Silly Linguistics Magazine Issue 74 Back Issue

One litte word, a world of happiness
By Christian Vinther

“In the Scandinavian societies – and especially Denmark – there is,
however, a single, little word that serves as an explanatory model for
the Scandinavian happiness.

“Hygge”.

However, linguists point out that despite the term’s unique cultural
significance to the Danish society, the word originates from Norwegian and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The word’s original meaning was “to think about” or “show concern,” but after 1800 it acquired its current meaning, which is used to convey a sense of security and comfort. As people were able to spend more time with their families and work less, the idea of “hygge” developed along with the welfare state and became a key term for a manner of being together.”

Dog-eat-dog linguistics
By Joana Atanasova

“Dogs are able to learn certain words and their meaning. Which of course doesn’t mean they can pronounce or use them, but they do recognize them and in turn react to them. That’s how they learn to do commands like “sit” or “stay”. And they manage to do it the best out of all animals in the animal kingdom, surprisingly. Why? The answer is simple yet very cute – because they evolved alongside us. Someone somewhere threw some food at the wolves around their settlement and befriended them. Since then, we domesticated them and they just went along with it, which is why they can understand conversation or command cues, as well as mastered the art of begging for food. But that doesn’t mean they want to join in on the conversation.”