Saying that Romanian is a bit like French may be a bit of an understatement. They both share a common ancestor for their languages, being Vulgar Latin, and thus have rather similar words, and for some parts, grammar. But these similarities go a bit further than that. In orthography, both French and Romanian have their … Continue reading The breve — Beyond its use in Romanian
Month: June 2023
That time when a language was constructed based on music
Music is an interesting language. With various notation systems, and with or without vocal input, music has evolved to serve as a mode of expression. It has been used to construct settings, convey moods, and set an atmosphere for whichever scene the composer and musicians desire to create. The typical octave has a total of … Continue reading That time when a language was constructed based on music
A weird Chinese-looking writing system
To say the languages of what is today China, or the People's Republic of China, exert a strong influence on other languages in the region, is an understatement. Loanwords have entered languages such as Uyghur, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, and writing systems based on Chinese have entered use in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and perhaps a … Continue reading A weird Chinese-looking writing system
The Languages Most Isolated from an Ocean
Many of the remotest places we have heard of are islands in the middle of some large ocean, particularly the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. So today, why not let us turn this around, and find out, where in the world is furthest away from any sea or ocean? This includes places like the Caspian … Continue reading The Languages Most Isolated from an Ocean
The Language Closet 