How Linguistic Structures Affect the Outcomes of Civilizations—Annie Connie Myst & G. Stuart Dent SpecGram Vol CXCI, No 1 Contents

Seeing Double

Chuck Lloyd & Julius Earle

Part of our mission here at SpecGram is to educate as well as mock those who inform. The linguistics community is notorious for using words in ways that may be unfamiliar to people outside the field. This puzzle provides two sets of definitions for some of these words: one as intended by linguists, and one for what their non-linguist friends may hear when they blather on about work at the pub.

All of the answer words share a common property that can be used to find a bonus word. The puzzle creators may provide a clue, even if not asked to do so.

Send your solution to the editors of SpecGram by September 15, 2021, and you could win some SpecGram merch. The correct solutions and winners will be announced in the upcoming October issue of Speculative Grammarian.



The solution to last issue’s fairly difficult* domino-themed puzzle, Scriptominoes II, is presented here. The script categories, color-coded for your amusement and edification, are Hangul, Hanzi, Hiragana, Katakana, Khmer, Lao, and Thai.

Each of the puzzlemeisters below will receive some moderately desirable SpecGram merch of their choosing:

Cindy Almond • Vincent Fish • Jang Seo-Joon • Kerstin Werner

Congrats to all!



* You puzzlers need to up your game, though. The Scriptomino puzzles are only going to get worse. Heh, heh, heh. —Eds.


How Linguistic Structures Affect the Outcomes of CivilizationsAnnie Connie Myst & G. Stuart Dent
SpecGram Vol CXCI, No 1 Contents