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Displaying all articles tagged:
Language
emergency discussion
Aug. 18, 2022
The Refreshing Profanity of
This Fool
Chris Estrada’s Hulu comedy series is so specific with its use of Mexican American slang. Órale!
By
Alejandra Gularte
and
Savannah Salazar
semantics
June 1, 2022
The Landlords Embarrassed to Be Called Landlords
“I cringe when I hear it, and when I say it.”
By
Bridget Read
language
Feb. 20, 2020
Why Do Corporations Speak the Way They Do?
The pernicious spread of garbage language.
By
Molly Young
stand-up
Jan. 7, 2020
The Language of Stand-up Comedy
Ten comedians from around the world reflect on the challenges of translating their act to English.
By
Tal Pinchevsky
science of us
Jan. 15, 2019
‘Frumbled’ and Other Good Reasons to Make Up Words
On “Russian blues” and the impossibility of seeing another person’s perception.
By
Katie Heaney
close reads
Dec. 3, 2018
The Hidden Meaning Behind
My Brilliant Friend
’s Neapolitan Dialect
If Neapolitan is the language of Lenù and Lila’s imprisoning neighborhood, then Italian is the language of social mobility.
By
Justin Davidson
word search
Mar. 9, 2018
A Brief, Convoluted History of the Word ‘Intersectionality’
How an academic term morphed into a buzzword.
By
Kory Stamper
science of us
Jan. 29, 2018
The 300-Year History of Using ‘Literally’ Figuratively
Women have always been much quicker than men to move ahead into new linguistic territory.
By
Kory Stamper
Jan. 11, 2018
Report: Trump Bashed Immigration From ‘Sh*thole’ Countries in Oval Office
And said the U.S. should let in more people from places like Norway.
By
Adam K. Raymond
July 26, 2017
Apparently, These Are the Funniest Words in the English Language
According to a new study.
By
Cari Romm
July 17, 2017
To Understand Why We Have So Many Languages, Look Way, Way Back in Human History
Rainfall and warfare are just two of the many factors.
By
Michael Gavin
June 12, 2017
How to Find the Word That’s on the Tip of Your Tongue
When “whatchamacallit” isn’t good enough.
By
Cari Romm
June 5, 2017
Why the Internet Tilde Is the Most Perfect Piece of Snark We Have
Is there any punctuation mark more of the times?
By
Jess Kimball Leslie
June 2, 2017
The Real Purpose of Uptalk Is to Get You to Shut Up and Listen
Linguists argue that the much-maligned habit is a way of holding a listener’s attention.
By
Cari Romm
language
May 23, 2017
How Do You Write About Something Like Alzheimer’s?
The disease resists any easy attempt at metaphors, but that doesn’t mean patients and their caretakers don’t try.
By
Jesse Singal
May 2, 2017
A Linguist Breaks Down What We Really Mean When We Call Our Friends ‘Close’
Friendship between women has its own language.
By
Deborah Tannen
mental health
Apr. 21, 2017
Sometimes, Mental-Illness Destigmatization Can Backfire
People with severe mental-health problems really are suffering, and it doesn’t make sense to scrub the language we use to pretend they aren’t.
By
Jesse Singal
Apr. 17, 2017
Why You Trust Email Way More Than You Should
It’s not a casual spoken conversation. So why do we treat it like one?
By
Matthew Hutson
Apr. 7, 2017
Talking in Euphemisms Can Chip Away at Your Sense of Morality
Using “indirect speech” to describe unethical behavior helps us feel better about it.
By
Laura Niemi,
Alek Chakroff,
and
Liane Young
Mar. 24, 2017
Use This Storytelling Technique to Make Your Bad Memories Feel More Meaningful
And gain some much-needed distance.
By
Cari Romm
Mar. 10, 2017
This Chart of a Baby’s First 100 Words Explains How We Learn Language
In the earliest stages, babies’ speech follows a certain pattern.
By
Cari Romm
language
Feb. 25, 2017
Trump’s New National Security Adviser Pans the Term ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’
H.R. McMaster reportedly said that the conservative catchphrase is unhelpful since Muslim terrorists are “un-Islamic.”
By
Chas Danner
Feb. 17, 2017
This Finnish Word Makes Your Sad Weekend Plans Sound a Little Cooler
It’s a good night for some
kalsarikannit
.
By
Cari Romm
Feb. 9, 2017
Learning Sign Language Can Help You Improve Your Vision
A new study found a link between sign-language fluency and “visual-processing skills.”
By
Cari Romm
Jan. 19, 2017
Why So Many Movie Villains Have British Accents
A linguist explains.
By
Cari Romm
science of us
Jan. 13, 2017
Want Synesthesia? Try Learning a New Language
People who became bilingual later in life are more likely to experience the mysterious blurring of the senses.
By
Cari Romm
science of us
Dec. 19, 2016
Learning a Language Makes You Better at Handling Ambiguity
Because you’re not going to know everything.
By
Drake Baer
Dec. 16, 2016
Here’s How to Learn a New Language Faster Without Paying Attention
Two recent studies suggest that trying less can actually speed up the process.
By
Molly Fitzpatrick
linguistics
Dec. 16, 2016
Emoji Have a Dual Nature
Depending on what they’re describing, people write with emoji using one of two logics.
By
Drake Baer
Dec. 15, 2016
You Can Be Lazy and Learn a New Language at the Same Time
There are times when it’s best to put down the Duolingo.
By
Melissa Dahl
Dec. 9, 2016
Monkeys’ Mouths Are Built for Speech — Only Their Brains Are Holding Them Back
A new study shows that they’re capable of noises that sound a lot like human language.
By
Cari Romm
self-improvement
Dec. 7, 2016
When Ex-cons Change Their Vocabulary, They Stay Out of Jail
Change the way you speak, change the way you live.
By
Drake Baer
feels
Nov. 18, 2016
Zadie Smith Has ‘Many Feels’ About
Crazy Ex
“I’m not trying to be cute when I say that I could have written 5,000 words on it.”
By
Jackson McHenry
emotion
Nov. 10, 2016
Having Finely Tuned Emotions Will Help You Process Trump’s Win
The richer your vocabulary, the greater your resilience.
By
Drake Baer
Nov. 4, 2016
Test Your Creativity: What Do These 3 Words Have in Common?
One for the puzzle lovers.
By
Ashley Wu
and
Cari Romm
Nov. 2, 2016
The Possessive
Your Guys’
Is American English at Its Rough-Spun Best
The language evolves.
By
Drake Baer
Oct. 25, 2016
The Boy Who Woke Up From a Coma Speaking a Whole New Language
Rueben Nsemoh knew only a few words of Spanish — until a head injury made him fluent.
By
Cari Romm
Oct. 14, 2016
How We Got ‘Bark’ for Dogs, ‘Quack’ for Ducks, and Other Words for Animal Sounds
New research shows how people across the world describe animal sounds.
By
Cari Romm
personality
Oct. 4, 2016
The World Looks Different When You’re Speaking a Second Language
A new memoir lends a fresh perspective to one of the great mysteries of modern linguistics.
By
Melissa Dahl
science of us
Sept. 15, 2016
Thinking in a Second Language Makes You Less Moral
We feel more, and reason less, in our native language.
By
Cari Romm
Sept. 8, 2016
A Dictionary Wants Everyone to Calm Down About Using ‘Literally’ Wrong
Words evolve. English will be okay.
By
Cari Romm
science of us
Sept. 8, 2016
Blind People Gesture Like Sighted People
Whether or not you can see, you talk with your hands.
By
Drake Baer
science of us
Sept. 7, 2016
The Unexpectedly Existential Roots of Adjective Order
Why it’s a “huge fuzzy blanket” and not a “fuzzy huge blanket.”
By
Drake Baer
Aug. 30, 2016
Your Dog Is Too Smart to Be Fooled by Your Fake Happy Voice
“Who’s a big dummy? Who’s a big dumb boy?”
By
Cari Romm
Aug. 30, 2016
The Race to Study a Dying Sign Language Before It Disappears
It’s making linguists rethink what they believe about how humans learned to speak.
By
Shira Rubin
science of us
Aug. 23, 2016
The Man Who Woke Up One Morning and Forgot How to Read
A strange case that settled a long, contentious debate about the brain.
By
Cari Romm
Aug. 22, 2016
Babies Learn Accents Before They’re Even Born
Their cries sound different depending on the language their parents speak.
By
Cari Romm
Aug. 17, 2016
Stuttering Birds Are Helping Scientists Understand How Humans Learned to Talk
What another species’ speech impediment reveals about our own capacity for language.
By
Cari Romm
Aug. 8, 2016
The Magic Word That Makes You Seem Extra Persuasive
It’s not
please
.
By
Cari Romm
Aug. 5, 2016
If You Want to Bond With Someone, Swear at Them
It’s fun, too!
By
Drake Baer
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