Latest articles by Arika Okrent
-
Haiti is teaching kids in the wrong language
The Explainer Most Haitians speak Haitian Creole. And yet, the country's traditional language of education is French — which less than 10 percent of Haitians speak fluently
The Explainer -
What's the difference between in- and un-?
feature Germanic vs Latin roots only provide some help
feature -
5 words that are spelled weirdly because someone got the etymology wrong
feature Never run with sizars
feature -
What's the correct pronunciation of February?
feature Hint: There's more than one answer
feature -
Dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells: Why do we call weights 'bells'?
feature It dates back to a fitness craze of the 1700s
feature -
'Tis and 10 other fun proclitic words
feature
feature -
35 classy slang terms for naughty bits from the past 600 years
feature Your vulgar vocabulary can now span centuries
feature -
How Philadelphia's neighborhoods got their names
feature Philadelphia is a city of American history, and that history is reflected in its various neighborhoods
feature -
Why are there two pronunciations for the letter 'G'?
feature In English, words beginning with 'g' can have a soft (giraffe) or hard (give) pronunciation. And therein lies the problem.
feature -
How to tell whether you've got angst, ennui, or weltschmerz
feature Are you dissatisfied and worried in an introspective, overthinking German way? Or do you have sadness in your heart for the world that can never be?
feature -
11 little-known words for specific family members
feature Share this with your niblings
feature -
17 old proverbs we should use more often
feature We dare you to say "Many a little makes a mickle" without smiling
feature -
11 naughty sounding scientific names (and what they really mean)
feature From Turdus Maximus to Pinus Rigida
feature -
11 words and phrases popularized by World War I
feature Camouflage, shell shock, and more
feature -
21 fancy medical terms for mundane problems
feature Overdid it last night? Just explain to your boss that you've got a bit of veisalgia.
feature -
11 remnants of the Bastille you can still see today
feature A piece of the French prison's actual moat wall? You'll find it in the subway.
feature -
9 words created by spelling other words backwards
feature Fancy some "semordnilaps"?
feature -
12 animals whose names etymologically describe them
feature Armadillo means "little armored one," because of course it does
feature -
The secret emotional lives of 5 punctuation marks
feature From the angry period to the dramatic asterisk...
feature -
The Pig Latins of 11 other languages
feature English speakers aren't the only ones who can make a pseudo-language
feature -
Why is 'Weiner' sometimes 'weener' and sometimes 'whiner'?
feature Anthony Weiner's name is not Wiener!
feature -
7 sentences that sound crazy but are still grammatical
feature Believe it or not, this sentence is grammatical: "The rat the cat the dog chased killed ate the malt."
feature -
11 classy insults with classical Greek and Latin roots
feature Next time you punk a ructabunde, don't be so excerebrose
feature -
12 onomatopoeias from around the world
feature Chik chik pok pok is the sound of a train in Korean. Ghrutu ghrutu is pig grunting in Georgian. And more!
feature
