Linguistics

Sometimes words can mean multiple things depending on context. This can get confusing when those words have 2 opposite meanings! Here are 10 words that can mean the opposite of themselves.

A little-known dialect from the Midlands of England echoes the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons.

The English language abounds with expressions that have been in common usage for so long that everyone knows exactly what they mean. Known as idioms, many of these expressions have surprising origins.

Everything you need to know about Chicago slang, culture, and that infamous accent—so you can sound like you're a Windy City native.

Interjections are words that have no grammatical meaning. Alliterations are sentences where every word starts with the same letter. Here are examples.

Robert Frost's Mowing, a sonnet, focuses on the simple act of mowing grass with a scythe and how working the land naturally is reward enough. Imagery, metaphor and full rhyme combine to produce a classic Frost poem, full of plain language yet with hidden meaning and his own brand of folk wisdom.

From the depths of the "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" comes another word of startling, and often haunting, poignancy: ellipsism.

Why do two small ethnic enclaves at opposite ends of Europe share some linguistic similarities?

50 idioms and phrases that have their origins in all things nautical. Sea-faring has developed a unique language and terminology over the centuries and many of these snippets of language are now incorporated into everyday our vocabulary, often without us realising where they began.

Of the world’s approximately 6,000 languages, English is said to be one of the easier ones to learn despite its idiosyncrasies of spelling and pronunciation.

The Michigan Accent & Slang Words. Groups of people from every US state and, really, every place in the world have a unique accent and Michigan is no different! Learn Michigan-isms here!

The most reputable reference works contain errors, sometimes deliberately, often not.

Let's play around with words, from Charles Dickens to the novels of Victor Appleton.

Do you have trouble with writing and punctuating a long sentence? I explain how to correctly write difficult sentences correctly.

Educators are seeing an increase in children arriving at school with poor vocabularies that are going to handicap them throughout life.

Which language do Belgians speak? It might surprise some, but the mothertongue of the Belgian population is not English, nor do most Belgians speak French. But what do they speak then? In this article, I will explain what Belgians do speak and why the Belgian language question is not that easy.