language

Stories 201 - 210 | << Prev 

To Be, or Not: That Is the Question for Irregular Verbs

Study shows language evolves à la Darwin, less-used forms die off

(Newser) - Irregular verbs, much like the Kennewick Man, evolve. But, much like the woolly mammoth, sometimes they vanish altogether, and linguists and evolutionary theorists have teamed up to compute their extinction times—in terms of half-lives. The study, published this week in Nature, shows that irregular forms of lesser-used verbs are...

Mum's Almost The Word for Endangered Languages

Native American speech among vanishing

(Newser) - A language dies about every two weeks and thousands are at risk, warned linguists, who yesterday identified five global hotspots where languages are most endangered. Several native American languages are dying out in the Southwest and regions including British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Indigenous communication is also vanishing in rural...

World's Smartest Parrot Is No More
World's Smartest Parrot Is No More
Sep 11, 2007 3:27 PM CDT

World's Smartest Parrot Is No More

Alex was no bird brain: He amused millions, aided science

(Newser) - Brandeis researchers feel as though they’ve lost a colleague: Alex, the African gray parrot they studied for 30 years, died Friday. He helped them reach surprising new conclusions about the avian brain and “was extraordinary in breaking the perceptions of birds as not being intelligent,” according to...

Dems' Miami Debate Makes Foray Into Spanish

First presidential debate translated live on Univision

(Newser) - Democratic hopefuls took part in a Spanish-language debate in Miami yesterday, having questions translated UN-style from Spanish to English, and answers back again into Spanish. Though he'd agreed to the ground rules, bilingual contender Bill Richardson couldn't resist  asking in Spanish if he could continue in Spanish, and Sen. Chris...

What Is This 'Mate' of Which You Speak?

Australian government gives immigrants a formal definition

(Newser) - For its new citizenship test, the Australian government has provided a formal definition of the word "mate." Yes, as in "G'day, mate." A 40-page guide for aspiring Aussies, the brainchild of the immigration minister, defines mateship as the condition “where people help and receive help...

So, You Need to Learn Swahili?
So, You Need to Learn Swahili?
Aug 26, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

So, You Need to Learn Swahili?

Learning languages is labor-intensive. Here's how to get you up to speed.

(Newser) - Get ready for your business trip or vacation with these programs recommended by Porfolio.
  • Pimsleur Approach: 10-day courses offered in 40 languages.
  • Rosetta Stone: Promises competence in 2 weeks in 30 languages.
  • Teach Yourself: CDs and books offer 200 languages at varying speeds.

NYC May Ban the 'B-Word'
NYC May Ban the 'B-Word'
Aug 7, 2007 3:38 PM CDT

NYC May Ban the 'B-Word'

City council wants to nix 'bitch' from New Yorkers' vocab

(Newser) - The "N-word" was the first to go, earlier this year, and now New York's city council wants to impose a citywide symbolic ban on another dirty word: bitch. The councilwoman who jump-started the initiative calls the slur "a vile attack on our womanhood," but plenty of New...

Toddlers Learn Language Slowly and Quickly

Kids stockpile simple words in buildup to vocab explosion

(Newser) - Toddlers learn to speak by simply using small, familiar words to acquire harder ones, new research says, throwing a curveball at scientists who assumed a more complex cognitive system. Youngsters can rapidly go from spouting babble to intelligible chatter as long as their words have varying levels of difficulty, Scientific ...

Orangutans Play Charades
Orangutans Play Charades
Aug 2, 2007 9:24 AM CDT

Orangutans Play Charades

Apes pay attention to whether they are being understood

(Newser) - Orangutan communication works just like a game of charades, according to new research. Orangs and other apes who use signals to communicate what they want pay careful attention to whether their audience understands their gestures—if something works, they repeat it, and if they aren't getting through they try another...

Mass Embarrassment: Priests Need Latin Lessons

Pope restores old rite, but clerics don't know the words

(Newser) - Traditionalist Catholics have lauded Pope Benedict's recent call for more Masses in Latin, but priests are biting their nails—few of them know enough of the language to say a Latin Mass. Even Italian priests face embarrassment in the wake of Pope Benedict 's decision to allow Latin services at...

Stories 201 - 210 | << Prev 
Most Read on Newser