Linguistics Girl

1. Background Arabic is the largest-spoken language of the Semitic language family with approximately 323 million speakers (“Language”). Standardized by the Academy of the Arabic Language in Egypt, Arabic is the official national language of many Arab countries including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Syria (“Language”). Countries like Israel, Mali, and Somalia [Read Full Article...]

When the Royal Society unsuccessfully attempted to establish a formal language academy in England in 1664, lexicographers and grammarians from the London area alternately formed a Grammarian Class with the aims to refine, fix, and ascertain the English language (Smith “Scientific”). From the language prescriptions and proscriptions imposed by the wealthy white English male hegemony of the Grammarian Class arose [Read Full Article...]

The Norwegian language is spoken by approximately 4.8 million people, Norwegian is a North Germanic language; a sibling of Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Faroese; and a cousin of German, Dutch, Frisian, English, Scots, and Low Saxon. Norsk Alfabet – Norwegian Alphabet A a – a B b – be C c – se D d – de E e – [Read Full Article...]

Learn how to say Merry Christmas! in many languages around the world. Merry Christmas Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees OR Gesëende Kersfees Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees Albanian: Gezur Krislinjden American English: Merry Christmas OR Happy Holidays OR Seasons Greetings Amharic: Melkin Yelidet Beaal Arabic: Milad Majid OR Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah Argentine: Feliz Navidad Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand [Read Full Article...]

Witches and wizards found in fantasy literature reveal themselves as magical not only through their actions and outward appearances but also through their speech. In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Gandalf adorns his head with a pointy gray hat and carries a wooden staff. The witches in Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale dress in black and send messages on [Read Full Article...]

The English language changed dramatically with the introduction of the printing press into England in 1476 because of the development of a written form made possible by wide-spread printing (Smith “Early”). Not until roughly five hundred years later at the end of the twentieth century with the advent of the computer and the Internet would technology again significantly impact the [Read Full Article...]

During the eighth and ninth centuries, Vikings from Scandinavia from the North attacked the Germanic tribes living in England (Smith “External”). Around the same time period, Danish Vikings assailed and conquered the northern area of France, which became the dukedom of Normandy (Baugh and Cable 92). Only two hundred and fifty years later in September 1066, the Norman French led [Read Full Article...]

The English language has borrowed extensively from the Greek language beginning during the Germanic period when many words borrowed from Latin were originally borrowed into Latin from Greek. English continued to borrow from Greek through Latin during the Old English period. However, most of the Greek loanwords in English were borrowed during the Early Modern English period by scholars, scientists, [Read Full Article...]

The English language has borrowed extensively from the Latin language beginning during the Germanic period before English was English through the Old English period and up to the early Modern English period. The earliest Latin loanwords date from the period before the Germanic tribes invaded England under invite from the Britons. Latin borrowings continued throughout the Old English period. English [Read Full Article...]

When William Caxton introduced the printing press to England in 1476, English developed into a physical entity (Smith “Early”). Language no longer disappeared as the sound waves of speech diminished but rather became a social institution that could be held, used, wielded, and owned (Smith “Early”). Although an interest in classical learning existed in England before the Renaissance spread from [Read Full Article...]