Controlled Natural Languages Seaspeak was created in 1985 to standardize how sailors and others on naval vessels communicated with each other. When a ship from an English-speaking location such as the United States would like to ask for assistance from a passing ship from, for instance, Brazil, the language barrier can quickly become a problem. Seaspeak allows these ships [...]
When people think of sailing today, they often think of iconic franchises such as the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Jack Sparrow's irreverent and smarmy portrayal contributes to the image of sailors as little more than uneducated laborers, but their language belies something more: a specificity that can only come from carefully crafted jargon that keeps a ship functioning [...]
In-Groups and Out-Groups When people think of the pronouns us, them, and you, they tend to think of basic conversations: did you go to the store? Do you want to come with us? While it’s true that many uses of these words crop up in everyday conversation, they hold more power than you might think. Studies repeatedly show that [...]
Understanding the Babble Hypothesis While the concept of the babble hypothesis has been around for decades, it was not until the late 2010s and early 2020s that the concept truly gained traction for further study. The babble hypothesis posits that when a group is missing a leader, the person who speaks the most is also the most likely to fill [...]
Writing systems, or scripts, are tools that humans developed to document and transmit ideas that came to us using language. As it turns out, the scripts that we’ve developed are quite versatile and can be used to transcribe a variety of languages. Consider, conveniently, the example of this article that you’re reading. It’s written in the Latin script, which [...]
In the first part of this series, we looked at how wills originated as a social practice and legal provision. We’ll move on to something a little more lighthearted in this, the second installment in this series. Although wills are usually a somber matter, there are some that stand out for the way they’re structured and the unique items [...]
In our previous article, The Origin and Uses of Runes: The History That Drives Modern Runic, we covered where Futhark runes came from, how they were used, and what constitutes a rune. While the use of Futhark is no longer a daily occurrence, these symbols are still pervasive in cultures around the globe—for both favorable and reprehensible reasons. The [...]
Birth certificates, passports, driving licenses, social security cards, and on and on. There is a seemingly endless stream of legal documents that one is obligated to create through their lifetime to prove their personhood, citizenship, and privileges. One document that holds special legal import not just while you’re alive, but even after, is your will and testament. As you’re [...]
Runes may be part of a linguistic system whose daily use is lost to time, but their effects can still be felt today. From technological symbols to ornamentation in fiction TV, the runic alphabet has encountered many changes but continues to hold fast against extinction. Here’s a history of runes: where they came from, what they are made of, [...]
Why Was the Deseret Alphabet Created? The Deseret alphabet was the brainchild of Brigham Young and his colleagues. Young, one of the foundational members of the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, sought to create an alternative to English so that adherents of Mormonism could separate themselves from their surrounding culture. In fact, it was Young’s [...]
