One of the core tenets of language and linguistics is that sometimes, things just don’t make sense. Anyone who has ever tried to learn a new language, whether mashing buttons on their Duolingo app or bumbling about in a foreign country, has felt that insight – “But why? That makes no sense.” Language is famous (and usually charming) for [...]
Humanity has always needed to communicate cross-culturally. This need is often motivated by scientific research, commerce, political negotiations, or the translation of religious texts. Yet, the different languages of the Earth have always posed potential problems for mistranslation. There are times when these mistranslations have inconsequential results, and there are times when these mistranslations have nearly catastrophic results. Here, we [...]
