iron Dreamers*](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!x4bf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4913d4ba-304b-4f69-97a7-1a308b12ed69_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ā„¹ļø This is the final installment in a 4-part series about the linguistics of The Iron Dreamers. Along the way weā€™ve covered everything from why languages change, whether you can change your grammar as an adult, and whether some languages are more complex than others. Then we use that knowledge to think about language in The Iron Dreamers. You can read all the installments in this series at the links below: - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) - **Part 4:** How are new languages created? (this article) āš ļø ****Spoiler Warning:** I give away some of the premise of the book in this article, but not any of the plot points. If youā€™d like to avoid spoilers, stop reading here and come back after youā€™ve finished the first portion of the book. To briefly recap the premise of *The Iron Dreamers*, we learn early in the book that a portion of humanity has become immortal and fled to space, where they establish a colony of several hundred thousand people on a space station called Sol. However, these immortals have also become infertile, so no new children are born to this community. After a thousand years, the people are still speaking 21st-century English. Why hasnā€™t English changed in all that time? One of the characters in the book explains: > *ā€œI thought language would have changed by now,ā€ she says.* > > *ā€œIt should have changed. If we lived and died as humans used to, then even English would have evolved to be unrecognizable to you. But everyone here was born in the twenty-first century\[.\] Thereā€™s been no reason for language to change.ā€* (p. 193) Over the course of this series, weā€™ve looked at increasingly more drastic kinds of language changeā€”shifts in vocabulary, grammar alterations, simplification and complexificationā€”and shown that each of these might be possible for the unique social situation on Sol. Now we come at last to the most extreme type of language changeā€”**creating an entirely new language**. ## What are mixed languages? Under ā€œnormalā€ circumstances throughout history, whenever disparate groups of people who do not share a common language are thrown together, new languagesā€”called **contact languages**ā€”have formed. This often happened in the context of plantation slavery during the colonial era, where slaves from diverse linguistic backgrounds were forced together; but contact languages also frequently arise out of the need to communicate with trade partners (Parkvall 2019: 268ā€“269), conquest, or other more mundane contexts like multilingual work environments. The social situation on Sol, an amalgamation of people from all over the Earth, is the perfect incubator for a new contact language. However, most contact languages are not, like you might expect, just a mix of the 2+ languages that came together to form them. This does happen occasionally, and these particular types of contact languages are called, fittingly enough, **mixed languages**, but they are extremely rare. Mixed languages take part of their linguistic system from one source, and part from another. Here are a few examples of the ways that mixed languages partition their linguistic systems: **Table 1.* Examples of mixed languages and what they mix* | **Language** | **Location** | **Mixed Features** | | ---------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Media Lengua | Ecuador | The grammar is from Quechua, and the vocabulary is from Spanish. | | Michif | Canadian Prairies | The nominal system is from French, and the verbal system is from Cree. | | Mednyj Aleut | Mednyj Island, Russia | The vocabulary is from Aleut, while nouns follow Aleut grammar and verbs follow Russian grammar. | | Sri Lankan Malay | Sri Lanka | The vocabulary is entirely Malay, but the grammar is a mix of Tamil and Sinhala. | The difference between mixed languages and the other types of contact languages weā€™ll look at in a moment is that, while other contact languages arise from the need to communicate across groups of people with no common language, mixed languages typically arise in situations where a common language already exists, but the mixed language serves as a marker of ethnic identity (Velupillai 2015: 77). This could be a plausible trajectory for the citizens of Sol, but only if there were a critical mass of speakers of a language other than English. But in that case, I suspect those citizens would simply use that other language rather than mix it with English. The sociolinguistics of how mixed languages develop are quite complicated, however (Velupillai 2015: 77ā€“84; Smith & Grant 2019), so I wonā€™t speculate on that more here. The more common outcome in contact scenarios is the development of a **jargon**, **pidgin**, or **creole**. Letā€™s look at each in turn. ## What are jargons? > Neither jargons nor pidgins are quite ā€œlanguagesā€ in the full sense of the word, because they cannot accommodate the full range of social needs of their speakers. Jargons are the simplest type of contact language, consisting mainly of special technical vocabulary associated with specific areas of work or interest. They are often thought of as a ā€œpre-pidginā€ stage with a small vocabulary and no real grammatical structure (Parkvall 2019: 272; McWhorter 2019: 287). One better-known jargon is Bamboo English, a Japanese English-based jargon that developed after World War II that was spoken between American military personnel and Japanese citizens. Another is Mobilian Trade Jargon, developed as a lingua franca among Native American tribes of the U.S. Southeast. Jargons are highly context-dependent, so that itā€™s impossible to understand a sentence of jargon without knowing what was happening in the moment. Speakers arenā€™t really following grammatical rules as much as theyā€™re throwing together whatever will be best understood in the moment by the parties present. Hereā€™s an example from Liberian Jargon Dutch: 1. Liberian Jargon Dutch (1680s, in the region of modern Liberia) 1. KƶnigKing 2. PeterPeter 3. mie1sg 4. segesay 5. ick1sg 6. juw2sg 7. segesay 8. KƶnigKing 9. PeterPeter 10. segesay 11. mi,1sg 12. segesay 13. KƶnigKing 14. Peter,Peter 15. Dassiegifts 16. hebbe,have 17. mi1sg 18. segesay 19. kikehave 20. Dassie.gifts ā€˜King Peter tells me to ask you for the presents, let's see them.ā€™ Parkvall (2019: 272) If I hadnā€™t given you the translation, itā€™d be impossible to piece together what the speaker meant in that example based on the glosses alone. As a jargon, it lacks the systematicity and predictability necessary to convey a consistent meaning. For that, we turn to pidgins. ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics examples** Linguistics uses a special format for presenting examples that allows anybody to read and understand the example, even if they donā€™t know the language. This format is called an interlinear gloss. The number of lines can vary, but they are usually something like the example below. A list of glossing abbreviations can be found [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/Conventions-23650a282bc1803c99cad1e934036a64?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#23650a282bc18049a493f94754d64ca0). | Line | Description | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Central Alaskan Yupā€™ik (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan; Alaska)** | A header with some **language information**, such as its family and where it is spoken | | tuntussuqatarniksaitengqiggtuq | A **transcription** of the example in the language. | | tuntu-ssur-qatar-ni-ksaite-ngqiggte-uq | A breakdown of the **morphemes** (meaningful parts like stems, prefixes, and suffixes) in each word. | | reindeer-hunt-FUT-say-NEG-again-3SG:IND | The **glosses** (brief definitions) for each morpheme. Grammatical categories are glossed using Latinate technical terms and labeled in SMALL CAPS. The meanings of the abbreviations are usually provided in a footnote or table somewhere in the text. You can see the abbreviations used in Linguistic Discoveryā€™s content [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/Conventions-23650a282bc1803c99cad1e934036a64?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#23650a282bc18049a493f94754d64ca0). | | ā€˜He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer.ā€™ | The **translation** for the example. | | Payne (1997: 28) | The bibliographic **source** of the example. | ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## What are pidgins? > There has been extensive debate as to whether pidgins and creoles constitute distinct ā€œtypesā€ of languages identifiable from their grammatical features alone, without needing to know the social histories that gave rise to them. **Pidgins**, while lexically and structurally still quite restricted, have nonetheless developed a degree of stability and conventions by a community of speakers (Parkvall 2019: 262). They are native to no one and used for fairly limited communication (Matthews 2014: 304; Aikhenvald 2018: 324; Parkvall 2019: 262). But unlike jargons, it usually *is* possible to reconstruct the intended meaning of sentences in a pidgin. Here are two examples of pidgins at work: 1. Chinese Pidgin English (17thā€“19th-century China) 1. sposeif 2. my1sg 3. allā€‘sameas 4. you2sg 5. sicksick 6. my1sg 7. mustmust 8. wanteewant 9. tooā€‘mucha\_lot 10. chinchinworship 11. thatthat 12. largebig 13. JossGod ā€˜If I were as sick as you are, I would certainly pay much reverence to the Supreme God.ā€™ Parkvall (2019: 263) 2. Chinook Jargon (Pacific Northwest) 1. naika1sg 2. tikiwant 3. xlwimadifferent 4. pipapaper ā€˜I want a different newspaper.ā€™ Parkvall (2019: 264) Other pidgin languages include: Basque-Icelandic Pidgin, Algonquian-Basque Pidgin, Chinook Jargon, International Sign, Eskimo Trade Jargon, and Plains Indian Sign Language (described as a pidgin by Parkvall 2019: 271, although other descriptions give the impression it may be better described as a creole). ā˜ļø Some pidgins are called ā€œjargonā€ even when they are actually pidgins (such as Chinook Jargon). Likewise, some creoles are called ā€œjargonā€ or ā€œpidginā€ even when they are actually creoles (such as Tok Pisinā€”historically ā€˜Talk Pidginā€™ā€”or Cameroonian ā€œPidginā€ English). One reason for this is that many people use the terms ā€œjargonā€ or ā€œpidginā€ derogatorily to imply that a certain way of speaking isnā€™t a real language or is simply a corruption of another language. This name then becomes the common descriptor for the language. The second reason is that a common developmental pathway for creoles is ****jargon ā†’ pidgin ā†’ creole**, so at one point certain creoles **were* pidgins, and again the name simply stuck around even when it was no longer accurate. The term **pidgin* itself derives from the Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of the English word **business*. The language was referred to as **pidgin English*, literally ā€˜business Englishā€™. As mentioned earlier, contact languages other than mixed languages are not mere mixtures of elements from different languages. Both pidgins and creoles have features unique to them, which arise through negotiating the communicative needs of speakers who donā€™t share a common language. Different pidgins/creoles develop different linguistic conventions for overcoming these barriers; sometimes those conventions are modeled on the original languages of the speakers, but sometimes not. There has been extensive debate as to whether pidgins and creoles constitute distinct ā€œtypesā€ of languages identifiable from their grammatical features alone, without needing to know the social histories that gave rise to them (DeGraff 2005; Bakker et al. 2011; McWhorter 2018). Nonetheless, there are certain features which are common to pidgins: First, the lexicons of pidgins are generally small, comprising a few hundred to 2,000 words, which means that any given word can have a ton of meanings. In Chinook Jargon, for example, the word *tumtum* originally meant ā€˜heartā€™, but has since expanded its meaning to include ā€˜mindā€™, ā€˜stomachā€™, ā€˜conscienceā€™, ā€˜soulā€™, ā€˜to thinkā€™, ā€˜willā€™, ā€˜opinionā€™ (Parkvall 2019: 264). The majority of a pidginā€™s vocabulary is typically drawn from just one of its source languages. This language is called its **lexifier** or **superstrate**, while the non-lexifier sources are called **substrates**. (The sources of mixed languages, by contrast, are considered **adstrates**.) Second, pidgins have very few grammatical morphemes, practically no productive morphology for deriving new words, and no inflectional morphology whatsoever. Many pidgins often have just one generic adposition with a range of meanings like ā€˜onā€™, ā€˜inā€™, ā€˜duringā€™, ā€˜forā€™, and ā€˜toā€™. If they do have grammatical words for definiteness, number, case, or tense-aspect-mood, they are generally not obligatory. At most, there might be an incipient marker for one of these categories, such as a word meaning ā€˜manyā€™ on its way to becoming a plural marker. (Parkvall 2019: 265) Neither jargons nor pidgins are quite ā€œlanguagesā€ in the full sense of the word, because they cannot accommodate the full range of social needs of their speakers. Their applicability is limited to certain social contexts and goals (trade, labor, etc.). Remember as pointed out in [Part 3](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/#are-some-languages-more-complex-than-others) that all languages are equally capable of accomplishing any communicative tasks that humans need them for. Jargons and pidgins fall short in this regard. It is only once a jargon/pidgin is acquired by a new generation of first language speakers and fleshed out with a full suite of lexical and grammatical tools that it becomes a full languageā€”a **creole** (Aikhenvald 2018: 324). ## What are creoles? *Some scholars think that Middle English itself was a creoleā€”a proposal known as the* **Middle English Creole Hypothesis** *.* The pidgin ā†’ creole pathway is one of two ways a new creole can emerge. The second is one we touched on in [Part 3](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/#why-do-languages-get-simpler-over-time): extensive second-language learning by adults, who simplify the grammar in the process (McWhorter 2019: 297). That simplified variety is then learned by the next generation. All languages exhibit a certain baseline of grammatical complexity, and all are equally cognitively complex, but many grammatical features are lost during the creolization process. This is exemplified by Haitian Creole. Haitian lacks the French features of case, person, number, and gender, and it has smoothed out various irregularities in French. Hereā€™s a comparison of the same sentence in French vs. Haitian Creole: 1. French (Indo-European; France) 1. Ils3pl 2. nā€™ontneg.have 3. pasneg 4. depart 5. ressourcesresource.pl 6. quirel 7. puissentcan.3pl.subj 8. leur3pl.obj 9. permettreallow 10. deto 11. rĆ©sister.resist ā€˜They have no resources that can enable them to resist.ā€™ McWhorter (2019: 283) 2. Haitian Creole (Haiti) 1. Yo3pl 2. paneg 3. genhave 4. resousresource 5. kirel 6. poucan 7. pĆØmĆØtallow 8. yo3pl 9. reziste.resist ā€˜They have no resources that can enable them to resist.ā€™ McWhorter (2019: 283) But creoles do often retain features from their substrate languages. This is evident in the case of Saramaccan Creole English, which has serial verb constructions, postposed nominals indicating spatial relations, consonant-vowel syllable structure, and tonal patterns that all reflect features of one of its substrates, Fongbe (a Niger-Congo language spoken primarily in the Benin Republic). Hereā€™s a comparison of the same sentence in Fongbe vs. Saramaccan Creole English: 1. Fongbe (Niger-Congo; Benin Republic) 1. KɔĢ€kuĢKoku 2. sɔĢtake 3. aĢ€sɔĢncrab 4. ɔĢput 5. taĢvoĢ€table 6. jiĢ.on ā€˜Koku put crab on the table.ā€™ Lefebvre & Brousseau (2002: 410) 2. Saramaccan Creole English (Suriname) 1. KobiĢKobi 2. saĢkaput\_down 3. kaaĢbucrab 4. butaĢput 5. aloc 6. diĢdef 7. taĢfatable 8. liĢba.top ā€˜Kobi put crab on the table.ā€™ McWhorter (2019: 283) ## The Creole Continuum Itā€™s often the case after a creole forms that the superstrate language is still present and used in the community. As a result, individual speakers may know the superstrate language to varying degrees of fluency, and code-switch between the creole and the superstrate. And because creoles and their superstrates often sit on a social hierarchy from most socially prestigious language (the **acrolect**) to the least socially prestigious language (the **basilect**, i.e. the creole), speakers will usually shift their speech to be more or less creole-like depending on the social setting. This creates what is called the **creole continuum** or **creole cline**. The following list shows fifteen different ways to express ā€˜I gave himā€™ in Guyanese Creole English (the basilect) to Standard English (the acrolect) (Romaine 1988: 158ā€“159). | | | | ------------ | ------------- | | **basilect** | mi bin gii am | | | mi bin gii ii | | | mi bin gi i | | | mi di gii ii | | | mi di gi hii | | | a di gii ii | | | a did gi ii | | | a did giv ii | | | a did giv hii | | | a giv ii | | | a giv im | | | a giv him | | | a geev ii | | | a geev him | | **acrolect** | I gave him | Because of the creole continuum, and because creolization is a process, languages can undergo **creolization** to varying degrees without becoming a fully-fledged creole. These are sometimes termed **semi-creoles**ā€”and some scholars consider English to be a semi-creole! Remember at the beginning of this series how I showed that English grammar has been [drastically simplified](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/#how-much-do-languages-change-over-time) since Old English? And that part of the reason for this simplification was [extensive contact with other languages](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/i/168828581/why-do-languages-get-simpler-over-timehttps://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/#why-do-languages-get-simpler-over-time)? Some scholars think that Middle English itself was a creoleā€”a proposal known as the **Middle English Creole Hypothesis**. While most creole scholars donā€™t think itā€™s entirely accurate to call Middle English a creole, there is nonetheless a general consensus that English underwent a period of some creolization and thus shows a number of features that youā€™d expect of creoles. ## Language contact in *The Iron Dreamers* Now that we understand the different types of contact languages, is there reason to think a contact language would develop amongst the citizens of Sol in *Iron Dreamers*? To me it seems unlikely that Sol would develop a creole via the pidgin ā†’ creole trajectory, because there would be no generation of children to learn the pidgin and elaborate it into a fully-fledged creole. If a creole developed on Sol, it would have to be through creolization caused by adult language learners. But given that English is the common language of the station, and thereā€™s no real isolation between sub-communities on Sol (at least not that the book discusses), think this is unlikely too. BUT, Christine did something even cooler with the worldbuilding in *Iron Dreamers*: She included a contact *sign* language. Hereā€™s how itā€™s described in the book: > *ā€œWhy do you guys even have sign language?ā€ she asks.* > > *ā€œWhen we were first constructing Sol, we had communications issues,ā€ Mostafa says, keeping his eyes forward. ā€œLike Earth, the sun has seasons that run on an eleven-year cycle. During the solar maximum, the sun has more solar flares. That first period was especially active, and the flares were damaging our communications. Even an inch of space between compartments meant there was no sound. At first, we used military signals, and that evolved into a language when we discovered the value. We call it Sessiz.ā€* > > *ā€œSessiz?ā€* > > *ā€œ*Sessizlik *is the Turkish word for silence. A pair of brothers from Istanbul were the first to record the commands. Some had trouble pronouncing it, so it devolved into* Sessiz*. They still correct us.ā€* (p. 190) This was such a cool detail to read, because itā€™s exactly what youā€™d expect in this situation: a group of adults are placed in a situation where theyā€™re forced to create a common form of communication (when they were unable to speak to each other due to solar activity). The original form of this language was a technical jargon (military signals), but later expanded into a rule-governed pidginā€”exactly the process I outlined above. Though Christine doesnā€™t discuss it explicitly, I get the impression that Sessiz is still in the pidgin stage rather than the creole stage, mainly because we arenā€™t presented with many conversations happening fully in Sessiz in the book. Itā€™s usually interleaved with spoken English. But this makes sense, again because there are no first-language learners who would expand Sessiz into a creole. ## How realistic is language in *The Iron Dreamers*? Christine creates a sufficiently plausible linguistic world that the reader not only can accept it as realistic, but gets to partake in a fun linguistic thought experiment as well. While one could nitpick the linguistic worldbuilding in *Iron Dreamers* by pointing out that the vocabulary and perhaps grammar of Sol English would have changed drastically over 1,000 years, I think this would be unfair to the author, especially since the science around some of these issues isnā€™t even settled among linguists. Itā€™s clear that Ashley Christine put careful thought into the linguistic setting of the book (indeed, she even told me as much before the book was released), which is more than can be said for many a sci-fi writer! (Iā€™m looking at you, George Lucas.) Christine creates a sufficiently plausible linguistic world that the reader not only can accept it as realistic, but gets to partake in a fun linguistic thought experiment as well. Aware that languages are always changing, Christine needed to create a relatively plausible explanation for how her characters still spoke English after 1,000 years, while still being attentive to some of the basic principles of languageā€”no easy worldbuilding task. Christine not only accomplishes this successfully, she even goes so far as to embellish the story with a new pidgin sign language! Given how little visibility sign languages and contact languages are given in fiction and media, and how wildly they are misunderstood and denigrated by the general public, this was a refreshing bit of worldbuilding. Linguistics aside, I also loved *Iron Dreamers* for its writing style and consistently thought-provoking premises. Christine engages with a number of ethical and philosophical dilemmas, such as what constitutes the self and oneā€™s identity, how to deal with moral ā€œlifeboat scenariosā€, and the sometimes blurry line between science and magic or myth. This linguistic review of the book turned into such a lengthy series mainly because *Iron Dreamers* presents such a thought-provoking world and invites the reader to wrestle with these issues in an engaging way, drawing you inexorably into the dark world of Sol. Congratulations Ashley on a fantastic debut novel! And for giving me and my readers all sorts of fun linguistic ideas to ponder. If youā€™d like to enjoy the linguistics of Sol for yourself, you can get a copy of the book here: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!x4bf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4913d4ba-304b-4f69-97a7-1a308b12ed69_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Afterword You might have noticed over the course of this series that these posts are more than just a review of *Iron Dreamers*. I actually had an ulterior motive: to introduce you to a subfield of linguistics known as **sociolinguistic typology**ā€”the study of the connections between types of societies and types of languages. For many years this topic was somewhat untouchable because nobody wanted to imply that some languages were more complex or sophisticated than any other (Sampson 2009). But as I mentioned in [Part 3](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/#are-some-languages-more-complex-than-others), linguists came to realize that languages might differ in *grammatical* complexity even if they donā€™t differ in *cognitive* complexity. Now linguists are exploring questions such as whether the languages of hunter-gatherer communities are more complex (GĆ¼ldemann, McConvell & Rhodes 2020), or whether creoles are the worldā€™s most grammatically simple languages (McWhorter 2001). (Iā€™ll link to some academic books in the Recommended Reading below.) This has become a rich area of investigation in the last decade or so, but itā€™s still so cutting-edge that this research hasnā€™t trickled into popular awareness yet. So youā€™re among the first language enthusiasts to get to learn about this new area of linguistics! My aim with this newsletter is to give you perspectives on linguistics that you wonā€™t find in introductory textbooks or other pop linguistics booksā€”insights into the deeper workings of language. So if youā€™ve enjoyed getting to learn about some topics in linguistics that are a little outside the usual ken of pop linguistics books and LING 101 classes, Iā€™d greatly appreciate it if youā€™d consider becoming a Linguistic Discovery supporter! Youā€™ll get bonus articles, early access to articles, early access to chapters of my book, and youā€™ll support my mission to educate the world about the science and diversity of language. Your support is greatly appreciated! šŸ’ [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/signup) Want to explore the linguistics of more sci-fi stories? Check out these articles! [What kind of language is Eridian, question?The linguistics of Project Hail Mary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-119.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Rocky-banner-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/project-hail-mary/) [What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-120.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-9.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/three-body-problem/) ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this series - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-1) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-2) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-3) - **Part 4:** How are new languages created? (this article) ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mghs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd009c664-5308-4a86-bd13-948b2cf6a987_310x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3J2r40E?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!r5Z3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3670b45b-0986-438c-81ba-8b579d1461b2_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4f5suUo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O2Ai!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa45602bd-1b5a-464b-b2e7-95532817af27_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3J2r80o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NX9_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F274bcc33-5466-4372-8941-102e5c180685_293x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/46pc0UJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. 2018\. Language contact and areal linguistics. In *How languages work: An introduction to language and linguistics*, 314ā€“335\. 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108553988.014](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108553988.014?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Bakker, Peter, Aymeric Daval-Markussen, Mikael Parkvall & Ingo Plag. 2011\. Creoles are typologically distinct from non-creoles. *Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages* 26(1). 5ā€“42\. [https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.26.1.02bak](https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.26.1.02bak?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - DeGraff, Michel. 2005\. Do Creole languages constitute an exceptional typological class? *Revue franƧaise de linguistique appliquĆ©e* 10(1). 11ā€“24\. [https://doi.org/10.3917/rfla.101.24](https://doi.org/10.3917/rfla.101.24?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - GĆ¼ldemann, Tom, Patrick McConvell & Richard A. Rhodes (eds.). 2020\. *The language of hunter-gatherers*. Cambridge University Press. - Lefebvre, Claire & Anne-Marie Brousseau. 2002\. *A grammar of Fongbe* (Mouton Grammar Library 25). De Gruyter Mouton. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110880182](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110880182?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Matthews, P. H. 2014\. *The concise Oxford dictionary of linguistics* (Oxford Paperback Reference). 3rd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - McWhorter, John. 2019\. Creoles. In Anthony P. Grant (ed.), *The Oxford handbook of language contact* (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics), 282ā€“302\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.13](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.13?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - McWhorter, John H. 2018\. *The Creole debate*. Cambridge University Press. - Parkvall, Mikael. 2019\. Pidgins. In Anthony P. Grant (ed.), *The Oxford handbook of language contact* (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics), 261ā€“281\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.12](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.12?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Romaine, Suzanne. 1988\. *Pidgin and creole languages* (Longman Linguistics Library). Longman. - Sampson, Geoffrey. 2009\. A linguistic axiom challenged. In Geoffrey Sampson, David Gil & Peter Trudgill (eds.), *Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable* (Studies in the Evolution of Language 13), 1ā€“18\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199545216.003.0001](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199545216.003.0001?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Smith, Norval & Anthony P. Grant. 2019\. Mixed languages, younger languages, and contact-induced linguistic change. In Anthony P. Grant (ed.), *The Oxford handbook of language contact* (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics), 302ā€“328\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.14](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.14?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Velupillai, Viveka. 2015\. *Pidgins, creoles and mixed languages: An introduction* (Creole Language Library). Vol. 48\. John Benjamins. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Are some languages more complex than others? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 3 URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/ Last updated: 2025-07-26T17:22:30.000Z > All languages are equally capable of accomplishing any communicative tasks that humans need them for. There is no concept that can be expressed in one language but not another; there is no language that is incapable of discussing higher-order mathematics and science; there is no language that allows you to think more clearly than any other. All languages adapt to the needs of their speakers. Do certain types of societies give rise to certain types of languages? Do isolated communities have more complex languages? What about smaller communities? Can languages become more or less complex over time? Today weā€™ll explore the effects of community size and isolation on language complexity as we look at the linguistics of science communicator [Ashley Christine](https://www.moderndayeratosthenes.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€™s (@ModernDayEratosthenes) debut sci-fi novel, [*The Iron Dreamers*](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JgN4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa021a85e-ae21-40ba-8e4c-b2e9e3eb9be6_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ā„¹ļø This is the third in a 4-part series about the linguistics of The Iron Dreamers. Along the way weā€™re covering everything from why languages change, whether you can change your grammar as an adult, whether some languages are more complex than others, and how new languages are formed. Then weā€™ll use that knowledge to think about language in The Iron Dreamers. You can read all the installments in this series at the links below: - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) - **Part 3:** Are some languages more complex than others? (this article) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-4) āš ļø ****Spoiler Warning:** I give away some of the premise of the book in this article, but not any of the plot points. If youā€™d like to avoid spoilers, stop reading here and come back after youā€™ve finished the first portion of the book. To briefly recap the premise of *The Iron Dreamers*, we learn early in the book that a portion of humanity has become immortal and fled to space, where they establish a colony of several hundred thousand people on a space station called Sol. However, these immortals have also become infertile, so no new children are born to this community. After a thousand years, the people are still speaking 21st-century English. Why hasnā€™t English changed in all that time? One of the characters in the book explains: > *ā€œI thought language would have changed by now,ā€ she says.* > > *ā€œIt should have changed. If we lived and died as humans used to, then even English would have evolved to be unrecognizable to you. But everyone here was born in the twenty-first century\[.\] Thereā€™s been no reason for language to change.ā€* (p. 193) But given that Sol is a completely isolated community, would this affect how the language worked over 1,000 years? Letā€™s find out! ## Are some languages more complex than others? > ā€œSimplerā€ languages were viewed as primitive, less developed, and reflective of mental or racial inferiority. Language was used to retroactively justify and rationalize all sorts of preexisting beliefs denigrating other cultures. Linguists have long had the impression that the languages of small hunter-gatherer communities are more complex than the languages of large trade languages like English or Mandarin. Hereā€™s the kind of complexity Iā€™m talking about: 1. Central Alaskan Yupā€™ik (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan; Alaska) 1. tuntussuqatarniksaitengqiggtuqtuntuā€‘ssurā€‘qatarā€‘niā€‘ksaiteā€‘ngqiggteā€‘uqreindeerā€‘huntā€‘futā€‘sayā€‘negā€‘againā€‘3sg:ind ā€˜He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer.ā€™ Payne (1997: 28) 2. Chitimacha (isolate; Louisiana) 1. hihiand 2. nikincukingniā€‘kintā€‘cuyā€‘kiā€‘ngwaterā€‘dropā€‘irr.sgā€‘1sg.agtā€‘deb ā€˜I'll have to drop you in the water.ā€™ Swadesh (1939: A1c.2) 3. Mohawk (Iroquoian; Ontario, Quebec, New York) ThaŹ¼tontahohah(ah)iiakonhĆ”tieŹ¼. 1. thaŹ¼ā€‘tā€‘ontaā€‘hoā€‘hahā€‘aā€‘hiiakā€‘onā€‘hĆ”tiā€‘eŹ¼contrā€‘duactā€‘cislocā€‘m.sg.patā€‘roadā€‘linkā€‘crossā€‘statā€‘progā€‘stat ā€˜He was just weaving back and forth across the road.ā€™ Mithun (2020: 943) ā„¹ļø ****How to read linguistics examples** Linguistics uses a special format for presenting examples that allows anybody to read and understand the example, even if they donā€™t know the language. This format is called an interlinear gloss. The number of lines can vary, but they are usually something like the example below. A list of glossing abbreviations can be found [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/Conventions-23650a282bc1803c99cad1e934036a64?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#23650a282bc18049a493f94754d64ca0). | Line | Description | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Central Alaskan Yupā€™ik (Inuitā€“Yupikā€“Unangan; Alaska)** | A header with some **language information**, such as its family and where it is spoken | | tuntussuqatarniksaitengqiggtuq | A **transcription** of the example in the language. | | tuntu-ssur-qatar-ni-ksaite-ngqiggte-uq | A breakdown of the **morphemes** (meaningful parts like stems, prefixes, and suffixes) in each word. | | reindeer-hunt-FUT-say-NEG-again-3SG:IND | The **glosses** (brief definitions) for each morpheme. Grammatical categories are glossed using Latinate technical terms and labeled in SMALL CAPS. The meanings of the abbreviations are usually provided in a footnote or table somewhere in the text. You can see the abbreviations used in Linguistic Discoveryā€™s content [here](https://resources.linguisticdiscovery.com/Conventions-23650a282bc1803c99cad1e934036a64?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#23650a282bc18049a493f94754d64ca0). | | ā€˜He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer.ā€™ | The **translation** for the example. | | Payne (1997: 28) | The bibliographic **source** of the example. | If you compare these examples to their English translations, youā€™ll see that these languages pack more meanings into a single word than English, and explicitly mark various grammatical distinctions (all the morphemes glossed in small caps) that English lacks. But while we have an intuitive notion that languages like these are more complex than large international languages like Spanish or French, this has been difficult to prove in part because the notion of complexity is a slippery one. Entire volumes have been dedicated to defining the concept (Sampson, Gil & Trudgill 2009; McWhorter 2011; Trudgill 2011) and numerous papers besides. Another impediment to research on linguistic complexity is that one of the foundational assumptions in linguistics for many decades has been the idea that all languages are equally complex (the **Equicomplexity Hypothesis**) and therefore languages do not become more simple or complex over time (the **Invariance of Linguistic Complexity Hypothesis**) (Sampson 2009: 1; Trudgill 2011: 16). In fact, linguists sometimes make concerted efforts to point this out in introductory textbooks or materials aimed at the broader public. This is because up until the work of anthropologist Franz Boas, ā€œsimplerā€ languages were viewed as primitive, less developed, and reflective of mental or racial inferiority (Graffi 2011: 28). Language was used to retroactively justify and rationalize all sorts of preexisting beliefs denigrating other cultures. So, understandably, linguists go out of their way to counter these pernicious myths. But what linguists are really saying when they state that all languages are equally complex is just that all languages are equally capable of accomplishing any communicative tasks that humans need them for. There is no concept that can be expressed in one language but not another; there is no language that is incapable of discussing higher-order mathematics and science; there is no language that allows you to think more clearly than any other. All languages are complex-adaptive systems that operate on the same cognitive principles and adapt to the needs of their speakers. Still, even acknowledging that all languages are equally *cognitively* sophisticated, there may be a meaningful sense in which some languages exhibit greater *grammatical* complexity, allowing us to compare languages in terms of their complexity without any sort of associated value judgments about the mental sophistication of their speakers. Recent research suggests that this is exactly the case: certain social and cultural factors do indeed seem to correlate with certain types of languages. ## Why do languages get simpler over time? > In situations where many people are bilingual in both languages from a young age, languages tend to become more complex, because speakers will mix grammatical features of both languages. For starters, languages with a high degree of contact with other languages, where adults are learning them as second languages, tend to simplify their grammars over time (Trudgill 2011: 15ā€“20). This appears to be what happened with English, as wave after wave of speakers of other languagesā€”first the Celts, then the Norse, then the Norman French, then the peoples of Englandā€™s coloniesā€”influenced the language. The reason for this grammatical simplification is that adults are bad language learners! They smooth out irregularities, donā€™t use grammatical affixes, and prefer analytic constructions over synthetic ones. English losing the majority of its verbal and nominal inflection is an excellent example of what happens when adults language learners influence a language over several generations. (See [Part 1](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/#how-much-do-languages-change-over-time) of this series for examples of how English has changed over time in this regard.) We can see how influence from English affected the Oklahoma dialect of the Cayuga language, an Iroquoian language which for historical reasons wound up dispersed across opposite sides of the Canadian-American border (Mithun 1989). In Ontario, Cayuga continued to be used in daily conversation by a community of speakers, whereas in Oklahoma the language fell out of use, and the few remaining speakers use it infrequently, speaking English instead. As a result, Oklahoma Cayuga has become more analytic under influence from English than Ontario Cayuga. For example, Cayuga has a repetitive prefix *s-* as well as a word *Ć©:Ź”* meaning ā€˜againā€™. Fluent Ontario speakers will prefer the prefix as in example (4), while Oklahoma speakers prefer the separate word whenever the verb gets too complex, as in (5). 1. Ontario Cayuga 1. tĒ«sasatkahatĆ©:nihDUACT-REP-2.SG-SEMIREFL-turn\_around ā€˜turn back around; re-turnā€™ Mithun (1989: 248ā€“249) 2. Oklahoma Cayuga 1. teskįøa:tĆ©:niDUACT-2.SG.AGT-SEMIREFL-turn\_around 2. Ć©:Ź”again ā€˜turn around againā€™ Mithun (1989: 248ā€“249) Similarly, while Ontario speakers will use a single word for adjectival descriptions (6), Oklahoma speakers will use separate noun and adjective words (7): 1. Ontario Cayuga 1. kį»nĒ«hsowĆ”:nękoā€‘Ź”nĒ«hsā€‘owanęf.sg.patā€‘onionā€‘large.stat ā€˜she has a big onionā€™ Mithun (1989: 250) 2. Oklahoma Cayuga 1. kuwa:nęĢkā€‘uwanenā€‘big.stat 2. Ź”nĒ«ĢhsaŹ”Ź”nĒ«hsā€‘aŹ”onionā€‘nzr ā€˜the onion is bigā€™ Mithun (1989: 250) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* On the other hand, in situations where many people are bilingual in both languages from a young age, languages tend to become *more* complex, because speakers will mix grammatical features of both languages (Trudgill 2011: 34). This creates irregularities as well as adds new grammatical categories to languages that previously lacked them. The Chitimacha language, for example, developed a three-way sit/stand/lie distinction in its auxiliary verbs due to rampant bilingualism with Muskogean languages of the U.S. Southeast (Hieber 2019: 14). In the world of Sol in *The Iron Dreamers*, the community seems to have decided on English as the communal language from an early stage. Since the citizens of Sol came from all over Earth, itā€™s likely that not all of them originally knew English, which means Sol exhibits the first type of contact scenario: lots of adults learning English as a second language. Unlike normal situations of contact, however, I donā€™t think weā€™d expect Sol English to simplify! For starters, the reason adult language learning simplifies a language is because the *children* of those adults learn those simpler patterns, ensconcing them in the language. But on Sol there are no children. Secondly, English has already been subject to extensive adult language learning for centuries. While it could in theory still become grammatically simpler, thereā€™s not much grammatical complexity left to lose at this point! So perhaps Sol English would lose the third person singular *\-s* suffix on verbs (which has already happened in African American Vernacular English), or start using separate words or auxiliaries for past and present tense instead of the *\-ing* and *\-ed* suffixes (maybe *I be play* and *I did play*, or something similar). But given that the nonā€“English-speaking citizens of Sol were probably in the minority and have had a long time to learn the language, itā€™s entirely plausible that they would have exerted little to no influence on the grammar of Sol English. ## Why do languages get more complex over time? The existence of megalanguages like English and Mandarin have skewed our idea of what counts as a ā€œsmallā€ language. For the vast majority of human history, any given language only had anywhere from several hundred to several thousand speakers. In fact, thereā€™s reason to think that Sol English might actually get *more* complex over time. If contact with other languages leads to simplification, a corollary is that *isolation* might foster greater complexity (Trudgill 2011: Ch. 3), assuming the community is in a stable state of isolation for a sufficiently long period of time (Trudgill 2011: 95). This is certainly true for the citizens of Sol, who have been living in linguistic isolation for 1,000 years. Without outside influences eroding grammatical complexity, any new grammatical features would accrete over time. Additionally, we know that small languages (in the sense of having a small number of speakers) also tend to be more complex (Trudgill 2011: 99ā€“104; Trudgill 2017; Reali, Chater & Christiansen 2018; Raviv, Meyer & Lev-Ari 2019). In population genetics, the effects of random change are greater when the population is small due to the statistics involved (Nettle 1999: 139). Language is similar. Small speaker sizes make it easier for otherwise complex features to take hold. Consider for example that only 15 out of the 2,662 languages in the [*World Atlas of Language Structures*](https://wals.info/feature/81A?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#2/18.0/152.9) have object-initial word order (Object-Subject-Verb or Object-Verb-Subject); languages of this type are exceedingly rare. Yet each one of these object-initial languages is small: a median speaker size of 750, as compared to 5,000 for the worldā€™s languages as a whole (Nettle 1999: 139). Even though object-initial word order is thought to be non-optimal for efficient cognitive processing, the small size of these languages has made it possible for this grammatical rule to persist rather than vanish under selective cognitive pressures. 1. Hixkaryana (Cariban; Brazil) 1. totoman 2. yonoyehe-ate-him 3. kamarajaguar ā€˜The jaguar ate the man.ā€™ Derbyshire (1977: 593) Another feature of societies that tends to preserve complexity is dense social networks (Trudgill 2011: 101ā€“104; Mithun 2015: 37). In a community where everybody knows everybody, everyone shares the same social context. This reinforces existing linguistic conventions and creates greater linguistic cohesion. It doesnā€™t matter if certain forms are irregular or idiomatic, because everybody knows what youā€™re talking about. However, the existence of megalanguages like English and Mandarin have skewed our idea of what counts as a ā€œsmallā€ language. For the vast majority of human history, up until the Agrarian / Neolithic Revolution, any given language only had anywhere from several hundred to several thousand speakers. It wasnā€™t until the rise of sedentary societies and city-states with large urban populations that languages got big (Evans 2022: 10ā€“13; Ostler 2005: 9ā€“10; Janson 2012: 22; Trudgill 2011: 168ā€“169). Even today, the median number of speakers for a language is only around 5,000 (Harrison 2007: 14). Fully half the worldā€™s languages have fewer than 5,000 speakers. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n7b6!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1204362-5857-4975-990f-4dda7d52cecf_1265x1236.png) ****Figure 1.** The unequal proportion between the number of languages and how many speakers those languages have, as of 2007 (Harrison 2007: 14) Sol has a population of several hundred thousand immortalsā€”actually quite large for a language by historical standardsā€”so perhaps not the ideal circumstance for complexification. On the other hand, thereā€™s evidence in the book that the people of Sol share a *lot* of social context (not too surprising since theyā€™ve been getting to know each other for 1,000 years)ā€”so much so that theyā€™ve developed a distaste for speaking too directly (pp. 52, 324). Overall, from my impression of the worldbuilding in the book, Sol does meet the other conditions that are favorable for complex languages (Trudgill 2011: 146; Trudgill 2017): 1. low amounts of adult language contact 2. high social stability 3. small size 4. dense social networks 5. large amounts of communally-shared information I think the situation on Sol could go either way, with Sol English either staying stable or gradually growing more complex over time. Itā€™s certainly neat to imagine English becoming a polysynthetic language like Mohawk a thousand years from now! ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JgN4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa021a85e-ae21-40ba-8e4c-b2e9e3eb9be6_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) But what if language change on Sol went even further? What if the mix of languages on Sol came together to form a new language altogether? In the next and final installment of this series, weā€™ll learn about the linguistics of pidgins and creoles, and how they might apply to *The Iron Dreamers*. ## ā„¹ļø Articles in this series - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) - **Part 3:** Are some languages more complex than others? (this article) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-4) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fPFp!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff1207378-99ac-4272-9273-e6f1938b8e15_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4f5suUo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LEpJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0f218a60-9f43-48b4-a627-00c36e3857af_365x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Vkim!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fef2b2ca1-677f-4630-b69a-2710d4ee9f97_413x630.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gh3a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F428c5cb8-1cec-458f-8438-1c3125557ea0_321x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ko0xJC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Derbyshire, Desmond C. 1977\. Word order universals and the existence of OVS languages. *Linguistic Inquiry* 8(3). 590ā€“599. - Evans, Nicholas. 2022\. *Words of wonder: Endangered languages and what they tell us* (The Language Library). 2nd edn. Wiley-Blackwell. - Graffi, Giorgio. 2011\. *The pioneers of linguistic typology: From Gabelentz to Greenberg* (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics). (Ed.) Jae Jung Song. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199281251.013.0003](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199281251.013.0003?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Harrison, K. David. 2007\. *When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge*. Oxford University Press. - Hieber, Daniel W. 2019\. Semantic alignment in Chitimacha. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 85(3). 313ā€“363\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/703239](https://doi.org/10.1086/703239?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Janson, Tore. 2012\. *The history of languages: An introduction* (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics). Oxford University Press. - McWhorter, John H. 2011\. *Linguistic simplicity and complexity: Why do languages undress?* (Language Contact & Bilingualism 1). De Gruyter Mouton. - Mithun, Marianne. 1989\. The incipient obsolescence of polysynthesis: Cayuga in Ontario and Oklahoma. In Nancy C. Dorian (ed.), *Investigating obsolescence: Studies in language contraction and death* (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language 7), 243ā€“258\. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511620997.020](https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511620997.020?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Mithun, Marianne. 2015\. Morphological complexity and language contact in languages indigenous to North America. *Linguistic Discovery* 13(2). [https://doi.org/10.1349/ps1.1537-0852.a.466](https://doi.org/10.1349/ps1.1537-0852.a.466?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Mithun, Marianne. 2020\. Grammaticalization and polysynthesis: Iroquoian. In Walter Bisang & Andrej Malchukov (eds.), *Grammaticalization scenarios: Cross-linguistic variation and universal tendencies, Vol. 2: Grammaticalization scenarios from Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific* (Comparative Handbooks of Linguistics 4.2), vol. 2, 943ā€“976\. De Gruyter Mouton. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712735-008](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712735-008?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Nettle, Daniel. 1999\. *Linguistic diversity*. Oxford University Press. - Ostler, Nicholas. 2005\. *Empires of the word: A language history of the world*. Harper Collins. - Payne, Thomas. 1997\. *Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists*. Cambridge University Press. - Raviv, Limor, Antje Meyer & Shiri Lev-Ari. 2019\. Larger communities create more systematic languages. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences* 286(1907). 20191262\. [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1262](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1262?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Reali, Florencia, Nick Chater & Morten H. Christiansen. 2018\. Simpler grammar, larger vocabulary: How population size affects language. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences* 285(1871). 20172586\. [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2586](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2586?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sampson, Geoffrey. 2009\. A linguistic axiom challenged. In Geoffrey Sampson, David Gil & Peter Trudgill (eds.), *Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable* (Studies in the Evolution of Language 13), 1ā€“18\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199545216.003.0001](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199545216.003.0001?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sampson, Geoffrey, David Gil & Peter Trudgill (eds.). 2009\. *Language complexity as an evolving variable* (Studies in the Evolution of Language 13). Oxford University Press. - Swadesh, Morris (ed.). 1939\. Chitimacha texts. In *Chitimacha grammar, texts, and vocabulary* (American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages Mss. 497.3.B63c G6.5). Philadelphia, PA: American Philosophical Society Library. - Trudgill, Peter. 2011\. *Sociolinguistic typology: Social determinants of linguistic complexity*. Oxford University Press. - Trudgill, Peter. 2017\. The anthropological setting of polysynthesis. In Michael Fortescue, Marianne Mithun & Nicholas Evans (eds.), *The Oxford Handbook of Polysynthesis*, 186ā€“202\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199683208.013.13](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199683208.013.13?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Are we stuck with the same grammar for life? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 2 URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/ Last updated: 2025-09-28T17:50:03.000Z > Grammatical changes over the lifespan arenā€™t always linear. Thereā€™s also evidence for a ā€œrollercoaster effectā€, where a linguistic feature will undergo drastic swings in frequency at different life stages. For most of modern linguistics history, linguists assumed that once children pass the prime language-learning ageā€”known as the **critical period**ā€”their grammar is fixed for life. People learn new vocabulary throughout their lives, and their accents may change as their social networks shift, but it was assumed that they continue using the same grammatical rules. Language only changes from one generation to the next because children in their callowness inevitably learn slightly different grammatical rules than the generation before them. All the action of language change happens during the process of acquiring oneā€™s first languageā€”or so we thought. But what if you encounter a new grammatical construction a sufficiently large number of times as an adult? Is that enough to change your grammar? Or are you locked into the grammar of your **idiolect**ā€”your own personal dialectā€”for life? What if you lived longer than a normal humanā€”say, 1,000 years? Would that be long enough for your grammar to change completely? This is exactly the question that arises in science communicator [Ashley Christine](https://www.moderndayeratosthenes.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€™s (@ModernDayEratosthenes) debut sci-fi novel, [*The Iron Dreamers*](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). In a world where humans are immortal, would their grammar change over time? In todayā€™s issue of the newsletter, weā€™ll talk about **the linguistics of immortality** in *The Iron Dreamers*. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-1og!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6ac06c81-8e1f-4ad7-a350-e853f2a86a25_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ā„¹ļø This is the second in a 4-part series about the linguistics of **The Iron Dreamers*. Along the way weā€™re covering everything from why languages change, whether you can change your grammar as an adult, whether some languages are more complex than others, and how new languages are formed. Then weā€™ll use that knowledge to think about language in **The Iron Dreamers*. You can read the other installments in this series at the links below: - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) - **Part 2:** Are we stuck with the same grammar for life? (this article) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-4) āš ļø ****Spoiler Warning:** I give away some of the premise of the book in this article, but not any of the plot points. If youā€™d like to avoid spoilers, stop reading here and come back after youā€™ve finished the first portion of the book. To briefly recap the premise of *The Iron Dreamers*, we learn early in the book that a portion of humanity has become immortal and fled to space, where they establish a colony of several hundred thousand people on a space station called Sol. However, these immortals have also become infertile, so no new children are born to this community. After a thousand years, the people are still speaking 21st-century English. Why hasnā€™t English changed in all that time? One of the characters in the book explains: > *ā€œI thought language would have changed by now,ā€ she says.* > > *ā€œIt should have changed. If we lived and died as humans used to, then even English would have evolved to be unrecognizable to you. But everyone here was born in the twenty-first century\[.\] Thereā€™s been no reason for language to change.ā€* (p. 193) So how realistic is this? Could a language really stay largely unchanged for 1,000 years, even if its speakers were immortal and no new children were acquiring the language? Letā€™s find out! For some theoretical approaches to language change, frequency is everything. This is especially true of **usage-based linguistics**, which adopts the view that grammar is shaped by how we use and experience language (Diessel 2017; Bybee 2023). In a usage-based approach, the more you use a word, the more **entrenched** in your mind the word and its meaning become. At the same time, the most frequent words are also the ones that are most likely to undergo phonetic reduction, semantic bleaching, fossilization/routinization, and perhaps eventually grammaticalization. In this approach, frequency is the *sine qua non* of language change. What we donā€™t know is whether these changes only happen during the process of learning a language as a child, or whether frequency continues to play a role in shaping the grammar of our idiolect as an adult. As one linguist put it in a review of the research on grammatical changes in adulthood: > *Summarizing the state of the art, we conclude that next to nothing is known about lifespan changes affecting syntactic or grammaticalizing constructions that goes beyond exploratory or anecdotal evidence.* (Anthonissen & PetrĆ© 2019: 1) So itā€™s an open question whether the 1,000-year-old citizens of Sol in *Iron Dreamers* would be using different grammatical rules or still speaking 21st-century English. Nonetheless, the most recent research suggests that individual idiolects can and do change over the lifespan. While the majority of research on lifespan changes focuses on phonetic and phonological changes to pronunciation (such as accent accommodation discussed above) (Anthonissen & PetrĆ© 2019: 3; Stevens 2025), there are a few studies that have looked explicitly at grammatical change. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* Logically and empirically, there are ways that a speaker might react to a new grammatical construction making its way into a language (imagine Middle English speakers when future tense *will* first started appearing in the language) (Sankoff 2019): 1. **stable** (most common): The speaker continues to speak the same way they always have. They may use the new construction sometimes, but the frequency with which they use it doesnā€™t change over time. This is what youā€™d expect in the absence of any social changes to the speakerā€™s life (Sankoff 2017: 299). If they donā€™t move regions, change their social networks, etc., there is no reason for them to adjust the way they speak. 2. **conservative** (least common): In the face of novel linguistic changes, some speakers are reactionary and use the new construction *less* as they age. 3. **progressive** (middlemost common): The speaker gradually increases their use of the new construction throughout their life. For example, one study looked at the emergence of constructions like *X is said to be Y* (called the **nominative + infinitive** construction, and labeled as ā€œevidentialā€ in the graphs below) over the lifespans of authors in the Early Modern English period (Anthonissen 2019). Author John Owen showed mostly stable use of the construction of his lifetime; authors John Milton and Roger Lā€™Estrange showed progressive use over their lifetimes; and author Thomas Fuller showed a conservative trend, reducing his usage over time: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vo4m!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a558af0-0cc5-4fb5-91cc-dc15ff63b432_1610x1431.png) Proportion of evidential vs. modal uses of the nominative + infinitive construction in writings across the lifespans of four Early Modern authors (Anthonissen 2019: 146) Another study of authors in the 1800s found that all of them increased their use of the present progressive (which was still new to the language at the time) or remained stable over the course of their writing career (Arnaud 1998). For instance, poet John Keats wrote a letter to his publisher John Taylor in 1818 describing a trip, and wrote ā€œit rainsā€ where today we would write ā€œit is rainingā€, but otherwise he was a progressive user of the present progressive, with a very high frequency of usage. However, grammatical changes over the lifespan arenā€™t always linear. Thereā€™s also evidence for a ā€œrollercoaster effectā€ (Van Hofwegen & Wolfram 2010: 437), where a linguistic feature will undergo drastic swings in frequency at different life stages. One study looked at **negative concord** (often called ā€œdouble negationā€, although this is a bit of a misnomer) in four teenagers: > All four adolescentsā€™ rates of negative concord were between 74% and 96%. By their mid to late twenties, three of them had dramatically reduced their use of negative concord. Leon, now an IBM executive, registered only 11%; his brother Russell, the proprietor of a hardware store, 36%; and Jojo, an army sergeant, 32%. Only Carlos, imprisoned for murder at the age of 20, retained the preponderant use of negative concord as an adult, at 88% (Sankoff 2017: 303, summarizing Baugh 1996: 411). So itā€™s not so much that adults completely abandon old grammatical structures or fully embrace new ones. Instead, they merely shift the frequency with which they use older vs. newer constructions, all while still retaining the linguistic features from their youth (Raumolin-Brunberg 2005; Raumolin-Brunberg 2009; Raumolinā€Brunberg & Nurmi 2012; Anthonissen 2019). Of course, the average human lifespan at present is only approximately 73.2 years ([Our World in Data](https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), so perhaps with more time we would indeed see certain grammatical features drop out of a personā€™s idiolect entirelyā€”even the ones from their youth. Solā€™s millennials (in the literal sense) in *Iron Dreamers* may have had enough time to cycle through a set of grammatical changes multiple times over. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-1og!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6ac06c81-8e1f-4ad7-a350-e853f2a86a25_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Having established that it is possible for adults to change the grammar of their language over time even without intergenerational transmission, what types of changes might we expect for the isolated community of Sol? Would their language became simpler or more complex? Weā€™ll answer that question in the next issue of this series! ## **ā„¹ļø Articles in this series** - **Part 1:** [Why do languages change?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) - **Part 2:** Are we stuck with the same grammar for life? (this article) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-4) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“‘ References - Anthonissen, Lynn. 2019\. Constructional change across the lifespan: The nominative and infinitive in early modern writers. In Kristin Bech & Ruth Mƶhlig-Falke (eds.), *Grammar ā€“ Discourse ā€“ Context: Grammar and usage in language variation and change* (Discourse Patterns 23), 125ā€“156\. De Gruyter. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110682564-005](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110682564-005?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Anthonissen, Lynn & Peter PetrĆ©. 2019\. Grammaticalization and the linguistic individual: New avenues in lifespan research. *Linguistics Vanguard*. Walter de Gruyter GmbH 5(s2). [https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2018-0037](https://doi.org/10.1515/lingvan-2018-0037?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Arnaud, RenĆ©. 1998\. The development of the progressive in 19th century English: A quantitative survey. *Language Variation & Change*. Cambridge University Press (CUP) 10(2). 123ā€“152\. [https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954394500001265](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954394500001265?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Baugh, John. 1996\. Dimensions of a theory of econolinguistics. In *Towards a social science of language: Papers in honor of William Labov, Vol. 1: Variation and change in language and society* (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 127), vol. 1, 397ā€“420\. John Benjamins. [https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.127.24bau](https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.127.24bau?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Bybee, Joan. 2023\. What is usageā€based linguistics? In *The handbook of usageā€based linguistics* (Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics), 7ā€“29\. Wiley-Blackwell. [https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119839859.ch1](https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119839859.ch1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Diessel, Holger. 2017\. Usage-based linguistics. In Mark Aronoff (ed.), *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics*. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.363](https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.363?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Raumolin-Brunberg, Helena. 2005\. Language change in adulthood: Historical letters as evidence. *European Journal of English Studies*. Informa UK Limited 9(1). 37ā€“51\. [https://doi.org/10.1080/13825570500068125](https://doi.org/10.1080/13825570500068125?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Raumolin-Brunberg, Helena. 2009\. Lifespan changes in the language of three early modern gentlemen. In Arja Nurmi, Minna Nevala & Minna Palander-Collin (eds.), *The language of daily life in England (1400ā€“1800)* (Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 183), 165ā€“196\. John Benjamins. [https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.183.10rau](https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.183.10rau?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Raumolinā€Brunberg, Helena & Arja Nurmi. 2012\. Grammaticalization and language change in the individual. In Heiko Narrog & Bernd Heine (eds.), *The Oxford Handbook of Grammaticalization* (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics), 251ā€“262\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199586783.013.0020](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199586783.013.0020?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sankoff, Gillian. 2017\. Language change across the lifespan. *Annual Review of Linguistics* 4\. 297ā€“316\. [https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011817-045438](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011817-045438?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Sankoff, Gillian. 2019\. Language change across the lifespan: Three trajectory types. *Language* 95(2). 197ā€“229. - Stevens, Mary. 2025\. Sound change proceeds incrementally within adult lifespans: Real-time evidence from/s/-retraction in Australian English. *Language* 101(3). 500ā€“523\. [https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2025.a969616](https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2025.a969616?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Van Hofwegen, Janneke & Walt Wolfram. 2010\. Coming of age in African American English: A longitudinal study. *Journal of Sociolinguistics* 14(4). 427ā€“455\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2010.00452.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2010.00452.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why do languages change? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 1 URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/ Last updated: 2026-03-13T18:09:09.000Z At some point in the perhaps not too distant future, humanity will solve the problem of mortality. We will either halt the process of aging, or life expectancy will start to increase at a rate greater than one year per year, at which point humans essentially become immortal. (Life expectancy currently increases at a rate of about [one year every four years](https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy?insight=life-expectancy-has-surpassed-predictions-again-and-again&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#key-insights).) You may be among the last generations to die of natural causes. **In a post-mortem world where humans are immortal, what will happen to the languages we speak?** Science communicator Ashley Christine (@ModernDayEratosthenes: [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@modernday%5Feratosthenes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/modernday%5Feratosthenes/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@modernday%5Feratosthenes?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Website](https://www.moderndayeratosthenes.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) explores this exact question as part of her debut sci-fi novel, [*The Iron Dreamers*](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and today weā€™re going to talk about **the linguistics of immortality**. > It was only a matter of time until humanity stumbled upon the key to lifeā€”whether intentionally or by accident. \~ Iron Dreamers, p. 85 ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vXit!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2d30795e-7ad9-4775-9e82-a01f41f5b153_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44hcLO8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Home | EratosthenesModern Day Eratosthenes is a social media account focusing on math, science, and philosophy![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/pfavico.ico)Eratosthenes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Self2.jpeg)](https://www.moderndayeratosthenes.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ā„¹ļø This is the first in a 4-part series about the linguistics of **The Iron Dreamers*. Along the way weā€™ll cover everything from why languages change, whether you can change your grammar as an adult, whether some languages are more complex than others, and how new languages are formed. Then weā€™ll use that knowledge to think about language in **The Iron Dreamers*. You can read all the installments in this series at the links below. - **Part 1:** Why do languages change? (this article) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-4) šŸŒ  ****P.S.** Thereā€™s an additional fun fact visible just to paid subscribers at the bottom of this article too. āš ļø ****Spoiler Warning:** I give away some of the premise of the book in this article, but not any of the plot points. If youā€™d like to avoid spoilers, stop reading here and come back after youā€™ve finished the first portion of the book. We learn early in the book that a portion of humanity has become immortal and fled to space, where they establish a colony of several hundred thousand people on a space station called Sol. However, these immortals have also become infertile, so no new children are born to this community. After a thousand years, the people are still speaking 21st-century English, and have also created a sign language called Sessiz (derived from the Turkish word *sessizlik* ā€˜silenceā€™). Why hasnā€™t English changed in all that time? One of the characters in the book explains: > ā€œI thought language would have changed by now,ā€ she says. > > ā€œIt should have changed. If we lived and died as humans used to, then even English would have evolved to be unrecognizable to you. But everyone here was born in the twenty-first century\[.\] Thereā€™s been no reason for language to change.ā€ (p. 193) So how realistic is this? Could a language really stay largely unchanged for 1,000 years, even if its speakers were immortal and no new children were acquiring the language? Letā€™s find out! ## How much do languages change over time? > The idea of an unchanging language frozen in time is pure myth. All languagesā€”or at least the ones spoken by us mere mortalsā€”are constantly changing (a fact which grammar pedants find incredibly distressing). The idea of an unchanging language frozen in time is pure myth. For example, itā€™s often said that the Old Icelandic sagas, written in the 1200s, are still understandable to Modern Icelandic speakers today. This is actually a linguistic illusion. For starters, the original manuscripts are most definitely not readable without training, as you can see in the image below. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/image-2.png) ****Figure 1.** Page 1 of the **Codex Regius* (Kingā€™s Book) To make them legible, modern editions of the sagas are rewritten in the modern, standardized Icelandic **orthography** (writing system). This orthography ignores phonetic distinctions which were present in Old Icelandic but have since been lost in the modern language, such as nasal vs. oral vowels, and distinctions between the vowels /ɛ/ and /e/ or the vowels /œ/ and /Ćø/. Old Icelandic also had much freer word order and different syntactic rules than Modern Icelandic, and the meanings of many words have shifted drastically. Itā€™s deceptively easy to read a sanitized version of the sagas and assume youā€™ve got the pronunciation right and understand all the meanings correctly, when in fact you likely have many details wrong. šŸ§™ā€ā™‚ļø J.R.R. Tolkien, author of **The Hobbit* and **The Lord of the Rings*, was also a philologist and renowned Anglo-Saxon scholar. As such, he was quite familiar with the Icelandic saga depicted above, called **VƶluspĆ”*. When Tolkien wrote **The Hobbit*, he took Gandalfā€™s name and the names of all of the dwarves from a section of the **VƶluspĆ”* called **Dvergatal* ā€˜Catalogue of Dwarvesā€™. ([Tolkien Gateway](https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/V%C3%B6lusp%C3%A1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Even though the centuries did change Icelandic, those changes are dwarfed (pun intended) by what happened to English. Hereā€™s a comparison of the Lordā€™s Prayer in Old English (spoken up until ca. 1066) vs. Modern English (from roughly the early 1600s onwards). **Old English** FƦder Å«re Ć¾Å« Ć¾Ä“ eart on heofonum SÄ« Ć¾Ä«n nama gehālgod Tō becume Ć¾Ä«n rice GewurĆ¾e Ć¾Ä«n willa On erĆ°on swā swā on heofonum Urne gedƦghwamlÄ«can hlāf syle Å«s tō dƦg And forgyf Å«s Å«re gyltas Swā swā wē forgyfĆ° Å«rum gyltendum. And ne gelƦd Ć¾Å« Å«s on costnunge Ac alČ³s Å«s of yfele. **Modern English** Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. The differences between these two versions of the prayer are not just differences in pronunciations and meanings. Nearly the entire grammar of English has been reworked. For example, Old English lacked a future tense. To express future actions, the verb *bēon* ā€˜to beā€™ was used instead. The Modern English future auxiliary *will* evolved from the Old English verb *willan*, which meant ā€˜to want, desireā€™ (Aijmer 1985). (The noun form of *willan* was *willa* ā€˜willā€™, which you can see in line 4 of the Old English version of the Lordā€™s Prayer above, and which became the Modern English noun will.) This process by which content words like *willan* ā€˜wantā€™ become grammatical function words like *will* ā€˜FUTUREā€™ is called **grammaticalization**, and itā€™s a process thatā€™s in constant operation in every language, perpetually wearing down content words and turning them into grammatical words, prefixes, or suffixes. Old English verbs also had extensive conjugations and nouns had extensive declensions: | | **Present** | **Past** | | --------------- | ----------- | ---------------- | | **Infinitive** | dĒ£l**an** | (tō) dĒ£l**enne** | | **Indicative** | | | | **1sg.** | dĒ£l**e** | dĒ£l**de** | | **2sg.** | dĒ£l**st** | dĒ£l**dest** | | **3sg.** | dĒ£l**Ć¾** | dĒ£l**de** | | **pl.** | dĒ£l**aĆ¾** | dĒ£l**don** | | **Subjunctive** | | | | **sg.** | dĒ£l**e** | dĒ£l**de** | | **pl.** | dĒ£l**en** | dĒ£l**den** | | **Imperative** | | | | **sg.** | dĒ£l | | | **pl.** | dĒ£l**aĆ¾** | | | **Participle** | | | | | dĒ£l**ende** | (Ä”e)dĒ£l**ed** | **Figure 2.** Conjugation of *dĒ£lan* ā€˜to shareā€™ in Old English ([Wikipedia: Old English grammar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old%5FEnglish%5Fgrammar?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Weak%5Fverbs)) | **Case** | **Masculine** | | **Neuter** | | | ------------------------- | ------------- | ---------- | ------------ | ---------- | | | **Singular** | **Plural** | **Singular** | **Plural** | | **Nominativeāˆ’Accusative** | hund | hund**as** | sċip | sċip**u** | | **Genitive** | hund**es** | hund**a** | sċip**es** | sċip**a** | | **Dative** | hund**e** | hund**um** | sċip**e** | sċip**um** | **Figure 3.** Declension of *hund* ā€˜dogā€™, and *sċip* ā€˜boatā€™ in Old English ([Wikipedia: Old English grammar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old%5FEnglish%5Fgrammar?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Noun%5Fclasses)) If 1,000 years is enough to so dramatically overhaul the grammar of English, why should we believe that the language of Sol in *Iron Dreamers*ā€”which also had a millennium to metamorphosizeā€”wouldnā€™t change as well? Itā€™s because of one important aspect of the worldbuilding in *Iron Dreamers*: the fact that the people of Sol are infertile. Children learning their first language is *the* primary driver of language change, because children inevitably come to slightly different inferences about the words and rules of their language than their parents did. For any given generation, most of the grammatical rules and word meanings stay the same, but not all of them. With successive generations, enough changes accrete until the language transforms entirely. Itā€™s also generally assumed among linguists that after oneā€™s teenage years, the grammar of your first language stays stable over the course of your lifetime (even while your vocabulary continues to grow). Adults are not thought to contribute in a meaningful way to language change over time. All the change happens during the process of children acquiring the languageā€”or so we thought. Weā€™ll look at some research challenging this assumption in the next post in this series. So the narrative premise that Sol citizens are infertile makes the idea of a static language credible because Sol society lacks the most pivotal component of language changeā€”**intergenerational transmission**; that is, passing language from one generation to the next via cultural transmission. But does that mean the Sol language wouldnā€™t change at all? Not likely! Even without intergenerational transmission, there are manifold forces at work shaping language. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## How does vocabulary change over time? > The median person knows 6,200 more words at age 60 than at age 20. The most obvious of these is vocabulary change. New technologies lead to new vocabulary, both for the technology itself and for the new experiences they create. Merriam-Webster added the terms *shadowban* and *touch grass* to their dictionary in 2024 ([Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/new-words-in-the-dictionary?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), terms that are not about technology itself but ones that only make sense in the context of social media technologies. Technology can also shift the usage of existing words. The Latin word *carrus* originally referred to a wagon or cart (and was itself borrowed from the Gaulish word \* *karros* ā€˜two-wheeled Celtic war chariotā€™), but by the time of Old French the word *carre* referred to any wheeled vehicle. English then borrowed the word, and in the 1800s U.S. *car* referred primarily to the cars of trains or streetcars. It then shifted its meaning to ā€˜automobileā€™ in the early 1900s. Another example is the verb *to friend*. Prior to the mid-00ā€™s, *friend* did not have a canonical usage as a verb. The verb form of the word was *befriend*. But the advent of social media changed that, so that *friend* could mean specifically ā€˜add someone to oneā€™s social media networkā€™ā€”a distinct meaning from *befriend*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/image-3.png) ****Figure 4.** Frequency of **unfriend* and **friended* in the Google Books corpus from 1950ā€“2022 ([Google Ngrams Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=friended%2Cunfriend&year%5Fstart=1950&year%5Fend=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) šŸ“˜ To learn more about how social media changes language, check out this new book from fellow online linguist Adam Aleksic (@EtymologyNerd). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/image-4.png)](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/44KjIGi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In addition to creating new vocabulary, adults continue to learn more of the existing vocabulary of their language throughout their lifetimes. The graph below shows the percentage of words in an experimental list that are known by people of different ages and education levels. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/image-5.png) ****Figure 5.** Percentage of lemmas (words) known in the experimental list as a function of age and educational level (Brysbaert et al. 2016) The following table shows the estimated number of words known by 20-year-olds and 60-year-olds, as well as the high end and low end of the vocabulary range at each age. The median person knows 6,200 more words at age 60 than at age 20. | **Age** | **Low End** | **Median** | **High End** | | ------- | ----------- | ---------- | ------------ | | **20** | 27,100 | 42,000 | 51,700 | | **60** | 35,100 | 48,200 | 56,400 | **Figure 6.** Estimates of the lemmas (words) known by 20-year-olds and 60-year-olds (Brysbaert et al. 2016) ## Linguistic accommodation > Long-term exposure to another dialect does gradually affect your own pronunciation, often without you realizing it. Another language change that happens among adults is adapting the way you speak to the people you interact with regularlyā€”a phenomenon known as **linguistic accommodation**, or, when referring to pronunciation specifically, **accent accommodation**. Not only do most people do this on a conversation-by-conversation basis, but people with extended exposure to a different accent or dialect will gradually accommodate that way of speaking as well. If you grew up in one dialect region and then moved to another in early adulthood, itā€™s very likely that youā€™ll revert to your original dialect when you call your family back home. On the other hand, long-term exposure to another dialect does gradually affect your own pronunciation, often without you realizing it. People who move from one English-speaking country to another are often shocked when, after several years, their friends in their home country tell them theyā€™ve picked up an accent. A neat thing about the linguistic worldbuilding in *Iron Dreamers* is that Christine recognizes the existence of accent accommodation and incorporates it. The citizens of Sol come from countries all over the world, so you would expect there to be a great deal of accent accommodation happening as they all settle on a particular dialect of English. This seems to be exactly what has happened in the book: > Their accents are predominantly American, but thereā€™s a hint of something elseā€”British or Swedish or somethingā€”as if they had moved to another other country and their accent assimilated after years of exposure. (p. 45) --- Neither of the changes mentioned aboveā€”shifts in vocabulary or shifts in pronunciationā€”require intergenerational transmission. So even though the citizens of Sol arenā€™t passing their language on to anyone new, weā€™d still expect there to be significant changes in vocabulary and pronunciation after 1,000 years: many new terms, other terms having fallen out of use, other terms having radically shifted their meanings, and notable shifts in pronunciation. Yet ultimately those changes might not cause too much of a headache to a time traveler from 1,000 years pastā€”perhaps no more difficulty than learning a highly divergent dialect. Where things get really tricky is *grammatical* changesā€”differences in the rules of the language itself. Can adults alone change the grammar of a language? Or does significant grammatical change require intergenerational transmission as children learn the language? šŸŒŒ Coincidentally, this isnā€™t the first time this question has been broached in this newsletter. The language of the Trisolaran aliens in [The Three-Body Problem](https://amzn.to/4aTpesY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) also lacks intergenerational transmission. You can read my take on their language here: [What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-47.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-6.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/reviews/three-body-problem/) A growing body of evidence suggests that oneā€™s grammar is not as stable over the lifetime as we previously thought. So in the next issue of this 4-part series, weā€™ll explore just how much your grammar can change in adulthood, and what that means for the citizens of Sol. --- Thanks for reading! If youā€™re a paid subscriber, [jump to the bottom of this article](#%F0%9F%8C%9F-bonus-content) for a fun parallel between *The Iron Dreamers* and the French Academy. ā¬‡ļø And if you enjoyed this post, consider becoming a free subscriber! Newsletter topics include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## **ā„¹ļø Articles in this series** - **Part 1:** Why do languages change? (this article) - **Part 2:** [Are we stuck with the same grammar for life?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-2/) - **Part 3:** [Are some languages more complex than others?](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-3/) - **Part 4:** [How are new languages created?](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/iron-dreamers-4) ## šŸ“‘ References - Aijmer, Karin. 1985\. The semantic development of *will*. In Jacek Fisiak (ed.), *Historical semantics and historical word-formation* (Trends in Linguistics: Studies & Monographs 29), 11ā€“22\. de Gruyter Mouton. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110850178.11](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110850178.11?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Brysbaert, Marc, MichaĆ«l Stevens, Paweł Mandera & Emmanuel Keuleers. 2016\. How many words do we know? Practical estimates of vocabulary size dependent on word definition, the degree of language input and the participantā€™s age. *Frontiers in Psychology* 7\. [https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01116](https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01116?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸŒŸ Bonus Content Hereā€™s a fun little parallel between *The Iron Dreamers* and the French Academy: Thereā€™s a humorous parallel between the immortals of *The Iron Dreamers* and the *immortels* (ā€˜immortalsā€™) of the AcadĆ©mie FranƧaise (French Academy), the 40-member council responsible for unsuccessfully attempting to impose prescriptive language ideologies on the French language. In *Iron Dreamers*, the language of Sol has remained stable because its citizens are literally immortal. In the French Academy, immortality seems like more of an ideological aspiration for the French language, driven by a desire to fix it in place and standardize it. Hereā€™s what the French Academyā€™s website says about the name *immortels* (translation from Google Translate below). > La qualification dā€™*immortels,* propre aux Ć©lus de lā€™*AcadĆ©mie franƧaise,* peut prĆŖter Ć  sourire, mais les acadĆ©miciens en mesurent sagement la portĆ©e. Ils doivent leur surnom dā€™immortels Ć  la devise Ā« ƀ lā€™immortalitĆ© Ā», qui figure sur le sceau donnĆ© Ć  lā€™AcadĆ©mie par son fondateur, le cardinal de Richelieu et qui se rĆ©fĆØre Ć  leur mission, porter la langue franƧaise. ([AcadĆ©mie franƧaise](https://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante-aujourdhui?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) > The qualification of *immortals,* specific to the elected members of the *AcadĆ©mie franƧaise,* may make one smile, but academicians wisely measure its significance. They owe their nickname of immortals to the motto ā€œTo immortalityā€, which appears on the seal given to the Academy by its founder, Cardinal Richelieu and which refers to their mission, to carry the French language. ### Who are better programmersā€”language nerds or math geeks? Can we identify extroverts by the language they use? Did the Huns speak a Yeniseian language? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-27/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:05.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. To start off, hereā€™s a useful graphic I came across this week showing where each of the consonant phonemes of English is formed in the mouth. (Unfortunately I have no idea where this graphic originated from. It seems like there are various versions of it floating around on the internet, so I canā€™t give credit to the original creator.) ![A side view of a sagittal section of the human vocal tract, with arrows pointing between each phoneme in the English language and where that phoneme is pronounced in the vocal tract.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Pl0n!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3d0b62ef-db94-4fd2-ab93-785d7c95b05f_1095x961.png "A side view of a sagittal section of the human vocal tract, with arrows pointing between each phoneme in the English language and where that phoneme is pronounced in the vocal tract.") ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The horror chamber of historical phonology [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsThe Armenian language is its own branch of the Indo-European language family. šŸ§µ Itā€™s had so much influence from Iranian over the years that until relatively recently, linguists thought it \*was\* a dialect of Iranian. (We now know that it isnā€™t.) In one of the earliest dictionaries of Armenian, more than \*one-third\* of words were of Iranian origin.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-9.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/516801724_18073310975505896_5280035632846884319_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DLxk1OuI96N?xmt=AQF0Kzn1Uo1FqJRzgWKeM4-DX3sFPXV7fpBu%5FSUUkcuqyRw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The Armenian language is its own branch of the Indo-European language family. Itā€™s had so much influence from Iranian over the years that until relatively recently, linguists thought it *was* a dialect of Iranian. (We now know that it isnā€™t.) In one of the earliest dictionaries of Armenian, more than *one-third* of words were of Iranian origin. Itā€™s also undergone such unusual sound changes that one linguist called it ā€œthe horror chamber of historical phonologyā€ (Olsen 2011: v) (although recent work suggests that these werenā€™t sound changes at all, but rather inherited these features from Proto-Indo-European). If you want to learn more about historical linguistics and how languages are related, hereā€™s the most popular introductory textbook: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Npr9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4401f83f-fe47-46ef-8806-52efa5191f1d_384x553.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ia2mYA?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Halkomelem language program ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yNWr!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F249e7daa-6f54-44d0-bc63-f3bcb79734f0_960x640.png) The first cohort to graduate from University of the Fraser Valleyā€™s Halkomelem language program The University of the Fraser Valley graduated its first cohort of 8 students from its Halkomelem language program. Halkomelem /hɒlkəĖˆmeÉŖləm/ is a language spoken on the coast of British Columbia, Canada which is part of the Salishan language family. Within the language itself, the name for the language varies depending on the dialect: *HalqĢ“emĆ©ylem* in the Upriver dialect, *HulĢ“qĢ“umĆ­nĢ“umĢ“* in the Island dialect, and *hənĢ“qĢ“É™minĢ“É™mĢ“* in the Downriver dialect. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!n-qe!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9b9448c-98d0-41b8-abcb-2f43322e9367_549x607.png) Map of the region where Halkomelem is spoken [First UFV Halqā€™emĆ©ylem graduates helping keep StĆ³:lō language aliveUpriver Halqā€™emĆ©ylem has been spoken for thousands of years by StĆ³:lō communities along Fraser River and its tributaries![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png)The Chilliwack Progress(University of the Fraser Valley)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ufv-submitted-grads-stolo-1-crop.jpg;w=1200;h=800;mode=crop)](https://www.theprogress.com/community/first-ufv-halqemeylem-graduates-helping-keep-stol-language-alive-8100511?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Do you speak Canadian? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b1HS!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F102db9d6-158b-4a9a-ae09-6f7da87a6799_326x522.png) Cover of the 1991 edition of **A dictionary of Canadianisms on historical principles* Keener linguists are compiling the latest English-language Canadianisms. What do their choices say about us? This article discusses work on the third edition of [*A dictionary of Canadianisms on historical principles*](https://dchp.arts.ubc.ca/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (DHCP-3), the definitive collection of words, expressions, and meanings that are distinctive of Canadian English. This is part of a broader project to update the [*Canadian Oxford Dictionary*](https://amzn.to/44BO5yH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which hasnā€™t been updated since 2004\. Hereā€™s an interesting excerpt: > \[2004\] was at the tail end of what \[lexicographer\] Dollinger calls the Great Canadian Dictionary War of the 1990s, when Oxford University Press came to Canada and cornered the market. They played dirty, according to Dollinger, stoking anti-American sentiment and inflating their collection of Canadian phrases for clout. Winning the war wasnā€™t lucrative, though. In 2008, after killing its competitors, Oxford closed its offices, fired its lexicographers and left the country. In the decades since, no one has managed to publish a truly comprehensive Canadian dictionary. - [Do you speak Canadian?](https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/06/30/Do-You-Speak-Canadian/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (The Tyee) You can access DCHP-3 (which is an online-only publication) here: - [Dictionary of Canadianisms on historical principles](https://dchp.arts.ubc.ca/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (3rd edition) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### The linguistics of extraversion Are extroverts identifiable by the language they use? A meta-analysis of 37 studies identifies two linguistic markers of extraversion. [Is Extraversion Identifiable by the Words People Use?Extraversion may be associated with the frequent use of certain words, a new meta-analysis of 37 studies reports.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-39.png)Psychology TodayChristopher Bergland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/_microone_shutterstock_1007010427-144x144-200_0-4220_4213_0.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/202012/is-extraversion-identifiable-the-words-people-use?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Chen, Qiu, & Ho. 2020\. A meta-analysis of linguistic markers of extraversion: Positive emotion and social process words. *Journal of Research in Personality* 89\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104035](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104035?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### How we swear online A new analysis of 1.7 billion words of online text analyzed 597 different swearing expressions to look for patterns in how we swear. I actually reported on this [a few weeks back](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-21/), but this write-up in *The Conversation* is from the authors themselves: [201 ways to say ā€˜fuckā€™: what 1.7 billion words of online text shows about how the world swearsAustralians are outdone by Americans and Brits, both in how often they swear, and in how many users swear online.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-39.png)The ConversationKate Burridge![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250603-56-oyb52b.png)](https://theconversation.com/201-ways-to-say-fuck-what-1-7-billion-words-of-online-text-shows-about-how-the-world-swears-257815?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Schweinberger & Burridge. 2025\. Vulgarity in online discourse around the English-speaking world. *Lingua* 321\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103946](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103946?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Who are better programmers? Language nerds or math geeks? A 2020 study looked at the areas of the brain that were activated while attempting to read code, and compared responses to code problems with responses to sentence problems. They found that the brainā€™s language system only had a weak response to code problems, suggesting that reading code is not the same thing as reading language. On the other hand, neural systems typically involved in math and logic were activated, suggesting a closer link between mathematical abilities and coding abilities. Mathletes: 1, Linguists: 0. [Do Math Geeks or Linguists Make for Better Programmers?New neuroscience study by MIT and Tufts reveals if certain brains better suited for computer programming, such as ā€œmathletesā€ or the polyglot linguists with surprising results.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-40.png)Psychology TodayCami Rosso![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/pic6782349.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-future-brain/202012/do-math-geeks-or-linguists-make-better-programmers?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Comprehension of computer code relies primarily on domain-general executive brain regionsThe domain-general executive brain regions support the use of a novel cognitive tool even when it is structurally similar to natural language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180.7dd4e110.png)eLife Sciences Publications, LtdAnna A Ivanova![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/icon-600x600@1.52e87ee6.png)](https://elifesciences.org/articles/58906?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### New research argues that the Huns spoke a Yeniseian language A new study argues that Huns do not, as previously assumed, originate from Turkic-speaking groups. Instead, the study claims that the Huns spoke a Paleo-Siberian language called Arin, which is part of the Yeniseian language family. We know extremely little about the language of the Huns (termed **Hunnic**) other than a few personal names and place names. This new study pieces together evidence from those words as well as loanwords from Yeniseian into other languages to suggest that Hunnic was a Yeniseian language. [The European Huns had ancient Siberian roots, linguistic study revealsNew linguistic findings show that the European Huns had Paleo-Siberian ancestors and do not, as previously assumed, originate from Turkic-speaking groups. The joint study was conducted by Dr. Svenja Bonmann at the University of Cologneā€™s Department of Linguistics and Dr. Simon Fries at the Faculty of Classics and the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics at the University of Oxford.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-7.svg)Phys.orgEva Schissler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/the-european-huns-had.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-06-european-huns-ancient-siberian-roots.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Bonmann & Fries. 2025\. Linguistic evidence suggests that Xiōng-nĆŗ and Huns spoke the same Paleo-Siberian language. *Transactions of the Philological Society*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-968X.12321](https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-968X.12321?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Could Beowulf see blue?The history of English colour words![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-4.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fd886ef0b-001f-4d82-9d5b-620dfe600f38_1600x1092.jpeg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/history-english-colour-words) [What Would Be the Best Universal Language? - FreakonomicsWhat Would Be the Best Universal Language? - Freakonomics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-102.ico)FreakonomicsStephen J. Dubner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/feature_img_1-1.png)](https://freakonomics.com/podcast/what-would-be-the-best-universal-language-earth-2-0-series/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Teen Talk and Linguistic EvolutionBaffled by the language of teenagers? Hereā€™s how teen talk may influence them in adulthood.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-41.png)Psychology TodayValerie Fridland Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/katarzyna-grabowska-oa1-ririj2e-unsplash_copy.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-in-the-wild/202011/teen-talk-and-linguistic-evolution?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Animals canā€™t talk like humans do ā€“ hereā€™s why the hunt for their languages has left us empty-handedMany scientists see evidence of language in the sounds animals put together, but they may be kidding themselves.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-40.png)The ConversationAnna Jon-And![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250606-56-uxzt5t.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/animals-cant-talk-like-humans-do-heres-why-the-hunt-for-their-languages-has-left-us-empty-handed-258321?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Missing 11th of the Month - David R HagenPersonal website of David R Hagen, scientific software engineer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-3.png)David R HagenDavid Hagen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/calendar_of_meaningful_dates_light.png)](https://drhagen.com/blog/the-missing-11th-of-the-month/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Hint:** It has nothing to do with 9/11. [Pop, soda or coke? The fizzy history behind Americaā€™s favorite linguistic debateAn expert in American dialects explains how a ā€˜health drinkā€™ from the early 1800s spawned so many names and variations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-41.png)The ConversationValerie M. Fridland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250630-56-kq4lmf.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/pop-soda-or-coke-the-fizzy-history-behind-americas-favorite-linguistic-debate-259114?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Your guide to the French alphabetThe French alphabet has 26 letters. Here are their names, how to pronounce them, and how theyā€™re used.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-8.png)Duolingo BlogOlivia Thayer, M.A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_your-guide-to-the-French-alphabet.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/french-alphabet-pronunciation/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Liquid of the ElbeHigh up in the Giant Mountains (KrkonoÅ”e), in the north of the Czech Republic, one of Europeā€™s mightiest rivers bubbles into life as a bit of soggy bog. This river is the Elbe, which rises onā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/webclip-1.png)Danny L. Batedannylbate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/20250617_153035.jpg)](https://dannybate.com/2025/06/30/the-liquid-of-the-elbe/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - This article is a really neat history of the Elbe River. ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ### *Chants of Sennaar* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!grxQ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bc2c262-9659-4676-9cee-5b77c402225b_384x216.png) [Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/Chants%5Fof%5FSennaar/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [PlayStation](https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/chants-of-sennaar/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Xbox](https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/chants-of-sennaar/9nr8v6m3qh57?msockid=2508237e28896ee82fce361e29c66f83&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Nintendo](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/chants-of-sennaar-switch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [*Chants of Sennaar*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chants%5Fof%5FSennaar?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is a 2023 adventure video game that involves solving puzzles and minigames focused around decoding fictional languages! The player explores a structure inspired by the Tower of Babel myth (which *Sennaar* is a reference to), which is full of people who speak fictional languages represented by logographic writing systems. Previously the game had been available on [Nintendo Switch](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/chants-of-sennaar-switch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [PlayStation](https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/chants-of-sennaar/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [Windows](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/Chants%5Fof%5FSennaar/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and [Xbox](https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/chants-of-sennaar/9nr8v6m3qh57?msockid=2508237e28896ee82fce361e29c66f83&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), but on August 26 it will also be [released on mobile](https://gamingonphone.com/news/chants-of-sennaar-brings-its-award-winning-puzzle-adventure-to-mobile-launching-on-august-26/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdigious.chantsofsennaar&hl=en-US&pli=1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chants-of-sennaar/id6566195667?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)! [Chants of Sennaar brings its award-winning puzzle adventure to mobile, launching on August 26Chants of Sennaar, the award-winning adventure puzzle game, is set to launch on Android and iOS on August 26, published by Playdigious.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/GamingonPhone-SQR-Logo-Black-2-S@4x.png)GamingonPhoneParash Jyoti Kalita![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/chants-of-sennaar-upcoming-launch-cover.jpg)](https://gamingonphone.com/news/chants-of-sennaar-brings-its-award-winning-puzzle-adventure-to-mobile-launching-on-august-26/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### *Kingdom of characters: The language revolution that made China modern* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZqEb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff33d4e1a-da0a-4bb5-8b78-54ce64f86ac1_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3TyG5JF?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [*Kingdom of Characters: The language revolution that made China modern*](https://amzn.to/3TyG5JF?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), follows the history of Chinese language and writing reform, and argues that language was one of the major hurdles to Chinaā€™s modernization. ### *Extraterrestrial languages* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MIUE!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3b56db5c-375e-47fb-8551-cc12e7930cc1_313x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4nR7nJt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The endlessly fascinating question of whether we are alone in the universe has always been accompanied by another, more complicated one: if there is extraterrestrial life, how would we communicate with it? In this book, Daniel Oberhaus leads readers on a quest for extraterrestrial communication. Exploring Earthlings' various attempts to reach out to non-Earthlings over the centuries, he poses some not entirely answerable questions: If we send a message into space, will extraterrestrial beings receive it? Will they understand? What languages will they (and we) speak? Is there not only a universal grammar (as Noam Chomsky has posited), but also a grammar of the universe? ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### PHOIBLE ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hEE0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0d0f46e1-19c3-4ac2-affc-88d6ea99cda5_1028x659.png) Map of languages in the PHOIBLE database which have the /tŹƒŹ¼/ phoneme PHOIBLE is a database of the sounds in 2,168 of the worldā€™s languages. You can explore which languages have which sounds and lots more. This is a map of all the languages in the database which have the /tŹƒŹ¼/ phoneme (a [palato-alveolar ejective affricate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palato-alveolar%5Fejective%5Faffricate?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). You can see that the sound is prevalent in the Americas and parts of Africa, but largely absent from the rest of the world. [PHOIBLE 2.0 -![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-103.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/phoible_icon.png)](https://phoible.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Pink Trombone ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TqMG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F075b6095-6d26-49d1-837e-8f5477998b09_999x945.png) If you havenā€™t encountered Pink Trombone before, you wonā€™t be disappointed. Itā€™s a sagittal section (vertical cross-section) of the vocal tract that you can manipulate to create different sounds! [Pink Trombone![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)](https://dood.al/pinktrombone/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thanks for reading this issue of the Linguistic Discovery digest! I hope you found something fun to read and learned something new. Have a great week! \~ Danny ## šŸš« Errata *Corrections, clarifications, and omissions.* Last week when discussing the effects of foreign language on vaccine hesitancy, I forgot to include a link to the original research article. Here is the reporting in *The Conversation* as well as the research article: [Multilingual people may be more likely to take a vaccine if they read about it in English ā€“ new researchPrevious research has shown that people tend to approach hypothetical problems in a more rational and less intuitive fashion when these are presented in a language that is not their native one.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-42.png)The ConversationMonika Schmid![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241217-15-k3kwa4-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/multilingual-people-may-be-more-likely-to-take-a-vaccine-if-they-read-about-it-in-english-new-research-245383?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Schmid & Roehr-Brackin. 2024\. Overcoming COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: An investigation of the Foreign Language Effect. *Applied Linguistics*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amae083](https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amae083?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“‘ References Olsen, Birgit Anette. 2011\. *The noun in Biblical Armenian: Origin and word-formation - with special emphasis on the Indo-European heritage* (Trends in Linguistics: Studies & Monographs 119). De Gruyter Mouton. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110801989](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110801989?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Multilinguals may be more likely to take a vaccine if they read about it in English: Words shape how we process feelings and make decisions URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-26/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:12.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ![Cartoon of a green dinosaur (styled like a Tyrannosaurus rex) facing a human. The dinosaur says, ā€œInhale, pant, puff, respireā€¦ā€ while the human responds with ā€œGASP!ā€ Below them, the caption reads ā€œThesaurus.ā€ A playful pun turning the dinosaur into a walking list of synonyms.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vTDf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd49541d2-15d8-4045-ad2a-dc04362727c9_736x813.png "Cartoon of a green dinosaur (styled like a Tyrannosaurus rex) facing a human. The dinosaur says, ā€œInhale, pant, puff, respireā€¦ā€ while the human responds with ā€œGASP!ā€ Below them, the caption reads ā€œThesaurus.ā€ A playful pun turning the dinosaur into a walking list of synonyms.") ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### ā„ļø Inuit words for snow ![Comic strip with two people bundled in winter clothing standing in front of an igloo. One turns to the other and says, ā€œDid you know that suburban white males have over 100 words for ā€˜lawnā€™?ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Zvtn!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0c78b981-aaae-437f-ae50-233d479cfb5e_300x337.png "Comic strip with two people bundled in winter clothing standing in front of an igloo. One turns to the other and says, ā€œDid you know that suburban white males have over 100 words for ā€˜lawnā€™?ā€") One of the most infamous language tropes is the idea that Inuit languages have dozens or even hundreds of words for snow. Now, a new study uses data from 616 languages to claim that Inuit languages really do have disproportionately more words for snow than other languages. But does this really matter? In the latest issue of the newsletter, I explain the history of the ā€œInuit words for snowā€ myth, what this new study says about it, and whether language really does influence how we think in any meaningful way. [Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?A new study shows that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow, but what does that tell us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-45.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/social-preview.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/) Note that this post is being made available early for paying subscribers. It will become publicly available in 6 months, at which point Iā€™ll notify free subscribers. If youā€™d like to read it now, become a supporter! [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* An inmate in the Arizona State Prison system decided to reconnect with his Welsh heritage by studying the Welsh language. Now he leads a group of inmates who are independently studying endangered, ancient, and vulnerable languagesā€”Welsh, Brittonic, Assyrian, Old Norse, TaĆ­no, Nahuatl, Guosa, and Interslavic. - [ā€œIā€™ve never been so excitedā€: Inmate-led program preserves endangered languages behind bars](https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/121314%5Fprison%5Flanguage/ive-never-been-so-excited-inmate-led-program-preserves-endangered-languages-behind-az-bars/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Tuscon Sentinel) [Black Country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%5FCountry?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is an area of the West Midlands in England. [The dialect there](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%5FCountry%5Fdialect?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is often claimed to preserve Early Modern English or even Middle English. But is it in danger of disappearing? [Owhamya? Is the Black Country Dialect disappearing?Are words and phrases from the Black Country dying out or here to stay?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-32.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/59480450-d19c-11ef-a14b-8f7223b7d1ef.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62zlvx4vmko?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Word meanings arenā€™t completely arbitrary An increasing number of studies over the years have found that language is not *entirely* arbitrary. Some sounds correspond to certain semantic domains with greater-than-chance frequency. Hereā€™s an article about a 2018 study showing that this is the case for intensifiers as well: the more difficult the intensifier is to pronounce, the stronger its semantic effect is. [Word Meanings Arenā€™t Completely ArbitraryA centerpiece of the study of linguistics has been that the words we use are arbitrarily related to the concepts they refer to. But they arenā€™t completely arbitrary.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-33.png)Psychology TodayArt Markman Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/school-1063556_1280.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/201807/word-meanings-aren-t-completely-arbitrary?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Bennett & Goodman. 2018\. Extremely costly intensifiers are stronger than quite costly ones. *Cognition* 178: 147ā€“161\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.05.011](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.05.011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Dogs use two-word button combinations to communicate In recent years, many dog and cat owners have started using soundboards with their petsā€”a set of customizable buttons which, when pressed, speak different words, in theory allowing these pets to communicate with their owners. A 2024 study finds that dogs trained to use these soundboards are in fact using their soundboards to create novel two-word combinations that go beyond random behavior or simple imitation of their owners. [Dogs Use Two-Word Button Combos to Communicate, Study ShowsStudy from UC San Diegoā€™s Comparative Cognition Lab shows that dogs trained to use soundboards to ā€œtalkā€ are capable of making two-word button combinations that go beyond random behavior or simple imitation of their owners.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-99.ico)UC San Diego HomepageInga Kiderra![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Dog-Speech-Bubble-image-by-iStock_Fly_dragonfly-1200.jpg)](https://today.ucsd.edu/story/dogs-use-two-word-button-combos-to-communicate-study-shows?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Soundboard-trained dogs produce non-accidental, non-random and non-imitative two-button combinations - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - Soundboard-trained dogs produce non-accidental, non-random and non-imitative two-button combinations![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-15.png)NatureAmalia P. M. Bastos![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41598_2024_79517_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79517-6?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Multilinguals may be more likely to take a vaccine if they read about it in English A fascinating 2024 study shows that people may be more likely to take a vaccine if they read about it in English as opposed to other languages. The authors speculate that this could be due to the **foreign language effect**ā€”where people tend to approach hypothetical problems in a more rational and less intuitive fashion when those problems are presented in a language that is not their native one. [Multilingual people may be more likely to take a vaccine if they read about it in English ā€“ new researchPrevious research has shown that people tend to approach hypothetical problems in a more rational and less intuitive fashion when these are presented in a language that is not their native one.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-38.png)The ConversationMonika Schmid![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241217-15-k3kwa4.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/multilingual-people-may-be-more-likely-to-take-a-vaccine-if-they-read-about-it-in-english-new-research-245383?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Words shape how our brains process feelings and guide decisions On a related note to the above study, research from early 2025 finds that the same neurological systems which evolved to help us react to good or bad emotions may also help in the processing of emotion words. [Words shape how our brains process feelings and guide decisionsExplore how words activate brain processes that shape emotions, decisions, and behavior, revealing the hidden power of language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-100.ico)Earth.comRodielon Putol![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/words_brain_processing_emotions_1m.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/words-shape-how-our-brains-process-feelings-and-guide-decisions/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Batten et al. 2025\. Emotional words evoke region- and valence-specific patterns of concurrent neuromodulator release in human thalamus and cortex. *Cell Reports* 44(1). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115162](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115162?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MSx2!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1a90ed2-0c6e-478d-845b-7c3bdacee53c_1920x1202.png) The Phaistos Disk, a disc of fired clay from the island of Crete, Greece, bearing text in an unknown script and language. Can AI decode undeciphered languages? It really depends on the size of the corpus, and whether there are bilingual texts or other context to provide the meanings of words. Absent that, no matter how advanced AI gets, it can never decipher ancient scripts. (Plus, if we had bilingual texts or sufficient context, weā€™d probably have deciphered them already.) [Can AI really decode dead languages? Or is it too late?It might help. And deciphered writing is one of the few things that can build bridges for our thoughts across time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270-4.png)Mind MattersNews![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/temple-of-hathor-dendera-egypt-stockpack-unsplash-scaled.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/brief/can-ai-really-decode-dead-languages-or-is-it-too-late/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) That article references another fascinating article from *Aeon*, which talks about the work of cryptology and the history of deciphering some of the most famous ancient scripts. [What it takes to be a glyph-breaker deciphering ancient languages | Aeon EssaysThe heroic days of deciphering hieroglyphics and cuneiform make for great stories, but will we ever see that happen again?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-34.png)Aeon Magazine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/essay-final-2aw1p4n.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/what-it-takes-to-be-a-glyph-breaker-deciphering-ancient-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Speaking of dead languages, Colin Gorrie of the [*Dead Language Society*](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) newsletter has a great piece explaining how linguists are able to reconstruct ancient languages: [How to reconstruct dead languagesA step-by-step guide![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-3.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F535d9627-636c-4563-8729-d47e2a4c86f8_1800x1388.jpeg)](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-to-reconstruct-dead-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If youā€™ve ever struggled to understand the difference between *idioma* and *lengua* in Spanish, the Rosetta Stone blog has you covered: [Idioma or Lengua? Use ā€˜Languageā€™ in Spanish the Right Way - Rosetta StoneDo you know word for ā€œlanguageā€ in Spanish to use in various contexts and phrases? Know when to use idioma, lengua, or lenguaje just like a native speaker.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-5.png)Rosetta StoneJamie Edwards![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/language-in-spanish-feature.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/language-in-spanish/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The linguistics of alliteration, from Michael Ferber in the *Speaking of Words* column: [Speaking of Words: All About AlliterationKissing cousins and wrack and ruin are both alliterative phrases, despite their spellings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-4.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-4.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/06/16/speaking-of-words-all-about-alliteration/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Translanguaging** is the use of linguistic resources from more than one language in a single discourse setting, in a way that crosses linguistic, political, or social boundaries. The term is meant to encompass a variety of phenomena, including code-switching and crossing. This article is an interview with one of the main progenitors of the concept, Ofelia GarcĆ­a: [What is Translanguaging?Many teachers of bilingual children practice translanguaging in the classroom. But what is it exactly and what are its linguistic and cognitive underpinnings?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-35.png)Psychology TodayFrancois Grosjean Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/translanguaging_0.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/life-as-a-bilingual/201603/what-is-translanguaging?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Why donā€™t we all speak the same language? There are 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. What are the costs ā€” and benefits ā€” of our modern-day Tower of Babel? [Why Donā€™t We All Speak the Same Language? - FreakonomicsWhy Donā€™t We All Speak the Same Language? - Freakonomics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-101.ico)FreakonomicsStephen J. Dubner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/feature_img_1.png)](https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-dont-we-all-speak-the-same-language-earth-2-0-series/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Back in 2023 the *New York Times* had a fun online article allowing you to participate in a classic kiki/bouba experiment, and described some of the research around it: Generative AI tools are trained on the languages of the internet, i.e. primarily English, Spanish, and Mandarin. This leaves pretty big gaps in how AI is being trained: [How language gaps constrain generative AI development | BrookingsGenerative AI tools trained on internet data may widen the gap between those who speak a few data-rich languages and those who do not.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-36.png)BrookingsSee More![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2023-02-20T000000Z_433205076_MT1NURPHO00039TJ83_RTRMADP_3_INDIA-NEWS-2.jpg)](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-language-gaps-constrain-generative-ai-development/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* I was reminded this week of a much older book by famous novelist Umberto Eco (author of [*The Name of the Rose*](https://amzn.to/3TfuNtK?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) about the idea of a ā€œperfect languageā€ and how it has captivated European intellectuals for millennia. The book is called [*The search for a perfect language*](https://amzn.to/4l5gh3W?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and itā€™s one of his scholarly works: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5PXZ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F10c3d484-c928-4c40-9ad2-dddc048b2db0_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4l5gh3W?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) That book also reminded me of another excellent book on a similar topic, [*In the land of invented languages: Adventures in linguistic creativity, madness, and genius*](https://amzn.to/3WPztc1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), by Arika Okrent. Okrent also examines what exactly the philosophy, motivation, and mindset is of conlangers (people who create languages): ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!AI9W!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F39296efb-b347-4e29-ba0a-479b697449f3_303x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3WPztc1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) On that same topic, here are some older articles from *Psychology Today* about what conlangs can teach us about natural languages: [What Invented Languages Can Tell Us About Human LanguageInvented languages like Game of Throneā€™s Dothraki, can be used as a way of thinking about deep questions in linguistics and psychology.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-37.png)Psychology TodayDavid Adger Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/word_art_0.jpeg.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-unlimited/201906/what-invented-languages-can-tell-us-about-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Invented Languages and the Science of the MindConstructed languages have been used in religion, ritual, art, and entertainment. Theyā€™re also being used in science to probe the structure of the mind.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-38.png)Psychology TodayDavid Adger Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/hildegard_von_bingen.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/language-unlimited/201910/invented-languages-and-the-science-the-mind?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### šŸ”¤ Wiktionary ![The Wiktionary logo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!HxC4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22034d93-c7c3-4a66-9400-d3981f24cf27_200x189.png "The Wiktionary logo") Did you know that Wiktionary has transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet, often for multiple dialects and even with audio recordings, for most of its words? Such an incredibly useful resource: [Wiktionary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/wiktionary.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Wiktionary-logo-tiles_1x.png)](https://www.wiktionary.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### šŸŽ™ļø Linguistics Podcasts This is your reminder that the Linguistic Discovery website has a list of over 60 linguistics podcasts to explore! - [Linguistics Podcasts](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/podcasts) (Linguistic Discovery) --- Thanks for reading this issue of the Linguistic Discovery digest! I hope you found something fun to read and learned something new. Have a great week! \~ Danny ## šŸš« Errata *Corrections and clarifications.* In my article on [loanwords in Hawaiian](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/Hawaiian-loanwords/), I erroneously stated that Australian English pronounces /t/s as glottal stops \[Ź”\] between vowels, as in the phrase ā€œa bottle of waterā€. This is incorrect. This dialect feature is most famously associated with Cockney English, not Australian English. [Hawaiian only has 8 consonantsā€”What happens when it borrows words with other sounds?The Hawaiian language only has 8 consonants. So how does it deal with sounds in words borrowed from other languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-46.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1598135753163-6167c1a1ad65-1)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/Hawaiian-loanwords/) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/inuit-words-for-snow/ Last updated: 2026-05-03T12:57:05.000Z ![Comic strip with two people bundled in winter clothing standing in front of an igloo. One turns to the other and says, ā€œDid you know that suburban white males have over 100 words for ā€˜lawnā€™?ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uIpL!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcf2631d0-c438-47d2-a819-99d686a785cd_300x337.png "Comic strip with two people bundled in winter clothing standing in front of an igloo. One turns to the other and says, ā€œDid you know that suburban white males have over 100 words for ā€˜lawnā€™?ā€") One of the most infamous language tropes is the idea that Inuit languages have dozens or even hundreds of words for snowā€”more than any other languages. Now, this idea may or may not be true (more on that in a bit), but itā€™s instructive to understand where this trope came from in the first place. Here it is, from Franz Boas in the *Handbook of American Indian languages* (1911): > Another example of the same kind, the words for SNOW in Eskimo, may be given. Here we find one word, *aput*, expressing SNOW ON THE GROUND; another one, *qana*, FALLING SNOW; a third one\*, sirpoq\*, DRIFTING SNOW; and a fourth one, *qimuqsuq*, A SNOWDRIFT. (Boas 1911: 25ā€“26) Thatā€™s it. Thatā€™s the entire basis for the claim that Inuit languages have an exorbitant number of words for snow. ā˜ļø This volume was published before the word **Eskimo* had been widely problematized in the 2000s and 2010s. Other essays quoted below also use the term for this reason. Wikipedia has a decent explanation of the term and the controversy surrounding it [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). This idea was repeated and exaggerated in greater and greater numbers over the decades (Martin 1986), until by 1984 the *New York Times* reproduced the number as 100: > Benjamin Lee Whorf, the linguist, once reported on a tribe that distinguishes 100 types of snow ā€“ and has 100 synonyms (like *tipsiq* and *tuva*) to match. (ā€œ[Thereā€™s snow synonym](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/09/opinion/topics-well-used.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com),ā€ *New York Times*) Why are people so obsessed with the ā€œInuit words for snowā€ myth? It has everything to do with the idea that language fundamentally affects the way we think. But is this idea true? ## Does language influence the way we think? > Where things start to get really interesting is in the nuanced interplay between language and experience. Our conceptualizations and experiences shape our language, but our language also has subtle effects on our conceptualizations, creating a feedback loop. ![A six-panel comic strip featuring T-Rex and Utahraptor. Panel 1: T-Rex says, ā€œIf the Eskimos have 500 words for snow, then surely we in our internet-stuff age should have 1000 words for 'meh'!ā€ Panel 2: Utahraptor shouts, ā€œT-REX THAT LINGUISTIC PREMISE IS ACTUALLY FULL OF LIES,ā€ and T-Rex gasps. Panel 3: Utahraptor explains, ā€œYOU PULLED THAT NUMBER OUT OF THE AIR AND THERE'S NO ONE ESKIMO LANGUAGE BUT RATHER AN ESKIMO-ALEUT LANGUAGE FAMILY WHICH BUILDS COMPOUND NOUNS OUT OF WHAT YOU'D CALL A PHRASE.ā€ Utahraptor continues, ā€œSO YOU SAY HARD ICY SNOW AND AN INUIT SPEAKER SAYS THE SAME THING ONLY WITH FEWER SPACES.ā€ ā€œCALLING IT A UNIQUE WORD WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE WORD BOUNDARY ISSUES IS MISLEADING AT BEST.ā€ T-Rex responds, ā€œGAME SET AND MATCH BABY.ā€ Panel 4: T-Rex says, ā€œOooh look at me, I'm God, I know language stuff!ā€ God appears and declares, ā€œI KNOW ALL OF THE STUFFS.ā€ T-Rex replies, ā€œwhoah!ā€ Panel 5: God asks, ā€œYou're making fun of God? Is that not... THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME???ā€ T-Rex responds, ā€œNo, that's hunting dinosaurs. Well, I mean, folks used to say hunting the most dangerous game, but humans don't have claws.ā€ He adds, ā€œCheck mine out! Rar.ā€ Panel 6: T-Rex says, ā€œI've got some good ones too! Snikt! They don't make that sound on their own so I have to say it out loud.ā€ He concludes, ā€œSometimes life is full of compromises, you know?ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Rqvs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb8bb4bde-6d70-4bea-a914-48210ab13c84_735x500.png "A six-panel comic strip featuring T-Rex and Utahraptor. Panel 1: T-Rex says, ā€œIf the Eskimos have 500 words for snow, then surely we in our internet-stuff age should have 1000 words for 'meh'!ā€ Panel 2: Utahraptor shouts, ā€œT-REX THAT LINGUISTIC PREMISE IS ACTUALLY FULL OF LIES,ā€ and T-Rex gasps. Panel 3: Utahraptor explains, ā€œYOU PULLED THAT NUMBER OUT OF THE AIR AND THERE'S NO ONE ESKIMO LANGUAGE BUT RATHER AN ESKIMO-ALEUT LANGUAGE FAMILY WHICH BUILDS COMPOUND NOUNS OUT OF WHAT YOU'D CALL A PHRASE.ā€ Utahraptor continues, ā€œSO YOU SAY HARD ICY SNOW AND AN INUIT SPEAKER SAYS THE SAME THING ONLY WITH FEWER SPACES.ā€ ā€œCALLING IT A UNIQUE WORD WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE WORD BOUNDARY ISSUES IS MISLEADING AT BEST.ā€ T-Rex responds, ā€œGAME SET AND MATCH BABY.ā€ Panel 4: T-Rex says, ā€œOooh look at me, I'm God, I know language stuff!ā€ God appears and declares, ā€œI KNOW ALL OF THE STUFFS.ā€ T-Rex replies, ā€œwhoah!ā€ Panel 5: God asks, ā€œYou're making fun of God? Is that not... THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME???ā€ T-Rex responds, ā€œNo, that's hunting dinosaurs. Well, I mean, folks used to say hunting the most dangerous game, but humans don't have claws.ā€ He adds, ā€œCheck mine out! Rar.ā€ Panel 6: T-Rex says, ā€œI've got some good ones too! Snikt! They don't make that sound on their own so I have to say it out loud.ā€ He concludes, ā€œSometimes life is full of compromises, you know?ā€") The ā€œInuit words for snowā€ myth captures the popular imagination because it creates an exoticized image of peoples who ā€œsee the world differentlyā€ or ā€œthink differentlyā€ than English speakers. This is a version of an idea known as **linguistic relativity** (also called the **Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis**)ā€”the idea that the language a person speaks influences, limits, or determines the way that they perceive and conceptualize their worlds (Matthews 2014: 353; Crystal & Yu 2024: 398). In one understanding of the idea, linguistic relativity is trivially true. *All* our experiences influence the way we think in extremely subtle ways, language included. This is no different than saying that the sport a person plays or the job a person does or how much exercise a person gets influences how they think about things. Thatā€™s all true, but also pretty unremarkable. A more extreme version of the idea, called **linguistic determinism**, claims that we are locked into certain worldviews by the languages we speak. This claim is obviously false. The fact that people can successfully learn other languages is enough evidence that linguistic determinism cannot be literally true. Or consider this simple thought experiment: The Russian language has distinct words for ā€˜light blueā€™ (Š³Š¾Š»ŃƒŠ±Š¾Š¹ *goluboj*) and ā€˜dark blueā€™ (сŠøŠ½ŠøŠ¹ *sinij*), yet English has just one word for both, *blue*. Are English speakers incapable of understanding the difference and distinguishing between the two colors because English lacks distinct words for them? Of course not. Languages are also not fixed entitiesā€”speakers of any language rapidly coin new expressions for ideas and things that are new to them. šŸŒ  Want to learn more about how different languages divide up the color spectrum and what this tells us about how color terms evolve? Check out this issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter: [Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind?Why Homer uses colors so strangely in the Iliad and the Odyssey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-128.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/newsletter-banner-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/color-term-hierarchy/) Unfortunately, linguistic determinism has a sordid history of being used to justify all sorts of scurrilous claims about the inferiority of indigenous peoples, by both scholars and the public alike. For example, in a grammatical description of Inuit languages, philologist William Thalbitzer writes: > In the Eskimo mind the line of demarcation between the noun and the verb seems to be extremely vague, as appears from the whole structure of the language, and from the fact that the inflectional endings are, partially at any rate, the same for both nouns and verbs. \[ā€¦\] Judging from these considerations, we get the impression that to the Eskimo mind the nominal concept of the phenomena of life is predominant. The verbal idea has not emancipated itself from the idea of things that may be owned, or which are substantial. Anything that can be named and described in words, all real things, actions, ideas, resting or moving, personal or impersonal, are subject to one and the same kind of observation and expression. \[ā€¦\] The Eskimo verb merely forms a sub-class of nouns. (Thalbitzer 1911: 1057ā€“1059) Here we see a scholar using the purported lack of a grammatical distinction in the language to say that Inuit peoples are incapable of distinguishing objects from actions. In this view, their categorization of the world is hopelessly vague. In another case the opposite was claimed: linguist Stephen Ullmann criticized some indigenous languages for being too *specific* instead: > To have a separate word for all the things we may talk about would impose a crippling burden on our memory. We should be worse off than the savage who has special terms for *wash oneself*, *wash someone else*, but none for the simple act of *washing*. (Ullmann 1951: 49). Ullmann is unwittingly referring to Cherokee, which has its own version of the ā€œInuit words for snowā€ myth. In 1892, linguist Otto Jespersen described Cherokee as having 13 different verbs for washing, a claim which holds up to scrutiny just about as well as the ā€œInuit words for snowā€ myth (Hill 1952), as weā€™ll see below. But like the snow myth, that idea was propagated for decades afterwards by various scholars, with the result that a generation of intellectuals thought that the Cherokee were incapable of abstract thought. The most famous claim about ā€œthe indigenous mindā€ comes from the progenitor of linguistic determinism himself, Benjamin Lee Whorf: > After long and careful study and analysis, the Hopi language is seen to contain no words, grammatical forms, constructions, or expressions that refer directly to what we call ā€œtimeā€. \[A Hopi person\] has no general notion or intuition of TIME as a smooth flowing continuum in which everything in the universe proceeds at an equal rate. (Whorf 1950: 67) Yet in 1983, linguist Ekkehart Malotki published a hefty 677-page tome analyzing all the expressions for time in the Hopi language. The book opens with the following passage in Hopi, with accompanying translation: > *puā€™ antsa pay qavongvaqw pay suā€™its talavay kuyvansat, pĆ asatham puā€™ pam piw maanat taatayna* > > ā€˜Then indeed, the following day, quite early in the morning at the hour when people pray to the sun, around that time then, he woke up the girl again.ā€™ (Malotki 1983) Oops. Suffice it to say, Whorfā€™s analysis was slightly off. These kinds of linguistically-motivated claims about the cognitive abilities of different peoples extend to more than just indigenous communities. Itā€™s been claimed that because some languages grammatically conflate present tense and future tense, speakers of those languages save more money and are generally better at long-term, future-oriented decision-making than speakers of languages which do have a distinct future tense (Chen 2013). Whatā€™s especially ironic about this study is that most linguistic typologists (myself included) would include English in the group of languages lacking a dedicated future tense. But this study does the opposite, contrasting English with Mandarin Chinese, for example. Whatā€™s especially ironic about this study is that most linguistic typologists (myself included) would include English in the group of languages lacking a dedicated future tense. But this study does the opposite, contrasting English with Mandarin Chinese, for example. šŸŒ  In English the future is expressed as a modal verb, not a tense suffix like the past and present tenses are. See Englishā€™s classification in the [WALS](https://wals.info/valuesets/67A-eng?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [GramBank](https://grambank.clld.org/parameters/GB084?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#2/20.6/152.9) databases, as well as the discussion of tense in Payne (2011). The paper concludes that speakers of non-tensed languages like Mandarin ā€œsave more, retire with more wealth, smoke less, practice safer sex, and are less obeseā€ā€”huge if true. In fact, the author Keith Chen even gave a TED talk about his research, garnering over 250,000 views on YouTube: Yet it turns out the study was deeply flawed: It did not take into account the fact that many languages in the study were related; it assumed that each language was independent. This assumption makes correlations appear stronger than are warranted (known as [**Galtonā€™s problem**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogenetic%5Fautocorrelation?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in phylogenetics). In a follow-up study that controlled for relatedness and included Chen as a coauthor, the statistical correlation between tensedness and future-orientation was found to be insignificant, debunking Chenā€™s original study (Roberts, Winters & Chen 2015). In addition to the pernicious beliefs propagated by uncritical acceptance of linguistic relativity, claims about linguistic relativity usually have the direction of causation wrong as well. Itā€™s not that language shackles us into certain ways of seeing the world; itā€™s that language comes to *reflect* our conceptualizations of the world. Languages develop vocabulary and grammatical structures for things that speakers talk about frequentlyā€”a pretty trivial observation. Geoffrey Pullum trenchantly makes this point in his famous essay, ā€œ[The great Eskimo vocabulary hoax](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/EskimoVocabularyHoax.pdf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€: > Among the many depressing things about this credulous transmission and elaboration of a false claim is that even if there *were* a large number of roots for different snow types in some Arctic language, this would *not*, objectively, be intellectually interesting; it would be a most mundane and unremarkable fact. > > Horsebreeders have various names for breeds, sizes, and ages of horses; botanists have names for leaf shapes; interior decorators have names for shades of mauve; printers have many different names for different fonts (Caslon, Garamond, Helvetica, Times Roman, and so on), naturally enough. If these obvious truths of specialization are supposed to be interesting facts about language, thought, and culture, then Iā€™m sorry, but include me out. (Pullum 1989: 278ā€“279) (Pullumā€™s article is available [here](https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/EskimoVocabularyHoax.pdf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), but the book version has an added appendix where Pullum attempts to get at a real number.) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!THKK!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab1ef8a2-e231-4009-ba70-9877c99803c1_304x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ipc6hr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Where things start to get really interesting is in the nuanced interplay between language and experience. Our conceptualizations and experiences shape our language, but our language also has subtle effects on our conceptualizations, creating a feedback loop. For instance, while itā€™s true that English speakers can distinguish light blue and dark blue, it turns out they canā€™t do it as well or fast as Russian speakers can: [Russian speakers get the bluesSubjects had to pick which one of the two bottom squares matched the colour of the top square. (Credit: Winawer et al./PNAS) The language you speak can affect how you see the world, a new study of colour perception indicates. Native speakers of Russian ā€“ which lacks a single word for ā€œblueā€ ā€“ discriminated between …![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-7.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/dn11759_290.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11759-russian-speakers-get-the-blues/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Winawer et al. 2007\. Russian blues reveal effects of language on color discrimination. *PNAS* 104(19): 7780ā€“7785\. DOI: [10.1073/pnas.0701644104](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0701644104?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Lera Boroditsky, one of the authors of the above paper, has an excellent TED talk (in the top 30 of TEDā€™s most-viewed talks) describing some of the great research thatā€™s been done in this area: ## Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? ![A two-panel comic. Top panel: Two characters are talking. The one on the left, holding a book, says, ā€œSays here the Eskimos have over 100 words for snow, but only one word is snow... the rest are the word snow with an expletive in front of it.ā€ The character on the right listens silently. Bottom panel: An Inuit character stands in a snowy landscape, holding a spear. They say, ā€œOh look! More goddamn snow.ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-thj!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbd6b32f-f667-420d-b027-c1b38422090f_500x549.png "A two-panel comic. Top panel: Two characters are talking. The one on the left, holding a book, says, ā€œSays here the Eskimos have over 100 words for snow, but only one word is snow... the rest are the word snow with an expletive in front of it.ā€ The character on the right listens silently. Bottom panel: An Inuit character stands in a snowy landscape, holding a spear. They say, ā€œOh look! More goddamn snow.ā€") Okay, so the original discussion got blown way out of proportion, sure, but could the claim that Inuit languages have lots of words for snow still be true, even if it doesnā€™t tell us anything scientifically interesting? After all, itā€™s entirely reasonable that a community would have an assortment of words for objects they deal with frequently. Martin (1986) says that many of the words that people use to illustrate the snow myth are not actually words for snow at all, but refer to ice, drifts, moisture, igloos, etc. In actuality, she says, there are only two roots for ā€˜snowā€™ā€”*qanik* ā€˜snow in the air; snowflakeā€™ and *aput* ā€˜snow on the groundā€™. Linguist Anthony Woodbury comes to a more generous number. Using Steven Jacobsonā€™s (1984) *Yupā€™ik Eskimo dictionary*, he finds 32 stems having to do with snow: 1. *aniu* ā€˜snow on groundā€™ 2. *aniu-* ā€˜to get snow on groundā€™ 3. *apun* ā€˜snow on groundā€™ 4. *cellallir-, cellarrlir-* ā€˜to snow heavilyā€™ 5. *kaneq* ā€˜frostā€™ 6. *kaner-* ā€˜to be frosty; to frost somethingā€™ 7. *kanevcir-* ā€˜to get fine snow/rain particlesā€™ 8. *kanevvluk* ā€˜fine snow/rain particles 9. *muruaneq* ā€˜soft deep snowā€™ 10. *natqu(v)igte-* ā€˜for snow, etc. to drift along groundā€™ 11. *natquik* ā€˜drifting snow, etc.ā€™ 12. *navcaq* ā€˜snow cornice, snow (formation) about to collapseā€™ 13. *navcite-* ā€˜to get caught in an avalancheā€™ 14. *nevlugte-* ā€˜to have clinging debris/lint/snow/dirtā€™ 15. *nevluk* ā€˜clinging debrisā€™ 16. *nutaryuk* ā€˜fresh snowā€™ 17. *pircir-* ā€˜to blizzardā€™ 18. *pir(e)t(e)pag-* ā€˜to blizzard severelyā€™ 19. *pirrelvag-* ā€˜to blizzard severelyā€™ 20. *pirta* ā€˜blizzard, snowstormā€™ 21. *pirtuk* ā€˜blizzard, snowstormā€™ 22. *qanikcaq* ā€˜snow on groundā€™ 23. *qanikcir-* ā€˜to get snow on groundā€™ 24. *qanir-* ā€˜to snowā€™ 25. *qanisqineq* ā€˜snow floating on waterā€™ 26. *qanugglir-* ā€˜to snowā€™ 27. *qanuk* ā€˜snowflakeā€™ 28. *qanunge-* ā€˜to snowā€™ 29. *qengaruk* ā€˜snow bankā€™ 30. *qerretrar-* ā€˜for snow to crustā€™ 31. *qetrar-* ā€˜for snow to crustā€™ 32. *utvak* ā€˜snow carved in blockā€™ Yet he notes at least 23 snow-related terms in English, too. When framed this way, Yupā€™ik doesnā€™t seem quite so exotic: 1. avalanche 2. blizzard 3. blowing snow 4. dusting 5. flurry 6. frost 7. hail 8. hardpack 9. ice lens 10. igloo (from Inuit \*iglu ā€˜\*houseā€™) 11. pingo (from Inuit \*pingu(q) ā€˜\*ice lensā€™) 12. powder 13. sleet 14. slush 15. snow 16. snow bank 17. snow cornice 18. snow fort 19. snow house 20. snow man 21. snow-mixed-with-rain? 22. snowflake 23. snowstorm You can read Woodburyā€™s entire post for more details here: - [Counting Eskimo words for snow: A citizenā€™s guide](https://www.princeton.edu/~browning/snow?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Now, enter a [new study](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417304122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) which claims that having a greater abundance of words for snow is indeed characteristic of Inuit languages. Using a dataset of 1,574 bilingual dictionaries where one of the two languages is English, a team of researchers led by Temuulen Khishigsuren examined 616 languages to determine which semantic domains are overrepresented in the vocabulary of each language. When looking at words having to do with horses, the researchers looked at not just words for horses themselves, such as Mongolian Š°Ń€Š³Š°Š¼Š°Š³ *argamag* ā€˜a good racing or riding horseā€™, but at related words as well, such as Mongolian чөŠ“Ó©Ń€Š»Ó©Ń… *chƶdƶrlƶkh* ā€˜to hobble a horseā€™. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of language. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* According to this dataset, Inuit and other circumpolar languages do indeed have more words for snow. All three of the Inuit languages in their dataset (Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Western Canadian Inuktitut, and North Alaskan Inupiatun) appear in the top 20 languages for ā€˜snowā€™. ![A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to ā€˜snowā€™, with Eastern Canadian Inuktitut having the highest score. The accompanying map shows that the 20 languages in the chart are mostly situated in the circumpolar region.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!mran!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb50ee34c-bf72-457c-9b2f-e27ff119b57a_649x455.png "A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to ā€˜snowā€™, with Eastern Canadian Inuktitut having the highest score. The accompanying map shows that the 20 languages in the chart are mostly situated in the circumpolar region.") Since Khishigsuren et al.ā€™s study is about the semantic domain of snow rather than specific words for snow, it makes sense that their methods result in a high lexical elaboration score for circumpolar languages. Their data include various terms that are snow-adjacent, so to speak. Similarly, it has been well established that Inuit and other circumpolar languages (Chukchi, Denaā€™ina Athabascan, SĆ”mi, etc.) have tremendously large vocabularies in the domain of sea ice as well (Krupnik 2017). ![Depiction of Inuktitut terms (or their alternatives) as used by three generations of Kangiqsualujjuamiut hunters to describe late winter/early spring sea ice (Heyes 2017: 81)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xJt-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff9d4cdca-2d3e-4df5-b2c2-1cb47769e826_720x494.png "Depiction of Inuktitut terms (or their alternatives) as used by three generations of Kangiqsualujjuamiut hunters to describe late winter/early spring sea ice (Heyes 2017: 81)") Depiction of Inuktitut terms (or their alternatives) as used by three generations of Kangiqsualujjuamiut hunters to describe late winter/early spring sea ice (Heyes 2017: 81) (Check out [this incredible Sea Ice Atlas](https://sikuatlas.ca/index.html?module=module.sikuatlas.cape%5Fdorset.terminology&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [this discussion of terminology](https://sikuatlas.ca/index.html?module=module.sikuatlas.igloolik.terminology&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for more examples of sea ice terminology.) Other unsurprising results appear for other languages as well: the top scores for wine, for example, include French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portugueseā€”languages spoken in some of the worldā€™s largest wine-exporting regions. (But third on that list is Mandarin Chinese, and in the top twenty are Igbo and Vietnamese, none of which have a strong geographic association with wine.) Another unsurprising result is that Navajo scores nearly double for sheep words than the next-closest language. (Sheep are indeed very important to Navajo culture.) And languages that score highly for ā€˜islandā€™ (Māori, Hawaiian, Aleut, Nuuchahnulth, Tuvalu, etc.) are located in insular regions, as expected. ![A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to wine.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dgKV!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4c9661d5-793f-43fd-a54c-1f9a69d07da2_644x457.png "A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to wine.") ![A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to snow, with Navajoā€™s score being twice that of the next closest language.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qL0c!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4d9cfc75-741d-4a1b-85b7-bd1237634e88_640x448.png "A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to snow, with Navajoā€™s score being twice that of the next closest language.") ![A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to ā€˜islandā€™. All of the languages in the list are situated near insular regions.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YR2A!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fad44bd55-1dd6-4391-8c6b-cff9ec41042b_645x451.png "A bar chart showing scores for different languages for words relating to ā€˜islandā€™. All of the languages in the list are situated near insular regions.") ## What can we learn from elaborate vocabularies? Now, it may be tempting to dismiss this study as boring for the reasons I mentioned above (ā€œLanguages have words for the stuff people do or use a lot. Duh.ā€), but this study contributes more than just that. Itā€™s important for me as a linguistics communicator to combat fallacious ideas like linguistic determinism and not give additional credence to beliefs that exoticize indigenous peoples, but having made those caveats, we can better appreciate what this study *does* accomplish. Linguists use the term **semantic domain** or **semantic field** to refer to the abstract conceptual space covering a particular group of meanings. For example, linguists talk about the ā€œtemperature domainā€, the variety of ways languages express temperature concepts (Koptjevskaja-Tamm 2015); or they talk about the ā€œingestion domainā€ or ā€œgustatory domainā€, referring to ways that languages express concepts relating to eating and drinking (Newman 2009). This new study coins the term **lexical elaboration** to refer to the number of **lexemes** (dictionary entries) in a language that are related to a concept (Khishigsuren et al. 2025: 1)ā€”in other words, how many words there are for a particular semantic domain. Historically, finding languages with elaborate lexicons for one domain or another was a manual and somewhat subjective taskā€”linguists would simply make lists of words for domains that caught their attention, and impressionistically compare them to other languages. This is unfortunate because we can actually learn a great deal about how language works from lexical elaboration. Thereā€™s a 1,000-page volume devoted solely to [the linguistics of temperature](https://amzn.to/42HhcQm?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), for example, which explores ways that temperature terms give rise to certain function words, or how antonyms and scalar terms work in the temperature domain, among many other topics (Koptjevskaja-Tamm 2015). Languages which are more strongly lexically elaborated for temperature can yield important insights. What Khishigsuren et al.ā€™s study does is provide a method for potentially identifying other lexically elaborate domains in a language, which linguists might have overlooked in the past. For example, they end the paper by pointing out that terms relating to dancing have previously received little attention; however, their dataset suggests a few languages in which dancing might be lexically elaborated, pointing to new areas of research for linguists who work with those languages. Overall, itā€™s a novel study with potential for practical use, but one which requires a little more nuance to appreciate than it has been given by media outlets. If youā€™d like to explore lexical elaboration in different languages yourself, the authors have made available a handy online tool, which is how I produced the visuals above: - [Concepts across languages](https://charleskemp.com/code/lexicalelaboration%5Fconversation.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The authors also have an article in *The Conversation* explaining their findings and talking about Inuit words for snow: [Do Inuit languages really have many words for snow? The most interesting finds from our study of 616 languagesCan you guess which languages score the highest for terms relating to ā€˜loveā€™, ā€˜deathā€™, ā€˜canoeā€™ or ā€˜sheepā€™? We made a tool to help you explore our extensive dataset.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-37.png)The ConversationCharles Kemp![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250404-56-fq7mmp-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/do-inuit-languages-really-have-many-words-for-snow-the-most-interesting-finds-from-our-study-of-616-languages-252522?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) They rightly end the article by urging readers not to read too far into their results: > Most importantly, our results run the risk of perpetuating potentially harmful stereotypes if taken at face value. So we urge caution and respect while using the tool. The concepts it lists for any given language provide, at best, a crude reflection of the cultures associated with that language. You can also read the original research article here: - Khishigsuren et al. 2025\. A computational analysis of lexical elaboration across languages. *PNAS* 122(15). DOI: [10.1073/pnas.2417304122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417304122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Further reporting is here: [Linguists Find Proof of Sweeping Language Pattern Once Deemed a ā€˜Hoaxā€™Inuit languages really do have many words for snow, linguists foundā€”and other languages have conceptual specialties, too, potentially revealing what a culture values![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-98.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/open_dictionary_isolated_on_black.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/linguists-find-proof-of-sweeping-language-pattern-once-deemed-a-hoax/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of language. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) šŸŒ grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages (typology) ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸ—žļø the latest news and research in language and linguistics ā­ linguistic reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ™ Credits This issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was edited by Amy Treber. If youā€™re looking for professional copyediting services, email Amy at [amytreberedits@gmail.com](mailto:amytreberedits@gmail.com). The final responsibility for any mistakes or omissions is of course still wholly my own. ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!b3Av!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffee1a50a-e4c3-4ccb-a19f-698f38f250d5_304x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4ipc6hr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!LFML!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1fe7bdc0-f8a0-4735-96fa-94d6ab673a20_417x630.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hsH9tu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!GRg7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb4edb4e1-9362-404d-9c32-9d036d1c2897_245x350.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4f1789J?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!UFqy!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8751ac60-4e44-495c-b734-52d1e4d9a053_464x700.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4e896Ux?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!th3n!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F083aa2b7-c04f-4102-8232-4c19ae45d844_827x1333.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4kiGqLD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Springer](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-90-481-8587-0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (with online access) ## šŸ“‘ References - Boas, Franz. 1911\. Introduction. In *Handbook of American Indian languages, Part 1* (Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletins 40), 1ā€“84\. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. - Chen, M. Keith. 2013\. The effect of language on economic behavior: Evidence from savings rates, health behaviors, and retirement assets. *American Economic Review* 103(2). 690ā€“731\. [https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.2.690](https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.103.2.690?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Crystal, David & Alan C.L. Yu. 2024\. [*A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics*](https://amzn.to/4jipQvE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). 7th edn. Wiley-Blackwell. - Heyes, Scott A. 2011\. Cracks in the knowledge: Sea ice terms in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Nunavik. *Canadian Geographies / GĆ©ographies canadiennes* 55(1). 69ā€“90\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00346.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00346.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hill, Archibald A. 1952\. A note on primitive languages. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 18(3). 172ā€“177\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/464167](https://doi.org/10.1086/464167?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Jacobson, Steven A. (ed.). 1984\. *Yupā€™ik Eskimo dictionary*. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center. - Khishigsuren, Temuulen, Terry Regier, Ekaterina Vylomova & Charles Kemp. 2025\. A computational analysis of lexical elaboration across languages. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 122(15). e2417304122\. [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417304122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417304122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Koptjevskaja-Tamm, Maria (ed.). 2015\. [*The linguistics of temperature*](https://amzn.to/4nqJ3xF?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Typological Studies in Language 107). John Benjamins. - Krupnik, Igor. 2017\. ā€˜How many Eskimo words for ice?ā€™ Collecting Inuit sea ice terminologies in the International Polar Year 2007ā€“2008\. *Canadian Geographies / GĆ©ographies canadiennes* 55(1). 56ā€“68\. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00345.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00345.x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Malotki, Ekkehart. 1983\. *Hopi time: A linguistic analysis of the temporal concepts in the Hopi language* (Trends in Linguistics: Studies & Monographs 20). Berlin: Mouton. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110822816](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110822816?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Martin, Laura. 1986\. Eskimo words for snow: A case study in the genesis and decay of an anthropological example. *American Anthropologist* 88(2). 418ā€“423. - Matthews, P. H. 2014\. [*The concise Oxford dictionary of linguistics*](https://amzn.to/44yK5R9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Oxford Paperback Reference). 3rd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Newman, John (ed.). 2009\. [*The linguistics of eating and drinking*](https://amzn.to/3GmC6go?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Typological Studies in Language v. 84). Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub. Co. - Payne, Thomas E. 2011\. [*Understanding English grammar: A linguistic introduction*](https://amzn.to/4ns0qOC?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Cambridge University Press. - Pullum, Geoffrey K. 1989\. The great Eskimo vocabulary hoax. *Natural Language & Linguistic Theory* 7(2). 275ā€“281. - Roberts, SeĆ”n G., James Winters & Keith Chen. 2015\. Future tense and economic decisions: Controlling for cultural evolution. (Ed.) Ramesh Balasubramaniam. *PLOS One* 10(7). e0132145\. [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132145](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132145?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Thalbitzer, William. 1911\. Eskimo. In *Handbook of American Indian languages, Part 1* (Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletins 40), 967ā€“1069\. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. - Ullmann, Stephen. 1951\. *Words and their use*. New York: Hawthorn Books. - Whorf, Benjamin Lee. 1950\. An American Indian model of the universe. *International Journal of American Linguistics* 16(2). 67ā€“72\. [https://doi.org/10.1086/464066](https://doi.org/10.1086/464066?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Did technology drive the evolution of language? Or was it music? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-25/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:21.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Brain activity mirrored between conversational participants ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YEHM!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F082ad2e9-8ffe-4a6b-9f7b-0e4eaedd59d3_800x206.png) Speaker-listener linguistic coupling [Brain activity associated with specific words is mirrored between speaker and listener during a conversation, data showWhen two people interact, their brain activity becomes synchronized, but it was unclear until now to what extent this ā€œbrain-to-brain couplingā€ is due to linguistic information or other factors, such as body language or tone of voice.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-5.svg)Medical XpressCell Press![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/brain-activity-associa.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-brain-specific-words-mirrored-speaker.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Zada et al. 2024\. A shared model-based linguistic space for transmitting our thoughts from brain to brain in natural conversations. *Neuron* 112(18): 3211ā€”3222.e5\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.06.025](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.06.025?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Language and rhythm may have evolved together People with rhythmic skills have a greater awareness of certain linguistic features and had better language than mathematics skills in school, according to a 2024 study. The study also found significant genetic overlap between rhythm and language traits in the white matter structures in the brain. The researchers concluded that there may be a shared neuronal architecture for rhythm and language. [ā€œShared Genetic Architectureā€ Suggests Language And Musical Rhythm Evolved TogetherNever underestimate the power of the beat.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-31.png)IFLScienceTom Hale![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/drum-meta.png)](https://www.iflscience.com/shared-genetic-architecture-suggests-language-and-musical-rhythm-evolved-together-76976?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm - Nature Human BehaviourUsing a battery of statistical tools, Alagƶz et al. examine the genetic overlap between dyslexia and rhythm impairment and shed light on how the genome influences the neural bases of human language and musicality.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-12.png)NatureGƶkberk Alagƶz![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2024_2051_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02051-y?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Brain implant allows man who lost his speech to produce natural-sounding sentences Casey Harrell, age 47, lost his voice to ALS 5 years ago. Now, a brain implant paired with a machine learning algorithm is allowing Harrell to communicate via a computerized voice at the same rate as natural speech. This is far faster than other brain-computer interfaces have accomplished in the past. - [This brain implant lets a man who lost his speech to ALS produce natural-sounding sentences instantaneously](https://www.science.org/content/article/brain-implant-lets-man-who-lost-his-speech-als-produce-natural-sounding-sentences?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) [An instantaneous voice-synthesis neuroprosthesis - NatureA brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis enables a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to synthesize his voice in real time by decoding neural activity, demonstrating the potential of brainā€“computer interfaces to enable people with paralysis to speak intelligibly and expressively.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-13.png)NatureMaitreyee Wairagkar![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2025_9127_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09127-3?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Mapping migration patterns in ancient Papua New Guinea ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6_hk!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3f766200-3b49-4b7f-a21b-1f17abb6c8e5_800x494.png) A really neat paper was just released which conducts DNA analysis on 42 individuals from ancient Papua New Guinea, and combines that information with dietary and ecological evidence to paint a picture of human migration patterns c. 2100 YA. The analysis shows that native Papuans and later Austronesian arrivals coexisted without intermarrying for several hundred yearsā€”a very unusual pattern in human migrations. In general, thereā€™s little research on the genetic history of ancient populations of the Pacific region, so itā€™s great to see a study like this elucidating some of the history of the region. [Ancient DNA analysis reveals regional migration patterns and local interactions in coastal Papua New GuineaIn the rugged landscapes of Papua New Guineaā€”where more than 800 languages echo across valleys and coastsā€”a remarkable discovery has brought new clarity to one of humanityā€™s greatest migrations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-6.svg)Phys.orgMax Planck Society![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/papua-new-guineas-gene.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ancient-dna-analysis-reveals-regional.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The impact of human dispersals and local interactions on the genetic diversity of coastal Papua New Guinea over the past 2,500 years - Nature Ecology & EvolutionNew archaeological and ancient genomic data from humans in Papua New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago shed light on regional human admixture and genetic isolation over the past 2,500 years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-14.png)NatureKathrin NƤgele![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41559_2025_2710_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02710-x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Did technology drive the evolution of language? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O2RW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82d0b5aa-ee6b-420c-bb4c-61847756526a_837x557.png) One of the features that makes *Homo sapiens* remarkable is the extent to which our knowledge is culturally transmitted. Other species certainly engage in cultural learning, but not nearly to the degree that humans do. But when did this robust cultural transmission develop? A new study looks at 103 cultural traits in the archaeological record that would have required some degree of cultural transmission and plots those trends over time. Hereā€™s an excerpt from the news article in *New Scientist*: > The new work suggests there were two major shifts in cultural transmission. First, around 600,000 years ago, ancient humans were overtly teaching each other, although not necessarily using spoken instructions: gestures may have been enough. That is well before the origin of our species, Homo sapiens, and coincides with the emergence of hafting. > > Then, between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago, humans developed [modern language](https://apple.news/A9YtvNKArMRWCejvA9D2UeA?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). This was necessary because they were performing behaviours like burials. ā€œThis involves many different steps, and also you have to explain why you do that,ā€ says dā€™Errico. > > ā€œThe link between cultural transmission and cultural complexity is robust,ā€ says [Ceri Shipton](https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=vkU60OgAAAAJ&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) at University College London. He adds that, while there is much uncertainty about when humans developed language, the new estimate is ā€œa reasonable timeframeā€. [Ancient humans evolved to be better teachers as technology advancedAs our ancestors developed more advanced tools and cultural practices, they also developed new ways of explaining concepts to others ā€“ culminating in the emergence of complex language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-6.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_254373833.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2483185-ancient-humans-evolved-to-be-better-teachers-as-technology-advanced/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - As our ancestors developed more advanced tools and cultural practices, they also developed new ways of explaining concepts to others ā€“ culminating in the emergence of complex language [An empirically-based scenario for the evolution of cultural transmission in the human lineage during the last 3.3 million yearsHumans accumulate an ever-growing body of knowledge that far exceeds the capacity of any single individual or generation. Social learning and transmission are essential for this process. However, how cultural transmission strategies evolved in our lineage remains unclear. Here we assess the transmission strategies needed to ensure the perpetuation across generations of 103 cultural traits that emerged in the Paleolithic. Our study provides a novel approach to assessing the transmission behaviors implicated in Paleolithic cultural traits and the evolution of cultural transmission over the last 3.3 million years. The results identify trends in the evolution of cultural transmission and reveal a coevolutionary dynamic between the emergence of novel cultural traits and the complexification of transmission strategies. While effective means of overt explanation, perhaps associating gesture and verbal expression, were already present at least 600,000 years ago, the period between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago appears as a crucial tipping point for the emergence of modern language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-94.ico)PLOS OneIvan ColagĆØ ,![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-3)](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0325059&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Who wrote the Bible? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2zV-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7a1df4e1-1012-439d-8390-bea5d510b85e_640x360.png) An ancient Hebrew Bible manuscript. Scholars use machine learning to identify different writing styles throughout the Bible, lending additional support to existing theories about biblical authorship: [Breakthrough AI study identifies original authors of the Hebrew BibleA custom AI model analyzes the Hebrew Bible to uncover distinct scribal traditions and link disputed passages to likely original authors.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180-4.png)Interesting EngineeringAamir Khollam![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Untitled-design-2025-06-05T230236.752.jpg)](https://interestingengineering.com/culture/hebrew-bible-ai-authorship-study?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Using a custom AI tool, researchers have traced biblical authorship, revealing secret writing patterns and confirming long-held scholarly theories. ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Can Brain Structure Alone Explain Why We Have Language?This recent find in evolution studies is strikingly negative. There is no physical limitation to chimpanzee speech; rather, the limitation is a mental one.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270-3.png)Mind MattersDenyse Oā€™Leary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/two-chimpanzees-have-a-fun-stockpack-adobe-stock-scaled.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/2024/11/can-brain-structure-alone-explain-why-we-have-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking of Words: Words for NumbersWhen we learn to count, we rattle off the first ten numbers as a set of arbitrary sounds as if they were proper names and have no other meaning.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-3.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-3.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/05/31/speaking-of-words-words-for-numbers/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Is Latin a Dead Language? Answering the Age-Old Question - Rosetta StoneIs Latin a dead language? Discover the answer to this complex question and learn how the ancient language still influences modern languages.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-4.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/is-latin-a-dead-language-bible-min.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/latin-dead-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: What makes a wordā€™s pronunciation change?No matter the language, our mouths tend to look for the same pronunciation shortcuts. Here are 5 of the most common sound changes!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-7.png)Duolingo BlogEmilie Zuniga, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_gold.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/sound-change-patterns/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Ryan Rhodes of the *Language of Mind* social media channels recently published a video about Kanzi, the bonobo who could communicate using symbols. He breaks down exactly what Kanziā€™s linguistic abilities were, and what this tells us about the human language faculty: ### Morris Swadesh ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yvp1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F98d8bbdc-2251-4864-ad21-b154efa2fd53_315x452.png) Morris Swadesh (1909ā€“1967) If youā€™ve taken a linguistics class or read a pop linguistics book about historical linguistics, chances are youā€™ve encountered the name of Morris Swadesh (1909ā€“1967). Swadesh is best known for the eponymous Swadesh Listā€”a set of 100 words thought to be most resistant to change over time. Swadesh used this list as the basis for his theory of **glottochronology**. Now completely debunked, the idea was that linguists could use that set of core vocabulary to measure how long ago languages diverged, by determining how similar their Swadesh lists were. We know now that vocabulary replacement rates vary drastically depending on the historical and social context, and that thereā€™s no coherent way to define ā€œrate of linguistic changeā€ otherwise. Nonetheless, Swadesh is a hugely important figure in linguistics. Even though we canā€™t use core vocabulary to estimate rates of language change, core vocabulary does nonetheless have a role to play in the reconstruction of historical languages, and research into etymologies. There are indeed some words across languages that appear to be [more resistant to change](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig%E2%80%93Jakarta%5Flist?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and thus are better heuristics for determining whether certain languages are related. And it was Swadesh who first synthesized the distinction between phonetics and phonology in his famous paper, ā€œ[The Phonemic Principle](https://www.jstor.org/stable/409603?seq=1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€. He conducted fieldwork on a large number of indigenous languages, and his corpus constitutes the primary documentation we have for several of them. Iā€™m in the interesting position of being more intimately familiar with Swadeshā€™s life and works than most, because he was also the linguist that created the largest documentary corpus of Chitimacha, the language I work on in Louisiana. Iā€™ve spent countless hours poring over his field notebooks, manuscripts, publications, and even his personal correspondence. Itā€™s a neat thing to get such an intimate look into how another scholarā€™s mind worked, the way he thought about things, and the way he organized things. After 15 years of working with his materials, he feels like an old friend. So for that reason, I thought itā€™d be interesting to share his scholarly obituary, published in 1970 by Dell Hymes. Itā€™s a rather extensive look at his life and scholarly outputs. - Hymes, Dell. 1970\. Obituary: Morris Swadesh. *Word* 26(1): 119ā€“138\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1970.11435588](https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1970.11435588?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can also read the Wikipedia page about him here: [Morris Swadesh - Wikipedia![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/wikipedia-1.png)Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Photo_of_MORRIS_H._SWADESH.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris%5FSwadesh?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* Colin Gorrie of the [Dead Language Society](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) newsletter (which I highly recommend) recently interviewed Laura Spinney about her new book, *Proto: How one ancient language went global*. You can watch the interview and read the transcript here: [What came before English?Watch now | The story of Proto-Indo-European![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-2.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fbf9633ac-1b1b-4d0f-927a-4623d032261e_1456x1043.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/what-came-before-english) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SVIB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7fb3313f-9b48-44b0-aab6-04bdce52a233_350x538.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Google Ngram Viewer ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZoMx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7011cc9-fa8f-4311-aa8b-40cd3f80c618_1629x811.png) Screenshot from Googleā€™s Ngram Viewer, comparing the frequency of the terms ā€œAlbert Einsteinā€, ā€œSherlock Holmesā€, and ā€œFrankensteinā€ over time. On the off chance youā€™re not already familiar with it, I thought Iā€™d point out the existence of Googleā€™s Ngram Viewer. This tool allows you to see the frequency of words over time in the Google Books Corpus. Itā€™s a pretty incredible tool for quickly seeing how linguistic usage has changed over time: [Google Books Ngram ViewerGoogle Ngram Viewer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-95.ico)Books Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You can view the original research paper they published when they released it showing some of its applications here: - Michel et al. 2010\. Quantitative analysis of culture using millions of digitized books. *Science* 331(6014): 176ā€“182\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1199644](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1199644?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! I hope your summer is off to a great start (or winter if youā€™re in the southern hemisphere) and that you have a great week! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### A Paleo-Hispanic alphabet is discovered in Spain, and researchers use AI to read 2,000-year-old scrolls burnt to a crisp by Mt. Vesuvius for the first time URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-24/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:27.000Z Me on a daily basis: ![Me: Iā€™ll just make a quick 1-minute video about this. Also me, 3 hours and 5,000 words later: [Photo of a man surrounded by books and papers doing research.]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F17e890a8-6729-422e-ad9b-2ab8804b4dfc_1080x1350.png "Me: Iā€™ll just make a quick 1-minute video about this. Also me, 3 hours and 5,000 words later: [Photo of a man surrounded by books and papers doing research.]") Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ![A cuneiform inscription.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F60daf9da-33ba-4c7e-97de-02feb55d90ab_1920x960.png "A cuneiform inscription.") [History.com](https://www.history.com/articles/oldest-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) recently interviewed me about the worldā€™s oldest language. This actually isnā€™t the best question because with just a few exceptions all languages are equally old. (The [exceptions](https://amzn.to/4e6EZhG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) are [incredibly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan%5FSign%5FLanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [cool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Sayyid%5FBedouin%5FSign%5FLanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) though.) Myself, Gareth Roberts, and Claire Bowern all tried to impress this on the interviewer, and explained why thereā€™s not really a straightforward answer to this question. Overall I think the article came out well. Iā€™ve seen other versions of this question where the journalist/writer tried to force an answer even though there isnā€™t one. I think people really like the idea of a language frozen in time that allows us to peer back into the depths of history because itā€™s exotic and mysterious, but the fact is languages are always changing. So I agree with Gareth Roberts that most people probably mean something like, ā€œWhatā€™s the oldest written language we have evidence of?ā€ when they ask this. In any case, hereā€™s the article! - [What is the worldā€™s oldest language?](https://www.history.com/articles/oldest-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ([History.com](http://history.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### 2,500-year-old slate with paleo-alphabet discovered in Spain ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a10d5ae-dc99-48ee-8784-459d2d181c9a_1232x693.png) One side of the tablet containing letters in a Paleo-Hispanic alphabet. Archaeologists have discovered a stone tablet at a Tartessian site in southwestern Spain that depicts battle scenes in the center and a partial alphabet in a Paleo-Hispanic script along the edges (21 signs total). [2,500-year-old slate containing drawings of battle scenes and paleo-alphabet discovered in SpainArchaeologists discovered the stone tablet at a Tartessian site in southwestern Spain.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-26.png)Live ScienceJennifer Nalewicki![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/PhgG2i8jNKgvtGWqC6vKNn.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2500-year-old-slate-containing-drawings-of-battle-scenes-and-paleo-alphabet-discovered-in-spain?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A lost civilizationā€™s partial alphabet was discovered in a social media postIn online images of an ancient tablet, an expert spotted previously unnoticed letters ā€” a partial alphabet from the Tartessian civilization.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon.jpg)Science Newsccrockett![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/062024_jb_ancient-alphabet_feat.jpg)](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/lost-civilization-alphabet-social-media?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [El CSIC investiga un abecedario hallado en la tablilla de pizarra del yacimiento de Casas del TuruƱueloInvestigadores del Instituto de ArqueologĆ­a de MĆ©rida (IAM), centro mixto del CSIC y la Junta de Extremadura) estĆ”n estudiando una serie de signos inscritos en la tablilla de pizarra del yacimiento tartĆ©sico de Casas del TuruƱuelo, (GuareƱa, Badajoz), cuyo hallazgo se anunciĆ³ la semana pa![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-88.ico)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientĆ­ficasCSIC![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Abecedario_placa_pizarra_CSIC_logo.jpg)](https://www.csic.es/es/actualidad-del-csic/el-csic-investiga-un-abecedario-hallado-en-la-tablilla-de-pizarra-del-yacimiento-de-casas-del-turunuelo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Using AI to digitally unwrap and read the library of Herculaneum ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffb3d908a-fb54-41bb-ba90-9c54c89bdf95_1024x504.png) A scan of a scroll from Herculaneum that has been digitally unrolled by AI. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc4e20b9-461f-4684-b26c-543a729c58b5_1024x576.png) A scroll from Herculaneum which has been compressed and burnt. The second breakthrough comes from using AI to digitally unroll scrolls from the Roman town of Herculaneum which had been compressed by ash and burnt to a crisp by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. An entire library of these scorched scrolls was discovered in a villa in Herculaneumā€”an unrivaled treasure trove of knowledge about the ancient world, provided weā€™re able to read them. Preserved libraries like this from the ancient world and incredibly rare. Scholars had tried to carefully unwrap a few of these scrolls in the past, but the process destroyed the scrolls. Now, we might finally have a chance at unlocking the text within these scrolls. [First glimpse inside burnt scroll after 2,000 yearsThe document charred by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is being ā€˜unwrappedā€™ using X-ray scans and AI.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-27.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/7d3fdd80-e324-11ef-a819-277e390a7a08.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yvrq7dyg6o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - (*BBC Science Focus* magazine has a feature article about this, and the web version includes some really neat visuals and animations too, but itā€™s currently only available in the digital early edition, so I canā€™t link to it here.) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### How many words and sentences do we know? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb1e2e352-c715-4230-903c-21c9a4783fbb_1000x503.png) Percentage of lemmas (words) in the experimental list known as a function of age and educational level. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb28f593e-2a67-4dde-be47-d8c17c5a47e2_1200x703.png) Estimates of the words known by 20-year-olds and 60-year-olds at the low end and the high end. This is a surprisingly difficult question to answer! For starters, the answer varies based on whether youā€™re examining **active vocabulary** (words you actually use) versus **passive vocabulary** (words you recognize or understand but donā€™t use). One clever experiment estimates that the average 20-year-old knows about 42,000 words passively, while the average 60-year-old knows 48,000 words. I was actually quite surprised that the number grew that much in adulthood! It just goes to show that our linguistic abilities continue to develop over the course of our lifetimes (albeit to a lesser extent than in childhood). [How Many Words and Sentences Do We Know?We all excel in keeping words in mind, to speak, read, and write. How many words and sentences do we know? It turns out a lot. Some 60,000 words and some sextillion sentences.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-28.png)Psychology TodayMax Louwerse Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/binocularrobhyronsshutterstock_206038120_0.jpg)](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/keeping-those-words-in-mind/202104/how-many-words-and-sentences-do-we-know?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#:~:text=Of%20the%2060%2C000%20words%20we%20know%2C%20we%20have,verbs%2C%20one%20adverb%2C%20two%20pronouns%2C%20and%20one%20preposition.?msockid=2508237e28896ee82fce361e29c66f83) [Frontiers | How Many Words Do We Know? Practical Estimates of Vocabulary Size Dependent on Word Definition, the Degree of Language Input and the Participantā€™s AgeBased on an analysis of the literature and a large scale crowdsourcing experiment, we estimate that an average 20 year old native speaker of American Englishā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon_32-tenantFavicon-Frontiers.png)FrontiersMarc Brysbaert![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/fpsyg-07-01116-g001.jpg)](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01116/full?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### A neurological dictionary Using novel technology for recording the activity of individual neurons, researchers have created a mini neurological dictionary showing which neurons fire when people hear specific words. The recordings were accurate enough that the researchers could even predict the word being listened to by the person based on just the neural activity alone. They also found that certain neurons are able to reliably distinguish between homonyms (e.g. *sun* vs. *son*), and they continuously anticipate the most likely meaning of the words based on the context. [Study discovers a ā€˜brain thesaurusā€™ that lets neurons derive meaning from spoken wordsUsing a novel technology for obtaining recordings from single neurons, a team of investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system, discovered a microscopic ā€œthesaurusā€ that reflects how word meanings are represented by neurons in the human brain.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-4.svg)Medical XpressBrandon Chase![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/22-brain.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-brain-thesaurus-neurons-derive-spoken.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Semantic encoding during language comprehension at single-cell resolution - NatureBy tracking the activity of individual neurons using microarrays and Neuropixels probes, a study examines the representation of linguistic meaning, at the single-cell level, during natural speech processing in humans.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-10.png)NatureMohsen Jamali![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2024_7643_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07643-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Demonstratives direct the listenerā€™s attention Demonstrative words like *this* and *that* are typically defined in spatial terms such as ā€˜nearā€™ and ā€˜farā€™. A 2024 study finds that the function of demonstratives actually has more to do with establishing joint attention than physical location. [Words like ā€˜thisā€™ and ā€˜thatā€™ direct attention across languagesDiscover how demonstratives like ā€˜thisā€™ and ā€˜thatā€™ direct attention and reveal insights into social cognition across different languages.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-89.ico)Earth.comRodielon Putol![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Words-attention.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/words-like-this-and-that-direct-attention-across-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Jara-Ettinger & Rubio-Fernandez. 2024\. Demonstratives as attention tools: Evidence of mentalistic representations within language. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 121(32). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402068121](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402068121?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Cats are better at word association than human babies Cats are quicker than babies to associate a picture of a word with its corresponding picture, a 2024 study shows. - [Cats beat babies at word-association game](https://www.science.org/content/article/cats-beat-babies-word-association-game?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) [Cats are better at word association than human babies are, study findsCats are quicker than babies to associate a picture of a word with its corresponding picture, new research shows.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-29.png)Live ScienceVictoria Atkinson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/U6bJU3SqAp7Prh8nhoCEjH.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/animals/domestic-cats/cats-are-better-at-word-association-than-human-babies-are-study-finds?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Rapid formation of picture-word association in cats - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - Rapid formation of picture-word association in cats![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-11.png)NatureSaho Takagi![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41598_2024_74006_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-74006-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Dead Sea Scrolls may be older than previously thought, according to AI Machine learning has given greater support to something some scholars had suspected about the Dead Sea Scrollsā€”that they are 50ā€“100 years older than previously thought. - [Some Dead Sea Scrolls are older than researchers thought, AI analysis suggests](https://www.science.org/content/article/some-dead-sea-scrolls-are-older-researchers-thought-ai-analysis-suggests?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) [Dating ancient manuscripts using radiocarbon and AI-based writing style analysisDetermining by means of palaeography the chronology of ancient handwritten manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls is essential for reconstructing the evolution of ideas, but there is an almost complete lack of date-bearing manuscripts. To overcome this problem, we present Enoch, an AI-based date-prediction model, trained on the basis of 24 14C-dated scroll samples. By applying Bayesian ridge regression on angular and allographic writing style feature vectors, Enoch could predict 14C-based dates with varied mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 27.9 to 30.7 years. In order to explore the viability of the character-shape based dating approach, the trained Enoch model then computed date predictions for 135 non-dated scrolls, aligning with 79% in palaeographic post-hoc evaluation. The 14C ranges and Enochā€™s style-based predictions are often older than traditionally assumed palaeographic estimates, leading to a new chronology of the scrolls and the re-dating of ancient Jewish key texts that contribute to current debates on Jewish and Christian origins.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-90.ico)PLOS OneMladen Popović ,![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-2)](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0323185&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* [Babel: the language magazine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/ipad.png)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1.jpg)](https://cloud.3dissue.com/18743/41457/106040/BabelNo42/index.html?r=16&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Do People Who Speak Different Languages Think Differently?McElvenny credits linguist Noam Chomsky (1928ā€“) with revitalizing the idea that we all have the same sort of minds; language does not really change that.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270-1.png)Mind MattersNews![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/mobile-dictionary-translator-and-e-learningconcept-learning-languages-online-smartphone-and-books-with-language-courses-stockpack-adobe-stock-scaled.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/2024/01/do-people-who-speak-different-languages-think-differently/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Could Neanderthals Speak? It Depends on Who You Talk ToHumans can tolerate mysteries quite well as long as we can fill them in with speculations, which in the end tell us mostly about ourselves.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270-2.png)Mind MattersDenyse Oā€™Leary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/portrait-of-neanderthal-man-tending-to-a-fire-in-a-primitive-shelter-embodying-protection-and-provider-instincts-stockpack-adobe-stock-scaled.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/2024/05/could-neanderthals-speak-it-depends-on-who-you-talk-to/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [ā€˜Rizzā€™ vs. ā€˜skibidiā€™: Why some slang words stick around and others fade away](https://www.fastcompany.com/91142295/rizz-skibidi-gen-z-gen-alpha-slang-experts?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Fast Company) [When Did ā€œAmerican Englishā€ Emerge?Did linguistic independence from Britain appear before political independence?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-30.png)IFLScienceTom Hale![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/usa-meta.png)](https://www.iflscience.com/when-did-american-english-emerge-75002?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Much Does Our Language Shape Our Thinking?English continues to expand into diverse regions around the world. The question is whether humanity will be homogenized as a result.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-91.ico)The New YorkerManvir Singh![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r45055-1.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/12/30/how-much-does-our-language-shape-our-thinking?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Which Are The Most Spoken Languages In The United Kingdom?Discover the most widely used languages in the UK and learn about their historical roots and significance.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-92.ico)BabbelThomas Moore Devlin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/UKLanguages-1.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/most-spoken-languages-in-united-kingdom?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why Traffic Lights In Japan Are Blue Instead Of Green - SlashGearJapanese traffic lights are blue instead of the green Americans know, but the reasoning involves some complex linguistic background and history.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/slash-gear-favicon-448x448.png)SlashGearAnthoni Oisin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/l-intro-1748350508.jpg)](https://www.slashgear.com/1870884/japan-blue-traffic-lights-reason/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![The Linguistic Society of America logo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6bc4150d-0642-4c5c-9124-e1451b86c4d0_1233x646.png "The Linguistic Society of America logo") The [Linguistic Society of America](https://www.lsadc.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (LSA) has just made available a new Resource Hub, offering ā€œeasy access to essential materials, professional development tools, teaching resources, and moreā€. Itā€™s a large database of videos, audio recordings, and documents related to linguistics careers, scholarship, and teaching. - [LSA Resource Hub](https://resourcehub.lsadc.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thanks for reading this weekā€™s digest! I hope you found something fun or interesting to read in this issue! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Vocabulary undergoes natural selection just like species. Plus a new database on the languages of the Americas. URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-23/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:34.000Z Iā€™ll start this weekā€™s digest with a shoutout to [Lingthusiasm](https://lingthusiasm.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for providing me with the perfect sticker for any new laptop: ![A sticker on a laptop that says ā€œNot judging your grammar, just analyzing it,ā€ made by Lingthusiasm.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe00f3069-72f5-4568-adb0-e21610f60851_1772x1772.png "A sticker on a laptop that says ā€œNot judging your grammar, just analyzing it,ā€ made by Lingthusiasm.") You can check out all of Lingthusiasmā€™s fun merch here: [Lingthusiastic MerchNow you can wear your linguistics fandom on your sleeve, around your neck, and next to your coffee and books! Like language, but arenā€™t all judgey about it? Let your t-shirt, mug, or pouch fight linguistic snobbery! Like linguistics clothing, but want to dress up a tad? Try our scarves and ties! All Lingthusiasm merch make great gifts for the linguists and language fans in your life: looking for a graduation celebration for a linguistics major? A holiday gift for a linguistics grad student? A birthday present for a linguistics professor? A thank-you gift for a professional linguist? Youā€™ve come to the right spot. Scarves Or tablecloths Browse Schwa Never stressed Browse Ties Quite fancy Browse Wall art Get furbished Browse Ask Me Infodump consensually Browse Big grammar Donā€™t get fooled Browse IPA Not the beer Browse Not judging Be proud Browse Pouches Be a kangaroo Browse Socks No cold feet Browse Trees Any kind of tree Browse Unicode U+FFFD ļæ½ Browse Etymology Sorry, Wittgenstein! Browse Gavagai Parts included Browse Kiki/Bouba You know who Browse Lingthusiasm Thatā€™s us! Browse Liquids For your liquids Browse For babies Not just in space Browse More people Almost makes sense Browse Mugs Drink up Browse OK Pedant Language changes Browse Space babies Pigeons and pidgins Browse Stationery So orthographic Browse Stickers On EVERYTHING Browse T-shirts Get clad Browse WTF Feeling turbulent? Browse![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/avatar_adfe58865e23_128.pnj)Lingthusiasm![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a4fca3e2fc79d1b261e20ac9e1171aa5f6470ec8.jpg)](https://lingthusiasm.com/merch?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### *Song of Achilles* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff82743f3-024e-4263-af8f-fbb818ac6be6_232x350.png) In this weekā€™s newsletter I took a brief detour from linguistics to talk about a very cool connection in a book I just finished reading, [*Song of Achilles*](https://amzn.to/4kP1c67?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). But donā€™t worry, I slip a little bit of linguistics in too! [You probably missed this in Song of AchillesAlso, hereā€™s what Patroclus and Cleopatra have in common![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-41.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Song-of-Achilles.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/song-of-achilles/) ### Homeric Stock Epithets Continuing on the Homeric theme this week, I also made a quick video reply to someone on TikTok who pointed out that Zeus is always referred to as ā€œZeus son of Chronosā€. Thereā€™s a reason for this! It has to do with the meter of the poem, dactylic hexameter. Homer and other poets would use certain stock descriptions or **epithets** to describe various people because they fit the meter of the poem. Since these epic poems originally had to be memorized before writing came along, this not only acted as an aid to memorization, but saved the poet from having to create new descriptions every time they referenced a character. ### Early Latin ā†’ Germanic borrowings To promote my article about the etymology of *one*, I wrote a short thread about early borrowings from Latin ā†’ Germanic. Hereā€™s the full text of that thread: English was borrowing words from Latin before English even existed! Before Old English formed (c. 500 CE), the Germanic peoples in northern Europe were trading with, fighting against, and sometimes even fighting for, the Romans. As you might expect, they borrowed many words for trade goods and units of measure. ![A map of the borders of Rome and Magna Germania ā€˜Great Germanyā€™ in the early 100s CE](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcaba8b6e-94e2-4db5-a79e-d47b712a6e42_700x491.png "A map of the borders of Rome and Magna Germania ā€˜Great Germanyā€™ in the early 100s CE") The very earliest words were borrowed when the Germanic language family was still fairly young, in the centuries after 500 BCE: - Latin *catillus* ā€˜little food vesselā€™ ā†’ English *kettle* - Latin *pondō* ā€˜by weightā€™ ā†’ English *pound* - Latin *caupō* ā€˜petty traderā€™ ā†’ English *cheap* Many words were borrowed later, after the Germanic languages had diverged into West, East, and North Germanic branches. One of those words was Latin *Å«Ģ†ncia* ā€˜one-twelfthā€™. (Romans divided many goods into units of 12, such as the pound and foot.) *Å«Ģ†ncia* itself comes from *Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™, and originally meant ā€˜one partā€™ (but came to mean ā€˜one-twelfth partā€™ because of their units of measure). When the Anglo-Saxons brought various West Germanic dialects to England starting c. 500 CE and formed the beginnings of Old English, one of the words they brought with them was *ynċe* ā€˜inchā€™, from Latin *Å«Ģ†ncia*ā€”and thatā€™s the origin of the Modern English word *inch*! ![A map of the Anglo-Saxon homelands in northern Europe and their subsequent settlements in England, circa 400ā€“500 CE](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F703cff73-7700-4dd6-93f7-8f1885a67f1f_960x960.png "A map of the Anglo-Saxon homelands in northern Europe and their subsequent settlements in England, circa 400ā€“500 CE") And because Latin *Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ and English *one* are ultimately related, this means that *inch* and *one* are related too! ![A diagram showing the etymologies of ā€œinchā€ and ā€œoneā€ in English. Both go back to the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3224acd-ed4f-429a-aa88-d4f83847510e_1080x1350.png "A diagram showing the etymologies of ā€œinchā€ and ā€œoneā€ in English. Both go back to the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™.") This is just one of the myriad of words related to one in English. If you want to learn about its other surprising connections, check out this issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter: [The etymology of ā€˜oneā€™: From Proto-Indo-European to Modern EnglishThere are over thirty English words that derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™. This is the story of how they came to be, and what that story teaches us about how language works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-42.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/infographic-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/one/) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Cognitive selection in language change ![A girl whispering in a boyā€™s ear.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe35bd0f6-8409-406b-bd5a-c81598b5b7a8_2048x1536.png "A girl whispering in a boyā€™s ear.") This really neat paper was published back in December 2023, but Iā€™m only just now unearthing it from my backlog (a trend you may see happen a bit more frequently now that Iā€™m caught up on current linguistics news). Anyway, the study asked participants to partake in what amounts to a giant game of telephone, where each person retold a story to the next person in line. The authors then examined what types of words made it through the telephone gamut, and found that 3 types in particular survived the numerous transmission cycles: 1. words acquired at an early age (*hand*, *uncle*, *today*) 2. concrete words (as opposed to abstract ones; e.g. *dog* persists longer than *animal*, and *animal* in turn persists longer than *organism*). 3. emotionally exciting words, whether negative or positive By analogy to natural selection in biology, the authors utilize the term **cognitive selection** to describe these preferences for certain word typesā€”that is, the mindā€™s tendency to preferentially attend to certain kinds of information. While the study doesnā€™t note this explicitly, the second group (concrete words) also aligns with the empirical evidence from research on cognitive prototypes: mid-level or **basic level** categories are more cognitively and linguistically salient than higher-level or lower-level categories (Rosch et al. 1976; Taylor 2003: 50). When asked what it is youā€™re sitting on, for example, youā€™re much more likely to reply with ā€œchairā€ (basic level) than ā€œfurnitureā€ (high-level) or ā€œchaise loungeā€. These basic level effects are realized in numerous other subtle ways in language as well. (If youā€™d like to learn more about prototypes and their linguistic effects, an excellent summary is the book [*Linguistic categorization*](https://amzn.to/3HDukPs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) \[Taylor 2003\]). This study also sparked some debate about whether languages are becoming perpetually simpler, but I think that idea is demonstrably false. If it were true that languages tended towards simplicity, most grammatical complexity would have been selected out of language long ago. The consensus in linguistics for some time now has been that language change is driven in part by a constant tension between efficiency and expressivity (complexity) (Hawkins 2004; Gibson et al. 2019). So this study simply elucidates the efficiency side of that equation a bit more. [How Our Thoughts Shape the Way Spoken Words EvolveWhat makes a word survive or go extinct?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-81.ico)Scientific AmericanAnvita Patwardhan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/sa0524Adva09.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-our-thoughts-shape-the-way-spoken-words-evolve/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Original Research:** Li et al. 2023\. How cognitive selection affects language change. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 121(1). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220898120](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220898120?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Great apes visually track subjects and objects like humans > When watching a cat chase a mouse, humans will alternate looking at cat and mouse, using the information to connect the two into whatā€™s called an agent-patient relationship ā€” with the cat as the agent and the mouse as the patient. This cognitive mechanism is thought to be one of the bases for the evolution of human language, forming both how people think about events and structure speech. This study finds that great apes track agents and patients in the same way as humans: [Study: Great Apes Point to How Human Language May Have EvolvedIn reality, where language is concerned, there is a vast gulf fixed. It is not between primates and other mammals but between humans and all other life forms.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-mm-270x270.png)Mind MattersDenyse Oā€™Leary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/two-chimpanzees-on-a-large-rock-in-the-zoo-stockpack-adobe-s-731743623-stockpack-adobe_stock-scaled.jpg)](https://mindmatters.ai/2024/11/study-great-apes-point-to-how-human-language-may-have-evolved/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Humans and great apes visually track event roles in similar waysAre only humans capable of tracking agent/patient roles during events, a cognitive foundation of syntax? This study shows that great apes, like human adults but unlike infants, differentiate agents from patients in event roles, suggesting that event role apprehension predates language, emerging under ontogenetic processes.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-82.ico)PLOS BiologyVanessa A. D. Wilson ,![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image-1)](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002857&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### Areal Typology of Languages of the Americas (ATLAs) ![A world map showing the languages included in the ATLAs database.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fde64137d-085a-4b4a-b48e-98813c5acad5_2048x1309.png "A world map showing the languages included in the ATLAs database.") A brand new database of typological features in the languages of the Americas is now available! As described by the authors: > The aim of ATLAs is to capture areally relevant typological variation across North and South America, together with a baseline sample from the rest of the world. Our sample includes 325 languages worldwide, of which 220 are in the Americas. For each typological domain present in the database, we have attempted to encode as fine-grained features as possible, prioritizing typological depth within a given domain over the inclusion of more domains. The database is available as a website at [http://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch](http://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which presents 265 typological variables at the level of languages as a whole. The data is also available on [GitHub](https://github.com/davidainman/atlas-data/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/records/15227808?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). The GitHub repository includes three additional database modules not visible on the website, which exhaustively encode at the construction level the phenomena of (1) nominal possession, (2) morphological alignment, and (3) singular-plural verb stem alternation. Several language-level aggregations of these more detailed constructional databases are presented on the website. [ATLAs - Home![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-83.ico)Home![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-2.png)](http://atlas.evolvinglanguage.ch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [GitHub - davidainman/atlas-data: Dataset for the ATLAs databaseDataset for the ATLAs database. Contribute to davidainman/atlas-data development by creating an account on GitHub.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40.svg)GitHubdavidainman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/atlas-data)](https://github.com/davidainman/atlas-data/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Areal Typology of Languages of the Americas (ATLAs) database - Scientific DataScientific Data - The Areal Typology of Languages of the Americas (ATLAs) database![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-9.png)NatureDavid Inman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41597_2025_5169_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05169-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this weekā€™s digest, and that you have a wonderful weekend! \~ Danny ## šŸ“‘ References - Gibson, Edward, Richard Futrell, Steven P. Piantadosi, Isabelle Dautriche, Kyle Mahowald, Leon Bergen & Roger Levy. 2019\. How efficiency shapes human language. *Trends in Cognitive Sciences* 23(5). 389ā€“407\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.02.003](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.02.003?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Hawkins, John A. 2004\. [*Efficiency and complexity in grammars*](https://amzn.to/4n3vGDu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Oxford University Press. - Rosch, Eleanor, Carolyn B Mervis, Wayne D Gray, David M Johnson & Penny Boyes-Braem. 1976\. Basic objects in natural categories. *Cognitive Psychology* 8(3). 382ā€“439\. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(76)90013-X](https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285%2876%2990013-X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Taylor, John R. 2003\. [*Linguistic categorization*](https://amzn.to/3HDukPs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics). 3rd edn. Oxford University Press. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### You probably missed this in Song of Achilles URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/song-of-achilles/ Last updated: 2025-06-10T19:25:40.000Z In todayā€™s newsletter weā€™ll take a brief detour from linguistics into classical literature. So if youā€™re a classics major or have an interest in Ancient Greek literature, you might enjoy this one! (I might have thrown in a small bit of linguistics trivia at the end tooā€¦) *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here:* Hereā€™s something you probably missed about *Song of Achilles:* For context, [*Song of Achilles*](https://amzn.to/4kP1c67?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is a retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus from the Iliad, recasting the two mythical heroes as lovers. Itā€™s a beautiful, tragic story and well worth the read for the plot, characterization, and writing style alone. But one of the things I love most about the book is the richness that the author, Madeline Miller, gives the story thanks to her scholarly background in classical studies (BA and MA in Classics at Brown University). Todayā€™s post explains my favorite example of this from the book. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F18f14f06-3c1e-4709-b35b-13170c13d910_308x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4kP1c67?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Begin it when the first two men contending broke with one anotherā€¦ Iā€™ll set the scene: The leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, has just made the asinine decision to steal Achillesā€™ slave girl Briseis. Since Achilles had claimed Briseis as a war prize for his feats in battle, heā€™s incensed. Achilles confronts Agamemnon in a murderous rage. Hereā€™s how this plays out in the original Iliad (Robert Fitzgeraldā€™s translation): > A pain like grief weighed on the son of Peleus \[Achilles\], > and in his shaggy chest this way and that > the passion of his heart ran: should he draw > longsword from hip, stand off the rest, and kill > in single combat the great son of Atreus \[Agamemnon\], > or hold his rage in check and give it time? > And as this tumult swayed him, as he slid > the big blade slowly from the sheath, Athena > came to him from the sky. \[ā€¦\] And Athena, stepping > up behind him, visible to no one except Achilles, gripped his red-gold hair. \[Achilles is surprised, and asks why Athena is there.\] > The grey-eyed goddess Athena said to him: > > ā€œIt was to check this killing rage I came > from heaven, if you will listen. \[ā€¦\] > Enough: break off this combat, stay your hand > upon the sword hilt. Let him have a lashing > with words, instead: tell him how things will be. > Here is my promise, and it will be kept: > winnings three times as rich, in due season, > you shall have in requital for his arrogance. > But hold your hand. Obey.ā€ To summarize: Achilles is conflicted about killing Agamemnon, but just as heā€™s about to send Agamemnon to the underworld, Athena shows up and convinces him to stay his hand with promises of future riches. Importantly, *no one else sees Athena but Achilles*. Achilles then acquiesces to Athenaā€™s demand and gives Agamemnon a thorough tongue lashing instead of killing him. Now hereā€™s that same scene in *Song of Achilles*. This scene (and indeed the entire book) is told from the perspective of Patroclus, Achillesā€™ lover, who is standing to the side watching Achilles confront Agamemnon: > Because he was turned, Agamemnon did not see Achillesā€™ hand go to his sword. My breath caught. I knew that he was capable of this, a single thrust through Agamemnonā€™s cowardly heart. I saw the struggle on his face. **I still do not know why he stopped himself**; perhaps he wanted greater punishment for the king than death. So hereā€™s Patroclus, who knows Achilles better than anybody, thinking to himself that Achillesā€™ restraint seems out of character, yet unable to figure out why. But anybody familiar with the original version of this scene in the Iliad knows exactly why: *because Athena, unseen to everyone else, had just convinced Achilles to stay his hand.* That single little clause, ā€œI still do not know why he stopped himself,ā€ is a subtle allusion to Athenaā€™s visit in the original Iliad. Itā€™s such a fantastic example of both Millerā€™s skill as a writer and her thoroughness as a scholar-cum-novelist. The way she carefully constructs this imperceptible lacuna around Athena almost feels like creating the narrative equivalent of an optical blind spot. And *Song of Achilles* is brimming with these rich and subtle details. Itā€™s a joy for anyone with an appreciation of Classical Greek literature or mythology to read. So I hope that was a fun piece of trivia that perhaps gives you an even greater appreciation for an already excellent book. But since this is a newsletter about linguistics, I canā€™t resist ending with a quick bit of etymology: The name *Patroclus* in Ancient Greek was Ī į¾°ĢĻ„ĻĪæĪŗĪ»ĪæĻ‚ *PįŗÆtroklos*, composed of Ļ€į¾°Ļ„Ī®Ļ *pătįø—r* ā€˜fatherā€™ + ā€Ž -ĪŗĪ»įæ†Ļ‚ *\-klĆŖs* ā€˜fameā€™, meaning ā€˜glory of his fatherā€™. Wanna guess what name you get when you put those two elements in the opposite order? Thatā€™s right, ĪšĪ»ĪµĻŒĻ€Ī±Ļ„ĻĪæĻ‚ *KleĆ³patros*ā€”or as sheā€™s known in English, Cleopatra! Thanks for indulging in some non-linguistics today! Weā€™ll resume our regularly scheduled linguistics programming in the next issue! ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Islands are incubators of linguistic diversity, and people are more likely to cooperate with those who use similar linguistic constructions URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-22/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:42.000Z Happy Thursday! I present to you the Linguistics Serenity Prayer: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd177343d-cfe7-49f9-8e21-3dd626b8ba4e_1080x1080.png) In the name of Pānini, William Jones, and Edward Sapir we pray. Amen. Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* The latest issue of [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) includes an interview with me about how I got into linguistics, and my work with the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana to help them revitalize their language! ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2bd486e-a249-449f-bb19-a7b752d72451_1131x803.png) You can subscribe to Babel here: [Babel MagazineThe quarterly language magazine that brings you Babelzine, the cutting-edge linguistic research in an accessible and colourful format.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-75.ico)Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsStephen Fry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babel-Best-Of-cover-3.jpg)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4bd0f342-d17f-4f41-b342-a1e51de142a2_657x160.png)](https://www.threads.com/@thehumandesignwitch/post/DKKln8yuNEx?xmt=AQF0u5xTGWEp52SrCe1VJcO4Ks24Dfiv7IWbPIh0kKwLjSc&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This isnā€™t really a pet peeve of mine, but this person is correct that Shakespeare didnā€™t write in Old Englishā€”even though he certainly wrote in old English! Seeing this inspired me to write a short thread about the periods of English: [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32e76ece-c71d-4bea-a31b-e045aafbfec6_656x354.png)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DKLqUbsNkEd?xmt=AQF0PVy6VNsMfx7ue0afq2ecyY8VtsVxumamyUNy2H1LGEs&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s the complete text of the thread: Linguists generally divide English into three periods: 1. Old English, c. 500 ā€“ 1066 2. Middle English, 1066 ā€“ c. 1500 3. Modern English, c. 1500 ā€“ present Why these periods? Old English first formed with the settlement of the Anglo-Saxons in England. At this point it had lots of case markers on nouns and complex verbal inflection. ![Map of the Anglo-Saxon homelands and subsequent settlements in England, 400ā€“500 CE](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F62419e83-a676-4f02-bc7a-62002404da6c_474x474.png "Map of the Anglo-Saxon homelands and subsequent settlements in England, 400ā€“500 CE") The Lordā€™s Prayer looked like this: > FƦder ure, Ć¾u Ć¾e eart on heofonum, > SÄ« Ć¾Ä«n nama gehalgod. > Tō becume Ć¾Ä«n rīċe. > GewurĆ¾e Ć¾Ä«n willa, > on eorĆ°an swa swa on heofonum. > Sēo ƦgĆ°er ge forgyf us Å«re gyltas, > swa swa wē forgyfaĆ° Å«rum gyltendum. > And ne gelƦd Ć¾u us on Ć¾Ć¦t costnunge, > ac alys us of yfele. In 1066 the Norman French invaded England and French became the language of the ruling class, while English was disparaged and hardly written. This marked the transition into Middle English. French vocabulary and grammar heavily influenced English during this time period, and English lost many of its inflectional endings. In Middle English the Lordā€™s Prayer looked like this: > Oure fadir > That art in hevenes > Halwid be thi name > Thi kingdom come to > Be thi wille don > On erthe as in hevenes > Give to us this day oure bred ovir othir substaunce > And forgiv us oure dettis > As we forgiven oure dettours > And lede us not in to temptacioun > But delyevr us from yvel Between the 1400s and 1600s English then underwent something called the Great Vowel Shift. Like it name implies, the pronunciation of every long vowel in English changed. English also saw an influx of words from Latin and Greek due to the Renaissance. Because of these drastic changes, the Great Vowel Shift is generally considered to mark the transition to Modern English. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/06/Great-Vowel-Shift.png) A diagram showing how English vowels shifted in the vowel space in the mouth during the Great Vowel Shift. Shakespeare wrote in the Early Modern English period, which is why we can still read his works, with some difficulty. Each period of English is considered not mutually intelligible with the other periods. You have to take a class to understand Old English or Middle English, which is why you canā€™t read Beowulf without special training: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fecc572ab-0095-44bb-b786-c733fbe46f5b_1280x2145.png) The first page of the Beowulf manuscript. ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* With big cash prizes at stakeā€”and AI supercharging researchā€”interspecies translation is closer than ever. But what, if anything, would animals want to tell us? Hereā€™s some more reporting on the recently-awarded Dolittle Prize: [The Race to Translate Animal Sounds Into Human LanguageWith big cash prizes at stakeā€”and AI supercharging researchā€”interspecies translation is closer than ever. But what, if anything, would animals want to tell us?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-76.ico)WIREDArik Kershenbaum![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/WW25-Science-AK-Lily-LK-1.png)](https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-translation-animal-sounds-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Word-initial consonants are systematically lengthened across languages ![A set of spectrograms comparing length of the sound /n/ at the beginnings of words vs. other positions in the words.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F24362757-d78a-4942-904a-10e02d1717a0_800x489.png "A set of spectrograms comparing length of the sound /n/ at the beginnings of words vs. other positions in the words.") A neat study from 2024 showed that across a diverse set of languages, word-initial consonants are systematically lengthened, serving as a useful perceptual cue for signaling word boundaries. [New study shows that word-initial consonants are systematically lengthened across diverse languagesSpeech consists of a continuous stream of acoustic signals, yet humans can segment words from each other with astonishing precision and speed. To find out how this is possible, a team of linguists has analyzed durations of consonants at different positions in words and utterances across a diverse sample of languages.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-1.svg)Phys.orgMax Planck Society![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/lengthened-consonants.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2024-09-word-consonants-systematically-lengthened-diverse.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Consonant lengthening marks the beginning of words across a diverse sample of languages - Nature Human BehaviourBlum et al. report evidence of lengthening of word-initial consonants across a diverse sample of 51 languages. On average, these consonants are 13 ms longer than word-medial ones, helping mark word boundaries in continuous speech, which is crucial for understanding speech.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-7.png)NatureFrederic Blum![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2024_1988_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-01988-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Another neat aspect of that study is that it used data from the fairly new [Language Documentation Reference Corpus](https://doreco.huma-num.fr/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (DoReCo), a collection of linguistic data in 53 diverse languages, for its analysis. [DoReCo - Homepage![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-77.ico)Homepage![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/header.png)](https://doreco.huma-num.fr/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Islands are incubators of linguistic diversity In biology, islands have a disproportionately large impact on biological science because they show evolution in action. A 2024 study shows that the same is true for languages: islands are incubators of diversity, and correlate with several other unique features as well: [Islands are engines of linguistic diversity, study showsIslands drive language change and generate language diversity in similar ways to how they drive species diversity, according to research from The Australian National University (ANU) that analyzed languages from over 13,000 inhabited islands. The research is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-2.svg)Phys.orgAustralian National University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/galapagos-islands.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2024-09-islands-linguistic-diversity.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Islands are engines of language diversity - Nature Ecology & EvolutionConstructing and exploring a global database, the authors find that 10% of the worldā€™s languages are endemic to islands (a disproportionately large amount) and island area predicts number of languages. However, languages appear not to conform to all predictions of island biogeography theory.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-8.png)NatureLindell Bromham![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41559_2024_2488_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02488-4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### People are more likely to cooperate with those who use similar linguistic constructions [Study finds linguistic similarity boosts cooperationā€œHolidayā€ or ā€œvacationā€, ā€œto startā€ or ā€œto beginā€, ā€œmy friendā€™s catā€ or ā€œthe cat of my friendā€ā€”in our language, there are different ways of expressing the same things and concepts. But can the choice of a particular variant determine whether we prefer to cooperate with certain people rather than with others?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-3.svg)Phys.orgUniversity of Vienna![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/similar-language-leads.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2024-07-linguistic-similarity-boosts-cooperation.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Inherent linguistic preference outcompetes incidental alignment in cooperative partner choice | Language and Cognition | Cambridge CoreInherent linguistic preference outcompetes incidental alignment in cooperative partner choice - Volume 16 Issue 4![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-78.ico)Cambridge CoreTheresa Matzinger![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/language_and-20cognition.jpg)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-and-cognition/article/inherent-linguistic-preference-outcompetes-incidental-alignment-in-cooperative-partner-choice/5308285B5D188854B398B1A60A2CB872?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Orangutan calls organized into a rhythmic hierarchy [What the hidden rhythms of orangutan calls can tell us about language ā€“ new researchRecursion was thought to be a unique feature of human language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-36.png)The ConversationChiara De Gregorio![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250523-56-xiiqua.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/what-the-hidden-rhythms-of-orangutan-calls-can-tell-us-about-language-new-research-257400?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - De Gregorio, Gamba, & Lameira. 2025\. Third-order self-embedded vocal motifs in wild orangutans, and the selective evolution of recursion. *Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences*. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15373](https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15373?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Prehistoric genomes from Yunnan reveal ancestry related to Tibetans and Austroasiatic speakers ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Feb07124d-3496-4fda-b59d-7ccb6a275598_2048x2314.png) Population migration, replacement, and the preservation of deeply diverged ancestry in southern East Asia. A 7100-year-old individual from Yunnan shows a Basal Asian ancestry that is related to a deeply diverged ghost ancestry contributing to Tibetan Plateau populations. After 5500 years before present (BP), populations in Yunnan exhibited diverse ancestries, including contributions from northern East Asia in western Yunnan, coastal southern East Asia in eastern Yunnan, and a newly identified East Asian lineage in central Yunnan that later contributed to present-day Austroasiatic speakers. > Waves of human migration have resulted in population admixture and turnover across the world, resulting in complex histories that are difficult to untangle without ancient DNA. Wang et al. sequenced 127 ancient humans from southwestern China living 7100 years ago to the present day. In addition to determining finer population dynamics such as contributions of Central Yunnan ancestry to modern Austroasiatic speakers, the authors uncovered a potential representative of a deeply divergent lineage similar to a long-speculated ā€œghostā€ population that contributed to Tibetans. This study gives greater insight into the populations that have lived in this area. - Wang et al. 2025\. Prehistoric genomes from Yunnan reveal ancestry related to Tibetans and Austroasiatic speakers. *Science* 388(6750). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq9792](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq9792?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Language may have originated in gesture Itā€™s long been speculated that language may have originated in gesture, as a type of early sign language, before shifting to a spoken medium. A 2022 paper uses a set of experiments suggesting that the semantics of gestures are sufficiently universal to have provided a basis for early language. - [Hand gestures may have been the start of human language](https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/hand-gestures-may-have-been-the-start-of-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Discover) - Fay et al. 2022\. Gesture is the primary modality for language creation. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B* 289(1970). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0066](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0066?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A book that popularized the gestural theory of language origin among the broader public is [*The singing Neanderthals: The origins of music, language, mind, and body*](https://amzn.to/4fay7yL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), by Steven Mithen. Mithen also recently published another book on the evolution of language, [*The language puzzle: Piecing together the six-million-year story of how words evolved*](https://amzn.to/3NFKh7x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F91e0916c-2a9c-4cdb-b0d0-4fdabdd41f57_304x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4fay7yL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7aa6a515-ce21-4466-aee3-5e5e7e1feeb5_301x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3NFKh7x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Colin Gorrie talks about how the Black Death may have contributed to the Great Vowel Shift in English, which completely restructured how English vowels were pronounced: [How the Black Death reshaped EnglishUnearthing the causes of the Great Vowel Shift![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-1.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F37073634-11bf-42fe-a3b1-c81842a7d359_3532x2586.jpeg)](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-the-black-death-reshaped-english?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I love posts like this, which show the impact of historical events and societal change on language. It reminds me of one of my favorite podcasts, *The History of English*, by Kevin Stroud. Stroudā€™s approach in the podcast is exactly that: he explains the relevant historical events at each stage of English, and how those events shaped the language, making for a podcast thatā€™s half history, half linguistics. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you havenā€™t yet: [The History of English Podcast | The Spoken History of a Global Language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-79.ico)The Spoken History of a Global LanguageKevin Stroud![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Book-Header3-1120x252.png)](https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s an interesting interview with Colleen Billiot, a member of the Houma Nation, a Native American group which was historically situated in Louisiana and Mississippi. Billiot talks about her groupā€™s efforts to revitalize the Houma language. This is a tough situation because the language is poorly attested, with just 75 Houma words recorded by anthropologist John R. Swanton in 1907\. But based on those words, Houma seems related to Choctaw, making it a member of the Muskogean family of languages. - [Reviving languages of Native Americans is a journey of cultural discovery](https://veritenews.org/2024/07/23/united-houma-nation-uma-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Verite News) - Brown & Hardy. 2000\. What is Houma? *International Journal of American Linguistics* 66(4). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1086/466440](https://doi.org/10.1086/466440?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Parrots are prolific vocal learners. But do they actually understand the words they say? [Do parrots actually understand what theyā€™re saying?Parrots are prolific vocal learners. But do they actually understand the words they say?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-25.png)Live ScienceMarilyn Perkins![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2N3YWAqYMztuy37SHU6eM.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/do-parrots-actually-understand-what-theyre-saying?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Whatā€™s the difference between verb tense and verb aspect? [Speaking of Words: Verb Tense and Verb AspectTense can be defined as the point on the time-line that the action expressed by the verb takes place, with reference to the act of speaking, and in English there are three such points: past, present, and future. Quite a few languages have more than three.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-2.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-2.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2024/07/01/speaking-of-words-verb-tense-and-verb-aspect/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* Hereā€™s another excerpt from the new book *Proto: How one ancient language went global* by Laura Spinney. This excerpt discusses the early branching of the Indo-European languages and how we know about them: [A new book sets out to trace the roots of modern languages back to one ancient tongueAn excerpt from ā€˜Proto: A New History of Our Ancient Pastā€™, by Laura Spinney.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-160x160.7d97c537daffcf114789e9abfa5fb07f.003-1.png)Scroll.inLaura Spinney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/207420-beavambkmw-1747895491.jpeg)](https://scroll.in/article/1082629/a-new-book-sets-out-to-trace-the-roots-of-modern-languages-back-to-one-ancient-tongue?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd4825a75-bb01-42f2-bd80-f104ad82d2d4_350x538.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![The Glottobank logo](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8e3a33e9-988a-491b-b1b2-ee82d43588db_995x995.png "The Glottobank logo") Last week I mentioned the [World Atlas of Language Structures](http://wals.info/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (WALS), but I should also point out [Grambank](https://grambank.clld.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which expands on WALS but is more technical and lacks the friendly accompanying chapters explaining each feature. Nonetheless, itā€™s a fantastic resource: [Grambank -![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-80.ico)grambank![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/logo-2.png)](https://grambank.clld.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) GramBank itself is part of a collection of databases called [Glottobank](https://glottobank.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), including: - [Grambank](https://glottobank.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#grambank): language structures - [Lexibank](https://glottobank.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#lexibank): lexicons - [Parabank](https://glottobank.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#parabank): paradigm systems - [Numeralbank](https://glottobank.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#numeralbank): numeral systems - [Phonobank](https://glottobank.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#phonobank): phonetic changes --- Thatā€™s all for this week! Thank you as always for taking the time to read, and I hope you found something new and interesting! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Germans bemoan the ā€œidiotā€™s apostropheā€, and research on using AI to communicate with dolphins wins the $100,000 Dolittle Prize URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-21/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:50.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ![A photograph of Dr. Ofelia Zepeda in front of her books in her office.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06440340-da4b-4c45-bac7-676262c62ecc_660x440.png "A photograph of Dr. Ofelia Zepeda in front of her books in her office.") Dr. Ofelia Zepeda is a Native Tohono Oā€™odham scholar and linguist at the University of Arizona who is well known for her work in language documentation and revitalization. The Tohono Oā€™odham language is a part of the Uto-Aztecan family, and in the past has been known as Papago or Pima. It is the 10th most-spoken indigenous language in the United States, and is spoken in Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. AZ Central has a wonderful article about Dr. Zepeda this week: [This Tohono Oā€™odham linguist is fighting to keep Indigenous languages alive in ArizonaOfelia Zepeda is a renowned poet and linguist, and one of the worldā€™s foremost experts on the Tohono Oā€™odham language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/logo-icon.png)The Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/83420149007-ofelia-3.JPG)](https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/05/25/tohono-oodham-linguist-ofelia-zepeda/83377401007/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Apostrophes used in a ā€œnon-standardā€ manner are called *grocersā€™ apostrophes* or *idiotsā€™ apostrophes* in English, and German has their version of them too: *Deppenapostroph* ā€˜idiotā€™s apostropheā€™, when German writers use an apostrophe to indicate possession. While technically unnecessary because German nouns already have a genitive (possessive) ending, it has nonetheless become common to see apostrophes with names especially. In acceptance of this growing convention, the latest edition of the Council for German Orthographyā€™s style guide now allows this usage with proper names. [Germans decry influence of English as ā€˜idiotā€™s apostropheā€™ gets official approvalLinguistic body has relaxed rules on use of apostrophe to show possession, not traditionally correct in German![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-7.png)The GuardianPhilip Oltermann![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/3369.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/07/germany-influence-of-english-idiots-apostrophe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Primate Communication A pair of recent studies finds that chimp communication includes two features considered important for spoken communication: rhythmic structures and call combinations. [Chimp Calls Offer Clues to the Origins of Human LanguageLearn more about how researchers have discovered that chimps can combine calls in multiple ways to create new meanings, remarkably similar to the way we combine sounds and words into sentences.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon512.png)Discover MagazineRosie McCall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/chimp.jpg)](https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/chimp-calls-offer-clues-to-the-origins-of-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Chimpsā€™ rhythmic drumming and complex calls hint at origins of human language](https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/g-s1-65840/chimpanzee-rhythms-calls-origins-language-human?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (NPR) - Eleuteri et al. 2025\. Chimpanzee drumming shows rhythmicity and subspecies variation. *Current Biology* 35(10). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Girard-Buttoz et al. 2025\. Versatile use of chimpanzee call combinations promotes meaning expansion. *Science Advances* 11(19). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adq2879](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adq2879?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A recent study also finds that alarm calls from female Sumatran orangutans also display embedding and recursion, a feature once claimed by Noam Chomsky to be unique to human language: [Orangutans use complex vocal patterns found in human languageNew research reveals Sumatran orangutans use recursion in vocal patterns, challenging human language uniqueness.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72.ico)Earth.comSanjana Gajbhiye![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Orangutans-use-complex-language-once-thought-uniquely-human.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/orangutans-use-complex-vocal-patterns-found-in-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - De Gregorio, Gambia, & Lameira. 2025\. Third-order self-embedded vocal motifs in wild orangutans, and the selective evolution of recursion. *Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences*, pp. 1ā€“11\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15373](https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15373?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Americans and Britons outswear Australians online In a surprising result, a new study finds that Americans and Britons swear more online than Australians do. However, Australians make up for this in creativity, using a wider range of swear words than Americans, who mostly stick to ā€œfuckā€ and its variants. And of course Australians use more swear words in person. [WTF? Americans and Britons swear more than Australians online, research findsFindings surprise Australian researchers, though compatriots score higher on creativity than sheer volume![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-8.png)The GuardianTory Shepherd![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/2500.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/23/americans-british-swear-more-online-than-australians?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [US ranks first in swearingā€˜Some may find it disappointing,ā€™ said the new studyā€™s Australian co-author.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-ps-FE5102-1-2.png)Popular ScienceAndrew Paul![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/americans_swear_the_most.jpg)](https://www.popsci.com/science/americans-swearing-study/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Schweinberger & Burridge. 2025\. Vulgarity in online discourse around the English-speaking world. *Lingua* 321\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103946](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103946?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Linguistics for Language Learning Recent research suggests that add linguistics into language learning curricula could improve student outcomes and engagement. I canā€™t say this one surprises me! [Linguistics could make language learning more relevant ā€“ and attractive ā€“ for school pupilsA languages curriculum enriched with linguistics is appealing to students and teachers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-33.png)The ConversationAnna D. Havinga![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250514-62-577ku3.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/linguistics-could-make-language-learning-more-relevant-and-attractive-for-school-pupils-255068?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Rethinking the UK Languages Curriculum: Arguments for the Inclusion of Linguistics | Modern Languages Open![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon_en_US.png)Modern Languages Open![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/journalThumbnail_en_US.jpg)](https://modernlanguagesopen.org/articles/10.3828/mlo.v0i0.368?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Yiddish is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews originating in the 800s, based on High German but with influences from Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages, and Romance languages. When many eastern European Jews migrated to Britain in the late 19th century, they may have influenced the English cockney accent as it evolved in the early 20th century: [Cockney Yiddish: how two languages influenced each other in Londonā€™s East EndFor a younger generation of secular Jews, Yiddish is acquiring a new appeal.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-34.png)The ConversationNadia Valman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250430-56-d5v93x.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/cockney-yiddish-how-two-languages-influenced-each-other-in-londons-east-end-252779?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The Dolittle Prize is a $100,000 award recognizing early breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered interspecies communication. The winning project was just announced, exploring how dolphins use shared, learned whistles that may carry specific meaningsā€”possibly even warning each other about danger, or just expressing confusion. - [ā€˜About as close to aliens as weā€™ll ever get.ā€™ Can AI crack animal language?](https://www.science.org/content/article/about-close-aliens-we-ll-ever-get-can-ai-crack-animal-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) [Could deciphering dolphin language help us communicate with ET?ā€œMany of the challenges facing SETI research are similar to those already addressed in the investigation of animal behavior, and the evolutionary origins of human language.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-23.png)SpaceLeonard David![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/eZziQxHjvubm7dXKGTXbK4.jpg)](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/could-deciphering-dolphin-language-help-us-communicate-with-et?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *The New Yorker* has a piece about Trumpā€™s executive order making English the official language of the federal government: [Does the United States Need an Official Language?Donald Trumpā€™s executive order succeeds where decades of right-wing efforts have failed.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-73.ico)The New YorkerGraciela Mochkofsky![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cropped-E8RKNF.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/does-the-united-states-need-an-official-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) For my own explanation and perspective on the matter, check out this issue of the newsletter: [The linguistics of Trumpā€™s official English policyTrump issued an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.ā€”sort of. Hereā€™s what that order does, and what language in the U.S. looks like today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-40.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/English-Only--social-preview--3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/) Radio France Internationale (RFI) has an article this week introducing readers to the concept of language endangerment. They note that just 20 languages dominate the global linguistic landscape, whereas 95% of the worldā€™s languages are spoken by just 5% of the population: [The last word: why half of the worldā€™s languages could vanish this centuryThere are around 7,000 languages spoken in the world, but that number is shrinking. Unesco estimates that half could disappear by the end of the century. So how are languages lost, and what does thatā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/safari-pinned-tab.svg)RFIRFI![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AP22131612379696.jpg)](https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20250525-the-last-word-why-half-of-all-languages-could-be-lost-by-the-end-of-the-century?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - \[French version\] [Le dernier mot: quand les langues disparaissent](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/monde/20250519-le-dernier-mot-quand-les-langues-disparaissent?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (RFI) These are some of my favorite etymological mysteries: where words like *boy*, *girl*, and *dog* come from: [Five common English words we donā€™t know the origins of ā€“ including ā€˜boyā€™ and ā€˜dogā€™The origins of these words could tell us a lot about our ancestors and the cognitive strategies they used to name the things around them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-35.png)The ConversationFrancesco Perono Cacciafoco![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20240617-21-o2c9t4.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/five-common-english-words-we-dont-know-the-origins-of-including-boy-and-dog-232299?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If you havenā€™t yet become acquainted with Colin Gorrieā€™s excellent newsletter, [*Dead Language Society*](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), I highly recommend doing so. To dip your toes in, hereā€™s a great introduction to the runic alphabet: [Runes 101What I wish everyone knew about runes before doing a Google search.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180.png)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fca154ee1-04c6-41ef-999f-a4744c538a8d_399x599.jpeg)](https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/runes-101?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I donā€™t love this question (because with the rare exception of languages forming *de novo* all languages are equally old), but I do love the fact that Gizmodo reached out to actual linguists to answer it and let them do so in their own voice. I was happy to see mention of Nicaraguan Sign Language (one of those rare *de novo* languages) and the mixed language Michif, since sign languages and mixed languages are often sidelined and/or not treated as real languages. [Whatā€™s the Newest Language?ā€œEven excluding conlangs (deliberately constructed languages like Esperanto or Klingon), new languages form organically all the time.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-24.png)GizmodoDaniel Kolitz![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/208432547e3d29b49042977d46b47e6d.jpg)](https://gizmodo.com/whats-the-newest-language-1847750011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Always happy to see articles explaining the myriad benefits of multilingualism! [The power of language: myriad of benefits of multilingualismThe News talked to an adjunct professor of linguistics and students to learn about cognitive, academic and social aspects of bilingualism.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180-3.png)Yale Daily NewsUma Jeddy, Zoe Beketova![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bilingual_ujzb_YuLinZhen_PhotographyEditor-scaled-1024x769.jpeg)](https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2024/10/09/the-power-of-language-myriad-of-benefits-of-multilingualism/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* *Slate* has a laudatory review of Laura Spinneyā€™s new book [*Proto: How one ancient language went global*](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): [At Its Beginnings, Only a Handful of People Spoke This Language. Itā€™s the Origin of Every Word You Say.This revelatory new book will open your eyes to the source of everything you say.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon.180x180.png)SlateLaura Miller![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/24a172ba-c0e8-4223-bbcf-dd534932f85d.jpeg)](https://slate.com/culture/2025/05/english-language-origin-proto-indo-european-laura-spinney.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f19e7b0-0371-4e21-ae0e-08f51cbcb0d7_307x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In 2005 archaeologist Steven Mithen published the book *The singing neanderthals: The origins of music, language, mind, and body*, which gives an overview of language evolution, and proposes that language may have had its origin in music. Our understanding of human evolution has advanced significantly in the 20 years since, and now Mithen has followed up with another book on language evolution, *The language puzzle: Piecing together the six-million-year story of how words evolved*, published early this year. Hereā€™s a review by paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall in *The New York Review*: [Look Whoā€™s Talking | Ian TattersallWhen did our first linguistic ancestor emerge, and how did the transition from a nonlinguistic to a linguistic state take place?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-152x152-1.png)The New York Review of BooksIan Tattersall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/tattersall_1-121924-900.jpg)](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/12/19/look-whos-talking-the-language-puzzle-steven-mithen/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcee8570b-bfd8-46f9-8beb-975320990b21_301x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3NFKh7x?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![Banner for the World Atlas of Language Structures website, featuring a tracing of a globe.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72cc4afd-9ee6-4891-8664-2442e342ede9_820x85.png "Banner for the World Atlas of Language Structures website, featuring a tracing of a globe.") The World Atlas of Language Structures Online (WALS) is a database of grammatical and phonological properties of the worldā€™s languages. Some properties include whether the language is tonal (and what kind of tonal), how the language indicates plurality on nouns, how the language indicates past tense, the order of the subject, object, and verb, and many others. It includes chapters on each feature that explain what possibilities exist in the worldā€™s languages, and interactive maps that you can use to see the geographic distribution of features. Itā€™s an incredible tool and well worth checking out if youā€™re not already familiar with it: [WALS Online - Home![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-74.ico)Home![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/header.gif)](https://wals.info/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed this issue of the digest, and that you have a wonderful week! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why do people use double negatives? And whatā€™s the difference between a pidgin vs. a creole? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-20/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:34:55.000Z Happy Friday! Marco Giannini of Dataspoiler has made another beautiful infographic available, showing the reconstruction of the Indo-European deities and their names. Pretty incredible! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-24.png) For more details about the graphic, check out the caption and comments on Instagram: - [Dataspoiler on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ1l4sAsO35/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fweb%5Fcopy%5Flink) Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This weekā€™s content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### The etymology of ā€˜oneā€™ from Proto-Indo-European to Modern English ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-25.png) At long last, my thank-you post for 1,000 readers has arrived! I take you on an etymological journey through the manifold histories of the word for ā€˜oneā€™ (for 1,000!) from Proto-Indo-European 6,000 years ago to all the subtle ways that root is hidden in English today. And as an extra special treat, I collaborated with Ryan Starkey of [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) to put together this beautiful etymological infographic! The article walks you through all the steps in the infographic, as well as what we can learn from all this about how language changes. The article represents over two months of work! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. And if youā€™d like to show your appreciationā€”and support my work on the next thank-you issue for the 2,000-subscriber milestone!ā€”you can become a Linguistic Discovery supporter for $5/month (USD). Youā€™ll get early access to chapters of my book, plus the occasional bonus article (such as the upcoming issue, ā€œDo Inuit languages really have more words for snow?ā€). Your support is tremendously appreciated šŸ™ [A singularly unique word: The many histories of ā€˜oneā€™ from Proto-Indo-European to Modern EnglishThere are over thirty English words that derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™. This is the story of how they came to be, and what that story teaches us about how language works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-38.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/infographic.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/one/) ### The Negation Cycle [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsWords lose their novelty with repeated use. The more frequently a word is used, the faster this happens. A thread on what this means for how language works šŸ§µ 1/5![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-7.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n-1.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DJxAPa2pSRP?xmt=AQF0nHzRZl6nLutbBr0pAwPAhoTbJEkLro35qJDBop0PBbs&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In the article on ā€˜oneā€™ I talk a bit about **The Negation Cycle**, and I recently expanded that into a thread for social media as well. Hereā€™s the text of that thread: Words lose their novelty with repeated use. The more frequently a word is used, the faster this happens. When a word becomes less novel, speakers have to reinforce its meaning with other, sometimes seemingly repetitive words. This is why people use double negatives! The second negative isnā€™t negating the first; itā€™s *reinforcing* the first. Letā€™s look at some examples: In Spanish, double negation is obligatory. Saying the sentence ā€œĀ”No toques nada!ā€ ā€˜Donā€™t touch anything!ā€™ any other way would either change its meaning or make the sentence ungrammatical. ![An animated GIF showing a cartoon movie character saying ā€œNo toques nada!ā€.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-26.png) Why is Spanish this way? Because Spanish descends from Latin, and Latin was a double negation language too! Surely if the prestigious Latin language used double negatives, we can tolerate them in English. Another example comes from French. In French, there are two particles both meaning ā€˜notā€™ā€”*ne* and *pas*ā€”and up until recently you had to use both to negate a sentence: *je ne dis pas* ā€˜I donā€™t sayā€™. Recently, however, the older negative *ne* has become so semantically watered down from repeated use that speakers omit it entirely, saying *je dis pas* ā€˜I donā€™t sayā€™. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-27.png) This process of replacing negatives is so common that linguists even have a term for it: The Negation Cycle, or Jespersenā€™s Cycle (after linguist Otto Jespersen). I think itā€™s important to understand what double negation is really about, not only because it gives one a better understanding of how language works, but because it shows that itā€™s not just some slovenly linguistic behavior signaling a lack of education. Multiple negation is actually quite principled and reasonable. ### Why English needs *yā€™all* ### ![A heatmap of the United States, showing "y'all" predominantly in the South and "you guys" elsewhere, but with notes indicating that people in Pittsburgh say "yinz", areas of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania say "youse", and some people in Kentucky say "you all".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-28.png) Landon Bryant ([@LandonTalks](https://www.instagram.com/landontalks/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) recently discussed *yā€™all* on his channels, so I joined the conversation with a little backstory about why English needed to come up with *yā€™all* in the first place. That is, why doesnā€™t English have a standard plural for *you* like most other languages? My can read my quick little article about it here: [Why English needs ā€œyā€™allā€Why doesnā€™t English just have a plural ā€œyouā€ like other languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-39.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/you--pl.-.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/yall/) Or watch the video version here: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* Twins Paula and Bridgette Powers recently went viral for speaking in unison on television, captivating global audiences: But why do some twins talk in unison like this? Researchers Jeffrey Craig and Nancy Segal explain this fascinating phenomenon in an article for *The Conversation*: [Genes, environment or a special bond? Why some twins talk and think in unisonTwins Bridgette and Paula Powers have gone viral for the way they speak in unison, using the same gestures and words.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-32.png)The ConversationJeffrey Craig![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250509-56-j4fmuf.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/genes-environment-or-a-special-bond-why-some-twins-talk-and-think-in-unison-256099?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) On the topic of twins with incredible linguistic abilities, *International Business Times* also has an article about twins Matthew and Michael Youlden, who speak 26 languages (each), as well as their own private language, Umeriā€”a conlang of sorts. The Youlden twins are exceptional even among twins, but creating a private language like this is actually fairly common for twins; between 30ā€“50% of twins create their own languages. [Linguistic Bond: Identical Twins Create Their Own Secret Language, Speak 26 OthersIdentical twins Matthew and Michael Youlden, language enthusiasts from Manchester, UK, have achieved a rare feat ā€” they speak 26 languages fluently, including their own secret language, Umeri.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-21.png)International Business TimesPriya Walia![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/identical-twins-matthew-michael-youlden.jpg)](https://www.ibtimes.com/linguistic-bond-identical-twins-create-their-own-secret-language-speak-26-others-3748468?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ![A cute picture of a cuttlefish in the ocean.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-29.png) Researchers who were studying two species of cuttlefish recently noticed that the cuttlefish seemed to be making gestures at one another. They tested this by playing video recordings of those gestures to the other cuttlefish, and found that the cuttlefish watching the video responded with another gesture, and not necessarily the same one, indicating that they were not simply mimicking what they saw. The researchers have no idea what these gestures mean, but the cuttlefish behaviors do seem to suggest that the gestures are in some way information-bearing. [Cuttlefish May Communicate with Discolike Arm GesturesScientists identified four arm wave signals cuttlefish use: ā€œup,ā€ ā€œside,ā€ ā€œrollā€ and ā€œcrownā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-68.ico)Scientific AmericanChris Simms![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/common_cuttlefish_sepia_officinalis_underwater.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cuttlefish-may-communicate-with-discolike-arm-gestures/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Watch cuttlefish communicateā€”with enthusiastic gestures](https://www.science.org/content/article/watch-cuttlefish-communicate-enthusiastic-gestures?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) [Cuttlefish interact with multimodal ā€œarm wave signā€ displaysIn addition to the well-known extraordinary changes in visual appearance they can generate at the level of their mantle, cuttle-fish can produce various body configurations combining chromatic, postural, and locomotion patterns, both for camouflaging and communication. We introduce a previously undescribed communication display in two cuttlefish species: Sepia officinalis and Sepia bandensis. The four ā€œarm wave signsā€ are stereotyped arm movements consisting of long-lasting, expressive, and repeated sequences of undulations of the arms, which can be combined and expressed following specific patterns. Using non-invasive behavioral experiments, we tested the hypothesis that they represent multimodal communication displays. To assess the role of visual cues, we recorded videos of animals signing and played them back to individual cuttlefish participants. When seeing the movies, cuttlefish waved back at the display. Most importantly, they were more likely to wave back when the movie was in upright (original) configuration as opposed to flipped upside-down, similar to the manner in which humans perceive faces and other socially relevant displays. In addition to their visually striking display, arm wave signs produce mechanical waves in the water, prompting us to explore the possibility that they may also be perceived via mechanoreception. Using playback experiments similar to those adopted in vision, we obtained preliminary evidence to support this hypothesis, indicating that arm wave signs may represent multimodal signals involving vision and mechanoreception. Our new result on communication with arm wave signs opens up novel possibilities for understanding vibration-mediated communication through the lateral line and/or the statocysts in a cephalopod species as an example of convergent evolution with vertebrates. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. PSL Research University, https://ror.org/013cjyk83 Lā€™OrĆ©al (France), https://ror.org/00nb3j622![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-69.ico)bioRxivFind this author on Google Scholar![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/biorxiv_logo_homepage7-5-small.png)](https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.13.648584?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Fun Fact:** The name of the color sepia comes from the Greek *sēpia* ā€˜cuttlefishā€™, because they made an ink using cuttlefish secretions, and that ink was sepia-colored. Thatā€™s also the source of Spanish *xibia* and French *seiche*. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-30.png)](https://amzn.to/4dwc1Yt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4dwc1Yt?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* ### pidgins vs. creoles Whatā€™s the difference between a pidgin and a creole? The Babbel blog explains: [Whatā€™s The Difference Between A Pidgin And A Creole?The difference between pidgin and creole is a bit more subtle than you think, so weā€™ll break it down with many examples.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-70.ico)BabbelSteph Koyfman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/PidginVsCreole.jpg)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/whats-the-difference-between-pidgin-and-creole?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Iā€™ll offer one small constructive criticism of that article: It defines creoles as follows: > **Creole:** A stable, fully developed language that arises from a pidgin when it becomes the first language of a community. However, not all creoles develop from pidgins! For starters, for a number of creoles thereā€™s no historical documentation suggesting they began as pidgins. But more importantly, an increasing number of linguists have come to view **creolization** as a process of language change that involves a significant degree of adult language learningā€”which can happen both with pidgins and in situations of intense contact between two language communities (McWhorter 2019). Because adults are inferior to infants when it comes to language learning, the result is a simplification of the languages that are in contact. Moreover, because creolization is a process, there can be degrees of creolization. Some linguists even argue that [English underwent a moderate degree of creolization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle%5FEnglish%5Fcreole%5Fhypothesis?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) during the period after the Norman Conquest in 1066\. In this period, called Middle English, English lost much of its morphological complexity and took on a myriad amount of vocabulary from Frenchā€”so much that French might be considered a **lexifier** language (the language that provides the majority of the vocabulary in a situation of language contact, usually the sociopolitically dominant one). That one criticism aside, the Babbel article is great and worth a read. I also have a shortform video on the difference between pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages if youā€™d like to see how I presented the difference: ### Other Reads The Duolingo blog answers a great question from a reader: ā€œAre any languages ā€˜uniqueā€™?ā€. I thought author Olivia Thayer did a nice job pointing out some fun and rare features of different languages in the article: [Dear Duolingo: Are any languages unique?Learn about 15+ of the most fascinating languages you may never have heard ofā€”and what makes them so different!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-6.png)Duolingo BlogOlivia Thayer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_pink.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/language-isolates/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Xenolinguistics has become a hot topic in the last couple years! This week weā€™ve got an Aeon article from philosopher of language Nikhil Mahant (Uppsala University) about what xenolinguistics might teach us about human language and how we can prepare for first contact: [Why alien languages could be far stranger than we imagine | Aeon EssaysImagining how aliens might communicate prepares us for first contact and illuminates the nature of our own languages![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-22.png)Aeon Magazine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/essay-dreyfus-close.jpg)](https://aeon.co/essays/why-alien-languages-could-be-far-stranger-than-we-imagine?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-31.png)](https://amzn.to/3Eze0xY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Eze0xY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If youā€™re studying or want to study linguistics, hereā€™s a small list of books specifically for students of linguistics: [Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Amazon Page - Books for Linguistics StudentsShop recommended products from Linguistic Discovery on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Linguistic Discoveryā€™s favorite products.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-71.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/61qYTOWBt1L._CR0-2C0-2C1080-2C1080_._US500_SCLZZZZZZZ_-3.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery/list/1TYLT714SMP6B?ref%5F=aip%5Fsf%5Flist%5Fspv%5Fons%5Fmixed%5Fd&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! Lots of interesting things about primate communication coming next week! Hope yā€™all have a great weekend! \~ Danny ## šŸ“‘ References - McWhorter, John. 2019\. Creoles. In Anthony P. Grant (ed.), *The Oxford handbook of language contact* (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics), 282ā€“302\. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.13](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199945092.013.13?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why English needs ā€œyā€™allā€ URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/yall/ Last updated: 2025-05-21T23:22:14.000Z English is a weird language for a lot of reasons, but today I want to talk about why English doesnā€™t have a standard plural for *you*. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* In the U.S., the South generally says *yā€™all*, while the rest of the country generally says *you guys*: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-18.png) But this papers over a lot of regional variation. 10% of the country uses *you* for both singular and plural, another 10% use *you all*, *yous*/*youse* is common in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh lays claim to *yinz* (a shortening from *you ones*). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-19.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-20.png) (These awesome maps are from the book [*Speaking American: How yā€™all, youse, and you guys talk: A visual guide*](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), by Joshua Katz. You can read my review of the book below.) [Speaking American: How yā€™all, youse, and you guys talkA beautiful and engaging coffee table book of 122 dialect maps showing how different regions of the U.S. say different things. A wonderful illustration of dialect diversity in the United States, this book is sure to spark great conversations. A must-have for any language lover.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-37.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Speaking-American-2.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/speaking-american-2e/) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-21.png)](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) So why all the variation? Well, English used to have a plural *you*ā€”and that word wasā€¦*you*. The word *you* was originally **plural**, not singular. Before that, the singular was *thou* (for subjects), *thee* (for objects), or *thy/thine* (for possessives). The reason *you* became singular is actually due to French. In French *tu* means ā€˜you (sg.)ā€™ and *vous* means ā€˜you (pl.)ā€™, but *vous* is also used for politeness, as a form of respect. After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, French had a huge influence on the English language. So English speakers started borrowing that pattern into English and using *you* as a polite way to address one person, and eventually that just became the default way of addressing one person, and it was no longer used to address multiple people. Whatā€™s cool is that the verb *be* got pulled along with it into the singular too. So it used to be this is how youā€™d conjugate the verb *be*: ![I am, thou art, he/she/it is, we are, you are, they are](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-22.png) Notice how the plural is always *are*. Well that plural verb got pulled along into the singular too, and now it looks like this: ![I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, ???, they are](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-23.png) But of course this created a gap, and ever since then English speakers have been trying to settle on a new way of saying ā€˜you (pl.)ā€™. And that, in a nutshell, is why English needed to create *yā€™all* in the first place! ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The etymology of ā€˜oneā€™: From Proto-Indo-European to Modern English URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/one/ Last updated: 2026-03-15T14:23:01.000Z šŸ™ For this issue I collaborated with Ryan Starkey of [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) to put together a beautiful etymological infographic! This article walks you through all the steps in the infographic, as well as what we can learn from all this about how language changes. Today Iā€™m going to take you on an etymological journey through the manifold histories of the word for ā€˜oneā€™ from Proto-Indo-European 6,000 years ago to all the subtle ways that root is hidden in English today. Put on your etymological adventure hat and/or grab yourself a drink and settle in, because weā€™ve got a 6,000-year journey ahead of us. ā³šŸ—ŗļø ā˜ļø If youā€™re short on time, you can also skip directly to [the cool stuff at the end](#hidden-patterns-in-the-web-of-linguistic-history) about hidden patterns in language history. *Prefer to watch or listen to this article instead? Hereā€™s a video version:* ## The Etymological Tree Trunk The reconstructed word for ā€˜oneā€™ in Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is \*hā‚Ć³ynos, and the most direct descendant of that word in Modern English is, unsurprisingly, *one*: šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā†’ OE **ān* ā†’ ME **one* šŸŒ  One thing that puzzles many people about the word **one* today is why itā€™s spelled as āŸØoneāŸ© but pronounced with an initial /w/, as /wŹŒn/. The /w/ started as a dialectal variant in western England, and gradually spread until it became the standard. (There isnā€™t really a specific reason for this spread. Languages are complex-adaptive systems; some changes take hold and spread, and others donā€™t.) Adding a /w/ may seem a bit random, but itā€™s not too uncommon for languages to add [glide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semivowel?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) consonants (also called semivowels) before or after a vowel, in which case they are called on-glides or off-glides respectively. This change can happen for various reasons, which I wonā€™t discuss here. But think about how **coupon* can be pronounced as either /kupɑn/ or /kjupan/ in American English; the /j/ in the latter pronunciation is an example of an on-glide. But while **one* and **once* took on the initial /w/, other words based on **one* didnā€™t. Thatā€™s why **alone*, **atone*, and **only* (which are all related to **one*, as weā€™ll see in a bit) arenā€™t pronounced with a /w/. For the purpose of this article, think of this etymology as the main trunk of our etymological tree. All the other **reflexes** (descendants) of \*hā‚Ć³ynos will branch off from different parts of this trunkā€”some more recently in history, up near the very top of the tree, and some very early in the history of Indo-European, near the base of the tree. Weā€™ll work our way from the top of the tree (more recent branchings) on down (older branchings). ![A graphic of a tree with the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™, *hā‚Ć³ynos, down at its roots, and the Modern English word ā€œoneā€ at the top nestled in the leaves, and various stages of the word between the two at different branches.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-7.png) Of course, in Modern English, *one* functions as more than just a number. It can also be used as an indefinite pronoun in expressions like ā€œone would thinkā€. This usage came about under influence from French *on* ā€˜somebody, someoneā€™ and Latin *homō* ā€˜human being, personā€™. This is our first tiny leaflet off the main branchā€”two distinct senses of *one* in English. One of them is a content word with a concrete meaning, the other is a function word with an abstract grammatical meaning. ā˜ļø The asterisk \* before a word indicates that it has been reconstructed using the [comparative method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative%5Fmethod?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in historical linguistics. The word was never actually attested in any written source. Instead, it is a hypothetical reconstruction based on available evidence and the many techniques linguists have at their disposal for winding back the clock on language history. If an entire parent language has little or no extant written texts and has been reconstructed using these techniques, it has the prefix ā€œProto-ā€. Proto-Indo-European is the reconstructed parent language of all the modern Indo-European languages, while Proto-Germanic is the reconstructed parent language of all the modern Germanic languages (and is itself a child language descended from Proto-Indo-European). [How hypothetical are protolanguages?How hypothetical are protolanguages? How did the Indo-Europeans spread? What does conversation look like in the brain? Hereā€™s what happened this week in language and linguistics.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-36.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/342354-1.jpg)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-12/#how-hypothetical-are-protolanguages) šŸŒ  How to read Proto-Indo-European transcriptions Scholars believe that Proto-Indo-European had three distinct ā€œlaryngealā€ consonants, but are uncertain as to exactly how these consonants were pronounced, so linguists write them as āŸØ\*hā‚ \*hā‚‚ \*hā‚ƒāŸ©. I put ā€œlaryngealā€ in quotation marks because of that uncertainty. All we know is that \*hā‚ was an obstruent, \*hā‚‚ was likely a voiceless fricative pronounced in the far back of the mouth, and \*hā‚ƒ had lip rounding (Ringe 2006: 8ā€“9). One hypothesis is that \*hā‚ = \[h\], \*hā‚‚ = \[Ļ‡\], and \*hā‚ƒ = \[É£Ź·\]. The acute accent indicates a pitch accent on that syllable, similar to stressed syllables in English, but without accompanying increases in loudness or length. The only difference on a pitch-accented syllable is a higher pitch. Not used here are the palatal consonants \*įø±, \*Ēµ, \*ĒµŹ°, whose exact pronunciation is also uncertain. All other characters in the Proto-Indo-European orthography are used in line with their standard meanings in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). ## Old English Now that we have the main trunk of our tree, letā€™s first explore the Old English branch, which itself sits on the older Germanic branch. The Old English word *ān* ā€˜oneā€™ was used so frequently in several common phrases that the words in those phrases merged into a single new word (a process called **univerbation**): - The phrase *all ān* ā€˜all oneā€™, metaphorically meaning ā€˜entirely oneā€™ or ā€˜completely aloneā€™, became the Modern English word *alone*. The word *alone* in turn was shortened to *lone*, which later developed the adverb form *lonely*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **ān* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **all ān* ā€˜all oneā€™ ā†’ ME **alone* ā†’ ME **lone(ly)* - The phrase *Ʀt ān* ā€˜at oneā€™ metaphorically meant ā€˜in agreement, in accordā€™, and that phrase became the Modern English word *atone*. Its meaning developed from ā€˜in accordā€™ to ā€˜make reparations forā€™, because making reparations for an action is one way to be in accord with someone. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **ān* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **Ʀt ān* ā€˜at oneā€™ ā†’ ME **atone* - The phrase *on ān* meant ā€˜in one (moment)ā€™ (*on* meant both ā€˜onā€™ and ā€˜inā€™ in Old English), and this became the Modern English word *anon* ā€˜in a short time; soonā€™, as in ā€œmore on that anonā€. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **ān* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **on ān* ā€˜in oneā€™ ā†’ ME **anon* Old English nouns were also inflected with various suffixes indicating their role in the sentence (**case markers**). The **genitive** (possessive) form of *ān* was *ānes* ā€˜of oneā€™, with the genitive *\-es* suffix. After a few pronunciation changes, that led to the Modern English word *once*. And if you remember in my earlier aside about the pronunciation of *one*, only the word *one* itself gained an initial /w/ in its pronunciation; the other words based on *one* didnā€™t. Well, since *ānes* was originally just the genitive form of *ān*, it too gained that initial /w/, which is why *once* is pronounced /wŹŒns/. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **ānes* ā€˜of oneā€™ ā†’ ME **once* ![A table showing the Old English word for ā€˜oneā€™ with each of its case markers. Old English distinguished masculine, feminine, and neuter gender in the singular, but not in the plural. The different cases are Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Date, and Instrumental.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-9.png) The various forms of Old English ān ā€˜oneā€™ with its case suffixes. Before those sound changes occurred, however, *ānes* appeared frequently in the phrase *to/for Ć¾en ānes* ā€˜to/for the onceā€™, meaning ā€˜the one occasion or instanceā€™. The word *Ć¾en* was the precursor to Modern English *the*. Specifically, it was the **dative** form (indicating the recipient or beneficiary). But many speakers heard the /n/ in *Ć¾en* as belonging to the word *ānes* instead of *Ć¾en*, so the phrase became *for Ć¾e nānes*ā€”a classic case of **rebracketing** or **morphological reanalysis**. The word *nānes* then came down to us in Modern English as the word *nonce*, meaning ā€˜occurring or used only onceā€™, a term common in programming for [single-use cryptographic keys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographic%5Fnonce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā†’ OE **for Ć¾en ānes* ā€˜for the onceā€™ ā†’ OE **for Ć¾e nānes* ā€˜for the nonceā€™ ā†’ ME **nonce* ā˜ļø This definition of **nonce* is completely unrelated to the British term referring to a sex offender. The two words are accidental homonyms. I also feel obligated to point out that the British term is most definitely ****not** an acronym for ā€œNot On Normal Communal Exerciseā€; thatā€™s just a folk etymology. šŸŒ  Other examples of rebracketing include **adder* (ā† **a nadder*), **apron* (ā† **a napron*), and **nickname* (ā† **an eke name* ā€˜an additional nameā€™). There are [many more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebracketing?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#In%5FEnglish). Thatā€™s not the only time *ān* was involved in rebracketing, either. It became so common for *ān* to function as an indefinite pronoun meaning ā€˜someoneā€™ that it became the indefinite article *a/an*! Today both words (*one* and *a/an*) exist side by side in English, but with different functions. There was so much variation in whether the /n/ of *ān* was perceived as part of *ān* or part of a following vowel-initial word that eventually the pattern generalized: today, *a* is used before words that start with a consonant sound, and *an* is used before words that start with a vowel sound. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OE **ān* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ ME **a/an* ## Germanic Now letā€™s climb down our etymological tree a bit from the Old English branch to the next closest one, Germanic. Germanic is one of the major branches of the Indo-European language family, along with Celtic (which includes Irish), Italic (which includes Latin and its descendant Romance languages, Spanish, French, etc.), Indo-Iranian (which includes Sanskrit), and several others. This is beautifully illustrated by Finnish artist Minna Sundberg in a 2014 installment of her web comic [*Stand Still, Stay Silent*](https://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=196&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (below). ![Old World language families depicted as a a drawing of a giant tree, where the sizes of the branches represent the number of native speakers before year 0.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-8.png) By the time Proto-Germanic branched off from the rest of the Indo-European languages, the Proto-Indo-European word \*hā‚Ć³ynos had become \*ainaz in that branch of the tree. In addition to the Old English word *ān* ā€˜oneā€™, \*ainaz yielded a couple other words: First, it took the adjective suffix \*-gaz, which is the origin of the Modern English *\-y* suffix. This Proto-Germanic word \*ainagaz meant ā€˜only, singular, uniqueā€™. It became the Old English word *Ē£niÄ”* ā€˜anyā€™, then finally Modern English *any*ā€”etymologically, ā€˜one-yā€™. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainagaz ā€˜one-yā€™ ā†’ Old English **Ē£niÄ”* ā€˜anyā€™ ā†’ ME **any* \*ainaz could also take the suffix \*-lÄ«kaz ā€˜-likeā€™, becoming *ainalÄ«kaz ā€˜one-likeā€™. (*\-lÄ«kaz is related to the Modern English word *like* and is also the origin of the *\-ly* suffix.) In Old English this became *ānlīċ* ā€˜one-lyā€™, yielding Modern English *only*: šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainalÄ«kaz ā€˜one-likeā€™ ā†’ Old English **ānlīċ* ā€˜one-lyā€™ ā†’ ME **only* \*ainaz could also be negated as \*ne ainaz ā€˜not oneā€™, which later merged as \*nainaz ā€˜noneā€™. (Univerbation again.) \*nainaz became Old English *nān*, which in turn became Modern English *none*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*nainaz ā€˜noneā€™ ā†’ OE **nān* ā€˜noneā€™ ā†’ ME **none* Now we come to the last etymology from the Germanic branch of the tree, which will finally explain the great mystery of why English uses the special words *eleven* and *twelve* for those numbers instead of \* *oneteen* and \* *twoteen*: There is decent evidence to suggest that early Germanic had, if not a full-fledged base-12 (**duodecimal**) counting system, at the very least influences from such a system. That is, early Germanic speakers seem to have counted by 12s rather than 10s. ā˜ļø Linguists also use asterisks to indicate ungrammatical or incorrect forms like \* *oneteen*. The connection between the etymological use and the use with reconstructed words is that both ungrammatical words and reconstructed words are ****unattested**. One piece of evidence for base-12 counting in early Germanic is that Old Norse used a mixed decimal-duodecimal counting system. The Old Norse word *hundraĆ°* meant ā€˜120ā€™ (twelve groups of ten instead of ten groups of ten). This influenced English usage as well: the English word *hundred* could still be used to mean ā€˜120ā€™ until the 1400s. A second piece of evidence is that in the earliest texts written in Germanic languages (such as the Gothic Bible), [there are notes in the margins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long%5Fhundred?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#History) explaining to readers that certain numbers should be read ā€œtenty-wiseā€, or in the base-10 counting system. These notes wouldnā€™t be necessary in a society that already consistently counted by tens. A final piece of evidence that the early Germanic peoples counted by twelves comes from the words for ā€˜elevenā€™ and ā€˜twelveā€™ themselves: in Proto-Germanic, these words were \*ainalif ā€˜one leftā€™ and \*twalif ā€˜two leftā€™, in the sense of ā€˜one left over (after ten)ā€™ and ā€˜two left over (after ten)ā€™. This style of counting past the base is called **overcounting**, and it is documented in other languages as well. For example, Old Turkic would express ā€˜twenty-sevenā€™ as ā€˜seven thirtyā€™, meaning ā€˜seven towards thirtyā€™ (Harrison 2007: 183ā€“184). Itā€™s perfectly natural to say things like ā€œweā€™re two overā€ in the context of numerical limits. You might say this if there are more people than chairs available, for example. Now imagine if this way of conceptualizing numbers were the *only* way to express ā€˜elevenā€™ and ā€˜twelveā€™, and you have their origin. ![Diagram of a stick figure walking along a number line between 20 and 30 and facing 30, thinking ā€œTwo towards thirty.ā€](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-10.png) The reason the overcounting stops at 12 seems to be that early duodecimal influence. \*ainalif became *endleofan* in Old English, and that developed into the Modern English word *eleven*, while \*twalif eventually became *twelve*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainaz ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PG \*ainalif ā€˜one leftā€™ ā†’ OE **endleofan* ā€˜elevenā€™ ā†’ ME **eleven* Now that weā€™ve perused the Germanic descendants of the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™, letā€™s turn to some other branches of the Indo-European family tree and the words from those branches that have wandered into English. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## Romance I use the word ā€œwanderā€ intentionally, because all the words in this and the following sections were not **inherited** by English from Proto-Germanic, its parent language. Instead, all these words were **borrowed** by various routes into English at different points in the languageā€™s historyā€”sometimes extremely early in its history, sometimes more recently. Two historical events in particular inundated English with words of Romance origin: the Norman invasion of England in 1066, and the Renaissance. The Normans brought the French language with them into England, where it quickly became the language of the ruling class, marking the end of the Old English period and the transition into Middle English. English itself went practically unwritten from that point until the late 1300s. French is a Romance language (meaning itā€™s a descendant of Latin), so nearly all the vocabulary that English borrowed from French is ultimately of Latin origin. Itā€™s also important to remember that many of these borrowings happened during the period of *Old* or *Middle* French, before many words had taken on the pronunciations and spellings that they have in Modern French. So, if a French word in this article looks strange to you, thatā€™s why. During the Renaissance, on the other hand, scholars borrowed many words directly from Latin. French was no longer the intermediary for Latin borrowings. Letā€™s explore those words that came from Latin by way of French first. The Proto-Indo-European word \*hā‚Ć³ynos became *Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ in Latin, and this formed a part of numerous other words in Latin. French then inherited those words before foisting them upon English. The most ~~boring~~ straightforward word is Latin *Å«nicus* ā€˜sole, uniqueā€™ (literally ā€˜one-yā€™), which became French *unique* (English *unique*): šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nicus* ā€˜sole, uniqueā€™ ā†’ OF **unique* ā€˜uniqueā€™ ā‡¢ ME **unique* ā˜ļø A dotted arrow (ā‡¢) in these callouts indicates a borrowing as opposed to an inherited word. Latin *Å«nisonus* ā€˜same soundā€™ (*Å«ni-* ā€˜oneā€™ + *sonus* ā€˜soundā€™) became French *unisson* (English *unison*): šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nisonus* ā€˜same soundā€™ ā†’ OF **unisson* ā€˜unison; accord of soundā€™ ā‡¢ ME **unison* Latin *Å«niversus* ā€˜whole; universeā€™ (*Å«ni-* ā€˜oneā€™ + *versus* ā€˜turnedā€™, meaning literally ā€˜turned into oneā€™) became French *univers* (English *universe*). šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«niversus* ā€˜whole; universeā€™ ā†’ OF **univers* ā€˜universeā€™ ā‡¢ ME **universe* *Å«niversus* also had an abstract noun form, *Å«niversitās*, which meant ā€˜communityā€™ (an extension from the sense of ā€˜the whole (community)ā€™). This later came to refer to an academic community specifically, yielding first the French *universitei* and then the English *university*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«niversus* ā€˜whole; universeā€™ ā†’ L **Å«niversitās* ā€˜communityā€™ ā†’ OF **universitei* ā€˜universityā€™ ā‡¢ ME **university* A fun etymology is Latin *Å«niōnem* ā€˜onionā€™, referring to the unity of an onionā€™s layers. It could also be used metaphorically to mean ā€˜pearlā€™ (because onions were sold in a string, so a pearl necklace was like onions on a string). Latin *Å«niōnem* became Old French *oignon* and came into English as *onion*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā¤³ L **Å«niōnem* ā€˜unity; onionā€™ ā†’ OF **oignon* ā€˜onionā€™ ā‡¢ ME **onion* ā˜ļø A wavy arrow (ā¤³) in these callouts indicates that the etymological connection is uncertain. šŸŒ  Ryan Starkey pointed out that what might actually be happening here is that there were two distinct wordsā€”one for ā€˜onionā€™ and one for ā€˜pearlā€™ā€”which were accidental homonyms in Latin, and then ancient (and modern) scholars retroactively came up for explanations for the coincidence. One of the words would have come from PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ and the other from PIE \*ĒµŹ°oysĆ³s ā€˜pointed stick; spearā€™, which was also used metaphorically to refer to garlic or onions. Iā€™m inclined to agree with Ryanā€”this has all the appearances of an accidental homonym. Now, remember how I said that some words entered English earlier than others? Well, sometimes the same word came into English *twice* (or more!)ā€”once early in the languageā€™s history and once laterā€”yielding two different words in Modern English. When two words in the same language share a common historical source, they are called an etymological **doublet** (or triplet, and so on). A few quick examples are *host* and *guest*, *ward* and *guard*, and *pipe* and *fife*. Each of those pairs of words have the same origin. This is what happened with the Latin word *Å«Ģ†ncia* ā€˜one partā€™ or ā€˜unitā€™. (The initial āŸØÅ«Ģ†āŸ© has both a breve and a macron because itā€™s unknown whether that vowel was long or short.) In actual use, this word actually meant ā€˜a *twelfth* part of somethingā€™ rather than a single part, because Romans divided many types of goods into units of twelve, such as the pound and the foot. Middle French inherited this word as *once*, at which point English borrowed it as *ounce*. Today an ounce is ā…Ÿā‚ā‚† of a pound rather than ā…Ÿā‚ā‚‚ of a pound because at one point the standard for what constitutes a pound changed. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā¤³ L **Å«Ģ†ncia* ā€˜one-twelfthā€™ ā†’ OF **once* ā€˜ounceā€™ ā‡¢ ME **ounce* ā˜ļø It is also possible that **Å«Ģ†ncia* is a borrowing from the Greek į½„Ī³ĪŗĪæĻ‚ **Ć³nkos* ā€˜weightā€™, in which case it is unconnected to Proto-Indo-European \*hā‚Ć³ynos. But that was merely the later borrowing. A millennium prior to that, before Old English even existed, the Germanic tribes of northern Europe were trading with, fighting against, and sometimes even fighting for, the Romans. As you might expect, those Germanic peoples borrowed many words for items they bought from the Romans, as well as some of their units of measure. One of those was the *Å«Ģ†ncia*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-11.png) Map of the Roman Empire and Magna Germania in the early 2nd century AD. ([Wikipedia: Germania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Later, between the 5th and 7th centuries, some of those Germanic peoples would settle in Britain, mixing their West Germanic dialects into what would eventually become Old English. One of the words they brought with them was *ynċe* ā€˜inchā€™, which first appears in the [*Laws of Ɔthelberht*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws%5Fof%5F%C3%86thelberht?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), dated to the early 600s; that gives us the modern word *inch*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«Ģ†ncia* ā€˜one-twelfthā€™ ā‡¢ OE **ynċe* ā€˜inchā€™ ā†’ ME **inch* ![Map of Anglo-Saxon homelands in Northern Europe and their settlements in England, with arrows showing migration paths, from approximately 400ā€“500 CE.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-12.png) ([Wikimedia Commons: Anglo-Saxon Homelands & Settlements](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anglo-Saxon%5FHomelands%5Fand%5FSettlements.svg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) While I donā€™t typically include technical or specialist jargon in these etymological surveys, Iā€™ll impishly include two here because theyā€™re fun: Remember how I said a word can also be borrowed *more* than twice? You guessed it: *Å«Ģ†ncia* was also borrowed into English around 1650 as the word *uncial*, referring to [a particular type of majuscule script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncial%5Fscript?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (written entirely in capital letters) used from the 4th to 8th centuries. It was called uncial because the letters were ā€œinch-highā€, i.e., big. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«Ģ†ncia* ā€˜one-twelfthā€™ ā‡¢ ME **uncial* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-13.png) The Book of Kells, c. AD 800, is lettered in a script known as "insular majuscule", a variety of uncial script that originated in Ireland. ([Wikipedia: Uncial script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncial%5Fscript?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Lastly, *Å«Ģ†ncia* also appeared in the Latin compound noun *quÄ«ncÅ«Ģ†nx* ā€˜five-twelfthsā€™ (combining *quÄ«nque* ā€˜fiveā€™ + *Å«Ģ†ncia*), which referred to a specific coin issued by the Roman Republic c. 211ā€“200 BCE. However, that noun was later borrowed into English and soon came to refer to the specific arrangement of five units as seen on dice, with four units in the corners and one in the center, like so: ā™. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«Ģ†ncia* ā€˜one-twelfthā€™ ā†’ L **quÄ«ncÅ«Ģ†nx* ā€˜five-twelfthsā€™ ā‡¢ ME **quincunx* ā€˜five-spot patternā€™ There are two other reflexes of \*hā‚Ć³ynos that come to English through French, but not by way of Latin *Å«nus*. In Old Latin (the period from the earliest written Latin inscriptions up until the Classical period, c. 600s ā€“ 75 BCE), the word for ā€˜oneā€™ was *oinos* before it later changed into *Å«nus*. This word could be negated using the Old Latin *ne*, forming *ne oinos* ā€˜not oneā€™. In the same way that Proto-Germanic \*ne ainaz ā€˜not oneā€™ underwent univerbation and became \*nainaz ā€˜noneā€™, *ne oinos* became *noenum* ā€˜notā€™, which (possibly) became the Classical Latin *nōn*. (Etymologists arenā€™t entirely certain of *nōn*ā€™s origin, but this etymology is the best hypothesis.) English later borrowed the prefixed form of this, *non-*, from French, and it now appears in many words such as *nonplussed*, *nonbeliever*, *nonfat*, and countless more. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OL \*oinos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OL \*ne oinos ā€˜not oneā€™ ā†’ OL **noenum* ā€˜notā€™ ā¤³ L **nōn ā€˜notā€™* ā†’ OF **non-* ā€˜non-ā€™ ā‡¢ ME **non-* The last Latin-via-French reflex of \*hā‚Ć³ynos is a close parallel to *non-*. A step lower than Old Latin on our etymological tree is [Proto-Italic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Italic%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which is the ancestor of all the Italic languages. Latin and its descendants are the only languages in this branch that survived, but we have historical records of other Italic languages such as Faliscan, Umbrian, Oscan, and Picene. A few other languages for which we have little documentation might have belonged to the Italic branch as well (Venetic, Siculian, and Lusitanian). In Proto-Italic, the word \*oinos ā€˜oneā€™ could be given a diminutive suffix to make it \*oinolos ā€˜little oneā€™. Just like \*oinos, \*oinolos was often negated as \*ne oinolos ā€˜not (even) a little oneā€™, and by the time of Classical Latin that phrase had become the word *nÅ«llus* ā€˜no, not anyā€™. In French it became *nul*, and English then borrowed it as the word *null*. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PI \*oinos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PI \*ne oinolos ā€˜not a little oneā€™ ā†’ L **nÅ«llus* ā€˜no, not anyā€™ ā†’ OF **nul* ā€˜nobody, no oneā€™ ā‡¢ ME **null* Weā€™ll end our climb around the Romance branch of our etymological tree with a quick look at those words borrowed directly from Latin, usually during the Renaissance. These are the most straightforward of the lot: Latin *Å«nÄ«tus* ā€˜unitedā€™ and *Å«nÄ«tās* ā€˜unityā€™ were borrowed as English *unite* and *unity* respectively, and *unit* in turn comes from an alteration of *unity* (by analogy to *digit*). šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nÄ«re* ā€˜to uniteā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nÄ«tus* ā€˜unitedā€™ ā‡¢ ME **unite* šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nÄ«re* ā€˜to uniteā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nÄ«tās* ā€˜unityā€™ ā‡¢ ME **unity* ā†’ ME **unit* You might expect that the English word *unary* was borrowed directly from a Latin word like \* *Å«nārius*, but no such word existed in Latin. Instead, *unary* was modeled on the pattern of *binary* and *ternary*, using *Å«nus* as the base. There are various other words with a *uni-* prefix as well, such as *uniform* ā€˜one formā€™, *unilateral* ā€˜one sideā€™, *unicorn* ā€˜one hornā€™, and *unanimous* ā€˜one mindā€™. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nicornis* ā€˜unicornā€™ ā‡¢ ME **unicorn* šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nus* ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ L **Å«nanimus* ā€˜one mindā€™ ā‡¢ ME **unanimous* (Interestingly, *unanimous* actually displaced the native Old English word *ānmōd* ā€˜one-mindedā€™.) Now at this point you might be asking, ā€œWhen does this article end?ā€ and ā€œThose are only two branches of Indo-European. Did English borrow \*hā‚Ć³ynos-derived words from other branches, too?ā€ Well, Iā€™ve got good news for you: I can answer both of those questions at the same time. Somewhat surprisingly given how many other branches of the family there are, thereā€™s only *one* other reflex of \*hā‚Ć³ynos that I could find in English, and that comes from the Celtic branch of the Indo-European tree. So for our last stop on the etymological tour of ā€˜oneā€™, we turn to Celtic. ## Celtic The Celtic branch of Indo-European contains Irish, Welsh, and Scottish Gaelic, just to name a few of its largest members. The Proto-Celtic version of \*hā‚Ć³ynos was \*oinos ā€˜oneā€™ (just like Proto-Italic), and this word appeared as the first part of the Old Irish name *OĆ­ngus*. The second part of this name is uncertain, but it is either from Proto-Celtic \*gustus ā€˜strength, vigorā€™ or \*gus- chooseā€™, meaning either ā€˜one strengthā€™ or ā€˜one choiceā€™. In Modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, this name has become *Aonghus*. In 8th-century Pictish (another Celtic language), however, the name was *Ɠengus*, and the Pictish king Ɠengus I ruled over a region of northeast Scotland which is today called *Angus* after him. This region, you might have already guessed, is home to a small breed of beef cattle called the Aberdeen Angus (Aberdeen being another county) or simply Angus. *Angus beef* is thus the last leaf on our etymological tree. šŸ” PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ PC \*oinos ā€˜oneā€™ ā†’ OI **OĆ­ngus* ā€˜one strength/choiceā€™ ā†’ P **Ɠengus* \[name\] ā†’ ME **Angus* ## Hidden Patterns in the Web of Linguistic History > Frequency is the erosion of historical linguistics: given enough time, even the most obdurate linguistic boulder wears away under its influence. I donā€™t know about you, but it never ceases to amaze me a) how many modern words can derive from just a single historical root, and b) how incredibly different those words can be, both in their forms and their meanings. Just to drive the point home, here are all the English reflexes of \*hā‚Ć³ynos discussed in this article: ![A word cloud of the 28 etymological reflexes discussed in this article](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-14.png) Itā€™s to be expected that ā€˜oneā€™ would be especially multifaceted, because words for ā€˜oneā€™ are used more frequently than any other number (Coupland 2011), making them prone to univerbation like in the case of *none*, or to becoming a function word like in the case of *a/an*. Words for ā€˜oneā€™ are incredibly versatile words in the worldā€™s languages. ![A bar chart showing the frequency with which each numeral is used in a Yahoo corpus. One is the most frequent, and each subsequent number is increasingly less frequent, following a Zipfian distribution.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-15.png) One tendency that may have stood out to you over the course of our scamper through the etymological tree is that the same word structure and concept can develop independently in different branches of a family, or multiple times in the same branch. Both *none* and *non-* come from a construction meaning ā€˜not oneā€™, for example, while both *any* and *unique* are etymologically ā€˜one-yā€™. Proto-Germanic had the suffix \*-lÄ«kaz ā€˜-likeā€™, which became the Modern English *\-ly* suffix, but Modern English *also* uses *like* as a suffix, e.g., *catlike*. This isnā€™t entirely coincidental. Some concepts are simply a common part of the human experience. In other cases, the development of a word or phrase in one language is due to influence from another. Part of the reason that Old English *ān* developed into the indefinite pronoun *a/an* was influence from French and Latin, for example. ![A flowchart showing how words can be both inherited by child languages from parent languages and also borrowed between child languages.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-16.png) Itā€™s also important to consider what youā€™re *not* seeing when you look at these reconstructions. Do you really think that Old Latin didnā€™t have a way of expressing ā€˜notā€™ before it developed *noenum*? Of course it did! Anything else would violate the **Uniformitarian Principle**, the assumption that the laws and principles of nature operate the same way today as they did in the past. In the context of linguistics, this means that we expect ancient languages to behave similarly to languages today, because the humans of 2,500 years ago are not meaningfully biologically different from us today. Since every known language today has a way to signal negation, itā€™s implausible that Old Latin wouldnā€™t have. Why, then, did Old Latin speakers bother creating the word *noenum* if they already had a way of doing negationā€½ Simply put, words lose their novelty with repeated use, and the more frequently a word is used, the faster this happens. When a word becomes less novel, speakers have to reinforce its meaning with other, sometimes seemingly repetitive words. Consider the famous example of [French negation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jespersen%27s%5Fcycle?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): Old French originally had just one negative, *ne*, but this lost its pragmatic strength, so speakers introduced a second negative, *pas*. This ā€œdouble negativeā€ isnā€™t logically contradictory, because the second negative isnā€™t functioning to negate the firstā€”itā€™s functioning to *reinforce* the first. (The same holds true of double negatives in English, by the way.) This process of renewing negatives in languages is called the [**Negation Cycle** or **Jespersenā€™s Cycle**.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jespersen%27s%5Fcycle?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-17.png) Another reason speakers have to coin new ways of saying the same thing is that frequent words are phonetically reduced over time. The word *not* in English is now reduced to just *\-nā€™t* in many cases, and phonetically this is sometimes realized as no more than slight glottalization on the preceding vowel. The phrase *can not* was once pronounced \[kƦn nɑt\] in American English, but is now pronounced as merely \[kƦĢƒn\] in certain dialectsā€”almost exactly the same as *can* \[kƦn\]! This makes it incredibly hard for non-native speakers to hear the difference, and even native speakers can mishear it at times. How long until English needs another negation? This process of renewing old words that have become meaningless and phonetically reduced is called, fittingly enough, **renewal**, and it explains why we see parallel structures develop in different branches of a family tree. If the protolanguage had a particular construction, and that construction was frequently used, then over time the child languages will need to find innovative ways of expressing that same function as the old structures wear down. Frequency is the erosion of historical linguistics: given enough time, even the most obdurate linguistic boulder wears away under its influence. And so we come to the end of our etymological journey. Below is a complete map of the territory we covered along the way. Thank you for reading, and I hope youā€™ve enjoyed this special thank-you issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! If you enjoyed this post and want to support my mission to educate the world about linguistic diversity, consider becoming a supporter! Paid subscribers also get occasional bonus articles and early access to chapters of my book! [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ™ Credits This issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was edited by Amy Treber. If youā€™re looking for professional copyediting services, email Amy at [amytreberedits@gmail.com](mailto:amytreberedits@gmail.com). A huge thank you also goes to Ryan Starkey for his willingness to collaborate on this infographic and to serve as an independent check on my research. The final responsibility for any mistakes or omissions is of course still wholly my own. ## šŸ”€ Infographic Below youā€™ll find my own (less pretty) version of the infographic that Ryan Starkey created for Starkey Comics. Since I had already written the article when Ryan started work on the infographic, youā€™ll notice differences! And since understanding these differences is also educational, here are some quick notes on them: - The Starkey Comics version includes both the Old English and Middle English versions of words when relevant, whereas the Linguistic Discovery version conflates these two periods. Ryan separated them because in many cases these words entered into English in the Middle English period rather than Old English. (I conflated them primarily because of the space limitations with my format.) - The Starkey Comics version uses PIE \*Ć³ynos as the reconstruction for ā€˜oneā€™ whereas the Linguistic Discovery version includes the initial consonant, as \*hā‚Ć³ynos. The reason for this discrepancy is that scholars of historical Indo-European disagree about whether to reconstruct this word with an initial consonant. While on the one hand there is pretty much no evidence in any of the daughter languages that \*(hā‚)Ć³ynos started with a consonant, itā€™s also generally accepted that PIE words never began with a vowel. So any words that are reconstructed with an initial vowel, like \*Ć³ynos, are assumed to have actually started with \*hā‚, which then disappeared. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/carousel.png) ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading ![Book: The unfolding of language: An evolutionary tour of mankindā€™s greatest invention](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd2ca4414-d20e-4ba8-8e47-d732c680c1ee_428x630.png "Book: The unfolding of language: An evolutionary tour of mankindā€™s greatest invention") This is a fantastic book about how languages develop grammar over time. One of the best pop linguistics books out there. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIdxAJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![Book: Proto: How one ancient language went global](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F674c4f5d-0e5b-4741-bda7-4bc41bfdae5a_350x538.png "Book: Proto: How one ancient language went global") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![Book: The Indo-Europeans rediscovered: How a scientific revolution is rewriting their story](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1bec83c4-9871-4c29-8b4b-09c28ab69627_306x466.png "Book: The Indo-Europeans rediscovered: How a scientific revolution is rewriting their story") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![Book: The horse, the wheel, and language: How bronze-age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3aa1377-ce9e-4666-ba19-50fd84046f49_228x346.png "Book: The horse, the wheel, and language: How bronze-age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## ā“ Uncertainties The Modern English word *alike* seems to come from a conflation of the Old English words *ānlīċ* ā€˜onlyā€™ and *Ä”elīċ* ā€˜like, alike; similar; equalā€™. The surname *Einstein* is a **habitational** name, meaning that itā€™s derived from the name or description of a place where someone lived. In this case, the original term was Middle High German *einsteinen* ā€˜to enclose or surround with stoneā€™. This word could be broken down in one of two ways: - *ein-* ā€˜intoā€™ + *Stein* ā€˜stoneā€™ - *ein* ā€˜oneā€™ + *Stein* ā€˜stoneā€™ If itā€™s the second possibility, then the name is also related to *one*, since German *ein* also descends from PIE \*hā‚Ć³ynos. But I think the former etymology is more plausible. Silas Frisenette points out that some compound forms like Proto-Germanic \*nainaz ā€˜noneā€™ and Proto-Italic \*noinolos ā€˜noneā€™ might actually trace all the way back to Proto-Indo-European, as \*n-Ć³yno- ā€˜noneā€™ and \*n-Ć³yno-los ā€˜not a little oneā€™, respectively. It can be hard to pinpoint exactly when the languages created these forms (whether it happened in Proto-Indo-European or later, after the languages had diverged), but the evidence does suggest both of these forms are older. If those words were formed during the period of Proto-Germanic and Proto-Italic, youā€™d expect them to be something like \*unainaz for Proto-Germanic and \*inoinos for Proto-Italic, because by that point the negative prefix had become \*un- in Proto-Germanic and \*in- in Proto-Italic. ## šŸ“‘ Sources - Barnhart, Robert K. (ed.). 1988\. *Chambers dictionary of etymology*. Chambers. - Coupland, Nikolas. 2011\. How frequent are numbers? *Language & Communication* 31(1): 27ā€“37\. DOI: [10.1016/j.langcom.2010.09.001](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2010.09.001?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Etymonline: \*oi-no-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/%2Aoi-no-?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Harrison, K. David. 2007\. [*When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge*](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Oxford University Press. - Ringe, Donald (ed.). 2006\. [*A linguistic history of English, Vol. 1: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic*](https://amzn.to/4j3V75w?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). 1st edn. Oxford University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199284139.001.0001](https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199284139.001.0001?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Watkins, Calvert (ed.). 2011\. [*The American Heritage dictionary of Indo-European roots*](https://amzn.to/4lQwAlZ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (3e). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. - [Wiktionary: \*hā‚Ć³ynos](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h%E2%82%81%C3%B3ynos?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ”  Abbreviations Used in this Article | L | Latin | | --- | ------------------- | | ME | Modern English | | OE | Old/Middle English | | OF | Old/Middle French | | OI | Old Irish | | OL | Old Latin | | P | Pictish | | PC | Proto-Celtic | | PG | Proto-Germanic | | PI | Proto-Italic | | PIE | Proto-Indo-European | šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Inside the fiercest debate in linguisticsā€”Universal Grammar. Plus, why your brain can process short text messages so quickly. URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-19/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:03.000Z Iā€™ll kick off this weekā€™s digest with another stunning infographic from Marco Giannini of [Dataspoiler](https://dataspoiler.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), about Italian place names (**toponyms**): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image.png) You can see all Marcoā€™s linguistics projects, and read the details for this one, here: [project Linguistics - Dataspoilerfor La Lettura ā€“ Corriere della Sera VisualLinguistics 2020 ā€“ Present MAPPING SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF LINGUISTICS FOR THE LARGER AUDIENCE Within the Sunday cultural insert of Corriere della Sera newspaper, Visual Data column has been for more than a decade an important reference for information design, promoting an experimental approach to visual rendering of data. This section \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/logo-quad-fondorosso-300x300.jpg)Dataspoiler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/03-Storia-della-scrittura-1024x522.png)](https://dataspoiler.com/project-linguistics/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* It seems our brains are even faster at processing short messages like texts than we previously realized. New research suggests that we process short messages in a fashion similar to how we perceive visual scenes, taking it all in at a single glance. Interestingly, this is the same skill that speed reading attempts to train you to do. [Your brain processes short messages super quicklyNew research suggests ā€œthe human brainā€™s processing capacity for language may be much faster than what we might think.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/futurity_ico.png)FuturityJames Devitt-NYU![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/brain-processes-language-short-messages-1600.jpg)](https://www.futurity.org/brains-process-short-messages-quickly-language-3255272/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Bottomā€“Up and Topā€“Down Processing during At-a-Glance ReadingLike all domains of cognition, language processing is affected by topā€“down knowledge. Classic evidence for this is missing blatant errors in the signal. In sentence comprehension, one instance is failing to notice word order errors, such as transposed words in the middle of a sentence: ā€œyou that read wrongā€ (\[Mirault et al., 2018\]\[1\]). Our brains seem to fix such errors, since they are incompatible with our grammatical knowledge, but how do our brains do this? Following behavioral work on inner transpositions, we flashed four-word sentences for 300 ms using rapid parallel visual presentation (\[Snell and Grainger, 2017\]\[2\]). We compared magnetoencephalography responses to fully grammatical and reversed sentences (24 human participants: 21 females, 4 males). The left lateral language cortex robustly distinguished grammatical and reversed sentences starting at 213 ms. Thus, the influence of grammatical knowledge begun rapidly after visual word form recognition (\[Tarkiainen et al., 1999\]\[3\]). At the earliest stage of this neural ā€œsentence superiority effect,ā€ inner transpositions patterned between grammatical and reversed sentences, showing evidence that the brain initially ā€œnoticedā€ the error. However, 100 ms later, inner transpositions became indistinguishable from grammatical sentences, suggesting at this point, the brain had ā€œfixedā€ the error. These results show that after a single glance at a sentence, syntax impacts our neural activity almost as quickly as higher-level object recognition is assumed to take place (\[Cichy et al., 2014\]\[4\]). The earliest stage involves detailed comparisons between the bottomā€“up input and grammatical knowledge, while shortly afterward, topā€“down knowledge can override an error in the stimulus. \[1\]: #ref-25 \[2\]: #ref-37 \[3\]: #ref-40 \[4\]: #ref-5![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-65.ico)Journal of NeuroscienceIndex by author![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/48.cover-source.jpg)](https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0374-24.2024?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Fallon & PylkkƤnen. 2024\. Language at a glance: How our brains grasp linguistic structure from parallel visual input. *Science Advances* 10(43). DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr9951](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr9951?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Does ChatGPT have the same grammaticality judgments as humans? Does it find the same kinds of expressions grammatically acceptable or unacceptable? A new study aims to find out: [ChatGPTā€™s Grammar Judgments vs. Linguists and LaypeopleIn recent years, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has revolutionized the way we interact with language technology. Among these developments, language models such as OpenAIā€™s ChatGPT h![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-scienmag_ico-270x270-4.jpg)ScienmagSCIENMAG![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ChatGPT8217s-Grammar-Judgments-vs.-Linguists-and-Laypeople-1746494719.jpg)](https://scienmag.com/chatgpts-grammar-judgments-vs-linguists-and-laypeople/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Note that the above article is pretty clearly an AI-generated summary, as all of *Scienmag*ā€™s articles seem to be.) [Grammaticality representation in ChatGPT as compared to linguists and laypeople - Humanities and Social Sciences CommunicationsHumanities and Social Sciences Communications - Grammaticality representation in ChatGPT as compared to linguists and laypeople![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)NatureZhuang Qiu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41599_2025_4907_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04907-8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* What makes Canadian English unique? The Duolingo blog has your answer. Personally, having lived in Edmonton for two years, my favorite Canadian expression that I discovered was *bunny hug*, which is the term they use in Saskatchewan for a hoodie! šŸ‡šŸ¤— [What makes Canadian English unique?Canadian English has some things in common with American English, but itā€™s a dialect all its own! Hereā€™s what makes it unique.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-5.png)Duolingo BlogDune Dills![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_canadian-english.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/canadian-english/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Linguist DamiĆ”n Blasi talks about the monumental task of cataloging the worldā€™s 7,000+ languages as part of the UNESCO *World Atlas of Languages* for [*Sapiens.org*](http://sapiens.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): [Tackling the Impossibilityā€”and Necessityā€”of Counting the Worldā€™s LanguagesA language scientist delves into historic and current efforts to catalog the planetā€™s 7,000-plus languages, uncovering colorful tales.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-20.png)SAPIENSKeridwen Cornelius![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/international-mother-language-day-1280x853.jpg)](https://www.sapiens.org/language/world-languages-counting-methods/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The World Atlas of Languages | UNESCO WAL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/touch-icon-iphone.png)UNESCO WAL![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/share-image.png)](https://en.wal.unesco.org/world-atlas-languages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Noam Chomsky once wrote, ā€œWe have very strong reasons to believe that all possible human languages are very similar; a Martian scientist observing humans might conclude that there is just a single language, with minor variants.ā€ Michael Ferber in his *Speaking of Words* column discusses whether thereā€™s any truth to this claim: [Are All Languages Alike?It sounds absurd even to ask if all languages are alike, or even somewhat alike, as anyone studying a foreign language for the first time will attest. Who could say such a thing?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270-1.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823-1.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2024/11/04/are-all-languages-alike/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-1.png) On that note, PBS recently created a short (13-minute) video about the debate over Universal Grammar, which includes a lot of the sociopolitics behind the debate too. To be quite honest, itā€™s a pretty embarrassing episode in the history of linguistics where scholars treated each other as loathsome miscreants, but it makes for engaging journalism I guess: Dialectal variation has always been a weak spot for speech recognition and synthesis technologies as well as AI, because the majority dialect in the training data will wind up overshadowing most dialectal variation: [AI systems are built on English ā€“ but not the kind most of the world speaksAI models too often produce a monolithic version of English that erases variation.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-30.png)The ConversationCeleste Rodriguez Louro![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250505-62-nqjqxl.png)](https://theconversation.com/ai-systems-are-built-on-english-but-not-the-kind-most-of-the-world-speaks-249710?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) So itā€™s nice to see ChatGPT learning how to speak Aussie: [Crikey, ChatGPTā€™s gone bush! How AI is learning the art of Aussie slangAussie slang is rich, weird and wildly specificā€”so what happens when artificial intelligence tries to learn it?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-31.png)The ConversationRoss Yates![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250423-62-v9hpj5.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/crikey-chatgpts-gone-bush-how-ai-is-learning-the-art-of-aussie-slang-253939?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-2.png) Do you experience sounds or music visually as certain shapes? Or do you hear colors? You might have synesthesia! Some synesthetes also have extrasensory associations with words, a kind of linguistic synesthesia. And BBCā€™s *Instant Genius* podcast has an episode all about this neat phenomenon: [Instant Genius Podcast: Do you have synaesthesia? Why some of us can taste words - BBC Science Focus MagazineDo you experience sounds or music visually as certain shapes? Or ā€˜hearā€™ colours? This is called synaesthesia. An expert explains all.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web_kiosk_favicon_1.ico)BBC Science Focus MagazineJason Goodyer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/instant-genius-thumbnail.jpg)](https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/synaesthesia-instant-genius-podcast?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-3.png) The latest issue of *National Geographic* has a feature about the Hittite Empire, and of course you canā€™t talk about the Hittite Empire without talking about Hittite language and the trove of cuneiform tablets that have given linguists and historians incredible insights into the early Indo-Europeans and the Proto-Indo-European language: [The Hittite Empire transformed the worldā€”and then the world forgot itThey fought the Egyptians, sacked Babylon, and built elaborate cities. Then the Hittites vanished. Today, new discoveries are restoring the legend of a forgotten superpower.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180x180.png)History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/MM10214_240824_00658_16x9.jpg)](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/hittite-ancient-empire-disappear-mystery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* *The Economist* reviews the new book [*Proto: How one ancient language went global*](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)*:* [The language that changed the worldAround half of the worldā€™s population speaks a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. Most know little about it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/icon.svg)The EconomistThe Economist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/20250510_CUD002.jpg)](https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/05/08/the-language-that-changed-the-world?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The author of *Proto*, Laura Spinney, also just published an article with *The Guardian* asking, ā€œCould the English language ever die out?ā€: [The big idea: could the English language die?For the time being itā€™s dominant ā€“ but as the Romans could tell you, nothing lasts for ever![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-6.png)The GuardianLaura Spinney![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1771.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/11/the-big-idea-could-the-english-language-die?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-4.png)](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-5.png) The First Peoplesā€™ Cultural Council of British Columbia has put together a guide for journalists on reporting on indigenous and minority languages, language endangerment, and language revitalization: [Say it with Respect: A Journalistsā€™ Guide - First Peoples Cultural CouncilSay it with Respect: A Journalistsā€™ Guide to Reporting on Indigenous & Minoritized Languages by ELP and FPCC.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-FPCC_Logo-Vertical_Favicon_redblk-270x270.png)First Peoples Cultural Council![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2025-04-29-at-11.18.42-E2-80-AFAM.png)](https://fpcc.ca/resource/say-it-with-respect/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/05/image-6.png) Ever wonder about the etymology of a word but donā€™t know where to find it? Check out [Etymonline.com](http://etymonline.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Itā€™s a huge, very accessible database of word histories. While the compiler doesnā€™t include sources for the etymologies, he does list them [here](https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/sources?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). So while I donā€™t recommend using Etymonline for scholarly research because its sources arenā€™t traceable, I do highly recommend it for everyday use. Itā€™s a great place to start when diving in to a particular etymology. [Online Etymology DictionaryThe online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internetā€™s go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-67.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/app-icon-medium.png)](https://www.etymonline.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! Iā€™ve actually mostly caught up on the most recent news and research in linguistics now, so the Current Linguistics portion of the digest might continue to be a little shorter from here, but donā€™t fretā€”I still have an absolutely ginormous backlog of interesting articles and resources to share with you! There really is a never-ending supply of fascinating things to explore with language. Have a great week! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Linguists unlock the grammar of music in language, and runes show that Elfdalian is its own language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-18/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:10.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ![Graph showing the growth in free subscribers for the Linguistic Discovery by month, starting at 119 in August 2025 and reaching 2,066 in April 2025.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Febb58769-6195-4382-b38e-c4bc9a166c69_2048x1438.png "Graph showing the growth in free subscribers for the Linguistic Discovery by month, starting at 119 in August 2025 and reaching 2,066 in April 2025.") The Linguistic Discovery newsletter has reached 2,000 subscribers! šŸŽ‰ Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this newsletter each week. I hope this digest has been a useful way to keep up on the all the latest news and research! ā€œBut wait,ā€ you say, ā€œdonā€™t you owe us a special thank-you post for 1,000 subscribers?ā€ Yes! And part of the reason itā€™s taking a while is because it involves an extra special collaboration! I think youā€™ll enjoy the result. Iā€™m editing the accompanying video for it this week, so expect to see the article and video soon! And something similarly fun as a thank-you for 2,000 close on its heels! Lastly, I did an interview with [History.com](http://history.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) this week about the worldā€™s oldest language (spoiler: there is none!), so Iā€™ll post that as soon as itā€™s published! ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Ethnozoology and language documentation **Documentary linguists** (linguists who document endangered/indigenous/underdocumented languages) often do much more than just linguistic documentation in their fieldworkā€”they also do a great deal of ethnographic, ethnobotanical, and ethnozoological documentation, finding out local names for plants and animals. What emerges when they do this is often wonderful complex classification systems that categorize the natural world in ways that are entirely different from the Linnean classification used in science. For example, a language might classify plants by their medicinal uses, or what times of year they grow, and have specific names for those categories. This type of detailed ecological knowledge is extremely vulnerable to loss, and typically disappears even before the language itself stops being spoken. This article tells how zoologist Fortunate Mafeta Phaka conducted a comprehensive survey of indigenous names for frogs and reptiles in South Africaā€”an incredible documentary feat. The article is a neat insight into just what this kind of work entails and uncovers. [South Africaā€™s frogs and reptiles get their own list of names in local languagesScientists added descriptive terms to the existing general Indigenous frog and reptile names to make them specific.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-29.png)The ConversationFortunate Mafeta Phaka![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250415-56-dcv38z.JPG)](https://theconversation.com/south-africas-frogs-and-reptiles-get-their-own-list-of-names-in-local-languages-254643?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) One of my all-time favorite pop linguistics books, [*When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge*](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), is all about these kinds of indigenous knowledge systems, and shows the incredibly diverse ways that different cultures categorize the world. If the above article piqued your interest, I canā€™t recommend this book highly enough: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72f28e42-568b-4491-a295-0d6a7f817404_350x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Other News ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F03adece2-8e06-4aa2-b300-a2363883273e_302x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3RVzWGK?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *The Hobbit* gets its first-ever Scottish Gaelic translation: [First Scottish Gaelic translation of JRR Tolkienā€™s The HobbitAberdeen University professor Moray Watson is a lifelong fan of JRR Tolkienā€™s fantasy adventure.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-19.png)BBC NewsBBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/d4fa14b0-20f9-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y6kyk093eo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Ross Perlin, who worked to map the languages of New York City and documented the project in his book *Language city: The fight to preserve endangered mother tongues in New York*, has now called for a similar project in London: [Linguist calls for Londonā€™s endangered language communities to be mappedBritish capital may be second only to New York in the number of at-risk languages spoken, says Ross Perlin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-4.png)The GuardianVanessa Thorpe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/6720.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/26/londons-endangered-language-communities-to-be-mapped-in-new-project?CMP=oth%5Fb-aplnews%5Fd-1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8965942c-fb21-46dc-95de-3b508e860b68_310x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49TumNj?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Apparently people in the PNW arenā€™t big fans of the word *yā€™all* because of its associations with the South, but this attitude is in tension with the fact that many find *yā€™all* to be a great gender-neutral alternative to *you guys*, which is the most common second person plural pronoun in the western U.S.: - [Why Seattle canā€™t agree on ā€œyā€™allā€](https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2024/11/01/yall-inclusive-language-debate?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (AXIOS) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### The grammar of intonation ![Six graphs showing various intonational melodies, such as ā€œcontrary-unexpectedā€ or ā€œenthusiasticā€.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc4d19cc-b63d-4b69-b402-9433c166779e_800x530.png "Six graphs showing various intonational melodies, such as ā€œcontrary-unexpectedā€ or ā€œenthusiasticā€.") The melody or pitch with with you utter a phrase is called its **intonation**, and everybody intuitively recognizes that intonation can convey all sorts of different meaningsā€”surprise, a question, emphasis, a simple statement, that youā€™ve got more to say, etc. Human speakers recognize these different patterns and know how to interpret them, but most speech recognition and speech production systems are really bad at this, which is why the intonation of artificial voice assistants like Siri sound so unnaturalā€”they can correctly string together the consonants and vowels of speech, but have a harder time producing broader intonational patterns and using them in appropriate contexts (let alone recognizing them). New research takes a step towards changing that, by using AI to help build a dictionary of intonational patterns in Englishā€”about 200 in all. Not only does this constitute a big step forward for speech recognition and synthesis technologies, but itā€™s also especially exciting for those of us in the discourse-functional tradition who have long appreciated the crucial role that intonation has in organizing speech. Linguist Wallace L. Chafe noticed that we tend to package ideas into easily-digestible intonational chunks which he called **intonation units**, each of which gets one of a number of different intonational patternsā€”a library of preset melodies, if you will. For instance, a final rising intonation indicates that the speaker has more to say or is asking a question, while a final falling intonation indicates that the speaker has completed their statement, and a reset to the top of the speakerā€™s pitch range indicates a shift to a new topic. So itā€™s incredibly exciting that recent technology has given us the ability to empirically verify and describe these intonational patterns now. [Beyond words: Hidden musical grammar of natural speech revealed in studyThe AI revolution, which has begun to transform our lives over the past three years, is built on a fundamental linguistic principle that lies at the base of large language models such as ChatGPT. Words in a natural language are not strung together in random patterns; rather, there is a statistical structure that allows the model to guess the next word based on what came before. Yet these models overlook a crucial dimension of human communication: content that is not conveyed by words.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon.svg)Phys.orgWeizmann Institute of Science![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/beyond-words.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-04-words-hidden-musical-grammar-natural.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Matalon et al. 2025\. Structure in conversation: Evidence for the vocabulary, semantics, and syntax of prosody. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 122(17): e2403262122\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2403262122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2403262122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Elfdalian should be considered a distinct language ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F118cb00d-e2a2-4468-9647-d3ea8438e550_1635x965.png) A table showing the different varieties of Dalecarlian runes, of which Elfdalian used one version. Efldalian is a language variety spoken by about 2,500 people in central Sweden, and has long been considered just a dialect of Swedish. However, linguists Yair Sapir & Olof Lundgren, in their new grammar of the language, argue that the grammar and vocabulary of Elfdalian is sufficient distinct from Swedish as to be considered its own language. When comparing the vocabulary of the two languages, there are as many vocabulary differences between the two as there are between Swedish and Icelandic. The authors argue that Elfdalian branched off from the other Scandinavian languages at an earlier point. Whatā€™s especially cool about this research is that some of the evidence it relies on for these claims is runes, which Elfdalian speakers were still using until the early 1900s. It had its own alphabet during the 1600s and 1700s, and represents the last surviving use of runes in the world. [Runes prove Elfdalian is distinct ancient Nordic language, say researchersLinguists argue language spoken by 2,500 people in central Sweden is more than an esoteric dialect![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-5.png)The GuardianMiranda Bryant![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/4882.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/03/runes-prove-elfdalian-is-distinct-ancient-nordic-language-say-researchers?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A Grammar of Elfdalian (Grammars of World and Minority Languages): Sapir, Yair, Lundgren, Olof: 9781787355408: Amazon.com: BooksA Grammar of Elfdalian (Grammars of World and Minority Languages) \[Sapir, Yair, Lundgren, Olof\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. A Grammar of Elfdalian (Grammars of World and Minority Languages)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-62.ico)Shop the Store on Amazon ā€ŗYair Sapir![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ATVPDKIKX0DER-134-1490828-1701014-44KPSN6B0ECE7MJH27K2-uedata-s--2Frd-2Fuedata-3Fstaticb-26id-3D44KPSN6B0ECE7MJH27K2-0)](https://amzn.to/4jLcfxe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* Do Coloradans have an accent? Of course! Everybody speaks with an accent. But what makes the Colorado accent unique? [Do Coloradans Have an Accent? The Unique Way Colorado SpeaksLearn about the subtle Colorado accent, from vowel shifts to unique local pronunciations that make Colorado speech distinct.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/at.png)LongmontLeaderAndrea Ano![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/pexels-tim-douglas-6567180.jpg;w=1200;h=800;mode=crop)](https://www.longmontleader.com/colorado/living/colorado-accent-explained-10557804?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The Duolingo blog answers the fun question, ā€œHow far back in time could I travel and still be able to communicate in English?ā€ [Dear Duolingo: How far back could I communicate in English?Which would be harder: finding a DeLorean or understanding English from 300 years ago? Language experts weigh in!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-4.png)Duolingo BlogCindy Blanco, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_gold.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/english-time-travel/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Roy Bualan (@human1011 | @humanteneleven) also did a viral video on the topic a few weeks ago: Just how many words are there in the English language? This turns out to be an incredibly tricky question to answer! One complication that this article doesnā€™t mention is the difference between **active vocabulary** which you use regularly vs. **passive vocabulary** which you understand but donā€™t use. Check out the article to learn more! [Just How Many Words Are in the English Language? - Rosetta StoneHow many words are in the English language? Learn how we add the number of words in English and why itā€™s not as easy as it seems.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-3.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/how-many-words-are-in-the-english-language-library-min.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/how-many-words-are-in-the-english-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Gretchen McCulloch, author of [*Because internet*](https://amzn.to/3YwGvTN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and co-host of the [*Lingthusiasm*](https://lingthusiasm.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast, made the excellent point on the [*Instant Genius*](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6rV5xhhN3G07Z5ReVXoE4u?si=yaCZ1nfXSOez%5FzDecgEsFw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast back in 2019 that the internet has actually *expanded* our use of writing rather than harmed it. This is a point I also harp on quite frequently to anyone who will listen: new technologies like writing, books, and the internet donā€™t ruin language, they merely expand the range of ways language is used. At first it was books, then newspapers, then blog posts, then microblogging (e.g. Twitter) and texting. But all the more traditional styles of writing are still there, just as cultured and erudite and sophisticated as ever. New technologies merely lower the barrier to entry for people to adopt literacy, and make a wider range of literacy types and qualities possible. Literacy for the masses is a good thing; not everyone needs to be Dostoevsky. We should encourage a wide range of literacy types, formalities, and qualities. This interview got picked up again by the London Times recently for some reason, so I figured Iā€™d point it out here too: [Internet has encouraged our writing, linguist saysThe internet has allowed an increase in informal communication through text messages and emails![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72-2.png)The TimesMark Sellman, Technology Correspondent![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2Fmethode-2Ftimes-2Fprod-2Fweb-2Fbin-2F59a0eeb5-992b-4d6a-9d7d-c9f2dbb18d5f.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/technology-uk/article/internet-has-encouraged-our-writing-linguist-says-7fg5llr7f?region=global&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdce1c9e5-773b-492a-9dc8-0f6a60169846_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YwGvTN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* I was reminded this week of the existence of a great course from the aptly-named Great Courses, called [*The secret life of words*](https://amzn.to/4jQABVN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), about English etymology. Itā€™s by linguist Anne Curzan, who also authored the recently-published book [*Says who? A kinder, funner usage guide for everyone who cares about words*](https://amzn.to/42qvOoe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) that I mentioned last week, as well as [a great book about teaching for graduate students](https://amzn.to/4cYCcH4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe97331d7-6178-4266-ac63-f190f653d929_342x342.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jQABVN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe6577a4c-7419-4ed6-b4d0-0be0f2984608_2047x1419.png) A map of languages classified according to various grammatical features, from GramBank. **Linguistic typology** is the study of the grammatical diversity in the worldā€™s languages, the recurring patterns we see amongst that diversity, and why those patterns exist. A great place to explore the diversity of the worldā€™s languages is *GramBank*, a database of grammatical features of the worldā€™s languages: [Grambank -![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-63.ico)grambank![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/logo-1.png)](https://grambank.clld.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If youā€™d like to learn more about linguistic typology, I put together a list of resources to get you started: [Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Amazon Page - Linguistic TypologyShop recommended products from Linguistic Discovery on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Linguistic Discoveryā€™s favorite products.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-64.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/61qYTOWBt1L._CR0-2C0-2C1080-2C1080_._US500_SCLZZZZZZZ_-2.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery/list/YYG23HXKJ51X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I hope you enjoyed this weekā€™s issue of *Discovery Dispatch*, and that you have a wonderful week! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Critics hate the new French dictionary, and linguists discover the universal language of pain URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-17/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:18.000Z Hello and welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! ![A comic showing two parrots sitting on a branch, looking at each other. The parrot on the right says, ā€œCan we talk?ā€](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F08371202-6202-448c-862c-6a2e16bd025e_320x380.png "A comic showing two parrots sitting on a branch, looking at each other. The parrot on the right says, ā€œCan we talk?ā€") (If youā€™re curious for an answer to this question, [this book](https://amzn.to/4d2UmY3?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has a chapter on parrots and whether theyā€™re actually using language creatively or just copying humans.) ![Why animals talk: The new science of animal communication](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c85184e-2323-4f65-a483-87e986eb7fa7_309x466.png "Why animals talk: The new science of animal communication") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4d2UmY3?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* Youā€™ll notice that this weekā€™s digest is less verbose than usual! Iā€™m going to shift my longform commentary to its own separate posts going forward, and simply link to those posts in these digests instead. This way, these digests become simple link roundups that are more easilyā€¦digest-ible. This provides you, dear reader, the option of getting emailed each of my posts individually (by subscribing to both the newsletter and digest), or only getting one email per week in the form of the weekly roundup (by only subscribing to the digest). You can adjust your preference [here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/#/portal/account/newsletters). I hope this helps make your reading/email experience better! ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ![Photo of John Haiman.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9b37557-2071-4766-9314-a42162dfa406_300x300.png "Photo of John Haiman.") Linguist John Haiman (/Ėˆheį¶¦mən/, not /Ėˆhaį¶¦mən/) has passed away at the age of 79\. Haiman was a prolific linguist who documented the Hua language of New Guinea and made several groundbreaking contributions to the field of linguistic typology and functional approaches to language generally. He popularized the idea of [**iconicity**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconicity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which notes that there are systematic parallels between *meanings* and the ways that languages express those meanings in *form*. The three principles of iconicity are: - **Quantity Principle:** Conceptual complexity corresponds to formal complexity. - **Proximity Principle:** Conceptual distance tends to match with linguistic distance. - **Sequential Order Principle:** The sequential order of events described is mirrored in the speech chain. The Linguistic Society of America has a wonderful obituary [here](https://www.lsadc.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=471&mc%5Fcid=98c459b467&mc%5Feid=e94f73cd50&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [John HaimanJohn Haiman Obituary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-58.ico)logo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/logo.png)](https://www.lsadc.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=471&mc%5Fcid=98c459b467&mc%5Feid=e94f73cd50&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Here are a few of his better-known scholarly works: - Conditionals are topics. *Language* 54(3): 564ā€“589\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1978.0009](https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.1978.0009?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Hua: A Papuan language of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea](https://amzn.to/3ESi904?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Studies in Language Companion Series 5). John Benjamins. - Iconic and economic motivation. *Language* 59(4): 781ā€“819\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.2307/413373](https://doi.org/10.2307/413373?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - (with Pamela Munro, eds.). 1983\. [*Switch reference and universal grammar*](https://amzn.to/4jyzKcv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Typological Studies in Language 2). John Benjamins. - (ed.). 1985\. [*Iconicity in syntax*](https://amzn.to/4jUoWFk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Typological Studies in Language 6). John Benjamins. - (with Sandra A. Thompson, eds.). 1988\. [*Clause combining in grammar and discourse*](https://amzn.to/4iGkedk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Typological Studies in Language 18). John Benjamins. - [*Talk is cheap: Sarcasm, alienation, and the evolution of language*](https://amzn.to/3ScdqcK?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Oxford University Press. --- The latest version of the official French dictionary was just published a few months ago, and critics say itā€™s already obsolete. [New French Academy dictionary is already passĆ©, say criticsEditions take so long that they are obsolete years before being published, say dissident linguists, as words such as ā€˜smartphoneā€™ and ā€˜webā€™ are omitted![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72-1.png)The TimesAdam Sage, Paris![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2Fmethode-2Ftimes-2Fprod-2Fweb-2Fbin-2Faf4bc81f-d3b4-4cf0-854c-0ed6640f5b37.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/new-french-academy-dictionary-is-already-passe-say-critics-36vcvcf8t?region=global&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Count me in the camp of those who think the French Academy is an outdated fossil of an institution that still doesnā€™t understand that dictionaries should be descriptive rather than prescriptive. Itā€™s also worth pointing out that the French Academy opposed the constitutional recognition and protection for regional languages within France (Alsatian, Arpitan/Franco-ProvenƧal, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish, Gascon, and Occitan) in 2008ā€”a classic imperialist move. As the author of a page dedicated to giving greater visibility to linguistic diversity, I am decidedly not a fan! ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ![Vowel plots showing the relative pronunciation of vowels in words relating to pain in various languages.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fafc658b3-9756-40db-af5b-c23116e6d1c2_520x1131.png "Vowel plots showing the relative pronunciation of vowels in words relating to pain in various languages.") Expressions of pain using similar-sounding words across the worldā€™s languages. This article suggests that these words have ā€œa common originā€, which seems to imply theyā€™re etymologically related words, but the original research article doesnā€™t claim that. It does look at a few explanations, though, such as evolutionary pressures, sound symbolism, and colexification. [Ouch! Linguists Find Universal Language for PainFrom ā€œouchā€ to ā€œaĆÆeā€ to ā€œyakayi,ā€ languages across the world exclaim pain using similar-sounding words, hinting at a common origin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-59.ico)Scientific AmericanAllison Parshall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/sa0225Adva06.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/expressions-of-pain-may-have-a-common-origin/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Ponsonnet et al. 2024\. Vowel signatures in emotional interjections and nonlinguistic vocalizations expressing pain, disgust, and joy across languages. *Journal of the Acoustic Society of America* 156(5): 3118ā€“2139\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0032454](https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0032454?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Linguists have developed sophisticated tools using information theory to help decipher unknown languages, and new research applies this to understanding AI in a way that could also be used to understand alien communication in the future: [Could we ever decipher an alien language? Uncovering how AI communicates may be the keyDecoding emergent languages in AI can have many behefits.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-27.png)The ConversationOlaf Lipinski![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241106-19-65h2b9.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/could-we-ever-decipher-an-alien-language-uncovering-how-ai-communicates-may-be-the-key-242618?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Communicating with aliens one day could be much easier if we study the way AI agents speak with each otherDecoding emergent languages in AI can have many benefits.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-16.png)SpaceOlaf Lipinski![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/FSsRBrdqKqVgEfBZoF2pKU.jpg)](https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/communicating-with-aliens-one-day-could-be-much-easier-if-we-study-the-way-ai-agents-speak-with-each-other?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking Your Language: Spatial Relationships in Interpretable Emergent CommunicationEffective communication requires the ability to refer to specific parts of an observation in relation to others. While emergent communication literature shows success in developing various language properties, no research has shown the emergence of such positional references. This paper demonstrates how agents can communicate about spatial relationships within their observations. The results indicate that agents can develop a language capable of expressing the relationships between parts of their observation, achieving over 90% accuracy when trained in a referential game which requires such communication. Using a collocation measure, we demonstrate how the agents create such references. This analysis suggests that agents use a mixture of non-compositional and compositional messages to convey spatial relationships. We also show that the emergent language is interpretable by humans. The translation accuracy is tested by communicating with the receiver agent, where the receiver achieves over 78% accuracy using parts of this lexicon, confirming that the interpretation of the emergent language was successful.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-17.png)arXiv.orgOlaf Lipinski![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/arxiv-logo-fb-1.png)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.07277?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) When does a child start putting words together into novel expressions on their own rather than just parroting expressions theyā€™ve already heard? New research put together a generative computer model that mimics how children learn language, and concluded that children start producing novel sentences around 30 months. [AI and behavioral data help pinpoint when children begin productive languageHearing a babyā€™s first words is a joyful moment for many parents. But another crucial language milestone is harder to pinpoint for both parents and scholars of human development. When does a child start putting together words on their own, rather than parroting what theyā€™ve heard?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-60.ico)Medical XpressTori Lee![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/toddler-learn.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-11-ai-behavioral-children-productive-language.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Alhama et al. 2024\. Using computational modeling to validate the onset of productive determiner-noun combinations in English-learning children. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 121(50): e2316527121\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2316527121](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2316527121?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4f50b7bc-d7eb-454e-881b-58ce768479ac_926x613.jpeg) Noel Pearson with a message stick depicting the gurtha (ancestral fire) during the 2023 Garma Festival. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas Aboriginal message sticks are hand-carved wooden objects that were traditionally used to send messages across long distances. This article argues that they should be considered genuine writing rather than proto-writing as they are typically classified. [Aboriginal message sticks are a fascinating insight into a complex system of written communicationAboriginal message sticks are hand-carved wooden objects traditionally used to send messages across long distances, complemented by oral messages.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-28.png)The ConversationAthena Lee![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241209-15-9nf2pp.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-message-sticks-are-a-fascinating-insight-into-a-complex-system-of-written-communication-244922?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* Why do cartoon villains in childrenā€™s shows use foreign accents? This article argues that this practice ingrains in children the idea that diversity is bad. [Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?Childrenā€™s shows often use non-standard dialects to voice the ā€œbad guys,ā€ sending a dangerous message to kids about diversity.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-152x152-aafde20dd981a38fcd549b29b2b3b785.png)The AtlanticIsabel Fattal![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/original.jpg)](https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/01/why-do-cartoon-villains-speak-in-foreign-accents/549527/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s one of the coolest pop linguistics articles Iā€™ve read this year, about how constraints on our working memory fundamentally shape how language works. Here are some quotes: > When you are speaking, the dilemma is that your short-term memory isnā€™t capacious enough to hold the details of a full sentence. Its form would dissipate in your mind in the time between uttering the first syllable and the last. You are, in this sense, working against time when you speak. And so, you begin talking with only a vague sense of how the sentence will unfold, taking a leap of faith that you can work out the details of what comes next by the time the earlier part of the sentence has scrolled into the past. > Another way to save time when speaking is to leave unsaid what the hearer can reasonably reconstruct. We rarely truly mean what we say. We almost always mean somewhat more than what we say, leaving the hearer to infer the full meaning. Our sentences are not so much blueprints for meaning as they are decipherable clues to what we intend to convey. > All languages use the strategy of reducing information where it is easiest to infer ā€“ witness the ubiquity of pronouns, which tend to be very short and contain almost no information at all. The linguistic content of the pronoun ā€˜heā€™ tells us only that the referent is male. But because the use of this anaemic word is usually clear from the context, its lack of content poses little problem. Pronouns save the speaker from having to utter the personā€™s entire name repeatedly (ā€˜Bernardo arrived. Bernardo brought a cake ā€¦ā€™) [Why every utterance you make begins with a leap of faith | Psyche IdeasTime pressure and the limitations of memory compel you and your listener to engage in a fascinating linguistic trade-off![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-18.png)Psyche Magazine![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/nn11510822.jpg)](https://psyche.co/ideas/why-every-utterance-you-make-begins-with-a-leap-of-faith?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* ![The Etymonopoly game board.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbf36e0ed-f5ea-426c-bd78-360d189e9016_768x770.png "The Etymonopoly game board.") Earlier this year Ryan Starkey of [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/2025/01/16/etymonopoly/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) put together an etymology version of the board game Monopolyā€”Etymonopoly! You can get all the downloadable printouts here: [Etymonopoly: A Free Print-and-Play Game for Language Lovers - Starkey ComicsA meme I made has been turned into a playable board game! First hereā€™s images of the board and cards. Scroll down for the printable PDFs! A bit of backstory: A while ago I had a silly idea that would leave me alone until I made it: ā€œwhat if monopoly, but linguistics?ā€. The basic idea: \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Logo-jpg-4-1-3.jpg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Board-FULL.jpg)](https://starkeycomics.com/2025/01/16/etymonopoly/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb23fc08f-dde9-4d1c-99b5-9096a3dea0b1_307x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Reviews of the new book [*Proto: How one ancient language global*](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which I mentioned last week, are starting to appear, and so far theyā€™re glowing! I just got copy in the mail from the publisher today, so Iā€™m excited to read it soon. [An elegant account of how one ancient language went globalHunting the origin of 40 per cent of the languages spoken today is a huge feat, but Laura Spinneyā€™s new book makes an excellent job of it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-5.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_247536990.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26635400-400-an-elegant-account-of-how-one-ancient-language-went-global/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Proto by Laura Spinney review ā€“ how Indo-European languages went globalThe fascinating story of the ancient words that survive in the mouths of billions of speakers today![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-3.png)The GuardianHenry Oliver![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/5413.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/10/proto-by-laura-spinney-review-how-indo-european-languages-went-global?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F33251b1e-afac-4212-b78f-42385f2f4045_302x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/42qvOoe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The paperback edition of [*Says who? A kinder, funner usage guide for everyone who cares about words*](https://amzn.to/42qvOoe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is out, and Penguin Random House kindly sent me a copy. Iā€™d actually already read it on Kindle when it came out, and I love Curzanā€™s approach in the book: donā€™t be a jerk about language, basically. I wish all the grammar pedants would read this one. ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9af56ae8-09af-4137-aa38-d19edbf95a02_307x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Eze0xY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Are you a linguistics student? (Or do you want to study linguistics?) Hereā€™s a small collection of books specifically for students in linguistics: [Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Amazon Page - Books for Linguistics StudentsShop recommended products from Linguistic Discovery on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Linguistic Discoveryā€™s favorite products.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-61.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/61qYTOWBt1L._CR0-2C0-2C1080-2C1080_._US500_SCLZZZZZZZ_-1.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery/list/1TYLT714SMP6B?ref%5F=aip%5Fsf%5Flist%5Fspv%5Fons%5Fmixed%5Fd&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Reminder that the Linguistic Discovery website also has a list of over 60 linguistics podcasts! - [Linguistics Podcasts](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/podcasts) (Linguistic Discovery) --- I hope you enjoyed this weekā€™s issue! Let me know if you like this more concise format or not [with an email](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com). Have a great week! \~ Danny ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The writing on a recently-discovered tablet has linguists baffled, and GPT passes the Turing Test URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-16/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:26.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸ’” If you don't want this weekly digest, you can [manage your email subscriptions here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/#/portal/account/newsletters). There you can unsubscribe from **Discovery Dispatch* and still stay subscribed to the newsletter (if you'd like). ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-4.png) Me posing with fellow content creators Dimitri (@dkdynamite1) and Christine (@christines\_snapss) at the YouTube Creator Collective event in Chicago. This week I attended one of YouTubeā€™s Creator Collective events in Chicago, and had a blast meeting tons of other creators and talking shop about newsletters vs. videos, shortform vs. longform, how theyā€™re monetizing, all the jazz. I came with a few new friends and very encouraged to continue my content creation journey! Thank you again to all of you who have supported me with either your precious time and attention, or your financial support along the way. It means a lot to have all of you reading and enjoying this newsletter. So letā€™s dive in! Hereā€™s whatā€™s new in the world of linguistics this week: ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-5.png) A stencil of the recently-discovered Bashplemi tablet covered in undeciphered inscriptions. A stone tablet was discovered near Lake Bashplemi, Georgia in 2021, bearing an inscription in a script unknown to linguists, historians, and paleographers. There are 60 symbols total, 39 of which are unique. The tablet is dated from sometime in the 1st millennium BCE, which is around the same time that the Phoenician alphabet was spreading into Europe and becoming the Greek alphabet. This script, however, bears little resemblance to Phoenician. [Mystery language on ancient stone tablet stumps archeologistsThe Bashplemi inscription possibly shares similarities with over 20 other alphabets.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-ps-FE5102-1-1.png)Popular ScienceAndrew Paul![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Basalt-Stone-Tablet.png)](https://www.popsci.com/science/mystery-language-stone-tablet/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [The unknown language on this ancient tablet continues to baffle experts](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/bashplemi-tablet-inscription-unknown-language-georgia-2591594?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Artnet) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Inuit languages really do have more words for snow Iā€™ll have an entire post about this next week, but a new study looks at which areas of vocabulary different languages tend to have more words for, and it seems that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow: [Do Inuit languages really have many words for snow? The most interesting finds from our study of 616 languagesCan you guess which languages score the highest for terms relating to ā€˜loveā€™, ā€˜deathā€™, ā€˜canoeā€™ or ā€˜sheepā€™? We made a tool to help you explore our extensive dataset.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-25.png)The ConversationCharles Kemp![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250404-56-fq7mmp.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/do-inuit-languages-really-have-many-words-for-snow-the-most-interesting-finds-from-our-study-of-616-languages-252522?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### A new corpus of spoken American English One of the most important tools with which linguists study how people use language is a **corpus** (plural: **corpora**)ā€”a dataset consisting of a collection of texts in a language. (A **text** in linguistics is any cohesive stretch of discourse, whether that be a written piece of text, a recorded conversation, a poem, a video of sign language users, a traditional oral narrative, etc.) Linguists use large corpora to study how grammatical patterns shift over time, or how certain linguistic features correlate with age, region, or other demographic factors. One of the most famous corpora is the Google Books corpus, which aims to be a corpus of the text of every book ever published. You can explore its data and examine trends using [Googleā€™s Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). More recently, large language models (LLMs) used in generative AI are being trained on absolutely massive corpora of billions upon billions of words. The Common Corpus, for example, consists of 500 billion words in various languages. Historically it had been impractical to create corpora of this size, so these mega-corpora are unlocking new research opportunities for linguists. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-6.png) The Google Books Ngram Viewer, showing the frequency of the terms ā€œFrankensteinā€, ā€œSherlock Holmesā€, and ā€œAlbert Einsteinā€ from 1900 until today. A major limitation of these corpora, however, is that theyā€™re all text. Spoken corpora are much more difficult to compile and there are very few of them in existence. (And donā€™t even get me started on sign language corpora.) Researchers would have to recruit numerous participants, record them for hours, and spend an unseemly amount of time transcribing the audio. It often takes about 1 hour to transcribe just 1 minute of natural conversation, due to the fact that speech is riddled with restarts, overlap, hesitations, and talking over each other. Corpus linguists often transcribe at a fine level of detail too, indicating filler works like *um* and *uh*, intonational cues, length of pauses, and moreā€”each of which provides helpful insights into cognition, grammar, and discourse. While modern speech recognition technology is making the task of transcribing audio significantly easier, itā€™s still a time-intensive task. The onerous nature of creating spoken corpora is a shame, because speech is the natural modality for language. Natural conversation gives linguists the best insight into how people use language in real time, whereas writing is more artificial and planned, shackled to its own set of conventions that diverge drastically from how we speak. So I was thrilled in 2023 when fellow linguistics communicator and now Ph.D.-holder [Dr. Elizabeth Hanks](https://hankselizabeth.wordpress.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (congrats Lizzy! šŸŽ“šŸŽ‰) told me about her work to create the largest-ever spoken corpus of American English, known as the [Lancaster-Northern Arizona Corpus of Spoken American English](https://sites.google.com/view/share-your-voice/home?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (LANA-CASE). She asked if I would use my large social media presence to help recruit participants to be recorded for the corpus, and naturally I said yes, eager to support such a great research project. I put together an entire video series on corpus linguistics, which you can watch here: - [Corpus Linguistics, Part 1: Introduction](https://youtu.be/MYQOO%5FXq-lk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Corpus Linguistics, Part 2: The Switchboard Corpus](https://youtu.be/3lVWluEqkYg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Corpus Linguistics, Part 3: My Top 10 Favorite English Corpora](https://youtu.be/zMe9pylPyp0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Corpus Linguistics, Part 4: Frequency & Cognitive Efficiency](https://youtu.be/ufQ7vV3obQU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Now, the data collection is finished, and weā€™re already beginning to see some early research that this new corpus has enabled! As reported in *The Guardian*, it seems that a growing number of Britishisms have made their way into American English in recent years. Interestingly, itā€™s Gen Z thatā€™s the vanguard in adopting these words. You can see the complete top 10 in the article: [Bonkers for Britishisms: the UK terms Americans have embracedResearchers have catalogued the British words and phrases most used in US conversation, sparking delight and frustration![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-1.png)The GuardianMatthew Cantor![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/8192.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/12/uk-british-terms-america-most-used?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In any case, Iā€™m proud to have played a tiny role in bringing this corpus to life, and am excited to see the interesting new research it will make possible! ### GPT passes the Turing Test A new study (not yet peer-reviewed) claims that GPT-4.5 passes the Turing Test 73% of the time. In a Turing Test, a human reads a transcript of a conversation between another human and a machine and tries to determine which of the conversationalists is the human and which is the machine. The machine passes if the human cannot reliably tell them apart. [An AI model has finally passed an authentic Turing test, scientists sayGPT-4.5 has successfully convinced people itā€™s human 73% of the time in an authentic configuration of the original Turing test.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-14.png)Live ScienceRoland Moore-Colyer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/WuCKdkLBmmEtH8wKsAutr4.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/open-ai-gpt-4-5-is-the-first-ai-model-to-pass-an-authentic-turing-test-scientists-say?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Large Language Models Pass the Turing TestWe evaluated 4 systems (ELIZA, GPT-4o, LLaMa-3.1-405B, and GPT-4.5) in two randomised, controlled, and pre-registered Turing tests on independent populations. Participants had 5 minute conversations simultaneously with another human participant and one of these systems before judging which conversational partner they thought was human. When prompted to adopt a humanlike persona, GPT-4.5 was judged to be the human 73% of the time: significantly more often than interrogators selected the real human participant. LLaMa-3.1, with the same prompt, was judged to be the human 56% of the time -- not significantly more or less often than the humans they were being compared to -- while baseline models (ELIZA and GPT-4o) achieved win rates significantly below chance (23% and 21% respectively). The results constitute the first empirical evidence that any artificial system passes a standard three-party Turing test. The results have implications for debates about what kind of intelligence is exhibited by Large Language Models (LLMs), and the social and economic impacts these systems are likely to have.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-15.png)arXiv.orgCameron R. Jones![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/arxiv-logo-fb.png)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.23674?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Do our brains try to predict whatā€™s coming next in a sentence? It may depend on the language you speak Do our brains wait til the end of a sentence before trying to interpret it, or do they attempt to predict whatā€™s coming next in the sentence? Previous neurological studies using English suggest that the brain waits for the sentence to end before interpreting everything, but a new study with Dutch suggests that Dutch speakers do in fact try to predict where the sentence is going. This means that different languages may foster different cognitive strategies for interpreting sentences. The reason for this may be that in Dutch sentences verbs come at the end, while in English sentences verbs are in the middle of the sentence. Since verbs are the pillar around which the rest of a clause is structured, it makes sense that Dutch speakers would be thinking ahead to what the verb might be. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-7.png) [Do You Think Differently in Different Languages?The brainā€™s response to information depends on languageā€™s grammatical structure![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-56.ico)Scientific AmericanGayoung Lee![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/dual_face_with_speech_bubble_inside_head.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-your-languages-grammar-change-how-you-think/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Language-specific neural dynamics extend syntax into the time domainComprehending spoken language requires the encoding of information beyond what is presented in the raw speech signals. Using MEG recordings during natural story listening, this study shows that the human brain projects its knowledge of syntax onto speech in a predictive and language-dependent way.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)PLOS BiologyCas W. Coopmans ,![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/image)](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002968?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The Pangloss Collection ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-8.png) A new collection of digital corpora of (mostly) endangered or underdocumented languages called The Pangloss Collection has just been released, along with an interface allowing users to listen to and read all the texts in the collection: [Pangloss Collection | Pangloss | Home![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-1.png)Pangloss![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/sanaani_002pgss.jpg)](https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/?lang=en&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Project MUSE - The Pangloss Collection: Opening up research data on endangered and underdocumented languages![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Project MUSE logoEvangelia Adamou![](https://doi.org/article/954237/og_image.jpg)](https://doi.org/10.1353/lan.2025.a954237?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Interjections Most people think of interjections like *um*, *uh*, *oh*, and *uh-huh* as meaningless filler words, but any linguist with some background in discourse and information flow knows that these are actually crucial parts of natural conversation, signaling to the speaker that youā€™re listening, or that you need to correct something you just said, or that you want the conversational floor next. They do a huge amount of social work in regulation conversation. *Knowable Magazine* has an interview with Mark Dingemanse about his recent review article, ā€œInterjections at the heart of languageā€, about just how important these types of wordsā€”what Iā€™d call **discourse markers**ā€”actually are. [Huh? The valuable role of interjectionsUtterances like um, wow and mm-hmm arenā€™t garbage ā€” they keep conversations flowing![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-2.png)Knowable Magazine | Annual ReviewsBob Holmes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/interjections-linguistics2-1600x600.jpg)](https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2025/interjections-important-for-conversation-flow?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Interjections at the Heart of Language | Annual ReviewsInterjections, the words that come between sentences, are easily overlooked and usually treated as peripheral to the language sciences. This review surveys work from disparate disciplines that suggests an inversion of perspective: from interjections as marginal items to interjections at the heart of language. Around one out of every seven turns in conversation is an interjection, and the most common ones are not the involuntary exclamations that typically feature in examples; instead, they form a small set of agile and adaptive interactional tools that streamline everyday language use. Continuers like mmhm help people co-construct complex interactional structures, repair initiators like huh? help people calibrate mutual understanding on the fly, and change-of-state tokens like oh display knowledge as it evolves in interaction. Interjections emerge as words that help us talk and think, scaffolding the complexity of language as we know it. The review critically considers received views of interjections as primitive grunts, affect bursts, or symptoms of strain and provides a number of alternative ways of thinking about interjections.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Annual Reviews logoMark Dingemanse![](https://doi.org/images/hybrid/ar-logo.svg)](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031422-124743?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles Iā€™ve come across this week.* ### Cognates with different meanings Hereā€™s a fun article from the Duolingo blog about why cognates can have the opposite or drastically different meanings across languages. I like that it acknowledges that there are several pathways by which this situation can come about. Hereā€™s one illustration: ![Proto-Germanic *slimbaz ā€˜oblique, crookedā€™ English: oblique, crooked ā†’ slanting ā†’ slight ā†’ thin Dutch: oblique, crooked ā†’ morally crooked ā†’ sly ā†’ clever](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-9.png) [Dear Duolingo: Why can words have opposite meanings across languages?Some words have the same spelling in different languages but completely different meaningsā€”itā€™s an accident of history!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-2.png)Duolingo BlogStefanie Schantl![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDletters_blue.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/words-with-opposite-meanings/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Whatā€™s the difference between a loan word and a loan translation (also called a calque)? Ryan Starkey of [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has a great infographic with the answer: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-10.png) ### Other Articles [How to prepare for your bilingual babyGrowing up with more than one language has obvious advantages for children.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-26.png)The ConversationUna Cunningham![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241218-17-xqozoy.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-to-prepare-for-your-bilingual-baby-245330?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Much Does Our Language Shape Our Thinking?English continues to expand into diverse regions around the world. The question is whether humanity will be homogenized as a result.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-57.ico)The New YorkerManvir Singh![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/r45055.jpg)](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/12/30/how-much-does-our-language-shape-our-thinking?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [From Igbo to Angika: how to save the worldā€™s 3,000 endangered languagesWith half of all languages predicted to die out in decades, activists are turning to online tools to preserve them![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-2.png)The GuardianKaamil Ahmed![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/5573.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/07/cultural-identity-saving-worlds-endangered-languages-activists-online-tools-rohingya-igbo-angika?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Dear Duolingo: Why donā€™t some words change over time?Language is always changingā€”but some words can resist for thousands of years. What are they, and how do they do it?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-3.png)Duolingo BlogCindy Blanco, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_green-1.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/why-some-words-dont-change/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* Iā€™m excited for this one, yā€™all! A new book about Proto-Indo-European (PIE) called, appropriately, *Proto*. Itā€™s pretty cool that our understanding of PIE and the origins of the early Indo-European peoples has continued to evolve sufficiently in over the last two decades that weā€™re still getting updated looks at the latest science like this. The last popular look at Indo-European, [*The horse, the wheel, and language*](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), is now almost 20 years old! So this new book is most welcome. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-11.png)](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4lBs3Uo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-12.png)](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I should also mention a similar book coming out right around the same time, which Iā€™ve mentioned in a previous issue of the digest: [*The Indo-Europeans rediscovered: How a scientific revolution is rewriting their story*](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-13.png)](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- [*The Kingā€™s Letters*](https://amzn.to/4jHrGGd?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is a South Korean historical drama about the invention of the Hangul writing system by Sejong the Great in 1443\. Hangul is a unique writing system which combines phonetic units into syllable blocks, making it a combination of a featural alphabet and a syllabary. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-14.png)](https://amzn.to/4jHrGGd?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jHrGGd?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I hope you enjoyed this weekā€™s issue of *Discovery Dispatch*! Have a wonderful week! \~ Danny šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### When did humans develop language? + How whistle languages work URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-15/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:32.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸ’” If you don't want this weekly digest, you can [manage your email subscriptions here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/#/portal/account/newsletters). There you can unsubscribe from **Discovery Dispatch* and still stay subscribed to the newsletter (if you'd like). ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### whistle speech The latest issue of [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has a fantastic article about whistle speech written by high schooler / secondary school student Benjamin Hong, as part of *Babel*ā€™s Young Writers Competition. I wrote a [quick thread](https://www.threads.net/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DIgr-LshjXd?xmt=AQGzueRn3BNdquHimsAONfV%5FP18S5l618LwD-MlYKqPtBQ&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) based on the article for social media, but here it is in prose form: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9206f134-ddf0-444c-a988-8c4ad5c80aa4_1920x996.png) World map showing the names and locations of many whistle languages. There are over 80 whistle languages in the world. Whistle languages are usually just a whistled version of a specific spoken language. For example, Silbo Gomero is a whistled form of Spanish used in the Canary Islands. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/Silbo-gomero-750x430-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/HISTORIA-VIVA-DEL-SILBO-GOMERO.jpg) A man and a woman using Silbo Gomero. Whistle languages fall into two main types: In tonal languages, the pitch (melody) with which you say a word changes its meaning. Whistle languages that are based on tonal languages therefore typically just mimic the pitch of each word with the whistle. Different consonants are often distinguished by the length of pauses between whistles. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fba9c05a2-2694-47a6-991e-1610d384a94d_938x633.png) Pitch contour for the word **gĆ²kwƔƠnĆ * ā€˜speakā€™ in the Gusii language of Kenya. From Nash (2011), **Tone in Ekegusii*. For non-tonal languages, the corresponding whistles are based on the acoustic profile of each type of sound in the language. Whistlers whistle at specific pitches that correspond to each vowel or consonant in the language. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdc61f449-8f7f-4513-b996-83f3ea4c8181_1664x1035.png) A spectrograph (acoustic profile) of the word **Ć©kĆØmƬƬnchĆ * ā€˜tailā€™ in the Gusii language of Kenya. From Nash (2011), **Tone in Ekegusii*. For example, in Silbo Gomero, the tongue is placed in a similar shape as when pronouncing each spoken sound, giving the whistle a similar pitch. In whistled Turkish, /o/ is whistled at a lower frequency than /a/. Read the entire article about whistle speech in [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [Babel MagazineThe quarterly language magazine that brings you Babelzine, the cutting-edge linguistic research in an accessible and colourful format.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-48.ico)Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsStephen Fry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babel-Best-Of-cover-1.jpg)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Indigenous languages at Yale Yale University has added more indigenous languages to their curriculum via their Directed Independent Study Language program (DILS). DILS is a great program because it allows students to pursue languages not formally offered through Yaleā€™s curriculum, by arranging structured one-on-one sessions with native or fluent speakers known as Language Partners. As Yale Daily News states: > The program has become a lifeline for students looking to reconnect with their heritage, preserve endangered tongues and engage in scholarship that would otherwise be impossible without linguistic access. The way that students work with their Language Partners is similar to whatā€™s known as the Master-Apprentice method in language revitalization, which has been incredibly effective in the communities where itā€™s been implemented. So Iā€™m very excited to see this development at Yale, and hope that other universities may follow suit. More reporting here: [Yale adds new Indigenous, endangered languages to DILS programWith more endangered languages offered, students and language partners stress the importance of linguistic identity, access and institutional support for credit.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180-2.png)Yale Daily NewsBaala Shakya![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/dils_bs_Ximena-Solorzano-Staff-Photography-scaled-1024x682.jpg)](https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/04/14/yale-adds-new-indigenous-endangered-languages-to-dils-program/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Humans developed language by 135,000 ya One of the most hotly debated questions in the history of linguistics is how language evolved, and a crucial component of answering that question involves knowing *when* it evolved. Some scholars believe that language evolved because of a specific genetic adaptation that is unique to humansā€”the **nativist** position. Nativists thus expect that language would have appeared relatively suddenly in evolutionary terms, likely correlating with the onset of a **Great Leap Forward** or Upper Paleolithic Revolution ca. 50,000 ya, when the archaeological record is shows an explosion of symbolic, technological, and artistic behavior. This is the point at which humans reached **behavioral modernity**. A major difficulty with this timing, however, is that humanity had already spread throughout Europe and South Asia by 50,000 ya and was no longer a single coherent population. If language had evolved at a point after humanityā€™s populations diverged, we would expect to see different human populations with different degrees of language abilities. But the fact that all humans share the same capacity for language and that language works the same way for all of us shows that *Homo sapiens* must have had the capacity for language before the species diverged. In addition, evidence increasingly points to the fact that the cultural shift to behavioral modernity was actually a gradual process, with some features appearing among African populations as early as 300,00 ya (Kissel & Fuentes 2018; Scerri & Will 2023). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ab8d1b2-ab88-4595-8f3d-f514e9f02bb1_1920x898.png) World map showing the dispersion of **Homo sapiens*, **Homo neanderthalensis*, and **Homo erectus*, with approximate dates. Other scholars believe that language emerged gradually as various *Homo* species developed increasingly sophisticated cognitive abilities, none of which are specific to language. This **functionalist** position holds that language merely co-opts other cognitive abilities which were already present in our species. In this view, itā€™s possible that the *Homo* genus had the *ability* for language before it had the *motivation* for language and actually developed it. In this scenario, language is essentially a cultural evolution rather than a genetic adaptation. This means that it could have appeared very suddenly in the archaeological record *despite there being no accompanying sudden genetic changes*. Language would have swept though the existing populations in a blink of an eye, in archaeological terms, explaining how humans could have developed language after their dispersal. As plausible as this explanation is, itā€™s not what the fossil record and archaeological record show. Instead we see a gradual increase in anatomical and archaeological evidence for language, spread out over several hundred thousand years (Kissel & Fuentes 2018; Johansson 2021: 387; Scerri & Will 2023). The language faculty must have emerged early in *Homo*ā€™s evolutionary history, and was fully in place before humanity began to disperse across the globe. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ce2f8d7-21e9-46ce-b404-b644159fc7e0_296x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Taking this fact as a starting point, a study published in *Frontiers in Psychology* last month uses genetic evidence to determine the earliest known divergence of human populations, and concluded that the first split occurred about 135,000 ya, meaning that fully modern language is at least that old. The paper and the interviews with the authors make it clear that theyā€™re firmly in the nativist camp, but their findings are of course consistent with both nativist and functionalist perspectives. The paper also situates the emergence of behavioral modernity at 100,000 ya rather than 50,000, which illustrates my earlier point that scholars increasingly see the Great Leap Forward as less of a leap and more of a gradual set of changes that began fairly early in our history. That said, the authors of this study donā€™t seem to adhere to this gradualist perspective themselves. They characterize the 100,000 ya point as a clear inflection point: - ā€œit is only after 100 kya that we see such behaviors become routine and normalized in *H. sapiens*ā€. - ā€œmodern human behaviors such as body decoration and the production of ochre pieces with symbolic engravings appeared as normative and persistent behaviors around 100 kyaā€ Itā€™s strange that the authors pick this timeline, because itā€™s not the consensus among either nativists or functionalists. Scholars who see behavioral modernity as a rapid transition, a Great Leap Forward, generally choose 50,000 ya as the transition point; and scholars who see behavioral modernity as gradual generally point to evidence early in our species, even as far back as 300,000 ya (Kissel & Fuentes 2018). The authors cite work by Tatersall (2012, 2017, 2018) and Wadley (2020) in support of this timeline, but the focus of Tatersallā€™s papers is not the dating of those changesā€”he merely states that timeline in passingā€”and Wadley explicitly states (emphasis added), ā€œSuch reciprocal interactions between technology, cognition and society may have motivated the accumulation of innovations that are particularly visible in the archaeological record after 100,000 years ago (**not as a revolution, but incrementally**).ā€ These sources arenā€™t really an appropriate basis for the claim that behavioral modernity occurred suddenly at 100,000 ya. But this 100,000 ya timeline comports nicely with the authorsā€™ nativist perspective that language was the key to modern human behavior. They state: > As the most complex communication tool yet devised in nature, it had a direct and enormous impact on all facets of human life. Language, with its complex system of mental representations and rules for combining them, is able to create new ways to connect existing symbols and predict new ways of behavior. This is, perhaps, what we see in the time gap between the lower boundary of 135kya for language, and the beginnings of the emergence of rich and normative symbolic behavior starting around 100kya. A way to interpret this gap is that language was central in organizing and systematizing modern human behavior. In this view, humans evolved language, and soon after this led to the Great Leap Forward. But this is a more difficult claim to motivate if one assumes 50,000 ya as the tipping point. Nonetheless, that doesnā€™t invalidate the authorsā€™ findings, just the conclusion they draw from them. This study is still fascinating because it gives us an upper limit on the latest point that humanity could have developed the capacity for languageā€”about 135,000 ya. **Press Coverage** [When did humans first develop language? Scientists think they knowOne of the most profound questions about human history is: when did language, as we know it, first emerge?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-49.ico)Earth.comAndrei Ionescu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Human-language.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/when-did-humans-first-develop-language-scientists-think-they-know/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Crucial Feature of Human Language Emerged More Than 135,000 Years AgoHumans speak more than 7,000 languages today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-sa-rounded-favicon-270x270-1.png)ScienceAlertTessa Koumoundouros![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/PaintingOfAHumanLeavingHandprintOnAcaveHumanLanguage.jpg)](https://www.sciencealert.com/crucial-feature-of-human-language-emerged-more-than-135000-years-ago?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Unraveling the Origins: When Did Human Language First Emerge?The origins of human language have long intrigued researchers, raising profound questions about our speciesā€™ evolution and cognitive development. Recent genomic research has provided new![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-scienmag_ico-270x270-3.jpg)ScienmagSCIENMAG![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Unraveling-the-Origins-When-Did-Human-Language-First-Emerge-1742318641.jpg)](https://scienmag.com/unraveling-the-origins-when-did-human-language-first-emerge/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Original Research Article** - Miyagawa et al. 2025\. Linguistic capacity was present in the *Homo sapiens* population 135 thousand years ago. *Frontiers in Psychology* 16\. DOI: [10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1503900](https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1503900?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Other Research This Week Hereā€™s an interesting study that shows that we tend to interpret people more literally when they speak with a foreign accent, making it harder to realize theyā€™re engaging in sarcasm or ironyā€”and thus causing a lot more miscommunication! [How foreign accents subconsciously shape the way we interactOur brains find it easier to process a familiar accent, meaning irony often gets lost in interpretation.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-21.png)The ConversationAlice Foucart![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250321-74-f7pajx.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-foreign-accents-subconsciously-shape-the-way-we-interact-252689?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Another study shows that birds use their songs not just to signal to members of their own species, but to coordinate with individuals from other species during migrations as well. [Migrating Birds Sing to Team Up with Other SpeciesSongbirds may socialize across species during nighttime migrations![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-50.ico)Scientific AmericanGayoung Lee![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/american_redstart_singing.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/migrating-birds-sing-to-team-up-with-other-species/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* Jessica Kruk ([@TalkingInTongues](https://www.tiktok.com/@talkingintongues?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on TikTok) and Lauren Gawne (of the [Lingthusiasm podcast](https://lingthusiasm.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) have an article in *The Conversation* explaining why older adults sometimes find use of emoji by adolescents iniquitous or as having hidden meanings, and how these fears are unfounded. [Adolescence has sparked fears over teen slang ā€“ but emoji donā€™t cause radicalisationIf youā€™re a parent worried about your childā€™s unfamiliar online world, a fear-based response is unlikely to work. What is needed is open communication.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-22.png)The ConversationJessica Kruk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250401-56-70c6zd.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/adolescence-has-sparked-fears-over-teen-slang-but-emoji-dont-cause-radicalisation-253218?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Lauren also has an older article for *The Conversation* explaining how emoji are best thought of as digital gestures: [Emoji arenā€™t ruining language: theyā€™re a natural substitute for gesture šŸ”„šŸ”„šŸ”„Instead of worrying that emoji is replacing competent language use, we can celebrate that emoji are creating a richer form of online communication that returns the features of gesture to language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-23.png)The ConversationLauren Gawne![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20190612-32327-1ecj4r7.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/emoji-arent-ruining-language-theyre-a-natural-substitute-for-gesture-118689?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- The Babbel blog discusses how multilingualism ā€œmay be the best route to a stronger, nimbler brainā€: [Bilingual Education: The Key To Building A Better Brain?The latest research on bilingual education shows that it can actually aid attention control, reasoning, and flexible problem-solving.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-51.ico)BabbelMatt Hormann![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/CM_BilingualLearning_1200-1.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/bilingual-education-key-better-brain?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Is the name for the letter āŸØzāŸ© ā€œzeeā€ or ā€œzedā€? Traditionally the U.S. has called it ā€œzeeā€ while the U.K. calls it ā€œzedā€, but it seems that English-speaking countries are gradually shifting to ā€œzeeā€, presumably due to American influence. [How You Pronounce This Letter May Reveal Your Age, Linguist SaysIā€™ll never hear it the same way again.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-52.ico)HuffPost UKAmy Glover![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/67ebb2ce15000018000abaee.jpg)](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/zee-vs-zed-uk-age-explained%5Fuk%5F67ebad14e4b0884aa95347bd?ncid=APPLENEWS00001&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thereā€™s been a uptick in research (or perhaps, scientifically-informed thought experiments) lately about **xenolinguistics**, the study of alien languages, which I actually find to be a useful exercise in understanding the fundamental nature of symbolic systems of communication. Thereā€™s both a monograph and an edited volume about the topic: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F20cf5fd9-d9a3-48ca-9bbd-45c37ea4057a_307x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jv0Mlv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F54241262-f0d0-46dd-a4d9-6c8f79d417b0_296x445.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/414bneO?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And Southern Illinois University recently organized a small workshop about it: - [SIU to host international conference on potential extraterrestrial communication](https://news.siu.edu/2024/10/103024-siu-to-host-international-conference-on-potential-extraterrestrial-communication.php?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (SIU News) I myself even hopped on the trend, exploring what fictional languages like that of the *Three-Body Problem* books can tell us about human language: [What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-32.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/reviews/Three-Body-Problem/) Now this monthā€™s issue of *Scientific American* takes a look at some of this recent research, and how itā€™s both preparing humanity for first contact and helping explain language itself: [How Might Aliens Communicate? The Answer Could Reveal the Point of LanguageStudying how extraterrestrials might communicate could help prepare for first contact and also hint at the point of language itself![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-53.ico)Scientific AmericanSarah Scoles![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Xenolinguistics_alien_lauguage.jpeg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/xenolinguistics-the-study-of-alien-languages-helps-to-reveal-why-all-beings/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- A few weeks back I made some fun videos stitching (replying to) videos of people struggling with **tip of the tongue** incidents (also called **lethologica**): [Gestures can counteract subtle stereotypes introduced by languageThis week I discuss the growth of science communication in linguistics, plus how simple gestures can counteract subtle linguistic biases.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-33.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Social-Preview.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-11/) Last month *The Conversation* also published an article about the neuroscience behind tip of the tongue phenomena: [What happens in the brain when thereā€™s a word ā€˜on the tip of the tongueā€™?Having a word ā€œon the tip of the tongueā€ has happened to all of us. Behind this everyday phenomenon lie complex brain mechanisms.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-24.png)The ConversationFrĆ©dĆ©ric Bernard![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241126-15-21bou3-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/what-happens-in-the-brain-when-theres-a-word-on-the-tip-of-the-tongue-246091?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And if youā€™d like to dive deeper into these kinds of speech errors, hereā€™s a great book about the topic: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F039176bf-58aa-4229-b208-5877b26a1003_308x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4kNjlC4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Babbel has a neat post on all the words English borrowed from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. The most surprising of these, from a linguistic perspective, is *they*, the third person plural pronoun, simply because itā€™s rare for languages to borrow grammatical/function words from other languages in this way. [139 Old Norse Words That Invaded The English LanguageWithout the Vikings, English would be missing some awesome words like berserk, muck, skull, knife, and cake! Hereā€™s our list of Old Norse words in English.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-54.ico)BabbelJohn-Erik Jordan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/viking-ship.jpg)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/139-norse-words?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* *New Scientist* has a cool review of a new book, [*The Mesopotamian Riddle: An archaeologist, a soldier, a clergyman, and the race to decipher the worldā€™s oldest writing*](https://amzn.to/4jyenI1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Like it sounds, the book tells the story of how cuneiform was deciphered. Iā€™m pretty excited to read it! [Gripping story reveals race to crack worldā€™s oldest script, cuneiformCuneiform, the oldest identified writing system, defied deciphering ā€“ until 1857\. What happened then makes a terrific read, in Joshua Hammerā€™s The Mesopotamian Riddle![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-4.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_2461408371.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26635383-700-gripping-story-reveals-race-to-crack-worlds-oldest-script-cuneiform/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0062f6f2-2925-4369-bdd4-56ac09099896_304x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jyenI1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And if youā€™d like to learn more about how cuneiform evolved, be sure to check out this issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter: [From counting to language: How writing evolvedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-34.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cuneiform-numerals-1-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) --- ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2856e45b-cd97-4c03-a4ad-03622ddeb005_2048x2731.png) *Babel: The Language Magazine* recently published its 50th issue! This one has a big list of 50 recommended books on language and linguistics, plus a neat article about NĆ¼shu, a womenā€™s script used in a region of Hunan Province, China, as well as the cool article about whistle languages I discussed above. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01e558cb-6105-4304-b687-39b15bbfffcf_2048x2731.png) A sampling of NĆ¼shu characters. Get your own subscription [here](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [Babel MagazineThe quarterly language magazine that brings you Babelzine, the cutting-edge linguistic research in an accessible and colourful format.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-55.ico)Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsStephen Fry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babel-Best-Of-cover-2.jpg)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Full Disclosure: I volunteer on Babelā€™s Advisory Panel, but itā€™s an unpaid position which I took on as part of my service work to the field.)* --- I hope you enjoyed this weekā€™s issue! If youā€™ve been finding these digests fun or informative, click the like button below and let me know! Have a great week! \~ Danny ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“‘ References - Johansson. 2021\. [*The dawn of language: How we came to talk*](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Maclehose Press. - Kissel & Fuentes. 2018\. ā€˜Behavioral modernityā€™ as a process, not an event, in the human niche. *Time & Mind* 11(2): 163ā€“183\. DOI: [10.1080/1751696X.2018.1469230](https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2018.1469230?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Scerri & Will. 2023\. The revolution that still isnā€™t: The origins of behavioral complexity in *Homo sapiens*. *Journal of Human Evolution* 179\. DOI: [10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103358](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103358?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Bonobos combine their vocalizations the way humans combine wordsā€”a trait once thought unique to humans URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-14/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:38.000Z Did you know that if you want to say something without someone nearby being able to understand, you can just say it in the International Phonetic Alphabet? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F80694bef-230a-4b74-99be-c611af5af9bb_500x356.png) Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸ’” If you don't want this weekly digest, you can [manage your email subscriptions here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/#/portal/account/newsletters). There you can unsubscribe from **Discovery Dispatch* and still stay subscribed to the newsletter (if you'd like). SPONSORED [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/THS.png)](https://thehumanespace.app.link/e/jO1KvuFLHPb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This weekā€™s issue of **Discovery Dispatch* is sponsored by ****The Humane Space**, an app that injects more curiosity into your daily life through beautiful immersive lessons and guided contemplations. I had the great pleasure of getting to work with The Humane Space last year to put together a weekā€™s worth of lessons on linguistics ([which you can see here!](https://thehumanespace.page.link/?link=https://thehumane.space/segments/1226/node-index&apn=com.thehumanespace.app&isi=6443709613&ibi=org.thehumanespace.app&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and I love the philosophy with which they approach their lessons. They inject a little wonder and curiosity into your every day, which is exactly what I try to do with Linguistic Discovery. Their lessons cover a huge range of topics, from linguistics to weaving to gardening to the Norse goddess of winter SkaĆ°i. Every day is a little intellectual adventure. If youā€™re interested in trying out The Humane Space, you can get a ****free month** subscription here: [Get a free month of The Humane Space ](https://thehumanespace.app.link/e/jO1KvuFLHPb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### LingComm25 ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c2fec20-2661-4f74-b5fd-c131d38ddfb2_1022x282.png) This week I attended the third biannual [Linguistics Communication conference](https://lingcomm.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (LingComm25), which focuses on supporting and bringing together people who are communicating linguistics to broader audiencesā€”whether that be through newsletters like this one, social media, news interviews, podcasts, museum exhibits, school programs, or anything else. It was a ton of fun, and I got to meet lots of other ling communicators I hadnā€™t connected with before, including: - Heddwen Newton (author of the [English in Progress](https://englishinprogress.substack.com/) newsletter) - Charlotte Vaughn (Founder/Director of the [Language Science Station at Planet Word](https://sites.google.com/umd.edu/planetwordresearch?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Adam Aleksic ([@etymologynerd](https://www.tiktok.com/@etymologynerd?lang=en&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on social media) - Daniel Midgley ([Because Language](https://becauselanguage.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast) - Ingrid Piller ([Language on the Move](https://www.languageonthemove.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Jana Viscardi ([@JanaViscardi](https://www.youtube.com/@JanaViscardi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on YouTube) And of course I got to connect with some old friends as well! - Dan Mirea ([@danniesbrain](https://www.tiktok.com/@danniesbrain?lang=en&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on social media) - Gretchen McCulloch ([Lingthusiasm](https://lingthusiasm.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [*Because Internet*](https://amzn.to/3YwGvTN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Colette Feehan ([@CMFVoices](https://www.tiktok.com/@cmfvoices?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on social media) I was a panelist for a session on using social media for lingcomm, and participated in a community-led session on newsletters as well, and I was very happy with how both sessions went. I even had a few people tell me they came away from those sessions encouraged and excited to create more lingcomm content! Overall it was a fantastic event, and I came away inspired to continue making this newsletter and my social media content even better. If youā€™re thinking about getting into linguistics communication or are already doing lingcomm and want ideas for how to do it even better, I highly recommend attending the next conference in 2027\. And if youā€™d like to present a talk/poster or be a panelist, Iā€™ll be on the organizing committee for LingComm27, so [let me know](mailto:danny@linguisticdiscovery.com)! [LingCommCommunicating Linguistics to Broader Audiences![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-lingcomm-logo-small-512-1.png)LingComm![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/lingcomm-featured-image-1-1.png)](https://lingcomm.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### guacamole everywhere Something that happens more often than youā€™d think among us linguistics communicators is that weā€™ll cover the same topic, sometimes in extremely similar ways! For example, myself, Adam Aleksic ([@etymologynerd](https://www.tiktok.com/@etymologynerd?lang=en&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and Griffin Basset (TikTok: [@wordsatwork](https://www.tiktok.com/@wordsatwork?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | Instagram: [@w0rdsatw0rk](https://www.instagram.com/w0rdsatw0rk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) have all made videos about ā€œdummyā€ pronouns (also called pleonastic or expletive pronouns). - @etymologynerd ([TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@etymologynerd/video/7309605422543998251?q=etymologynerd%20weather&t=1744469300189&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - @linguisticdiscovery ([TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7232423652858334507?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJrpBuf4Sug&pp=ygUOZHVtbXkgcHJvbm91bnM%3D&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - @wordsatwork ([TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@wordsatwork/video/7444252394952707359?%5Fr=1&%5Ft=ZT-8vWBTplqshv&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) More recently, I and two other creators who do etymology posts have looked at the history of the word *guacamole*: #### **Linguistic Discovery** ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe95e259e-f673-477a-a92e-eabd129615dd_1080x1350.png) [The etymology of ā€œguacamoleā€Where do the words ā€œavocadoā€ and ā€œguacamoleā€ come from?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-28.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/carousel-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/) #### Starkey Comics ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/image-3.png) [How ā€˜guacamoleā€™ is related to ā€˜avocadoā€™ and ā€˜moleā€™ - Starkey ComicsThe words ā€˜avocadoā€™, ā€˜guacamoleā€™, and ā€˜moleā€™ (the Mexican sauce) all come to use from Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire, via The word ā€˜avocadoā€™ actually has quite a complex etymology, so lets start with that: Avocado The earliest origin of this word is Proto-Nahuan \*pa:wa, meaning avocado. This evolved into Classical Nahuatl ā€œÄhuacatlā€, \[ā€¦\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Logo-jpg-4-1-1.jpg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Avocado.jpg)](https://starkeycomics.com/2025/04/11/how-guacamole-is-related-to-avocado-and-mole/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) #### YoĆÆn van Spijk > Guacamole is made of avocados, but the word 'guacamole' itself contains 'avocado' too. Via Spanish, 'guacamole' stems from Classical Nahuatl 'āhuacamōlli', literally "avocado sauce". Its first part, 'āhuaca-', is the stem of 'āhuacatl', which became 'avocado' in English. Click for more: > > ā€” [YoĆÆn van Spijk (@yvanspijk.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:h5xbz5266crfxmswpdi62hwm?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [2025-02-09T18:39:39.066Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:h5xbz5266crfxmswpdi62hwm/post/3lhrbp2qphs2l?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Even Babbel the language learning app hopped on the guacamole trend! (Though they got the facts wrong!) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ed04469-38c6-4877-8377-d06dfb66d956_877x775.png) I was actually so surprised at how similar Ryan Starkeyā€™s infographic is to mine that at first I requested that Facebook take it down for copyright infringement. But Ryan kindly reached out to me and explained that it really was a total coincidence, so I apologized and retracted the takedown request. To be quite honest, I should have given Ryan the benefit of the doubt, because heā€™s been producing excellent, original, high-quality infographics like this for years. But we had a productive email conversation about it and weā€™re both looking forward to supporting each othersā€™ work going forward. In any case, all this is a great reminder that us lingcommers arenā€™t really in competition with each other. If you write about etymology, chances are at some point youā€™ll write about *guacamole*, because itā€™s a fun/interesting story. Plus there are only so many ways you can structure an etymological diagram. The results are bound to come out similar. But each of us has their own style, perspective, and focus, which just makes for a richer and more interesting experience for all of our followers. So if you havenā€™t looked at either Ryan Starkeyā€™s or YoĆÆn van Spijkā€™s work yet, be sure to take a look here: [Starkey ComicsStarkey Comics: Colourful images about culture and language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Logo-jpg-4-1-2.jpg)Starkey ComicsRyan Starkey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Avocado-1.jpg)](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [YoĆÆn van Spijk on Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/yvanspijk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### penguin etymology Last week the [penguins of Heard Island and McDonald Islands](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/business/economy/trump-tariffs-heard-mcdonald-islands.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), Australian territories near Antarctica, were slapped with 10% tariffs by Trump. The [internet is reeling](https://www.threads.net/search?q=penguins&serp%5Ftype=default&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) with the injustice of it all, and Iā€™ve been summoned to bring all my linguistics skills to bear in aiding the hapless penguins: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a063aeb-3d46-4c6f-88cd-f9cd23a0ab06_551x352.png) [Brian (@biscuitehs42) on ThreadsWe need @linguisticdiscovery on this STAT!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-5.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/365405696_1322322761749111_2178679753861776747_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.net/@biscuitehs42/post/DH%5FJ9DVuOIe?xmt=AQGzmzlFCyHd3GtrK80nbcUI%5FkfdevV1WmLiMOcmGof4kCI&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) So hereā€™s the complete etymological flowchart for *penguin*: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffd59499b-fcf7-4392-babe-5d500e35ce05_1080x1350.png) You can read all the details at this latest issue of the newsletter: [The etymology of ā€œpenguinā€Where does the word ā€œpenguinā€ come from? French, Welsh, or Latin?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-29.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/carousel-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/penguin/) Enjoying this digest? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ Perks** - šŸ“˜ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* - āž• bonus articles/videos - šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* [Amid anxiety about the future of French, a Quebeckerā€™s guide to slang welcomes immigrationā€™s influenceA popular book, Dictionnaire du chilleur, has cast a light on the changing nature of the French spoken by young people in the province![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-10.png)The Globe and MailEric Andrew-Gee![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/TYWT2YREMFDOTEHA722QRC7AJM-1.jpg)](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-amid-anxiety-about-the-future-of-french-a-quebeckers-guide-to-slang/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Tibet is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world. This is in danger of extinctionThere are some 60 languages spoken on the Tibetan Plateau. But harsh Chinese policies mean many minority languages may not be passed down to future generations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-14.png)The ConversationGerald Roche![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250225-32-gg3wjx-1.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/tibet-is-one-of-the-most-linguistically-diverse-places-in-the-world-this-is-in-danger-of-extinction-246316?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Chinese only introduced a feminine pronoun in the 1920s. Now, it might adopt a gender-inclusive oneChinese is one of the worldā€™s oldest languages and spoken by over one billion people. Its pronoun system may be on the cusp of significant change.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-15.png)The ConversationJanet Davey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250108-15-sph3j4.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/chinese-only-introduced-a-feminine-pronoun-in-the-1920s-now-it-might-adopt-a-gender-inclusive-one-221013?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Most English language lessons to be phased out in GwyneddThe council plans to ā€œremove bilingual teachingā€ with Welsh becoming ā€œthe principal language of educationā€.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-11.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/21f280f0-111d-11f0-ac9f-c37d6fd89579.png)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8epk2lxjp8o?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Louisiana has a long history with French. This immersion school aims to keep it alive.](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5331948/school-french-language-louisiana-cajun?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (NPR) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Bonobos combine vocalizations similarly to how humans combine words ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb09395ba-784a-4d23-b588-b65789c1ca39_2048x1301.png) Bonobos like Kanzi continue to surprise us with their linguistic abilities. A new study published last week by researchers at the University of ZĆ¼rich and Harvard University provides evidence that bonobos combine their vocalizations in a way similar to how humans combine their words into phrasesā€”a property called **compositionality**. There are two types of compositionality: trivial and nontrivial. In trivial compositionality, combining two words results in a meaning that is just the sum of its parts. ā€œtall dancerā€ refers to someone who is both tall and a dancer. In nontrivial compositionality, one of the words modifies the other: ā€œbad dancerā€ does not refer to a bad person, just a person who doesnā€™t dance well. ā€œbadā€ is interpreted in the context of ā€œdancerā€ alone. This study claims that bonobo vocalizations exhibit both types of compositionality. For example, bonobos have a peep that means ā€˜I would like to ā€¦ā€™ and a whistle which means ā€˜letā€™s stay togetherā€™, and when combined they get used in tense social situations to mean ā€˜letā€™s relaxā€™. Other vocalizations are the yelp, meaning ā€˜letā€™s do thatā€™, and the grunt, meaning ā€˜look at meā€™, but when used together they seem to invite others to build a night nest. This is an exciting claim, because compositionality has long been considered a **design feature of language** thatā€™s unique to humans. I wrote about the design features of language a bit in my post on *Three-Body Problem*, where I discuss what alien languages could teach us about human language: [What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-30.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-4.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/reviews/Three-Body-Problem/) If the claim of this study holds up to scrutiny, it would dismantle yet another property of language once thought to be unique to humans. As I wrote in my article on Kanzi: > At the extreme, many linguists argue that there are *no* cognitive abilities that are unique to language. Humans are simply the only species to have developed all of these abilities together, and to a sufficient degree. This approach to language is called **functionalism** or **cognitive linguistics**. This study would seem to provide further evidence in support of this functionalist view. You can read more about the implications of this perspective in my article about Kanzi: [Kanzi (1980ā€“2025)Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-31.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-1.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) Naturally, being such a bold claim, this research has garnered a great deal of attention from the media too: #### **Press Coverage** [Bonobos create phrases in similar ways to humans, new study suggestsHuman language is not as unique as we think.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-16.png)The ConversationMĆ©lissa Berthet![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250403-56-hazmrs.JPG)](https://theconversation.com/bonobos-create-phrases-in-similar-ways-to-humans-new-study-suggests-253805?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Bonobosā€™ Complex Calls Share an Extraordinary Trait with Human LanguageBonobosā€™ grunts, peeps and whistles may share an advanced linguistic property with human language![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-47.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bonobo_calling.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bonobo-calls-are-more-like-human-language-than-we-thought/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humansThe way bonobos combine vocal sounds to create new meanings suggests the evolutionary building blocks of human language are shared with our closest relatives![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-2.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_245836580.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2474993-bonobos-use-a-kind-of-syntax-once-thought-to-be-unique-to-humans/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [There might be something human in the way bonobos communicateā€”their calls share a key trait with our language, study suggests](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-might-be-something-human-in-the-way-bonobos-communicate-their-calls-share-a-key-trait-with-our-language-study-suggests-180986370/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Smithsonian Magazine) - [ā€˜Uniquely humanā€™ language capacity found in bonobos](https://www.science.org/content/article/uniquely-human-language-capacity-found-bonobos?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) - [Peeps and yelps show bonobos communicate with added meaning, study says](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/04/04/bonobo-study-sounds-human-language/?utm%5Fsource=instagram&utm%5Fmedium=social&utm%5Fcampaign=wp%5Fclimate&crl8%5Fid=28645321-5164-4281-9057-3d014d2c98a8) (Washington Post) #### Original Research Article - Berthet, Surbeck, & Townsend. 2025\. Extensive compositionality in the vocal system of bonobos. *Science* 388(6742): 104ā€“108\. DOI: [10.1126/science.adv1170](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv1170?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) #### Further Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fed109d1a-a243-4e34-8cf6-122ebc3291c9_311x466.png) [Baboon metaphysics: The evolution of a social mind](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe80eaa47-9e8d-4085-88f0-9bd1d952beeb_306x466.png) [How to speak whale: A voyage into the future of animal communication](https://amzn.to/4hEWvKG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Other New Research I reported [the other week](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/p/2025-12) about a neat study mapping a speech recognition model to neural patterns in the brain, and hereā€™s some additional reporting on that: [AI analysis of 100 hours of real conversations ā€” and the brain activity underpinning them ā€” reveals how humans understand languageAn AI model trained on dozens of hours of real-world conversation accurately predicts human brain activity and shows that features of language structure emerge without being coded in.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-12.png)Live ScienceAnna Demming![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/GbqDobLqJMAgj2bfAkuavV-1200-80.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/health/neuroscience/ai-algorithm-used-to-unpack-neuroscience-of-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Other new and interesting research: [Are Scottish accents really more aggressive? A linguist explainsThe way we feel about an accent tells us less about its integral properties and much more about the stereotypes of the people who speak it.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-17.png)The ConversationAmanda Cole![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250404-56-jvphub.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/are-scottish-accents-really-more-aggressive-a-linguist-explains-253375?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why you should think twice before using shorthand like ā€˜thxā€™ and ā€˜kā€™ in your textsAbbreviations like ā€˜brbā€™ and ā€˜plzā€™ may seem benign. But new research shows they can make senders appear less sincere ā€“ and even undermine budding romances.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-18.png)The ConversationDavid Fang![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250407-56-grye3g.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-think-twice-before-using-shorthand-like-thx-and-k-in-your-texts-248812?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Brain Processing: Esperanto and Klingon Perceived as Equally Familiar asA groundbreaking study from MIT has unveiled new insights into how the human brain processes both natural and constructed languages. Traditionally, language has been understood to evolve through usage![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-scienmag_ico.jpg)ScienmagSCIENMAG![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Brain-Processing-Esperanto-and-Klingon-Perceived-as-Equally-Familiar-as-English-and-Mandarin-1742312929.jpg)](https://scienmag.com/brain-processing-esperanto-and-klingon-perceived-as-equally-familiar-as-english-and-mandarin/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* Kanziā€™s death seems to have spurred more interest in animal communication recently, and as a result we have a couple articles about the topic this week: [Can animals understand human language?There are many famous examples of animals who seem to understand human language. But is there any real science behind them?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-13.png)Live ScienceMarilyn Perkins![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/tScBr9XGjGtTvrR2soMWcf-1200-80.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/animals/can-animals-understand-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The animals revealing why human culture isnā€™t as special as we thoughtEven animals with very small brains turn out to have cultural traditions, which poses a puzzler for biologists wondering what makes human culture unique![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-3.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_245816355.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26635374-000-the-animals-revealing-why-human-culture-isnt-as-special-as-we-thought/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) NativLang on YouTube also has an ongoing series about the topic. He recently released another entry in the series as well: Other reads from the week: [Accent vs. Dialect vs. Language: Whatā€™s the Difference?Any debate about how to pronounce ā€˜pecanā€™ could easily turn into a discussion about dialectā€”but thatā€™s not just another word for ā€˜accent.ā€™![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x-4.png)Mental FlossEllen Gutoskey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/01gje2af4e9dytgnc1f0.jpg)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/accent-vs-dialect-vs-language-whats-the-difference/partners/47910?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speaking of Words: Can We Reconstruct the First Language?Given the many thousands of languages spoken today, and records of hundreds of extinct ones, do we have enough evidence to reconstruct ā€œProto-World,ā€ the ancestor of all natural languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-icon-idnh-270x270.png)InDepthNH.orgMichael Ferber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ferber-1170x823.jpg)](https://indepthnh.org/2025/03/23/speaking-of-words-can-we-reconstruct-the-first-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Why is it so hard to type in Indigenous languages?A recent update to the Unicode Standard means that HaĆ­É«zaqvįø·a can finally be fully written and read on all digital platforms.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-19.png)The ConversationMark Turin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241212-21-1p1usn.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-type-in-indigenous-languages-245247?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [What we can learn from U.S. place namesMany place names in the U.S. come from languages other than Englishā€”which leads to some pronunciation challenges. Discover how theyā€™ve changed over time!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1-1.png)Duolingo BlogBrendan Regan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_USPlaceNames.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/history-american-place-names/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The lore of ā€˜loreā€™ ā€“ how fandoms created an online phenomenon from an Old English wordā€˜Loreā€™ was shortlisted for the Oxford word of the year.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-20.png)The ConversationKate McNicholas Smith![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250319-56-hqjx5k.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/the-lore-of-lore-how-fandoms-created-an-online-phenomenon-from-an-old-english-word-252577?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* The sixth edition of *Understanding syntax*, an introductory syntax textbook, came out last month and I snagged a copy of it. What Iā€™ve always appreciated about this book is its typological focus, with tons of examples from a wide range of languages. This is a welcome breath of fresh air compared to most syntax textbooks, which focus heavily or sometimes even exclusively on Englishā€”a trend I find rather unsavory. *Understanding syntax* also takes a broad conception of syntax, and includes discussions of parts of speech, grammatical relations, and transitivity, rather than the narrow focus on constituency that preoccupies most books on the topic. So if this is an area youā€™d like to learn more about, grab a copy here: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F42bde2b7-83d8-4738-bf1b-e9a4c2793a9f_311x466.png) [Understanding syntax (6th edition)](https://amzn.to/42HQoAv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Content creator Landon Bryant (@LandonTalks on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/landontalks/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@landontalks?lang=en&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), who talks all about Southern language and culture, just released his first book, *Bless Your Heart: A field guide to all things Southern*. Iā€™ve only just started it, but itā€™s a fun, endearing, wonderful book so far: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F00a5c7d5-fd7d-477a-bfb5-e5ed51af2d9a_320x466.png) [Bless your heart: A field guide to all things Southern](https://amzn.to/3E88qTg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And since this is the end of this weekā€™s digest, Iā€™ll leave you with a little excerpt from the book about the ā€œSouthern Goodbyeā€: > Something that youā€™ll experience in the Southā€”and that you will eventually participate inā€”is the Southern goodbye. I believe people in the Midwest call it a Midwestern goodbye, and what it means isā€”weā€™re not leaving, or at least weā€™re not leaving yet. It means get comfortable. It doesnā€™t mean weā€™re about to go. First it starts with a, > > ā€œWellā€¦ā€ and thatā€™s the first indication, but you still have a couple of hours. An hour or two later, somebody might even stand up and maybe walk to the edge of the room, but then theyā€™ll cross their arms and lean up against the molding for a little bit. Then theyā€™ll have some more conversations. Then maybe they might make it into the kitchen, and here, at this point, they should be starting to be aware that they are actually gonna leave, but they donā€™t need to put any stock into it yetā€”they havenā€™t even made it to the driveway. > > Once theyā€™ve made it through their kitchen conversation or whatever the room is thatā€™s adjacent to the front door, theyā€™ve gotta head to the driveway. Now, the driveway combo is one where they are fully pretending theyā€™re leaving. If you were not familiar with a Southern goodbye, you would think theyā€™re almost out of there, but theyā€™re not. > > If youā€™re a little kid, you need to keep on playing, unless your grown-up has specifically said, ā€œGet in the car.ā€ And if they have, I wanna go ahead and apologize to you because youā€™re just gonna be sitting there for a little while until that window is completely rolled up and you are physically pulling out of the driveway. Iā€™m not talking about sitting there about to pull out at the end of the driveway, but actually pulling outā€”then youā€™re in the clear. But until then, this is a Southern goodbye and weā€™re not anywhere close to leaving. Have a great week! \~ Danny If you enjoyed this week's digest, consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ Perks:** - šŸ“˜ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* - āž• bonus articles/videos - šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter! ](#/portal/signup) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The sad passing of Kanzi, penguin etymology, and what ā€œfixinā€™ toā€ / ā€œfinnaā€ mean URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-13/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:44.000Z Happy weekend! Enjoy one of my favorite silly comics to kick off this weekā€™s digest: ![A comic of a superhero in a suit, with a giant letter F on his chest. Above, in bold font like the old superhero comics, it says, ā€œPhonetic Manā€.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F535329ca-b567-42ba-bd2d-82706cabdb7d_859x900.png "A comic of a superhero in a suit, with a giant letter F on his chest. Above, in bold font like the old superhero comics, it says, ā€œPhonetic Manā€.") Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. Apologies that this issue of the digest comes late this week. Iā€™m discovering that breaking news relating to language (Trumpā€™s official English order, Kanziā€™s death, semantic confusion about tariffed penguins, etc.) has a dilatory effect on my writing schedule for other content! Iā€™ll continue to aim for a consistent Thursday morning release for now, but I may adjust the schedule in the future. Iā€™m only 3 months in to writing this weekly digest, so Iā€™m still learning what works best! Thanks for your patience with my somewhat erratic posting schedule as I find my rhythm with my research and writing process. On the upside, I produced a ton of content for you to explore this week! Hope you enjoy! ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### two pronunciations of āŸØwāŸ© I saw a fun post about the pronunciation of āŸØwāŸ© on Threads and decided to reply: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb7c772df-d82b-4eba-9285-4cc8ab701427_551x303.png) [Anne (@anne\_shesfancy) on ThreadsA hill I will die on is that American English has two pronunciations of the letter w: a hard w as in wow and a breathier w as in whisper. To indicate the breathier pronunciation, we spell words with a wh- instead of just a w-. This is why the ONLY acceptable spelling of whoa is W-H-O-A.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-3.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/466007598_434741726060722_99714556167039222_n-1.jpg)](https://www.threads.net/@anne%5Fshesfancy/post/DHpZfHzsMvV?xmt=AQGzC7EWfUtfefUsZJvBVJczj2hJZPNuX0lWau0Bj-RPcTk&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) My response on Threads is [here](https://www.threads.net/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DHqserjxpQG?xmt=AQGzy6BZ1xJVo6sM8-HFz7k-twwxlbIYJIc4yrmlzJOEyw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), but hereā€™s a more detailed explanation: English does have two pronunciations of the letter āŸØwāŸ©! One is /w/, the voiced labiovelar approximant. This is the sound most people think of when they think of /w/, and is the first sound in the word *witch*. The other is /Ź/, the voiceless labiovelar fricative, which is more or less just the voiceless version of /w/, meaning your vocal folds aren't vibrating. This is why /Ź/ is described as "breathy" or "whisperedā€. For the people that use this sound, itā€™s the first sound in the word *which*. Stewie Griffin famously uses the /Ź/ pronunciation in the phrase *Cool Whip*: Historically, the majority of English speakers made this distinction, and the two sounds were even written differently: āŸØwāŸ© vs. āŸØwhāŸ© in Middle English. (Old English used āŸØhwāŸ© instead, like the first word of Beowulf, *hwƦt*, which became Modern English *what*.) Many words spelled with āŸØwhāŸ© today were once pronounced with the voiceless /Ź/. Today however most American English speakers just use /w/. /Ź/ has been lost except for in the speech of some older speakers, especially in the South. Most varieties of British English, however, retain the distinction. ### fixinā€™ to / finna ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3403805-4beb-4c6b-bc9f-a7fa302442bc_551x304.png) [. (@theweirdnessofbeing) on ThreadsUS people, please tell me understand this word usage. I just saw someone say ā€œthatā€™s what I was fixing to recommendā€. Do you use fixing to mean going in the US? Iā€™ve seen it used in a similar way before. Iā€™ve also seen it as ā€œfixing a dishā€ to mean preparing or dishing up a meal. Does fixing have multiple meanings? In the UK fixing means mending.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-4.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/486081959_1663109631080058_2136059873433809499_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.net/@theweirdnessofbeing/post/DHf5Y9XsQtH?xmt=AQGzJW5apFYecLsK96yd09d8wcp5GtrWM1vl3y5XK5lzdLw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The phrase *fixin' to* means that the event will happen in the near future. Think of it as parallel to *going to*, but with a slightly more restricted meaning. ![A t-shirt that says ā€œIā€™m fixinā€™ to cry yā€™allā€.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2d4e3bc3-1735-4d7d-8bb5-4044a8da0793_900x1200.png "A t-shirt that says ā€œIā€™m fixinā€™ to cry yā€™allā€.") And just like *going to* can be pronounced as *gonna* whenever it's functioning as a type of grammatical aspect, *fixin' to* is pronounced by many people as *finna*, especially in African American English. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb0655d15-7593-4c3c-bc44-c21fbf377933_1427x760.png) This first map shows that *fixinā€™ to* is used primarily by speakers in the southeastern United States. It shows the average acceptability of fixinā€™ to sentences on a scale of 1ā€“5 among survey participants. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/2.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/04/1.png) The second map shows the ratio of people who pronounce it as *fixinā€™ to* (purple) and *finna* (green). The other maps show the uncombined frequencies. The first map is from the Yale Grammatical Diversity Project, and the others from linguist Jack Grieve. Read all about the *fixinā€™ to* construction at the Yale Grammatical Diversity Project: [Fixinā€™ to | Yale Grammatical Diversity Project: English in North America![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/touch-icon-228.png)Yale Grammatical Diversity Project: English in North Americasemantic properties![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cry.jpg)](https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/fixin-to?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* ### Kanzi the bonobo dies ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd26c8355-78cc-490f-9107-b9ddb29c826d_900x1200.png) Kanzi the bonobo. Image from the [Ape Initiative](https://www.apeinitiative.org/kanzi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Kanzi the bonobo, who researchers taught to use symbols to communicate and stone tools, has died at the age of 44. I wrote a long tribute to Kanzi, explaining his contribution to the field of linguistics and why his incredible linguistic abilities matter to the field: [Kanzi (1980ā€“2025)Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44\. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-26.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/) Here are some interesting YouTube videos demonstrating Kanziā€™s abilities: #### Press Coverage [Kanzi the Bonobo, Who Learned Language and Made Stone Tools, Dies at Age 44What we learned about ape and human cognition from Kanzi the bonobo, who died this week![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-46.ico)Scientific AmericanKate Wong![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-the-bonobo-1.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kanzi-the-bonobo-who-learned-language-and-made-stone-tools-dies-at-age-44/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [RIP Kanzi, the Bonobo Who Mastered Language and MinecraftThe famous ape reportedly knew thousands of words, loved Clint Eastwood movies, and was a big fan of video games.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-8.png)GizmodoGeorge Dvorsky![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-bonobo-1.jpg)](https://gizmodo.com/rip-kanzi-the-bonobo-who-mastered-language-and-minecraft-2000579072?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Remembering Kanzi, the bonobo who helped us understand humanityKanzi, a bonobo with a famously incredible understanding of language, passed away at age 44\. Then, ways Iowans can contribute to scientific research.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-9.png)Iowa Public RadioCharity Nebbe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90-1)](https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/talk-of-iowa/2025-03-27/remembering-kanzi-the-bonobo-who?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### penguins A recurring theme on the internet this week was to joke about how the penguins of Heard Island & McDonald Islands, Australian territories near Antarctica, were hit with a 10% tariff by Trump. (No people live on these islands, just penguins.) This apparently caused some confusion among French speakers because a *pingouin* in French is not technically the same animal as a *penguin* in English. A follower called upon me to explain, so I indulged: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0df2e039-aba5-4541-953f-5aec3630db54_547x346.png) It turns out the semantics and etymology of *penguin* is actually rather surprising! You can read all about it here: [The etymology of ā€œpenguinā€Where does the word ā€œpenguinā€ come from? French, Welsh, or Latin?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-27.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/carousel-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/penguin/) ### zeugma / syllepsis The New York Times had a great example of **zeugma** / **syllepsis** in [one of its headlines](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/us/politics/greenland-jd-vance-usha.html?searchResultPosition=2&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) this week: ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd98ab577-78be-43ae-92b6-2fac47901f18_1290x2017.png) Screenshot from the New York Times website. The headline reads, ā€œVisiting Greenland, JD Vance finds the weather and the reception chillyā€. A **zeugma** is when two different parts of a sentence utilize two different meanings of one word in the sentence (without repeating that word). The most repeated example is ā€œHe took his hat and his leaveā€. In that sentence, two different senses of *take* are being evoked. What I love about zeugma is that they demonstrate how contextualized the meanings of words are. Every word has a web of interconnected meanings, some of them only distantly related after centuries of semantic shift, but different linguistic contexts will highlight different senses of the word. *zeugma* comes from the Ancient Greek Ī¶Īµįæ¦Ī³Ī¼Ī± *zeĆ»gma*, literally ā€˜a yoking togetherā€™, whereas *syllepsis* is from the Ancient Greek ĻƒĻĪ»Ī»Ī·ĻˆĪ¹Ļ‚ *sĆŗllēpsis* ā€˜a taking togetherā€™. (Hat tip to my dear friend and medieval scholar George Greenia for teaching me this fun construction many years ago.) ### iOS 19 to support live translation Bloomberg reports that iOS 19 on iPhone will enable live translation using Apple AirPods. From *Apple Insider:* > If an English speaker with AirPods is listening to a person speaking in another language, such as Spanish, the iPhone will detect the audio of the Spanish speaker and translate it into English. The English translation will then be played via the AirPods. > > The English speaker's response is said to be translated and played in Spanish via the iPhone speakers. The process allegedly utilizes the Translate app and is tied to the iOS 19 update. [Apple Plans AirPods Feature That Can Live-Translate ConversationsApple Inc. is planning a new AirPods feature that allows the earbuds to live-translate an in-person conversation into another language, according to people with knowledge of the matter.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-black.png)BloombergMark Gurman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1200x800.jpg)](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-13/apple-plans-ios-19-feature-that-lets-airpods-live-translate-conversations?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [AirPods could gain live translation feature with iOS 19Appleā€™s iconic AirPods are rumored to receive an entirely new feature that translates in-person conversations from one language to another.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-ai-144.png)AppleInsiderMarko Zivkovic![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/62965-130712-62801-130316-62417-129368-61404-126856-60788-125128-60675-124869-AirPods-Pro-2-stems-xl-xl--1--xl--1--xl-xl-xl.jpg)](https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/03/13/your-existing-airpods-could-gain-a-new-live-translation-feature-in-ios-19?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Itā€™s worth noting that Appleā€™s Translate app only has 7.6k reviews, with an average rating of 2.3/5, as opposed to the Microsoft Translator app, which has 159k reviews and an average rating of 4.8/5\. So while I personally think this is a cool idea with a lot of potential utility, Iā€™m not going to hold my breath hoping itā€™ll be very good. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Dialect diversity in birdsong ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F22f23d95-1a06-46b9-9390-eaa7d19c3e50_657x646.png) (A) Cultural variables measured at the neighborhood level. Higher values of cultural diversity indicate that there are more distinct song types in the neighborhood relative to the total song output. Higher cultural uniqueness indicates that the songs in the neighborhood are, on average, less common in the population, and higher cultural turnover indicates that the neighborhoodā€™s song repertoire has changed more from 1 year to the next. See definitions for full definitions. (B) Variation in the demographic properties and composition of neighborhoods across the population. See demographic variables for full definitions. (C) Cartoon representation of the pairwise continuous repertoire similarity network used in our individual-level analyses. Each node represents an individual bird, and the edges represent the similarity between their song repertoires. The network is based on the similarity of the songs produced by each bird during the dawn chorus and is used to estimate the cultural similarity between individuals. (D) 3D render of our study site, Wytham Woods, seen from the east. Image based on first return LiDAR data and made with rayshader. Elevation is exaggerated. Aquamarine (darker) arrows represent natal dispersal within the population, and the yellow (lighter) arrow represents immigration into the population, two of the variables used in this work. Age and bird (individual) turnover are not depicted. Some types of birds have local dialects of birdsong, and those dialects are influenced by long-range interaction with birds of other regions, according to [a paper in ](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2900150-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[*Current Biology*](https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2900150-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) this month. Hereā€™s a key quote from the Washington Post article: > Results showed that dispersal within the population ā€” referring to how far the birds traveled from where they were born to where they settled down to breed ā€” ā€œhomogenises song cultureā€ over time and slows down the pace of change. Immigrant birds also were shown to adopt local songs and learn more songs overall, helping to enrich the ā€œmusical scene,ā€ researchers said. > > By contrast, ā€œhomegrownā€ songs in areas where birds stay close to their birthplace tend to stay unique, similar to the way in which isolated human communities can develop distinct local dialects over time, the team found. - [Birds can change their tunes as their populations evolve, researchers find](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/10/nx-s1-5323124/birds-can-change-their-tunes-as-their-populations-evolve-researchers-find?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (NPR: All Things Considered) - [Turns out birdsongs evolve with time and ageā€”just like human music](https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/03/07/bird-song-oxford-study-great-tit/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Washington Post) - Merino Recalde et al. 2025\. The demographic drivers of cultural evolution in bird song. *Current Biology* 35: 1ā€“10\. DOI: [10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.016](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.016?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Bonobos point more for ignorant than knowledgeable social partners ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F510b602b-14dc-4114-b9c5-bd747d7e1ddf_560x377.png) Kanzi the bonobo pointing at one of three upside-down cups in front of him for a researcher. I referenced this in my article about Kanzi, but itā€™s worth mentioning separately too because the study was only just published in February. (It may have been the last research study Kanzi participated in. šŸ˜¢) Hereā€™s an excerpt from my article: > One experiment demonstrates Kanziā€™s grasp of theory of mind well: Researchers would hide a grape under a cup, then ask Kanzi (or the other bonobos in the experiment), ā€œWhereā€™s the grape?ā€ If the researcher was present when the grape was being hidden, the bonobo often didnā€™t respond to the request. But if the researcher had been absent for the grape-hiding, the bonobo would more often quickly point to the right cup. The results suggest that the bonobos had some understanding of the researcherā€™s state of knowledge about the location of the grape. - **Reporting:** Bonobos realize when humans miss information and communicate accordingly ([Phys.org](http://phys.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - **Original Research Study:** Townrow, Luke A. & Christopher Krupenye. 2025\. Bonobos point more for ignorant than knowledgeable social partners. *PNAS* 122(6). DOI: [10.1073/pnas.2412450122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412450122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fed0a0a15-7b7c-4539-9b15-2f91040fe2d6_1200x582.png) Screenshot of the completed Strands puzzle for March 17. Because I posted about Spoonerisms the other week, many people messaged me about the New York Timesā€™ Strands puzzle for March 17\. The theme for the dayā€™s puzzle was ā€œSounds switchingā€, the spangram was ā€œSpoonerismsā€, and, hilariously, the puzzle actually included some real Spoonerisms: - blushing crow ā† crushing blow - bedding wells ā† wedding bells - stricken chips ā† chicken strips I got a kick out of that šŸ˜… CNET explains the puzzle in more depth: [Explaining That Confusing NYT Strands Spoonerism Puzzle - CNETHereā€™s todayā€™s Strands answers and hints. These clues will help you solve The New York Timesā€™ popular puzzle game, Strands, every day.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-v3.png)CNETSee full bio![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/nyt-new-york-times-strands-2043.jpg)](https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/lets-explain-that-tough-nyt-strands-puzzle-for-march-17-379/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Other articles from the week: - [Imperfect sounds: Cochlear implants give deaf kids unprecedented access to sound. But insisting they avoid using sign language may be risky](https://www.science.org/content/article/implants-can-help-deaf-kids-hear-many-still-struggle-spoken-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Science) [Donald Trump thinks some accents are ā€˜beautiful,ā€™ but what makes them so?Opinions on language are not based in any objective standards of beauty or aesthetics, but rather on our attitudes about the people speaking them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-13.png)The ConversationNicole Rosen![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250307-56-66sai4.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-thinks-some-accents-are-beautiful-but-what-makes-them-so-251458?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* I watched the first season of *Wolf King* last week, and their use of *were-* as a prefix struck me as really interesting! So I recorded a short video about it. (Iā€™ll probably have a written version of this soon too.) --- While doing research about Kanzi I found this great kids book about him! ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2838eb63-e58f-4fb5-b76c-99cd4a60c4f5_730x1000.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3DT7fXI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798885095525?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* For language lovers like me, I think itā€™s really helpful to know how to pronounce words in other languages, even if you arenā€™t learning to speak them. Plus Iā€™m sure speakers appreciate it when I donā€™t butcher their language. So it was nice to see this guide to French pronunciation from the Rosetta Stone blog recently: [Your Ultimate French Pronunciation Guide - Rosetta StoneOur French pronunciation guide explains uniquely French sounds, nasal vowels, silent letters, and more with examples, so youā€™ll sound like a native speaker in no time.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo-2.png)Rosetta StoneJamie Edwards![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/french-pronunciation-girl.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/french-pronunciation/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Another excellent resource for French pronunciation is the little book *Exercises in French phonics*. It was published in 1981 but I still found it helpful 45 years later. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcfaf54de-7d19-4686-a754-eed459b7ed6c_293x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4i4JNVc?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thanks for reading! Let me know how Iā€™m doing with the newsletter and how I can improve by emailing me [here](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com)! \~ Danny šŸ’ If you enjoyed this post, consider becoming a supporter! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The etymology of ā€œpenguinā€ URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/penguin/ Last updated: 2026-04-23T21:25:43.000Z Why does the word *pingouin* refer to auks in French while the word *penguin* refers to penguins in English? To answer this, we need some etymology! So like the penguins, letā€™s dive in. First, as mentioned, the French word *pingouin* doesnā€™t refer to penguins. It refers to a similar-looking bird of the northern hemisphere called the [auk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). (Auks and penguins are not part of the same family of species. Auks live in the northern hemisphere, while penguins live in the southern hemisphere.) The word for ā€˜penguinā€™ in French is *manchot*, literally ā€˜no-armedā€™, from the Latin *mancus* ā€˜maimed, crippled, handicappedā€™. Why the discrepancy between the English and the French meanings of *penguin*/*pingouin*? Because the English word used to refer to the ā€˜aukā€™ too! The word waddled its way into French (after nesting with Dutch for a bit) before the shift in meaning. Why did the English word *penguin* change its meaning? For starters, the great auks of Newfoundland, who were the original bearers of the name *penguin*, went extinct by 1844\. Secondly, British sailors likely just applied the name *penguin* to the similar-looking Antarctic birds when they first encountered them. If French got the word from English, then where did the English word *penguin* come from? Our best guess is that it comes from the Welsh words *pen* ā€˜headā€™ + *gwyn* ā€˜whiteā€™, either in reference to the aukā€™s white head, or in reference to White Head Island (*Pen Gwyn* in Welsh) in Newfoundland where the birds lived. Like the penguins themselves, however, this theory has never really gotten off the ground, because we have no historical documentation of a transition from Welsh *pen-gwyn* to English *penguin*. Plus, the /g/ of *gwyn* would typically be lost in compounds, so if *penguin* really did come from a compounding of *pen* and *gwyn*, the result should have been *penwyn*. On the other hand, if the name comes from the Welsh name for White Head Island, *Pen Gwyn*, the sound change wouldnā€™t have applied. If *penguin* does come from Welsh, though, that would make it related to the name *Gwendolyn*, literally ā€˜white-hairedā€™ or ā€˜fair-hairedā€™. The only other potential etymology for *penguin* worth squawking about is that it might derive from the Latin *pinguis* ā€˜fatā€™. Some additional evidence for this proposal is that the German and Dutch words for ā€˜penguinā€™ are also attentive to its blubbery disposition: German *fettgans* ā€˜fat-gooseā€™ and its Dutch cognate *vetgans*. But this Latin origin wouldnā€™t explain why the English word ends in an /n/. So there you have it. Having slipped gracefully beneath the surface of the etymological waters, we surface with our catch of new knowledgeā€”but are still no less certain of its origin. The complete (putative) etymological flowchart for *penguin* is below. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/04/carousel-1.png) ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography - Chambers dictionary of etymology: *penguin* - [Etymonline: penguin](https://www.etymonline.com/word/penguin?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [OED: penguin](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/penguin%5Fn?tab=factsheet&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#31064504) - [Wikipedia: penguin](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penguin?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/kanzi/ Last updated: 2025-04-13T00:53:51.000Z In the early 1980s, a team of researchers led by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh at Emory Universityā€™s Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center were struggling to teach a bonobo named Matata how to use a symbolic picture system called Yerkish to communicate. Each symbol, called a **lexigram**, represented one concept or object. Matata, who had been born in the wild, never really picked up on what the researchers were trying to teach her. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8be43c5a-a494-4ccd-a9ee-2ed8ce2c9f94_947x494.png) A selection of lexigrams from Yerkish. Each symbol represents a concept or object. Image from a now-defunct mobile app called Lexigram for Samsung. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd16cef48-8897-4cf7-972e-dcd7cdcf2476_250x248.png) The Yerkish lexigram for ā€˜juiceā€™. ([Wikipedia: Yerkish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerkish?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Unbeknownst to the researchers, however, someone else had apparently been paying attention to Matataā€™s lessonsā€”her adopted son Kanzi, who had been born in captivity and accompanied Matata to her lessons starting when he was only 6 months old. One day, while Matata was away, Kanzi began spontaneously using the Yerkish keyboard in ways that strongly indicated he knew the meanings of the signs. He pressed the signs for ā€œappleā€ and ā€œchaseā€, for example, then picked up an apple and ran away with a facial expression known as a play grin. He would press keys for specific foods, and then when taken to the refrigerator would select the foods that heā€™d indicated on the keyboard. He used the keyboard more than 120 times on that first day alone. (Savage-Rumbaugh 1994: 135) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab162c15-769f-4f6d-93e1-7ccc4f6bdc42_1920x1280.png) Kanzi converses with Sue Savage-Rumbaugh in 2006 using a portable "keyboard" of arbitrary symbols that Kanzi associates with words. ([Wikipedia: Kanzi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanzi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) *Prefer to watch or listen to this article instead? Hereā€™s a video version:* ## The Loquacious Kanzi After further investigation, it soon became clear that Kanzi had learned much of the symbol system, through sheer exposure rather than explicit trainingā€”remarkably parallel to how human infants learn language. Kanzi eventually mastered almost 400 signs in all. Kanzi also appears to have developed something like rudimentary word order in his symbol use. While in the first month of his use of Yerkish the order of Kanziā€™s signs varied freely (using, for instance, both *hide peanut* and *peanut hide* word orders), his later utterances standardized on a verb-noun order (*hide peanut*), regardless of whether the noun was the agent/subject or patient/object (Progovac 2017: 57). It later became clear to the researchers that Kanzi had not only mastered communication in Yerkish, but had acquired a rudimentary understanding of spoken *English* as well. Using a series of experiments carefully designed to avoid the Clever Hans effect (where the researchersā€™ reactions accidentally bias the subjectā€™s behavior), researchers showed that Kanzi could understand both individual words and novel sentences heā€™d never encountered before. An observer in the room kept a record of what Kanzi was doing, but wore ear protectors so they didnā€™t know what it was Kanzi had been told to do. Kanzi was even able to correctly follow spoken instructions when they were issued entirely by telephone. He could follow complex instructions like ā€œFetch the carrots on the table in the kitchen and put them in the bowl in the living room.ā€, and ignore other carrots or other locations that were irrelevant to the task along the way. (Johansson 2019: 75ā€“76) In another study, the research team compared Kanziā€™s English abilities with that of a 2-year-old human named Alia. Both Kanzi and Alia were given 660 spoken instructions requiring them to use objects in novel ways. Kanzi responded correctly to 74% of the instructions while Alia responded correctly to 65% (Savage-Rumbaugh et al. 1993). Savage-Rumbaugh estimates that Kanzi understood about 3,000 spoken words ([Smithsonian Magazine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/speaking-bonobo-134931541/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Kanziā€™s linguistic abilities far exceeded that of any other primates in experimental settings, despite decades of experiments. A gorilla named Koko and a chimpanzee named Washoe were taught to communicate using sign language; a chimpanzee named Lana was also taught some Yerkish, while another named Sarah used a different symbol system. In each case, it was difficult to definitively show that the primate had demonstrated anything more than a conditioned response to human-initiated cues. Kanziā€™s spontaneous symbol acquisition and subsequent robust linguistic development forced scholars to reconsider this purely behaviorist interpretation of primate communication. In his excellent book *The symbolic species* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4gpq4ih?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780393317541?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Terrence Deacon summarizes Kanziā€™s abilities this way: > Kanzi seems to have a far better sense of what is and is not relevant to symbolic and linguistic communication. He attends to the appropriate stimulus and context parameters whereas other chimps, trained at older ages, seem to need a lot of help just recognizing what to pay attention to. Like a child attuned to the phonemes of the local language, Kanziā€™s whole orientation seems to have been biased by this early experience. (Deacon 1997: 126) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff380d5f4-0465-42eb-9df7-f501114e2fc2_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4gpq4ih?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780393317541?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Kanzi had seemingly developed a more robust **theory of mind** (the ability to ascribe mental states and intentions to others) than his primate peers in other experiments. One experiment demonstrates Kanziā€™s grasp of theory of mind well: Researchers would hide a grape under a cup, then ask Kanzi (or the other bonobos in the experiment), ā€œWhereā€™s the grape?ā€ If the researcher was present when the grape was being hidden, the bonobo often didnā€™t respond to the request. But if the researcher had been absent for the grape-hiding, the bonobo would more often quickly point to the right cup. The results suggest that the bonobos had some understanding of the researcherā€™s state of knowledge about the location of the grape. (Townrow & Krupenye 2025) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe97f8d72-efcb-4a93-8c5a-4f6fa850a615_1280x1257.png) (A) Point occurrence per subject across 24 Knowledge and 24 Ignorance trials. (B) Group-level point latency. No-point trials recorded as maximum response time. Red and blue lines represent mean and median values, respectively. (C) Point occurrence in a control experiment with an ignorant communicative partner present vs. absent. From Townrow & Krupenye (2025). ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## Kanzi the Renaissance Man ā€“ erā€¦Primate Kanziā€™s skillset didnā€™t stop there, however. Kanzi could gather wood, light matches, and cook omelettes and marshmallows over a fire. In one experiment designed to investigate Kanziā€™s ability to create and use Stone Age tools, he was able to produce a sharp edge by flaking a stone (albeit much more crudely than early humans), then use it to cut through a rope to retrieve a food reward (Toth et al. 1993). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbb61861e-42b3-4b3a-bb5b-064cf03b3ad2_620x421.png) Kanzi roasting a marshmallow over a fire. ([The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/8985122/Amazing-photos-of-Kanzi-the-bonobo-lighting-a-fire-and-cooking-a-meal.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Kanzi was also an accomplished gamer. An old bootlegged video shows him [playing Pac-Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQydsi1sSTU&t=14s&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and more recently the popular YouTuber Christopher Slayton partnered with the Ape Initiative to test Kanziā€™s abilities at learning Minecraft, the best-selling video game. Kanzi proved to be an adept miner, mastering basic Minecraft skills within minutes and going on to beat the final boss. (Slayton also helped raise over $10,000 for the Ape Initiative with his video.) Kanziā€™s skills were not without limit, however. Though his utterances did show signs of being somewhat rule-governed (as described above), they were simplistic compared to human children even early in their language learning process. Humans typically enter the two-word stage between 18 and 24 months of age, at which point basic grammatical structures like word order and semantic relationships like possession emerge. While Kanziā€™s utterances relied heavily on interpretation and context, human utterances rely on linguistic rules and conventions from an early stage. For example, Kanzi used the symbol for ā€œstrawberryā€ as the name for the object, as a request to go where the strawberries are, as a request to eat some strawberries, and so on (Harley 2013: 65). Kanzi showed no use of function words or morphology either. On the other hand, linguist David Gil has suggested that this free-for-all style of using words to mean different things is exactly what the first languages would have been like (Gil 2006). Before languages developed grammatical affixes, fixed word order, or function words, humans would have stitched together sentences similarly to how Kanzi did. (Gil in fact uses Kanziā€™s utterances as examples in the paper; p. 97) Words were not yet strictly ā€œverbsā€ or ā€œnounsā€, but instead took on their function and precise meaning from context. In fact, in his fantastic pop linguistics book *The unfolding of language* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIdxAJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780805080124?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Guy Deutscher shows how languages proceed from having ā€œno grammarā€ to having all the complex grammatical pieces we see today. All that is needed at the start is the ability to make symbolic associations between words and concepts or thingsā€”an ability that Kanzi clearly possessed. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb878268e-0534-4f33-b07f-af4386ed3284_428x630.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIdxAJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780805080124?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) All that notwithstanding, Kanziā€™s linguistic abilities obviously canā€™t compare to that of even young human language learners. So does Kanziā€™s behavior really count as *language*? If not, how should we characterize it? ## Did Kanzi really have language? Since the earliest primate language experiments, scholars have questioned both the methods and the meaningfulness of the results of these experiments, with many scholars dismissing the actions of the primates in these studies as mere behavioral conditioning. An enormous amount of criticism has been leveled at Savage-Rumbaugh in particular, most famously by Steven Pinker in his book *The language instinct* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iXRu1k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780061336461?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), where he spends a page derisively dismissing all of Savage-Rumbaughā€™s claims (Pinker 1994: 350). ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F12924b6f-1b37-4741-8086-88187c46d969_306x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iXRu1k?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780061336461?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Nativists like Steven Pinker and Noam Chomsky are quick to dismiss the putative linguistic abilities of other apes because they believe that the ability to acquire language is a genetic mutation specific to humans. In this view, any apparent linguistic abilities exhibited by other animals are the result of other, non-linguistic cognitive abilities such as conceptualization, memory, planning, etc. In a famous paper, nativist Noam Chomsky collaborated with evolutionary biologists Marc Hauser and Tecumseh Fitch to distinguish between language in a ā€œbroad senseā€ (all those cognitive abilities that contribute to language that I just mentioned) and language in a ā€œnarrow senseā€ (the abilities that are unique to humans and to language) (Hauser, Chomsky, & Fitch 2002). For nativists, then, Kanziā€™s abilities are irrelevant to language and theoretically uninteresting because they merely point to other, non-linguistic abilities. For nativists, language is typically viewed as an all-or-nothing phenomenon. There is no gradual cline from non-language or proto-language to language. Instead, linguistic nativists generally adhere to a **saltationist** view of language evolutionā€”a sudden mutation that occurs over one or a few generations. Given this perspective, itā€™s easy to see why Savage-Rumbaughā€™s work with Kanzi has garnered so much criticism. In some ways, this is science functioning exactly as it should: it is partly as a result of these criticisms that later researchers working with Kanzi have stipulated precautions in their experiments to avoid accusations of bias, anthropomorphizing, etc. And Savage-Rumbaugh herself does adopt a rather extreme view of primate linguistic abilities, which even ardent anti-nativists find hard to accept. She states, for example, that language is not confined to humans and is in fact learnable by other ape species, who are only limited by the fact that they canā€™t physically vocalize the sounds of human language (Savage-Rumbaugh 1994: 278). Most linguists think this claims too much. If it were true that the anatomy of the vocal tract were the only thing holding apes back from doing language, then they ought to have mastered sign language, for example. This has clearly not been the case. In other places, however, Savage-Rumbaugh describes Kanziā€™s linguistic abilities as merely being in ā€œpartial continuityā€ with human language (1994: 257). This is a much more reasonable position to adopt, I think. Nativists and other cynics of animal communication, because they treat language as binary, something that an individual either has or does not have, focus too much on language (ironically) and not enough on the cognitive prerequisites for language (the ā€œbroad senseā€ that Hauser, Chomsky, & Fitch discuss). We do in fact share many of those cognitive prerequisites with the other great apesā€”theory of mind, self-awareness, symbolic representations, joint attention, etc. Studies of animal communication are notable not because they demonstrate that other animals have language, but because they demonstrate that other animals possess some or all of the various cognitive abilities necessary for language, often simply to a lesser degree than humans. At the extreme, many linguists argue that there are *no* cognitive abilities that are unique to language. Humans are simply the only species to have developed all of these abilities together, and to a sufficient degree. This approach to language is called **functionalism** or **cognitive linguistics**. It denies that there is any ā€œnarrow senseā€ of language at all. All our linguistic abilities are merely an extension or repurposing of other skills we already possess. Language is not viewed as some neatly compartmentalized ability like it is in the nativist perspective. Functionalism allows us to posit a more **gradualist** (as opposed to saltationist) narrative of how we went from the non-language of animals to the language of humans. Kanziā€™s linguistic abilities show us what pre-language or proto-language might have looked like among our ancestors, when we had developed some but not all of the cognitive prerequisites for language. In this perspective, contra the nativists, Kanzi has much to teach us about language. ## What can we learn from Kanzi? What made Kanziā€™s language-learning journey unique compared to other primates in linguistic experiments is how young he was when he learned Yerkish and how quickly he did soā€”a clear parallel to how humans learn language. Kanziā€™s rapid acquisition of Yerkish shows that, even though bonobos donā€™t engage in symbolic communication in the wild, they nonetheless *have the cognitive capacity to do so* (Deacon 1997: 125ā€“127). Kanzi in fact had a handful of skills like this, each of which demonstrate that apes have latent abilities which their environmental context simply hasnā€™t brought forth (Johansson 2019: 77). Likewise, humans possess a wide variety of skills that donā€™t occur ā€œin our natural stateā€ (a hunter-gatherer existence), such as solving differential equations or writing. Yet humans have always been biologically capable of such accomplishments. They merely havenā€™t been expressed until the modern era. (Johansson 2019: 77) In his brilliant book *The dawn of language* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), Sverker Johansson summarizes this point nicely: > From a scientific perspective these apparently unnecessary abilities can be explained instead as the expressions of a more general ability that would have been used for other purposes by our ancestors. \[ā€¦\] The reason human beings can solve differential equations may be explained in this wayā€”not because our ancestors had to deal with higher mathematics, but because the intellect that evolved among them in order to solve all the problems they faced can also be used for differential equations if so required. (Johansson 2019: 77ā€“78) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72375b90-cd28-42e2-9664-6a64b2d50d8e_296x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) In the functionalist perspective, this is precisely how language is thought to have evolved: > Cognitive linguistics considers language to be the natural consequence of applying general cognitive abilities to social interactions and our mutual desire to communicate with fellow human beings. What needs to be accounted for in this context is our general cognitive and social evolution as a whole; the origin of grammar does not require a more sophisticated explanation of its own. (Johansson 2019: 53) So, what Kanziā€™s experience teaches linguistic science is which cognitive abilities are necessary for symbolic communication, and which arenā€™t. Thanks to Kanzi, we can reasonably conclude that ā€œa modern human brain is not an essential precondition for symbolic communicationā€ (Deacon 1997: 401). ## In Memoriam Sadly, Kanzi passed away on March 18, 2025 at the age of 44\. His cause of death is awaiting results from a necropsy, but Kanzi was being treated for heart disease, so that may have been a contributing factor. Kanzi was a happy, gregarious individual who loved to interact with humans, and spent his last morning being his usual joyous self, playfully chasing other bonobos and enjoying the dayā€™s enrichment surprises. Terrence Deacon says of Kanzi that he had ā€œThe most advanced symbolic capabilities demonstrated by any nonhuman species to dateā€ (1997: 124), and indeed Kanzi will always be remembered for his impact on the field of linguistics, and the ways his happy antics challenged an entire theoretical paradigm in the field. R.I.P. Kanzi. You helped us understand the nature of language better, and in doing so helped us understand ourselves a little bit more as humans as well. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2ed4692a-83e8-4fa4-b8fd-f0cb0da94c7c_900x1200.png) Kanzi the bonobo. Image from the [Ape Initiative](https://www.apeinitiative.org/kanzi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## šŸ“° Press Coverage [Kanzi the Bonobo, Who Learned Language and Made Stone Tools, Dies at Age 44What we learned about ape and human cognition from Kanzi the bonobo, who died this week![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-45.ico)Scientific AmericanKate Wong![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-the-bonobo.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kanzi-the-bonobo-who-learned-language-and-made-stone-tools-dies-at-age-44/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Remembering Kanzi, the bonobo who helped us understand humanityKanzi, a bonobo with a famously incredible understanding of language, passed away at age 44\. Then, ways Iowans can contribute to scientific research.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-6.png)Iowa Public RadioCharity Nebbe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/90)](https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/talk-of-iowa/2025-03-27/remembering-kanzi-the-bonobo-who?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [RIP Kanzi, the Bonobo Who Mastered Language and MinecraftThe famous ape reportedly knew thousands of words, loved Clint Eastwood movies, and was a big fan of video games.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-7.png)GizmodoGeorge Dvorsky![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Kanzi-bonobo.jpg)](https://gizmodo.com/rip-kanzi-the-bonobo-who-mastered-language-and-minecraft-2000579072?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a48b7f2-4c07-4b69-9eb4-6b821fb7492b_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3DVL6YL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780471159599?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8506ba2-acc1-4756-8c2f-7e1cd27d427e_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780226102443?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72375b90-cd28-42e2-9664-6a64b2d50d8e_296x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff380d5f4-0465-42eb-9df7-f501114e2fc2_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4gpq4ih?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780393317541?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography - Ape Initiative. 2025a. Kanzi. [https://www.apeinitiative.org/kanzi](https://www.apeinitiative.org/kanzi?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Ape Initiative. 2025b. In loving memory of Kanzi, the worldā€™s most renowned bonobo. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MTsAgsqofrzT6Fl2CVbBlVfhVXBz0qSg/view](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MTsAgsqofrzT6Fl2CVbBlVfhVXBz0qSg/view?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Deacon, Terrence W. 1997\. *The symbolic species: The co-evolution of language and the brain*. W. W. Norton & Co. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4gpq4ih?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780393317541?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Gil, David. 2006\. Early human language was isolating-monocategorial-associational. In Angela Cangelosi, Andrew D. M. Smith & Kenny Smith (eds.), *The Evolution of Language*, vol. 6, 91ā€“98\. Rome, Italy: World Scientific. [https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812774262\_0012](https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812774262%5F0012?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Greenfield, Patricia Marks & E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh. 1990\. Grammatical combination in *Pan paniscus*: Processes of learning and invention in the evolution and development of language. In Sue Taylor Parker & Kathleen Rita Gibson (eds.), *ā€œLanguageā€ and intelligence in monkeys and apes* (Comparative Developmental Perspectives), 540ā€“578\. Cambridge University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511665486.022](https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511665486.022?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Harley, Trevor A. 2013\. *The psychology of language: from data to theory*. 4th edn. Psychology Press. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iNTAQJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781848720893?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Hauser, Marc D., Noam Chomsky & W. Tecumseh Fitch. 2002\. The faculty of language: What is it, who has it, and how did it evolve? *Science* 298(5598). 1569ā€“1579\. [https://doi.org/10.1126/science.298.5598.1569](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.298.5598.1569?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Johansson, Sverker. 2021\. *The dawn of language: How we came to talk*. (Trans.) Frank Perry. MacLehose Press. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Progovac, Ljiljana. 2015\. Where is continuity likely to be found? In Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney & Michael Platt (eds.), *The social origins of language* (Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Series 1), 46ā€“61\. Princeton University Press. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400888146-005](https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400888146-005?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Savage-Rumbaugh, Sue & Roger Lewin. 1994\. *Kanzi: The ape at the brink of the human mind*. John Wiley & Sons. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3DVL6YL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780471159599?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Savage-Rumbaugh, Sue & Duane Rumbaugh. 1993\. The emergence of language. In Kathleen R. Gibson & Tim Ingold (eds.), *Tools, language & cognition in human evolution*, 86ā€“108\. Cambridge University Press. - Savage-Rumbaugh, Sue, Kelly McDonald, Rose A. Sevcik, William D. Hopkins & Elizabeth Rubert. 1986\. Spontaneous symbol acquisition and communicative use by pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus). *Journal of Experimental Psychology* 115(3). 211ā€“235\. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.115.3.211](https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.115.3.211?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Savage-Rumbaugh, E. Sue, Jeannine Murphy, Rose A. Sevcik, Karen E. Brakke, Shelly L. Williams, Duane M. Rumbaugh & Elizabeth Bates. 1993\. Language comprehension in ape and child. *Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development* 58(3/4). [https://doi.org/10.2307/1166068](https://doi.org/10.2307/1166068?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Toth, Nicholas, Kathy D. Schick, E.Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Rose A. Sevcik & Duane M. Rumbaugh. 1993\. Pan the tool-maker: investigations into the stone tool-making and tool-using capabilities of a bonobo (pan paniscus). *Journal of Archaeological Science* 20(1). 81ā€“91\. [https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1993.1006](https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1993.1006?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Townrow, Luke A. & Christopher Krupenye. 2025\. Bonobos point more for ignorant than knowledgeable social partners. *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* 122(6). e2412450122\. [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412450122](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2412450122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How did the Indo-Europeans spread? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-12/ Last updated: 2026-04-17T01:38:09.000Z Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸŒ  This weekā€™s issue of **Discovery Dispatch* is sponsored by ****The Humane Space**, an app that injects more curiosity into your daily life through beautiful immersive lessons and guided contemplations. I had the great pleasure of getting to work with The Humane Space last year to put together a weekā€™s worth of lessons on linguistics ([which you can see here!](https://thehumanespace.page.link/?link=https://thehumane.space/segments/1226/node-index&apn=com.thehumanespace.app&isi=6443709613&ibi=org.thehumanespace.app&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), and I love the philosophy with which they approach their lessons. They aim to inject a little wonder and curiosity into your every day, which is exactly what I try to do with Linguistic Discovery. Their lessons cover a huge range of topics, from linguistics to weaving to gardening to the Norse goddess of winter SkaĆ°i. Every day is a little intellectual adventure. If youā€™re interested in trying out The Humane Space, you can get a ****free month** subscription to the app at the link: [Get a free month of The Humane Space](https://thehumanespace.app.link/e/jO1KvuFLHPb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-31.png) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* ### Linguistic Idiocentrism > I love how people immediately leap from ā€œIā€™ve never heard thatā€ to ā€œnobody says thatā€ or ā€œthatā€™s just wrongā€ [https://t.co/gs0497aik2](https://t.co/gs0497aik2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > > ā€” Linguistic Discovery (@lingdiscovery) [March 22, 2025](https://twitter.com/lingdiscovery/status/1903526614413316282?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Whenever I mention any sort of dialect diversity in English (words, phrases, or pronunciations that are particular to specific dialects) on social media, I inevitably receive comments along the lines of ā€œnobody says thatā€ or ā€œthatā€™s incorrectā€, rather than simply, ā€œIā€™ve never encountered that. Thatā€™s different from how I talk.ā€ Seeing this so often on social media reminds me of the False Consensus Fallacy: > a pervasive cognitive bias that causes people to ā€œsee their own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstancesā€. ([Wikipedia: False consensus effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False%5Fconsensus%5Feffect?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) You might call the linguistic version of this **Idiolectal Bias** or maybe **Linguistic Idiocentrism**ā€”the belief that your particular way of speaking is in some way more common, standard, or correct. This is why most people think they donā€™t speak with an accent. The reality is, however, we donā€™t have as much exposure to other ways of speaking as we think; and even when we *do* encounter such variation, weā€™re really bad at noticing it. I linked to a study [a few weeks ago](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-07/) that showed just how bad, in fact: [Unraveling the Complexities of Accent IdentificationCOLUMBUS, Ohio ā€“ When we think about accents, it might seem as though discerning one voice from another is as simple as hearing how differently a word is pronounced. Those of us who have grown up s![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-scienmag_ico-270x270-2.jpg)ScienmagSCIENMAG![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Unraveling-the-Complexities-of-Accent-Identification-1739452257-1.jpg)](https://scienmag.com/unraveling-the-complexities-of-accent-identification/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) So the next time you encounter a way of speaking youā€™ve never heard before, consider the strong likelihood that a lot more people say it that way than you realize! [Protolanguage: Meaning + Examples Explained - Rosetta StoneLearn all about what a protolanguage is, including common examples and how linguists use them to understand more about the languages we speak today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-RS-logo.png)Rosetta StoneJennifer Gunner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/protolanguage-stone-writing-min.jpg)](https://blog.rosettastone.com/protolanguage/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* In response to Trumpā€™s executive order declaring English the official language of the executive branch, the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) has issued a statement against it: - [Four reasons why English should not be the official language of the United States](https://www.lsadc.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=468&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The LSAā€™s main points, backed by various studies which they cite, are: - The United States has always been a multilingual country, and this gives it strength. - Citizens of the US and of all democracies inevitably have different linguistic ways of navigating their lives, and enforced monolingualism never achieves national unity. - ā€œOfficial Englishā€ policies do not improve economic prospects for those who arrive in the US speaking another language, nor do they improve communication for those who live in multilingual communities. - Supporting and promoting multilingualism makes a nation stronger, not weaker. In a similar but more caustic vein, linguists Mark Turn and Ross Perlin (the latter of whom authored the bestselling book *Language city: The fight to preserve endangered mother tongues in New York* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/49TumNj?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780802162465?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]) wrote an article in *The Conversation* trenchantly attacking Trumpā€™s order as reflecting the presidentā€™s own ā€œlinguistic insecurity, \[ā€¦\] weakness, and fearā€. [Trumpā€™s English language order upends Americaā€™s long multilingual historyAcross its nearly 250-year history, the United States has never had an official language until now. But Americans will not stop using languages other than English because of an executive order.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-12.png)The ConversationMark Turin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250312-56-7hayne.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/trumps-english-language-order-upends-americas-long-multilingual-history-252163?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) For my own take on Trumpā€™s order, check out this issue of the newsletter: [The linguistics of Trumpā€™s official English policyTrump issued an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.ā€”sort of. Hereā€™s what that order does, and what language in the U.S. looks like today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-22.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/English-Only--social-preview--2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Predicting what conversation looks like in the brain ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-32.png) Researchers have long tried to map different aspects of speech onto activity in different regions of the brain. As you might expect, itā€™s nowhere near as straightforward as weā€™d like: saying the word ā€œappleā€ doesnā€™t always light up the same areas of the brain in the same ways. Language is highly context-dependent. And speech is such a complex network of sounds and words and syntactic constructions and meanings that itā€™s impossible to cleanly map these various components of language onto brain activity. In the past, researchers have avoided this problem by focusing on just one aspect of speech at a timeā€”prosody (like we looked at [the other week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-10/)), syntax, meaning, etc. [Babies can learn multiple languages from birthā€”and theyā€™ll slow the onset of dementia if they doBabies can learn multiple languages from birthā€”and theyā€™ll slow the onset of dementia if they do. Hereā€™s what happened this week in language and linguistics.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-23.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/pitch-accent.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-10/) This study uses a speech recognition model called Whisper instead, which is designed to transcribe audio recordings of natural conversations. Whisper analyzes the speech stream at multiple levels, just like language itselfā€”low-level acoustic information all the way up to high-level information about which words tend to appear in which contexts. The authors recorded about 100 hours of conversation while monitoring the brain activity of the speech participants using electrocorticography (ECoG)ā€”a corpus of 520,209 words, which is incredibly large for an experiment measuring brain activity. Traditional experiments in this area involve participants reading a passage of text or just a few dozen sentences. So the scale of the data for this study is remarkable, enabling a much more accurate computational model of speech. What the authors found is that the internal representations created by the Whisper language model mapped onto brain activity better than traditional computational models which donā€™t create these hierarchical internal representations. And they were able to watch speech production and processing happen in real-time. They could see, for example, that the brain progresses from thinking about what it wants to say, to beginning to form sounds. Then, after listening, the brain thinks back on what was just said. [Smooth talker: Hebrew University study gives insight into brainā€™s role in linguistic interactionThe research bridged acoustic, speech, and word-level linguistic structures, offering unprecedented insights into how the brain processes everyday speech in real-world settings.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/jp-favicon-180.png)The Jerusalem PostARIELA OHRENSTEIN![](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_407,w_690/653160)](https://www.jpost.com/science/article-845163?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A unified acoustic-to-speech-to-language embedding space captures the neural basis of natural language processing in everyday conversations - Nature Human BehaviourThis study links acoustic, speech and linguistic data with brain activity during real-life conversations to create a model that predicts neural responses during speech with high accuracy.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-5.png)NatureAriel Goldstein![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41562_2025_2105_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02105-9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The genetic spread of the Indo-Europeans ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-33.png) I reported [last month](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-06/) that new DNA evidence helped further solidify our understanding of the origins of the Indo-European peoples and their language, called Proto-Indo-European. Current evidence tells a story where Pre-Indo-European peoples migrated from Anatolia to the Ukrainian steppe just north of the Black Sea sometime before 3000 BCE. They then mixed with the local people there, becoming a group that archaeologists call the Yamnaya. [The quest for the first Indo-Europeans, and whales communicating like humansNew DNA evidence emerges in the hunt for the first speakers of Indo-European, and researchers discover that whalesong shares a property of human language never before found in the animal kingdom.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-24.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/69c23780-fb7a-4792-8eba-0ec067af48b0_800x399.webp)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-06/) The Yamnaya would go on to have a profound impact on Eurasian history. They were likely the first people to ride horses and use wheeled carts, making them an unstoppable invading force for other cultures of Eurasia at the time. They spread rapidly across the Eurasian steppe and throughout Europe, bringing their languages with them and often killing the males of any society who resisted. As a result of this tidal wave of cultural replacement and the subsequent histories of their descendants, today about 42% of the worldā€™s population speaks an Indo-European language. While last monthā€™s reporting on this research focused on its linguistic implications, this round of reporting is now drawing attention to the genetic implications: the descendants of the original Indo-Europeans can trace their ancestry to the Yamnaya of 5,000 years agoā€”and indeed to a *single hamlet* in the Russian-occupied region of Ukraine called Mykhailivka, an archaeological site spanning 3635ā€“3383 BCE. The authors came to this conclusion by analyzing the DNA samples from 450 prehistoric individuals taken from 100 sites in Europe, as well as data from 1,000 samples that had been previously analyzed. The DNA of an individual from Mykhailivka is the crucial genetic link between the earlier peoples that migrated into the region and the later Yamnaya. - **Reporting:** [The ancient horsemen who created the modern world](https://www.wsj.com/science/the-ancient-horsemen-who-created-the-modern-world-ba4b314d?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (WSJ) - Non-paywalled version available at MSN [here](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-ancient-horsemen-who-created-the-modern-world/ar-AA1AumN2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [A genomic history of the North Pontic Region from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age - NatureWhole-genome sequencing analysis of 81 prehistoric individuals reveals how the genetic makeup of people from the North Pontic region was influenced by waves of migration during the Eneolithic period and Early Bronze Age.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-6.png)NatureAlexey G. Nikitin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2024_8372_Fig1_HTML-1.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08372-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s it for this week! Thank you so much for being a subscriber, and I hope you enjoyed this issue! If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery and help educate the world about the science and diversity of language, consider becoming a supporter! Youā€™ll get bonus articles/videos and early access to chapters of my book! [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) Have a great week! \~ Danny ## šŸš« Errata *Corrections and clarifications.* In [my post on guacamole](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/), I said that the word *mōlli* meant ā€˜sauceā€™, and while this is true, it obscures the fact that *mōlli*, like *āhuacatl* ā€˜avocadoā€™, has a noun suffix at the end of it. The *\-tl* suffix becomes *\-li* after stems ending in /l/, so the base of *mōlli* is just *mōl-*. I also had a small typo in the word *āhuaca-*. Taking all this into consideration, I updated the etymological flowchart for ā€˜guacamoleā€™, and the text of the accompanying article: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-34.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/) [guacamoleWhere do the words ā€œavocadoā€ and ā€œguacamoleā€ come from?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-25.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/carousel-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/) --- šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Gestures can counteract subtle stereotypes introduced by language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-11/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:35:55.000Z When I first started [Linguistic Discovery on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) back in December 2020, I wasnā€™t sure how to explain what it was I was doing or describe myself. [ā€œinfluencerā€](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influencer?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) didnā€™t seem like a good fit, since that term typically brings to mind people who do lots of brand deals and lifestyle vlogs rather than educational videos. I didnā€™t mind ā€œintellectual influencerā€ or ā€œthought leaderā€ (despite the cliche jargon), except that my content doesnā€™t really try to convince people of anything or advocate for some particular idea (other than just not being a prescriptivist about the way people talk). I see my task as primarily one of *educating* rather than *convincing*. The term [ā€œcontent creatorā€](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content%5Fcreation?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) felt better, since I was making educational content, but still didnā€™t quite capture it. Then I learned the term [**science communication**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science%5Fcommunication?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)ā€”communicating findings and knowledge from scientific fields in an accessible way to general audiences. Science communication is nothing new, of course. As early as 1987, Geoffrey Thomas & John Durant published a paper titled [ā€œWhy should we promote the public understanding of science?ā€](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sts-014-principles-and-practice-of-science-communication-spring-2006/9a2dfa5e9d69b2c0bd06b38606827f1c%5Fdurant%5Fpromote.pdf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), in which they perspicaciously observed that science communication has the benefit of drawing more people into scientific fields. I think this is especially true of linguistics, which most people never hear of in school. Iā€™d wager that a majority of people are exposed to linguistics for the first time through the efforts of linguistics communicators like myself. And even online science communication on social media has been around for a whileā€”just look at [YouTubers like Hank Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank%5FGreen?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). But the term has become more establishedā€”and the community largerā€”in recent years. Since starting Linguistic Discovery, Iā€™ve discovered an entire cadre of content creators like me whose goal is to disseminate scientific knowledge in accessible ways. Moreover, academia writ large is placing increasing importance on public outreach. Most research grant proposals, for example, now require a discussion of potential ā€œbroader impactsā€. Science communication has gone from being outright discouraged to a legitimate activity within academia. Today I call myself a science communicator, and a linguistics communicator specifically. And like in the rest of academia, there is a growing recognition within the field of linguistics of the utility and worth of activities like mine. The [Linguistic Society of America](https://www.lsadc.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (LSA), for example, now runs a yearly [5-Minute Linguist competition](https://www.lsadc.org/content.asp?contentid=352&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (I believe inspired by a [book of the same name](https://amzn.to/4194dYb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), which the society describes as follows: > The Five-Minute Linguist is a high-profile event which features LSA members giving lively and engaging presentations about their research in a manner accessible to the general public. \[ā€¦\] The goal of this event is to encourage LSA members to practice presenting their work to a broad audience and to showcase outstanding examples of members who can explain their research in an accessible way. The 5-Minute Linguist has indeed become a high-profile event and one of the highlights of the yearly conference. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-22.png)](https://amzn.to/4194dYb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4194dYb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Thereā€™s now also an entire conference dedicated to linguistics communication, called [LingComm](https://lingcomm.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), thatā€™s held online every other year, and was originally conceived of and organized by Gretchen McCulloch & Lauren Gawne of the excellent [*Lingthusiasm*](https://lingthusiasm.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast. I participated in a LingComm panel discussion about social media for [LingComm in 2023](https://lingcomm.org/lingcomm23/schedule/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and will be doing so again in [2025](https://lingcomm.org/lingcomm25/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [LingCommCommunicating Linguistics to Broader Audiences![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-lingcomm-logo-small-512.png)LingComm![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/lingcomm-featured-image-1.png)](https://lingcomm.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Lingthusiasm - A podcast thatā€™s enthusiastic about linguisticsScience Podcast Ā· Updated Monthly Ā· A podcast thatā€™s enthusiastic about linguistics by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. ā€œA fascinating listen that will change the way you see everyday communications.ā€ ā€“New York Times. ā€œJoyously nerdā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180-2.png)Apple Podcastsjjiusbbbdhag![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60-2.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lingthusiasm-a-podcast-thats-enthusiastic-about/id1186056137?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) A group of scholars is also organizing a special panel at next yearā€™s [American Association of Applied Linguistics](https://www.aaal.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (AAAL) conference on using social media to communicate linguistics with broader audiences. Fellow linguistics communicator Dr. Lizzy Hanks ([TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@lana%5Flinguistics?lang=en&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lana%5Flinguistics/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) asked me to co-present on the panel with her, and weā€™re in the beginning stages of coauthoring a paper together on the topic. So itā€™s been great to see the growing appreciation for science communication and the type of work I do within academia. And I certainly never expected that Iā€™d be successful enough at it that others would want to hear my perspective on it! Iā€™m very excited to participate in both LingComm 2025 and AAAL 2026. And all thatā€™s just a long-winded way to say thatā€™s what Iā€™ve been working on this week! Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media. Hereā€™s what happened this week in language and linguistics. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* The other day on TikTok I came across a great example of **tip of the tongue** phenomenon, also called **lethologica**, where a person struggles to remember a word or phrase. Since videos of these ā€œbrain glitchesā€, as theyā€™re often tagged as on TikTok, are both hilarious and incredibly linguistically interesting, I immediately liked the video and made a short reply to it. Then, the TikTok algorithm being the TikTok algorithm, it fed me even more videos of these ā€œbrain glitchesā€. The result is Iā€™ve now got three videos about tip of the tongue phenomenon for your viewing pleasure. Iā€™ll include both the TikTok links and YouTube links below for people who donā€™t have TikTok. Whatā€™s remarkable about tip of the tongue events from a linguistic perspective is that people can recall specific features of a word/phrase without recalling the entire word/phrase. They might remember its syllabic structure, its prosodic structure (such as which syllables are stressed), and the place or manner of articulation of certain consonants, but not all the details. People often use semantically related or associated words to help them remember the details of the word, as youā€™ll see in the videos. For example, in the guacamole video, youā€™ll see the woman slow down and try to fit the word into the collocation ā€œa cup of ā€¦ā€. The *cup of coffee* case is also interesting because it shows how tip of the tongue events can occur with entire phrases, not just words. Itā€™s not until the man slows down and thinks about the individual pieces of that phrase (rather than trying to produce it as a holistic stretch of speech) that he gets it. > [@linguisticdiscovery](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "@linguisticdiscovery") > > These arenā€™t quite Spoonerisms. We call them Tip of the Tongue phenomena instead. @Samantha Clarke [#linguistics](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/linguistics?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "linguistics") [#language](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/language?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "language") [#LingTok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lingtok?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "lingtok") [#LearnOnTikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/learnontiktok?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "learnontiktok") > > [ā™¬ original sound - Linguistic Discovery](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7481515068246870827?refer=embed&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com "ā™¬ original sound - Linguistic Discovery") ### guacamole - **Original Video:** [https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaclarke29/video/7475423554750762286](https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthaclarke29/video/7475423554750762286?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **My Response:** [https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7481515001505647918](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7481515001505647918?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **YouTube:** [https://youtube.com/shorts/Z5f-l\_PwQSY](https://youtube.com/shorts/Z5f-l%5FPwQSY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### bathroom vanity - **Original Video:** [https://www.tiktok.com/@katelynloois3/video/7480792186833931566](https://www.tiktok.com/@katelynloois3/video/7480792186833931566?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **My Response:** [https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7481525420387536171](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7481525420387536171?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **YouTube:** [https://youtube.com/shorts/16CC3UnUkZQ](https://youtube.com/shorts/16CC3UnUkZQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### cup of coffee - **Original Video:** [https://www.tiktok.com/@kingmel\_3/video/7477690587890683179](https://www.tiktok.com/@kingmel%5F3/video/7477690587890683179?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **My Response:** [https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7481539126282538286](https://www.tiktok.com/@linguisticdiscovery/video/7481539126282538286?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **YouTube:** [https://youtube.com/shorts/IRKsq61HiwY](https://youtube.com/shorts/IRKsq61HiwY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Further Reading I recommended this last week too, but if youā€™d like to learn more about these kinds of speech errors, hereā€™s my rec: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-23.png)](https://amzn.to/4kNjlC4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4kNjlC4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781400095438?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- The video about guacamole prompted one follower to ask where that word comes from, so I decided to oblige: [guacamoleWhere do the words ā€œavocadoā€ and ā€œguacamoleā€ come from?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-20.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/carousel.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/) Hereā€™s the complete etymological tree for *guacamole* and its related words in English: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-24.png) After the word *āhuacatl* was borrowed into Spanish as *aguacate*, some speakers altered the pronunciation of the word to *avocado*, perhaps influenced by the word *abogado* ā€˜lawyerā€™. Most speakers still say *aguacate*, however. Many people think that *avocado* originally meant ā€˜testicleā€™, but this has the history backwards. The original meaning was ā€˜avocadoā€™, and then the word got used as a euphemism for ā€˜testicleā€™. In British English, the fruit is also sometimes called an *alligator pear*, where *alligator* is an [eggcorn](https://youtube.com/shorts/%5FpXWMqO96FQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) for *aguacate* (perhaps because its skin looks like alligator skin), and itā€™s called a pear because of the similarity in shape. ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Gestures can counteract subtle stereotypes introduced by language One of the most important discoveries in linguistics of the past century is just how much language relies on **mental models** or **image schemas**. This was popularized in George Lakoffā€™s famous book, *Metaphors we live by* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4bN6VWR?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780226468013?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). For example, English speakers conceptualize time as being linear, with the past being behind us and the future in front of us. In the Aymara language, however, the past as conceptualized as being in front of the speaker, and the future behind ([*Science*](https://www.science.org/content/article/back-future?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-25.png)](https://amzn.to/4bN6VWR?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4bN6VWR?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780226468013?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Even the fact that words are produced one after another has subtle effects on how we interpret sentences. The actions in the sentence ā€œI brushed my teeth and went to bedā€ *could* be interpreted as happening in either order or even simultaneously, but the most natural intention and interpretation of conjoined actions is that they happened in sequenceā€”first brushing the teeth, and then going to bed. Once these mental models become ensconced in language, it can be difficultā€”but not impossibleā€”to escape them. However, [new research](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2415671122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) shows that the addition of a simple gesture can be enough to overcome those preexisting mental models built into language. Sentences like ā€œGirls are as good as boys at mathā€ are similar to sentences with conjoined actions like the example above in that you *could* interpret the sentence as saying that girls and boys are equally good at math, but the most natural interpretation is that boys are the **standard** or **reference group** against which girls are judged. The linguistic construction imposes a mental model where the groups are of unequal status. This has real effects on a personā€™s beliefs and attitudes: in this study, researchers show that simply using the ā€œas good asā€ construction made children who heard the sentence much more likely to say that boysā€”the standard or reference groupā€”were better than girls at the invented action of ā€œyuzzingā€. (The researchers used an invented word to avoid any existing stereotypes the children might have had. So even though the kids had no idea what ā€œyuzzingā€ was, they still had clear judgments that boys were better than girls at it.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-26.png) However, by merely making a gesture with two palms held at equal height at the same time the researchers said that ā€œgirls are as good as boys at yuzzingā€, the statistical bias towards boys disappeared entirely. Students who saw the equal gesture showed no favoritism towards either boys or girls when asked who was better at ā€œyuzzingā€. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-27.png) So this is a neat study because it shows both how pervasive and how fragile our mental models are at the same time. While language can indeed bias people towards certain ways of conceptualizing the world, those linguistic biases can be quite easily overcome. [Simple physical gestures can counteract stereotypes introduced by subtle linguistic cuesEven when the intention is to express equality, speech can still reinforce gender stereotypes, because biases can slip through via subtle linguistic cues. For example, a subject-complement statement (SCS) such as ā€œGirls are as good as boys at mathā€ still transmits bias, as the statement suggests that boys are the standard against which girls are judged.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-43.ico)Phys.orgSarah Steimer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/simple-physical-gestur.jpg)](https://phys.org/news/2025-03-simple-physical-gestures-counteract-stereotypes.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) **Original Research Article:** [Gesture counteracts gender stereotypes conveyed through subtle linguistic cues](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2415671122?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*PNAS*) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* *Haaretz* has a fascinating article in their Archaeology section this week about the loss and revival of names for fish in Hebrew. Sounds boring perhaps, but itā€™s actually a great encapsulation of the entire process of language loss and revitalization. It discusses different strategies that language revivalists used to fill out fish-related vocabulary while revitalizing Hebrew, and how some of those strategies worked, others failed fantastically, and others brought about changes they didnā€™t expect. A surprisingly interesting read. [From Scripture to sea: The revival of Hebrew fish names\*\*\*![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png)HaaretzElon Gilad![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/60712591.JPG)](https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2025-03-06/ty-article/from-scripture-to-sea-the-revival-of-hebrew-fish-names/00000195-6a81-d88e-a3f7-7eadf2040000?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Further Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-28.png)](https://amzn.to/4iSpRpv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iSpRpv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780814736906?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* While doing research for my [article on Trumpā€™s official English order](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/) the other week, I came across this neat map produced by the government of Canadaā€™s Northwest Territories, showing the regions where the official languages of the territories were spoken historically: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-29.png) [The linguistics of Trumpā€™s official English policyTrump issued an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.ā€”sort of. Hereā€™s what that order does, and what language in the U.S. looks like today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-21.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/English-Only--social-preview--1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/) ### Further Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-30.png)](https://amzn.to/4hF5smS?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hF5smS?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781426206641?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Thatā€™s all for this week! [Let me know](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) what you thought of this weekā€™s issue and/or how you think I could improve this digest! Have a good week! \~ Danny ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The etymology of "guacamole" URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/guacamole/ Last updated: 2025-09-19T20:18:55.000Z When the Spanish began their conquest of Mesoamerica in 1519, the dominant language in the region near modern-day Mexico City was Aztecā€”or as itā€™s called in the language itself, Nahuatl (pronounced in English as /Ėˆnɑ.wɑ.təl/ and in the language itself as /ĖˆnaĖ.watĶ”ɬ/). The *\-tl* at the end of that word is a suffix added to the ends of stems to create nouns. The root of the word is *nāhua-* ā€˜audible, intelligible, clearā€™. So *nāhuatl* literally means ā€˜speaking intelligiblyā€™, referring to the Nahuatl language. The variety of Nahuatl spoken at the time of Spanish conquest is known as Classical Nahuatl. There are still about 1.7 million Nahuas who speak the language today, although the language has changed significantly over the last 500 years and has started to diverge into distinct languages. Now, the root meaning ā€˜avocadoā€™ in Nahuatl is *āhuaca-*, and the suffixed version of that root is *āhuacatl*. The Spanish borrowed this word as *aguacate*, a folk etymology based on parsing the first part of *āhuacatl* as the Spanish word *agua* ā€˜waterā€™. *aguacate* remains the word for ā€˜avocadoā€™ for many Spanish speakers today. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* However, some Spanish speakers, perhaps confusing *aguacate* for the somewhat similar-sounding *abogado* ā€˜lawyerā€™, began pronouncing the word as *avocado*, and that was the version later borrowed into English. Many people mistakenly believe that *avocado* originally meant ā€˜testicleā€™ in Spanish, but this has the history reversed. The Franciscan priest Alonso de Molina includes both ā€˜avocadoā€™ and ā€˜testicleā€™ as definitions for *āhuacatl* in his 1571 dictionary of Nahuatl, but the ā€˜testicleā€™ meaning is just a euphemism (since avocados resemble testicles and often grow hanging in clumps of two). The original Spanish word *aguacate* itself underwent another folk etymologization among some English speakers, who believed that they were hearing the word *alligator* instead of *aguacate*ā€”a plausible interpretation given that avocado skin does resemble alligator skin. Some British English speakers today still call avocados *alligator pears* (because theyā€™re similar to pears in shape). Lastly, letā€™s return back to Nahuatl for a moment: Nahuatl also had a word *mōl-* ā€˜sauceā€™. When the noun suffix is added to a stem ending in /l/ it becomes *\-li* rather than *\-tl*, yielding the noun *mōlli*. That was borrowed by the Spanish as *mole*, and later by American English speakers as *mole* as well. But Nahuatl combined those two roots, *āhuaca-* and *mōl-*, into a single word *āhuacamōlli* ā€˜avocado sauceā€™ (again with the *\-li* version of the noun suffix added). When the Spanish borrowed this word, it became *guacamole*, and American English speakers borrowed the word *guacamole* from Cuban Spanish in the early 1900s. So thatā€™s just a quick sampler of a few Nahuatl words that have found their way into English. Now that you know about the *\-tl* / *\-li* ending (which often lost its final /ɬ/ when borrowed into Spanish or English), itā€™s pretty easy to spot others as well: *chipotle*, *chocolate*, *coyote*, *axolotl*, *tomato* are a few more. An infographic with the complete etymology for *guacamole* and all its English relatives is at the bottom of the page. šŸ’ If you enjoyed this post, consider becoming a supporter to get even more content! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-19.png)](https://amzn.to/3Rhqk8M?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Rhqk8M?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9798703807873?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-20.png)](https://amzn.to/4hqvpGM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hqvpGM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780520380370?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-21.png)](https://amzn.to/41SNCXv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/41SNCXv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/carousel-1.png) ## šŸ“‘ Sources - *Diccionario de la lengua espaƱola* \[*Dictionary of the Spanish Language*\] - Etymonline - Launey. 2004\. The features of omnipredicativity in Classical Nahuatl šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Babies can learn multiple languages from birthā€”and theyā€™ll slow the onset of dementia if they do URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-10/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:36:01.000Z There was all sorts of interesting research in linguistics this week! Letā€™s dive in! Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸ’” If you don't want this weekly digest, you can [manage your email subscriptions here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/#/portal/account/newsletters). There you can unsubscribe from **Discovery Dispatch* and still stay subscribed to the newsletter (if you'd like). ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Announcements and whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* The [International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation](https://ling.lll.hawaii.edu/sites/icldc/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (ICLDC) was held last week in Honolulu, and while I didnā€™t get a chance to attend myself, ICLDC is one of my favorite conferences Iā€™ve attended. Documentary linguists come together to present on how theyā€™re working to document and revitalize languages all over the world. The conference is held every other year at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. You can see the 2025 program [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w-SMzQWzJnngCwFlcvtVX3mOeIJY3nmG/view?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and even watch talks from the 2023 conference [here](https://www.youtube.com/@icldcyt6138?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [ICLDC YTVideoā€™s delen met vrienden, familie en de rest van de wereld![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon_144x144-2.png)YouTube![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/AIdro_k6X3QqQlUtduzrabAwcqluvIruJlB0B0jWONlasnKnlA-s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)](https://www.youtube.com/@icldcyt6138?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Relatedly, U Hawaii also publishes the open access journal [*Language Documentation & Conservation*](https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), filled with great articles on best practices in documentary linguistics. I highly recommend looking at their article archive if youā€™re interested in getting into language documentation. --- Youā€™ll notice Iā€™ve added an Errata section to the end of the newsletter this week. It is both a blessing and a curse of writing online to large audiences that everything you write is subjected to detailed scrutiny, which means I often quickly learn either where I went wrong, where I could have added more detail, or where I should clarify. Plus, one of the trickiest things about doing science communication online is determining the right level of detail at which to present ideas, and itā€™s easy to miss the target. So I suspect Iā€™ll be making ample use of the Errata section going forward. I also have a short policy statement about errata [here](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/about/#%F0%9F%9A%AB-errata) for anybody interested. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* Last week Trump made English the official language of the U.S.ā€”sort of. Hereā€™s what the order does, and what the demographics of language looks like in the U.S. today: [The linguistics of Trumpā€™s official English policyTrump issued an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.ā€”sort of. Hereā€™s what that order does, and what language in the U.S. looks like today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-19.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/English-Only--social-preview-.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* Hereā€™s a neat article about how forensic linguistics enabled Scotland police to track down the Edinburgh nail bomber: [Police Scotland used linguistic specialist to track down Edinburgh nail bomberGreek eco-terrorist Nikolaos Karvounakis packed 58 nails into his primitive explosive device, which was left in a shelter in Princes Street Gardens in 2018![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon.cc8c133b9453d48d.ico)Scottish Daily ExpressRichard Elias![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/0_pizap-copy.jpg)](https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/how-police-scotland-used-linguistic-34833255?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* ### Babies can naturally learn multiple languages from birth > \[M\]ost babies in Accra, \[Ghanaā€™s\] capital, grow up in environments where they are exposed to between two and six languages from birth. Yes, you read that correctly. Multilingual babies! I think itā€™s important to realize, however, that this degree of multilingualism has been incredibly common for most of humanityā€™s history. Two facts help to understand this: First, most languages throughout history have been tiny, with just a few thousand speakers. It wasnā€™t until the Agrarian Revolution and the rise of urban developments that languages began to grow bigger. (Below are two awesome books that cover this topic if youā€™re interested in learning more.) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-13.png)](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-14.png)](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781119758754?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Second, prehistoric peoples were [much more mobile](https://amzn.to/4bRINlK?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) than most people today tend to assume, and engaged in [long-distance trade networks](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2949295?casa%5Ftoken=A1Q5NSOu1u0AAAAA%3Au6pDT-%5FwFeqvHQtapQPRr5p2Tl3%5Fz6qTKNBvooL8yA6wpqR6GvlypcPaSBIA5bpMUcrkk1cSfwmITF1sZCT6hpPQGAYA2Gklxo80id1ED138b8n0dw&seq=1&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Taken together, these facts mean that prehistoric peoples were frequently interacting with other languages. You only had to travel to the territory of the second-to-next tribal group over, and their language probably wasnā€™t mutually intelligible with yours. A new study explores just how this multilingualism happens in Ghanian infants. The researchers discovered that infants were exposed to multiple languages from birth through both direct sources (caregivers, family members) and indirect sources (media), and that the large extended family structures in Ghana abetted this multilingualism. Hereā€™s the reporting and the original research study: [Babies can naturally learn multiple languages from birthBabies naturally absorb and learn multiple languages from birth through caregivers, media, and background conversations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-39.ico)Earth.comSanjana Gajbhiye![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babies-can-naturally-learn-multiple-languages-from-birth-2.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/babies-can-naturally-learn-multiple-languages-from-birth/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#google%5Fvignette) - Omane, Benders, & Boll-Avetisyan. 2025\. Exploring the nature of multilingual input to infants in multiple caregiver families in an African city: The case of Accra (Ghana). *Cognitive Development* 74\. DOI: [10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101558](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101558?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ### How to learn a language like a baby If you want to be like those multilingual babies I mentioned earlier, *The Conversation* has a great article on ā€œHow to learn language like a babyā€. You might be surprised to learn that reading in the new language youā€™re learning can actually slow down your learning! Spelling seems to interfere with our ability to learn pronunciations and prosody. So for your next language, you might consider taking the illiterate approach! [How to learn a language like a babyReading too early may slow adultsā€™ language learning progress.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-11.png)The ConversationKateřina ChlĆ”dkovĆ”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250310-56-b4nepe.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-to-learn-a-language-like-a-baby-250551?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Tuning in to the prosody of a novel language is easier without orthography | Bilingualism: Language and Cognition | Cambridge CoreTuning in to the prosody of a novel language is easier without orthography![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-40.ico)Cambridge CoreKateřina ChlĆ”dkovĆ”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bilingualism-_language-20and-20cognition.jpg)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bilingualism-language-and-cognition/article/tuning-in-to-the-prosody-of-a-novel-language-is-easier-without-orthography/5A46BC3A2F5EF223322144EE508541A5?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why being bilingual really does seem to delay dementia Those multilingual babies also have the benefit of being less likely to develop dementia early in life. More and more research shows that bilingualism has incredible cognitive benefits, among them being that it delays the onset of dementia. And itā€™s never too late! ā€œlearning another language in adulthood \[still\] provides benefits to brain healthā€, says Viorica Marian, author of the recent book *The power of language: How the codes we use to think, speak, and live transform our minds* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4e896Ux?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593187074?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). *New Scientist* reports here: [Why being bilingual really does seem to delay dementiaMultiple studies suggest that speaking more than one language pushes back the onset of dementia, but doesnā€™t seem to stop it entirely![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6-1.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_240425952.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2468853-why-being-bilingual-really-does-seem-to-delay-dementia/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-15.png)](https://amzn.to/4e896Ux?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4e896Ux?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780593187074?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### How the brain decodes changes in pitch [A study in *Nature Communications* last week](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56779-w?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) showed that a specific part of the brain known as Heschlā€™s gyrus (HG) is involved in recognizing pitch accents. Now, the term **pitch accent** gets a lot of different uses in linguistics, and thereā€™s [debate among typologists](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000108000466?casa%5Ftoken=hgiTXRf8FgkAAAAA:TS9FBXYobIjr3qJIXjuE88dsfw8GdeZ494%5FhlbstDeQeq3h2knMH5Mfiw1HHRDbDYLjpyWtv&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) as to whether pitch accent is even a coherent concept. But what the researchers here are referring to is how English speakers stress certain words in an utterance. Not only can speakers stress different words, but they can stress the same word in different ways. If you stress a word with a falling pitch it means something very different than if you stress it with a rising pitch. These different stress patterns are called **pitch accents**. You can see in section (a) on the left in this example how the same word, *Marianna*, is given four different pitch accents. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-16.png) ā˜ļø ****Pitch** in language is the same thing as musical pitch, so you can think of the pitch contours in section (a) of the diagram above as almost like musical notesā€”a higher line indicates a higher pitch. You could leave out the words and literally whistle each of these pitch contours. Pitch accent itself is a subtype of **prosody**ā€”how we use pitch and rhythm and other phonetic cues to signal different units of discourse. Prior to this study, it was thought that most processing of prosody in the brain occurred in a region called the superior temporal gyrus (STG). This study shows that not only does this prosodic processing happen in Heschelā€™s gyrus (HG) as well, but that HG does most of the work in understand pitch accents. Moreover, HG seems to create abstract representations of different pitch accents. If you think about what weā€™re doing when we listen for pitch accents, itā€™s an incredible feat. Each person has a different pitch range, for starters, so that one personā€™s high pitch can be, in absolute terms (Hertz), another personā€™s low pitch. Pitch is also relative, meaning that a high pitch accent on a low-pitch phrase may in fact be lower, in absolute terms, than a low pitch on a high-pitch phrase. The fact that humans are capable of detecting similar pitch accents across different speakers and contexts is pretty remarkable, and it means that we have to create very abstract representations of these pitch contours in our minds, independent of the particular contexts we hear them in. This study shows that this is exactly what happens in the human brain, and furthermore that other primates like macaque monkeys do not create these kinds of abstractions. While humans show different types of brain activity for the different pitch accents, the macaque monkey did not. A final remarkable feature of this study is that the participants each had electrodes implanted deep in their cerebral cortex. Usually, neurolinguistic studies are noninvasive and rely on readings taken at the surface of the skin. However, these participants already had electrodes implanted in their brains because they were receiving treatment for severe epilepsy, allowing for this pioneering experiment. Hereā€™s some reporting on the study: [Itā€™s not just what you sayā€”itā€™s also how you say it: How the brain decodes changes in the pitch of speechYouā€™ve probably heard the phrase, ā€œItā€™s not what you say, itā€™s how you say it,ā€ and now, science backs it up. A first-of-its-kind study from Northwestern Universityā€™s School of Communication, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Wisconsin-Madison reveals a region of the brain, long known for early auditory processing, plays a far greater role in interpreting speech than previously understood.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-41.ico)Medical XpressNorthwestern University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1-conversation.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-brain-decodes-pitch-speech.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Speech processing in the brain goes beyond wordsEven the smallest tonal variations, such as a speakerā€™s emphasis or intent, can significantly guide speech processing.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-42.ico)Earth.comAndrei Ionescu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Speech-processing.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/speech-processing-in-the-brain-goes-beyond-words/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And hereā€™s the original research article: [Cortical processing of discrete prosodic patterns in continuous speech - Nature CommunicationsUsing intracerebral recordings, the authors find abstract prosodic categories in continuous speech are encoded differently to segmental features by Heschlā€™s gyrus, suggesting specialized cortical processing early in the auditory processing hierarchy.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-4.png)NatureG. Nike Gnanateja![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41467_2025_56779_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56779-w?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* Interjections like English *huh*, *um*, and *mm-hmm* play a crucial role in languages, helping speakers control the flow of speech, manage turn-taking, show theyā€™re being pensive, and indicate their attitude towards information. > ā€œA key part of grounding is working out what each participant thinks about the otherā€™s knowledge.ā€ *Popular Science* interviews Mark Dingemanse about his recent research on interjections: - [Huh? The valuable role of interjections](https://www.popsci.com/health/huh-the-valuable-role-of-interjections/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Popular Science) You can read the original review article here: - Dingemanse, Mark. 2024\. Interjections at the heart of language. *Annual Review of Linguistics* 10: 257ā€“277\. DOI: [10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031422-124743](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031422-124743?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Further Reading: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-17.png)](https://amzn.to/4kNjlC4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4kNjlC4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781400095438?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* I discovered a new book coming out in April that looks like a great read: *Rare tongues: The secret stories of hidden languages*. It focuses on rarities in the worldā€™s languages and how linguistic diversity is declining. Iā€™ll definitely be getting a copy of this one for myself and try to do a review for yā€™all: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-18.png)](https://amzn.to/41ZPS0h?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/41ZPS0h?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780691274171?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! I had to delay my work on my special thank-you post for my first 1,000 newsletter subscribers in order to write about Trumpā€™s official English order while it was still in the news cycle, so Iā€™ll be turning my attention back to that project this week. Iā€™m excited to share the result with you! Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful week! \~ Danny ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸš« Errata *Corrections and clarifications.* In my [article on Trumpā€™s official English policy](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/), I wrote: > This is despite the fact that the number of people speaking languages other than English in the United States has *tripled* since 1980, from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5. The tripling refers to the absolute number of speakers, not the ratio. The corrected version says: > This is despite the fact that the number of people speaking languages other than English in the United States has *tripled* since 1980, from 23.1 million (1 in 10) to 67.8 million (1 in 5). šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The linguistics of Trumpā€™s official English policy URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/trump-official-english/ Last updated: 2026-03-13T18:08:57.000Z ## šŸ“‹ Contents 1. [Types of official language policies](#types-of-official-language-policies) 2. [What does Trump's official English order actually do?](#what-does-trump%E2%80%99s-official-english-order-actually-do) 3. [Language in the U.S.](#language-in-the-us) This week Trump issued [Executive Order 14224](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), making English the official language of the United Statesā€”sort of. In this issue of *World of Words*, Iā€™ll explain the different types of language policies, what this order actually does, and show you the language demographics of the United States today. ā˜ļø Quick aside before we begin: ****This newsletter is not, and never will be, a place for my personal political commentary and ruminations.** I donā€™t delude myself into thinking that my political beliefs are more important or palatable than anybody elseā€™s just because I have a lot of social media followers. My goal is simply to give you the concepts, context, and theoretical tools to understand current events as they relate to language. Linguistic Discovery teaches people about **the science and diversity of language*, a field that people of all political stripes can appreciate and take interest in. All lovers of language are welcome here. Having said that, linguistics does have some relevant things to say about official language policies, most of which suggest that such policies are not effective, useful, or beneficial. So to anticipate the conclusion, this article will be largely critical of Trumpā€™s official language policy. For some of you, these criticisms may not be as important as other factors when it comes to deciding whether to support Trumpā€™s language policy. ## Types of official language policies What it means for a government to have an ā€œofficial languageā€ can vary quite widely. In some cases, the populace is forced to adopt the language of the state. Quechua, an indigenous language of Peru, was banned until relatively recently, and its speakers were often made to adopt Spanish. Likewise, Yiddish was banned from use for many years in the modern country of Israel in order to promote Hebrew. In the United States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs forced Native American children into boarding schools and punished them for speaking their indigenous languages, a practice that continued until the passage of the Indian Self-Determination & Education Assistance Act of 1975. Often, languages are banned from any and all official/public contexts, but speakers can still use the language at home or in their community. Irish Gaelic was suppressed during British colonial rule in Ireland, and banned from schools and government use. During Francoā€™s regime in Spain, Basque was banned in schools, official documents, and the media. Official language policies often impose requirements on both government agencies and private organizations to make services and documents available in the official languages, without necessarily preventing them from including other languages. For instance, Canadaā€™s official languages are English and French. Federal employees are often required to know both, and companies are required to make product information available in both. Individual provinces and territories, however, have additional official languages. In Nunavut, Inuktut is also an official language; in the Northwest Territories, there are ten official languages: Cree, DĆ«nĆ«sųłınĆ©, Dene YatıƩ, English, French, Gwichā€™in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, SahtĆŗgotā€™ÄÆnĆ© YatıĢØĢ, and TłÄÆchĒ«. In Quebec, the only official language is French, although recent court decisions have forced the province to expand its English-language services. Itā€™s also important to distinguish between an **official language** and a **national language**. Many countries have officially-designated national languages in the same sense that the United States has an officially-designed national bird (the bald eagle), but that does not make those languages *official* in the sense that they play a role in government. Kenya is a good example of this: the *official* language of Kenya is English, but the *national* language of Kenya is Swahili. Even governments with official language policies, however, still frequently make services and documents available in non-official languages. Since 1986 the official language of California has been English, but residents today can take their driving test in [32 languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#United%5FStates). The effect of this type of official language legislation is thus pretty narrow; it essentially says that the government will conduct its internal affairs in the official language, while it continues to offer additional language services to its citizens. Since governments tend to already be conducting business in the official language anyway, such legislation is largely symbolic. šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-7.png)](https://amzn.to/4av0dUN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4av0dUN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780440339762?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## What does Trumpā€™s official English order actually do? So which type of official language policy is Trumpā€™s? Iā€™d place it in the ā€œmostly (but not quite entirely) symbolic / performativeā€ category. The order says that it ā€œdesignates English as the official language of the United Statesā€, but in reality the order only applies to the executive branch (which already operates in English), and doesnā€™t impose English language requirements on private organizations or individuals, or any other branch of government. Even citizenship tests arenā€™t affected, because applicants are already required to demonstrate English proficiency for citizenship. Trump had to keep the scope of the order narrow in part because of existing federal laws that explicitly state that various documents like ballots have to be made available in multiple languages in areas where there are a sufficient number of non-English speakers. Individual states have attempted to pass more restrictive English Only laws in the past, but theyā€™re consistently struck down by courts as being in violation of the Civil Rights Act, where discrimination based on nationality is typically interpreted to include linguistic discrimination. So while EO 14224 is indeed the first time in history that the U.S. has had any sort of official language policy at the federal level, the federal government is still legally required to provide services and documents in a variety of languages in certain contexts. In fact, the order even includes an exception that allows federal agencies to continue offering services and preparing documents in other languages: > Agency heads are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English. So whatā€™s the point of the order? Well, whatā€™s actually happening here is that Trump is repealing an executive order issued by Clinton in 2000 which required federal agencies to provide access to services in languages other than English (EO 13166). That order was issued in an attempt to align federal policies with the Civil Rights Act, as explained above. The only effect of Trumpā€™s new order is that federal agencies are no longer *required* to produce documents and offer services in languages other than Englishā€”not exactly the grandiose sweeping change the administration packaged it as. The reason I say that Trumpā€™s order isnā€™t entirely performative is because it is likely to reduce federal services made available in languages other than Englishā€”and already has. The Spanish version of the White House website has already been [taken down](https://www.atanet.org/industry-news/trump-administration-shuts-down-white-house-spanish-language-page-and-social-media/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), as have the Spanish versions of its social media profiles. But Trump had taken down the Spanish version of the White House website in his last term anyway, without the need for an executive order. (Ironically, the Spanish-language content on the site was [first introduced](https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/espanol/index.es.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) by the previous Republican president, George W. Bush.) And Puerto Ricans are worried about the implications of the order, since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and where 94% of the population speaks Spanish. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-8.png)](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Language in the U.S. > *If English really is the language of success, the language of free enterprise, of global markets and job opportunities, as is so frequently touted, then itā€™s hardly necessary to force anybody to use it.* In issuing Executive Order 14224, Trump joins a [long tradition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-only%5Fmovement?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) of politicians who see linguistic diversity as anathema to national unity and state-building. In 1753, wily Benjamin Franklin penned the following about migrants to what were then still the British colonies: > They come in droves. \[ā€¦\] Few of their children in the country learn English. \[ā€¦\] Advertisements intended for to be general are now printed in Dutch and English, the signs in Our Streets have inscriptions in both languages, and in some places only German, they began of late all their bonds and other legal writings in their own language, which (thoā€™ I think it ought not to be) are allowed good in Our Courts. (Franklin 1753) In 1780, John Adams proposed that English should be the official language of the new United States, but his proposal was rejected on the grounds that it was considered ā€œundemocratic and a threat to individual libertyā€ (Knutson 1996). In 1907, Theodore Roosevelt writes: > We have room for but one language in this country, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house. (Roosevelt 1919) Benjamin Franklin was worried about Dutch because New York was originally a Dutch colony, and retained much of its Dutch language and culture for many decades. Trumpā€™s executive order states: > Our Nationā€™s historic governing documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, have all been written in English. But in order to garner enough support to ratify the constitution, translations of it were printed in Dutch for New York and German in Pennsylvania ([National Archives](https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2021/09/09/constitution-day-translating-the-constitution/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Trumpā€™s executive order claims that: > From the founding of our Republic, English has been used as our national language. This may be true in a certain sense, but the United States has always been a strongly multilingual nation, and that multilingualism has never threatened the status of English as the [**lingua franca**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua%5Ffranca?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) within what is otherwise an incredibly diverse populace. The [New York Times notes](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/us/politics/trump-english-official-language.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): > Early American history is full of examples of bilingual government, experts said. In the 19th century, Midwestern states translated laws and messages from their governors into Norwegian, German and Welsh. Californiaā€™s [1849 Constitution](http://www.dircost.unito.it/cs/pdf/18490000%5FUsaCalifornia%5Feng.pdf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) required laws and decrees to be published in both English and Spanish. And in WWI, the U.S. government produced [propaganda posters](https://huntington.org/verso/unforgettable-world-war-i-posters?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) in various languages in order to convince the public to buy war bonds and enlist in the military. This is one of the ironic truths of official English movements: U.S. politicians frequently rely on languages other than English to build their base of support and broadcast their agenda. Trump himself released [Spanish language ads](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/trump-campaign-press-release-trump-campaign-launches-por-trump-new-spanish-ad-featuring?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) during his campaign targeting swing states with large Spanish-speaking populations, and participated in a [town hall meeting](https://www.rev.com/transcripts/trump-town-hall-on-univision?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) on the Spanish-language channel Univision, where audience members asked questions in Spanish ([The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/making-english-the-official-us-language-cant-erase-the-fact-that-the-us-has-millions-of-spanish-speakers-and-a-long-multilingual-history-250030?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). One hilarious example of this is a social media post from Republican Senator Mike Lee, written in Spanish, saying that English should be the ā€œidioma oficialā€ \[official language\] of the U.S. Somewhat surprisingly, the Trump administration did shutter the Spanish versions of the White House Instagram and X accounts (@LaCasaBlanca), which had 115k and 170k followers respectively. Those numbers may seem small compared to those of the English version of those accounts, but take it from me: accounts that size have real impact. Youā€™d think that Trumpā€”or any politicianā€”would want to reach as many people as possible by doing so in their own languages, analogous to the way Catholic priests in the colonial era documented indigenous languages and translated the Bible so as to convert the local populace (a tradition which the Wycliffe Bible Translators and Summer Institute of Linguistics continue today). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-9.png)](https://amzn.to/3Fbf0s9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Fbf0s9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780521745338?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Regardless, all these concerns about linguistic diversity being a threat to national unity have turned out to be unfounded. None of the languages which at one point were viewed as a cultural threatā€”Dutch, German, Irish, etc.ā€”have retained any significant linguistic presence in the country after the period of their influx had ended. This is because the children of immigrants almost all learn English fluently. A study conducted in 1998 showed that 93.6% of all children of immigrants spoke English well or very well (Portes & Hao 1998). According to the U.S. Census: > In 2018-2022, 70.0% of those ages 5-17 spoke Spanish. Of these Spanish speakers, 79.8% spoke English ā€œvery well.ā€ In comparison, in 2013-2017, 72.0% of those ages 5-17 spoke Spanish, and 80.3% of these Spanish speakers spoke English ā€œvery well.ā€ ([US Census](https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/language-at-home-acs-5-year.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) More recent census reports suggest that English proficiency has *improved* in the past several years. Even though 22% of U.S. resident report speaking a language other than English at home, only 8.4% of those residents speak English less than ā€œvery wellā€ ([US Census](https://www.census.gov/acs/www/about/why-we-ask-each-question/language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). This is despite the fact that the number of people speaking languages other than English in the United States has *tripled* since 1980, from 23.1 million (1 in 10) to 67.8 million (1 in 5) ([US Census](https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/12/languages-we-speak-in-united-states.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Clearly the growth of other languages in the U.S. has not threatened the use of English. This is because languages do not compete with each other for space in our brains. Children are language-learning machines, and can easily learn two or more languages at the same time. Speaking Spanish or other languages at home in no way threatens their ability to use English proficiently outside the home, in school, at work, etc. Moreover, both immigrant children and their parents generally *want* them to learn English in addition to their heritage language. As Trumpā€™s order states: > Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society. This order recognizes and celebrates the long tradition of multilingual American citizens who have learned English and passed it to their children for generations to come. If English really is the language of success, the language of free enterprise, of global markets and job opportunities, as is so frequently touted, then itā€™s hardly necessary to force anybody to use it. And this is precisely why immigrant languages in the U.S. gradually wane over time. As weā€™ve seen above, people already *are* using English, at a high degree of proficiency, in addition to their heritage languages. > *In this country we speak multitudes, and English is merely a lingua franca.* Today, the U.S. population either speaks or signs approximately 430 languages, 177 of which are indigenous to the U.S. (the many Native American languages such as Navajo, Cherokee, etc.) ([Ethnologue](https://www.ethnologue.com/country/US/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Approximately [43 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish](https://data.census.gov/table?t=Language%20Spoken%20at%20Home&g=010XX00US&y=2023&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) as their primary language (14% of the population). If one includes people who speak Spanish as their second language, then the U.S. is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world (after Mexico) ([The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/us-second-biggest-spanish-speaking-country?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-10.png) [Languages cp-02 - Languages of the United States - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages%5Fof%5Fthe%5FUnited%5FStates?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#/media/File:Languages%5Fcp-02.svg) Moreover, only a minority of people seem bothered by the fact that the United States is a multilingual country in the first place. A majority of voters, Democrat and Republican, are comfortable with people speaking a language other than English in public: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-11.png) From [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/28/english-official-language-trump-history/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). So when Republican Senator Eric Schmitt states that Trumpā€™s order is a ā€œlong, long overdueā€ acknowledgment that ā€œin this country, we speak Englishā€ ([NYT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/us/politics/trump-english-official-language.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), he is simply incorrect. In this country we speak multitudes, and English is merely a lingua franca. šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-7.png)](https://amzn.to/4av0dUN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4av0dUN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780440339762?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-9.png)](https://amzn.to/3Fbf0s9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Fbf0s9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780521745338?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-8.png)](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-12.png)](https://amzn.to/3FdgFNY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3FdgFNY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780415806688?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Press Coverage [Designating English as the Official Language of The United StatesBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1\. Purpose and![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-37.ico)The White HouseThe White House![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/WH47-Social-Share-Card-Navy-1200x628-1-1.png)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Trump makes English official language of USIt marks the first time the US has had an official language since the country was founded.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-5.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/7c25fc70-f785-11ef-a7e0-1fbd7c9e9e6f-1.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2kgq5pzpllo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Making English the official US language canā€™t erase the fact that the US has millions of Spanish speakers and a long multilingual historyTrumpā€™s campaign produced campaign materials in Spanish to reach more voters. Now that heā€™s president, his White House is going English-only.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-10.png)The ConversationDaniel J. Olson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250226-31-awvndc-1.png)](https://theconversation.com/making-english-the-official-us-language-cant-erase-the-fact-that-the-us-has-millions-of-spanish-speakers-and-a-long-multilingual-history-250030?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [English for All, Freedom for NoneTo ignore the existence of scarcity is to blind oneself with a utopian vision of how the economy of language ought to be arranged.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-38.ico)Mises InstituteDanny Hieber![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/CantSpeakEnglish.jpg)](https://mises.org/mises-daily/english-all-freedom-none?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Benjamin Franklin, The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. 2: Philadelphia, quoted in Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity (New York: Delacorte Press, 2011), 227. - Knutson, Cody L. 1996\. National language policy in the United States: A holistic perspective. *Nebraska Anthropologist* 13\. [https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebanthro/96/](https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebanthro/96/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Portes, Alejandro & Lingxin Hao. 1998\. *E pluribus unum*: Bilingualism and loss of language in the second generation. *Sociology of Education* 71. - Theodore Roosevelt Papers: Series 3: Letters Sent, 1888-1919; Subseries 3A: Carbon Copies of Letters Sent, 1894-1919; Vol. 198, 1919, Jan. 1-Feb. 5 šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### gen z loves lowercase, but theyā€™re losing their southern drawl URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-09/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:36:07.000Z Good morning my dear philological friends, Welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. To kick things off this week, check out this incredible visualization of the history of writing systems (and their decipherers!), by Marco Giannini of [Dataspoiler](https://dataspoiler.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), a visual design firm (Instagram: [@Dataspoiler](https://www.instagram.com/dataspoiler/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image.png) This infographic shows a wide collection of writing systems, arranged accordingly to their respective phylogenetic relationships. Lines skirting the outer edge represent existing systems, while those that stop earlier refer to systems that are no longer in use. Some systems are linked to the names of the scholars who deciphered them and made them intelligible. and the date they succeeded, some others are linked to the historical figures who created them from ground up. Upper right, there are two keys about the writing direction and the type of writing system. All the writing systems - as they are overall defined by scholars, who avoid using the word alphabet instead - presents a range of different solutions for the sake of communicating a meaning: ideographic (each linguistic sign representing a unique concept), logographic (each sign representing a concept and a sound, normally the initial sound of the word associated with the concept), alphabetic (each sign representing a sound or a combination of sounds), syllabic (each sign representing at least a consonant sound plus a vowel), abjad (signs represent only the consonants, no vowels expressed) and abugida (consonants plus diacritic marks that refer to vowels). Idea, research, and design are from Marco Giannini. Marco has an entire collection of fantastic linguistics visualizations that Iā€™ll be sharing with you over the coming weeks, but if youā€™d like to explore those visualizations yourself, you can see Dataspoilerā€™s linguistics projects [here](https://dataspoiler.com/project-linguistics/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), or browse the Instagram [here](https://www.instagram.com/dataspoiler/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). I mentioned last week that Iā€™ve got a special issue of the newsletter in the works to thank you for getting this newsletter to 1,000 readers, and hereā€™s a little preview: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-1.png) The etymological reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European word for ā€˜oneā€™ in Modern English. Not only will I walk you through how each of these words developed, but weā€™ll talk about what causes languages to undergo parallel changes even hundreds or thousands of years after separating from each other! So watch for that in your inbox sometime soon (probably Tuesday). šŸ’ Enjoying this digest? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) ## šŸ“‹ Contents šŸ†• [New from Linguistic Discovery](#%F0%9F%86%95-new-from-linguistic-discovery) šŸ“° [In the News](#%F0%9F%93%B0-in-the-news) šŸ—žļø [Current Linguistics](#%F0%9F%97%9E%EF%B8%8F-current-linguistics) šŸ“ƒ [This Weekā€™s Reads](#%F0%9F%93%83-this-week%E2%80%99s-reads) šŸ“š [Books & Media](#%F0%9F%93%9A-books-media) šŸ—ƒļø [Resources](#%F0%9F%97%83%EF%B8%8F-resources) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* Hereā€™s some Q&A from this week! A follower asked why some languages have so few sounds (as I interpret the question): > Do we understand why some langauges evolve to be so phonetically "limited" > > ā€” Jamie Watts (@RadicalWokeist) [March 2, 2025](https://twitter.com/RadicalWokeist/status/1896011351522419091?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) One hypothesis is the **Serial Founder Effect**, where the farther languages spread from their point of origin, the less diverse they are due to successive population bottlenecks. This is seemingly why there are fewer dialects of English in North America than there are in England where dialects are densely clustered, for example. Similarly, the farther language has spread from its African homeland, the fewer sounds (phonemes) a language tends to have. The Serial Founder Effect is hypothesized to explain this pattern. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-2.png) This map shows the likely location of a single language origin under a founder effect model of phonemic diversity (controlling for population size) inferred from the mean diversity across language families. Lighter shading implies a stronger inverse relationship between phonemic diversity and distance from the origin and better fit of the model. The most likely region of origin is the area of lightest shading outlined in bold. From Atkinson (2011). This map shows the likely location of a single language origin under a founder effect model of phonemic diversity (controlling for population size) inferred from the mean diversity across language families. Lighter shading implies a stronger inverse relationship between phonemic diversity and distance from the origin and better fit of the model. The most likely region of origin is the area of lightest shading outlined in bold. From Atkinson (2011). Itā€™s an enticing idea, but other prominent historical linguists have rejected the hypothesis, itā€™s difficult to prove, and of course there are plenty of counterexamples. You can read more about the Serial Founder hypothesis in the original research article: - [Phonemic diversity supports a serial founder effect model of language expansion from Africa](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1199295?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Science)* You can read an incisive criticism of the hypothesis here: - [Rejection of a serial founder effects model of genetic and linguistic coevolution](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2011.2296?casa%5Ftoken=FmrE7MW5wcQAAAAA%3AyEvgvOndTyTJ-ophUY1VtzKC49sD9%5FMYm4sXyvA0IuTiDrS8LXXuVmN7P21vyB1A67pOY3%5Fku9VT&casa%5Ftoken=nhImp8IOobsAAAAA%3A1SHp2%5FpI0mxKIyX-M7DceuO5Gl0Buy5kiI3pBXrBDKA3Rz5dJHud9pWh8ztr-z1%5Fj7SFcWNB1-9l&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Proceedings of the Royal Society B)* --- Another follower asks: > How can a glottal stop be considered a consonant? Youā€™re not using your tongue or lips to make one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-3.png) A **consonant** is defined as a speech sound that involves complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. It doesnā€™t matter whether that closure happens using the teeth, lips, tongue, or glottis. There are three sounds in the world's languages that don't require the tongue or lips to produce: \[h, ɦ, Ź”\]. They're produced solely using different configurations of the glottis. - **\[h\]** is a voiceless glottal fricative, made by constricting the flow of air through the glottis. Itā€™s the first sound in *happy* (for most but not all speakers of English). - **\[ɦ\]** is a voiced glottal fricative, made the same way as \[h\] but while vibrating oneā€™s vocal folds. English doesnā€™t really have this sound, but some Australian English speakers will pronounce /h/ as \[ɦ\] when itā€™s between vowels, such as in the word *behind*. - **\[Ź”\]** is a glottal stop, made by briefly closing the glottis entirely. This isnā€™t a distinct consonant sound in English, but many speakers will pronounce /t/ as \[Ź”\] in certain environments. This is common in Cockney, for example. You can listen to each of these sounds here: [IPA consonant chart with audio - Wikipedia![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/wikipedia.png)Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/40px-Gnome-speakernotes.svg.png)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA%5Fconsonant%5Fchart%5Fwith%5Faudio?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Pulmonic%5Fconsonants) šŸŒ  \[h\] is actually a lot more complicated than this. In most languages, \[h\] technically doesnā€™t involve any constriction of airflow, so it isnā€™t **phonetically* a consonant. But languages treat it like a consonant anyway, so it does behave **phonologically* like a consonant. In other words, we perceive it as a consonant even though technically it isnā€™t one. Itā€™s weird, I know. If youā€™d like to learn more about the sounds of the worldā€™s languages, hereā€™s the classic textbook on the topic: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-4.png)](https://amzn.to/4bfWXgc?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4bfWXgc?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780631198154?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* Trump issued an executive order this week declaring English the official language of the U.S.ā€”sort of. While this is the first time in its history that the U.S. has had an official language at the federal level, the executive order imposes no requirements on private organizations, individuals, or even departments within the executive branch to use English. All it really does is repeal an executive order issued in 2000 under Clinton that requires federal agencies to provide access to services in languages on the than English. So federal agencies are no longer *required* to provide services in other languages, but the order explicitly states that they may continue to do so if they deem it appropriate. Given that Clintonā€™s executive order was passed as an attempt to align federal procedures with the anti-discrimination requirements of the Civil Rights Act, Trumpā€™s executive order may soon be challenged in court. Individual states have attempted to pass more restrictive English Only laws in the past, but these have been consistently struck down by courts for being in violation of the Civil Rights Act. But Trumpā€™s order is not so restrictive, so weā€™ll see what happens. Thatā€™s all Iā€™ll say about the order for now, but Iā€™ve got another article in the works talking about the linguistics of official language policies in more depth, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, hereā€™s some of the various reporting and opinions on Trumpā€™s order: - [Thereā€™s a reason the United States hasnā€™t had an official language](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/28/english-official-language-trump-history/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Washington Post) [Trump makes English official language of USIt marks the first time the US has had an official language since the country was founded.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-4.png)BBC News![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/7c25fc70-f785-11ef-a7e0-1fbd7c9e9e6f.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2kgq5pzpllo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Puerto Ricans worry over new Trump order designating English as U.S. official languageThe presidentā€™s upcoming executive order reignites a debate over what changes could take place in the Spanish-speaking U.S. territory, especially if Puerto Rico becomes a state.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180-1.png)NBC NewsNicole Acevedo![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/250228-puerto-rico-flag-lm-200-ac7f96.jpg)](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-worries-trump-english-official-language-rcna194249?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Making English the official US language canā€™t erase the fact that the US has millions of Spanish speakers and a long multilingual historyTrumpā€™s campaign produced campaign materials in Spanish to reach more voters. Now that heā€™s president, his White House is going English-only.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-9.png)The ConversationDaniel J. Olson![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250226-31-awvndc.png)](https://theconversation.com/making-english-the-official-us-language-cant-erase-the-fact-that-the-us-has-millions-of-spanish-speakers-and-a-long-multilingual-history-250030?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And hereā€™s the order itself: [Designating English as the Official Language of The United StatesBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1\. Purpose and![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-34.ico)The White HouseEXECUTIVE ORDER![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/WH47-Social-Share-Card-Navy-1200x628-1.png)](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* Research at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech suggest that the Southern accent is disappearing šŸ˜¢ This research is actually from 2023 ([original study here](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-variation-and-change/article/boomer-peak-or-gen-x-cliff-from-svs-to-lbms-in-georgia-english/6AEA44E9263DFAE376F3BB20E087E5F9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), but this was a good write-up of it. [Georgiaā€™s Southern Drawl Is Fading Among Young People, Study FindsIn the American South, a linguistic transformation is unfolding. The iconic Southern drawl is gradually fading among the stateā€™s youth.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-35.ico)Travel NoireFaith Katunga![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-1176845685-1568x1045.jpg)](https://travelnoire.com/southern-drawl-fading-georgia?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* gen Z loves lowercase: [The death of capital letters: why gen Z loves lowercaseYoung people have ditched capitalisation in favour of a writing style that reflects their values and attitudes to tradition. Will this change our language for ever?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512.png)The GuardianNyima Jobe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/5000.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/18/death-of-capital-letters-why-gen-z-loves-lowercase?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) whatā€™s fun about this is that lowercase letters didnā€™t always exist. characters in ancient scripts were always written in the same way, in capitals. it wasnā€™t until the widespread adoption of handwritten documents (as opposed to inscriptions) that the faster, lowercase/miniscule forms developed. now weā€™re seeing the completion of the shift from uppercase/majuscule to lowercase/miniscule! why bother with those tired old slow capital letters at all?! --- The Duolingo blog has a quick explainer on some of the largest language families: [Dear Duolingo: What are the different language families around the world?Language families come in all shapes and sizesā€”some include hundreds of languages, and others just a few. This overview covers 22 of the main groups!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/duolingo-touch-icon2-1.png)Duolingo BlogOlivia Thayer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cover_enDDmailbox_green.png)](https://blog.duolingo.com/language-families-overview/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* Fellow online language educator and friend Jess Zafarris ([Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/jesszafarris.bsky.social?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/jesszafarris/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@jesszafarris?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@jesszafarris?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) has a new book coming out! *Useless etymology: Offbeat word origins for curious mind* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)): [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-5.png)](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399809184?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Jess is a brilliant writer, and both her enthusiasm for etymology and her love of language shines on every page of her previous book, *Words from hell* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UQYCSI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399808217?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)), so I have no doubt this book will be just as good if not better. The publisher, Chambers Words, is kindly sending me a review copy, so expect a review from me in the coming months! Hereā€™s the book description from the press release: > Did you know that an "astronaut" is literally a "star sailor," that a thesaurus is, in fact, a "treasure trove" of words, and that someone who is "sinister" is actually just "left-handed"? > > Have you ever wondered why English isn't considered a Romance language if 60% of our words are Latin-derived? > > Did Shakespeare really invent 1,700 words, and if not, why the heck do we say that he did? > > Why is the English language stuffed with so many synonyms? > > Let's be real: English can seem pretty bonkers. And, well, sometimes it is. But through thorough thought and a pinch of curiosity, method can be found within the madness of our modern tongue-even within the disparate pronunciation of the words "through," "thorough," and "thought." > > Derived from Germanic, Romance, Hellenic, Semitic, African and Native American languages, English contains multitudes. It has been (and continues to be) transformed by war and conquest, art and literature, science and technology, love and hate, wit and whim. > > Useless Etymology takes readers on a time-traveling adventure to unlock the beauty, wonder, and absurdity within our everyday words, how they came to be, and the unexpected ways their origins weave a global, cross-cultural labyrinth of meaning. > > Filled with fun facts and delightful discoveries, this is an enlightening read for anyone who wants to know more about why the English language works the way that it does. Jess is also the author of *Words from hell: Unearthing the darkest secrets of English etymology* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UQYCSI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781399808217?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) and *Once upon a word: A word-origin dictionary for kids* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YH2SGH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781646112593?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). ## šŸ—ƒļø Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/03/image-6.png) Iā€™m a member of the [Association for Linguistic Typology](https://linguistic-typology.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which is an academic society dedicated to the study of linguistic diversity and the patterns we see across different languages, as well as *why* those patterns exist. They publish the journal [*Linguistic Typology*](https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/lity?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and host a biannual conference, but they also curate an awesome database called Grammar Watch, which is a collection of open access grammatical descriptions of the worldā€™s languages. [Grammar Watch ā€“ A service from the Association for Linguistic Typology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-36.ico)Grammar Watch](https://linguistic-typology.org/grammarwatch/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy weeks to nerd out about language with me, and donā€™t hesitate to [send me feedback](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) on how youā€™re enjoying the newsletter so far or what could be improved! loquaciously yours, Danny šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### 1,000 subscribers! šŸŽ‰ And did Proto-Indo-European have SOV word order? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-08/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:30:55.000Z Happy [Thorā€™s Day](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=thursday&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)! (Arenā€™t you proud of me for sending this on the correct day this week?) And welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸŒ©ļø I always thought it was cool that Thor isnā€™t just the god **of* thunder in Germanic mythology. He actually **is* thunder, etymologically speaking. The Old English word **Ć¾unor* meant both ā€˜thunderā€™ and ā€˜the god Thorā€™. --- Linguistic Discovery hit a big milestone this week: 1,000 newsletter subscribers! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-35.png) Thank you to every single one of you for taking the time to subscribe to and read this newsletter! As an additional way of saying thanks, Iā€™m working on a special post just for you newsletter subscribers. Stay tuned! In the meantime, **Iā€™d be thrilled if you could share your favorite post from the newsletter so far on social media** (and tag me so I can see!). ([Hereā€™s](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/newsletter/) the full newsletter archive.) Word of mouth goes a long way in helping me grow the newsletter and teach more people about the science and diversity of language, so thank you for sharing! --- Last week I joined a panel for [*Career Linguist*](https://careerlinguist.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which runs a 5-week Career Camp focused on creating opportunities to bring linguistics to the world of work, usually outside academia. The organizer, Dr. Anna Marie Trester, has also published two books on careers in linguistics: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-36.png)](https://amzn.to/416gsTY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/416gsTY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781483463681?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-37.png)](https://amzn.to/3Xg0rcS?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Xg0rcS?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781350137967?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) We had a great discussion where I did some introspecting about work-life balance, setting boundaries, and working in documentary linguistics and language revitalization. Be sure to check out [*Career Linguist*](https://careerlinguist.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) if youā€™re interested in non-academic jobs in linguistics. --- Reminder that you can now read *Discovery Dispatch* (and/or the *World of Words* newsletter) on your platform of choice: - [the Linguistic Discovery website](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/) - [Substack](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) - [Patreon](https://patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?utm%5Fmedium=unknown&utm%5Fsource=join%5Flink&utm%5Fcampaign=creatorshare%5Fcreator&utm%5Fcontent=copyLink) Personally, I recommend the Linguistic Discovery website because itā€™s got the best formatting. But youā€™ll get the same articles, videos, and bonus content no matter which platform you use. So feel free to unsubscribe from this one and subscribe on your preferred platform. ## šŸ“‹ Contents šŸ†• [New from Linguistic Discovery](#%F0%9F%86%95-new-from-linguistic-discovery) šŸ—žļø [Current Linguistics](#%F0%9F%97%9E%EF%B8%8F-current-linguistics) šŸ“ƒ [This Weekā€™s Reads](#%F0%9F%93%83-this-week%E2%80%99s-reads) šŸ“š [Books & Media](#%F0%9F%93%9A-books-media) šŸ“‘ [References](#%F0%9F%93%91-references) ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-38.png)](https://www.threads.net/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DGbpCrcpkAa?xmt=AQGz8ScodIrHmcr5WoUkEBagbXXBGmgQvGjr0mmPWz8Cew&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Danny Hieber, Ph.D. (@linguisticdiscovery) on ThreadsWhen I say that the glottal stop \[Ź”\] isnā€™t a consonant sound in English, I mean that it isnā€™t a phoneme. This means that it isnā€™t a contrastive sound in English. There are no pairs of words where \[Ź”\] contrasts with another sound like \[t\] or \[h\] to make a difference in the meanings of words: āœ… pat \[pƦt\] vs. pack \[pƦk\] āŒ \[pƦŹ”\] vs. ??? Instead, \[Ź”\] is perceived as a variant of /t/. (In technical terms, \[Ź”\] is an allophone of the phoneme /t/.)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-1.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/380965313_299589562694984_4986295180060593562_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.net/@linguisticdiscovery/post/DGbpCrcpkAa?xmt=AQGzmSElcjCMKTtuUNE9LMHk9h2yZRtfuZwnm1X01tHgALQ&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* In a study published in the *Journal of Sociolinguistics* this month, sociolinguist Kathryn Campbell-Kibler finds that when interviewed, people say that speakers from certain regions have heavy accents. But when those same interviewees listened to recordings of speakers from those areas, they failed to detect an accent! Campbell-Kibler suggests that itā€™s cultural stereotypes in pop culture and the media that lead to these beliefs about accents. [Media and stereotypes influence how we judge different accentsPeople judge accents based on stereotypes, not real speech. Many fail to recognize vowel shifts in everyday conversation.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-32.ico)Earth.comJordan Joseph![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Media-and-stereotypes-influence-how-we-judge-regional-accents.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/media-and-stereotypes-influence-how-we-judge-different-accents/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - **Original Research Study:** [Place-based accentedness ratings do not predict sensitivity to regional features](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josl.12691?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Journal of Sociolinguistics*) --- Hereā€™s some additional reporting on the studies I described [last week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-07/) about context-dependence in birdsong and the discovery of a ā€œlanguage proteinā€. [AI-generated birdsongs may shed new light on human languageBy training on birdsong recordings, the model successfully recreates sequences of Bengalese finch songs, revealing important insights![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-33.ico)Earth.comAndrei Ionescu![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Birdsongs2.jpg)](https://www.earth.com/news/ai-generated-birdsongs-may-shed-new-light-on-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Scientists Put a Human Language Gene Into Mice And Changed Their VoiceA new contender for a human ā€˜language geneā€™ can change the way that mice squeak when it is incorporated into their DNA.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-sa-rounded-favicon-270x270.png)ScienceAlertCarly Cassella![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/MouseBrain.jpg)](https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-put-a-human-language-gene-into-mice-and-changed-their-voice?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Weekā€™s Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* Linguist and fellow online educator Danny L. Bate ([Website](https://dannybate.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/dannybate.bsky.social?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [X](https://x.com/DannyBate4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) has a cogent post on his blog this week questioning the received wisdom that Proto-Indo-European (PIE) had Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, as has been thought for the last 50+ years: [PIE was not SOVReading time: quite a while Having dedicated over four years of my life to the subject, I have one or two thoughts about the word order of Proto-Indo-European. Somebody somewhere had to have them. ā€¦![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/webclip.png)Danny L. Batedannylbate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/screenshot-2025-02-20-205252.png)](https://dannybate.com/2025/02/20/pie-was-not-sov/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I think Danny is probably rightā€”or at the very least, thereā€™s not enough evidence to claim with certainty that PIE word order was fixed. And the burden of proof should be on people who claim that a language has a fixed word order, not the other way around. **Languages do not have fixed word orders by default.** Instead, speakers in many languages order the elements of a clause in ways that are sensitive to their hearersā€™ state of knowledge, where given (old) information tends to precede new informationā€”the classic topic-comment organization. These languages are said to have **pragmatic word order** rather than fixed word order. In these pragmatic word order languages, it does not matter whether the topic is the subject, object, or verb; all that matters is its ā€œnewsworthinessā€, contrastiveness, relative importance, etc. (Mithun 1987). It is only when a certain word order becomes frequent enough and strongly conventionalized that a language acquires a fixed word order. When this happens, it becomes ungrammatical to order the elements of a clause in any other way. English is like this, for example. English is strictly SVO: - āœ… The woman (S) saw (V) the dog (O). - āŒ The woman (S) the dog (O) saw (V). If English had pragmatic word order, the second sentence would be acceptable in at least some contexts, but it isnā€™t. This shows that word order has become **grammaticalized** in English; itā€™s a grammatical rule that elements of a clause have to go in a certain order. I think itā€™s very likely that PIE hadnā€™t yet grammaticalized a fixed word order, since so many of its descendant languages still retained pragmatic word order. Dannyā€™s post provides some additional arguments in favor of this position. šŸ’ Enjoying this issue of **Discovery Dispatch*? Join 46 other supporters to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) --- [The other week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-06/#%F0%9F%93%9A-books-media) I told you about a new book on language at the beginning and end of life, *Bye bye I love you* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/418VZze?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262049429?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Now John Kelly at the [*Strong Language*](https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/swearing-first-words-last-words-michael-erard-bye-bye-i-love-you/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) blog looks at the role that swearing plays at the end of our lives, according to the book: - [ā€œEat shitā€ and ā€œOh fuckā€: Sweary First and Last Words in Michael Erardā€™s *Bye Bye I Love You*](https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/swearing-first-words-last-words-michael-erard-bye-bye-i-love-you/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Strong Language*) --- This oneā€™s an older piece of research from 2019 that popped back up on *Science*ā€™s Instagram last week, but I think itā€™s really cool: - **Reporting:** [Ancient switch to soft food gave us an overbiteā€”and the ability to pronounce /f/ and /v/](https://www.science.org/content/article/ancient-switch-soft-food-gave-us-overbite-and-ability-pronounce-f-s-and-v-s?utm%5Fcampaign=feed&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=later-linkinbio) *(Science)* - **Original Research Study:** [Human sound systems are shaped by post-Neolithic changes in bite configuration](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aav3218?adobe%5Fmc=MCMID%3D80278180787707764771571661538182013256%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1740435818&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *(Science)* Prolific linguist Balthasar Bickel believes that this shift may have correlated with a set of sound changes known as [Grimmā€™s Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s%5Flaw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which involved a change from /p/ ā†’ /f/ and created the Germanic branch of the Indo-European family tree. (This is why the Latin word for ā€˜fatherā€™ is *pater* with a /p/ but the English word is *father* with an /f/. The two words are cognates, but the Germanic version underwent the sound changes of Grimmā€™s Law.) Itā€™s probably a stretch to claim that Grimmā€™s Law was *caused* by the shift to agriculture and soft foods, but that change certainly was necessary to *enable* Grimmā€™s Law to take place. --- Hereā€™s an extremely important lesson from linguistics that I wish more people knew: **speaking a different language to your child at home will not hinder their development in the language used at school**. Linguists Valeria Maria Rigobon and Rauno Parrila explain in this piece for *The Conversation*: [Do you speak other languages at home? This will not hold your child back at schoolIt is common for parents to worry about raising a child to be multilingual. They may wonder, am I harming my childā€™s English if I speak another language at home?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-7.png)The ConversationRauno Parrila![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250224-32-ikk8yk.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/do-you-speak-other-languages-at-home-this-will-not-hold-your-child-back-at-school-250405?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- This next article isnā€™t about language directly (although as someone interested in how language works, I think itā€™s necessary to also understand human evolution), but it has one interesting passage which shows one of the many parallels between language change and biological evolution. [Why itā€™s so hard to tell when Homo sapiens became a distinct speciesThe more we discover about our speciesā€™ family tree, the harder it becomes to pinpoint when exactly Homo sapiens emerged, raising questions over what it really means to be human![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/180x180.50b024f6.png)New Scientist#author.fullName}![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_2405642041.jpg)](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26535311-300-why-its-so-hard-to-tell-when-homo-sapiens-became-a-distinct-species/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Hereā€™s the passage: > Trevor Cousins and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge suggest our supposed parent species, Homo antecessor, split away from its parent, Homo heidelbergensis, more than a million years ago. About 600,000 years ago, H. antecessor gave rise to two branches: one led to the Neanderthals and Denisovans ā€“ another kind of hominin ā€“ the other to H. sapiens. Then comes the twist. Our evolutionary grandparents, H. heidelbergensis, stuck around to see the birth of the H. sapiens lineage ā€“ and about 300,000 years ago, the two interbred in a big way. In fact, the researchersā€™ model indicates that about 20 per cent of our ancestry comes from this interbreeding. This reminds me of situations of language contact. A parent language can diversify into two child languages, and those child languages then later interact, making it difficult to determine which words and grammatical features are inherited vs. borrowed: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-39.png) For example, Old English and Old Norse are both Germanic languages, so they descend from the same Proto-Germanic parent, but Old Norse continued to influence Old English after they had separated (and especially during the Viking invasions). In terms of vocabulary, Old English borrowed many words from Old Norse, some of which were already cognates! *shirt* and *skirt* are related words, for instance, the former coming down to us from Old English, and the latter being a borrowing from Old Norse. (When a two words within a single language share the same etymological root, they are called a **doublet**.) In terms of grammar, the influence of Old Norse simplified the Old English case system, introduced new sounds such as /g/, and even gave us the third person plural pronoun *they/them/their*. There are many other parallels between language change and biological evolution, so much so that linguists use a biological metaphor whenever they talk about language relationships, which sometimes even gets called **linguistic phylogenetics**. ### Other Reads [Amid anxiety about the future of French, a Quebeckerā€™s guide to slang welcomes immigrationā€™s influenceA popular book, Dictionnaire du chilleur, has cast a light on the changing nature of the French spoken by young people in the province![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-2.png)The Globe and MailEric Andrew-Gee![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/TYWT2YREMFDOTEHA722QRC7AJM.jpg)](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-amid-anxiety-about-the-future-of-french-a-quebeckers-guide-to-slang/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Can you forget your native language?Linguists give the lowdown on whether it is possible to forget your native language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-3.png)Live ScienceEmily Cooke![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/bVkbDrTEHvegafiCFqsuW5-1200-80.jpg)](https://www.livescience.com/health/mind/can-you-forget-your-native-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Tibet is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world. This is in danger of extinctionThere are some 60 languages spoken on the Tibetan Plateau. But harsh Chinese policies mean many minority languages may not be passed down to future generations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-8.png)The ConversationGerald Roche![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250225-32-gg3wjx.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/tibet-is-one-of-the-most-linguistically-diverse-places-in-the-world-this-is-in-danger-of-extinction-246316?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* A new book on mixed languages in South Asia has just been released: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-40.png)](https://amzn.to/3ERQZ9v?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3ERQZ9v?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > How do languages mix? Does it begin in chaos, new migrants and old inhabitants needing a pidgin to communicate? Or does it happen more smoothly, in stages? And what is a prakrit? Why do we hear only of prakrits, and never of pidgins, in South Asia? > In [*Father Tongue, Motherland*](https://amzn.to/3ERQZ9v?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), Peggy Mohan looks at exactly how the mixed languages in South Asia came to life. Like a flame moving from wick to wick in early encounters between male settlers and locals skilled at learning languages, the language would start to ā€˜go nativeā€™ as it spread. This produced ā€˜father tonguesā€™, with words taken from the migrant menā€™s language, but grammars that preserved the earlier languages of the ā€˜motherlandā€™. Hereā€™s an excerpt from the book, where Mohan discusses early Indus Valley writing: [Linguist Peggy Mohan examines early Indus Valley languages and their lack of ā€˜literatureā€™An excerpt from ā€˜Father Tongue, Motherland: The Birth of Languages in South Asiaā€™, by Peggy Mohan.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-160x160.7d97c537daffcf114789e9abfa5fb07f.003.png)Scroll.inPeggy Mohan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/205198-vnxlonrras-1736148181.jpg)](https://scroll.in/article/1079257/linguist-peggy-mohan-examines-early-indus-valley-languages-and-their-lack-of-literature?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Thatā€™s all for this week! Iā€™m off to go prepare some grammar worksheets for the Chitimacha language teachers. Thank you for taking the time to read, and for your support in getting to 1,000 subscribers! [Let me know what you thought of this issue](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com), and have a great week! \~ Danny --- ## šŸ“‘ References - Mithun, Marianne. 1987\. Is basic word order universal? In Russell S. Tomlin (ed.), *Coherence and grounding in discourse* (Typological Studies in Language 11), pp. 281ā€“328\. John Benjamins. DOI: [10.1075/tsl.11.14mit](https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.11.14mit?locatt=mode:legacy&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Is AI changing language? Plus new evidence for a ā€œlanguage proteinā€ URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-07/ Last updated: 2026-03-11T11:30:37.000Z Happy Friday! Or Lover's Day as I sometimes jokingly call it, since the name comes from the Old English *FrigedƦg* ā€˜Friggaā€™s Dayā€™, Frigga being the Germanic goddess of love. The name is a **calque** (loan translation) of the Latin phrase *diēs Vēneris* ā€˜Venusā€™ dayā€™. On the other hand, the Proto-Indo-European root of *Frigga* is \*pri- ā€˜loveā€™, which also yielded words like *friend* and *free* and *freedom*. So sometimes itā€™s fun to say that *Friday* etymologically could also be called ā€œFree Dayā€, which I think is appropriate since itā€™s the day youā€™re finally free from work. In any case, welcome to this weekā€™s edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. ## šŸ“‹ Contents šŸ“¢ [Updates](#%F0%9F%93%A2-updates) šŸ†• [New from Linguistic Discovery](#%F0%9F%86%95-new-from-linguistic-discovery) šŸ“° [In the News](#%F0%9F%93%B0-in-the-news) šŸ—žļø [Current Linguistics](#%F0%9F%97%9E%EF%B8%8F-current-linguistics) šŸ“ƒ [This Weekā€™s Reads](#%F0%9F%93%83-this-weeks-reads) šŸ“‘ [References](#%F0%9F%93%91-references) ## šŸ“¢ Updates *Whatā€™s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.* ### Joining the Babel panel A fun update from me this week: Iā€™ve been asked to join the advisory panel for [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), to which I happily agreed. You may have seen me post excerpts from the magazine from time to time. In fact, my post the other day on [loanwords in Hawaiian](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/Hawaiian-loanwords/) was directly inspired by a section of one of their recent articles. I think they do a great job with their longform writing, and fill an important niche in the magazine space. I donā€™t know any other magazine devoted to language and linguistics. Itā€™s great to see that itā€™s been as successful as it has been over the years, since itā€™s bringing linguistics to a wider audience. Iā€™m excited to help guide the direction of the magazine going forward! ### Three ways to read/watch Linguistic Discovery You can now read *Discovery Dispatch* (and/or the *World of Words* newsletter) on your platform of choice: - [the Linguistic Discovery website](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/) - [Substack](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) - [Patreon](https://patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?utm%5Fmedium=unknown&utm%5Fsource=join%5Flink&utm%5Fcampaign=creatorshare%5Fcreator&utm%5Fcontent=copyLink) Personally, I recommend the Linguistic Discovery website because itā€™s got the best formatting. But youā€™ll get the same articles, videos, and bonus content no matter which platform you use. So feel free to unsubscribe from this one and subscribe on your preferred platform. ## šŸ†• New from Linguistic Discovery *This week's content from Linguistic Discovery.* For Valentineā€™s Day, I explored the etymology of *love* and its reflexes in English: [The linguistic history of ā€œloveā€The etymology of the word ā€œloveā€ and all its related words in English.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-16.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/love.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/love/) The Hawaiian language only has 8 consonants. So what happens when it borrows words with other sounds? [Hawaiian only has 8 consonantsā€”What happens when it borrows words with other sounds?The Hawaiian language only has 8 consonants. So how does it deal with sounds in words borrowed from other languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-17.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1598135753163-6167c1a1ad65)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/Hawaiian-loanwords/) ## šŸ“° In the News *Language and linguistics in the news.* Sadly, two distinguished linguists passed away this weekā€”Sally McLendon and Nancy Dorian. Sally McLendon worked with indigenous communities and languages in North America, and most especially Northern California. Nancy Dorian is best known for her work on language shift and language preservation, working especially with Gaelic. You can read their obituaries from the Linguistic Society of America here: - [Sally McLendon](https://www.lsadc.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=459&mc%5Fcid=12fa3af245&mc%5Feid=e94f73cd50&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Nancy Dorian](https://www.lsadc.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=460&mc%5Fcid=12fa3af245&mc%5Feid=e94f73cd50&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* A few interesting studies were publicized this week, which Iā€™m surprised arenā€™t getting more media uptake: First, a study in *Nature Communications* found a protein called *NOVA1* that is unique to humans and appears to be linked to vocalizations: [A single protein may have helped shape the emergence of spoken language - NewsHow much does the evolution of human speech owe to one amino acid?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-icon-180x180.png)NewsSHARE![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/NOVA1_in_mouse_brain_for_top_of_science_web_story.jpg)](https://www.rockefeller.edu/news/37279-a-single-protein-may-have-helped-shape-the-emergence-of-spoken-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The study has echoes of the research identifying *FOXP2* as the ā€œlanguage geneā€. Nativists get excited about this kind of research because they think it lends credence to the idea that language is an innate genetic adaptation rather than learned. However, such research is perfectly compatible with theories that assume language is learned as well. Cognitive linguistics holds that the cognitive capabilities we use to learn language are the same ones we use to learn all sorts of other thingsā€”pattern recognition, theory of mind, hierarchical mental representations, etc. In other words, language is **domain general**; there isnā€™t a component or set of functions in the brain that evolved *specifically* for language. For cognitive linguists, then, the difference between animals and humans isnā€™t language *per se*; itā€™s that humans have a different set of cognitive capabilities, and these capabilities enable us to learn language, among many other things. So itā€™s no surprise that there are aspects of our genetics which are both unique to humans and relate to language, because language uses a variety of different cognitive skills, some of which are unique to humans. They didnā€™t necessarily evolve *for* language, but they *enable* language. What *would* be a surprise is if we discovered a genetic difference between humans and other animals that *only* affected language. šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) --- Next, a study found that macaques appear to associate spoken words with pictures: [Macaques appear to associate spoken words with picturesThese cross-modal associations are one of the cognitive foundations of language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon-ps-FE5102-1.png)Popular ScienceTom Hawking![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/monkey-language.jpg)](https://www.popsci.com/environment/macaques-words-pictures/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The reason this is cool is because thereā€™s no inherent connection between an image and a wordā€”itā€™s arbitrary and something that has to be learned. This is unlike most associations in the animal kingdom, where thereā€™s some sort of iconic connection between the signal and the thing itself. A lionā€™s roar is, obviously, inherently associated with lions. But the word *lion* is arbitrary (as evidenced by the fact that the word for ā€˜lionā€™ is different from language to language). But the especially neat part about this study is that, while the macaques struggled to associate words with pictures at first, they quickly got better at it, acquiring subsequent associations much more quickly. This shows that macaques have the cognitive *ability* to make arbitrary and possibly symbolic associations between sounds and things, independent of whether they actually *learn* to use that ability. But once they do learn it, they quickly become efficient at it. This is similar to how humans learn language. Infants first have to grasp the idea of a symbolic link between words and concepts, but once they do, language acquisition proceeds at a remarkable pace. --- Finally, a study published in the *Journal of Neuroscience* shows that elements of birdsong are **context dependent**, similar to how sounds in human language are pronounced differently depending on the sounds around them. For example, the /n/ in *input* is often pronounced as \[m\] in rapid speech, in anticipation of the /p/ that follows it. This is because /p/ is a bilabial sound (pronounced with both lips), so the /n/ changes its place of articulation to become bilabial as well. [Birdsong Research Could Illuminate the Neural Foundations of Human LanguageIn a groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at Penn State, a novel modeling technique inspired by how generative language models such as ChatGPT process human language has been developed to![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-scienmag_ico-270x270.jpg)ScienmagSCIENMAG![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Birdsong-Research-Could-Illuminate-the-Neural-Foundations-of-Human-Language.jpeg)](https://scienmag.com/birdsong-research-could-illuminate-the-neural-foundations-of-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“ƒ This Week's Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* There were some neat articles in *The Conversation* this week. (I always really enjoy *The Conversation*, because their articles are written by scholars/researchers with the aid of an editor who helps them convey their ideas in ways that are accessible to a general audience. [Iā€™ve got an article myself](https://theconversation.com/renaissance-on-the-bayou-the-revival-of-a-lost-language-43958?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), in fact.) [What happens in the brain when thereā€™s a word ā€˜on the tip of the tongueā€™?Having a word ā€œon the tip of the tongueā€ has happened to all of us. Behind this everyday phenomenon lie complex brain mechanisms.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-4.png)The ConversationFrĆ©dĆ©ric Bernard![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20241126-15-21bou3.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/what-happens-in-the-brain-when-theres-a-word-on-the-tip-of-the-tongue-246091?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How weā€™re recovering priceless audio and lost languages from old decaying tapesA sophisticated machine called the LM-3032 Tape Restorator is helping give new life to decaying, decades-old cassettes.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-5.png)The ConversationNick Thieberger![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250123-15-cdry47.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-were-recovering-priceless-audio-and-lost-languages-from-old-decaying-tapes-248116?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How Oscar-nominated screenwriters attempt to craft authentic dialogue, dialects and accentsMost screenwriters need to be able to craft characters outside their own backgrounds and experiences. But it isnā€™t easy and often requires collaboration ā€“ with AI able to offer a helping hand.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-6.png)The ConversationChris C. Palmer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250212-17-xqxgpq.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/how-oscar-nominated-screenwriters-attempt-to-craft-authentic-dialogue-dialects-and-accents-247658?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The Babbel blog has an article about how learning a language benefits brain health: [How Learning A Language Benefits Your BrainYour brain and language work together in a lot of ways! Studies have found that learning a language can be a great boon to your brain power.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-31.ico)BabbelY Yates![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/LanguageLearningBrain.jpg)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-learning-a-language-benefits-your-brain?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why AI isn't ruining language Not to be too impolitic, but hereā€™s a sensationalist worrymongering piece from Forbes claiming that AI will reduce our vocabulary and introduce fake non-human words: [How Generative AI And LLMs Are Reinventing Our Vocabulary Such That We Might Lose Our Grasp On Human LanguagesSome say that AI is going to modify our vocabulary, possibly to the degree that we no longer use human-devised words. Good or bad? Hereā€™s the insider scoop.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/144X144-F.png)ForbesLance Eliot![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/0x0.jpg)](https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2024/12/29/how-generative-ai-and-llms-are-reinventing-our-vocabulary-such-that-we-might-lose-our-grasp-on-human-languages/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) There are two things you should keep in mind whenever you read something about how technology or the internet is affecting language: #### **Children donā€™t learn language from writing, videos, or the internet.** Children arenā€™t exposed to writing as infants. Children donā€™t typically learn to read until ages 4ā€“7, long after the core of their linguistic abilities are already in place. True, children donā€™t become *fluent* until about age 7ā€“8, and people continue to expand their vocabulary and sometimes even their grammar throughout their lives, but the impact of those later changes is relatively minor. So claims that various forms of writing on the internetā€”like that produced by generative AIā€”are having drastic effects on language are simply unrealistic. More importantly, children need *social interaction* in order to learn a language. They cannot learn their first language from TV or streaming video services. In one case, deaf parents gave their hearing son lots of exposure to TV and radio in hopes that he would learn English, but this didnā€™t happen. He did however learn American Sign Language effortlessly, because that was the language used in his immediate social environment. (Moskowitz 1991) The point here is that by the time a child is old enough for reading and digital media to have a major impact in their life, itā€™s too late for that impact to amount to anything more than some new vocabulary words. #### **Vocabulary is always changing.** Every time a new language-related technology is introduced, people make sensationalist claims that it will change (usually ruin) language. This is part of a broader disposition that most people have which resists language change. The majority of people think that the way they grew up speaking is best, and any further changes are bad. So if they think that certain technologies are introducing or accelerating language change, theyā€™re naturally resistant to it. Socrates himself objected to the use of *writing* (which is a technology) because he said it would weaken oneā€™s memory. (This is why all his philosophy comes down to us in the form of dialogues written down by his student Plato.) But languages are *always* adding new words and changing their meanings, regardless whether those words/meanings come from writing, books, TikTok, or AI. And it is highly unlikely that more recent technologies are adding or changing words *faster* than in the past. This perception probably stems from older generations feeling overwhelmed by new vocabulary that didnā€™t exist when they were young. But in every generation you can find adults writing about the flood of new slang/vocabulary from the youth. This is hardly a new phenomenon. The *medium* by which new vocabulary is introduced may be changing as technology changes, but the *process* of lexical expansion is not fundamentally different from one generation to the next. Frankly, I find vocabulary change pretty boring (except with things like extensive borrowing in language contact, which sometimes yields cool things like [mixed languages](https://youtu.be/ZxPq%5FYwHrC8?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). What would be a big deal is if a new technology somehow changed the *grammar* of a language, but Iā€™m not even sure how that would be possible. --- Irritatingly, the author concludes by saying maybe the homogenization and simplification of language isnā€™t a bad thing, since it would foster global communication. There are many fallacies I could address with that too, but since that wasnā€™t his main point and this section of the digest is already long enough, Iā€™ll leave that rant for another day. Some other cool articles I came across this week: - [People have been saying "ax" instead of "ask" for 1,200 years](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-have-been-saying-ax-instead-ask-1200-years-180949663/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Smithsonian Magazine*) [Unraveling the Complexities of Accent IdentificationCOLUMBUS, Ohio ā€“ When we think about accents, it might seem as though discerning one voice from another is as simple as hearing how differently a word is pronounced. Those of us who have grown up s![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-scienmag_ico-270x270-1.jpg)ScienmagSCIENMAG![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Unraveling-the-Complexities-of-Accent-Identification-1739452257.jpg)](https://scienmag.com/unraveling-the-complexities-of-accent-identification/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This article includes a discussion of how language shapes our perceptions of others too: [The Rich Mosaic Of Sounds & Rhythms In Indian-Accented English Can Confuse The American EarForeign-accented individuals are often perceived as being less intelligent than individuals with an American accent, writes Keerthana Gotur![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-IC-logo-e1686699993928-1.jpeg)India CurrentsKeerthana Gotur![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Samaa2023-44.jpeg)](https://indiacurrents.com/the-rich-mosaic-of-sounds-rhythms-in-indian-accented-english-can-confuse-the-american-ear/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Okay, Iā€™m off to participate in a panel for [*Career Linguist*](https://careerlinguist.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) talking about my career advice for linguists! More on that next week. Thank you for reading, thank you for being a supporter, and I hope you have a wonderful week! \~ Danny šŸ’ If you enjoyed this issue of **Discovery Dispatch*, consider becoming a supporter! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“‘ References - Moskowitz, b. 1991\. The acquisition of language. In W. Wang (ed.), *The emergence of language*, pp. 131ā€“149\. W. H. Freeman. ### Hawaiian only has 8 consonantsā€”What happens when it borrows words with other sounds? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/hawaiian-loanwords/ Last updated: 2025-05-25T21:24:30.000Z The Hawaiian language only has 8 consonant sounds (phonemes), making it one of the smallest consonant inventories of any language in the world. (The smallest consonant inventory goes to Rotokas with only 6!) (Gordon 2016: 44) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/consonant-inventory--white-background-.png) Consonant inventory for Hawaiian. ([Wikipedia: Hawaiian phonology > Consonants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian%5Fphonology?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Consonants)) ā˜ļø Since this article is written in English, I use the conventional English name and spelling for the language, **Hawaiian*, rather than **Hawaiā€™ian* with an apostrophe/Ź»okina representing a glottal stop. Speakers themselves call the language **Ź»Ålelo HawaiŹ»i* (literally ā€˜Hawaiian languageā€™). See Haspelmath (2017) for more details about language names in linguistics. By comparison, most dialects of English have 24 consonants, Mandarin is typically analyzed as having 19 consonants, and Spanish has around 18 depending on the dialect. The average number of consonants in a language is 22.8 (Gordon 2016: 44), so Hawaiianā€™s 8 is pretty small! So what do Hawaiian speakers do when they borrow words that have foreign sounds? *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* First, most of the consonants get converted to /k/. The /k/ sound does a *lot* of heavy lifting in Hawaiian. Since the only other stop consonants in the language are /p/ and /Ź”/, any stop consonant that isnā€™t a bilabial or glottal stop can function as /k/ā€”even \[t\]! The Hawaiian language doesnā€™t distinguish between \[k\] and \[t\]ā€”they are functionally the same sound. So *makua* ā€˜parentā€™ might be pronounced as either \[makua\] or \[matua\] with no functional difference. Speakers recognize it as the word *makua* either way. Certain dialects will pronounce /k/ as \[t\] more frequently than other dialects, which prefer a \[k\] pronunciation, but itā€™s all considered the same phoneme. ([Wikipedia: Hawaiian phonology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian%5Fphonology?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) The result is that all the English sounds /s z Źƒ Ź’ t d tŹƒ dŹ’ g/ are converted to /k/ when borrowed into Hawaiian. Here are some examples: | English | Hawaiian | | -------- | -------- | | truck | kalaka | | blessing | pelekine | | speak | kapika | | rabbit | lāpaki | šŸ’” Some of the examples of borrowings in this article are taken from the Autumn 2024 issue of **Babel* magazine, specifically the article, ā€œA clash of symbols: Special \[k\]ā€ by Dom Watt & Jane Setter (pp. 34ā€“35). [Get your own subscription to ](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[Babel](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[ here.](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Any remaining examples were taken from Jones (2009). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-34.png)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You may already know another famous borrowing: *Mele Kalikimaka* for English ā€˜Merry Christmasā€™, as sung by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters: Similar variation occurs with /w/ and /l/: speakers freely pronounce /w/ as either \[w\] or \[v\], and /l/ as either \[l\], \[ɾ\], or \[ɹ\]. So when an English word gets borrowed with one of these sounds, they get normalized to /w/ or /l/. Some examples: | English | Hawaiian | | ------- | -------- | | beaver | piwa | | acre | Ź»akele | | ginger | kinika | šŸŒ  When different sounds are perceived as the same sound in a language, they are said to be ****allophones** of the same ****phoneme**. One sound might be perceived as a full phoneme in one language, and able to change the meanings of words, but be a mere allophone in others. For example, English does not distinguish between aspirated \[tŹ°\] and unaspirated \[t\]ā€”both are perceived as the phoneme /t/. The Thai language, however, considers those to be separate sounds that can change the meanings of words. Hawaiian syllables are also strictly either consonant-vowel (CV) or just a vowel (V). Syllables cannot end in a consonant. So in borrowed words, clusters of more than one consonant are either broken apart or simplified into a single consonant, while syllable-final consonants are either given an extra vowel or deleted entirely ([Wikipedia: Hawaiian phonology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian%5Fphonology?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Phonotactics)): | English | Hawaiian | | ------- | -------- | | bill | pila | | island | Ź»ailana | | scraper | kalepa | šŸŒ  Rules about how sounds are allowed to be arranged in words and syllables in a language are called ****phonotactics**. For example, the phoneme /ŋ/ in English may occur at the ends of syllables (like **ring* /ɹÉŖŋ/) but not the beginning of syllables. Knowing all this, now you can see how all the following English words got borrowed into Hawaiian as *kini* (which also happens to be the native Hawaiian word for ā€˜multitudeā€™). - gin - tin - king - kin - zinc - guinea - Jean - Jane - Jenny Lastly, even though Hawaiian may not distinguish between many of the sounds that exist in English, it does have one sound that English doesnā€™tā€”the glottal stop /Ź”/. English speakers certainly produce this sound quite a lot, but only in non-meaningful (subphonemic) ways: - Itā€™s the catch in the throat in the middle of the phrase *uh-oh* \[ĖˆŹ”ŹŒ.Ź”oį¶·\]. - In many dialects speakers can pronounce /t/s as glottal stops (most famously Australians when they pronounce ā€œa bottle of waterā€). - English speakers naturally insert a glottal stop at the beginning of words that start with a vowel: *am* is pronounced \[Ź”Ʀm\], *and* is pronounced \[Ź”Ʀnd\], etc. (This is amusingly called the **glottal attack** or **hard attack**. šŸ‘…āš”ļø) All these uses occur even though the glottal stop isnā€™t meaningful in English and speakers donā€™t hear it as a distinct phoneme. But Hawaiian speakers *can* hear it, so it gets included in borrowed words. Canny readers may have noticed that the Hawaiian borrowing for ā€˜islandā€™ above started with a glottal stop, for example. In the same way, the Hawaiian word in each of the following examples starts with a glottal stop because the English word starts with a vowel. | English | Hawaiian | | ------- | -------- | | acre | Ź»akele | | anchor | Ź»anakā | | empire | Ź»emepaea | Of course, there are exceptions to all of these rules. Occasionally words will be borrowed with their foreign consonants in tact (*savana* ā€˜savannaā€™; *mōchÄ«* ā€˜mochiā€™), or will retain their consonant clusters (*kristo* ā€˜Christā€™), but for the most part words are assimilated to the Hawaiian sound system. Now that you have a grasp of how borrowings work in Hawaiian, can you guess what English word was borrowed into Hawaiian as *Kapalakiko*? Iā€™ll leave the answer at the very bottom of the page. ā¬‡ļø ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“– Further Reading ## šŸ“‘ References - Gordon, Matthew K. 2016\. *Phonological typology* (Oxford Surveys in Phonology & Phonetics 1). Oxford University Press. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3EATGvO?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780199669004?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Haspelmath, Martin. 2017\. Some principles for language names. *Language Documentation & Conservation* 11: 81ā€“93\. [http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24725](http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24725?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Jones, ā€˜ÅŒiwi Parker. 2009\. Loanwords in Hawaiian. In Haspelmath, Martin & Tadmor, Uri (eds.), *Loanwords in the Worldā€™s Languages*, 771ā€“789\. Walter de Gruyter. DOI: [10.1515/9783110218442.771](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110218442.771?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/42UKwEJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9783110218435?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Watt, Dom & Jane Setter. 2024\. ā€œA clash of symbols: Special \[k\]ā€. *Babel: The Language Magazine* 48 (Autumn): 34ā€“35\. [https://babelzine.co.uk/](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ā“ ****Answer:** The Hawaiian word **Kapalakiko* comes from the English name **San Francisco*. ### The quest for the first Indo-Europeans, and whales communicating like humans URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-06/ Last updated: 2026-01-27T15:13:46.000Z It's an exciting week in the world of linguistics! Two studies were just published that are each creating quite the media buzzā€”I give you the tl;dr below! Welcome to this week's edition of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics. šŸ“š A quick update for those of you who enjoy my book recommendations: I'm now a [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) affiliate! Bookshop.org connects you to independent bookstores so you can buy your books directly from them instead of chain stores or Amazon. This means that if you'd like to purchase a book recommendation and support Linguistic Discovery at the same time (at no extra cost to you), you now have two ways of doing so: Amazon or Bookshop.org. Thank you for supporting Linguistic Discovery! ## šŸ“‹ Contents šŸ—žļø [Current Linguistics](#%F0%9F%97%9E%EF%B8%8F-current-linguistics) šŸ“– [This Weekā€™s Reads](#%F0%9F%93%96-this-weeks-reads) šŸ“š [Books & Media](#%F0%9F%93%9A-books-media) ## šŸ—žļø Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* A couple exciting new pieces of research came out this week! First, the quest for the first speakers of [Indo-European](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European%5Flanguages?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) languages continues unabated. Ever since linguists discovered that they could reconstruct ancient languages in the late 1700s, the field has been obsessed with discovering the [linguistic homeland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic%5Fhomeland?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Urheimat*) of the Indo-European language family, spawning several conflicting hypotheses. This latest research lends additional weight to the widely-accepted [Steppe Hypothesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European%5Fhomeland?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Steppe%5Fhypothesis), which proposes that the original Indo-Europeans were situated on Pontic-Caspian Steppe just north of the Black Sea sometime around 4000 BCE. Scholars typically point to the [Yamnaya people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamnaya%5Fculture?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) who were present there at the time as the likely speakers of the original Indo-European language (known as [Proto-Indo-European](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European%5Flanguage?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). The Yamnaya were herders who adopted wheel technology around 3300 BCE, a technological innovation which helped them spread rapidly throughout Eurasia. In support of the Steppe Hypothesis, DNA evidence has previously shown that almost everywhere Indo-European languages are spoken today, there is a genetic connection to the Yamnaya. ![File:Indo-European migrations.gif](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Indo-European_migrations.gif/800px-Indo-European_migrations.gif) Animation of the spread of Indo-European languages according to the Steppe Hypothesis. ([Wikipedia: Proto-Indo-European homeland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European%5Fhomeland?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) This new research goes further and provides evidence for the origin of the Yamnaya themselves. The authors show that around 4400 BCE, there was a genetically diverse group of people living on the steppes, which the authors call the Caucasus-Lower Volga cline, or CLV. The Yamnaya were one of the groups that descend from this mixed population. Around 400 years later (c. 4000 BCE), some of the descendants of this CLV population migrated south into Anatolia (modern Turkey), eventually giving rise to the oldest written evidence of an Indo-European language, Hittite (attested c. 1600ā€“1200 BCE). Meanwhile, the CLV groups remaining on the steppes continued to mix with other populations, giving rise to the Yamnaya, who began their expansion into much of Eurasia c. 3300 BCE. [You can read a summary of their research aimed at a general audience here.](https://www.science.org/content/article/who-first-spoke-indo-european-dna-points-eurasian-herders-6400-years-ago?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) They also wrote a behind-the-scenes article telling the story of how this research came together, which was a neat read: [Indo-European Origins: A new Solution to an old PuzzleA meeting between Nick Patterson and David Anthony in Princeton, NJ in 2010 began a 15-year long collaboration to find the answer to the 250-year old question of the origin of Indo-European speakers that culminated in the breakthroughs of our new paper. We tell some of that story here.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/touch-icon.png)Springer NatureIosif Lazaridis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a9456086-249c-4b45-a98a-282afbf29e27_large.jpeg)](https://communities.springernature.com/posts/indo-european-origins-a-new-solution-to-an-old-puzzle?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) And some additional reporting here: [Landmark studies track source of Indo-European languagesā€” Harvard GazetteResearchers place Caucasus Lower Volga people, speakers of ancestor tongue, in todayā€™s Russia about 6,500 years ago![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-favicon.png)Harvard GazetteChristy DeSmith![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/020425_Yamnaya_016.jpg)](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/02/landmark-studies-track-source-of-indo-european-languages-spoken-by-40-of-world/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Genetic and geographical origins of Eurasiaā€™s influential Yamna cultureAncient genomes from Ukraine and Russia reveal Yamna origins.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-2.png)NatureLehti Saag![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/d41586-025-00089-0_50602194.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00089-0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [How one language family took over the world: ancient DNA traces its spreadMillennia-old genomes suggest Indoā€“European tongues originated from the Caucasus mountain region.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-3.png)NatureEwen Callaway![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/d41586-025-00382-y_50602654.jpg)](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00382-y?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The original research is actually a pair of related research articles published by overlapping groups of authors: [The genetic origin of the Indo-Europeans - NatureAncient DNA reveals how the explosive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists began with a small community north of the Black Sea speaking ancestral Indo-European, and detects genetic links with Anatolian speakers, stemming from a common Indo-Anatolian homeland in the North Caucasusā€“lower Volga region.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454.png)NatureIosif Lazaridis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2024_8531_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08531-5?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [A genomic history of the North Pontic Region from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age - NatureWhole-genome sequencing analysis of 81 prehistoric individuals reveals how the genetic makeup of people from the North Pontic region was influenced by waves of migration during the Eneolithic period and Early Bronze Age.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-f39cb19454-1.png)NatureAlexey G. Nikitin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/41586_2024_8372_Fig1_HTML.png)](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08372-2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Recommend Reading The canonical general audience book about the search for the original Indo-Europeans is *The horse, the wheel, and language* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780691148182?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) by David Anthony, which is truly excellent even if it's now about 17 years behind on research developments: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-7.png)](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hpFuVu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780691148182?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) However, we'll soon be graced with a new book by J.P. Mallory on the Indo-Europeans ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780500028636?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) and how DNA evidence have contributed to our understanding of their origins, coming out in May: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-8.png)](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aPQRTD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780500028636?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) --- Next up, we have developments in the much more recent quest to understand whalesong. šŸ³ Research in animal communication has seen a boom in the last decade, driven in part by advancements in machine-learning algorithms and AI, as documented in the fun recent book, *How to speak whale* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hEWvKG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781538739129?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Now, a team of researchers have analyzed eight years' worth of humpback whale songs, and not only found recurring patterns (which we already knew about), but found that ***those recurring patterns follow a statistical tendency that is found in human language but never before found in the communication of other animals***. That statistical tendency is **Zipf's Law**, which you may remember reading about in the [first issue of *Discovery Dispatch*](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-04/) two weeks ago. Zipf's Law states that the most frequent word in a language occurs twice as frequently as the second most frequent word, three times as frequent as the third most frequent word, and so on. In technical terms, the relationship is: ![word frequency is approximately inversely proportional to 1 over the word rank](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-9.png) The research team discovered that the repeating parts of whalesong adhere to Zipf's Law as well. Their explanation? Culture. It is thought that Zipf's Law is a reflection of how humans (and now whales, it seems) learn, and that systems with a Zipfian frequency distribution are more easily learnable than other distributions. This would mean that whalesong, like human language, is culturally learned rather than innate. And, it so happens, other recent research has shown that whale songs do in fact spread culturally throughout the ocean as different pods of whales interact with one another. What's next? Birdsong, according to the authors. šŸ¦šŸŽ¶ Stay tuned for updates. This research has the science community abuzz, so there's already lots of reporting about it: [Whalesong patterns follow a universal law of human language, new research findsResearchers identified statistically coherent patterns in whale song that may be a signature of cultural learning.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-3.png)The ConversationEllen Garland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250206-15-syjkq0.jpeg)](https://theconversation.com/whalesong-patterns-follow-a-universal-law-of-human-language-new-research-finds-249271?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Whale Songs Obey Basic Rules of Human LanguagesHumpback whales learn their haunting melodies in much the same way humans learn words![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-28.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/humpback_whale_and_calf_underwater.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whale-songs-follow-basic-human-language-rules/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Whale songā€™s similarity to human speech astonishes scientistsThe pattern of human language has been found in another species for the first time following analysis of humpback whale calls![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-72x72.png)The TimesRhys Blakely, Science Correspondent![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/-2F561ca67b-577c-416c-acf3-d9733c8082e0.jpg)](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/scientists-link-human-speech-whale-song-rqtwrgcds?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Humpback whale songs are structured like human language](https://www.science.org/content/article/humpback-whale-songs-are-structured-human-language?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) - [Convergent evolution in whale and human vocal cultures](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv2318?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*Science*) \[paywalled\] [Read the original research article in *Science* here.](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq7055?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) \[paywalled\] On the same day, another paper was published by a different author in *Science Advances* called "Language-like efficiency in whale communication", showing how both Zipf's Law and another statistical tendency called Menzerath's Law apply to whalesong. This one's open access, so you can [read it here](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads6014?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ### Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-10.png)](https://amzn.to/4hEWvKG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hEWvKG?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781538739129?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“– This Week's Reads *Interesting articles/videos/podcasts I've come across this week.* Fellow linguistics communicator [@Human1011](https://linktr.ee/human1011?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) posted an awesome 30-minute video on YouTube this week about the history of pronouns in English: Arika Okrent, author of the fantastic book *In the land of invented languages* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3WPztc1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780385529716?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) recently wrote an article for *Mental Floss* about the definition of the word *the*. Why? Because *the* and its equivalents in other languages is perhaps the most important word in human languageā€”and also the most frequent. [What Does ā€œTheā€ Mean?Itā€™s surprisingly complicated.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x-3.png)Mental FlossArika Okrent![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/01gq5z39t51bh3mnswf9.jpg)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/53555/what-does-mean/partners/47910?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“š Books & Media *New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* It's pretty rare I find books on child language acquisition for a popular audience (the only other one I typically recommend is *The infinite gift* \[[Amazon](https://amzn.to/4f474pM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781451612998?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)\]), so I'm very happy to see this book (just released this week!), titled *Bye bye I love you* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/418VZze?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262049429?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) by linguist Michael Erard. But what's especially interesting is that the book covers language at the *end* of the lifespan as well, which is not a topic I've seen researched elsewhere. Can't wait to read this one. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-5.png)](https://amzn.to/3EGmjHS?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3EGmjHS?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262049429?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I just got a copy of [*Writing beyond writing*](https://amzn.to/40Xf45W?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) by Tim Brookes, who I mentioned [the other week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-04/#this-weeks-readswatcheslistens) for his interview in *Babel* magazine. This book is less about linguistics *per se*, and more of a cultural and philosophical exploration of writing. It looks really neat. I'll update you as I read it, or you can grab your own copy [here](https://amzn.to/40Xf45W?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/IMG_4476-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/IMG_4477-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/IMG_4478-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/IMG_4479-2.jpg) Lastly, I was reminded of the existence this week of a 2017 documentary all about **conlangs** (constructed languages) called [*Conlanging: The art of crafting tongues*](https://amzn.to/3WXMdgE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). It features David J. Peterson (creator of Dothraki and High Valyrian from *Game of Thones*), Marc Okrand (creator of Klingon from *Star Trek*), and Paul Frommer (creator of Na'vi from *Avatar*), among others. [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-12.png)](https://amzn.to/3WXMdgE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon Prime Video](https://amzn.to/3WXMdgE?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Watch Conlanging, The Art Of Crafting Tongues | Prime VideoThe first feature documentary about the global phenomenon of constructed languages and the extraordinary people who invent them.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-29.ico)Prime Video![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/164471ba3cf1549cad4a77370af4818f580b462695cd4930bd4deeecdf09c40d._UR1920-1080_SX500_FMjpg_.jpg)](https://amzn.to/4hESWok?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- And that's what's new this week in the world of linguistics! Thanks very much for reading, and I hope you have a great week! As always, I'd love to hear what you think about this digest: How can I improve? What do you like about it? [Email me here!](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) \~ Danny šŸ’ Enjoy this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* --- šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Honest aliens and yet another attempt at Proto-Australian URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-05/ Last updated: 2026-01-27T15:13:32.000Z Happy February! And why is *February* spelled with two āŸØrāŸ©'s if we only pronounce one of them anyway? I've got your answer on the blog: [FebruaryWhy is ā€œFebruaryā€ spelled with an āŸØrāŸ©?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/february/) Welcome to the second issue of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and other media dealing with language and linguistics! This week I finished reading the [*Three-Body Problem*](https://amzn.to/4goZ5Dk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) trilogy (which also has a Netflix show) and was blown away. The series is one of the most original, thought-provoking, and tense stories Iā€™ve ever read. The trilogy immediately earned a place amongst my favorite books of all time. I cannot recommend it highly enough. **And, it has linguistics!** This week's issue of the *World of Words* newsletter is all about the linguistics of *The Three-Body Problem*ā€”what we can learn about the design features of language from a hypothetical alien language in which it's impossible to lie. Read (or watch) this week's issue here: [What if we could hear each otherā€™s thoughts? The linguistics of The Three-Body ProblemImagine if every word you thought could be heard by everyone around you. In this world, thinking would be the same as communicating. What would languageā€”and societyā€”be like?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-15.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/blog-banner-3.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/three-body-problem/) ## Current Linguistics *Recently published research in linguistics.* The history of Australia's Aboriginal languages has long been a mystery. Many people have hypothesized, not unreasonably, that all Australia's languages must be relatedā€”it is a giant island, after all. Reality, however, is not so tidy. The approximately 400 Aboriginal languages in Australia can be grouped into 27 different families, but a single one of those families, Pamaā€“Nyungan, comprises about 300 of those languages. The remaining families are clustered in the north of the continent (Top End), and given the convenience label Non-Pamaā€“Nyungan, even though all those families are unrelated to each other. They're also not related to any of the languages on the nearby island of New Guinea. šŸŒ  By the way, the term Pamaā€“Nyungan is what's called a ****coordinate compound**. Notice that the two words are separated by an en dash rather than a hyphen. In coordinate compounds, the two composite terms represent two ends on a scale or continuum. The **natureā€“nurture* debate is one example. The term Pamaā€“Nyungan refers to a language continuum with the Pama languages on one end and the Nyungan languages on the other. There have been many attempts to group the Non-Pamaā€“Nyungan families into a larger macro-family, or even into a hypothetical superfamily with Pamaā€“Nyungan called Proto-Australian. Such attempts are often speculative at best, and shoddy scholarship at worst. Well, now we've got [another attempt to add to the list](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111421889/html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). I won't evaluate their work here because I haven't read it in depth yet, but I think there's good reason to approach their claims with extreme caution. The biggest hurdle the authors have to overcome in order for their hypothesis to be convincing is showing that the similarities between Pamaā€“Nyungan and Non-Pamaā€“Nyungan are not just due to contact. They need to be able to demonstrate systematic sound changes across a sufficiently large or core set of vocabularyā€”*and across all 27 families.* Given that nobody's even managed to do this across *two* of those language families in a way that has been widely accepted by linguists to date, I am extremely skeptical of their claims. If it's true that all 27 families are related, then it should be just as easyā€”nay, easierā€”to establish connections between one or two of those families first, and then work backwards to the protolanguage from there. Whenever I see one of these studies purportedly lumping a diverse range of languages into a single macro-family without having first done the groundwork of establishing the more recent branches of the purported tree, my default assumption is that the study is worthless until I'm convinced otherwise. Harsh, I realize, but sadly a good heuristic nonetheless. (I also don't think I'm alone in this mindset. I suspect this study will be pretty contentious among Australianists.) šŸ’” **If any of my linguist colleagues are reading this and would like to weigh in on the study for my readers, feel free to* [**email me*](mailto:danny@linguisticdiscovery.com) *with your thoughts. Guest posts are always welcome too!* If you'd like to read a writeup of their research aimed at a general audience, here's a piece by the authors in *The Conversation*: [New evidence confirms our Indigenous languages have a common source, but how they spread remains a mysteryStandard rates of diversification predict there should be many unrelated Indigenous languages on the mainland. But this is not the case.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946.png)The ConversationMark Harvey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250128-15-eoygmy.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-confirms-our-indigenous-languages-have-a-common-source-but-how-they-spread-remains-a-mystery-242576?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) The research they refer to in the article is actually a book, but they have an earlier article advancing the hypothesis as well: [Proto-AustralianThis book is the first full evaluation of the Proto-Australian hypothesis, which proposes that most Australian languages have a common ancestor: Proto-Australian \[PA\]. Using the standard methodologies of historical linguistics, the authors show that nearly all Australian languages descend from PA. Given that PA was a single language, it was spoken only in a small area of Australia. Its descendants have spread across the continent. Current theories of language spread do not offer clear motivations for large-scale spread in hunter-gatherer economies. This raises significant questions for analyses of Australian prehistory and archaeology specifically, and more widely for general theories of hunter-gatherer prehistory and language spread.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/ec7d7606b4e2f3f921b5e1700948efb6-favicon.ico)De Gruyter MoutonLicensed![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/product)](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111421889/html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Reconstructing remote relationships | John BenjaminsEvaluation of hypotheses on genetic relationships depends on two factors: database size and criteria on correspondence quality. For hypotheses on remote relationships, databases are often small. Therefore, detailed consideration of criteria on correspondence quality is important. Hypotheses on remote relationships commonly involve greater geographical and temporal ranges. Consequently, we propose that there are two factors which are likely to play a greater role in comparing hypotheses of chance, contact and inheritance for remote relationships: (i) spatial distribution of corresponding forms; and (ii) language specific unpredictability in related paradigms. Concentrated spatial distributions disfavour hypotheses of chance, and discontinuous distributions disfavour contact hypotheses, whereas hypotheses of inheritance may accommodate both. Higher levels of language-specific unpredictability favour remote over recent transmission. We consider a remote relationship hypothesis, the Proto-Australian hypothesis. We take noun class prefixation as a test dataset for evaluating this hypothesis against these two criteria, and we show that inheritance is favoured over chance and contact.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon.png)John BenjaminsMark Harvey|Robert Mailhammer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/jbe.svg)](https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/dia.15032.har?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Further Reading This book is by another controversial author, R.M.W. Dixon, but he's controversial for the exact opposite reason than the above study: he thinks that even the Pamaā€“Nyungan family can't be established as a legitimate language family. He doesn't get into that controversy much in this book, however. Instead the book is a fun introduction to the diversity of Australian Aboriginal languages: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-4.png)](https://amzn.to/3WP0xrL?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon.com: Australiaā€™s Original Languages: An Introduction eBook : Dixon, R. M. W.: BooksAmazon.com: Australiaā€™s Original Languages: An Introduction eBook : Dixon, R. M. W.: Books![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-26.ico)R. M. W. Dixon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ATVPDKIKX0DER-139-0453773-7953827-X0DMHNBR26Z3FGPNTDTZ-uedata-s--2Frd-2Fuedata-3Fstaticb-26id-3DX0DMHNBR26Z3FGPNTDTZ-0)](https://amzn.to/42Hzt1B?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) This is another tangentially relevant article in *The Conversation* by excellent linguist Claire Bowern, where I got some of the other stats in this section from: [The origins of Pama-Nyungan, Australiaā€™s largest family of Aboriginal languagesThe origin of around 300 of Australiaā€™s Aboriginal languages lies in Queensland, about 6,000 years ago.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-2.png)The ConversationClaire Bowern![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20180309-30972-1wy2xwi.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/the-origins-of-pama-nyungan-australias-largest-family-of-aboriginal-languages-92997?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’ Enjoying this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) --- Babies as young as 4 months can tell how the sounds of different languages are made: [Babies as young as 4 months can tell how the sounds of different languages are made ā€“ new researchThe findings shake up previous ideas about language learning ā€“ and give us an earlier window to help children who might be at risk of speech or language delays.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-1.png)The ConversationEylem Altuntas![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20250127-17-scpftx.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/babies-as-young-as-4-months-can-tell-how-the-sounds-of-different-languages-are-made-new-research-248225?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## This Week's Reads *Interesting articles I've come across this week.* Did you know that the pornography website *Pornhub.com*, being the 16th-most-visited website in the world, actually has a fantastic data analytics team? They can, for example, detect major cultural events in their usage data, such as the solar eclipse of 2017, and the false missile alert in Hawaii in 2018, during which their traffic plummeted. Each year Pornhub publishes a statistical roundup of its users and search trends. Naturally, they pay close attention to search terms as well, which are of potential linguistic interest. This year, Dave Wilton over at the [*Strong Language*](https://stronglang.wordpress.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) blog has done [an analysis of Pornhub's 2024 Year in Review](https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/02/01/pornhubs-woty/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): [![](https://stronglang.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/sl_banner_subtitle_low.jpg)](https://stronglang.wordpress.com/2025/02/01/pornhubs-woty/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- This is older news, but in 2019 the Apostrophe Protection Society shut down. "Grammar" pedants everywhere (i.e. people who think that punctuation is grammarā€”it isn't) were dismayed. [What the Death of the Apostrophe Protection Society Means for GrammariansThe head of the society signed off for good, declaring that ā€œThe ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won!ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x-1.png)Mental FlossEllen Gutoskey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/619530-flickr-12098722316-48eb009ba9-o-b3cdb2e292797738147efe2fbf3fcf06.jpg)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/619530/apostrophe-protection-society-shuts-down/partners/47910?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Have we murdered the apostrophe?Last year, the Apostrophe Protection Society was disbanded, having supposedly failed in its mission. But what is the correct use of the grammatical mark anyway, asks Helene Schumacher.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-1.png)BBCHĆ©lĆØne Schumacher![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/p083xfmt.jpg)](https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200217-have-we-murdered-the-apostrophe?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- The title of this article just reminds me of one of my favorite passages from the *Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy* series (but the article is really interesting too): [Time Travelerā€™s Guide: Verb Tenses in 8 Languages From Around the WorldSome languages have a staggering 10 tenses.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x-2.png)Mental FlossBrett Reynolds![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/01h7xc843vey492wgrnq.jpg)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/verb-tenses-in-languages-around-the-world/partners/47910?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) > One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem in becoming your own father or mother that a broad-minded and well-adjusted family can't cope with. There is no problem with changing the course of historyā€”the course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. All the important changes have happened before the things they were supposed to change and it all sorts itself out in the end. > > The major problem is simply one of grammar, and the main work to consult in this matter is Dr. Dan Streetmentioner's Time Traveler's Handbook of 1001 Tense Formations. It will tell you, for instance, how to describe something that was about to happen to you in the past before you avoided it by time-jumping forward two days in order to avoid it. The event will be described differently according to whether you are talking about it from the standpoint of your own natural time, from a time in the further future, or a time in the further past and is further complicated by the possibility of conducting conversations while you are actually traveling from one time to another with the intention of becoming your own mother or father. > > Most readers get as far as the Future Semiconditionally Modified Subinverted Plagal Past Subjunctive Intentional before giving up; and in fact in later editions of the book all pages beyond this point have been left blank to save on printing costs. > > The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy skips lightly over this tangle of academic abstraction, pausing only to note that the term "Future Perfect" has been abandoned since it was discovered not to be. > > \~ Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Ch. 15 ## Books & Media *New (and some old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.* I came across two new(ish) books on etymology for kids! And if you're not already familiar with fellow linguistics communicator [Jess Zafarris'](https://jesszafarris.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) etymology book for kids, let me turn you on to that as well: - [Once upon a word: A word-origin dictionary for kids](https://amzn.to/3PTMihJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2020) - [Every word tells a story: An extraordinary A to Z of etymological exploration](https://amzn.to/3PVAxXX?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2022) - [Wonderful words that tell a tale: An etymological exploration of over 100 everyday words](https://amzn.to/3PW9ATW?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2024) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/91DoEYXidyL._SY385_.jpg)](https://amzn.to/3PW9ATW?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) I actually also have an entire list of books on linguistics for kids: [Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Amazon Page - Linguistics for KidsShop recommended products from Linguistic Discovery on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Linguistic Discoveryā€™s favorite products.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-22.ico)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/61qYTOWBt1L._CR0-2C0-2C1080-2C1080_._US500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery/list/J2J7ACV0ADFS?ref%5F=cm%5Fsw%5Fr%5Fcp%5Fud%5Faipsflist%5F35GZNE1SZHD5GC1G52R2&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- I was reading [*Babel: The Language Magazine*](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) this week and came across a pretty startling fact: > \[B\]oth men and women used the pronoun ā€˜Iā€™ at roughly the same rateā€”it accounted for 3ā€“5% of their words. But that rate spiked to 8% or higher when the speaker was suffering from depression. > > \~ "In defence of plumbing", Babel: The Language Magazine, No. 48 This led me to the realization that one of the authors of the original research study where this statistic is from is also the author of a great pop linguistics book, [*The secret life of pronouns: What our words say about us*](https://amzn.to/4aJDG6H?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image-4.png)](https://amzn.to/4aJDG6H?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Here's the original research article: - Stephanie Rude, Eva-Maria Gortner, & James Pennebaker. 2004\. Language use of depressed and depression-vulnerable college students. *Cognition & Emotion* 18(8): 1121ā€“1133\. DOI: [10.1080/02699930441000030](https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930441000030?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## Resources *Maps, databases, lists, websites, etc. on language and linguistics.* In honor of *Lingthusiasm*'s 100th episodiversary, hosts Gretchen McCulloch & Lauren Gawne have put together a fantastic list of "[101 places to get enthusiastic about linguistics](https://lingthusiasm.com/post/774151792075390976/101-places-to-get-enthusiastic-about-linguistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)". [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image.png)](https://lingthusiasm.com/post/774151792075390976/101-places-to-get-enthusiastic-about-linguistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- [Last week](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-04/) I shared an infographic from Ryan Starkey of Starkey Comics, but it's worth perusing his entire website. It's a treasure trove of great illustrations and etymological tidbits: [Home - Starkey ComicsColourful images about culture, life, and language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-Logo-jpg-4-1.jpg)Starkey Comics![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Starkey-Logo.jpg)](https://starkeycomics.com/home/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) --- Every once in a while I like to remind my readers about how I handle sources, citations, and errata in my online writing: [AboutLinguistic Discovery is all about the science and diversity of the worldā€™s languages! šŸ—£ļø![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-2.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-7-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/about/#%F0%9F%93%91-sources-citations) (This is really just so that I have something to point people to when they start getting really argumentative in the comment sections on social media.) --- That's all for this week's issue of *Discovery Dispatch*! Thank you for taking the time to read to the end! I'd love to know how I'm doing so far too: don't hesitate to [send me an email](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) and let me know what you think. Are there too many items? Not enough commentary? Any feedback you have is appreciated! Hope you have a wonderful week! \~ Danny šŸ’ Enjoy this post? Consider becoming a supporter to get even more! ****šŸŒŸ** ****Perks** **šŸŒŸ** šŸ“ early access to chapters of my book, **Universal: The diversity of language and the unity of the human mind* āž• bonus articles/videos šŸ‘€ early access to articles/videos šŸ’ support my mission to educate the public about the science and diversity of language! ****Price:** $5/month (USD) **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* [šŸ’ Become a supporter!](#/portal/signup) --- šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### What alien languages can teach us about human language: The linguistics of The Three-Body Problem URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/three-body-problem/ Last updated: 2026-03-26T19:44:35.000Z ## Contents 1. [How the Trisolaran language works](#how-the-trisolaran-language-works) 2. [The design features of language](#the-design-features-of-language) 3. [What we can learn from Trisolaran language](#what-we-can-learn-from-the-trisolaran-language) 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 languageā€”and societyā€”be like? This is exactly the thought experiment that Cixin Liu explores as a component of his brilliant [*Three-Body Problem*](https://amzn.to/4goZ5Dk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) trilogy (officially titled *Remembrance of Earthā€™s Past*, and recently adapted as a [Netflix series](https://www.netflix.com/title/81024821?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). [![Cover of the book "The Three-Body Problem".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image-5.png)](https://amzn.to/4goZ5Dk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4aTpesY?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸŒ  Some of you might already be objecting, ā€œI donā€™t think in words, so it wouldnā€™t matter.ā€ If thatā€™s the case, youā€™re part of the minority of people who [lack an ](https://www.livescience.com/does-everyone-have-inner-monologue.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[****inner monologue**](https://www.livescience.com/does-everyone-have-inner-monologue.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). The majority of people use language to some extent when thinking. So this post will have to be a double thought experiment for you. *Prefer a video version of this article? Watch here!* ## How the Trisolaran language works āš ļø ****Warning:** Moderate plot spoiler for **The dark forest* ahead. Early in the series, humans make long-range contact with an alien race they name the Trisolarans, after their trinary star system. (In the TV show they are called the San Ti, from the Chinese äø‰ä½“äŗŗ *Sān TĒ RĆ©n* ā€˜Three Body Peopleā€™.) After establishing instantaneous communication using quantum entanglement, the two civilizations began to learn about each other, until one feature of human communication gives the Trisolarans cause for grave concern. In this scene early in the series' second novel, Mike Evans, a representative of the one organization in contact with the Trisolarans, talks with them via instantaneous long-range communications: > **Trisolarans:** ā€œThinkā€ and ā€œsay.ā€ Weā€™ve just learned, to our surprise, that they are not, in fact, synonyms. > > **Mike Evans:** They are not synonyms at all. > > **Trisolarans:** In our understanding, they ought to be. ā€œThinkā€ means using thought organs to conduct mental activity. ā€œSayā€ means communicating the content of thoughts to a counterpart. The latter, in your world, is accomplished through the modulation of vibrations in the air produced by the vocal cords. Are these definitions correct? > > **Evans:** They are. But doesnā€™t this demonstrate that ā€œthinkā€ and ā€œsayā€ arenā€™t synonyms? > > **Trisolarans:** In our understanding, this shows that they are synonyms. > > \[ā€¦\] > > **Evans:** \[W\]hat are your organs of communication? > > **Trisolarans:** We do not have organs of communication. Our brains can display our thoughts to the outside world, thereby achieving communication. > > **Evans:** Display thoughts? How is that done? > > **Trisolarans:** The thoughts in our brains emit electromagnetic waves on all frequencies, including what is visible light to us. They can be displayed at a significant distance. > > **Evans:** So that means to you, thinking is speaking? > > **Trisolarans:** Hence they are synonyms. > > \[ā€¦\] > > **Evans:** Your thoughts are completely exposed to the outside world. You canā€™t hide. > > **Trisolarans:** How can thoughts hide? Your ideas are confusing. > > \[ā€¦\] > > **Evans:** \[W\]hen you communicate face-to-face, everything you communicate is true. Itā€™s impossible for you to cheat or lie, so you canā€™t pursue complicated strategic thinking. > > **Trisolarans:** We can communicate over significant distances, not just face-to-face. The words ā€œcheatingā€ and ā€œlyingā€ are another two that we have had a hard time understanding. > > **Evans:** What sort of a society is it when thought is completely transparent? What sort of culture does it produce? What sort of politics? No scheming, no pretending. > > **Trisolarans:** What are ā€œschemingā€ and ā€œpretending?ā€ > > \[Evans says nothing.\] > > **Trisolarans:** Human communication organs are but an evolutionary deficiency, a necessary compensation for the fact that your brains canā€™t emit strong thought waves. This is one of your biological weaknesses. Direct display of thought is a superior, more efficient form of communication. > > **Evans:** A deficiency? A weakness? No\[,\] you are wrong. This time you are totally wrong. > > \[The Trisolarans think for a bit.\] > > **Trisolarans:** You are correct. Looking back at \[the histories Iā€™ve read\], I understand them a little better. > > **Evans:** \[T\]hereā€™s a long road to travel before you arrive at a true understanding of human matters. Iā€™m almost afraid that youā€™ll never be able to. > > **Trisolarans:** Indeed, they are complicated. All I know now is why I didnā€™t understand them before. You are right. \[ā€¦\] I am afraid of you. > > (The Dark Forest, pp. 17ā€“24) The Trisolarans, now terrified of humanityā€™s ability to lie, proceed to cut off all communication with Earth and prepare for war. ā¤ļø As a quick aside: I can say unreservedly that the **Three-Body Problem* trilogy is one of the most original, thought-provoking, and tense stories Iā€™ve ever read, haunting and beautiful in both its imagery and exploration of what it means to be human. The trilogy immediately earned a place amongst my favorite books of all time. I cannot recommend it highly enough. ## The design features of language So what would the Trisolaran language be like? Weā€™ve already seen one consequenceā€”the inability to lie. Yet linguists have long considered **prevarication** (lying or deception) to be one of the fundamental **design features of language**, one of a cluster of properties of human language thatā€”taken togetherā€”distinguish it from other forms of animal communication. Here it's important to make a distinction between signals that are **communicative** (that is, intentional), and signals that are merely **informative** (conveying information, whether intentionally or unintentionally). Animals are replete with many types of informative signals, such as the way that large antlers signal that an elk is healthy. Informative signals in the animal kingdom are generally honest because such signals are *costly*: > Elks cannot lie with their antlers for the simple reason that an elk that is not actually big and strong will be incapable of developing and wearing tines that are that large. The lie would give itself away. The same applies to the calls of the blackcock or the song of the nightingaleā€”singing and calling for hours is *hard work* and a male has to be in peak form to be able to do it. (Johansson 2021: 35) If those signals were easy to imitate, they would be meaningless as an indicator of physical strength. Some species do nonetheless evolve deceptive signals, like the way the harmless hoverfly evolved the same striped abdomen as the more dangerous wasp, but these signals are only successful in their deception so long as they do not become commonplace among other species. They also cannot be considered intentional. When it comes to intentional communicative signals performed by animals, many species seem to exhibit some evidence of occasional deception (though it is always extremely difficult to tell whether these apparent "deceptive" behaviors are in fact intentional or merely learned behavior). For instance, low-ranking female baboons appear to attempt to hide new food sources they discover in the presence of high-ranking female baboons, but high-ranking baboons don't bother with such antics (Cheney & Seyfarth 2007: 153). Likewise, when alpha male bonobos mate with low status female bonobos, they generally keep quiet, as opposed to when they mate with high status females (Johansson 2021: 34). In both cases, it seems these simians are intentionally concealing information from their troop. Yet human language is unique in that talk is cheap and we can lie at will. Deception in the rest of the animal kingdom is a marginal behavior at best, but human behavior is rife with it. But if we can manipulate truth in language so easily, why hasn't language become meaningless? Why doesn't the whole human communicative system just fall apart? Conversation is based on certain principles of cooperation known as **Gricean maxims**. Though these maxims can be subverted or even ignored, we generally follow them when we interact with each other. Ironically, itā€™s this very foundation of social trust that makes lying possible. Without such social cooperation, weā€™d have to assume all communication was a potential lie, and therefore all talk would be meaningless. It follows that humans must have already had a culture of social cooperation before language evolved. In one respect, the Trisolaran language is like those elk antlers. The signal cannot be manipulated to deceive. But in terms of evolutionary costliness, Trisolaran communication is like human languageā€”cheap and easy to produce. Fittingly, when humanity first contacts the Trisolarans, Trisolaran society is extremely totalitarian. Social cooperation is not necessary for their form of communication to work, so their society managed to evolve without it. It is only after their exposure to human culture with our ability to lie that the Trisolarans enter a cultural golden age and free themselves of their totalitarian shackles. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* The Trisolaran language challenges linguistic design principles in other ways as well. Humans can generally hear their own speech or see their own signing, and have the ability to control or modify it. But while Trisolarans can perceive their own thought waves, they donā€™t control them to the same extent that humans control what they say or sign. The ability to perceive and control oneā€™s own language output is a design feature known as **complete feedback**. Trisolarans seem to exhibit only partial feedback. One respect in which Trisolaran biology differs drastically from human biology is that Trisolarans reproduce by first physically merging together, and then separating into three to five offspring, each of whom have some of their parentsā€™ memories and personality traits. As such, Trisolarans have no childhood, and presumably never have to learn their own language. (I can only imagine how heated and complicated the debate between linguistic nativism vs. functionalism is on the planet Trisolarisā€”and itā€™s already pretty heated here on Earth! Is the Trisolaran language *innate* or simply *remembered*?) Trisolarans lack one of the key mechanisms by which language change happens on Earthā€”**cultural transmission**, another design feature of language. Since every child is exposed to different sets of linguistic input in childhood, every child learns a slightly different grammar of the same language, with slightly different pronunciations. As they learn, children often reanalyze expressions in new ways. This process constitutes the primary engine by which languages change over time. On Trisolaris, this process doesnā€™t happen. (So all those grammar pedants who rail against language change and constantly complain about how the kids are ruining language would love Trisolaris.) Instead of child language acquisition, Trisolarans presumably just acquire a blend of their two parentsā€™ **idiolects** (personal dialects), avoiding much of the intergenerational variation we see in human language. However, child language acquisition is not the *only* mechanism by which language changes. Though our idiolect generally stays fairly stable after puberty, the way we speak does continue to change over the course of our lifetime. Much of this change is driven by social factors. Certain ways of speaking are associated with different social groups or categories, but peopleā€™s social categories change frequently throughout their lives. Assuming that the same holds true of Trisolaran society, it seems reasonable to assume that the Trisolaran language would still changeā€”albeit drastically more slowlyā€”even without child language acquisition. Perhaps the Trisolaran language is like Icelandicā€”still comprehensible even after a thousand years. ā˜ļø Okay, itā€™s a bit dubious that modern Icelandic speakers could actually understand spoken Old Icelandic. The language has undergone many changes in sounds, grammar, and vocabulary since Old Icelandic was spoken around the turn of the second millennium. For a more in-depth look at how Icelandic has changed over time, check out this issue of the newsletter: [Why do languages change? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 1Could a language stay frozen in time?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-48.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) ## What we can learn from the Trisolaran language In the end, even though the discovery of a Trisolaran language would force us to relegate certain features we once thought were essential to language, such a deception-free language might not be as fundamentally different from human language as one would originally think. Human language is very much shaped by its mediumsā€”the physiology of the human vocal tract, the properties of sound propagating through air, our ability to perceive and process those sounds, the processing capabilities of the human brain, and even the medium of time. Over the course of the two million years that the *homo* genus has been evolving, human language has become highly optimized for these mediums, just as humans themselves have become highly optimized for using language, in a coevolutionary feedback loop. If our hearing range were slightly more restricted, our languages probably wouldnā€™t contain the **sibilant sounds** /s, z, Źƒ, Ź’, ɕ, Ź‚, Ź‘, Ź/. If our working memory were slightly smaller, we might use fewer pronouns, demonstratives, or relative clauses (Kibrik 2011: 53). [If Earth had a warmer climate, our languages might have more sonorant sounds.](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01285/full?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) If all spoken languages were tonal, itā€™s likely our entire species would have evolved [perfect pitch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute%5Fpitch?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Linguistics). (The incidence of perfect pitch is [drastically higher among speakers of Mandarin than English](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/speaking-in-tones-jul10/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), for example.) Humans are capable of making miniscule adjustments to the frequency of vibration of their vocal folds within microseconds, a degree of incredibly fine motor skill that is lacking in the vocal tracts of other primates. Language is so intertwined with the evolution of our species that itā€™s difficult to imagine what non-human languages might be like. Yet Cixin Liuā€™s fantastic *Three-Body Problem* trilogy lets us explore another way language might manifest, and in doing so helps us better understand what it is that makes human language unique, and how we should define language in the first place. Want to explore the linguistics of more sci-fi stories? Check out these articles! [What kind of language is Eridian, question?The linguistics of Project Hail Mary![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-117.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Rocky-banner.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/project-hail-mary/) [Why do languages change? The linguistics of ā€œThe Iron Dreamersā€, Part 1Could a language stay frozen in time?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-118.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/The-Iron-Dreamers-5.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/iron-dreamers-1/) [*Get your own copy of* The Three-Body Problem *here*.](https://amzn.to/4goZ5Dk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![Cover for the book, "The Three-Body Problem".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image-6.png)](https://amzn.to/4goZ5Dk?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ™ Credits This issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter was edited by Amy Treber. If youā€™re looking for professional copyediting services, email Amy at [amytreberedits@gmail.com](mailto:amytreberedits@gmail.com). The final responsibility for any mistakes or omissions is of course still wholly my own. ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-19.png)](https://amzn.to/4jv0Mlv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4jv0Mlv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-20.png)](https://amzn.to/414bneO?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/414bneO?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-21.png)](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-22.png)](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-23.png)](https://amzn.to/4gpq4ih?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4gpq4ih?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Cheney, Dorothy L. & Robert M. Seyfarth. 2007\. [*Baboon metaphysics: The evolution of a social mind*](https://amzn.to/40Et0Sr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). University of Chicago Press. - Johansson, Sverker. 2021\. [*The dawn of language: How we came to talk*](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Quercus Publishing. - Kibrik, Andrej A. 2011\. [*Reference in discourse*](https://amzn.to/3Qp3oUA?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Oxford Studies in Typology & Linguistic Theory). Oxford University Press. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Welcome to Discovery Dispatch! URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2025-04/ Last updated: 2025-04-27T01:46:46.000Z Welcome to the first issue of *Discovery Dispatch*, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics! This weekly digest is different from the *World of Words* newsletter. The newsletter contains original articles I've written on different topics, while *Discovery Dispatch* is more of a curated list of what's new this week. Let's dive in! Here's what's new this week: ## Updates - Linguistic Discovery just reached 900,000 followers! Iā€™m so humbled by this, and thankful to all of you that engage with my content and keep me motivated to do more! ![Graph showing Linguistic Discoveryā€™s growth in followers by year. 2020: 5,150; 2021: 85,915; 2022: 175,788; 2023: 501,487; 2024: 896,631; 2025 to date: 901,570.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image-3.png) - This weekend was the annual meeting of the [Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas](https://www.ssila.org/en/home?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (SSILA) online, which is always one of my favorite conferences. Typically the conference is held concurrently with the annual [Linguistic Society of America](https://www.lsadc.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) conference (*the* big yearly conference in U.S. linguistics), but this year the organizers decided to stick with an online format so that more people could attend and present from all over, without it being cost prohibitive. You can see all the cool talks that were given [here](https://www.ssila.org/2025-program?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## New from Linguistic Discovery [Why do the British pronounce ā€œherbā€ with an /h/?Why donā€™t Americans pronounce herb with an /h/?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-16.ico)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1417533366444-43834ad6b3bb-1)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/herb/) [Renaissance on the bayou: Revitalizing the Chitimacha languageThe Chitimacha language was once thought to be extinct, but today is undergoing a renaissance as young people learn the language again.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-12.ico)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/) [From counting to language: How writing evolvedThe earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today. Hereā€™s the story of Sumerian numerals.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-15.ico)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/cuneiform-numerals-1.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/) This next one's actually an older post that was never sent out via email, so here it is in case you missed it! [ā€˜dogā€™ vs. ā€˜horseā€™ in Native American languagesWhy are dogs called ā€˜little horsesā€™ in some Native American languages?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-11.ico)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1637378735949-09b696a5aaa6-1)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/dog-vs-horse-in-native-american-languages/) ## This Week's Reads/Watches/Listens - Fellow educational TikToker [Kelsie Ehalt](https://www.tiktok.com/@wedgie%5Fbce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)'s channel is all about cuneiform (hence the brilliant handle [@wedgie\_BCE](https://www.tiktok.com/@wedgie%5Fbce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). Like many creators in light of recent TikTok drama, Kelsie has been shifting towards [longform videos on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@wedgie%5Fbce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) lately, and their first few videos are fantastic. If you've been enjoying my content about cuneiform and Sumerian numerals in the past few weeks, you'll love [Kelsie's channel](https://www.youtube.com/@wedgie%5Fbce?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* Last year, Jess Zafarris (author of the etymology books [*Once upon a word: A word-origin dictionary for kids*](https://amzn.to/3YH2SGH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and [*Words from hell: Unearthing the darkest secrets of English etymology*](https://amzn.to/3UQYCSI?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) and Rob Watts (host of the popular YouTube channel [RobWords](https://www.youtube.com/@RobWords?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) launched the [*Words Unravelled*](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) podcast, in which they teach you all about the stories behind everyday words. I've spent the last several weeks bingeing all their episodes and just caught up last week. Jess and Rob are always a ton of fun to listen to, and I come away from every episode having learned something new. You can listen to them on both YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts: [Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess ZafarrisTwo of the internetā€™s leading word nerds are here to unravel the stories behind everyday terms. Join YouTuber Rob Watts (aka RobWords) and author Jess Zafarris in exploring the wonders of the English language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon_144x144.png)YouTube![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/YImm3QtF4lyc8vt6KiGJvIwKjHVD-8u69fHlDePxRbQhbHRKMJSkljuyQ7FK5UFp_RQpWACl-s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)](https://www.youtube.com/@WordsUnravelled/videos?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess ZafarrisSociety & Culture Podcast Ā· 30 Episodes Ā· Updated Weekly![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-180.png)Apple Podcastshuckleberry79![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/1200x1200bf-60.jpg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/words-unravelled-with-robwords-and-jess-zafarris/id1737751787?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - Ryan Starkey of [Starkey Comics](https://starkeycomics.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) never disappoints with his infographics. Here's a fun one about the etymology/etymologies for *Tetracerus quadricornis*, the four-horned antelope: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image-2.png) - In every natural language, the most frequent word in the language occurs twice as frequently as the 2nd-most-frequent word, and three times as frequently as the 3rd-most-frequent word, and so on. This pattern is called **Zipf's Law**, and [IFLScience has a short article](https://www.iflscience.com/almost-all-languages-appear-to-follow-zipfs-law-and-we-have-no-idea-why-76965?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) explaining how this works, what it tells us about language, and some ideas about why the pattern occurs. [Almost All Languages Appear To Follow Zipfā€™s Law, And We Have No Idea WhyEven the languages we havenā€™t deciphered yet, such as the one in the Voynich Manuscript, appear to follow this rule.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.png)IFLScienceJames Felton![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/zipfs-law-meta.png)](https://www.iflscience.com/almost-all-languages-appear-to-follow-zipfs-law-and-we-have-no-idea-why-76965?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - The latest issue of [*Babel* magazine](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) has a great interview with Tim Brookes, head of the [Endangered Alphabets Project](https://www.endangeredalphabets.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) and author of [*An atlas of endangered alphabets: A global exploration of the writing systems on the verge of vanishing*](https://amzn.to/4hoRPsb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). [Babel MagazineThe quarterly language magazine that brings you Babelzine, the cutting-edge linguistic research in an accessible and colourful format.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-19.ico)Babel Magazine | The magazine for lovers of languages and linguisticsStephen Fry![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Babel-Best-Of-cover.jpg)](https://babelzine.co.uk/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [An Atlas of Endangered Alphabets: Brookes, Tim: 9781529408249: Amazon.com: BooksAn Atlas of Endangered Alphabets \[Brookes, Tim\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. An Atlas of Endangered Alphabets![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-7.ico)Follow![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ATVPDKIKX0DER-131-3236809-0444007-MDAHJBVNS9VMS5J9SSF9-uedata-s--2Frd-2Fuedata-3Fstaticb-26id-3DMDAHJBVNS9VMS5J9SSF9-0)](https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Endangered-Alphabets-Tim-Brookes/dp/1529408245?dplnkId=08cc67ab-fa47-4d8b-a091-4aa7c0aef7e5&nodl=1&linkCode=sl1&tag=dwhieb-20&linkId=2b676a6261fe9743bb5f6fd087d8d14f&language=en%5FUS&ref%5F=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Other Articles [Which Are The Most Spoken Languages In The United Kingdom?While English is the predominant language in the United Kingdom, a rich tapestry of other languages is also spoken. Discover the most widely used languages in the UK and learn about their historical roots and significance.ā€![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-17.ico)BabbelThomas Moore Devlin![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/UKLanguages.png)](https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/most-spoken-languages-in-united-kingdom?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Meta takes us a step closer to Star Trekā€™s universal translatorThe computer science behind translating speech from 100 source languages.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/cropped-ars-logo-512_480-300x300.png)Ars TechnicaJacek Krywko![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-1341773965-1152x648.jpg)](https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/01/meta-takes-us-a-step-closer-to-star-treks-universal-translator/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [The Race to Translate Animal Sounds Into Human LanguageWith big cash prizes at stakeā€”and AI supercharging researchā€”interspecies translation is closer than ever. But what, if anything, would animals want to tell us?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-18.ico)WIREDArik Kershenbaum![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/WW25-Science-AK-Lily-LK.png)](https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-translation-animal-sounds-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Hot Wooder: The Philadelphia Accent Is In Danger of Disappearing Because of MillennialsKate Winsletā€™s Philadelphia accent in ā€˜Mare of Easttownā€™ could be a linguistic time capsule in a couple of decades.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/MFFavicon_216ef394-60ef-4fac-9984-97a8819af760_400x.png)Mental FlossMichele Debczak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/647114-michele-k-short-hbo-477eee641fc18a9edaf3a817b35bbd59.jpg)](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/647114/philadelphia-accent-disappearing-because-millennials/partners/47910?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Books & Media This book came out in 2023, but only just came across my radar: [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/715CTkzGEmL._SY425_.jpg)](https://amzn.to/3CpJ4iH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) You might be familiar with the fierce debate in linguistics between nativism, which claims that certain aspects of grammar are innate, and empiricism (specifically usage-based linguistics or functionalism), which claims that there are no special cognitive faculties for language, just the same cognitive capabilities we use for learning everything else. This book purports to provide an overview of that debate. However, on initial inspection, I get the impression that van der Hulst doesn't fully grasp the functionalist perspective in linguistics. For instance, he defines functionalism as it's defined in philosophy, but not the way it's defined in linguistics among linguistic functionalists themselves. I expect, being a dedicated functionalist myself, that I'll be pretty irritated by the unwitting bias in the book when I read it. But if you'd like a mostly nativist perspective on the issue, check out the book: [Amazon.com: A Mind for Language: An Introduction to the Innateness Debate: 9781108471572: van der Hulst, Harry: BooksAmazon.com: A Mind for Language: An Introduction to the Innateness Debate: 9781108471572: van der Hulst, Harry: Books![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-8.ico)Follow![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/ATVPDKIKX0DER-130-3492217-5150525-P3E12F408PSPDG6VTA50-uedata-s--2Frd-2Fuedata-3Fstaticb-26id-3DP3E12F408PSPDG6VTA50-0)](https://amzn.to/3CpJ4iH?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Some other books I discovered (or rediscovered) this week: - [Linguistic fingerprints: How language creates and reveals identity](https://amzn.to/40PtTZu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2023) ā€” All about forensic linguistics. - [Your voice speaks volumes: It's not what you say, but how you say it](https://amzn.to/4ghk2ju?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2021) ā€” Language attitudes, ideologies, and prejudices. - [The greatest invention: A history of the world in nine mysterious scripts](https://amzn.to/40xWHnV?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2022) - [Life and language beyond Earth](https://amzn.to/4jv0Mlv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (2023) ā€” Xenolinguistics! The study of alien languages. ## Other Resources - [Books on Language & Linguistics](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - My curated list of books on language and linguistics, as well as various topical lists on specific subjects (sign language, animal communication, language typology, and more). - [Linguistics Podcasts](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/podcasts) - A list of over 60 linguistics podcasts, both active and dormant. --- That's everything new from this week! I hope you found this first *Discovery Dispatch* useful and interesting! [Drop me an email](mailto:contact@linguisticdiscovery.com) and let me know what you thought of this issue, and how I can improve future ones. Have a wonderful week! \~ Danny ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Why do the British pronounce ā€œherbā€ with an /h/? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/herb/ Last updated: 2025-07-06T23:20:40.000Z Why donā€™t Americans pronounce *herb* with an /h/? It turns out that the American pronunciation is the original one! The word *herb* was borrowed from Old French *erbe* ā€˜grass, herb, animal feedā€™ around 1300, at which point neither English nor French pronounced (or spelled it) with an /h/. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* But during the Renaissance in the 1400s, this was one of the many words that scholars decided to respell to more closely match their classical Greek/Latin origins. So writers began spelling the word as āŸØherbāŸ©, to match the original Latin *herba* ā€˜young plant; grass, herb, weedā€™. When a word is respelled to match its historical pronunciation (despite the fact that the word is no longer spelled that way), it's called an **etymological respelling**. When it happens on the basis of the historical Latin word, it's called **Latinization** specifically. šŸŒ  Sometimes words are respelled in ways that have no historical basis whatsoever. For example, the word **thumb* ends with a āŸØbāŸ© not because it was once pronounced that way, but because of influence from words like **dumb*. So that āŸØbāŸ© truly has no historical basis. Cases like these are called ****unetymological respellings** or ****unetymological letters**. It wasnā€™t until the 1800s that many British speakers began pronouncing an /h/ at the beginning of the word to match its spelling, making this another interesting example where American English is actually more linguistically conservative than British English. The Old English word that was used before English borrowed *herb* from French was *wort*. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“š Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6-c3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48b75e96-3bff-4c5c-a251-eecb561c8167_297x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4krA7qf?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oFMa!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9f3c602b-6268-4afd-a966-7c7751d21b1e_304x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4eupBKB?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography - [Etymonline: ](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=herb&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[*herb*](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=herb&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) - [Wiktionary: ](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/herb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)[*herb*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/herb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Renaissance on the bayou: Revitalizing the Chitimacha language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/renaissance-on-the-bayou/ Last updated: 2025-10-13T01:05:31.000Z In 2015 while I was working on my M.A., I competed in a 3-minute thesis competition at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Each student had 3 minutes to present their research in a way that was accessible to a general audience. This was my first foray into science communication in linguistics! I not only won the UCSB competition, but went on to place 2nd at the system-wide University of California competition. The success of that talk was a glimpse of things to come I guess! The media attention from that talk also gave me the opportunity to write an article for [The Conversation](http://theconversation.com/renaissance-on-the-bayou-the-revival-of-a-lost-language-43958?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which was picked up by media outlets all over the country, including [Time](http://time.com/3975016/chitimacha-language-comeback/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). So here's the video from that talk in 2015, and the full text of the article. I'm still very proud of it all things considered. šŸ„¹ 1. [Introduction](#introduction) 2. [Why document a language?](#why-document-a-language) 3. [Why do languages die?](#why-do-languages-die) 4. [Renaissance on the bayou](#renaissance-on-the-bayou) ## Introduction In the summer of 1930, at the dawn of the Great Depression, a 21-year-old linguist named [Morris Swadesh](https://www.jstor.org/stable/411975?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) set out for Louisiana to record the areaā€™s Native American languages, which were disappearing rapidly. Morris and his peers were in a race against time to document them, and in the small town of Charenton on the Bayou Teche, he encountered Benjamin Paul and Delphine Ducloux, members of a small tribe called Chitimacha ā€“ and the last two speakers of their language. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/APS---Ben-Paul-Whole.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/APS---Delphine-Whole.png) Benjamin Paul and Delphine DuCloux But today, if you visited the [Chitimacha reservation](http://chitimacha.gov/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), youā€™d never know that their language went unspoken for half a century. Over the past several decades, [many Native American tribes](http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/06/06%5Fbreath.shtml?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) have participated in what has become a robust language revitalization movement. As their populations of fluent speakers dwindle and age, tribes want to ensure that their heritage languages are passed on to the next generation ā€“ before itā€™s too late. But because the Chitimacha tribe had no living speakers for a number of decades, it made the challenge that much greater. In the end, the story of the languageā€™s decline, loss and rebirth is a remarkable example of cultural survival. ## Why document a language? Unlike some other cultural legacies, languages leave no trace in the archaeological record. Thereā€™s often no trace in the written record, either. [Only a small portion](https://endangeredlanguages.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) of the worldā€™s estimated [7,000 languages](http://www.ethnologue.com/statistics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) are well-documented in places like dictionaries and grammar books. Those that are least well-documented are the most endangered. Many dead or dying languages contain exotic features of verbal and written communication. Chitimacha, for example, doesnā€™t use a word 'be' in phrases like 'she is reading.' Instead, speakers must use a verb of position, such as 'she sits reading' or 'she stands reading.' These are things that challenge linguistsā€™ understanding of how language works. By working with Ben and Delphine, Morris was trying to capture a small piece of that linguistic diversity before it vanished. *A wax cylinder recording of Benjamin Paul speaking Chitimacha recorded around 1932.* Chief Benjamin Paul recording 0:00 /7.053061 1Ɨ One day, with Morris sitting on Benā€™s porch dutifully scribbling down his every word in a composition notebook, Ben finished a story (a riveting tale of how the Chitimacha first acquired fire by stealing it from a mythical old blind man in the west). He then went on to tell Morris: > **Chitimacha:** Naka dempax nus cunkt qoo keystigi. Ni xikki qaxt cuuteeti. Waakstigi panx qap nahmiigx naqa qam weytemank kaakumpi gihtk. Nidik huygi qucaaxiki. Huykx qam qoonak ni xikki ganxiki. Qix kap nuupkicuux qam weytemank ne hesigen wopiidnaa gan. Qix gix we xaa nixi kaakwikin hankix. > **English:* There were very many stories about the west. I believe I am doing well. I have not forgotten everything yet. When I die, you will not hear that sort of thing again. I am the only one here who knows the stories.* Ben passed away three years later, and Delphine not long thereafter. After their deaths, it seemed the Chitimacha language was doomed to silence. ## Why do languages die? How does a language come to have only two speakers? Why have so many Native American languages become endangered? The causes are manifold, but there are two main ones: sharp reductions in the population of the community that speaks the language, and interruptions in the traditional means of transferring the language from one generation to the next. In the past, the former caused the most damage. Native American peoples were decimated by European diseases and subject to outright warfare. ![](https://images.theconversation.com/files/89687/original/image-20150724-8478-w3cvj6.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip) **A portrait of two Chitimacha by French-born painter FranƧois Bernard (1870).* [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Two-Chitimacha-Indians%5FF%5FBernard.jpg?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Prior to European contact, the Chitimacha were lords of the bayou, with a territory stretching from Vermillion Bay in the west to present-day New Orleans in the east. They were expert canoe-makers and wielded extensive knowledge of the regionā€™s labyrinthian network of waterways. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/Lower-Mississippi-1.jpg) An early map of Louisiana showing the location of the Chitimacha, spelled "Shetimachas" on the map. But by the time the French arrived in present-day Louisiana in 1699, the tribeā€™s numbers had [dwindled to around 4,000](http://www.amazon.com/Historic-Indian-Tribes-Louisiana-Present-ebook/dp/B00B02ASTK/ref=sr%5F1%5F1%5Ftwi%5F2%5Fkin?ie=UTF8&qid=1435809417&sr=8-1&keywords=historic+indian+tribes+of+louisiana&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), their communities gutted by European diseases that spread faster than the Europeans themselves. After a protracted war with the French, they retreated deep into the bayou, where the their reservation at Charenton sits today. The 1910 census recorded [just 69 people](http://www.amazon.com/The-Indians-Southeastern-United-States/dp/087474895X?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) living there. Only later did the second cause of language decline occur, when children on the reservation were sent to the infamous Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, which interrupted the transmission of the language to the next generation. Ben and Delphine, born in the latter half of the 1800s, were part of the last generation to learn the language at home. Eventually their parents and many of their peers passed away, leaving them as the last two speakers of the language. ## Renaissance on the bayou Ben probably never imagined that the efforts of him and Delphine would spark the tribeā€™s linguistic renaissance, awakening their language from 60 years of silence. ![](https://images.theconversation.com/files/89695/original/image-20150724-8478-b1snn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip) **Delphine Ducloux was one of the two last speakers of the Chitimacha language, prior to its revival.* State Library of Louisiana. In the early 1990s, cultural director for the tribe Kim Walden received a call from the [American Philosophical Society Library](http://www.amphilsoc.org/library?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) informing her that they had all of [Morrisā€™ notebooks, and even his drafts for a grammar manual and dictionary](https://as.amphilsoc.org/repositories/2/resources/80?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), which totaled hundreds of pages in all. Thus began the herculean effort to revive the language. The tribe put together a small-but-dedicated team of language experts, who set out to learn their language as quickly as possible. They began to produce storybooks based on Ben and Delphineā€™s stories, and word lists from the dictionary manuscript. **An excerpt from the Finding Our Talk series, a documentary series about language revitalization. This episode features Chitimacha, and an interview wtribal Cultural Director Kim Walden.* In 2008, the tribe partnered with the software company Rosetta Stone on a two-year project to create computer software for learning the language, which today every registered tribal member has a copy of. This is where I came in, serving as editor and linguist consultant for the project, a monumental collaborative effort involving thousands of hours of translating, editing, recording and photographing. Weā€™re now hard at work finishing a complete dictionary and learnerā€™s reference grammar for the language. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image-1.png) Members of the Chitimacha language team (from left to right) Sam Boutteā€ , Kim Walden and Rachel Vilcan use the new language software for the first time. Today, if you stroll through the reservationā€™s school, youā€™ll hear kids speaking Chitimacha in language classes, or using it with their friends in the hall. At home they practice with the Chitimacha version of Rosetta Stone, and this past year the tribe even launched a preschool immersion program. The kids even make up slang that baffles adult ears, a sure sign that the language is doing well ā€“ and hopefully will continue to thrive, into the next generation and beyond. ### From counting to cuneiform: How writing was invented URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/sumerian-numerals/ Last updated: 2026-09-27T20:05:19.000Z The earliest known writing system, **cuneiform**, was first used to write the Sumerian language (c. 3300 BCE), and later the Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Elamite, Hurrian, Hittite, Old Persian, and Ugaritic languages (Figure 1). **But the earliest version of cuneiform wasnā€™t used to write language at allā€”it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our counting systems today.** This is the story of Sumerian numerals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-1.png) ****Figure 1.** Family tree of scripts which descend from Sumerian cuneiform. (From Coulmas 1996: 103) šŸŒ  The word **cuneiform* comes from the Latin **cuneus* ā€˜wedgeā€™, in reference to the wedge-shaped lines used to write its characters. *Prefer to watch or listen to this article instead? Here's a video version:* ## Proto-Cuneiform Sumer is generally considered to be the earliest civilization (c. 3300ā€“1900 BCE) in the technical sense of the word. As Sumerian society grew in complexity and established rich trade networks throughout Mesopotamia, the development of systems of record keeping and accounting became paramount. Previously Neolithic or tribal societies had less use for extensive systems of record keeping or even counting, and this is still true today. The Ɩs language of Central Siberia, for example, doesnā€™t have a word for *thousand*, which one speaker explained by saying, ā€œIn the olden days, our people never need to count a thousand things ā€¦ so thereā€™s no word for it.ā€ (Harrison 2007: 189). The Yanoama language of the Amazon lacks words for numbers higher than 3 (Harrison 2007: 187). The PirahĆ£ language of Brazil is famously claimed by linguist Daniel Everett to lack numbers entirely. Many languages spoken by small communities do have rich and complex systems of counting that reach very high numbers, however. Such complex systems just arenā€™t always necessary. šŸŒ  Sumerian was a [****language isolate**](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/isolate/), meaning that it has no known linguistic relatives. [What are language isolates?A language isolate is a language that is unrelated to any other known language.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-18.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/banner.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/isolate/) The growth of complex societies like Sumer, on the other hand, necessitates the use of extensive counting and tallying for the purposes of trade and administration, which is precisely why cuneiform evolved. Starting around 8000 BCE, clay ā€œtokensā€ appear in the archaeological record in the Middle Eastā€”small, nondescript clay objects bearing tally marks (Figures 2ā€“3). Differently-shaped tokens were used to tally different kinds of objects. For example, the crossed token seems to have been used to record numbers of sheep. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-14.png) ****Figure 2.** A proto-cuneiform token from Sumer, c. 3300ā€“3100 BCE, with a drawing of a goat or sheep on one side and a number (probably 10) on the other. ([Wikipedia: Cuneiform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/tokens.jpg) ****Figure 3.** Simple and complex tokens, dating from 3000 BCE until the emergence of writing. The crossed token seems to have been used to record numbers of sheep. (From Robinson 2007: 59) When shipping goods, merchants would enclose tokens in small spherical clay containers called **bullae** (Latin ā€˜bubble, blobā€™; see Figure 4). The recipient would then open the container to verify that the correct quantity of goods had been received. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-2.png) ****Figure 4.** Left: Bulla with seven tokens and four impressions on its surface, probably made by some of the tokens. Below Left: Unique bullae from Nuzi with cuneiform inscription, c. 1500 BCE, describing 49 tokens (intact when excavated but now lost). Below Right: Sealed bulla with X-ray (tokens visible). (From Robinson 2007: 61) Merchants later began impressing the token or a drawing of the token on the outside of the bulla, which obviated the need for the bulla in the first place. The merchant could simply send impressions of the symbols instead, leading to the earliest Sumerian pictographs. At least 30 Sumerian signs correspond closely to the shape of a specific token (Figure 5). Though 30 is a small number in comparison to the \~800 known proto-cuneiform signs, the correspondences nonetheless strongly suggest a connection (Coulmas 1996: 506ā€“509; Gnanadesikan 2009: 15). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-3.png) ****Figure 5.** Correspondences between tokens and early Sumerian pictographs. (From Schmandt-Besserat 1992, in Coulmas 1996: 508). šŸŒ  Once writing took the place of bullae, the bullae themselves became simpler and were used primarily as official seals. It is this later use which gives us the English word **bull* in a **papal bull*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-13.png) ****Figure 6.** Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a lead bulla. ([Wikipedia: Papal bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal%5Fbull?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ā˜ļø Not all scholars agree with the early story of cuneiform given here. Glassner (2003) in particular has criticized this account, and believes that the token/**bullae* system and writing developed in parallel. But while the use of bullae became more restricted, the pictographs grew in importance. Around 3300 BCE, the first proto-cuneiform tablets appear in the Sumerian city of Uruk. I say **proto-cuneiform** and not simply **cuneiform** because it was still not yet at a stage where it represented *language*. The difference between **writing** and **proto-writing** is that writing is a static representation of *language*, whereas proto-writing is a static representation of *information* that isnā€™t systematically related to a specific language. Tally marks, property/name marks, [Incan *quipu*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quipu?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), [certain types of cave paintings](https://youtu.be/0RWLcon-JyM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), and pictorial signs all generally fall under the term **proto-writing** (Coulmas 1996: 421). Proto-cuneiform texts are all numerical tablets concerning calculations and tallies of objects. (See Figure 7 for an example.) Of the total inventory of about 800 extant signs at the time, about 60 are numerals, and the rest are pictographic or quasi-pictographic (Gnanadesikan 2009: 15). They convey no grammatical information like verb tense or noun case, and there are no prefixes or suffixes. Because of this, scholars canā€™t be certain which language proto-cuneiform actually encoded (although Sumerian is usually assumed). A drawing of an ox could be read as the word ā€˜oxā€™ in any language. This illustrates why scholars call proto-cuneiform a type of proto-writing rather than writing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-4.png) ****Figure 7.** An early clay tablet from Uruk used to record a transaction involving barley. The two signs in the bottom lefthand corner occur on 18 tablets from this period and probably represent the name of the official responsible for this transaction, or an institution or office. Given what we know about the sounds these signs were used for much later, we can guess that the officialā€™s name may have been Kushim. Given the very large amount of barley and the long accounting period, this tablet appears to be a summary of a balance sheet. (From Robinson 2007: 67) The signs on proto-cuneiform tablets are arranged in boxes outlining the text, with one statement per box. The order of signs within a box tends to follow a specific pattern: the numerals, then the objects counted, and then other relevant information. So ā€œ3 sheep templeā€ might have meant that three sheep had been given to the temple. (Note that the order of the signs didnā€™t match the order of words in spoken Sumerian, again demonstrating why proto-cuneiform had not yet achieved the status of writing). (Gnanadesikan 2009: 18) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## Sumerian Counting Even though proto-cuneiform was just used for counting, it was still incredibly complex. Different commodities used different measurement systems, and the system used changed with context. For example, here is one important series of numerals that was used to count many kinds of discrete objects: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-5.png) ****Figure 8.** The counting system for most kinds of discrete objects in proto-cuneiform. (From Robinson 2007: 64) But different series of numerals were used to count barley and cereal products, malt, barley groats, land area, and calendar time. Readers had to surmise which series was intended based on context. Here are three of those series: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-6.png) ****Figure 9.** Different counting systems for different types of products in proto-cuneiform. (From Robinson 2007: 65) And here is the calendrical counting system: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-7.png) ****Figure 10.** The calendrical counting system in proto-cuneiform. (From Robinson 2007: 64) Because there were so many different systems, the value of an individual sign depends heavily on context. For example, the small dot changes its value depending on the type of item being counted: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-8.png) ****Figure 11.** Context-dependent numeral signs in proto-cuneiform. (From Robinson 2007: 65) To complicate things even further, some of these counting systems were base-60 (counting by 60s) while others were base-120 (counting by 120s)! These are called **sexagesimal** (by 60) and **bisexagesimal** (by 120) counting respectively. Hereā€™s one example of a tablet using both systems: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-9.png) ****Figure 12.** Clay tablet used for administrative purposes. Five groups of marks have been analyzed (see Figure 13). The small incisions made in some of the marks are not always consistent. (From Nissen, Damerow & Englund 1993, included in Robinson 2007: 66). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-10.png) ****Figure 13.** Analysis of some of the inscriptions on the tablet in Figure 12\. (From Robinson 2007: 67) šŸŒ  I know of only one other language documented as having a base-60 counting system: Ekari, a member of the Transā€“New Guinea language family spoken in Papua, Indonesia (Drabbe 1952: 30, cited in Comrie 2013). Put simply, the early Sumerians did not yet use numbers fully *abstractly*. As Andrew Robinson states in his excellent book [*The story of writing*](https://amzn.to/3Z61UEb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com): > The cardinal principle of our numeral systemā€”that a numeral is an abstract entity that can be attached to anything from minutes to kilograms of cheeseā€”had not been conceived by the earliest people to count. (Robinson 2007: 65) From todayā€™s standpoint, the proliferation of Sumerian counting systems seems like a deficiency, but it would be a mistake to interpret these tally systems through a presentist lens. Given that the primary function of these numeral systems was tallying objects, having numerals that tell you something about what is being counted would have been an advantage rather than a disadvantage (Gnanadesikan 2009: 15). šŸŒ  Similarly, it took the Ancient Greeks centuries to conceive of ****colors** as an abstract concept. In fact, all languages take time to develop vocabulary for the full color spectrum. If you want to learn more about universals of color terms in the worldā€™s languages, check out this issue of the newsletter: [Were the Ancient Greeks colorblind?Why Homer uses colors so strangely in the Iliad and the Odyssey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/languages-bordered-129.png)Linguistic DiscoveryDaniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/newsletter-banner-2.png)](https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/color-term-hierarchy/) In fact, using different numerals to count different types of things isnā€™t too different from how English describes amounts of non-countable nouns: *a glass of milk*, *a bushel of wheat*, *a pint of ale*. The words *glass*, *bushel*, and *pint* in these expressions are called **measure words**. While English typically only requires measure words for uncountable nouns, other languages always use measure words when counting. One well-known example is Mandarin: 1. Mandarin 1. äø€yÄ«one 2. åŖzhÄ«cl 3. ē‹—gĒ’udog ā€˜one dogā€™ ([Wikipedia: Measure word](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measure%5Fword?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) 2. Mandarin 1. äø‰sānthree 2. åŖzhÄ«cl 3. ē‹—gĒ’udog ā€˜three dogsā€™ ([Wikipedia: Measure word](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measure%5Fword?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) So the Sumerian system of using different counters for different types of objects is not as exotic as it may at first seem. ## Babylonian Mathematics Over time, however, the Sumerian counting systemā€”and indeed all the signsā€”did eventually simplify. Scribes began to write using a wedge-shaped stylus, giving the signs their distinctive wedges. The signs became more abstract and were less iconic/pictographic. Here is how the sign for ā€˜headā€™ evolved over the 2,000-year period from 3000 BCE to 1000 BCE: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/head.png) ****Figure 14.** The evolution of the cuneiform sign for ā€˜head'. ([Wikipedia: Cuneiform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Remember that base-60 system for counting discrete objects in proto-cuneiform? That system won out and became the standard system of counting in Sumerian. Hereā€™s what that same system looked like about 800 years later, c. 2500 BCE. (Note that the symbols are in reverse order from Figure 8.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/cuneiform-numerals.png) ****Figure 15.** Proto-cuneiform sexagesimal type Sa with Cuneiform equivalents. ([Wikipedia: Proto-cuneiform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-cuneiform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Around this time, the Sumerian language was being displaced by Akkadian, the earliest documented Semitic language. Akkadian was the language of the Akkadian Empire, which had succeeded the civilization of Sumer. The Akkadians adapted the Sumerian writing system to their language and continued to use its system of counting, with modifications. The Akkadian language then diverged into two dialects, known as Assyrian and Babylonian. Interestingly, even though the Assyrian/Babylonian language used a base-10 counting system rather than a base-60 counting system in *speech*, they kept the base-60 counting system of the Sumerians in *writing*, and just used 10 as a subbaseā€”a testament to how strongly the Sumerians had influenced their culture. Here is what that Old Babylonian counting system looked like: | Num. | Sign | | | | | | | | | | | | ---- | ---- | -- | ---- | -- | ---- | -- | ---- | -- | ---- | -- | -------- | | 1 | š’• | 11 | š’Œ‹š’• | 21 | š’Ž™š’• | 31 | š’Œš’• | 41 | š’š’• | 51 | š’š’• | | 2 | š’– | 12 | š’Œ‹š’– | 22 | š’Ž™š’– | 32 | š’Œš’– | 42 | š’š’– | 52 | š’š’– | | 3 | š’— | 13 | š’Œ‹š’— | 23 | š’Ž™š’— | 33 | š’Œš’— | 43 | š’š’— | 53 | š’š’— | | 4 | š’¼ | 14 | š’Œ‹š’¼ | 24 | š’Ž™š’¼ | 34 | š’Œš’¼ | 44 | š’š’¼ | 54 | š’š’¼ | | 5 | š’Š | 15 | š’Œ‹š’Š | 25 | š’Ž™š’Š | 35 | š’Œš’Š | 45 | š’š’Š | 55 | š’š’Š | | 6 | š’š | 16 | š’Œ‹š’š | 26 | š’Ž™š’š | 36 | š’Œš’š | 46 | š’š’š | 56 | š’š’š | | 7 | š’‘‚ | 17 | š’Œ‹š’‘‚ | 27 | š’Ž™š’‘‚ | 37 | š’Œš’‘‚ | 47 | š’š’‘‚ | 57 | š’š’‘‚ | | 8 | š’‘„ | 18 | š’Œ‹š’‘„ | 28 | š’Ž™š’‘„ | 38 | š’Œš’‘„ | 48 | š’š’‘„ | 58 | š’š’‘„ | | 9 | š’‘† | 19 | š’Œ‹š’‘† | 29 | š’Ž™š’‘† | 39 | š’Œš’‘† | 49 | š’š’‘† | 59 | š’š’‘† | | 10 | š’Œ‹ | 20 | š’Ž™ | 30 | š’Œ | 40 | š’ | 50 | š’ | 60 | š’‘ or š’• | By this point the numeral system had developed into a place value system, where the value of a numeral depends on its position within a number. This is just like how the Arabic numeral system works today. In the Arabic numeral system, each 4 in the number 444 has a different valueā€”400 in the first position, 40 in the second position, and 4 in the third. The Babylonian system worked the same way, with two major differences: a) it had a base (or **radix**) of 60, and b) it lacked a symbol for 0\. The lack of a sign for 0 made most numerals highly ambiguous. Babylonian scribes would have had to keep in mind an empty space within numbers when doing calculations. For example, the sign š’• could represent 1, 60, or 3,600, depending on whether it was interpreted as having one, two, or no zeros after it. Likewise, the sign š’Œ‹ could represent 10, 600, or 36,000\. They could even represent fractions! š’• could also be 1/60, 1/3,600, etc. Here are two examples showing the different ways a single number could be interpreted (from Robinson 2007: 86ā€“87): 1. š’•š’Œ‹š’Š - (1Ɨ60)+15\=75 - (1Ɨ3,600)+(0Ɨ60)+15\=3,615 - 1+(15/60)\=1.25 2. š’–š’š’Š - (2Ɨ60)+45\=165 - (2Ɨ3,600)+(40Ɨ60)+5\=9,605 - 2+(45/60)\=2.75 Despite the ambiguity caused by the lack of zero, this was nonetheless the first positional numeral system, and it would have an enduring influence throughout history, as weā€™ll see. šŸŒ  Later Babylonian texts did have a placeholder for zero, but only in medial positions, and not at the end of a number. ## The Babylonian Influence Today Using the base-60 numeral system inherited from the Sumerians, the Babylonians made great advances in mathematics, including topics in fractions, algebra, quadratic and cubic equations, and the Pythagorean theorem. One well-known tablet dated to c. 1800ā€“1600 BCE calculates 2to six decimal places. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/11/image-11.png) ****Figure 16.** Babylonian clay tablet YBC 7289 with annotations. The diagonal displays an approximation of the square root of 2 in four sexagesimal figures, 1 24 51 10, which is good to about six decimal digits. 1 + 24/60 + 51/602 + 10/603 = 1.41421296ā€¦ The tablet also gives an example where one side of the square is 30, and the resulting diagonal is 42 25 35 or 42.4263888ā€¦ ([Wikipedia: Babylonian mathematics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian%5Fmathematics?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/image-7.png) ****Figure 17.** A sketch of tablet YBC 7289. It is because of the Babylonians and their advanced study of mathematics that an hour has 60 minutes and a minute has 60 seconds today. This system was devised by the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes (c. 276ā€“194 BCE), who followed in a long tradition of using astronomical techniques originally developed by the Babylonians. He created an early geographic system of longitude that divided a circle into 60 parts. A century later, Greek astronomer Hipparchus (c. 190ā€“120 BCE) subdivided each of the 360 degrees of longitude into smaller segments. He labeled the first subdivision ā€˜the first small partsā€™ and the second subdivision ā€˜the second small partsā€™. Those were translated into Latin as *partēs minÅ«tae prÄ«mae* and *partēs minÅ«tae secundae* respectively. Eventually the first subdivision came to be known as simply the *minute*, and the second subdivision the *second*. There may also be some more subtle influences. In many Indo-European languages, numbers behave differently after 60\. In Old English, for example, the word for 60 was *siextiÄ”* (> Modern English *sixty*), but the word for 70 was *hundseofontiÄ”*, literally ā€˜ten-seven-tyā€™, where *hund-* meant ā€˜10ā€™ and is related to *hundred*. French famously switches to something akin to a base-20 counting system after 60: 60 is *soixante*, but 70 is *soixante-dix*, literally ā€˜sixty-tenā€™ instead of *septante* as would be expected in a pure decimal system. It is possible (but not at all proven) that this break at 60 in these languages is due to the lasting influence of the Sumerians and the cultural importance of 60. šŸŒ  In French-speaking parts of Belgium and Switzerland the numerals have been standardized to use a purely base-10 system, so 70 is in fact **septante* in those dialects. And that is the story of how a tally system of proto-writing that began perhaps as far back as 10,000 years ago still guides our modern mathematical techniques and methods of telling time. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading [![The Blackwell encyclopedia of writing systems](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-29.png)](https://amzn.to/3Nxx0hr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Nxx0hr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![Donā€™t sleep, there are snakes: Life and language in the Amazonian jungle](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-30.png)](https://amzn.to/3ConevN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Daniel Everettā€™s memoir of his work with the PirahĆ£ tribe of Brazil and his claims about their lack of a numeral system. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3ConevN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) [![The story of writing](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-31.png)](https://amzn.to/3Z61UEb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3Z61UEb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-32.png)](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Ch. 6: ā€œEndangered number systems: Counting to twenty on your toesā€ is all about the diverse and complex numeral systems in the worldā€™s indigenous languages. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) [![The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-33.png)](https://amzn.to/48gjCaQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/48gjCaQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Comrie, Bernard. 2013\. Numeral bases. In *World Atlas of Language Structures Online*. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. [http://wals.info/chapter/131](http://wals.info/chapter/131?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). - Coulmas, Florian (ed.). 1996\. [*The Blackwell encyclopedia of writing systems*](https://amzn.to/3Nxx0hr?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Wiley-Blackwell. - Gnanadesikan, Amalia E. 2009\. [*The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet*](https://amzn.to/48gjCaQ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (The Language Library). Wiley-Blackwell. - Harrison, K. David. 2007\. [*When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge*](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Oxford University Press. - Nissen, Hans J., Peter Damerow & Robert K. Englund. 1993\. *Archaic bookkeeping: Early writing and techniques of economic administration in the Ancient Near East*. University of Chicago Press. - Robinson, Andrew. 2007\. [*The story of writing: Alphabets, hieroglyphs, and pictograms*](https://amzn.to/3Z61UEb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). 2nd edn. Thames & Hudson. - Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. 1992\. [*Before writing*](https://amzn.to/4hM9M4O?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). 2 vols. University of Texas Press. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### In Memoriam: William Labov (1927ā€“2024) URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/william-labov/ Last updated: 2025-11-12T06:09:24.000Z > ā€œI have resisted the term *sociolinguistics* for many years, since it implies that there can be a successful linguistic theory or practice which is not social.ā€ \~ William Labov William Labov, father of sociolinguistics and one of the most influential linguists of the past century, passed away yesterday at the age of 97. Labov pioneered the study of dialectology, showing how linguistic variables like subtle differences in the pronunciations of words correlate to social categories like class and race. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-2.png) A map of North American English dialects (**Atlas of North American English*, Map 11.15). One of his studies is famously known as the Fourth Floor experiment: In 1966, Labov went to department stores around New York City and asked the sales assistants where he could find items that he already knew were on the 4th floor. Then he would note whether the salesperson pronounced the /r/ in ā€œfourth floorā€. He found that the pronunciation of /r/ correlated strongly with socioeconomic status, where salespeople in the more upper-class stores were more likely to pronounce the /r/. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/11/image-3.png) Percentage of uses of /r/ by store (S = Saks, M = Macyā€™s, K = Kleins) Labovā€™s work on the linguistic features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) also made a huge impact in destigmatizing the way black people speak, both among academic linguists and the general public. His work showed that AAVE is every bit as rule-governed and well-structured as Standard American English, with just slightly different grammatical rules. Overall, his work helped the field of linguistics understand the immense degree of variation that occurs across dialects within a language, and the social categories attached to these differences. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: šŸ†• the latest language-related news and research šŸ—£ļø language profiles šŸŒ types of languages in the world āš™ļø how language works and why it works that way ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* If youā€™d like to read more of Labovā€™s work, check out his book for a popular audience, *Dialect diversity in America: The politics of language change* ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iLWFRV?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780813935881?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)). [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/12/image-1.png)](https://amzn.to/4iLWFRV?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4iLWFRV?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780813935881?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### The linguistics behind Biden's "garbage" gaffe URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/biden-garbage-gaffe/ Last updated: 2025-02-16T01:36:50.000Z A tiny apostrophe may determine the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* During a Zoom call on Tuesday, President Biden appeared to call Trump's supporters "garbage", echoing [Hillary Clinton's infamous "basket of deplorables" gaffe from 2016](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket%5Fof%5Fdeplorables?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Here's what he said. (Transcript below.) > And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a ā€œfloating island of garbageā€. > Well, let me tell you something. > The only garbage I see floating out there is his \[supporters/supporterā€™s/supportersā€™\]. There are at least three possible interpretations here: 1. Biden said *supporters* (plural noun), referring to Trumpā€™s supporters. Now in context this could refer to just Trumpā€™s political alliesā€”a reference to the invited speakerā€”or to Trumpā€™s entire voter base. This lattermost possibility is how the right-leaning media outlets are interpreting the statement. 2. Biden said *supporterā€™s* (singular possessive), with an implied noun. Under this interpretation he was saying, ā€œThe only garbage I see out there is his supporterā€™s garbage.ā€ Presumably what heā€™d be referring to in this scenario is what he sees as the nonsense the speaker was saying. This interpretation is what the White House is claiming was intended. 3. Neither camp is considering a third possibility: that Biden said *supportersā€™* (plural possessive). This is pretty similar to the second possibility, with an implied noun, and would have meant, ā€œThe only garbage I see out there is his supportersā€™ \[plural\] garbage.ā€ Without peering into Biden's own mind, however, it's impossible to know which interpretation was intended, because **they're all homophones**. Even though all three possibilities are written differently, they're pronounced the same: | Word | Pronunciation | | ----------- | ------------- | | supporters | /səĖˆpɔɹ.tɚz/ | | supporterā€™s | /səĖˆpɔɹ.tɚz/ | | supportersā€™ | /səĖˆpɔɹ.tɚz/ | ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* *Why is English like this??* Why is something as important as grammatical possession so difficult to figure out in the language? English actually has two ways of indicating grammatical possession: - *of*, called the prepositional genitive because it uses a preposition - *ā€‘ā€™s*, called the Saxon genitive because it comes from an Old English noun suffix (more on this in a bit) The prepositional genitive and the Saxon genitive have two slightly different uses too: The prepositional genitive tends to emphasize the possessor, while the Saxon genitive tends to emphasize the possessed noun: | Possessive Construction | Example | Focus | | ----------------------- | ---------------------- | ------ | | prepositional | *the book of the king* | *king* | | Saxon | *the kingā€™s book* | *book* | But the tricky thing about the Saxon genitive is it follows *exactly* the same pronunciation rules as the plural *\-s* suffix: | Environment | Pronunciation | | --------------------------------------------- | ------------- | | after sibilants /s, z, Źƒ, Ź’, tĶ”Źƒ, dĶ”Ź’/ | \[ÉŖz\] | | after voiceless consonants /p, t, k, f, Īø, h/ | \[s\] | | everywhere else | \[z\] | This is because both the Saxon genitive and the plural suffix come from Old English noun suffixes. Many Old English nouns had a suffix *ā€‘es* that indicated possession, and a different suffix *ā€‘as* for plurals. Eventually, both of those suffixes lost their vowel, and when this happened English writers just wrote āŸØsāŸ© for the plural. But for the genitive suffix, writers adopted a convention that was already common in French at the time of writing silent āŸØeāŸ©ā€™s with an apostrophe. As a result, even though both forms descend from noun suffixes, one is written with an apostrophe and the other isnā€™t. And thatā€™s why today *supporters*, *supporterā€™s*, and *supportersā€™* all sound the same but are written differently, leaving Bidenā€™s statement wide open for interpretation and controversy. ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-24.png)](https://amzn.to/4hupUb2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hupUb2?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781586483456?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-25.png)](https://amzn.to/3YqUuK0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YqUuK0?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781585677191?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Where do writing systems come from? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/borrowing-writing/ Last updated: 2026-01-18T02:09:18.000Z Sometimes youā€™ll see it said that all the worldā€™s writing systems descend from three original scriptsā€”Egyptian hieroglyphs, Chinese logograms, or Mayan hieroglyphs: [Gavin Mallott (@gavinmallott) on ThreadsEven more fascinating is that the Arabic, Devanagari (Hindi/Sanskrit), Indonesian, and Cyrillic alphabets all evolved from Phoenician as well. In fact, only the Chinese and Mayans invented writing systems that didnā€™t evolve from Egyptian hieroglyphs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8-6.png)Threads![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/463382251_1149744306516408_1227546437680229116_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.com/@gavinmallott/post/DBJ89SsSRz1?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Itā€™s true that *most* of the worldā€™s writing systems derive from one of these three scripts. For example, the Latin alphabet, the Arabic abjad, the Hebrew alphabet, the Devanagari abugida (used for most languages in India), the other Brahmic scripts (including those in the Pacific), and the Greek and Cyrillic alphabets did all derive from the Phoenician alphabet, which itself derives from Egyptian hieroglyphs. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* ## Writing is a technology But what about Sumerian cuneiform? It predates the use of Egyptian hieroglyphs (c. 3400 BCE vs. 3250 BCE), with a continuous archaeological record showing the evolution from pictographic proto-writing to abstract signs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/Cuneiform_evolution_from_archaic_script.jpg) A table illustrating the gradual evolution of cuneiform signs from concrete and pictographic to symbolic and abstract. ([Wikipedia: Cuneiform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Egyptian hieroglyphs, on the other hand, appear fairly suddenly in the archaeological record. There were also robust trade routes between Egypt and Mesopotamia which could have brought the tradition of writing to Egypt. Did Egyptian hieroglyphs derive from Sumerian cuneiform then? Scholars donā€™t actually know, because the situation is complex: For starters, Egyptian hieroglyphs feature flora and fauna that are local to Egypt, so those signs could not have been borrowed from the Sumerians: | Hieroglyph | Name | | ---------- | ---------------- | | š“„æ | Egyptian vulture | | **š“‡…** | papyrus stem | | **š“…ž** | sacred ibis | | **š“…Ÿ** | flamingo | | **š“†Š** | crocodile | Secondly, cuneiform was a logo-syllabic system (a mix of signs representing words and signs representing syllables), while hieroglyphs were an amalgamation of ideographic, logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic signs. Cuneiform signs also represent vowels whereas hieroglyphs do not. The two writing systems operated on completely different principles. Some hieroglyphs recently discovered at Abydos may also slightly predate Sumerian cuneiform, challenging the idea that hieroglyphs evolved from cuneiform. So how do we explain the fact that both writing systems started around the same time but aren't related? Simple: Writing is a *technology*, and people can borrow the idea for a technology without borrowing the thing itself. The most likely scenario is that the Egyptians borrowed the *technology* and *idea* of writing from the Sumerians without borrowing the actual cuneiform *writing system* itself. Egyptian hieroglyphs and Sumerian cuneiform are therefore most likely unrelated scripts. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## Other times cultures borrowed the technology of writing > Writing is a *technology*, and people can borrow the idea for a technology without borrowing the thing itself. This is hardly the only time that cultures have borrowed the technology of writing rather than specific writing systems: Anatolian hieroglyphs (c. 1400ā€“700 BCE), for instance, are typologically similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs, but not derived from them. They have no provable connection to Egyptian hieroglyphs or the Hittite cuneiform. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image.png) An inscription from the city of Hama in Anatolian hieroglyphs. ([Wikipedia: Anatolian hieroglyphs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian%5Fhieroglyphs?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) And then thereā€™s the infamous Linear A (1800ā€“1450 BCE), which has yet to be deciphered, but which we know developed independently of both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian writing systems. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-1.png) Linear A tablet, from the Chania Archaeological Museum. ([Wikipedia: Linear A](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear%5FA?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Over in India, the undeciphered Indus Valley script (a.k.a. Harappan) was a proto-writing system used between 3500ā€“1900 BCE, again with no demonstrable connection to Sumerian or Egyptian. All of the attestations of this script are quite short (the longest is 34 characters), calling into question whether it was writing or something more akin to merchantsā€™ marks or accounting tokens. But notice how its start date for use closely coincides with that of cuneiform and hieroglyphs. Cuneiform likewise began as a system of accounting, making it possible again that the concept of writing was borrowed but not the actual script. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-3.png) Impression of an Indus Valley seal, showing an Indus script string of five characters. British Museum, 2005 photograph. ([Wikipedia: Indus script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus%5Fscript?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-2.png) The longest known inscription in the Indus Valley script. ([Wikipedia: Indus script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus%5Fscript?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) One writing system we know the origin of with certainty is Hangul, the script used to write Korean. While this script is clearly influenced by Chinese writing in its style, it is otherwise a completely independent creation, invented from scratch in 1443 CE by King Sejong the Great. So Hangul cannot be said to derive from Chinese writing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-4.png) Table of Hangul characters. (Credit: Josef Wigren) As for Mesoamerica, Mayan hieroglyphs weren't actually the oldest script. The Olmec, Zapotec, and Isthmian writing systems all predate it. The Olmec inscription below known as the Cascajal block dates to 900 BCE, whereas the oldest Mayan inscriptions date to about 300ā€“200 BCE. Interestingly, the characters on the Cascajal block aren't similar to or connected with later writing systems at all. This may have also been a case of borrowing the idea of writing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-5.png) A tracing of the 64 glyphs of the Cascajal Block. ([Wikipedia: Cascajal Block](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascajal%5FBlock?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) While we're talking about borrowing the technology of writing, I would be remiss not to mention the Cherokee syllabary. While the influence from the Latin alphabet is obvious, its creator Sequoyah was illiterate, so the letters in this script don't correspond to their Latinate sound values. āŸØįŽ”āŸ©, for example, represents the /e/ sound. This is also why the script is a syllabary (each character representing a syllable) rather than an alphabet (each character representing a sound). Sequoyah wasnā€™t aware that the English writing system operated on alphabetic principles. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-6.png) The Cherokee syllabary. ([Wikipedia: Cherokee syllabary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee%5Fsyllabary?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) The Cherokee syllabary in turn inspired the syllabic system used by many Canadian Inuit and Algonquian peoples. But while the inspiration came from Cherokee, the script itself is totally distinct. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-7.png) Inuktitut syllabics ([Nunavik ICE](https://nunavik-ice.com/en/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-8.png) Plains Cree syllabics ([Omniglot.com](https://omniglot.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) Finally, I canā€™t resist mentioning the undeciphered Rongorongo script discovered on Easter Island. The script is native in origin, and may be a type of writing or proto-writing. If it's true that the script predates European colonization (which seems likely given the little dating that's been done of the tablets), then this would constitute a genuine 4th invention of writing in the world. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-10.png) Verso of rongorongo Tablet B, **Aruku Kurenga*. ([Wikipedia: Rongorongo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongorongo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/10/image-9.png) A closeup of the verso of the Small Santiago Tablet. ([Wikipedia: Rongorongo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rongorongo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) ## Conclusion So is it true to say that "only the Chinese and Mayans invented writing systems that didnā€™t evolve from Egyptian hieroglyphs"? Not quite! There are plenty of individual writing systems which didnā€™t evolve from the Egyptian, Chinese, or Mayan scripts. But it does seem to be true that writing as a *technology* has only ever been invented 3 timesā€”in Mesoamerica, in Mesopotamia, and in China. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading I have an entire list of book recommendations about writing and writing systems! [Linguistic Discoveryā€™s Amazon Page - Writing & Writing SystemsShop recommended products from Linguistic Discovery on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Linguistic Discoveryā€™s favorite products.![](https://www.amazon.com/favicon.ico)![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ZWA29FmZL._CR0,0,924,924_._FMjpg_.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery/list/25RLC7DNFK3V4?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography - [*The Blackwell encyclopedia of writing systems*](https://amzn.to/4h2gUKd?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Coulmas, 1996) - [*The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the internet*](https://amzn.to/3Y6z8Bz?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Gnanadesikan, 2011) --- šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### 3 things people get wrong about language URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/3-things-people-get-wrong-about-language/ Last updated: 2025-07-22T22:40:28.000Z ## 1\. You think you donā€™t speak with an accent/dialect. **Everybody** speaks with an accent and a dialect. Thereā€™s no such thing as a ā€œstandardā€ dialect. Standard dialects are artificial creations that nobody actually speaks. If you give people a map and ask them to draw and label the dialect areas on the map, most people include one region that they label ā€œstandardā€ or ā€œnormalā€ā€”and guess whatā€½ That region is always the area where theyā€™re from. Everybody thinks their way of speaking is ā€œnormalā€ because thatā€™s how they grew up speaking. But there is no ā€œnormalā€ when it comes to dialects. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/dialect-map-1.png) ****Figure 1.** Hand-drawn map of a Michigan respondent's idea of the dialect areas of the U.S. (From Preston 1998: 143) *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here:* ## 2\. You think thereā€™s only one correct meaning/pronunciation for a word. The fact that different dialects exist means that each dialect will have its own meanings and pronunciations too. Some uses or pronunciations of a word might be more frequent/common than others, but language isnā€™t a majority rules system. Just because there are more American English speakers than British English speakers doesnā€™t mean all Brits should start speaking like Americans. ![Bar chart comparing the number of speakers of British English versus American English. American English has 244 million first-language speakers, while British English has 59 million first-language speakers.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F84c0f2a9-498d-4811-87e3-c84146229fac_1212x1980.png "Bar chart comparing the number of speakers of British English versus American English. American English has 244 million first-language speakers, while British English has 59 million first-language speakers.") ****Figure 2.** \# of Speakers of American English vs. British English (Wikipedia: [American English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American%5FEnglish?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) & [British English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%5FEnglish?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) A lot of people also think that the only correct meaning of a word is the older, traditional one. But their definition of ā€œtraditionalā€ is usually just the way they learned it growing up. But why stop there? If older definitions are better, why not go 100 years farther back? Or 500? Or 1,000? Why not go back to Old English when the word *deer* referred to any wild animal and the word *lady* meant ā€˜one who makes breadā€™? ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ## 3\. You think language determines the way we think. The idea that language affects the way we think or perceive the world is called **linguistic relativity**. But language doesnā€™t cause ā€œfundamentally differentā€ ways of seeing the world. At most, language has very subtle effects on what we pay attention to and how we categorize things. For example, some languages donā€™t use words for ā€˜leftā€™ or ā€˜rightā€™. Instead, speakers always orient themselves using absolute directions like north/south or local geographic/meteorological/astronomical features, such as how speakers of the Lolovoli dialect of East Ambae orient themselves to the prevailing winds: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/07/image-6.png) Figure 3\. Directional verbs in the Lolovoli language. (From Harrison 2007: 121) Unsurprisingly, speakers of these languages are very good at maintaining a sense of direction because itā€™s something their language accustoms them to paying attention to. But there are plenty of people who *donā€™t* speak these kinds of languages who can do the same thing; likewise, itā€™s not like speakers of Lolovoli canā€™t understand the concepts ā€˜leftā€™ and ā€˜rightā€™. Language doesnā€™t lock us into certain ways of thinking, it merely makes us marginally more efficient at those ways of thinking. ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd71a0216-8700-471c-a14d-b831ebbad719_295x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4htZFkN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780140260236?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8343dc97-bf56-4b3f-9963-18c661a122ea_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4194dYb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F459427b5-f0fb-4c66-ab5e-bfffbb69f122_350x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F421b9993-5db5-4dde-a99d-a5f4bd223a15_428x630.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIdxAJ?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780805080124?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe16b0924-bfa6-422b-b01e-561ac508d827_245x350.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4f1789J?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ References - Harrison, K. David. 2007\. [*When languages die: The extinction of the worldā€™s languages and the erosion of human knowledge*](https://amzn.to/3UtPEKM?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). Oxford University Press. - Preston, Dennis R. 1998\. ā€œThey speak really bad English down South and in New York Cityā€. In Laurie Bauer & Peter Trudgill (eds.), [*Language myths*](https://amzn.to/4htZFkN?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com), pp. 139ā€“149\. Penguin. šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If youā€™d like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Does ā€œfruitionā€ come from the word ā€œfruitā€? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/fruition/ Last updated: 2025-07-22T21:50:34.000Z The word *fruition* doesnā€™t come from the word *fruit*, but enough people have made the association between those two words over the years that *fruit* actually changed the meaning of the word *fruition*! *fruition* comes from the Latin verb *fruÄ«* ā€˜to enjoyā€™, whereas *fruit* comes from the Latin *frÅ«ctus* ā€˜produce, fruit, cropā€™. Theyā€™re not directly related. But the similarity between *fruit* and *fruition* in English caused the meaning of *fruition* to gradually shift from ā€˜an act of enjoymentā€™ to ā€˜having borne fruitā€™. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* But the similarity between *fruit* and *fruition* in English caused the meaning of *fruition* to gradually shift from ā€˜an act of enjoymentā€™ to ā€˜having borne fruitā€™. But thereā€™s a twist: I said that the words *fruit* and *fruition* arenā€™t **directly** related, but they are indirectly related because the Latin word *frÅ«ctus* does come from the Latin word *fruÄ«*! *frÅ«ctus* is the past participle of *fruÄ«*, so it originally meant ā€˜an enjoyment, delight, or satisfactionā€™. Later it expanded its meaning to include the things produced to create that satisfaction, such as produce and crops. Below is a diagram showing how the two words evolved in parallel. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest news & research in linguistics Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. Youā€™ll get all the same content and extras.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/diagram.png) ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8e9f8542-ab24-44b0-ac3b-58aa6ac729b0_338x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3C50Irz?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd13a8288-5d87-4689-ae8e-fee4701314cc_311x466.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3AkK32K?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F066d728a-03f3-447e-94b0-ed14e0d95acb_328x522.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3AnbKb9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ Sources - [Etymonline: *fruition*](https://www.etymonline.com/word/fruition?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#etymonline%5Fv%5F14220) - [Etymonline: *fruit*](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=fruit&ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### ā€˜dogā€™ vs. ā€˜horseā€™ in Native American languages URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/dog-vs-horse-in-native-american-languages/ Last updated: 2025-06-01T00:32:31.000Z One of my favorite facts about Native American languages is the history of words for ā€˜dogā€™ and ā€˜horseā€™. After Europeans reintroduced the horse to North America, horses quickly became a common feature of everyday life in many Native American communities. šŸŒ  Horses were originally native to North America, but went extinct sometime between 15,000ā€“10,000 BP. See [Wikipedia: ā€œHorses in the United Statesā€](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses%5Fin%5Fthe%5FUnited%5FStates?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com#Extinction%5Fand%5Freturn) for details. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* What did Native American communities call these new animals? Many languages used words meaning ā€˜big dogā€™ or ā€˜big petā€™: 1. Chitimacha 1. kixdog 2. qatinbig ā€˜horseā€™ Swadesh ([1939](#Swadesh1939): 73) 2. Inuktitut qimmiqjuaq 1. qimmiqā€‘juaqdogā€‘big ā€˜horseā€™ [Glosbe.com](https://app.glosbe.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) 3. Plains Cree mistatim 1. misiā€‘atimwbe.bigā€‘dog ā€˜horseā€™ Wolvengrey ([2001](#Wolvengrey2001): 285, 335, 400) Horses became so common in some areas that people no longer had to clarify what type of ā€œdogā€ or pet they were talking aboutā€”a big dog (a horse) or a regular dog. They could simply say the word for ā€˜dogā€™ and others knew they meant ā€˜horseā€™. In other words, the *default* meaning of the word shifted from ā€˜dogā€™ to ā€˜horseā€™. But this caused a problem: How did people clarify when they were referring to dogs specifically, rather than horses? One common solution was to call dogs ā€˜little horseā€™! One of my favorite examples of this comes from Navajo. Navajo originally had a word *łÄÆĢÄÆĢŹ¼* ā€˜petā€™. After the reintroduction of horses, the meaning of *łÄÆĢÄÆĢŹ¼* shifted from ā€˜petā€™ to ā€˜horseā€™. Then, to refer to dogs, Navajo speakers created a new word, *Å‚Ć©Ć©chąąŹ¼Ć­*, which literally means ā€˜shit-eating petā€™, because dogs are known to eat shit! When a word changes its meaning so that it no longer uniquely refers to the original concept, forcing speakers to create a new term for the original concept, that new term is called a **retronym**. Other examples of retronyms in English are: - **brown rice:** all rice was originally brown - **dairy milk:** dairy milk used to be the only kind of milk - **dark chocolate:** dark chocolate used to be the only kind of chocolate - **hard cider:** all ciders were originally alcoholic **Fun bonus fact:** The term **retronym** was coined in 1980 by the president of National Public Radio (NPR), [Frank Mankiewicz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank%5FMankiewicz?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com). ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## šŸ“– Recommended Reading ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-11.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4egbYPb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780816521395?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## šŸ“‘ Bibliography - Swadesh, Morris. 1939\. Chitimacha-English dictionary. In Morris Swadesh, Chitimacha grammar, texts, and vocabulary (American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages, Mss. 497.3.B63c G6.5). American Philosophical Society Library. - Wolvengrey, Arok (ed.). 2001\. *Cree: Words / nĆŖhiyawĆŖwin: itwĆŖwina / į“€į¦įƒį”Øįįį£ įƒį‘˜įį“‡, Vol. 2: Englishā€“Cree*. University of Regina Press. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/3QcaOuD?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780889771277?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) --- šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### What are language isolates? URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/isolate/ Last updated: 2025-02-16T01:40:00.000Z šŸ’” A ****language isolate** is a language that is unrelated to any other known language. There are at least 159 known language isolates used either today or in the past, constituting 39% of the worldā€™s approximately 407 language families (Campbell 2018: xi). ## Why canā€™t linguists figure out how isolates are related? Itā€™s true that *all* languages are related if you go back far enough, but linguists canā€™t peer that far back into history. The oldest attested writing only dates to ca. 5500 BP (Before Present), and the oldest reconstructable language (Proto-Afroasiatic) only dates to ca. 10000 BPā€”and that reconstruction is questionable. The most detailed and accurate reconstructed language is Proto-Indo-European, which most estimates date to ca. 8000 BP. There are simply limits to how far back linguists can reconstruct a language. Back when scholars thought that language evolved just 30000 BP (when behaviorally modern humans appeared) and historical linguistics was still testing its limits, it didnā€™t seem like much of a stretch to think that linguists could reconstruct the first human languageā€”Proto-World. But today we know that language most likely coevolved with the *Homo* genus over millions of years, making reconstruction of the first proto-language simply impossible. *Prefer a video version of this post? Watch here!* ## Why study isolates? Linguists are especially interested in language isolates because they provide insights into language history and how language works in ways that other languages canā€™t. Isolates tell us what the linguistic landscape in an area might have looked like before larger languages or families spread into that region. For example, the Sandawe language is an isolate and a click language spoken in East Africa, but most click languages are spoken in southern Africa. Sandawe is most likely a holdover from a period before the Bantu languages spread across Sub-Saharan Africa, when much of the continent may have been populated by speakers of click languages. Isolates also tend to contain features that are unique or rare in other language families. If these languages disappear, language science loses important insights into the possible ways that language can work. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* ## **How do languages become isolates?** A language becomes an isolate when all the other languages in its family go extinct. Historically, the most likely cause of this is the Agrarian Revolution (a.k.a. Neolithic Revolution), when humans began farming and settling into sedentary communities. The Agrarian Revolution happened at different times in different places, but began around 12000 BP in the Fertile Crescent. The development of large urban centers was the first time that languages grew to more than a few thousand speakers, and as a result they displaced many other local languages. Prior to the Agrarian Revolution, there many have been as many as 20,000 languages. Today there are around 7,200 still in use. Languages are still disappearing today of course, and the colonial era contributed significantly to the rate of extinction, but this led to fewer new isolates than the Agrarian Revolution did simply because we have better documentation of languages starting in the colonial period. Unless a language was already an isolate when Europeans first encountered it, early linguists in Western colonies were quickly able to group the worldā€™s languages into families. Thomas Jefferson, for example, pioneered a project to classify the languages of North America (Jefferson 1801: 193ā€“194, 1808). But no such documentation exists during the Neolithic. Since the Agrarian Revolution occurred farther back than historical techniques can reconstruct, weā€™ll unfortunately never know what those older language isolates were once related to. ## **šŸ“– Recommended Reading** ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb35217f9-2300-436d-ad59-772b2381e845_413x630.png) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YIysni?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060935726?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![The power of Babel: A natural history of language](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeb756de-3269-4a7e-b842-7acab65fa41a_343x522.png "The power of Babel: A natural history of language") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4htF2Fw?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780060520854?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ![Words of wonder: Endangered languages and what they tell us](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6aa87441-bebb-4fe1-8a80-8b156a6c54bd_365x522.png "Words of wonder: Endangered languages and what they tell us") [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hky7Pb?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781119758754?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## **šŸ“‘ Bibliography** - Campbell, Lyle. 2018\. Introduction. In Lyle Campbell (ed.), *Language isolates* (Routledge Language Family Series), pp. xiā€“xiv. Routledge. ([Amazon](https://amzn.to/4hyoFXW?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780367870959?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)) - Jefferson, Thomas. 1801\. *Notes on the state of Virginia*. Philadelphia: Rawle. - Jefferson, Thomas. 1808\. *Comparative vocabularies of several Indian languages, 1802ā€“1808* (American Council of Learned Societies Committee on Native American Languages, Mss. 497.J35). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society Library. šŸ’” The Amazon and Bookshop.org links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from those companies for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ### Speaking American: How y'all, youse, and you guys talk URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/speaking-american-2e/ Last updated: 2025-02-16T01:45:11.000Z ## Rating ā­ā­ā­ā­ā­ ## Summary A beautiful and engaging coffee table book of 122 dialect maps showing how different regions of the U.S. say different things. A wonderful illustration of dialect diversity in the United States, this book is sure to spark great conversations. A must-have for any language lover. *Prefer to watch or listen to this article instead? Hereā€™s a video version.* ## Review Ever notice that people from different areas of the United States have other ways of saying certain things? They might say *pop* where you say *soda*, or pronounce the word *caramel* as /Ėˆkɑɹ.məl/ with two syllables where you say /Ėˆkɛɹ.ə.mɛl/ with three syllables. [Speaking American: How yā€™all, youse, and you guys talk: A visual guide](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is about exactly these kinds of differences. The book is a collection of 122 beautiful heat maps of dialect features across the United States, with a number of other fun features as well. Itā€™s the perfect coffee table book, guaranteed to spur all sorts of discussion about dialect and pronunciation. Hereā€™s the map for words used for fizzy drinks: ![Map of the words that American English speakers use for fizzy drinks. On either coast they use "soda", in the Midwest they use "pop", and in the South they use "coke".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2024/08/image.png) And here's the map of how people pronounce *caramel*: ![Map of how American English speakers pronounce "caramel". In the Northeast and South they pronounce it with 3 syllables, and everywhere else they pronounce it with 2 (with some exceptions around urban centers in California).](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-1-1.png) Some other fun but controversial words youā€™ll find include *pecan*, the 2nd person plural pronoun (*you guys*, *yā€™all*, *you*, *yins*, *youse*), *kitty-corner* vs. *catty-korner*, *aunt*, and whether you pronounce *cot* and *caught* with different vowels (25% of American English speakers pronounce them with different vowels, /kɔt/ vs. /kɑt/, while 75% pronounce them the same way). There are two reasons in particular I love this book: 1. First, it's a beautiful demonstration of the fact that there's no single "correct" way to speak American English. The United States has a wonderfully diverse linguistic landscape, and this book showcases it. Everybody speaks with an accent, no matter where they're from. Some dialects are given more social prestige than others, it's true; but linguistically speaking, all dialects are equal. Vocabulary and pronunciation rules vary from one region to another, but these are merely *differences*, not deficiencies. 2. Second, this book is a wonderful illustration of the linguistic diversity of American English! There's even a heat map showing the percentage of the percentage of people who speak Spanish at home. It's hard not appreciate the remarkable diversity of language when you encounter all the different ways of saying things in this book, many of which you'll have never encountered before. ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* One of my favorite things to do with house guests is pull out this book and get their take on the various terms it covers. Do you say *highway*, *freeway*, *expressway*, or *thruway*? Do you call them *fireflies* or *lightning bugs*? I was astonished to find that even my younger sibling and Iā€”only 3.5 years apartā€”differed on about a third of the items even though we were raised in the same household, simply because my family moved states just after they were born. [Speaking American](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) makes for the perfect coffee table book for this reason! Another fun feature of this book is the ā€œHow to pretend youā€™re fromā€¦ā€ sections sprinkled throughout. If you lace up your *gym shoes* to ride the *L* or drive on the *expressway*, for example, chances are overwhelmingly good that youā€™re from Chicago. Katz even disaggregates the data at some points to give a more detailed perspective by word or region. Below is the map for the word *crayons*, but in the following map you can see that these hotspots are really more a matter of statistical tendency rather than absolute differences. In some cases Katz even shows how usage varies from one New York City borough to another! ![Map of the United States showing how American English speakers pronounce the word "crayons". Around the Great Lakes they say it with one syllable, in the South they say it "krey-ahns", and everywhere else they say "krey-awns".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/image-2-1.png) ![Four maps of the United States showing what percentage of people in different regions pronounce the word "crayons" as "krey-awns", "krey-ahns", "krans", and "krowns".](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/crayons-breakdown.webp) As a linguist, I also really appreciate the diachronic (historical) perspective in several maps. For example, more and more Americans have started to pronounce *cot* and *caught* the same way over time, as this set of maps shows: ![Lefthand page: Graph showing that the percentage of people who distinguish "cot" and "caught" has decreased from approximately 65% in 1950 to 25% today, while those who pronounce them the same way has increased accordingly.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/02/cot-caught-diachronic.webp) My only criticism of the book is that the pronunciations are written in pronunciation respellings like *pihā€‘kahn* instead of the [International Phonetic Alphabet](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/International%5FPhonetic%5FAlphabet?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (IPA) like /pÉŖ.Ėˆkɑn/. Since Josh Katz is a statistician and trying to make the book maximally accessible to a general audience, this is an understandable tradeoff, though frustrating. The more that the general public is exposed to the IPA, the more familiar and recognizable itā€™ll become. Overall, [Speaking American](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) is one of my favorite coffee table booksā€”a must-have for any language lover. If youā€™d like to buy a copy and support Linguistic Discovery for no extra cost in the process, you can do so [here](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)! Thank you for your support! [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2025/01/image.png)](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3C9utYo?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780358359937?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) ## Sign up for the Linguistic Discovery newsletter! A weekly newsletter showcasing the diversity of the world's languages. Topics include: āš™ļø how language works and changes šŸŒ surveys of the diverse ways that languages do things šŸ—£ļø language profiles ā„¹ļø explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics ā­ reviews of books and other media. šŸ†• a weekly digest of the latest language-related news Some posts are for paid subscribers only, but most are free. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. **You can also subscribe on* [**Patreon*](https://www.patreon.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) *or* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer to use those platforms instead. You'll get all the same content and extras.* šŸ’” The Amazon links on this site are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through them (at no extra cost to you). If you'd like to support Linguistic Discovery, purchasing through these links is a great way to do so! I greatly appreciate your support! [Check out my entire Amazon storefront here.](https://www.amazon.com/shop/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)