Language

Taras Shevchenko (left) and Kateryna Pavlenko from the band Go_A sing exclusively in Ukrainian and represented Ukraine on the main stage in 2021 at Eurovision, the popular European song contest.

For Ukrainian musicians, rejecting Russia is a matter of national pride

5:57pm February 22, 2022

Ukrainian musicians are turning away from Russia, and sometimes the Russian language, as they try to reassert their country's identity. Some who used to sing in Russian now only perform in Ukrainian.

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A newborn lies in the maternity ward of the Lens hospital, northern France. A study of crying mice could help explain some building blocks of human infant cries and adult speech.

Science

What crying baby mice could teach us about human speech

6:09pm January 07, 2022

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists have found a cluster of rhythmic brain cells in newborn mice that may explain why spoken languages around the world share a common tempo.

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In the German language, nouns themselves are often gendered. Cities across Germany, including Lubeck, are now trying to use gender-neutral language by placing a colon or asterisk within words.

World News

Germany debates how to form gender-neutral words out of its gendered language

7:00am October 30, 2021

by Esme Nicholson

The German language is full of male and female nouns. Officials and businesses are tweaking words, including adding asterisks, to make them inclusive.

Prepone That! Your Accent Is Funny! Readers Share Their ESL Stories

8:00am May 16, 2021

by Carolyn McCusker

Gripes and genius moments from readers about learning English as a second language

A social distancing sign on the ground. "Social distancing" was one of dozens of terms highlighted by researchers in Oxford Languages' 2020 Word of the Year campaign.

Arts

Oxford's Defining Words Of 2020: 'Blursday,' 'Systemic Racism' And Yes, 'Pandemic'

9:07pm November 23, 2020

by Reese Oxner

Too much happened in 2020 for Oxford Languages to choose a single word of the year. So they opted for dozens.

National

Latinx Is A Term Many Still Can't Embrace

8:02am October 01, 2020

by Marisa Peñaloza

People born or descended from Spanish-speaking nations are still debating if any of the ethnic labels used to identify them in the United States feel right.

Dwayne Tomah, the youngest fluent Passamaquoddy speaker, sings a Passamaquoddy song outside of his home in Perry, Maine. Tomah is translating and interpreting songs and stories from wax cylinders recorded nearly 130 years ago.

National

Historic Recordings Revitalize Language For Passamaquoddy Tribal Members

5:14pm September 03, 2019

A partnership between members of the Passamaquoddy tribe and the Library of Congress to transcribe wax cylinder recordings from 1890 is bringing the tribe's language back to life.

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Books
Arts

Our Language Is Evolving, 'Because Internet'

7:52pm July 31, 2019

by Audie Cornish

Whether you're extremely online or still confused by how a simple period can be interpreted as passive-aggressive, linguist Gretchen McCulloch has a guide to how our on-screen speech is morphing.

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Hawaiian language activist Larry Kimura led the charge in the 1970s in getting Hawaii's Department of Education to sanction Hawaiian-language immersion schools. The state, however, did not offer any support or curriculum, Kimura said. So they did it on th

National

The Hawaiian Language Nearly Died. A Radio Show Sparked Its Revival

10:31am June 22, 2019

by Sara Kehaulani Goo

In Hawaii today, nearly everyone knows how to speak a few words and phrases of Hawaiian. But the practice of primarily speaking the Hawaiian language from birth nearly died two generations ago.

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An MRI scan of a person listening to music shows brain areas that respond. (This scan wasn't part of the research comparing humans and monkeys.)

A Musical Brain May Help Us Understand Language And Appreciate Tchaikovsky

8:29am June 11, 2019

by Jon Hamilton

Compared with monkeys, humans have a brain that is extremely sensitive to a sound's pitch. And that may reflect our exposure to speech and music.

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