Wikipedia:2008 main page redesign proposal/Scottydude (2)
| Overview · Editing · Questions · Help |
Today's featured article
In historical linguistics, Weise's law describes the loss of palatal quality some consonants undergo in specific contexts in the Proto-Indo-European language. In short, when the consonants represented by *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ, called palatovelar consonants, are followed by *r, they lose their palatal quality, leading to a loss in distinction between them and the plain velar consonants *k *g *gʰ. Some exceptions exist, such as when the *r is followed by *i or when the palatal form is restored by analogy with related words. Although this sound change is most prominent in the satem languages, it is believed that the change must have occurred prior to the centum–satem division, based on an earlier sound change which affected the distribution of Proto-Indo-European *u and *r. The law is named after the German linguist Oskar Weise (epitaph pictured), who first postulated it in 1881 as the solution to reconciling cognates in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit. (Full article...)
In the news
- The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured), former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif in its investigation of war crimes in Palestine.
- Forty-five pro-democracy activists are sentenced under the Hong Kong national security law for their participation in the 2020 pro-democracy primaries.
- In Canadian football, the Toronto Argonauts defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win the Grey Cup.
Did you know?
- ... that the murder of Wang Lianying was followed by a blitz of newspaper coverage, books, stage performances, a film, and songs (example featured)?
- ... that Michael F. Adams was the first president of Centre College not to be a Presbyterian?
- ... that between 30 and 300 million rupees' worth of goods were plundered during the Afghan sack of Delhi?
- ... that Shuah Khan, the first woman fellow of the Linux Foundation, "signed off" on a patch recommending the use of inclusive terminology in the Linux kernel?
- ... that Benjamin Britten was said to have composed Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus "in the face of death"?
- ... that Last Call BBS contains a chip-manufacturing game, a model-building simulator, a game of Solitaire, and more?
- ... that Pablo Barragán originally wanted to be a jazz saxophonist, but was more attracted to the clarinet because he thought it resembled the human voice?
- ... that Malfunction Junction in Birmingham, Alabama, carried 160,000 vehicles in 2018, instead of 80,000 as it was intended to hold?
- ... that according to the author of Stuff Matters, holding a sample of an aerogel is "like holding a piece of sky"?
On this day...
- 1574 – Juan Fernández, a Spanish explorer, discovered an archipelago that now bears his name off the coast of Chile.
- 1635 – Dutch colonial forces on Formosa launched a three-month pacification campaign against Taiwanese indigenous peoples.
- 1963 – John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas; hours later, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States (pictured).
- 1971 – In Britain's worst mountaineering tragedy, five teenage students and one of their leaders were found dead from exposure on the Cairngorm Plateau in the Scottish Highlands.
- Frank Matcham (b. 1854)
- Edwin Thumboo (b. 1933)
- Chip Berlet (b. 1949)
- Scarlett Johansson (b. 1984)
Today's featured picture
|
Wait for Me, Daddy is a photo taken by Claude P. Dettloff of The Province on October 1, 1940, of the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) marching down Eighth Street at the Columbia Street intersection, New Westminster, British Columbia. While Dettloff was taking the photo, Warren "Whitey" Bernard ran away from his mother to his father, Private Jack Bernard. The picture received extensive exposure and was used in war-bond drives. Photograph credit: Claude P. Dettloff; restored by Yann Forget
Recently featured:
|
Other areas of Wikipedia
- Help desk — Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
- Reference desk — Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
- Village pump — For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
- Community portal — Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
- Site news — Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Sandbox — A page for editing expirements.
Wikipedia languages
This Wikipedia is written in English. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
-
1,000,000+ articles
-
250,000+ articles
-
50,000+ articles
Wikipedia's sister projects
Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
MediaWiki
Wiki software development -
Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
