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Why do the British pronounce “herb” with an /h/?
Why don’t Americans pronounce herb with an /h/?
Jul 7
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
11
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Linguistic Discovery
Why do the British pronounce “herb” with an /h/?
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2
Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?
A new study shows that Inuit languages really do have more words for snow, but what does that tell us about language?
Jul 1
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
11
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Linguistic Discovery
Do Inuit languages really have more words for snow? And why does it matter, anyway?
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June 2025
Hawaiian only has 8 consonants—What happens when it borrows words with other sounds?
The Hawaiian language only has 8 consonants. So how does it deal with sounds in words borrowed from other languages?
Jun 28
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
15
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Linguistic Discovery
Hawaiian only has 8 consonants—What happens when it borrows words with other sounds?
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You probably missed this in Song of Achilles
Also, here’s what Patroclus and Cleopatra have in common
Jun 10
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Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
20
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Linguistic Discovery
You probably missed this in Song of Achilles
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Where do writing systems come from?
Writing was invented three different times in world history—in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica. But not all writing systems derive from those three…
Jun 3
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
10
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Linguistic Discovery
Where do writing systems come from?
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Are “fruit” and “fruition” related?
Does something “come to fruition” because it bears fruit?
Jun 2
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
13
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Linguistic Discovery
Are “fruit” and “fruition” related?
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3 things people get wrong about language
Do you think you don’t have an accent?
Jun 1
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
14
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Linguistic Discovery
3 things people get wrong about language
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May 2025
Why are dogs called ‘little horses’ in some Native American languages?
Shouldn’t it be the other way around, with horses called ‘big dogs’?
May 31
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
8
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Linguistic Discovery
Why are dogs called ‘little horses’ in some Native American languages?
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The etymology of “love”
“love” and all its related words in English
May 30
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
12
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Linguistic Discovery
The etymology of “love”
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What are language isolates?
A language isolate is a language that is unrelated to any other known language.
May 28
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
8
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Linguistic Discovery
What are language isolates?
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From counting to cuneiform: How writing was invented
The earliest version of cuneiform wasn’t used to write language at all—it was used to count! And that Sumerian system of counting still influences our…
May 27
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
19
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Linguistic Discovery
From counting to cuneiform: How writing was invented
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Speaking American: How y’all, youse, and you guys talk
A beautiful and engaging coffee table book of 122 dialect maps showing how different regions of the U.S. say different things.
May 26
•
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
6
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Linguistic Discovery
Speaking American: How y’all, youse, and you guys talk
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