Everyone seems to use baby talk on babies. And linguists think it helps them learn language.
But a new study says dads don’t do it as much. Does it matter? And what kind of input helps children learn?
Linguist Daniel …
Everyone seems to use baby talk on babies. And linguists think it helps them learn language.
But a new study says dads don’t do it as much. Does it matter? And what kind of input helps children learn?
Linguist Daniel …
Why did the computer cross the road?
Linguists are trying to get computers to do very human things: detect humour, recognise irony, and even write jokes. But can computers do funny? What makes something funny, anyway?
Linguist Daniel Midgley hacks …
Auslan is one of Australia’s most popular signed languages.
But how many of us know it? And what is communication like for Deaf speakers in the wider society?
Auslan advocate and Young Australian of the Year Drisana Levitzke-Gray joins Daniel …
Speaking another language is good for your brain — at least that’s what we’ve heard.
But some new research paints a less-positive picture. Should you learn another language? And how?
Linguist Daniel Midgley gets bilingual on this episode of Talk …
Rap is the music of the street. And now it’s on campus.
Linguist Darin Flynn has created a university linguistics class that puts rap lyrics on the syllabus. What can hip-hop poets tell us about language?
Dr Flynn tells Daniel …
How do children learn language so quickly?
For decades, the prevailing view has been that they’re born with it. But a new breed of linguists is overturning this view with evidence from human evolution, cognition, and actual children.
Among these …
There’s more than one way to speak English.
But too often, kids who speak other varieties of English find themselves on the wrong side of their teachers. How can educators — and everyone else — avoid linguistic discrimination and value …
There’s more than one way to speak English.
But too often, kids who speak other varieties of English find themselves on the wrong side of their teachers. How can educators — and everyone else — avoid linguistic discrimination and value …
Is Australian slang carking it? Dying, that is.
One lexicographer is seeing fewer Aussie terms than ever in contemporary slang. Words are always going in and out of fashion, but if the Aussie lingo is changing, can we see what …
Everyone knows it’s a good idea to get kids to learn a foreign language.
But lots of Australian kids already speak a foreign language — at home. Yet these ‘mother tongues’ are losing ground to English. How do we encourage …
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