When we talk about avoidance speech, the first thing that comes to mind is the language one might use when referring to the deceased, or things related to the deceased. After all, in some cultures, they might believe that a deceased person's soul would become a malevolent entity, and death is perhaps the greatest misfortune … Continue reading A brief introduction to avoidance speech
Month: July 2024
The Language Closet turns 8!
I am not going to lie, 2016 does not feel like 8 years ago, although realistically, it is. Reflecting back on the past year, we have touched on many different topics, ranging from writing systems, to more investigative pieces focusing on certain aspects of language or linguistics. These topics have been driven by an unstoppable … Continue reading The Language Closet turns 8!
When English had its ge- prefix gelost
English is a Germanic language. So too is German and Dutch. While geographically separated by the English Channel, these languages generally have rather similar histories, up until several centuries ago. If you have learned these languages before, you would find that many German and Dutch participles contain the prefix ge-, while English participles lack this … Continue reading When English had its ge- prefix gelost
An exploration on some unusual counting systems
When we compare numbers across various languages, there are perhaps two dominant counting systems we can identify. Intuitively, these rely on counting the number of digits on two hands, or perhaps including the toes as well. Many languages across the world use the former, hence having a decimal (base-10) counting system like Japanese, while some … Continue reading An exploration on some unusual counting systems
Does this language really have only 3 verbs?
Verbs are pretty much a universal occurrence in natural languages across the world. After all, their main function in a clause or sentence is to express a certain action, a certain state, or a certain occurrence in relation to other constituent parts of a sentence. But languages treat verbs differently from other languages, with some … Continue reading Does this language really have only 3 verbs?
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