BTW, no one noticed there’s a FIFTH SCRIPT in that pic. “Why so many scripts?”, you may ask. Well… because Beijing rules! Actually, maybe it rules too much (and too literally).

Paint-by-number Philippine languages edition when commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KW...

The answer to this proto-LingoGuessr test: It’s the city of Narbonne, in the region of *Languedoc/Lengadòc* > named after the language they speak (unfortunately not as much as I’d wish), *Occitan/Lenga d’òc* > itself from ‘òc’ [ɔ], *YES* in Occitan.

Date formats always confuse my English students. So I made a helpful slide.

Why are you guys cooking ‘(h)uevos tontos’ and calling them ‘latkes’? [It’s a joke, I know that’s the word you use]

Os dejo por aquí información sobre un artículo que nos han publicado en @archiletras.bsky.social científica a @reagno.bsky.social y a mí. ¿Y si el modo en el que conceptualizamos la realidad explicara, al menos parcialmente, nuestra conducta? mamenhorno.wordpress.com/2025/12/14/l...

ICYMI don’t challenge me to geoguess. (Not bragging, begging – as in please, don’t do this to me, I’d like to have a life)

Pyth yw Kernewek rag human pet bed? Hag ytho eus onan dhis?

Do you need some help with this one? I don’t know what to tell you that doesn’t give away the answer immediately.

LingoGuessr Round 1 (I made this one relatively easy) Linguistic clue: You might faintly hear people communicating with whistles

I remain impressed at the consistency of the Counts of Barcelona: Ramon Berenguer had Ramon Berenguer and Berenguer Ramon, but Berenguer Ramon killed Ramon Berenguer but had to abdicate for Ramon Berenguer who went on to sire Ramon Berenguer and Berenguer Ramon, who each went on to name…

Today is "Suzhou numerals" (a traditional Chinese number notation system) appreciation day 😍 : 〇、〡、〢、〣、〤、〥、〦、〧、〨、〩. The system has become rare, but one might still encounter it occasionally, e.g. in Hong Kong markets and restaurants😁

My favorite example: Tasawaq (northern Songhay, Niger) originally had yo "camel", yoyo "camels" (yo is a plural marker) yoyo became a singular. So now we have yoyo "camel" and yoyoyo "camels"

More evidence pointing to a genetic relationship between Basque and Iberian – at least with respect to their numerals:

*Vasco-Iberism intensifies*

You ask them questions and they keep replying [ɔ].

Interesting talk by Prof Tejera Gaspar about the presumed Latino-Canarian inscriptions (which he doesn’t consider to be in Latin script) Thanks to Jonay Acosta Armas pn the other platform. www.youtube.com/live/HVnJeXx...

If that doesn't remind you of the Breton legend of the drowned city of Ys (Kêr-Is)? www.bbc.com/news/article... Very recommendable, the version of "Ar gêr a Iz" by Tri Bleiz Die: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfDe... More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ys

Today, in Sweden, it's Lucia - celebrated with women (and men) dressed in white and holding candles, while singing. So for the occasion I will share this vintage photo (probably dating to the 1920s-30s). Read ALT-text to see why is a rather special, though. #Lucia

Can you believe how far cancel culture has gone?? All this guy was doing was expressing his OPINION protected by the FIRST AMENDMENT and now ppl want to get him fired?

Corrupción amenaza con hacerlo a nivel estatal. Bastaba con escuchar, respetar, invertir y vigilar la corrupción. Pues, ni de algo tan básico como eso han sido capaces, y las consecuencias serán probablemente dramáticas en los próximos años.

Una cosa de las que más me fastidia del tema Forestalia es que había dos condiciones de posibilidad para hacer una transición energética relativamente en condiciones. Dos condiciones íntimamente ligadas. Una, que fuera un proceso participado, abierto, con capitales públicos y protagonismo local.

13. Tangut Reportedly invented in the 11th century, Tangut script shares similarities with Chinese but is visually quite distinct. In the video, Tian Tian looks at logographic sign in comparison with Chinese and Egyptian. youtu.be/R_IPxqFuO8o?... #adventcalendar

Postposed -la in Ruus Al Jibal Arabic is borrowed directly from Singaporean English Discuss amongst yourselves

In August Guan Heng was arrested in upstate New York and is threatened by deportation to China, a severe risk to his wellbeing and even his life. Guan Heng showed exceptional bravery and courage producing his documentary. More on him here: hrichina.substack.com/p/man-who-fi...

Guan Heng took on enormous personal risks to provide this crucial evidence of sever human rights violations. He had no other plausible reason for being at many of the detention sites, since they are in remote locations with little else around. Watch it here: youtu.be/cI8bJO-to8I

In this documentary, Guan Heng provided crucial corroboration for many of the detention facilities that @alisonkilling.bsky.social , @meghara.bsky.social and I published in “Built to Last”. His hearing takes place on Monday, December 15 in New York. www.buzzfeednews.com/article/megh...

So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified

A year ago today:

Daily #Wales with a spot more archaeology. Honest - it’s an Iron Age hut circle. Walls, heaped and overgrown, are still about a metre higher than the centre, and the entrance is clear.

Nunca olvidaremos que nos llamaron "negacionistas" y "retardistas" por denunciar macroproyectos que nunca debieron ser aprobados debido a su impacto ambiental. Hoy sabemos que fueron aprobados por la corrupción en el Miteco. Los que nos insultaron… hoy están mudos.

Accidentally started learning Mandarin again.

It’s cardoon-with-almond-sauce season in Aragon, and I want this shit straight into my veins. (Even cold from yesterday’s leftovers)

One of the best things of Beijing is its long tradition of multilingual signage and inscriptions. Here, the name of the lamasery in the city centre in four languages and scripts: Mongolian, Tibetan, Mandarin, and Manchu.

Estava fent neteja de vídeos al mòbil i he trobat aquest i encara em fa gràcia com el primer dia

'“Flames Over Persepolis”: New Scientific Evidence Supporting Historical Perspectives' investigates the burning of Persepolis Terrace. buff.ly/YsyKJ4F

Today is Friday and we will have a look at a small cemetery from Ksaïr in the Bou Hadjar region of eastern Algeria. All nine stelae in this cemetery seem to belong to Slnbrt and his family. (all copies and photos were made by Rodary and published in CHabot 1940 [RIL]) 🧵

Today in “Arabic dialects don’t come from classical Arabic”. Several dialects have a pronominal -t ending, e.g., Egyptian an-nās dōlat, “those/these people”. This, afaik, isn’t attested in classical Arabic but is found in several other Semitic languages. This feature thus didn't come from MSA.

Books = amazing tech. Here's an offertory book recording donations on shabbat. To heed the prohibition on writing during sabbath the page has a grid with holes that correspond to an amount. Thread goes thru the hole pledged; when paid, thread comes out. jewishmuseum.org.uk/50-objects/c...

En una conocida avenida de Murcia city me he encontrado con este cartel y he tenido que hacerle foto. Puedo entender que gastes dinero en una publicidad en una valla, pero esto... esto me ha dejado sin palabras

I’ve been drilling for hours now. Media representations of masculinity, you have failed me: 78 holes later and I’m still not feeling like a manly man.

This whole 🧵 🤌

The prize we should strive for A Gado-Badzéré, un village de l'est du Cameroun, l'accueil des réfugiés centrafricains n'a jamais été un simple geste humanitaire : c'est devenu une véritable philosophie communautaire. UNHCR a donné (10.12.2025), son prix Nansen au chef du village, Martin Azia Sodea.

Just one more bilingual Libyco-Berber tombstone for Thursday, RIL 252, found in Aïn el Hafra in eastern Algeria. The reproduction in Chabot (1941) is, well..., not *very* helpful. But we can trust his transcriptions! 🧵

Good morning. Here are the six sources of dreams acc. to Bar Bahlul (Duval, col. 753.12-15) /hergå/ thinking about something /mqaddmuṯ iḏaʕṯå ḏ-nap̄šå/ the soul's foreknowledge /yuqrå ḏ-esṭomḵå/ the stomach being full /sp̄iquṯå ḏ-esṭomḵå/ the stomach being empty /šēḏå/ a demon /alåhå/ God

"Master, carest thou not that we perish?" A gharial (Gangetic Crocodile) watches as Jesus is awakened by the Apostles during the tempest on Sea of Galilee. From the 'Mirror of Holiness' (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier. Painted around 1604 in Northern India (Allahabad).

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, Folio 24 (verso), from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier 1602–04 Allahabad, made for Prince Salim (1569–1627) Mary nicely transposed to a camel here. Cleveland Museum of Art

Old Uyghur word of the day /yazok/ mistake, error, sin, guilt as in U 5179, side 2 /yazok bolmazu[n]/ "Let there be no mistake!" turfan.bbaw.de/dta/u/images...

A 2,000-year-old building site reveals the raw ingredients for ancient Roman self-healing concrete theconversation.com/a-2-000-year...

this was prompted by "Fishing Alone in the Freezing River for Snow," attr. Fan Kuan 范寬 (c. 960 - c.1030): I was planning to use it to illustrate something else, then realized I would have to translate the poem as the caption for it to make any sense