Dead Language Society deadlanguagesociety.com

English is weirder than you think. A weekly dive into the hidden history of everyday words.

Medieval beach reads

Dead Language Society10 min read
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Does your name belong in the Odyssey?

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3 min read
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I’m writing a book!

Dead Language Society4 min read
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The fatal letter

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2 min read
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How a spelling quirk and a typesetter's blunder conspired to give us the word "weird"

Dead Language SocietyDiscussed on Hacker NewsCovered by 2 articles9 min read
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The long shadow of the Celtic languages

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2 min read
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Why the word “mead” shows up in Chinese

Dead Language Society15 min read
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Why we love 19th-century writing

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2 min read
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Book Club 4. 1998–2530

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When will Modern English end?

Dead Language Society15 min read
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There’s no such thing as g-droppin’

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3 min read
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Book Club 3. 1126–1997

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How to read Beowulf (and actually enjoy it)

Dead Language Society10 min read
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English has no future

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5 min read
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Book Club 2. 491–1125

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The ancient logic of “snuck”

Dead Language Society10 min read
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Why you’re not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition

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2 min read
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Book Club 1: 1–490

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The Canterbury Commute

Dead Language Society10 min read
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How to pronounce Middle English

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6 min read
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