01
Notice
No terminology neededMake a prediction about a word, sound, sentence, sign, or tiny dataset you can already inspect.
LingoHub learning atlas · prototype
A word you know is about to become a problem.
Begin with an ordinary guess. Follow the crack it opens into meaning, grammar, sound, history, computation, and real linguistic analysis.
First question~ 45 seconds
One English word. Two ordinary Chinese translations.
brother哥哥/弟弟
Choose before the sentence gives you any more clues.
The on-ramp
Zero-basic is a starting point, not a ceiling.
Every route preserves academic terminology, formal models, and authentic sources. What changes is the order: experience gives each abstraction somewhere to attach.
02
Compare
Evidence entersChange one thing at a time. The contrast makes a hidden distinction visible and testable.
03
Name
Academic vocabularyMeet the technical term only after you have seen the job it performs and can point to its evidence.
04
Formalize
Models and notationReplace the first intuition with a precise definition, representation, alternatives, and limits.
05
Read
Guided academic textEnter an authentic source with a purpose, a glossary, and questions you already know how to ask.
06
Solve
Independent transferUse the idea on a new language or olympiad problem where the surface clues look different.
The whole field
Fourteen sections. One connected map.
Section 01 gives every learner the same entrance. From there, the map branches through language systems and reconnects across meaning, variation, minds, computation, and fieldwork.
14connected sections
84prototype concepts
13academic areas
Macro-scale roadmap
Begin at 01, then follow a connection—or choose your own.
Main route Cross-connection
Section index
Open any submap directly.
Connections recommend useful crossings; they never create prerequisites or locked doors.
Section 01 of 14
Introduction
Why can one word need two translations?
One familiar word produces two ordinary answers. What information is missing?
Lexical semantics · Pragmatics · Translation
Connected sections
Academic destination
Introductory semantics and lexical typology
Read an introductory account of form, meaning, context, and cross-linguistic lexicalization without treating technical vocabulary as a wall.
MIT OpenCourseWare + WALSNo locked doors
The path guides. It never decides what you are allowed to understand.
Open any concept, cross into another submap, or go directly to a problem. The roadmap exists to reveal hidden prerequisites—not turn them into gates.
Browse the problem bank