The Lingoberry Blog
Language-learning tips, culture, and stories from Pip
Kekri: Finland's forgotten Halloween (and the words that come with it)
Before Finland had Halloween, it had Kekri: a harvest festival with turnip lanterns, masked goats and its own "trick or treat". Meet the history, the vocabulary and a spooky little dialogue.
Mythology & Language, Part 4: The Celtic ghosts hiding in your city map and your calendar
You already know Thursday belongs to Thor and January belongs to Janus. But whose city is Lyon? Who does Halloween actually belong to? The Celts once spanned most of Europe — and their gods are still hiding in the names of major cities, in a two-billion-person holiday, and in more English words than you'd expect.
Why English spelling is a crime scene
English spelling wasn't designed — it accumulated, like sediment. Five languages had a hand in it, and none of them cleaned up after themselves. Here's the forensic report.
Where do the weekday names come from?
Say the English weekdays and you're invoking Norse gods; say the Spanish or French ones and you're invoking Roman ones. They're the same seven days, named twice — with a planetary puzzle, a saint who deleted the pagans, and one day nobody could translate.
Why German still Capitalises its Nouns (and English used to as well)
In 1787, capitalising every significant Noun was standard English — just as German still does today. Then English stopped, and German didn't. The reason was almost entirely about aesthetics, and nobody held a conference to decide it.
From ZIP codes to blog posts: the surprising history of the word "post"
ZIP code, postal code — same argument, different accent. But neither side ever stops to ask the stranger question: why is the thing that carries your letters and publishes your blog posts called post in the first place? The answer involves Roman relay horses, a wooden stake in the ground, and two Latin roots that split apart two thousand years ago and quietly braided back together into one of the most ordinary words on your keyboard.
Why French numbers force you to do mental math?
French is the only major Romance language where buying a coffee might require solving 4 × 20 + 10 + 9. It's not a quirk — it's the fossil of a 2,000-year battle between Roman legions, Celtic tribes, and 17th-century Parisian snobs.
Lingonberry: Finland's "red gold"
Finland's "red gold" is more than just a berry — it shaped mythology, saved lives through harsh winters, and remains a cherished national tradition. Discover the story behind Pip's namesake.
September is lying to you — and so are October, November, and December
September means "seventh." October means "eighth." November, ninth. December, tenth. Every single one of them is wrong — and has been for over 2,500 years. Here's the paper trail of kings, dictators, and one very decisive pope that turned a tidy ten-month calendar into the gloriously broken thing we still use today.
A "postecito" about the Spanish diminutive
Think the Spanish diminutive is just about making things small? Think again. From softening bad news to making things more intense, here is how Spanish speakers bake affection (and a bit of magic) right into the structure of their sentences—plus a look at how other languages stack up.
