Dead Language Society
Subscribe
Sign in
Home
Story of English
Literature & Lore
Etymology
Sound & Spelling
Poetry & Style
Before English
Book Club
Archive
About
Story of English
Latest
Top
Discussions
When will Modern English end?
Or is it already over?
Jun 10
•
Colin Gorrie
213
45
24
There’s no such thing as g-droppin’
That apostrophe is a lie
Jun 3
•
Colin Gorrie
88
20
3
English has no future
Will, shall, and other mysteries
May 20
•
Colin Gorrie
143
16
12
Why you’re not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition
And why you do it anyway
May 6
•
Colin Gorrie
107
22
4
A bluffer’s guide to etymology
How to guess the age and origin of any English word
Apr 8
•
Colin Gorrie
154
6
12
1066 didn't change English (but 1250 did)
How all those French words actually got into English
Feb 11
•
Colin Gorrie
159
10
13
Scots, English, and the linguistic uncanny valley
English’s fascination with its closest cousin
Jan 21
•
Colin Gorrie
177
33
13
Were Old Norse and Old English a single language?
I say hām, you say heimr, let's call the whole thing off.
Jan 17
•
Colin Gorrie
88
6
4
The wild world of grammatical gender
Beyond masculine, feminine, and neuter
Dec 6, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
68
11
5
Why people feel entitled to correct your grammar online
A natural history of the language police
Nov 26, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
112
61
20
The English language’s wild century
And those who tried to resist it
Nov 22, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
92
6
4
The beginner’s guide to Early Modern English
How English emerged from the Middle Ages
Sep 27, 2025
•
Colin Gorrie
90
7
8
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please
turn on JavaScript
or unblock scripts