Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.

Current Linguistics

Did Homo erectus have language?

Also this week: Did writing just get pushed back tens of thousands of years? + How slang works + We finally understand why horses whinny

Newsletter

Do all cultures use baby talk?

Or is baby talk just something that white middle class Americans do?

Current Linguistics

Baby chicks know their kiki from their bouba

Also this week: Why human language isn’t like computer code + Why English needs “y’all” + Why do so many women’s names end in A?

Newsletter

Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing by tens of thousands of years?

Nope. The real finding is even cooler.

Current Linguistics

How your brain separates sounds into words

Also this week: How toddlers in Finland are saving an endangered Sámi language + Language learning can help lower dementia risk by 40%

Newsletter

The Wug Test: How children learn grammar

What can a simple word game teach us about how language works?

Current Linguistics

Bilingualism affects your moral decision-making

Also this week: Did Kanzi the bonobo have imagination? + A better English alphabet

Newsletter

Is baby talk good for your child?

Does using baby talk make language learning easier, or does it hinder your child’s language development?

Current Linguistics

Swearing could give you a physical edge

Also this week: How the theory of the humors shaped English + New research uncovers the cerebellum’s crucial role in human language

Newsletter

The etymology of “love”

“love” and its many related words in English

Newsletter

The science of libfixes

How libfixes work, where they come from, and what they teach us about language and the mind

Current Linguistics

Language may not be so hierarchical after all: A new study challenges 70 years of linguistic theory

Also this week: Some dogs learn words like children + “How to kill a language”, a new book by Sophia Smith Galer