Tag Archives: language

A Language, For Whatever Reason

Posted on March 14, 2023 by nathanalbright

It is said that a language is a dialect with an army. What this means, at least in practice, is that whether or not something counts as a language or dialect often depends on whether there is a nation who … Continue reading →

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A Style Guide To Nathanish: Busy Vs. Occupied

Posted on August 18, 2022 by nathanalbright

When one is enquiring if someone else is doing something, there are different ways to go about asking this question. One can ask them if they are busy or, alternatively, one can ask them if they are occupied. If you … Continue reading →

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There Once Was A Chicken

Posted on August 13, 2022 by nathanalbright

One of the most obvious aspects of my tastes that was readily evident, so much so that it was obvious to my family even when I was a child, was my fondness for chicken. It is something I have commented … Continue reading →

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On The Image And The Word

Posted on August 11, 2022 by nathanalbright

It ought to be of little surprise to anyone who knows me well that I am fond of both the image and the word. Besides being responsible for the writing and speaking of a fair amount of words, depending on … Continue reading →

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Caldo/Kaldu: A Linguistic Mystery

Posted on August 3, 2022 by nathanalbright

It is no surprise that I am fond of soups, and ever since I have found out about it, I have made it a point to regularly enjoy caldo de pollo, a chicken soup dish I discovered first when visiting … Continue reading →

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Lumpers And Splitters

Posted on June 15, 2022 by nathanalbright

When it comes to many aspects of life, people can be divided between lumpers and splitters. Lumpers are people who try to put things together, who see the connections between that which others view as disparate things. Splitters, on the … Continue reading →

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How Old Is Azeri?

Posted on May 2, 2022 by nathanalbright

This morning I had the chance to read someone with a scholarly interest in the Azeri language talk about their own personal reflections of Azeri and its connection (via its shared particles with various other languages) and the implications of … Continue reading →

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Babies, Bathwater, And Babel

Posted on March 15, 2022 by nathanalbright

For those of us who are interested in the Tower of Babel project [1], it is common that we will read writings that have been translated from Russian that seek to discuss the long-term history of human languages. Various different … Continue reading →

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On The Productivity Of Theories

Posted on February 12, 2022 by nathanalbright

How do theories show themselves to be productive? As someone who reads a fair amount of material about linguistics, one often finds situations where writers seek to determine the deep relationships between long-separated languages as a way of showing the … Continue reading →

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Rivers Of Babylon

Posted on December 6, 2021 by nathanalbright

One of my more obscure interests is a fascination with the history of languages and their origins and development. For a long time people have sought to make connections between various languages in seeking to discover how it is that … Continue reading →

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