Book | Lingoblog

Shaetlan: a young language with old roots – a Nordic language now officially recognized

30/12/2025 by Peter Bakker

A Danish review of the book can be read here.

Shetland is an archipelago and it belongs administratively to Scotland. Scotland belongs administratively to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is liberated from the European Union, but it used to be part of the EU. The British do not feel European, at least a small majority, so they brexited. The Scots do not feel English, but they are not allowed to vote for independence. The Shetlanders do not feel Scottish, and there are a fair few who would like to have Home Rule, somewhat like the Faroe Islands have within the Danish Kingdom. There are some 23,000 people in Shetland (yes, IN Shetland, not ON Shetland). They have their … ↪

Questions or answers in a book with a questionable title?

14/04/2025 by Peter Bakker

Who is Paul Anthony Jones, the author of the book under review? Is he related to John Paul Jones, the keyboard player in Led Zeppelin? Or was it bass? Why does this book have a question on the cover and not a statement, as all ‘normal’ books? Is it the only question discussed in the book, or are there also other ones that are discussed? If so, does the author provide answers to those questions?

Why didn’t the author finish his university studies in linguistics, to the dismay of his teachers? Why did he then become a freelance writer, who writes about languages? Is it true what he writes about this, that he does not regret the choice, and that … ↪

Some Bridges

25/01/2024 by Joel Letkemann

It is with some trepidation that I approached the second issue of Some Islands, not least because it was described to me as a journal about linguistics, art, and architecture. My training in these fields causes me to tense up with a conscientious undergraduate’s panic about not having studied for the exam. My trepidation was amplified when I saw that Lingoblog’s review of the previous issue was also beautifully illustrated by Miša Hejná, also a contributor to the present issue — something I have not braved in the present review.

The theme, representation, conjures half-remembered memories of lectures in semantics that I’m sure were also only half-understood. So, perhaps, as befits the issue’s theme of representation, it’s best to begin … ↪