Announcements
One year of Linguistic Discovery
A look back at the first year of the newsletter, and what’s changing in 2026
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
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.
Current Linguistics
Oxford chooses “ragebait” as the 2025 Word of the Year
Also this week: Whales are found to use “vowels” + 6,000-year-old Mesopotamian seals linked to the dawn of writing
Newsletter
“6-7” belongs in the dictionary, actually
In defense of Dictionary.com’s 2025 Word of the Year
Current Linguistics
Dictionary.com announces 6-7 as the word of the year
Also this week: Turkic states agree on a common Latin alphabet; and researchers decode Mandarin Chinese from brain activity
Current Linguistics
Have scholars finally deciphered the mysterious writing of Teotihuacan?
Also this week: How technological advances in language modeling have allowed researchers to develop speech recognition technology even for small, endangered languages
Current Linguistics
We’re finally starting to read the scrolls burnt in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius
Also this week: How playing a musical instrument helps children learn to read + Why AI is not like humans
Current Linguistics
Mom’s voice boosts language-center development in preemies’ brains
Also this week: Smart dogs have a humanlike knack for naming new objects + Birds all over the world use the same sound to warn of threats + The Language-Lover’s Lexipedia
Current Linguistics
China lays claim to Austronesian languages
Also this week: The Linguistics of a Showgirl: How Taylor Swift’s accent has changed over time + We will soon be able to talk with other species—but which one will be first?
Newsletter
What’s in a name?: Eponymous etymology
A sneak peek at Jess Zafarris’ new book, “Useless etymology: Word origins for curious minds”
Current Linguistics
Could Neanderthals handle language variation?
Also this week: Jane Goodall dies at 91 + Merriam-Webster adds 5,000 words to the dictionary