dannylbate

Humble Thimbles and Thor’s Thunder

Reading time: 5-10 minutes For this month, I’d like to highlight a phonological phenomenon that should be part of the conceptual toolkit of all etymology fans. It’s something that’s happened in the history of English, and in languages that have gone on to influence English. Awareness of this change can therefore clarify and connect allContinue reading “Humble Thimbles and Thor’s Thunder”

The Fates of the Dual

The Story of Indo-European’s (Mostly) Lost Number Reading time: 10 minutes Introduction One book, many books. One cat, many cats. One woman, many women. One sheep, many… well, also sheep. In Modern English, the grammatical options for nouns are limted to two. A given noun can be singular, referring to one individual thing, or plural,Continue reading “The Fates of the Dual”

Streets Ahead: When Roman Roads Met Old English

Reading time: 5 minutes (With my apologies to subscribers for the second email, following an accidental premature publication) I’m very keen to share a fun linguistic adventure that I found myself on this week, as I dug down into the history of the humble English word street. It all began with a Patreon post byContinue reading “Streets Ahead: When Roman Roads Met Old English”

New Article: Deriving the Old Irish Clause

Some personal news from me: My first peer-reviewed academic article has now been published with the Journal of Historical Syntax! After almost a year of work by me, three reviewers and the editors of JHS, Deriving the Old Irish Clause now exists out there to be read and hopefully enjoyed. It can be found hereContinue reading “New Article: Deriving the Old Irish Clause“

A Fond Farewell to 2023

Reading time: 5 minutes At time of writing, the year 2023 is ticking out its few remaining hours, and the threshold of New Year’s Eve is almost here. Being someone easily susceptible to bouts of acute nostalgia, I can’t help but reflect on the past 365 days during this liminal period – and this year,Continue reading “A Fond Farewell to 2023”

Christmas Trees and Etymologies

Reading time: 5 minutes As an etymological Christmas gift from me for 2023, here’s a quick dive into the story and connections of one festive word: the humble Christmas tree. Now, Modern English tree goes back to Old English trēow, which could mean a specific tree or the substance of wood. … Ġeseah iċ wuldres trēow,wǣdum ġeweorðode, wynnum sċīnan,ġeġyred mid golde; ġimmas hæfdonbewriġene weorðlīċeContinue reading “Christmas Trees and Etymologies”

Is This [Is] An English Question?

Reading time: 10 minutes For this November’s post, I’d like to shine a syntactic spotlight on an unusual feature of English word order. While you might not know it from my online offerings, I am first and foremost a syntactician: words are fascinating, but it’s how we arrange them together that interests me most. TheContinue reading “Is This [Is] An English Question?”

The Reichenau Glossary and the Birth of French

Reading time: 10 minutes Now, I must confess, I have been somewhat preoccupied for the past two months, and so haven’t dedicated time to this site. The jump into the world of podcasting has taken a lot of effort, and yet the website hasn’t been far from my thoughts. So, for this October, I’m gettingContinue reading “The Reichenau Glossary and the Birth of French”

Introducing: ‘A Language I Love Is…’

There’s a new linguistic podcast out there! Friends, linguists, podcast pros, lend me your ears! Being committed to bringing the joys of linguistics to a wide audience, and motivated by the continuing decline of Twitter, I am thrilled to announce that I now have a podcast! It’s called A Language I Love Is… and it’sContinue reading “Introducing: ‘A Language I Love Is…’”

Five Antiquities of English

Reading time: 10-15 minutes To listen along in an audio format, just click here: IT’S WELL KNOWN that English has undergone many significant changes down the centuries. Events like the Norman Conquest have drastically altered the shape of the language, influencing words and sounds so much that a new kind of English was born. YetContinue reading “Five Antiquities of English”