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# Wordsmaxxing: Merriam-Webster adds 1,400 new entries to its dictionary
- URL: https://linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/2026-39/
- Published: 2026-10-03T09:00:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-03T09:00:57.000Z
- Description: Also this week: How children talk can indicate risk for future mental health problems + Birdsong and whalesong have both been found to follow a fundamental law of human language
- Author: Daniel W. Hieber, Ph.D.
- Tags: Current Linguistics, Indo-European, Ancient Greek, lexicography, Shetland, animal communication, Austronesian, history of English, language evolution, language endangerment

Welcome to this week’s edition of the *Linguistic Discovery* digest, a weekly roundup of the latest language-related news, research in linguistics, interesting reads from the week, and newest books and media on language and linguistics!

You're reading **Linguistic Discovery*, a weekly newsletter about the science and diversity of language—a field known as ****linguistics**. I'm Danny Hieber, a Ph.D. in linguistics who works with indigenous communities to help them document and revitalize their languages.  
  
Topics covered in this newsletter include:  
  
⚙️ how language works (cognitive/historical linguistics)  
🌍 grammatical diversity in the world’s languages (typology)  
ℹ️ explainers of terms and concepts in linguistics  
🗣️ language profiles  
🗞️ the latest news and research in language and linguistics  
⭐ linguistic reviews of books and other media  
  
Some posts are for paying subscribers only, but most are free. Paying subscribers get ****bonus articles** and ****early access** to my in-progress book projects!

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**You can also subscribe on* [**Substack*](https://linguisticdiscovery.substack.com/) *if you prefer that platform instead. You’ll get all the same content and extras.*

## 📢 Updates & Announcements

*Announcements and what’s new with me and Linguistic Discovery.*

### How I manage my social media content

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-36.png)

If you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look at my content creation strategy for social media and how I handle scheduling and posting, the company [Buffer](https://buffer.com/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) recently did a profile about me as part of their launch of scheduling for Substack Notes. Buffer is the scheduling tool I use for all my social media content, so I wasn’t too surprised when Buffer made me aware that I’m actually one of their power users (!) and asked me if I’d like to do an interview.

- [Danny Hieber explains language to the internet](https://buffer.com/resources/case-study-danny-hieber-substack/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Buffer)

If you’d like to try Buffer for your own content, [here’s my affiliate link](https://join.buffer.com/linguisticdiscovery?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com).

### How Greek got its grammatical gender

Here’s another video I created as part of my collaboration with St. John’s College, about how Greek (and Indo-European languages generally) got its grammatical gender:

## 📰 In the News

*Language and linguistics in the news.*

### Wordsmaxxing: Merriam-Webster adds 1,400 new entries to its dictionary

Merriam-Webster just added 1,400 new entries to its dictionary, including *cuffing season*, *Sunday scaries*, *crashout*, *Mandela Effect*, *vibe coding*, and *parasocial*.

[Wordsmaxxing: Merriam-Webster makes 1,400 new entries to its dictionaryFor those scrolling through social media comment sections and finding themselves confused by words like “rage-bait,” “doomscroll” and “main character energy,” Merriam-Webster finally has some answers. Merriam-Webster last week added 1,400 new words and definitions to its dictionary, many of them capturing terms and phrases born from pop culture, technology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-561ccf2b-3065-49f7-a4d3-156c1dc0bb52.ico)TribLIVE.comHaley Moreland![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/9963290_web1_ptr-MWwords-092226-e2a1dac4-05a7-405b-8d91-fb44718ede4f.jpg)](https://triblive.com/aande/books/wordsmaxxing-merriam-webster-makes-1400-new-entries-to-its-dictionary/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

- [1,400 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster.com](https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/new-words-in-the-dictionary?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (Merriam-Webster)

### Vikings and Scots lock horns over Shetland dialect

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-37.png)

Illustration by Nina Krause for **The Times*

Some islanders say their speech is a form of Norse—and are even adding Scandi-style accents to words—but most linguists insist it is solidly Scottish.

- [Vikings and Scots lock horns over Shetland dialect](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/vikings-scots-shetland-dialect-zj7l8kp9q?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*The London Times*)

## 🗞️ Current Linguistics

*Recently published research in linguistics.*

### How children talk can indicate risk for future mental health problems

> Linguistic models that analyzed the words children used when talking about stressful events were better at predicting future mental health problems than a panel of human experts.

[How children talk can indicate risk for future mental health problemsLinguistic models that analyzed the words children used when talking about stressful events were better at predicting future mental health problems than a panel of human experts.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Medical XpressStanford University![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/children-talking-1-b451a5bb-b692-40c8-bcd1-636fc709bba0.jpg)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-children-future-mental-health-problems.html?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

- Antonacci et al. 2026\. Natural language processing of youth speech predicts psychopathology across adolescence. *Nature Mental Health* 4: 1227–1238\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00683-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00683-9?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com).

### Birdsong and whalesong have both been found to follow a fundamental law of human language

New research on Bengalese Finches shows that their vocalizations follow a fundamental structural principle found in all languages, called Zipf’s Law, which is a statement about the frequency of words in a language—or, in this case, chirps, whistles, and trills. Whalesong has previously also been found to follow Zipf’s Law.

[Birdsong follows a fundamental law of human languageA fundamental law of human language has now been found in both songbirds and whales![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-f9b9a63f-f8e9-4a9e-b57b-4dd40daf8823.ico)Scientific AmericanCody Cottier![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/Lonchura-striata-Bengalese-finch-034b8343-d8af-4e64-bb83-7a81461e9cac.jpg)](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/birdsong-follows-a-fundamental-law-of-human-language/?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

- Kirby et al. 2026\. Language-like statistical structure arises in learned signaling: Evidence from birdsong. *Science Advances* 12(32): eaea3015\. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea3015](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea3015?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com).

## 📃 This Week’s Reads

*Interesting articles I’ve come across this week.*

The remarkable journey of the Austronesians to Madagascar is also a linguistic journey of the spread of the Austronesian language family:

[The Austronesian odyssey to Madagascar: How ancient Indonesian sailors defied the oceanThe 4,000-mile voyage that rewrote the map of human migration![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F9b19859a-4561-46d8-a5d1-627e9e1529c8-2Ffavicon-48x48-dfa9a6a8-3cbf-43f9-89b2-454d70c32230.jpg)World Politics & HistoryWorld Politics & History![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F2f2ff1a0-b0fd-4b2a-a835-16718e78751a_2390x1686-92ee2995-d823-4aa8-b3e0-e36f7f416667.jpg)](https://worldpoliticshistory.substack.com/p/austronesian-indonesia-madagascar-settlement-migration)

Colin Gorrie writes about the origin of the prescriptive rule distinguishing the use of *will* vs. *shall*:

[English has no futureWill, shall, and other mysteries![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F310d0223-9c59-42bd-a916-905ade8897a2-2Ffavicon-48x48-dff4db9c-c138-4128-8c49-9f005ac92ca8.jpg)Dead Language SocietyColin Gorrie![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F5ddbe5f6-dfe3-4443-adba-ec308b50b570_1464x1800-94e19093-0bc6-4d1c-b610-024d1031bee9.jpg)](https://open.substack.com/pub/colingorrie/p/english-has-no-future)

Other reads this week:

[Curious Kids: who was the first person to speak English?Hundreds of years ago, people spoke Old English – but it is very different to English today.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/web-app-logo-192x192-2d05bdd6de6328146de80245d4685946-f76e1e68-49c7-4afa-a0f2-c886e85f4394.png)The ConversationAd Putter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/file-20230522-25-475xbe-148b819e-5a27-41cd-980c-c3648cca72ed.jpg)](https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-who-was-the-first-person-to-speak-english-205695?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

[Death of ‘drongo’: Are Aussie insults and swearwords dying out?Classic Australian swearwords and insults are becoming less popular with younger generations. What does losing them mean for our culture?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/icon/favicon-bf538d5f-4ec2-42e8-95b3-6ee6effd30a0.png)ABC NewsShalailah Medhora![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/thumbnail/a4d1bc1d8540af9aa9e75813ab499c8e-3bb5ffaa-0354-42a2-8f08-3efefabf867d.jpg)](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-25/swearing-insults-offensive-words-change-over-time/106711220?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

- [Loathed ‘Americanisms’ often have an origin closer to home: Many of the USA’s most grating linguistic exports turn out to be British coinages, the lexicographer Susie Dent has said](https://www.thetimes.com/comment/the-times-view/article/loathed-americanisms-language-susie-dent-lvrsm6ffv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) (*London Times*)

## 📚 Books & Media

*New (and old) books and media touching on language and linguistics.*

### *The dawn of language: How we came to talk*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-38.png)

[Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

This is my favorite book on the evolution of language! What I love about it is that, while it does discuss both nativist (generativist) and functionalist approaches to language, I think it makes it pretty clear that only the functionalist approach really comports with all the genetic and paleontological evidence we have about the evolution of language.

- [Amazon](https://amzn.to/49rriHU?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)
- [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9781529411423?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

### *Endangered languages*

What are endangered languages and how do did 58% of the world’s language become endangered?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-39.png)

[Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YAKzmv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com) | [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262548700?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

This recent book is an introduction to language endangerment. Here’s the publisher’s blurb:

> 58% of the world’s languages—or, approximately 4,000 languages—are endangered. When we break this figure down, we realize that roughly ten percent of languages have fewer than ten language keepers. And, if one language stops being used every three months, this means that in the next 100 years, if we do nothing, 400 more languages will become dormant. In *Endangered Languages*, Evangelia Adamou, a specialist of endangered languages and a learner of her own community language, Nashta, offers a sobering look at language endangerment and what is truly lost when a language disappears from usage.  
>  
> Combining recent advances from the Western scientific tradition—from the fields of linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, language attrition, population genetics, and natural language processing—and insights from Indigenous epistemology, theory, and ethics, Adamou examines a wealth of issues surrounding endangered languages. She discusses where endangered languages are found, including how they are faring in a digital world, why these languages are no longer used, and how communities can reclaim languages and keep them strong. Adamou also explains the impact of language continuity on community and individual health and well-being, the importance of language transmission in cultural transmission, and why language rights are essentially human rights.  
>  
> Drawing on varied examples from the Wampanoag Nation to Wales, *Endangered Languages* offers a powerful reminder of the crucial role every language has in the vitality and well-being of individuals, communities, and our world.

Get your copy here:

- [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3YAKzmv?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)
- [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/110785/9780262548700?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com)

## 👋🏼 Till next week!

From [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal](http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/me?ref=linguisticdiscovery.com):

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c7/75/c775a216-7ca2-4c5f-96a7-f2defe0fd756/content/images/2026/09/image-40.png)

📚

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