English is Crazy #5 [The Dirty & Bizarre Linguistic Origins of Your Favorite Music Genres]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology History Music

English is Crazy #5 [The Dirty & Bizarre Linguistic Origins of Your Favorite Music Genres]

Attention music lovers!! Need a break from the horrors of the world? Take a second to learn about the hilariously dirty and bizarre linguistic origins of all your favorite genres: Jazz, heavy metal, punk, rap, and rock! [With a surprise bonus one at the end 😈] ⚠️WARNING!! Risqué! NSFBP ~ Not Safe for Boring People⚠️
Language, Religion & Mythology
Posted inBlog English Etymology French Greek Italian Maltese Mythology Persian Religion Spanish

Language, Religion & Mythology

Lately I’ve been thinking about how so much of human language is based around religion. Even a casual farewell can invoke God! Check it out: Medieval Latin had this phrase “ad Deum,” which meant, “to God.” This gave us variations like: “adieu” in French; “adios” in Spanish, “addio” in Italian, and “addiju” in Maltese. In Persian, we bid each other farewell with a “khodahafez.” This translates to, “May God protect you.” It’s also often shortened to “khodafez.” English is religious too! “Goodbye” comes from “God be with ye.”
English is Crazy #4 [Silence of the B in ‘Lambs’]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology Spelling

English is Crazy #4 [Silence of the B in ‘Lambs’]

DUMB!! Also: Bomb, numb, lamb… and… doubt?? What’s up with the silent B???? And, like, we also add silent letters to the beginning of words, like the letter K?? Knife, knight, knot??? Why do we do this to ourselves??? Are we playing an elaborate prank on people learning English as a second language? Or maybe the words weren’t long enough, so we’re like, let’s just tack on some random letters?? Are we bored??
English is Crazy #3 [What does Mrs. mean?]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology Gender History Spelling

English is Crazy #3 [What does Mrs. mean?]

Hello, nice to meet you, Murrrrrrr Smith, may I take your coat, Murrrrrr Smith? Hmm?? MURRR?? That’s how we’d sound if we pronounced “Mr.” as its own word. Kinda crazy, right? But ever wonder why with women, we actually call them by the abbreviation instead of the whole word? Like, we actually read out “Mrs.” as “missiz” or “missus.” And what is the whole word anyway?? What is “Mrs.” short for?? I’ve heard people say it’s the possessive form of “Mister.” Like, “Mister’s.” (It’s not.) And then we also have “Ms.” And again we just read it out with “miz.” What’s the whole word?? What’s going on?? Do we even know what we’re saying??
English is Crazy #1 [History of Spelling]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology History Spelling

English is Crazy #1 [History of Spelling]

You have to write in English, but it’s not your native language. Or maybe it is your native language, but spelling just isn’t your thing. Like, why is there an “h” in “ghost”? Why is “kernel" written as “colonel”??? What’s going on?? So I’m happy to tell you that it’s not you, it’s English. English is a hot mess. Let’s talk about why and how, and I’ll tell you all about “ghost,” “colonel,” and more.