"95% to 98% of people choose kiki for the angular...  ...ouba effect has implications for the evolution of language , because the naming of objects is not completely...

In a recently-presented scientific paper, Ian Lanc...  ...ks of P.D. James and Ross Macdonald. Link, via Language

Campbell's monkeys have six basic sounds they make...  ...the meaning of another call. As complex as their language

According to a new study published in Nature, our skin helps us decipher the sounds we hear with our ears. Blindfolded volunteers listened to the "pa", "ta", "da", and "ba" sounds. Unknown to the participant, a puff of a...

No wonder learning a new language can be more difficult the older you get.  We wer...  ...older you get.  We were learning our individual languages before we were even born!  That's what researche...  ...rammed in the direct patterns inherent in certain languages .  By the t...

Why is it called The Hague instead of just Hague?...  ...ifferent story to explain the name, and different languages have their own peculiar rules and exceptions for...

A recent poll asked Americans what the most annoying phrase they’ve heard is, and 47% of respondents answered “whatever”. It is believed that this is the actual phrase they found annoying, and not just a dismissive...

The United Nations is in session, with leaders and...  ...n they do that, when they speak so many different languages ? The United Nations hires about 120 interpreters...  ...ation have college degrees. Interpreters slot the languages they know into three categories: A, B, and C. In...

Translation Party is where you can type in an English phrase and have it translated into Japanese and back again, several times until it gets as funny as it can be. I tried "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"...

Today is the 445th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. In honor of this occasion, today is Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Here are some ways to do it: 1. Instead of you, say thou. Instead of y’all, say t...