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Language and linguistics

Language, grammar, etymology, vocabulary, writing systems, translation, and linguistic research.

6,554 stories · 101 in 30 days · Updated Sep 28, 2026

The pace of conversation

Posts per month

2020-01: 76 posts2020-02: 81 posts2020-03: 50 posts2020-04: 70 posts2020-05: 82 posts2020-06: 83 posts2020-07: 74 posts2020-08: 84 posts2020-09: 75 posts2020-10: 60 posts2020-11: 56 posts2020-12: 104 posts2021-01: 69 posts2021-02: 64 posts2021-03: 97 posts2021-04: 80 posts2021-05: 79 posts2021-06: 57 posts2021-07: 85 posts2021-08: 66 posts2021-09: 62 posts2021-10: 69 posts2021-11: 76 posts2021-12: 69 posts2022-01: 153 posts2022-02: 163 posts2022-03: 109 posts2022-04: 86 posts2022-05: 99 posts2022-06: 94 posts2022-07: 80 posts2022-08: 75 posts2022-09: 70 posts2022-10: 87 posts2022-11: 102 posts2022-12: 96 posts2023-01: 93 posts2023-02: 79 posts2023-03: 77 posts2023-04: 78 posts2023-05: 73 posts2023-06: 62 posts2023-07: 70 posts2023-08: 91 posts2023-09: 82 posts2023-10: 85 posts2023-11: 86 posts2023-12: 89 posts2024-01: 92 posts2024-02: 101 posts2024-03: 99 posts2024-04: 69 posts2024-05: 114 posts2024-06: 71 posts2024-07: 59 posts2024-08: 60 posts2024-09: 50 posts2024-10: 71 posts2024-11: 56 posts2024-12: 60 posts2025-01: 57 posts2025-02: 83 posts2025-03: 94 posts2025-04: 75 posts2025-05: 86 posts2025-06: 54 posts2025-07: 83 posts2025-08: 73 posts2025-09: 68 posts2025-10: 66 posts2025-11: 61 posts2025-12: 97 posts2026-01: 94 posts2026-02: 82 posts2026-03: 78 posts2026-04: 73 posts2026-05: 87 posts2026-06: 88 posts2026-07: 103 posts2026-08: 111 posts2026-09: 92 posts
2020-012026-09

Posts per month · first and latest months may be partial.

01 / EXPLORE THROUGH TIME

Timeline

Start with the latest. Scroll back through time, or zoom in for more.

Year by yearUp to 5 stories per year
2026808 stories
“I just chose words carefully”↗ unsung.aresluna.org · HN · 353 comments · 1255 points · Aug 30, 2026
Show HN: The load-bearing vocabulary of Claude↗ louisabraham.github.io · HN · 326 comments · 710 points · Aug 27, 2026
I like 'em thick: an apology to my English teachers↗ experimental-history.com · HN · 340 comments · 873 points · Aug 18, 2026
Show HN: 18 Words↗ 18words.com · HN · 366 comments · 1160 points · Jul 09, 2026
Stop Sloppypasta↗ stopsloppypasta.ai · HN · 259 comments · 667 points · Mar 15, 2026
2025897 stories
When I say “alphabetical order”, I mean “alphabetical order”↗ sebastiano.tronto.net · HN · 367 comments · 594 points · Sep 28, 2025
“This telegram must be closely paraphrased before being communicated to anyone”↗ history.stackexchange.com · HN · 135 comments · 775 points · Aug 31, 2025
Don't guess my language↗ vitonsky.net · HN · 380 comments · 670 points · May 19, 2025
Show HN: Live-updating version of the 'What a week, huh?' meme↗ tintin.dlazaro.ca · HN · 154 comments · 834 points · Feb 18, 2025
Surnames from nicknames nobody has any more↗ blog.plover.com · HN · 449 comments · 993 points · Feb 10, 2025
2024902 stories
Weird Lexical Syntax↗ justine.lol · HN · 227 comments · 433 points · Nov 02, 2024
Why wordfreq will not be updated↗ github.com · HN · 510 comments · 1707 points · Sep 18, 2024
Show HN: Glossarie – a new, immersive way to learn a language↗ glossarie.app · HN · 155 comments · 363 points · Mar 24, 2024
Antarctic English↗ en.wikipedia.org · HN · 158 comments · 369 points · Feb 28, 2024
Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)↗ english.stackexchange.com · HN · 289 comments · 1220 points · Jan 17, 2024
2023965 stories
Don't Say Velcro (2017)↗ velcro.com · HN · 166 comments · 98 points · Dec 29, 2023
GraphWords: Visual Dictionary and Thesaurus↗ graphwords.com · HN · 18 comments · 50 points · Dec 28, 2023
Did English ever have a formal version of "you"? (2011)↗ english.stackexchange.com · HN · 426 comments · 504 points · Dec 24, 2023
Let me repeat that back to you↗ roughlywritten.substack.com · HN · 70 comments · 127 points · Dec 23, 2023
Uncensored (Language) Models↗ erichartford.com · HN · 7 comments · 35 points · May 15, 2023
20221,214 stories
DALL·E 2 prompt book [pdf]↗ dallery.gallery · HN · 149 comments · 455 points · Aug 02, 2022
Show HN: Can you lose at Wordle if you tried?↗ dontwordle.com · HN · 236 comments · 676 points · May 31, 2022
Sumerian dog jokes, or the difficulty of translating dead languages↗ twitter.com · HN · 315 comments · 462 points · Mar 21, 2022
Wordle is pretty damn smart in many subtle ways↗ vaghetti.dev · HN · 263 comments · 456 points · Feb 22, 2022
Words known better by males than females, and vice versa↗ observablehq.com · HN · 650 comments · 673 points · Feb 09, 2022
2021873 stories
This word does not exist↗ thisworddoesnotexist.com · HN · 413 comments · 1184 points · Oct 26, 2021
Prefer the British Style of Quotation Mark Punctuation over the American↗ erichgrunewald.com · HN · 386 comments · 612 points · Sep 15, 2021
Unsettling capital letters↗ art-by-kaine-shields.tumblr.com · HN · 136 comments · 532 points · Apr 19, 2021
We created a fake language to root out resume liars↗ facebook.com · HN · 758 comments · 562 points · Mar 10, 2021
Always Bet on Text (2014)↗ graydon2.dreamwidth.org · HN · 338 comments · 570 points · Feb 17, 2021
2020895 stories
Earnestness↗ paulgraham.com · HN · 439 comments · 438 points · Dec 12, 2020
Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge↗ languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu · HN · 508 comments · 568 points · Sep 07, 2020
MixedName – Bilingual baby name finder↗ mixedname.com · HN · 257 comments · 602 points · Aug 26, 2020
Things Unexpectedly Named After People↗ notes.rolandcrosby.com · HN · 289 comments · 433 points · Jul 19, 2020
Show HN: This Word Does Not Exist↗ thisworddoesnotexist.com · HN · 342 comments · 956 points · May 13, 2020
Scroll through time ↕

02 / CATCH UP

The conversation now

Popular stories, with attention fading over roughly two weeks.

English: A vs. An↗ redblobgames.com · HN · 529 comments · 364 points · Sep 19, 2026
“I just chose words carefully”↗ unsung.aresluna.org · HN · 353 comments · 1255 points · Aug 30, 2026
Show HN: The load-bearing vocabulary of Claude↗ louisabraham.github.io · HN · 326 comments · 710 points · Aug 27, 2026
I like 'em thick: an apology to my English teachers↗ experimental-history.com · HN · 340 comments · 873 points · Aug 18, 2026
Bespoke: A programming language for people who say please↗ blog.hofstede.it · HN · 43 comments · 178 points · Sep 06, 2026

03 / GO DEEPER

Follow your curiosity

Find a particular story, revisit a year, or see what resonated.

Highest rated · the last 30 days

“I just chose words carefully”↗ unsung.aresluna.org · HN · 353 comments · 1255 points · Aug 30, 2026
English: A vs. An↗ redblobgames.com · HN · 529 comments · 364 points · Sep 19, 2026
Bespoke: A programming language for people who say please↗ blog.hofstede.it · HN · 43 comments · 178 points · Sep 06, 2026
What is nueralese and why is it bad↗ lesswrong.com · HN · 59 comments · 77 points · Sep 04, 2026
Roget's Thesaurus↗ artflsrv04.uchicago.edu · HN · 10 comments · 51 points · Aug 31, 2026
The Curious Power of Punctuation↗ newyorker.com · HN · 19 comments · 49 points · Sep 22, 2026
World Wide Words↗ worldwidewords.org · HN · 3 comments · 41 points · Sep 20, 2026
Linguistic humor, Foreign hotel signs↗ ling.upenn.edu · HN · 8 comments · 20 points · Sep 26, 2026
Five Words from Vanishing Fleece↗ blog.wordnik.com · HN · 1 comments · 16 points · Sep 11, 2026
ITA Controlled English (CE)↗ github.com · HN · 1 comments · 16 points · Sep 02, 2026

10 stories shown.

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