Language is always changing. That’s true for spoken languages, but it’s also true for signed languages.
A new study of British Sign Language shows that younger signers are avoiding older, more offensive signs and using new versions instead. What’s with …
Do you read banned books?
It’s Banned Books Week — when we celebrate books that have been targeted for being obscene, indecent, blasphemous, and seditious. Banning (and sometimes burning) books is popular in the USA, but there’s plenty of censorship …
Recent years have seen a groundswell of support for the recognition of Australian Indigenous languages, but the future of many of these languages is in doubt.
Into this environment comes a new Parliamentary report making recommendations for their teaching and …
Blasphemy is the act of showing irreverence or contempt for religious deities or beliefs.
And it’s in the news, as Muslims around the globe are protesting a blasphemous film. Should some ideas be off-limits for criticism? Can blasphemy be constructive? …
You’ve seen the Apple Geniuses.
They’re floating around in the Apple Store, helping customers, fixing problems, and making sales. Now it seems that a copy of Apple’s Genius guide has been leaked, with instructions on the language that Geniuses should …
How do mice communicate? By smell or facial expression?
Forget it. Some mice in Costa Rica communicate by singing, and these tiny sopranos have a lot to teach us about our own language gene. What’s the connection between squeaking and …
We like to think of ourselves as rational beings that can make decisions more or less free of bias.
But research shows that language can influence our perception in subtle ways — either for good or for bad. Even our …
How did language start?
It’s a difficult question, since language doesn’t leave fossils. But by getting experimental volunteers to act out concepts, Dr Nicolas Fay is building evidence for one of the major views on language origins. What can we …
Babies are fast learners when it comes to language.
New research reveals that they can distinguish speech sounds and understand the intentions of other speakers, before they’ve even learned how to talk. But how do you test a baby’s skills? …
A couple of recent studies seem to confirm what many fear: text abbreviations cause poor grammar and writing skills in tweens and teens.
Are we on the verge of a new Dark Age? Will the Internet render us incapable of …
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