![Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1526/1530–1569) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://daily.jstor.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/TowerofBabel_1050x700-600x400.jpg)
Syllables Without Vowels? Pfft, Inconceivable!
Is the syllable universal? Maybe. We look at how languages use (and don't use) syllables, and what this says about language itself.
Hearing Harriet Smith
In the University of Texas library, our writer found a previously unknown audiotape of an interview with a woman who'd been born into slavery.
Migrants, Refugees, and Expats: How Humanity Comes in Waves
The language we use for people fleeing their home nations may define them as less than human.
Yas Queen! It’s the Spelling Reform School for Wayward Words
Debates over English spelling reform have existed for centuries.
Dear Pedants: Your Fave Grammar Rule is Probably Fake
What constitutes ‘correct’ grammar in English seems to have a cyclical life, aided and abetted by new generations of enthusiastic grammarians.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Speaker: Linguistic Isolation in the Modern World
Ayapaneco, an endangered Mexican language, sparked linguistic interest when the last two speakers of the language were not speaking to each other
Gone (Cat)Fishing: How Language Detectives Tackle Online Anonymity
Linguistic clues might be the solution to identifying anonymous online users.
All About That Taboo: When Good Words Go Bad
The phenomenon of sacres, or taboo words that start from fairly innocuous beginnings.