Newsletter
What’s the point of baby talk?
How caregivers instinctively simplify their speech for children—and how it helps
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.
Current Linguistics
Honeyguide birds learn regional human dialects
Also this week: People with personality disorders use language differently + Decoding the lost scripts of the ancient world. Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Newsletter
Why is “February” spelled with two ⟨r⟩’s?
Why is “February” spelled with two ⟨r⟩’s even though most people only pronounce one of them?
Current Linguistics
Is the dictionary dead? Or merely changing?
Also in this week’s digest: Why Morse Code didn’t work for Chinese + Words affect us based on how they sound + Your brain processes language more alike to AI than we previously thought
Newsletter
Libfixes: When word parts go rogue
What happens when parts of words declare independence
Current Linguistics
World’s oldest alphabet discovered
Also this week: Researchers determine that bees understand morse code + ⅓ of grammatical universals stand up to rigorous testing
Newsletter
Why you should be talking to your infant
Early exposure to language is crucial for your child’s long-term linguistic development
Newsletter
Why is the ⟨g⟩ in “longevity” pronounced twice?
How the spelling of “longevity” is playing a mental trick on you
Current Linguistics
The way we read in our first language influences how we read in other languages
Also this week: AI models can now analyze language as well as humans + The first monolingual Irish dictionary is published
Announcements
One year of Linguistic Discovery
A look back at the first year of the newsletter, and what’s changing in 2026
Current Linguistics
Men speak with vocal fry just as much as women
Also in the news this week: Merriam-Webster chooses “slop” as the 2025 Word of the Year; Gaelic and Scots now recognized as official languages in the UK; and Canada’s prime minister called out for using British spellings
Current Linguistics
Some dogs learn word categories like human toddlers do
Also this week: The California Language Archives receives a treasure trove of new materials on Pomoan languages. Here's what happened this week in language and linguistics.