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Erik Craddock@eriklink

The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar

I propose that the ubiquitous 12-string guitar may have largely evolved from and been inspired by two previously overlooked instruments: An early non-floating-strings instrument named the “harp-guitar,” and the true harp guitar with floating strings.

Harpguitars.net

The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar

Gregg Miner traces the American 12-string guitar's origins to Carl Brown's 10-string harp-guitar, René Grunewald, and early doubled-course harp guitars.

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Gregg Miner
Erik Craddock@eriklink

Wit, unker, git: The lost medieval pronouns of English intimacy

The evolution of the English language is fascinating to me. When I look at old english its hard to believe the language we speak to day used to sound that way.

In the Beowulf, the dual makes a dramatic appearance: two warriors swim in the sea holding swords, "to defend the two of us against whales" ("wit unc wið hronfixas werian" in the original). Thought to be written in the 8th Century, Beowulf is the earliest European epic written in the vernacular – the language commonly spoken – rather than a high culture, or literary language.

Wit, unker, git: The lost medieval pronouns of English intimacy

BBC

Wit, unker, git: The lost medieval pronouns of English intimacy

Tales of love and adventure from 1,000 years ago reveal a dazzling range of now-extinct English pronouns. They capture something unique about how people once thought about "two-ness".

linkby Erik Craddock (@erik)Credit: Sophie Hardach