Discovery Dispatch
A Paleo-Hispanic alphabet is discovered in Spain, and researchers use AI to read 2,000-year-old scrolls burnt to a crisp by Mt. Vesuvius for the first time
Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Discovery Dispatch
Vocabulary undergoes natural selection just like species. Plus a new database on the languages of the Americas.
Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Discovery Dispatch
Islands are incubators of linguistic diversity, and people are more likely to cooperate with those who use similar linguistic constructions
Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Discovery Dispatch
Germans bemoan the “idiot’s apostrophe”, and research on using AI to communicate with dolphins wins the $100,000 Dolittle Prize
Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Discovery Dispatch
Bonobos combine their vocalizations the way humans combine words—a trait once thought unique to humans
Bonobos challenge the uniqueness of human language, penguins learn etymology, and China adopts a new gender-neutral pronoun. Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Discovery Dispatch
The sad passing of Kanzi, penguin etymology, and what “fixin’ to” / “finna” mean
Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics.
World of Words
Did Kanzi the bonobo understand language?
Kanzi the bonobo, who learned language, made stone tools, and played Minecraft, dies at age 44. What can his remarkable linguistic abilities teach us about language?
Discovery Dispatch
Is AI changing language? Plus new evidence for a “language protein”
A recent article argues that AI is wrecking language, and new research has found a "language protein". Here's what happened this week in language and linguistics.
Discovery Dispatch
The quest for the first Indo-Europeans, and whales communicating like humans
New DNA evidence emerges in the hunt for the first speakers of Indo-European, and researchers discover that whalesong shares a property of human language never before found in the animal kingdom.