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2 answers
Proper terminology for the types of dual
I was reading an article about typology of Russian language by Gasparov, B. M. (“Structure of Russian language from typological point of view (Intro to sociogrammatics). Article 2. Morphology of the noun”. Scholarly notes of Tartu University, issue…
theUg
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Why was apostrophe so vaguely used in Early Modern English?
So I have noticed in many of Shakespeare's poems that he used apostrophes in places where we don't usually see them now.
For Example: In the poem 'Fear No More' the first line is "Fear no more the heat o' the sun', why wasn't of used instead of o'?…
A. Joshi
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Do most languages have the same basic verb tenses?
I am a student learning languages who is interested in linguistics! In trying to keep myself organized with my own study sheets, I wanted to know, do all languages have the same basic verb tenses? I'm currently studying German and Albanian. While on…
q-compute
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What are the criteria for deciding whether a language is "natural"?
I read in the Linguistics section on the Wikipedia page for American Sign Language that ASL was "proven [to be a natural language] to the satisfaction of the linguistic community by William Stokoe, and contains phonology, morphology, semantics,…
Niel de Beaudrap
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Why is [la] widely used as a substitution for singing? Is it a worldwide phenomenon?
When people sing without knowing or using the text, they often sing as lalalala...
wodemingzi
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Languages with nominalized verbs that specify the thematic relation of its possessor
In English, nominalized verbs have only one form regardless of the thematic relation of its possessor:
The robot's destruction (of the city) terrified authorities.
The robot's destruction (by the authorities) saddened its creator.
In (1), the…
Zachary
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The Koran: anything special about this book linguistically?
I'm learning Arabic right now, and the Arabs seem to all hold this book in high regard. Obviously, many for merely religious reasons. However, I've found numerous people that reference it as some sort of perfected grammar. Is there any reason,…
Evan Carroll
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Difference between Minimalism and old P&P
What are the differences between the old Principles and Parameters approach and the developing Minimalist Program?
As I understand it, though the MP is just a framework for developing theories in, in practice it is treated like a theory as most of…
Nate Glenn
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Cultural bias in early modern Western linguistics
I answered a question on this site yesterday where in my answer, I alluded to a problem with cultural bias in early modern Western linguistics.
I tried my best search engine fu to come up with a good link to explain this in more detail, but I…
tripleee
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Are "txt-speak" and "emoticons" examples of normal language evolution?
"txt-speak" appeared because of the need to fit a communication into 160 characters.
"Emoticons" appeared due to the need to convey an emotional context with your message so that it is read correctly (many times I've written an email and found that…
BanksySan
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Difference between ideogram and logogram?
I'm having a bit of trouble differentiating these, and I'm wondering if it's because these are generally fuzzy concepts and nobody cares much, if I haven't read into it enough, if my innate assumptions about spoken language are obfuscating the…
Brayton
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How seriously do modern linguists take the idea of phonesthemes?
When we English speakers say phrases like "King Kong" and "delicate daffodil," some of us can't help but think that the "k" sound is rough-and-tumble and the "d" sound is mild-mannered. Apparently there is a term for sounds or parts of words that…
James Grossmann
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IPA, Why Is It Ordered That Way?
The IPA lists Plosives first, then Nasals, then Trills, then Taps, then Fricatives, then Approximants. Why is it ordered that way?
I wondered if it was to do with ease of use. However, it doesn't seem that making an "m" sound takes anymore effort…
jamiestroud69
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Why do phonemes such as /r/ and /ɾ/ evolve into uvular sounds like /ʀ/?
Forgive me if this seems vague, but this is mainly looking at the Germanic languages. Proto-Germanic probably used an alveolar of some sort, most likely a trill.
In terms of Modern Germanic languages, all of the North Germanic languages utilize the…
Matthew T. Scarbrough
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Etymology of the word "sport"
I wonder what is the etymology of the word sport.
Vasmer says that it is from disport "amusement", a contraction from Middle English disporten from Old French desporter "to take away", "to distract from the work".
But Starostin's Starling gives…
Anixx
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