Arika Okrent

You may hear an "Erin go bragh" or two, but even on the most Irish of holidays, we don't hear much of the Irish language—which is a shame.

Perfectly innocent Latin or Greekisms that just happen to sound like something else.

Silent letters are the scourge of spellers and a stumbling block when learning how to write in English—but they're often hidden remnants of how the words passed through different languages on their way to English.

English never hesitates to borrow words that would lose certain subtleties in translation, and angst, ennui, and weltschmerz have made their way into English by offering a little something extra.

It’s the most frequent word in the English language, accounting for around 4 percent of all the words we write or speak. But what the word 'the' means is surprisingly complicated.

Alternatively called Ngatikese Men’s Language, Ngatik Men’s Creole, or Ngatikese Pidgin, it’s primarily used among men engaged in activities like fishing and boat-building.

Why let 'tis have all the fun? This season, get in the proclitic spirit with these 10 other charming word-beginning contractions.

Those brightly wrapped packages we exchange around the holidays and other special occasions: Sometimes we call them gifts, other times presents. Is there a difference?