May 04 Toddlers’ screen time linked to slower speech development, study finds By Nsikan Akpan Children who spent more time with hand-held screens were more likely to exhibit signs of an expressive speech delay, according to a new study from Toronto. Continue reading
Nov 17 Column: How colors get their names By Claire Bowern, The Conversation A Yale linguist explains how many colors exist in your language’s rainbow. Continue reading
Sep 01 Dogs distinguish words and tone much like humans By Leigh Anne Tiffany Dogs are able to process individual words and intonations in a manner similar to humans, based on a new study in the journal Science. Continue reading
Aug 17 How bad translation by court interpreters can turn misunderstanding into injustice By Rebecca Beitsch, Stateline Because many states and localities don’t use tested court interpreters and ignore federal rules for when interpreters are required, many criminal defendants and civil litigants with limited English skills are not equipped to navigate the complex legal system, jeopardizing their… Continue reading
Apr 28 A new atlas maps word meanings in the brain By Eric Boodman, STAT It’s like Google Maps for your cerebral cortex: A new interactive atlas purports to show which bits of your brain help you understand which types of concepts. Continue reading
Jan 06 Not just scribbles: How tots start learning text is symbolic By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press WASHINGTON — Celebrate your child's scribbles. A novel experiment shows that even before learning their ABCs, youngsters start to recognize that a written word symbolizes language in a way a drawing doesn't — a developmental step on the path to… Continue reading
Nov 06 Watch 7:46 In ‘Honky,’ a play that plays with the language of racism By PBS News Hour With “Honky,” PBS and Onstage in America present a stage comedy about racism that throws political correctness out the window. Hari Sreenivasan sits down with the play’s author, Greg Kalleres, to discuss how he explores race relations and coded language… Continue watching
Sep 16 Watch 1:33 Why the ancient art of calligraphy still enchants By PBS News Hour In our NewsHour Shares video of the day, artist Seb Lester shares his thoughts on the “ancient magic” of calligraphy. Continue watching
Aug 27 ‘Mic drop’ and ‘awesomesauce’: Oxford Dictionaries adds 1,000 new slang terms By Larisa Epatko Oxford Dictionaries added 1,000 new words to its informal language collection on Thursday, including slang expressions “mic drop,” “cakeage” and “cat café.”… Continue reading
Jan 27 Watch 7:02 What does the world lose when a language dies? By PBS News Hour “Language Matters,” a new PBS documentary, explores how linguistic heritage and traditional cultures around the world are at risk of being lost forever. Jeffrey Brown talks to the show’s host, poet Bob Holman, about the fight to revive languages on… Continue watching