Latest articles by Arika Okrent
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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 language Isaac Newton invented
feature Newton is credited with many, many scientific innovations. His linguistic creations, on the other hand, never really took off.
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Learn Klingon in 6 steps
feature It's the only honorable thing to do
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What is the most complex Chinese character?
feature Biáng. And it's made up of 57 strokes
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20 towns named for other towns but pronounced differently
feature In Illinois and Kentucky, don't call the cities of Athens, ATH-ens. They're pronounced EIGHTH-ens, apparently.
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Why 'the' is so difficult to define
feature Why do we say "I love the ballet," but not "I love the cable TV"?
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Watch the Surf Punks explain the latest slang in this 1980s news report
feature Radical, dude
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What makes a word the word of the year?
feature A brief examination of how "science" topped Merriam-Webster's 2013 list
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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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Here's how crazy-long German words are made
feature An animated guide to creating Rhababerbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbierbarbärbel
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Was the sign-language interpreter at the Mandela memorial faking it?
feature The interpreter on stage with Obama was signing nonsense, according to South Africa's deaf community
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How to write the sound of a kiss
feature Muah!
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11 naughty sounding scientific names (and what they really mean)
feature From Turdus Maximus to Pinus Rigida
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4 surprising things Facebook has learned from your relationship status
feature For starters: Breaking up is less hard to do during summer
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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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Car-a-mel or car-mel? 3 reasons for syllabically ambiguous words
feature The wild world of diphthongs and epentheses
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Why does Q almost always go with a U?
feature Good question
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The true origin story of the football huddle
feature It was first invented by deaf players
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11 brand names with plural problems
feature We're looking at you, LEGO
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Listen to Frozen's 'Let It Go' in 25 languages
feature English, French, German, Dutch, Mandarin, Swedish, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian...
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9 reasons we adore this little girl's sign language version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'
feature We dare you not to say, "Awwww"
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'Tis and 10 other fun proclitic words
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The strange evolution of 'because'
feature Because reasons
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The right way to quit your job in Klingon
feature You're probably doing it wrong
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