Current Linguistics
Why your foreign accent sucks
Also this week: Why you might not want to learn language like a child + How California “Valley Girl” talk changed the way America speaks + Statistical physics reveals how languages evolve
Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
Hi! I'm Danny! 👋🏼 I am a linguist. 🗣️ I work to document and revitalize endangered languages, while studying the crosslinguistic patterns we see across the world’s languages.
Newsletter
Do kids in poor families really hear 30 million fewer words by age 4?
On the “word gap” and how much you should talk to your toddler
Newsletter
Why your brain is faster at dismantling some words than others
Also this week: Mom defends decision to teach her kids French despite not being a native speaker + Why English isn’t actually decaying + Baby talk is good for your child, actually
Newsletter
Is it “Iran” or “Persia”? “Persian” or “Farsi”?
On Persia, Iran, Farsi, and Aryan: The many names for Iran, its peoples, and its languages
Current Linguistics
When words look like their meaning, we process them faster
Also this week: Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to a Eurovision Song Contest that embraces linguistic diversity + Linguists are mapping Rhode Island’s linguistic diversity
Newsletter
Lavender Linguistics: Learning to live out loud
On Polari and the history of queer language
Current Linguistics
Homophones, plurals, and language “rulescucks” are roiling prediction markets
Also this week: More Ukrainians are switching from speaking Russian to Ukrainian + Scientists say AI is bringing us closer to talking to animals + A new book on the world’s vanishing languages
Newsletter
The curse of knowledge (and what to do about it)
Inspiring words for linguistics majors
Current Linguistics
New study links receptivity to corporate bullshit to weaker leadership skills
Also this week: New Mexico is losing a form of Spanish spoken nowhere else + Study finds that isolated human groups speak more diverse languages
Newsletter
The Ass Camouflage Construction
What this African American English expression teaches us about the world’s languages
Current Linguistics
New evidence that language evolved before humans did
Also this week: Universals of swearing across languages + Does learning Latin improve your SAT scores? + What killed penmanship
Newsletter
The Great Men™ of Language
Language is shaped by everyday people, not the Big Names™ of history