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How New Words Become Mainstream
The path a word takes to enter the general lexicon isn't always a straightforward one.
LINGUISTICS
10 Pun-derful Facts About Puns
Puns can be divisive: Some find them irresistible, some find them groan-worthy. But for others, punning is a way of life. Here's what you should know about this ancient art.
Why Do We Say 'Mom' and 'Dad' Instead of Our Parents' Names?
'Ma,' 'ba,' and 'pa' are among the first sounds that children around the world learn how to make, regardless of the language they later speak.
How Do You Pronounce GIF? It Probably Depends on Where You're From
It is a question that divides families and workplaces.
How Color Vocabularies Evolved Around the World
The order in which color words emerge in different languages follows a pattern.
Computer Scientists Are Using Reddit to Teach Machines Sarcasm
A new dataset makes use of the fact that on Reddit, users tag their own comments as sarcastic.
A Linguistics Museum Is Coming to Washington D.C.
Planet Word will be open to visitors of all ages and language backgrounds.
More People Are Using the Word Jedi in Everyday Life
The word has evolved beyond the context of 'Star Wars.'
Watch Classic Monty Python Sketches Featuring Wordplay
Michael Palin: "Do you enjoy [speaking only in anagrams?]" Eric Idle: "I stom certainly od. Revy chum so."
English-Yiddish Dictionary Breathes New Life Into a Historic Language
The "Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary" is the first work of its kind to be published in nearly 50 years.
Most Languages Use the Same Sounds for Certain Words, Study Finds
Concepts like "nose" and "tongue" share some of the same sounds no matter what language you're listening to.
What are Auctioneers Saying When They Talk Super-Fast?
"One dollar bid, now two, now two, will you give me two?"
10 Podcasts That Will Make You Feel Smarter
Learn something new on your morning commute.
The Way You React to Typos Could Be Linked to Your Personality, Study Finds
Are you a member of the grammar police, or willing to let a few typos slide? It turns out your reaction to written errors may say something about your personality.
7 Puns That Make Sense in More Than One Language
Bilingual jokes and puns that work in two languages, or contain multiple languages as a part of the joke, are the crown jewels of any (jo)kingdom.
17 Secret Slang Terms Your Doctor Might Be Using
You probably know a handful of medical terms—but what about Code Brown? Or incarceritis?
Bird Chirps Have a Syntax
Some birds communicate different meanings based on the order of the notes they sing.
15 Words You Use Without Realizing They're From Foreign Languages
The English language loves a good loan word.
Super-Nice People May Be More Likely to Betray You
A study of online strategy game-players revealed an unsettling trend.
Proof Victorian Novels Were Way More Sentimental
A new analysis of thousands of books finds that bestselling titles from the last few decades contain fewer strongly positive or negative words than older works such as ‘Pride and Prejudice’.
Semantic Satiation: Why Words Sometimes Sound Weird or Lose All Meaning
Over the years, this mental literary fail has gone by many names: work decrement, extinction, reminiscence, verbal transformation. But the best known and recognized term is "semantic satiation."
7 Things You Should Know About Sign Language
Unlike other "languages," sign language—be it American or otherwise—is a visual language, and therefore, can take a long time to master.
8 Ancient Writing Systems That Haven't Been Deciphered Yet
These scripts remain mysterious.
How Past Generations' Slang Became Today's Vocabulary
What we say today shapes the vocabulary of tomorrow.