Arts Aug 18 Not sure what ‘skibidi’ means? Now you can look it up in the dictionary By Lydia Doye, Associated Press
Science Mar 09 Huh? The valuable role of interjections in human conversations Utterances like um, wow and mm-hmm used to be dismissed as irrelevant linguistic detritus. But some linguists now think they play an essential role in regulating conversations, and may be the hardest part of language for artificial intelligence to master. By Bob Holmes, Knowable Magazine
Nation Jan 29 Watch 2:34 Reflecting on the lives taken by the Southern California wildfires We continue with our remembrances of the 29 people who died in the fires in Southern California. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office continues its work to identify victims, with some still classified as “unidentified Does.” We remember seven… By Amna Nawaz, Courtney Norris
Arts Jun 09 Watch 6:32 Interactive museum strives to boost the love of words The Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C., which aims to bring language to life, recently opened a new exhibit focused on wordplay. Jeffrey Brown takes a look at the many ways words make the world go round. It’s part of… By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport, Alison Thoet
Science Oct 21 Your political views can predict how you pronounce certain words A linguist explains how your political orientation can influence how you pronounce certain words. By Zachary Jaggers, The Conversation
Apr 25 Scientists get one step closer to decoding thoughts into speech By Karen Weintraub, Scientific American Using electrodes and computer algorithms, researchers have generated intelligible sentences from the thoughts of people without speech difficulties, sparking hope that similar technology could eventually provide a voice to people who can't speak. Continue reading
Dec 17 Watch 3:07 A poet’s take on looking to language for ‘radical hope’ In this digital and divided society, it can often seem that language is used primarily to deliver criticism and express rage. But poet Ada Limón shares her humble opinion on why she sees people turning to poetry for language that… Continue watching
Oct 12 A mother uses a similar tone with babies, no matter the language By Fedor Kossakovski Mothers across languages change the timbre of their voice in similar ways when they speak to babies, Princeton University neuroscientists reported today. Continue reading
Sep 05 Watch 6:53 This ancient whistling language is in grave danger of dying out By PBS News Hour In the Greek island village of Antio, home to the world's most endangered language, aging residents communicate across hillsides through whistles, a specific system of communication believed to date back to Ancient Greece. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports on how… Continue watching
Jul 07 Watch 2:55 How social media ‘likes’ create a conversation of connection By PBS News Hour You might think linguistics professor Deborah Tannen would lament the effects of social media on how we communicate. Instead, she sees how it fills an essential need for connection, and the ways we've adapted the tools of "liking" and "tagging"… Continue watching