Latest articles by Arika Okrent
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The Pig Latins of 11 other languages
feature English speakers aren't the only ones who can make a pseudo-language
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15 awesome 19th-century street gang names
feature Do not mess with the Plug Uglies or Dead Rabbits
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How do you do a Philadelphia accent?
feature Repeat after me: "Halve the hoagie, then have half"
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4 shows from Norway's crazy, successful slow TV experiment
feature Norwegians embrace television that challenges them to take it all in, including a 4-hour discussion about firewood
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7 book dedications that basically say 'screw you'
feature "I do not dedicate my book to any body; for I know nobody worth dedicating it to. I have no friends, no children, no wife, no home; — no relations, no well-wishers; — nobody to love, and nobody to care for"
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6 grammar points to watch out for in Christmas songs
feature What does "round yon virgin" mean, anyway?
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Is it possible to think without language?
feature There is evidence that deaf people cut off from language, spoken or signed, think in sophisticated ways before they have been exposed to language
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Iko iko wan dey: What do the words to that Mardi Gras song mean?
feature A look at the origins of Mardi Gras' most popular song
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The least popular American baby names (from 1880 to 1932)
feature Handy, Spurgeon, Icy, Flem, Sister, and more
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11 totally redundant place names
feature Lake Tahoe means Lake Lake. La Brea Tar Pits means The Tar Tar Pits. And more!
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Where did the word 'dude' come from?
feature A massive, decade-long "dude" research project has finally yielded convincing results
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Is Faulkner's 'as I lay dying' grammatically incorrect?
feature Musician Sufjan Stevens has sparked a controversy with his open letter to Miley Cyrus
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How many words do Eskimos really have for snow?
feature Depending on whom you ask, anywhere from 2 to 99
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4 changes to English so subtle we hardly notice they're happening
feature Among them: The rise of the "get-passive"
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3 awesome translations from this sign language rap battle on Jimmy Kimmel Live
feature Attitude is universal
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The tiny island where men have their own language
feature Women and children can understand the language, but it is primarily used among men engaged in male domain activities like fishing and boat-building
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How well does Mark Zuckerberg speak Chinese?
feature It helps that he gets such a positive, almost thrilled reaction to everything he says
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11 spam comments that look like drunk thesauruses
feature Nothing is certain but death, taxes, and spam comments on your blog
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How to do an Australian accent
feature As explained by, well, Australians
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13 words of the year from other countries
feature 'Selfie' still reigns supreme
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11 fun word lists to drill your vocabulary on
feature Word from Shakespearean insults, '70s songs, and more
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Should U.K. schools shame students who use regional slang?
The Explainer One campus in Northeast England wants to zap phrases like "gizit ere" and "he was sat there"
The Explainer -
12 scientific postulates perfectly paired with rap lyrics
feature Physics meets Talib Kweli
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Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The end of a policy, the beginning of an idiom
feature It's been two years since the repeal of the policy, but the phrase seems here to stay
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