• that sarcasm is basically advanced pragmatics
• that languages change even when people try to stop them
• that your accent isn’t “wrong,” it’s information
• that every language has grammar, even ones people call “broken”
• some languages don’t use left/right, only cardinal directions
• there are languages without words for numbers beyond “a few”
• some languages mark whether you witnessed something
• swear words often break phonological rules
• children over-apply grammar before they master it
• the most common words change the fastest

linguistics concepts i think are cool

• phonemes
• morphemes
• allophones
• code-switching
• grammaticality vs acceptability
• implicature

sounds that make me happy

• rolled r’s
• nasal vowels
• soft fricatives
• clicks
• long vowels
• tone changes
• whispered consonants