Marijuana has a rich linguistic tradition. But drive by dispensaries like ‘Advanced Medical Alternatives’ or ‘Alameda Wellness Center,’ and you might think you’re passing the office of a physical therapist.
Edward Hopper’s ‘Office in a Small City’ (1953).
Gandalf's Gallery
‘Milkshake duck’, a word created in 2016 on Twitter, is the Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year. Efforts to coin new words have a long history and were particularly in vogue in the 1980s.
World map of linguistic families / Wikimedia Commons
Ted Gibson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) e Bevil R. Conway, National Institutes of Health
People across the globe all see millions of distinct colors. But the terms we use to describe them vary across cultures. New cognitive science research suggests it’s about what we want to communicate.
Research has typically found that shared reading experiences are highly beneficial for young people.
Shutterstock/Alfira
New research investigates how people sequentially add new color terms to languages over time – and the results hold surprises about assumptions linguists have made for 40 years.
Balga is the Noongar name for the grass tree - seen here in the Flinders Ranges.
Melanie Ball/AAP
Words from 100 Indigenous languages are in the new edition of the Australian National Dictionary – reflecting a heightened interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Forget fast cars and fancy clothes – it’s language that reveals where you really come from.
The great potato cake/scallop/fritter divide.
Rosey Billington, Lauren Gawne, Kathleen Jepson, and Jill Vaughan 'Mapping words around Australia' (bit.ly/AusWordsMaps)
PhD student, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Research Unit for Indigenous Language, School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne
Affiliate, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Postgraduate researcher, School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne