What’s in a name?: Eponymous etymology
A sneak peek at Jess Zafarris’ new book, “Useless etymology: Word origins for curious minds”
Could Neanderthals handle language variation?
Also this week: Jane Goodall dies at 91 + Merriam-Webster adds 5,000 words to the dictionary
Where does the alphabet come from? And why does English use it so strangely?
A new book takes us on a linguistic odyssey through the history of the alphabet
Analysis of a century’s worth of political speeches challenges our understanding of how language changes
Also this week: Bilingualism is reworking this language’s rainbow + How speaking in a second language directly affects your moral judgement
How a deaf quarterback invented the huddle + Linguists explain the life of slang
Also this week: The world’s oldest written languages, and a cool new book on etymology. Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Your cryptogram is lying to you—/t/ isn’t the most frequent consonant in English
What are the most frequent sounds across languages (and why)?
Birdsong exhibits a hidden feature of human language
Also this week: Bilingualism is possible for people with a rare genetic condition that normally limits speech + Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming up! 🏴☠️ Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
New DNA data reveals the origins of the Slavic peoples
Also this week: How our DNA holds the history of our language + The Cambridge dictionary adds 6,000 new words—and not everybody’s happy about it. Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Pumpkin Spice Linguistics
What the words “pumpkin spice” teach us about language change and indigenous history
Learning a second language can teach you to distinguish colors you don’t have in your first language
Also this week: Gesture may have been the origin of language + A new mind-reading AI can turn imagined speech into words. Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
An experiment with the Aboriginal language Murrinhpatha suggests language influences perception
Also this week: Why all languages have words for ‘this’ and ‘that’ + Antarctic leopard seal ‘songs’ are surprisingly similar to nursey rhymes. Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Researchers uncover the origins of the Uralic language family
Also this week: Today is National Navajo Code Talkers Day! And the K-pop band is making Korean Sign Language famous