Language is one of those things where, if I ruminate on it too long, I get amazingly overwhelmed and it starts to seem unbelievable. The number of languages in the world is incredible, and the countless...

Why is it that so often those most likely to talk about the virtues of detachment struggle the most with their obsessions? To take an example, Herman Hesse, the great writer of "Siddhartha," suffered breakdowns...

Hello readers. It's been a while. I was abroad last semester in Argentina. Needless to say, I'm excited to get back to blogging. At some point I'm hoping to write about the linguistic points of interest...

Illustration by Catalina Burch. Starting conversations is an uncomfortable business. Enunciating words requires a concerted effort, while excessive eye contact with the wrong fellow is liable to result...

Let me preface by acknowledging that I idealize the past; it's fallacious to assume that bygone days saw the meanest peasants talking like Shakespearean dukes. That said, I believe social media is hastening...