#historical-linguistics

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UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 day ago

What a viral speech in Ireland reveals about colonial history and Caribbean English

Jamaican English origins trace primarily to southwest England, East Anglia, and Monmouthshire rather than Ireland, despite popular perceptions of Irish linguistic influence.
History
fromOpen Culture
2 months ago

How Far Back in History Can You Start to Understand English?

English pronunciation, spelling, and characters have changed dramatically over a millennium, making early forms difficult for modern speakers to understand.
History
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Linguists start compiling first ever complete dictionary of ancient Celtic

Scholars are compiling the first comprehensive dictionary of ancient Celtic, assembling over 1,000 surviving words from sources dated 325 BC to AD 500.
fromMedievalists.net
4 months ago

Ten Medieval Phrases That Deserve a Comeback - Medievalists.net

Language is always changing - words fall out of use, phrases fade, and new slang takes their place. But every now and then, it's worth looking back at what we've lost. The Middle Ages gave us an extraordinary range of expressions: oaths that could shake heaven, blessings that upheld kings, and sayings so sharp they still ring true today. Some of these phrases have vanished entirely, while others quietly survive in our speech without us even noticing. Here are ten medieval phrases that we think deserve a comeback.
History
History
fromOpen Culture
4 months ago

Hear What the Language Spoken by Our Ancestors 6,000 Years Ago Might Have Sounded Like

Reconstructing lost texts and linguistic ancestors relies on inferring remnants from diction, syntax, style, and thematic traces across written and oral traditions.
Science
fromHarvard Gazette
7 months ago

Ancient DNA solves mystery of Hungarian, Finnish language origins - Harvard Gazette

Uralic languages originated over 4,500 years ago in northeastern Siberia, not the Ural Mountains as previously thought.
Paris food
fromThe Local France
10 months ago

French Word of the Day: Jour chome

'Jour chômé' refers to a mandatory non-working day in France, distinct from public holidays.
May Day (May 1st) is the only legally mandated 'jour chômé' where working requires extra pay.
fromwww.theguardian.com
10 months ago

Enough Is Enuf by Gabe Henry review the battle to reform English spelling

Gabe Henry traces the history of efforts for simplified spelling from a 12th-century monk through luminaries like Shaw and Franklin, illustrating our spelling conundrum.
Typography
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