Current Linguistics

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?

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%

Current Linguistics

Bilingualism affects your moral decision-making

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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