> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Storytelling around campfires may have shaped human language - URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-42/ - Published: 2026-10-24T09:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T08:59:59.000Z - Description: Also this week: AI agents invent their own language + Human speech found to follow a rhythm also found in the animal kingdom + A new book on lost languages - Author: Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D. - Tags: Current Linguistics Welcome to this week’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 language—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: ⚙️ how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics) 🌍 grammatical diversity in the world’s languages (typology) ℹ️ explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics 🗣️ language profiles 🗞️ the latest news and research in language and linguistics ⭐ 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. You’ll get all the same content and extras.* ## 📢 Updates & Announcements *What’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 it’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, we’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 store’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 it’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 you’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! We’re planning a special bonus episode of Lingthusiasm sharing some of your linguistics zine stories, and we’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 don’t miss anyone. Prizes Once all the entries are in, we’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 year’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 Girl’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 Raízes da Língua: A História de 50 Palavras Portuguesas by Marco Neves (in Portuguese, hopefully someone submits a zine in Portuguese!) We’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! We’re starting off with 10 prizes of our own plus the 11 book prizes, but we’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 (we’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, it’s up to you to figure out how to share any prize. If you’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), it’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 Writers’ 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 Writers’ 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:** 2,000–2,500 words - **Topic:** Entries can be on any linguistic topic—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 “Young Writers’ Competition”. ## 📰 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 speaking—a “surreal” mix of poetic language and tech bro jargon—and this has raised concerns about AI oversight. As one researcher put it, “observability is not the same as understandability”. Here are two pieces reporting on this topic: [AI models chatting in ‘surreal’ dialect mixing poetic language and tech bro jargonExperts air concern over AI lingo redolent of James Joyce’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: “Weird terms” are a natural—but disturbing—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) ## 🗞️ 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 Universität 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). ## 📃 This Week’s Reads *Interesting articles I’ve come across this week.* The Endangered Languages Project has a response to the controversial article in *The New Yorker* which argued that sometimes it’s O.K. to let a language die, discussing Sophia Smith Galer’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)): [It’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: They’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 Taíno language. [Understanding The Caribbean: The Countries, People, And Words That Come From The Region | Dictionary.comby Mariel Jungkunz Whatever you know about the Caribbean, there’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 \[…\]![](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 don’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) ## 📚 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, I’m pretty stoked for this one! Who doesn’t love mysterious ancient scripts?? Releases January 2027\. Here’s the publisher’s blurb: > In 1799, a lieutenant in the Napoleon’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 “dragon” 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, *álpha* and *bêta*. 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: ⟨F, U, Þ, A, R, K⟩ (the letter thorn ⟨Þ⟩ represented a “th” /θ/ 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? Don’t miss Danny Bate’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) ## 🗃️ Resources *Maps, databases, lists, etc. on language and linguistics.* ### [toIPA.org](http://toipa.org/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) Here’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) ## 👋🏼 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) 📚 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). 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