this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2025
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Linguistics
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I use linguistics to make me a better writer. It's good to understand how language is used and has evolved. It helps you to understand how you can mix up your style without burdening your readers with cognitive puzzles. It's also great for knowing how to create in-world neologisms that feel authentic and grounded in human linguistic patterns. I especially enjoy researching the etymology of words, finding cognates and homonyms and interesting coincidences and quirks of language, filling fantasy worlds with archaic terms that both convey meaning and support the mood I'm trying to create with the prose.
Outside of my personal interests, it's useful for analyzing how language is abused. Some people use language not to communicate, but to obfuscate and control. The more I've studied linguistics, the easier it has become for me to recognize weasel wording, non-denials, complex phrasing that intentionally omits details, false implications, gaslighting, and logical fallacies.