The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is one of modern linguistics’ greatest and most genius inventions. Besides its usefulness in accurately describing the sounds of every human language, we can use it for more fun stuff, like this article we wrote a while back. Below we have compiled the world’s most famous quotes that not everyone will …
If you think that language is just a means of communication, then you are massively underestimating the role that language plays in our lives. We are somehow at the mercy of the languages we speak. They shape and influence our behavior through and through.
Language sits deep within every one of us. It influences the way we see the world and guides how we relate to one another and to events happening around us. Studies have long shown that people who speak more than one language may unconsciously change their personality when they switch between the languages they speak.
Language is something we breathe in and out every moment of our lives. It is everywhere, everyone is exceptionally good at it. Yet, no one knows how it got into our heads. The number of sentences you can form with any given language is virtually infinite. It makes zero sense to say that we learn …
This is how much time it would take to memorize every sentence in a language. Read More »
Proverbs say so much in so few words. How different cultures and languages use proverbs for certain meanings and situations is fascinating. To capture this fascination, artist James Chapman, a designer based in England, brought us a whole bunch of funny and peculiar proverb illustrations and their meanings from all around the world.
People who speak more than one language are fascinating. They provide insight into the power of language and how it shapes the way we think and experience the world. In a recent study, it has been shown that people who speak two different languages experience time differently.
This article lists all English phonemes in order of frequency. By phonemes is meant all sounds that make up the sound inventory of the English language and that includes both consonant and vowel sounds (as opposed to letters). This classification is based on data compiled using the Carnegie Mellon Pronouncing Dictionary correlated to a frequency …
Have you ever felt a twinge of guilt after you have sworn or used “bad language”? Well, don’t! Science shows that swearing is a useful social skill that allows us to bond with people and establish strong relationships with them.
Scrabble, wordsmiths’ favorite game, has pretty straightforward rules and from time to time they get updated with the addition of new words. According to the latest update to the Scrabble dictionary, released by Merriam-Webster on September 2018, 300 new words were added and are now eligible to be played in a Scrabble game. The game …
Scrabble rule change allows use of ‘OK’ and other newly added words. Read More »
Cats are nefarious, every cat owner will testify to that. They are known for their indifference to humans. A new study shows that cats do recognize their names, even if they choose to ignore you when you call them. This shows the extent to which cats have been ignoring us all this time.
