boring otter
@boringotter.bsky.social
Just a nerdy otter who loves talking about stuff nobody else seems to find interesting.
Not a linguist, but it's my Roman Empire.
🐦 Languages | 🌍 Countries | 🏴 Flags | ✈️ Travel | 🦉 Birds
Currently in Novi Sad 🇷🇸
Not a linguist, but it's my Roman Empire.
🐦 Languages | 🌍 Countries | 🏴 Flags | ✈️ Travel | 🦉 Birds
Currently in Novi Sad 🇷🇸
So, apparently there's a forum about #Taiwan called forumosa.com
Taiwan was once known as Formosa, which in Portuguese, quite fittingly, means “beautiful”.
And this site is a forum!
The name is just 🤌
Taiwan was once known as Formosa, which in Portuguese, quite fittingly, means “beautiful”.
And this site is a forum!
The name is just 🤌
Forumosa
Taiwan's largest and most active Taiwan-oriented global online community in English
forumosa.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:02 PM
So, apparently there's a forum about #Taiwan called forumosa.com
Taiwan was once known as Formosa, which in Portuguese, quite fittingly, means “beautiful”.
And this site is a forum!
The name is just 🤌
Taiwan was once known as Formosa, which in Portuguese, quite fittingly, means “beautiful”.
And this site is a forum!
The name is just 🤌
Reposted by boring otter
Just as the prophecy foretold
August 3, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Just as the prophecy foretold
TIL that there are Berber speakers in Egypt
#Egypt #Indigenous #languages #linguistics
'Far from Egypt’s busy capital, minority communities are struggling to preserve and protect their unique culture and languages from extinction.'
www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...
'Far from Egypt’s busy capital, minority communities are struggling to preserve and protect their unique culture and languages from extinction.'
www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...
Copts, Nubians, and Berbers fight to keep Egypt’s endangered languages alive
Far from Cairo’s bustle, Egypt’s minority communities are fighting to preserve their ancient languages against the tide of Arabization and cultural loss.
www.al-monitor.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:03 AM
TIL that there are Berber speakers in Egypt
This reminds me of the legendary post: www.reddit.com/r/baseball/c...
July 23, 2025 at 10:13 PM
This reminds me of the legendary post: www.reddit.com/r/baseball/c...
A shower thought related to #langsky 🐦🐦
I'd argue there's some similarity between ASL and Japanese.
Both have an “alphabet” (fingerspelling & kana), but both also have thousands of “graphemes” for common words (regular signs & kanji), since always using the alphabet isn't very efficient
I'd argue there's some similarity between ASL and Japanese.
Both have an “alphabet” (fingerspelling & kana), but both also have thousands of “graphemes” for common words (regular signs & kanji), since always using the alphabet isn't very efficient
July 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
A shower thought related to #langsky 🐦🐦
I'd argue there's some similarity between ASL and Japanese.
Both have an “alphabet” (fingerspelling & kana), but both also have thousands of “graphemes” for common words (regular signs & kanji), since always using the alphabet isn't very efficient
I'd argue there's some similarity between ASL and Japanese.
Both have an “alphabet” (fingerspelling & kana), but both also have thousands of “graphemes” for common words (regular signs & kanji), since always using the alphabet isn't very efficient
I love when people use a Hawaiian ʻokina for glottal stops. No, it's not an apostrophe.
Yes, I'm a typography nerd, how did you know‽
Yes, I'm a typography nerd, how did you know‽
Personally a big fan of using apostrophes to mark glottalization of any sort (as I did for Soc'ul' and Central Isles Creole); I'd probably also use it for /ʔ/ itself if it weren't for A) <'> causing formatting asspains, and B) <Ɂ ɂ ʔ> all being so purdy
Niche opinion that I'm unsure of the popularity of outside the Venn diagram of language nerds and linguists:
People developing a constructed language for a fantasy world need to leave apostrophes out of it. It doesn't look exotic, it looks like they don't have a clear idea what it's doing there.
People developing a constructed language for a fantasy world need to leave apostrophes out of it. It doesn't look exotic, it looks like they don't have a clear idea what it's doing there.
July 23, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I love when people use a Hawaiian ʻokina for glottal stops. No, it's not an apostrophe.
Yes, I'm a typography nerd, how did you know‽
Yes, I'm a typography nerd, how did you know‽
Great r'ant! Couldn't agree mo're
Niche opinion that I'm unsure of the popularity of outside the Venn diagram of language nerds and linguists:
People developing a constructed language for a fantasy world need to leave apostrophes out of it. It doesn't look exotic, it looks like they don't have a clear idea what it's doing there.
People developing a constructed language for a fantasy world need to leave apostrophes out of it. It doesn't look exotic, it looks like they don't have a clear idea what it's doing there.
July 23, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Great r'ant! Couldn't agree mo're
Such an interesting perspective, I've never thought of something like this before:
> how I forget the word for paternal aunt because my dad doesn’t have sisters
> how I forget the word for paternal aunt because my dad doesn’t have sisters
#Shanghainese may be a dying language, but it’s not dead yet
Writer Anson Tong is brushing up on the language of her childhood and connecting with others working to preserve many of China's regional dialects
joysauce.com/shanghainese...
#China #language #diversity #langsky
Writer Anson Tong is brushing up on the language of her childhood and connecting with others working to preserve many of China's regional dialects
joysauce.com/shanghainese...
#China #language #diversity #langsky
Shanghainese may be a dying language, but it's not dead yet
Anson Tong is brushing up on the language of her childhood and connecting with others working to preserve many of China's regional dialects.
joysauce.com
July 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Such an interesting perspective, I've never thought of something like this before:
> how I forget the word for paternal aunt because my dad doesn’t have sisters
> how I forget the word for paternal aunt because my dad doesn’t have sisters
Reposted by boring otter
How does speaking a free word order language influence sentence planning and production? Evidence from Pitjantjatjara (Pama‐Nyungan, Australia). New paper by Evan Kidd & al. with Gabriela Garrido Rodríguez
doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70087
doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70087
How Does Speaking A Free Word Order Language Influence Sentence Planning and Production? Evidence From Pitjantjatjara (Pama‐Nyungan, Australia)
Sentence production is a stage-like process of mapping a conceptual representation to the linear speech signal via grammatical rules. While the typological diversity of languages is vast and thus mus...
doi.org
July 21, 2025 at 6:32 AM
How does speaking a free word order language influence sentence planning and production? Evidence from Pitjantjatjara (Pama‐Nyungan, Australia). New paper by Evan Kidd & al. with Gabriela Garrido Rodríguez
doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70087
doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70087
Reposted by boring otter
Reposted by boring otter
Fun fact I recently learned: English does have a Baltic loanword you probably use basically every once in a while. The name of the spruce tree is derived from Pruce, an archaic word for Prussia, whose name in German originates with the Baltic Old Prussians they displaced, as Prūsa
July 20, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Fun fact I recently learned: English does have a Baltic loanword you probably use basically every once in a while. The name of the spruce tree is derived from Pruce, an archaic word for Prussia, whose name in German originates with the Baltic Old Prussians they displaced, as Prūsa
I wish wasps would recognise ownership.
July 20, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I wish wasps would recognise ownership.
Reposted by boring otter
In Niger Hausa is used as a language of exchange in markets. That's why many non-Hausa people learn to count money in Hausa before they learn to count in Hausa.
For example 20 is said in Hausa achirin (borrowed from Arabic) but achirin is also the name of 100FCFA.
For example 20 is said in Hausa achirin (borrowed from Arabic) but achirin is also the name of 100FCFA.
July 20, 2025 at 1:49 AM
In Niger Hausa is used as a language of exchange in markets. That's why many non-Hausa people learn to count money in Hausa before they learn to count in Hausa.
For example 20 is said in Hausa achirin (borrowed from Arabic) but achirin is also the name of 100FCFA.
For example 20 is said in Hausa achirin (borrowed from Arabic) but achirin is also the name of 100FCFA.
As a non-native English speaker, I looked through this list and felt humiliated on so many levels…
Perfectly Common BrE Words the @NYTimesGames Spelling Bee Has Denied Me: An Occasional Series (Pangram Edition)
POOTLING
Now added to the blog list: separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2023/04/nyt-...
POOTLING
Now added to the blog list: separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2023/04/nyt-...
July 20, 2025 at 9:25 AM
As a non-native English speaker, I looked through this list and felt humiliated on so many levels…
Funny quote from the comments on the question “Is there any rhyme or reason to hiragana?”
japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/47...
#langsky
japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/47...
#langsky
July 19, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Funny quote from the comments on the question “Is there any rhyme or reason to hiragana?”
japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/47...
#langsky
japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/47...
#langsky
Cool demo of hyphenation differences in CSS, depending on the language
In order to use CSS' hyphens property correctly, you need to use the correct language. And if you were wondering why, it's because we need a proper understanding of languages, words, and syllables.
#css #linguistics
blog.frankmtaylor.com/2025/07/17/c...
#css #linguistics
blog.frankmtaylor.com/2025/07/17/c...
CSS Hyphens, Words, Syllables, and Languages
There's a newish CSS feature called hyphens that specifies how you want words to be hyphenated when the text wraps. But if you use it, you're going to need to make sure you're also correctly identifyi...
blog.frankmtaylor.com
July 19, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Cool demo of hyphenation differences in CSS, depending on the language
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭!
Conclusion of “The legibility of serif and sans serif typefaces: Reading from paper and reading from screens” by John T. E. Richardson (2022) library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...
July 19, 2025 at 10:01 AM
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭!
There's a rather derogatory Russian phrase “моя твоя не понимать” (me not understand). It's used to mock people who speak Russian ungrammatically since it's not their mother tongue.
Turns out it actually comes from a real (albeit extinct) language, Kyakhta Russian-Chinese Pidgin
🐦🐦 #langsky
Turns out it actually comes from a real (albeit extinct) language, Kyakhta Russian-Chinese Pidgin
🐦🐦 #langsky
July 19, 2025 at 9:25 AM
There's a rather derogatory Russian phrase “моя твоя не понимать” (me not understand). It's used to mock people who speak Russian ungrammatically since it's not their mother tongue.
Turns out it actually comes from a real (albeit extinct) language, Kyakhta Russian-Chinese Pidgin
🐦🐦 #langsky
Turns out it actually comes from a real (albeit extinct) language, Kyakhta Russian-Chinese Pidgin
🐦🐦 #langsky
Reposted by boring otter
My university doesn’t allow images on the cover of dissertations, let alone the inclusion of many dozens of fieldwork images, but it’s nice!
July 18, 2025 at 10:58 PM
My university doesn’t allow images on the cover of dissertations, let alone the inclusion of many dozens of fieldwork images, but it’s nice!
How could I have missed my chance to use this doubly relevant emoji? :(
🐦🐦
🐦🐦
Fun fact about these guys: they're annoyingly fast and drink nectar, so you might think they're related to hummingbirds. But they're not: sunbirds are closer to crows.
But in Seychelles Creole they are called kolibri, which is a name for hummingbirds in a lot of languages!
Creole languages are fun
But in Seychelles Creole they are called kolibri, which is a name for hummingbirds in a lot of languages!
Creole languages are fun
July 19, 2025 at 12:20 AM
How could I have missed my chance to use this doubly relevant emoji? :(
🐦🐦
🐦🐦
The #etymology of “Bristol” is very fun.
It comes from Middle English “Brigstow” (note -w at the end).
In the Bristolian accent, /l/ is often vocalized to /w/, so “normal” sounds like “normaw”.
People thought that “Bristow” was actually “Bristol”, and it got hypercorrected
It comes from Middle English “Brigstow” (note -w at the end).
In the Bristolian accent, /l/ is often vocalized to /w/, so “normal” sounds like “normaw”.
People thought that “Bristow” was actually “Bristol”, and it got hypercorrected
July 18, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The #etymology of “Bristol” is very fun.
It comes from Middle English “Brigstow” (note -w at the end).
In the Bristolian accent, /l/ is often vocalized to /w/, so “normal” sounds like “normaw”.
People thought that “Bristow” was actually “Bristol”, and it got hypercorrected
It comes from Middle English “Brigstow” (note -w at the end).
In the Bristolian accent, /l/ is often vocalized to /w/, so “normal” sounds like “normaw”.
People thought that “Bristow” was actually “Bristol”, and it got hypercorrected
July 18, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by boring otter
It's pretty rare to hear, but newts can vocalize. Listen to this lil guy squeak at me!
July 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
It's pretty rare to hear, but newts can vocalize. Listen to this lil guy squeak at me!
Absolutely wild sound change
July 18, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Absolutely wild sound change
Reposted by boring otter
Huh, I wonder what this looks like in languages that have grammatical gender 🐦🐦
The article goes into it a little bit by comparing to Spanish but nothing systematic
The article goes into it a little bit by comparing to Spanish but nothing systematic
July 18, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Huh, I wonder what this looks like in languages that have grammatical gender 🐦🐦
The article goes into it a little bit by comparing to Spanish but nothing systematic
The article goes into it a little bit by comparing to Spanish but nothing systematic