Everyone knows that William Shakespeare invented hundreds — or perhaps thousands — of words, including swagger, zany, and rant.
Except maybe he didn’t. As more and more books become easier to search, researchers are whittling away at …
Author: Daniel Midgley (page 28 of 41)
Punctuation Day is happening this week, so it’s time to take a look at the marks we use to convey emotion and give structure to our sentences.
But things are changing. Is the humble slash becoming a word? What’s an …
Is the Internet killing English?
How is English changing?
For tough questions like these, you need a linguistic detective. Luckily, we found one.
Linguist Daniel Midgley has a chat to sociolinguist Sali Tagliamonte on this episode of Talk the Talk…
What is glossolalia?
It’s speaking in tongues, a religious practice that makes some people feel closer to god, and other people feel deeply uncomfortable. Is it the language of angels, or a psychological artefact? And what can linguistics tell us …
What is Hobson-Jobson?
It’s a book about words, society, and culture among Britons living in India in the late 1800s. Many words that we use today were documented for the first time in its pages. Which words are we still …
Everywhere in the world, it seems, people fret about language.
Some people worry about too much English. Some people are concerned because their language is being ignored or banned. And sometimes government and the law get involved. How will it …
Dolphins are known for their squeaky calls, but now it appears that these clever mammals of the sea can call each other by name.
What is their communication system like, and how does this compare with human language?
Linguist Daniel …
What if your voice didn’t sound like your own?
About 60 people have Foreign Accent Syndrome, which has given their voice the semblance of a foreign accent. What causes it, and how has it affected their lives?
Linguist Daniel Midgley…
With so many dying languages in the world, it’s good to see new languages being born.
A brand new language has been discovered in the Northern Territory. It’s Light Warlpiri, and while it seems to combine English with the Australian …
What’s going on in your brain when you hear language?
More than you’d think. Your brain can correct other people’s mistakes without your conscious awareness, and even stimulate parts of your body. How does it work?
Linguist Daniel Midgley gets …
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