How Latin Became Modern Italian
In my last post, I explored some ways in which a new language is born. This post examines one of …
Category Archives: Quora
A New Language Born
So, you have decided to go full-Tolkien and create your own language. But wait – how are languages formed, anyway? …
Early Wheat Recipes
I recently wrote about what ancient Greeks and Romans used to eat. But how about earlier people? If your fantasy …
The Real Robinson Crusoe
Everyone has heard of Robinson Crusoe. But how many know the real-life inspiration behind the character? As Alex Turner explains …
A Wizard’s Hat
Have you ever wondered where the pointy wizard hat stereotype stems from? Someone on Quora did and Wendy Carolan had …
Are There Any Primitive Languages?
Once again, Quora has a great answer on linguistics — and the emergence of language in particular. As Thomas Wier …
Old Anglo-Saxon Character Names
As someone who knows how hard it can be to choose a character name for your fantasy novel, I came …
Where Are All the Missing Socks?
I had a good laugh when I read on Quora this brilliant answer by Jay Cashen, and just had to …
Typography: What Is That Called?
Have you ever wondered why some parts of letters are called tails and stems, and what are other parts besides …
Bizarre Weapons: the Lantern Shield
Robert Arthurs reports on Quora first seeing this wonder of medieval over-specialization on display in Vienna, Austria: Doesn’t it look …
