MetaFilter posts tagged with linguistics and history

Entropic Evidence for Linguistic Structure in the Indus Script

homunculus — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:05:24 -0800

Scholars at odds over mysterious Indus script. The Indus script is the collection of symbols found on artifacts from the Harappan civilization, which flourished in what is now eastern Pakistan and western India between 2,600 and 1,900 B.C. A new analysis using pattern-analyzing software suggests that the script may constitute a genuine written language. [Via]

'That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?'

anastasiav — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:13:11 -0800

Aesopica: Aesop's Fables in English, Latin & Greek

Native Languages of the Americas

Ufez Jones — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 14:31:18 -0800

Native Languages of the Americas: Preserving and promoting American Indian languages.

the language boom

the fire you left me — Sun, 07 Dec 2003 06:48:54 -0800

Language tree rooted in Turkey.

Click, Pop and Whistle

Irontom — Mon, 24 Mar 2003 06:33:00 -0800

Khoisan languages of southern Africa [NY Times link]
Do some of today's languages still hold a whisper of an ancient ancestral tongue spoken by the first modern humans? [more inside]

homunculus — Wed, 31 Jul 2002 13:39:04 -0800

"The Druids of the ancient Celtic world have a startling kinship with the brahmins of the Hindu religion," according to popular historian Peter Berresford Ellis. Another author examines the parallels between Celtic and Vedic culture in the article The Celtic Vedic Connection, and a particular diety is analyzed in The Horned God in India and Europe. This may not be very conservative scholarship, but I found it intriguing and fun to contemplate.

judith — Thu, 26 Jul 2001 13:54:39 -0800

Navajo Code Talkers honored As indigenous languages die out all over the world, it's especially nice to see some recognition for the Navajo code talkers. There's also a dictionary here.