Doing away with the apostrophe is not just the beginning of the end … it’s the end.
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The survival of the apostrophe is vital to the comprehensibility of our language. If those who have protected it are hanging up their red pens, it’s time we all do our bit.
‘Cancel culture’ has been nominated Word of the Year by The Macquarie Dictionary, for reflecting the zeitgeist.
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There is a negative feel to many of the shortlisted contenders for The Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year.
Lizzo’s hit songs include a lot of profanity.
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A cognitive scientist observes that the words that bother college-age Americans today can cause harm.
You don’t actually need language to think.
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Language can express some of the results of our thinking, but it’s not the thinking itself.
Stark naked? Not quite…
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Pedants should reach for their red pens now.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Biarritz G7, August 2019.
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Why do some people greet each other with a kiss? How does the custom vary from place to place? This article is excerpted from the forthcoming ‘Atlas of Regional Expressions.’
How do you pronounce ‘Muslim’? What about ‘spiel’?
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How members of America’s two parties view the country – and its place in the world – might explain this phenomenon.
Roughly two children per class have developmental language disorder.
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New research suggests that the genetic variants that are associated with language are also associated with mental health problems.
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We live in a society in which inequality is deepening – in this context, our words can have real and pernicious effects.
Do nursing home staff know and respect your cultural background or language? Here’s why that’s important.
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Australia’s rich diversity is reflected in its older population. It’s time our nursing homes do the same.
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Here’s what parents should look out for if they are worried about their baby’s language development.
The Prime Minister’s inflammatory language in Parliament provoked outrage.
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Use of the words ‘traitor’, ‘surrender’ and ‘betrayal’ have increased inside parliament but everyone outside needs to watch their language too.
The signature pirate voice is from the West Country in south-west of England. But why West Country?
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We may no longer say ‘shiver me timbers’, but we still use plenty of pirate words for other things.
The RuPaul crew for Drag Race UK.
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What started as a showcase for America’s drag queens is fast becoming a global sensation.
A document in Tengwar, the script of the Elvish languages invented by JRR Tolkien, Dozza, Italy.
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From Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones, writers and linguists have invented an array of new languages.
Animal thought does not have the structure of human language.
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Can we really know what animals think? A philosopher argues that we can’t, not with any precision.
Reading and writing can prevent cognitive decline.
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As we get older, our eyesight may dim and our recall may falter. But our linguistic abilities don’t seem to erode.
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Some animals, like rats, learn linguistic patterns better than humans can.
It’s a simple word with a strange history.
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The word ‘OK’ has only been around for 180 years, but it’s become the most spoken word on the planet.
It doesn’t have to be all fun and games.
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Children as young as eight or nine could be taught in a more adult, analytical way.