Today, I want to look into a German dialect mostly spoken in the state of Baden-Württemberg, totally not because I too happen to own a translation of The Little Prince in this dialect, but because I came across a bizarre idiomatic expression in that particular dialect. That idiom is Muggeseggele or Muggaseggele. From this article … Continue reading The German dialect behind a bizarre word
Month: November 2024
The languages in the world’s largest shire
There are many names given to administrative divisions around the world. We are familiar with states, counties, provinces, parishes, prefectures, arrondissements, boroughs, districts and so on, but today, we will look at the administrative division called a shire. We are generally familiar with the regions associated with this word, most likely as a suffix, and … Continue reading The languages in the world’s largest shire
How do we assess language vitality?
When we talk about the languages of the world, you will almost always come across the fact that most of the world's languages are spoken by a small fraction of the world's population, while a large proportion of the world's population are speakers of a small fraction of the world's languages. Across the world, you … Continue reading How do we assess language vitality?
The Australian languages with fricatives
The indigenous languages of Australia are particularly remarkable for their rather shared pattern of sounds. With generally not more than three or five vowels which may or may not be contrasted by length, and sharing many places of articulation for their consonants, these sounds have come to generally define what the indigenous languages of Australia … Continue reading The Australian languages with fricatives
Southeast Asia’s only surviving Portuguese-based creole
In 1511, the Portuguese Empire invaded and seized control of the city of Malacca, an important trading hub in the region. The colonisers intermarried with the indigenous women, and their languages intertwined, birthing a creole in the process. But Portuguese control of Malacca did not last. The Dutch took over Malacca in 1642, and later, … Continue reading Southeast Asia’s only surviving Portuguese-based creole
The Language Closet 