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Linguistics

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Both speed of speech and information density have an impact on how "fast" a language can be.
japan

What's the Fastest Language in the World?

Theansweriscomplicated.
Dan Nosowitz April 2, 2024
Some European languages are harder than you might think.
language

The U.S. Thinks It’s Harder to Learn Polish or Greek Than Swahili or Malay

Here are the difficulty levels of most European languages for Americans.
Frank Jacobs, Big Think March 29, 2024
Balderdash takes on Mad Libs in our contest of word game supremacy.
games

Atlas Obscura’s Ultimate Word Game Tournament

From Password to Mad Libs to Wordle, we pit our favorite lexical pastimes head to head. 
Adrienne Raphel March 29, 2024
Travel to Miami, and you might hear people say "get down from the car" instead of "get out of the car."
culture

'Make a Party' as a New English Dialect Emerges in South Florida

A linguist explains how loanwords and direct translations known as calques are reshaping the sound of Miami and beyond.
Phillip M. Carter February 5, 2024
Singapore

The Singapore Stone

An undeciphered text is inscribed on a mysterious stone slab.
A postcard from 1945 illustrates numerous delights to be found in a mid-century Nevada, but offers no advice on pronunciation.
language

Why Do Nevadans Pronounce Their State's Name So Strangely?

How you say it certainly says something about who you are.
Dan Nosowitz January 26, 2024
The Northern bald ibis, 'waldrapp' in German, seen in 2018.
lighthouses

Wonder Is Everywhere: Silk Dress Secret, the Last Lightkeeper, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White January 5, 2024
It's possible temperatures affect how easy it is to say and hear sounds.
sounds

People May Speak More Loudly or Quietly Depending on the Climate

Places that are usually hot or cold developed languages differently.
Hannah Seo December 14, 2023
The floating Christmas market in Leiden, Netherlands.
architecture

6 Surprising Stories About Shopping

What you really need this store-hopping season are tales about the “Aisle of Shame” and the shop cats of Hong Kong.
April White December 1, 2023
In this 1873 watercolor, artist Frank Dicksee shows Viking raiders heading for land.
pirates

The Muddled Origins of the Word ‘Viking’

The now common term wasn't used to describe medieval Scandinavians until the 19th century.
Martyn Whittock November 16, 2023
These boxes represent just a portion of Madeline Kripke's dictionary collection—around 10,000 volumes and counting.
objects of intrigue

The Low Down on the Greatest Dictionary Collection in the World

From "unabridged" to "slanguage," Madeline Kripke's library is a logophile's heaven (or hell).
April White November 14, 2023
Arrrrr!
sounds

The ‘Crispy R’ and Why R Is the Weirdest Letter

I made a bunch of linguists listen to this social media phenomenon and tell me what’s going on.
Dan Nosowitz November 2, 2023
Brusaporto, Italy

Sator Square

Acrosticism and palindromes on this randomly placed stone.
Seoul, South Korea

National Hangeul Museum

Celebrating the history of Hangul, the Korean writing system invented by King Sejong to improve his realm’s literacy.
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
music

Puzzle Monday: Sing Along

Alex Bellos August 7, 2023
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
vikings

Puzzle Monday: The Mystery of the Missing Runes

Alex Bellos July 10, 2023
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
puzzles

Puzzle Monday: Generation Gaps

Alex Bellos June 12, 2023
In Asbury Park, New Jersey, summer visitors are known as "bennies." On the southern Jersey shore, the same visitors are "shoobies."
beach

Are You a Shoobie or a Benny?

When summer visitors arrive, so do the colorful and sometimes perplexing local nicknames.
Laura Kiniry May 26, 2023