Where does Doo-Wop come from? [more inside]
posted on Oct 1, 2008 - 8 answers

Analytic/Isolating languages that have standardized, highly phonetic writing in the Latin alphabet? [more inside]
posted on Sep 24, 2008 - 8 answers

LanguageFilter: Having a little bit of a few languages under my belt, I'd like to add more/get better at the ones I know. [more inside]
posted on Sep 17, 2008 - 6 answers

Are there any layman-accessible, English-language books or (less preferably) websites on Japanese etymology or the development of Japanese? [more inside]
posted on Aug 30, 2008 - 6 answers

What is the origin of the cross-linguistic "kutt"-like root for dog? [more inside]
posted on Jul 12, 2008 - 8 answers

I've just started a wine tasting course, and someone asked whether there was an adjective that described a wine that tastes like it smells. The closest we could get was onomatopoeic, which obviously isn't the right word, but is similar in concept. If not in English, is there a word in any language? (I'm thinking that maybe there's a German word, as they're really good at creating new words by putting other words together) Or is "tastes like it smells" as good as it gets?
posted on Jun 17, 2008 - 18 answers

After a long period of soul-searching (and trying many different jobs), I've decided on a career path in language learning. [more inside]
posted on Jun 12, 2008 - 3 answers

What are your favorite online resources for learning, practicing or getting exposure to the languages you speak? I'm looking for things that go beyond a textbook and a couple of CDs: things like interactive tools and study materials, well-written blogs written in / about the language, and especially audio, video or reading materials that people learning the language might not be able to find easily. [more inside]
posted on Jun 4, 2008 - 8 answers

Where can I find beta testers for a niche-ish recipe site? [more inside]
posted on May 21, 2008 - 9 answers

anyone familiar with the language/alphabet used in this WWII-era document from western China? my best guess is something related to the Yi language, but that could (of course) be totally wrong.
posted on May 13, 2008 - 7 answers

What is the first question people ask when you tell them what you do? Are there common misconceptions or generalizations that people make? How do you tactfully and/or humorously correct them? [more inside]
posted on Apr 28, 2008 - 154 answers

Looking for depictions of surfers in mainstream media. Examples by people who aren't actually surfers (actors, reporters, wannabe surfers) are great, but people in the surf community are good too. The more common, well-known examples are better. I'm thinking of scenes from movies, passages in books, news stories, documentaries, blogs, comedy skits, but unscripted examples are best. [more inside]
posted on Feb 25, 2008 - 25 answers

What are some other examples of using 'an' in front of a non-vowel like some do with 'an historic...'? [more inside]
posted on Feb 22, 2008 - 40 answers

Can anyone help me select a high-quality recording device for fieldwork and speech analysis, please? [more inside]
posted on Dec 19, 2007 - 12 answers

I'm looking for popular books, novels, magazines, comic books...in European French (not Canadian French). I'd also like to be able to easily order/purchase them from home (preferably from places like Amazon.com). [more inside]
posted on Dec 4, 2007 - 8 answers

I need . . . adjectives! Is there a *scannable* online dictionary or some way in which I can search through giant lists just for the adjectives? [more inside]
posted on Oct 18, 2007 - 9 answers

You know how old English is so vastly different from contemporary English? And how your average person would not understand your average meideval dude? Is that also true of other languages? [more inside]
posted on Sep 24, 2007 - 47 answers

AccentFilter: What makes a New England accent recognizable? [more inside]
posted on Sep 1, 2007 - 22 answers

Is there a term for mangling two words to create a new word or term? [more inside]
posted on Jul 17, 2007 - 28 answers

Is there a recent American Word Corpus available for free? [more inside]
posted on May 6, 2007 - 4 answers

Where can I find a good word frequency list for American English? [more inside]
posted on Apr 9, 2007 - 12 answers

Recommend to me a history of the languages of France. [more inside]
posted on Jan 8, 2007 - 5 answers

When talking, Danes sometimes make a quick gasping noise that's very distinctive but difficult to describe. Can anyone explain this odd habit? Does it have a name? (More details inside.) [more inside]
posted on Dec 29, 2006 - 25 answers

In Chinese, the meaning of a spoken word can change depending on where stress is applied. Can you think of English words which embody this characteristic? I can only think of one at the moment: invalid. [more inside]
posted on Dec 7, 2006 - 37 answers

Is there a word or phrase that describes people's ready acceptance of increasingly odd and demanding airport security procedures? [more inside]
posted on Nov 29, 2006 - 40 answers

Hawaiian has only eight consonants. Pirahã purportedly has even fewer phonemes and no numerals. What other languages have properties which would be considered unusual by Indo-European language speakers?
posted on Nov 16, 2006 - 33 answers

Language/Dialect-filter: In search of "authentic" Southern (American) accents... [more inside]
posted on Oct 11, 2006 - 48 answers

Linguophiles: Help me settle this debate on the Chompskyian model of linguistics. [more inside]
posted on Sep 28, 2006 - 20 answers

He was killed; he got (himself) killed. It was sold; it got sold (possibly out from under me). What sort of semantic difference does using forms of "get" versus "be" in passive constructions convey? [more inside]
posted on Sep 8, 2006 - 12 answers

I was wondering if there are any non-Indo-European languages which would sound like gibberish, albeit English-like gibberish, to a native English speaker. [more inside]
posted on Aug 10, 2006 - 32 answers

linguists: i vaguely remember a story that i can't verify. the gist is this: two groups of people who spoke the same language became separated by some minor geographical obstacles, like hills, and remained so for a period of years (decades, i think). upon analysis some years later, their common tongue had forked noticeably into fairly different languages. is this true? [more inside]
posted on May 13, 2006 - 17 answers

What should I write about for my linguistics class? [more inside]
posted on May 2, 2006 - 15 answers

I before E except after C We all learned the rule, but where did it come from? [more inside]
posted on Apr 27, 2006 - 15 answers

Does any language have a word or phrase for the feeling of sorrow one experiences upon finishing a really good book?
posted on Apr 14, 2006 - 23 answers

What is the nature of the relationship between thought and language? [more inside]
posted on Apr 10, 2006 - 30 answers

Lonnie Brooks, Bayou Lighting, Voodoo Daddy. At 4:13, he refers to the "big black snake" as a "whobedup". What is this word, whobedup? How do I properly spell it?
posted on Mar 13, 2006 - 10 answers

I'm about halfway through my first year of college-level Modern Standard Arabic, and would love it if someone experienced in Arabic instruction/linguistics in general could make some suggestions for materials with which I can supplement my textbook. Bonus question if you live in or around Chicago! Look inside! [more inside]
posted on Feb 9, 2006 - 5 answers

What is the origin of the term "Hip Hop"?
posted on Dec 20, 2005 - 12 answers

I'm looking for books on the history of the Romance Languages. [more inside]
posted on Nov 22, 2005 - 8 answers

What is the hardest language for a native English speaker to master, and why? (I know this is subjective... but I'm curious)
posted on Oct 14, 2005 - 48 answers

There seems to be a consensus on how Chaucer and his contemporaries sounded. What I'd like is a summary (or links, or pointers to resources) of how we know how Middle English speakers sounded.
posted on Oct 10, 2005 - 7 answers

In the 1980s I came across a slim book about people with language-related mental disorders, such as a person who had a phobia of English and chose to speak French for the rest of his life. This book was NOT Lunatic Lovers of Language by Marina Yaguello. Can you identify it? [more inside]
posted on Apr 22, 2005 - 5 answers

Why are "aunt" and "uncle", emplyed in a nonfamilial sense, used as terms of endearment and honorifics in so many societies?
posted on Mar 31, 2005 - 17 answers

Kleenex = any facial tissue. Xerox = any copy machine. "There are thousands of Milky Ways out there."

What's the word for using the name of a specific thing to refer to all things in its class? It's metonymy, right, but is it synecdoche? Is it antonomasia? Help!
posted on Jan 28, 2005 - 36 answers

Is there a word for the literary concept of "a simile that uses paradox to exaggerate a comparison"? Similes like "quiet as a rolling sea", "soft as nails", "smart as a brick" [+]
posted on Dec 6, 2004 - 18 answers

Is there a term to describe instances where a word has a single spelling, but multiple pronunciations based upon the definition needed? Some examples: wound, bass, read, etc.
posted on Oct 17, 2004 - 7 answers

Can genius be used as adjective, as in this example from the BBC: "Send Dave your genius idea."? If so, why? [More Inside.]
posted on Sep 2, 2004 - 30 answers

Cats have kittens, dogs have puppies, Geese have goslings, foxes have kits, goats have kids, people have kids. What do apes have?
posted on Sep 1, 2004 - 17 answers

You know the stereotypical pirate and/or salty sailor accent? What is that? Where does it come from? It sounds like it must be some kind of bastardised English accent, but it's fairly distinctive. Or is it something created and perpetuated by film and television?
posted on Jun 29, 2004 - 9 answers

Is there a single-word noun that means "things that relate to blogs/are in the manner of blogs?" If not, any ideas for a made-up one?
posted on Jun 15, 2004 - 28 answers

Any way to get good translations of foreign sites or articles for MeFi or elsewhere? Based on this discussion with matteo in MeTa, there's a whole world of good stuff on the net we can't read, because it's not in English. Any ideas? (Google and Babelfish translations leave a lot to be desired)
posted on Apr 25, 2004 - 5 answers

Excuse me, but can anyone tell me: What exactly is the origin of the phrase Go piss up a rope? I know it's present in the American South and Midwest, but did it originate elsewhere? Does the phrase occur in other countries? And how exactly does one piss up a rope? Does it mean Go climb a rope (similar to Piss off!), or literally Go urinate up a length of braided twine? And, while we're at it, what the hell does the H stand for in Jesus H Christ? I've always wondered. [...a little more inside]
posted on Jan 19, 2004 - 13 answers

What is the origin of the

1. Do one thing
2. Do another thing
3. ??????
4. Profit!

meme?
posted on Jan 13, 2004 - 6 answers

Ever say an uncommon word or phrase -- such as "doxology" or "round-a-bout" -- in a crowded room and hear it travel across the room to different conversations? This happens to me all the time, but I have no idea what the term for it is, or if there even is one. Any guesses? In a related question, what do you call a freudian slip that you hear instead of say? (For insteance someone says "hold my glass" and you hear "hold my ass".)
posted on Dec 24, 2003 - 6 answers