Representing the guttural consonant in “Hanukah,” known to linguists as a “velar fricative” because it is produced with the help of the velum or soft palate at the back of the mouth, is a problem in ...

As you watch your children open their Christmas presents this morning, you might be pondering these linguistic questions: Why do the boxes on toys always read “SOME assembly required,” even though you ...

For some speakers of English, realization of the fricative in the consonant cluster /stɹ/may be undergoing a sound change in progress. Previous reports suggest that /s/ is being realized as the ...

THE Dialect Blog, which I discovered today (thanks to Language Hat), speculates on English-speaking cities and the disappearance of "th" sounds in them. Many people notice the characteristic New York ...