Many of us get into the habit of making writing mistakes either because of unawareness on our part or just mere sloppiness. Many of these mistakes affect the way readers perceive our pieces of writing; foolish typos can make the difference between a great first impression and a tainted one. We at The Language Nerds took the …
6 Subtle Grammatical Mistakes Most People Still Make. Read More »
If you are even slightly interested in language and linguistics, chances are you heard the term Universal Grammar a fair amount of times. It is a central concept in modern linguistics and the most controversial. It is a term that was born in the pursuit of trying to answer some very fundamental and old questions about language. …
People so often assume that a linguist’s job is to learn as many languages as possible, when in actuality it is not anything near that. So, let us put an end to this incorrect assumption once and for all.
Language is by far the most powerful tool that humanity has. After all, what distinguishes us from animals is this sweet little thing we call ‘language’. By just manipulating the air that comes out of our mouths, we can start a relationship, a marriage, or even a war. The things we can do with language …
Here is why language is incredibly important and special. Read More »
Linguistics as a field of study flourished tremendously beyond the hopes of its founders. Modern linguistics started a cognitive revolution in the 1950s and has been extending ever since. Thanks to linguistics we know so much more about human languages than ever before, from their origins, why are there so many of them, and how to use …
Problems That Are Still Not Solved In Linguistics. Read More »
Linguists, led by Chomsky, did a wonderful job in describing how language works. By thoroughly studying a handful of human languages, they were able to devise a theory, i.e. Universal Grammar, which could explain all possible human languages with all their hidden features and peculiarities. Every single language fits in there nicely. They were able to account …
Here is the language that disproves Universal Grammar. Read More »
When you want to decide on what to read in language and linguistics, it is never easy to pick a reading list; there are just so many books out there under the label of linguistics, especially since publications in linguistics have been growing like wildfire in the last couple of decades. So with your limited time and the unlimited …
We can’t predict the future, but we can certainly learn from the past. And the answer to the above question is a resounding NO. Of course, you may have a difference of opinion, but consider the line of reasoning first. While it is true that more than 50% of the 6000-7000 languages in the world are …
Will Everyone In The World Eventually Speak English? Read More »
What if I told you that you have a blueprint for speaking a certain language? When you come across a grammatical sentence that matches our blueprint, you easily process it and accept it as a sentence that belongs to your (native) language. But, when you come across an ungrammatical sentence that doesn’t match the blueprint, …
These Sentences Are Perfectly Grammatical. Learn How They Trick You. Read More »
Did Proto-Indo-European, or any reconstructed language for that matter, really exist? Of course it did, linguists say so! But do you know how were they able to know that? Humm! No worries, this is what this article is all about.
