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Articles on Words

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With so many competing demands during the holidays, it’s easy to take on more than you can handle. mphillips007/E+ via Getty Images

How to deal with holiday stress, Danish-style

Denmark, despite its cold and gloomy winters, is full of people who consistently rank among the happiest in the world.
A view of the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images

How ‘gate’ became the syllable of scandal

Many of the coinages fail to differentiate the mundane from the momentous. Has the suffix’s overuse rendered it essentially meaningless?
Protesters wave a flag at Parliament Hill in Ottawa at a “Cancel Canada Day” protest in response to the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at Indian Residential Schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

Indian Residential School tragic discoveries see calls for action, but words can make a difference too

People often decry words and call for action after tragic events. But words are action and they’re fundamental to Canadian democracy.
Humans are constantly changing our languages in terms of sounds, words, meanings, and grammar, so much so that it becomes increasingly difficult to understand our own distant relatives across time and space. (Unsplash/Lucrezia Carnelos)

Curious Kids: How are languages formed?

A young reader asks: How are languages formed?
Communication between people would be very difficult, if not impossible, without discursive memory. Our memories allow us to understand each other or to experience irreconcilable differences. (Shutterstock)

Why some words hurt some people and not others

Because of context and history, some words and phrases carry a heavy burden with them. Their mere mention can bring back painful memories and problematic situations.

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