Marijn van Putten
@phdnix.bsky.social
Historical Linguist; Working on Quranic Arabic and the linguistic history of Arabic and Tamazight. Game designer for Team18k
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Dit lijkt mij echt interessant, voor een nerd als @richardkroes.bsky.social en ook voor een rare snijboon als ikzelf, maar eigenlijk voor iedereen met belangstelling voor de geschiedenis van de islam en/of middeleeuws Andalusië.
If all goes well, February 4th will be the day that my translation of al-Dani's Taysir comes out (and if not then, very very soon). It was a lot of work, but I'm very happy with the end result.
And best of all: It'll be Open Access!
www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
And best of all: It'll be Open Access!
www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
January 16, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Dit lijkt mij echt interessant, voor een nerd als @richardkroes.bsky.social en ook voor een rare snijboon als ikzelf, maar eigenlijk voor iedereen met belangstelling voor de geschiedenis van de islam en/of middeleeuws Andalusië.
If all goes well, February 4th will be the day that my translation of al-Dani's Taysir comes out (and if not then, very very soon). It was a lot of work, but I'm very happy with the end result.
And best of all: It'll be Open Access!
www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
And best of all: It'll be Open Access!
www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
January 16, 2026 at 1:54 PM
If all goes well, February 4th will be the day that my translation of al-Dani's Taysir comes out (and if not then, very very soon). It was a lot of work, but I'm very happy with the end result.
And best of all: It'll be Open Access!
www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
And best of all: It'll be Open Access!
www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Excited to finally have the official cover of my forthcoming book, which will be in Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures Series (Open Book Publishers). For a blurb, see link below. No official date for publication yet, but hopefully within a month or so!
January 16, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Excited to finally have the official cover of my forthcoming book, which will be in Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures Series (Open Book Publishers). For a blurb, see link below. No official date for publication yet, but hopefully within a month or so!
Call me weird, but the fact that li-'an is spelled morphophonemically لان but the negative li-'an-lâ is spelled phonetically ليلا in Hijazi/Classical Arabic orthography is something that keeps me up at night.
I would've been okay with لان and لان لا OR لين and ليلا, but this is killing me.
I would've been okay with لان and لان لا OR لين and ليلا, but this is killing me.
January 16, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Call me weird, but the fact that li-'an is spelled morphophonemically لان but the negative li-'an-lâ is spelled phonetically ليلا in Hijazi/Classical Arabic orthography is something that keeps me up at night.
I would've been okay with لان and لان لا OR لين and ليلا, but this is killing me.
I would've been okay with لان and لان لا OR لين and ليلا, but this is killing me.
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Have you ever noticed that ‘what’ rhymes with ‘lot’ but not with ‘that’?
Likewise, ‘car’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘war’, and neither do ‘trash’ and ‘wash’, ‘catch’ and ‘watch’, and ‘camp’ and ‘swamp’.
Why is that?
It’s all because of the /w/ sound.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more:
1/
Likewise, ‘car’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘war’, and neither do ‘trash’ and ‘wash’, ‘catch’ and ‘watch’, and ‘camp’ and ‘swamp’.
Why is that?
It’s all because of the /w/ sound.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more:
1/
January 13, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Have you ever noticed that ‘what’ rhymes with ‘lot’ but not with ‘that’?
Likewise, ‘car’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘war’, and neither do ‘trash’ and ‘wash’, ‘catch’ and ‘watch’, and ‘camp’ and ‘swamp’.
Why is that?
It’s all because of the /w/ sound.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more:
1/
Likewise, ‘car’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘war’, and neither do ‘trash’ and ‘wash’, ‘catch’ and ‘watch’, and ‘camp’ and ‘swamp’.
Why is that?
It’s all because of the /w/ sound.
Zoom in on my new graphic to learn more:
1/
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Here's something pretty cool that deserves more attention. 🤓
What exactly is happening here? 🤔🧐
(And can you think of an appropriate term to describe this?)
What exactly is happening here? 🤔🧐
(And can you think of an appropriate term to describe this?)
January 14, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Here's something pretty cool that deserves more attention. 🤓
What exactly is happening here? 🤔🧐
(And can you think of an appropriate term to describe this?)
What exactly is happening here? 🤔🧐
(And can you think of an appropriate term to describe this?)
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
In his Arabic, the Mabaan speaker I've been working with mostly uses the genitive particle
taan تان "of"
The final n is puzzling to me. Sudanese usually has bitaaʕ or ḥagg, Juba has ta/bitá. Has anyone seen this form before elsewhere?
taan تان "of"
The final n is puzzling to me. Sudanese usually has bitaaʕ or ḥagg, Juba has ta/bitá. Has anyone seen this form before elsewhere?
January 9, 2026 at 10:29 AM
In his Arabic, the Mabaan speaker I've been working with mostly uses the genitive particle
taan تان "of"
The final n is puzzling to me. Sudanese usually has bitaaʕ or ḥagg, Juba has ta/bitá. Has anyone seen this form before elsewhere?
taan تان "of"
The final n is puzzling to me. Sudanese usually has bitaaʕ or ḥagg, Juba has ta/bitá. Has anyone seen this form before elsewhere?
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
WTF?! 🫣 Is this a joke?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A religious quote, "primitive languages", and nonsense everywhere. Is Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications a scam journal?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A religious quote, "primitive languages", and nonsense everywhere. Is Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications a scam journal?
A cross-linguistic investigation of /h/ symbolism: the case of H2O - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - A cross-linguistic investigation of /h/ symbolism: the case of H2O
www.nature.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:59 AM
WTF?! 🫣 Is this a joke?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A religious quote, "primitive languages", and nonsense everywhere. Is Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications a scam journal?
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A religious quote, "primitive languages", and nonsense everywhere. Is Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications a scam journal?
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Re: the AI slop paper shared by @thomaspellard.bsky.social and @lameensouag.bsky.social, I wrote to the editors — will update when I get a reply, and will be following closely what they do.
Key point is that we should hold the *journal* accountable for this mess
I have a few predictions...
1/n
Key point is that we should hold the *journal* accountable for this mess
I have a few predictions...
1/n
January 8, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Re: the AI slop paper shared by @thomaspellard.bsky.social and @lameensouag.bsky.social, I wrote to the editors — will update when I get a reply, and will be following closely what they do.
Key point is that we should hold the *journal* accountable for this mess
I have a few predictions...
1/n
Key point is that we should hold the *journal* accountable for this mess
I have a few predictions...
1/n
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
This paper is batshit insane. It also (of course) has A TON of bullshit references that do not exist. Hey @springernature.com retract this AI slop and fire the editor that let it pass. There is evidently no review or quality assurance process in place at this journal.
January 8, 2026 at 11:20 AM
This paper is batshit insane. It also (of course) has A TON of bullshit references that do not exist. Hey @springernature.com retract this AI slop and fire the editor that let it pass. There is evidently no review or quality assurance process in place at this journal.
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Hey, did you know that Greek lost the phoneme /h/ because of secularism? You see, /h/ intrinsically symbolises the Creator. And hydrogen.
This journal is published by @springernature.com , and is hosted by @nature.com. How did this incoherent nonsense make it into print?
This journal is published by @springernature.com , and is hosted by @nature.com. How did this incoherent nonsense make it into print?
January 8, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Hey, did you know that Greek lost the phoneme /h/ because of secularism? You see, /h/ intrinsically symbolises the Creator. And hydrogen.
This journal is published by @springernature.com , and is hosted by @nature.com. How did this incoherent nonsense make it into print?
This journal is published by @springernature.com , and is hosted by @nature.com. How did this incoherent nonsense make it into print?
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Of ik de geschiedenis van games in de eerste 25 jaar van de 21ste eeuw wilde beschrijven in een groot stuk. "Erm", zei ik, "Dat is zo'n beetje de helft van de hele levensspanne van m'n medium."
Zoek maar wat hoofdlijnen en kies scherp, was het antwoord. Bij deze. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...
Zoek maar wat hoofdlijnen en kies scherp, was het antwoord. Bij deze. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...
Hoe games van kinder- en tienerspelletjes ook ‘grotemensencultuur’ werden
Een kwarteeuw kunst (slot) | games: In de game-wereld van de 21ste eeuw kwam er naast blockbusters als World of Warcraft en Call of Duty ruimte voor meer diverse en diepgaande, creatieve games, vaak g...
www.nrc.nl
January 7, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Of ik de geschiedenis van games in de eerste 25 jaar van de 21ste eeuw wilde beschrijven in een groot stuk. "Erm", zei ik, "Dat is zo'n beetje de helft van de hele levensspanne van m'n medium."
Zoek maar wat hoofdlijnen en kies scherp, was het antwoord. Bij deze. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...
Zoek maar wat hoofdlijnen en kies scherp, was het antwoord. Bij deze. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
ADDENDUM: The odd correlation that nominal sentences where the subject is marked with la- being followed only by elative predicates seems to be a correlation that goes beyond the Quran. Fischer says this is "almost always" the case, and cites a non-Quranic example for it.
January 7, 2026 at 12:27 PM
ADDENDUM: The odd correlation that nominal sentences where the subject is marked with la- being followed only by elative predicates seems to be a correlation that goes beyond the Quran. Fischer says this is "almost always" the case, and cites a non-Quranic example for it.
I've been interested recently by the question of where the asseverative particle la- in Quranic sentences is supposed to go. This is more complex than one would think.
January 7, 2026 at 11:08 AM
I've been interested recently by the question of where the asseverative particle la- in Quranic sentences is supposed to go. This is more complex than one would think.
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
A new article by Carles Murcia (in English, despite the title) about the etymology of the place name(s) Thagaste
www.ifc-ojs.es/index.php/pa...
www.ifc-ojs.es/index.php/pa...
Vista de La etimología de los topónimos Thagaste (Numidia) y Tegueste, Tagaste, Igueste, Teguisse (Islas Canarias): rastreando desde el protoamazigh hasta el paleoamazigh
Palaeohispanica. Revista sobre lenguas y culturas de la Hispania antigua - Institución Fernando el Católico - Diputación de Zaragoza
www.ifc-ojs.es
January 1, 2026 at 10:46 PM
A new article by Carles Murcia (in English, despite the title) about the etymology of the place name(s) Thagaste
www.ifc-ojs.es/index.php/pa...
www.ifc-ojs.es/index.php/pa...
Quranic Arabic only identical to Classical Arabic if you consistently ignore places where it is different.
In Thackston's "An Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic", the student is asked to translate the picture sentence.
In *actual* Quranic grammar would be إن الحديقة الصغيرة قريب من ههنا
In Thackston's "An Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic", the student is asked to translate the picture sentence.
In *actual* Quranic grammar would be إن الحديقة الصغيرة قريب من ههنا
January 2, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Quranic Arabic only identical to Classical Arabic if you consistently ignore places where it is different.
In Thackston's "An Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic", the student is asked to translate the picture sentence.
In *actual* Quranic grammar would be إن الحديقة الصغيرة قريب من ههنا
In Thackston's "An Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic", the student is asked to translate the picture sentence.
In *actual* Quranic grammar would be إن الحديقة الصغيرة قريب من ههنا
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Latin had six noun cases, but in all Romance languages except Romanian, nouns and adjectives only have one singular form and one plural form left. What happened?
This extra large infographic tells you how the Latin case system collapsed – and why it's the accusative case that lives on in Romance.
This extra large infographic tells you how the Latin case system collapsed – and why it's the accusative case that lives on in Romance.
January 1, 2026 at 6:49 PM
Latin had six noun cases, but in all Romance languages except Romanian, nouns and adjectives only have one singular form and one plural form left. What happened?
This extra large infographic tells you how the Latin case system collapsed – and why it's the accusative case that lives on in Romance.
This extra large infographic tells you how the Latin case system collapsed – and why it's the accusative case that lives on in Romance.
A neat bit of Japanese orthography. Japanese uses three scripts:
1. Kanji (chinese characters), basically for native roots and chinese loanwords.
2. Hiragana, mostly for case endings and verbal inflections
3. Katakana, mostly used for (English) loanwords.
But katakana have other uses...
1. Kanji (chinese characters), basically for native roots and chinese loanwords.
2. Hiragana, mostly for case endings and verbal inflections
3. Katakana, mostly used for (English) loanwords.
But katakana have other uses...
December 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
A neat bit of Japanese orthography. Japanese uses three scripts:
1. Kanji (chinese characters), basically for native roots and chinese loanwords.
2. Hiragana, mostly for case endings and verbal inflections
3. Katakana, mostly used for (English) loanwords.
But katakana have other uses...
1. Kanji (chinese characters), basically for native roots and chinese loanwords.
2. Hiragana, mostly for case endings and verbal inflections
3. Katakana, mostly used for (English) loanwords.
But katakana have other uses...
It was a productive Year in Books for me this year! Lots of excellent books, and a bunch of terrible ones. Let's do some quick mini-reviews of my year in books.
December 25, 2025 at 12:08 PM
It was a productive Year in Books for me this year! Lots of excellent books, and a bunch of terrible ones. Let's do some quick mini-reviews of my year in books.
After the major technical difficulties last time, me and Gabriel Reynolds decided to do another Live Q&A. So, of course, the first thing that happened was that my WiFi died, and then we got audio issues.
After some editing it is now put back online!
www.youtube.com/live/vkiji1e...
After some editing it is now put back online!
www.youtube.com/live/vkiji1e...
Qur'an Manuscripts and Qur'anic Arabic: Live Q & A with Dr. Marijn van Putten!
YouTube video by Exploring the Quran and the Bible
www.youtube.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
After the major technical difficulties last time, me and Gabriel Reynolds decided to do another Live Q&A. So, of course, the first thing that happened was that my WiFi died, and then we got audio issues.
After some editing it is now put back online!
www.youtube.com/live/vkiji1e...
After some editing it is now put back online!
www.youtube.com/live/vkiji1e...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
My next in-person Manuscript Kufi course (early Arabic calligraphy) has already been announced for April over at the Arab British Centre, London: details at
www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/courses/joum...
www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/courses/joum...
Kufic Calligraphy with Joumana Medlej - The Arab British Centre
Joumana Medlej is an artist from Lebanon whose connection with early Arabic calligraphy was awakened by years spent working with master calligrapher Samir Sayegh in his Beirut studio. She specialises ...
www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk
December 17, 2025 at 10:34 AM
My next in-person Manuscript Kufi course (early Arabic calligraphy) has already been announced for April over at the Arab British Centre, London: details at
www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/courses/joum...
www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/courses/joum...
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
@yvanspijk.bsky.social kwam vandaag met het lezen van wat een woord dat ik niet kende "maint", uit de context was het wel duidelijk dat het "menig" betekende, maar ik vond het leuk dat het dus ook echt gewoon ontleent is uit menigte!
Dat leek me er eentje voor jou :-)
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maint
Dat leek me er eentje voor jou :-)
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maint
maint - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
en.wiktionary.org
December 12, 2025 at 10:47 AM
@yvanspijk.bsky.social kwam vandaag met het lezen van wat een woord dat ik niet kende "maint", uit de context was het wel duidelijk dat het "menig" betekende, maar ik vond het leuk dat het dus ook echt gewoon ontleent is uit menigte!
Dat leek me er eentje voor jou :-)
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maint
Dat leek me er eentje voor jou :-)
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maint
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
After a brief detour to the Lord's Prayer in a bilingual manuscript, our Advent calendar continues today with the Christmas Gospel: The angel appears to the shepherds.
10 Dec: Lk 2:9
واذا ملاك الرب قد وقف بهم وتسبحه الرب اضت عليهم وفزعوا فزع عظيم
wa-ʔiḏā malʔak ar-rabb qad waqafa bihim wa-tasbiḥat ar-rabb ʔaḍat ʕalayhim wa-faziʕū fazaʕ ʕaẓīm
"and suddenly the angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone on them and they felt a great fear"
واذا ملاك الرب قد وقف بهم وتسبحه الرب اضت عليهم وفزعوا فزع عظيم
wa-ʔiḏā malʔak ar-rabb qad waqafa bihim wa-tasbiḥat ar-rabb ʔaḍat ʕalayhim wa-faziʕū fazaʕ ʕaẓīm
"and suddenly the angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone on them and they felt a great fear"
December 10, 2025 at 8:48 AM
After a brief detour to the Lord's Prayer in a bilingual manuscript, our Advent calendar continues today with the Christmas Gospel: The angel appears to the shepherds.
Reposted by Marijn van Putten
Libyco-Berber (LB) Tombstones - the Monday edition.
Today, we will have a look at an inscription from Morocco.
LB tombstones are written in two different scripts, commonly called "eastern" and "western". For the eastern script we have enough useful bilinguals to be certain about their reading. 🧵
Today, we will have a look at an inscription from Morocco.
LB tombstones are written in two different scripts, commonly called "eastern" and "western". For the eastern script we have enough useful bilinguals to be certain about their reading. 🧵
It's Sunday, so maybe another Libyco-Berber (LB) tombstone?
Today we will take a look at RIL 803, a LB-Punic bilingual text. It was found in 1890 in Fedj Mzala (Mechta Beni Oukden), Mila region, Algeria, and published and explained by a certain Cpt. Mélix (copy copied from Chabot 1940).
Today we will take a look at RIL 803, a LB-Punic bilingual text. It was found in 1890 in Fedj Mzala (Mechta Beni Oukden), Mila region, Algeria, and published and explained by a certain Cpt. Mélix (copy copied from Chabot 1940).
December 8, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Libyco-Berber (LB) Tombstones - the Monday edition.
Today, we will have a look at an inscription from Morocco.
LB tombstones are written in two different scripts, commonly called "eastern" and "western". For the eastern script we have enough useful bilinguals to be certain about their reading. 🧵
Today, we will have a look at an inscription from Morocco.
LB tombstones are written in two different scripts, commonly called "eastern" and "western". For the eastern script we have enough useful bilinguals to be certain about their reading. 🧵