Blog
William Labov (1927–2024)
William Labov was the father of sociolinguistics who pioneered the study of dialectology.
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Languages
Chitimacha
Chitimacha is a language isolate once spoken in the bayous of Louisiana west of New Orleans that is now being actively revitalized.
Blog
The linguistics behind Biden's "garbage" gaffe
Why an apostrophe might determine the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Newsletter
Where do writing systems come from?
Where do the world's writing systems come from?
Blog
3 things people get wrong about language
Here are 3 things people get wrong about language.
Languages
East Ambae
The East Ambae language is spoken on the Ambae island of Vanuatu by about 5,000 speakers.
Encyclopedia
linguistic relativity
Linguistic relativity is the idea that the language(s) a person speaks influences the way they think, their worldview, their cognition, or how they categorize things in the world.
Newsletter
Welcome to Linguistic Discovery!
This newsletter explores the science and diversity of language—a field known as linguistics. The purpose of this newsletter is simple: to teach the world how language works, and why language is the way it is. This focus on the how and why makes this newsletter (and all my social
Blog
fruition
Does "fruition" come from the word "fruit"?
Blog
'dog' vs. 'horse' in Native American languages
Why are dogs called 'little horses' in some Native American languages?
Encyclopedia
language isolate
A language isolate is a language that is unrelated to any other known language.
Encyclopedia
retronym
A retronym is a new term for an old concept that is created because the word for the old concept has shifted in meaning and no longer uniquely refers to the original idea.