2504: Retracted -S- Across Languages Oct 20, 2021

It is common for languages that don't have the [ʃ] sound (as in 'SHe') to use a retracted [s] as opposed to a laminal [s̻], i.e. it will not be produced using the blades of the tongue (or 'lamina') touching the alveolar ridge at the top of the mouth. Instead, the retracted [s̠] is produced further back in the mouth, and as sounds somewhere in between [s] and [ʃ]. It is rare therefore to see the retracted version exist with the others, but not impossible by any means, as in Modern Greek which has both forms of [s] described above. German used to have a retracted [s̠], but these have shifted to become either [s] and [ʃ], because these are easier to distinguish.

2491: republic Oct 7, 2021

There is a prefix 're-' used either for repetition ('reshape'), negation ('react'), or intensity ('resound'), and while 'public' is a word 'republic' fits none of those above categories. This is because it comes from a Latin phrase, effectively a compound from 'rēpūblicā', the ablative form of 'rēspūblica'—the nominative [subject] form—meaning 'matter/thing of the people'. The loss of -S- is because 'rēspūblica' is two words, which are both being declined separately, and the -S- of 'rēs' (thing) doesn't appear in the form borrowed into other languages.

2221: What 'Waffle' Can Teach about Phonology Jan 13, 2020

The word 'waffles' can actually teach a fair amount about general phonological principles. First off, while it is from a Germanic root meaning 'honeycomb' (cf. German 'Wabe') and ultimately related to 'weave, it is also related to the word 'wafer' and 'goffer': two other dessert foods, directly related. This shows the relation as is often found between [l] and [r], but also [g] and [w], which often shift in Germanic languages, but elsewhere too as seen in the French 'gaufre' (wafer). [g], as a voiced velar consonant, often does assimilate to an approximant (a consonant with certain vocalic qualities like [w]) or to a palatal one like [j] such as in the Old English 'geolu' turning into 'yellow'.

As a side-note, 'waffle' is actually not related to the verb 'waffle', as in "to talk foolish", usually in a frenetic way which is related to the word 'wave' and 'waft', relating to one's hand-gestures.