LINGUISTICS

You’re Probably Pronouncing Nevada All Wrong

It's a question that Americans have been arguing about for decades: How exactly do you pronounce Nevada?

Can You Ever Truly Lose Your Accent?

If you're an adult, the accent you use to speak now is likely the accent you'll have for the rest of your life.

Uitwaaien, or Outblowing, Is the Dutch Cure for the Winter Blues

After embracing the coziness of hygge this winter, try uitwaaien—the Dutch practice of doing physical activity in cold, windy weather.

11 Secrets of Lexicographers

A degree in lexicography can actually hurt your chances of getting the job. Here are some more secrets from the people behind the dictionary.

Dad Joke, Tallboy, and 531 More Words Are Now in Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary

‘They’ is an official nonbinary pronoun, ‘coulrophobia’ is the fear of clowns, and ‘dad jokes’ are extremely funny.

12 Old-Fashioned Insults We Should Bring Back

From ‘poltroon’ to ‘slugabed’ and beyond, this list will surely add some color to your future squabbles.

Farther vs. Further: There’s an Easy Way to Remember the Difference, and When to Use Which

'Further' and 'farther' are separated by one letter and they're often used interchangeably, but there's an easy way to tell the difference between them.

New Google Earth Feature Lets Users Listen to Endangered Indigenous Languages From Around the World

Most of the world's indigenous languages are at risk of being wiped out for good. A new project from Google Earth aims to preserve them by gathering clips of native speakers from around the world.

Why 'Run' Is The Most Complex Word in the English Language

This pithy word may only be three letters long, but it's deceptively complex. According to one lexicographer, it has 645 distinct definitions.

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, Wikimedia Commons

Scholar Claims the Voynich Manuscript Is Written in a 'Proto-Romance' Language

A UK scholar claims the Voynich manuscript isn't written in code, but in an extinct language. Other experts aren't so sure.

11 Totally Redundant Place Names

Pendle Hill is really Hill Hill Hill. Here are 11 others like that.

Can You Tell an Author’s Identity By Looking at Punctuation Alone? A Study Just Found Out.

For decades, linguists have been able to use the quirks of written texts to pinpoint the author. The process, called stylometric analysis or stylometry, has dozens of legal and academic applications.

10 Endangered Alphabets You Should See Before It's Too Late

A Vermont-based writer is cataloguing rare scripts that are disappearing due to political conflicts and globalization.

An American 'Bookmobile' mobile library circa 1955

11 Suffixes That Gave Us New, Often Terrible Words

Here are some word endings that have become productive to varying degrees.

30 Old (and Useful) Slang Names for Parts of the Body

File these away in your brainpan.

How Do You Say the Plural Form of 'Octopus'?

Is it octopuses, octopi, or octopodes?

Tongue twisters have had people tripping over words for centuries.

The History Behind 8 Famous Tongue Twisters

Whether it's selling seashells by the seashore or buying Betty Botter's bitter butter, some of these difficult phrases go way back to when elocution was practiced as routinely as multiplication tables.