Steve the vagabond

The story of “us” in the Germanic languages

By Steve the vagabond / July 13, 2018

There is a change that happened in some West Germanic languages that has obscured the relation between a whole set of words. I would like to explore that change and… Read More
Me, myself and I – An exploration of a weird phenomenon in Modern English

By Steve the vagabond / May 18, 2018

Modern English is a rather strange language. It is a basically a train wreck between Anglo Saxon (also known as Old English), Old Norse and Norman French Here’s an example… Read More
How did language first evolve?

By Steve the vagabond / April 24, 2018

It is a question that has intrigued us for as long as humanity has been around. Some ancient myths talk about gods bestowing the gift of words upon us. We… Read More
What do the words “not” and “wight” have in common?

By Steve the vagabond / March 17, 2018

If you have been watching Game of Thrones, then you would have heard the word “wight”. In literature this word is used to refer to some kind of supernatural entity,… Read More
What’s the weirdest way of delivering information that still sounds like language and what can we learn from it?

By Steve the vagabond / March 14, 2018

We live and breathe language. We take it so for granted that we often don’t realise how amazing it is. Even someone who spends most of their time with language,… Read More
What “yes” and “no” can tell us about how people think

By Steve the vagabond / March 1, 2018

Sometimes the simplest words can actually turn out to not be simple at all. We only see them as simple because we use them every day, but we don’t realise… Read More