As people age, many cognitive functions tend to decline. Brain scanning studies have revealed corresponding changes in the function of a brain network that is involved in many of these cognitive funct...

As people age, many cognitive functions tend to decline. Brain-scanning studies have revealed corresponding changes in the function of a brain network involved in many of these cognitive functions, in...

Lingthusiasm Episode 15:  Talking and thinking about time When we talk about things that languages have in common, we often talk about the physical side, the fact that languages are produced by huma...

New research shows our pragmatic language abilities — which allow us to understand nonliteral expressions like sarcasm or metaphors — can be grouped together based on what types of inferences they require. MIT researchers identified three clusters of pragmatic skills based on understanding social conventions and rules, how the physical world works, and differences in tone.

How it’s affecting teaching, learning, employment, research, and more.

Despite the vast diversity of human languages, specific grammatical patterns appear again and again. A new study reveals that around a third of the long-proposed "linguistic universals"—patterns thought ...

Patrick Freyne speaks to the chief editor of the new monolingual Irish dictionary, due to launch in October

A new study from Johns Hopkins finds that multilingual AI privileges dominant languages, deepening divides rather than democratizing access to information

In the bike-friendly Netherlands, cyclists speed down the road without fearing cars. For an American, the prospect is thrilling—and terrifying.

From "yeet" to "social distancing," new words and phrases constantly emerge and evolve in American English. But how do these neologisms— ...

This long-read article is based on a talk by Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, for the Silver Jubilee Celebration of International Mother Language Day 2025, which was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 21 February 2025.

What is the future of AI language translation? Understand its challenges and the crucial role of human expertise in enhancing multilingual communication.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, and activists and advocacy groups are alarmed by what that will mean fo...

How much does the evolution of human speech owe to one amino acid?

Jennifer R. Kellogg is a literary translator from Modern Greek and holds a PhD in Modern Languages and Literatures from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). In 2019 she was an Emerging Translator ...

To Vima International Edition offers a glimpse into why Greek is so important on Greek Language Day, February 9

lingthusiasm: 101 places to get enthusiastic about linguistics In honour of Lingthusiasm’s 100th episodiversary, we’ve compiled this list of 101 public-facing places where linguists and linguisti...

And why do we have them in the first place?

Lovers of languages and linguistics should head for Mundolingua, the only museum of languages, language and linguistics. Learn all about the world's languages!

Anachronyms are words that are used “in an anachronistic way, by referring to something in a way that is appropriate only for a former or later time.” (Source) I chanced upon the term through a Reddit...