Language

Why aren't there freshwater seals or dolphins in the Great Lakes?

Why Aren't Dolphins in the Great Lakes? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Japanese tits have previously been observed combining different calls into phrases to convey meanings. The birds may also use their wings to signal to their partner that they should enter the nest first.

These Small Birds Flutter Their Wings to Say 'After You' to Their Partner

A new study of Japanese tits provides the first evidence of non-primate animals using gestures to convey messages

Dogs may understand more words than humans likely realize, according to new research.

Dogs Can Understand the Words for Several Objects, Such as Toys and Leashes, Study Finds

Your dog may know the word "ball" is associated with their favorite round squishy toy, according to new research that measured brain waves

The Hand of Irulegi

Words Etched Into an Ancient Bronze Hand Hint at the Mysterious Origins of the Basque Language

Archaeologists unearthed the 2,100-year-old artifact in northern Spain and discovered the inscription contains two words that resemble those of the modern language Euskara

Today, the rongorongo script survives on less than 30 objects.

Did the People of Easter Island Invent a Writing System From Scratch?

Radiocarbon dating has found that a tablet inscribed with the mysterious rongorongo script predates European contact

Could we use volcanic energy as a power source?

Could Volcanoes Power Our Planet? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Babies might start learning the words for objects at around six to nine months old. In a new study, an A.I. was also able to match some objects to their names after getting trained on video recordings from a headcam worn by a young child.

A.I. Learns Words From a Human Baby's Perspective, Using Headcam Footage

With only limited training, the model could correctly identify certain objects, suggesting some elements of learning language are not innate to humans

The scroll is part of a vast library found in the ancient town of Herculaneum.

Three Students Just Deciphered the First Passages of a 2,000-Year-Old Scroll Burned in Vesuvius' Eruption

The trio used artificial intelligence to decode sections of the text, which appear to be a philosophical exploration of pleasure

African gray parrots are highly intelligent birds that can learn to closely mimic human voices.

These Parrots Won't Stop Swearing. Will They Learn to Behave—or Corrupt the Entire Flock?

A British zoo hopes the good manners of a larger group will rub off on the eight misbehaving birds

The three-inch blade is one of the earliest surviving examples of a runic inscription in Denmark.

Engravings on 2,000-Year-Old Knife Might Be the Oldest Runes Ever Found in Denmark

The letters on the blade read "hirila," which experts say may translate to "small sword"

Accents center on the pronunciation of words, while dialects encompass pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Here, the subjects of Grant Wood's American Gothic channel speaking styles popular in California and New York.

A Brief History of the United States' Accents and Dialects

Migration patterns, cultural ties, geographic regions and class differences all shape speaking patterns

Participants on a bus tour at the 2014 community pilgrimage to Tule Lake

Why the Language We Use to Describe Japanese American Incarceration During World War II Matters

A descendant of concentration camp survivors argues that using the right vocabulary can help clarify the stakes when confronting wartime trauma

This year, lookups on Dictionary.com increased for A.I.-related words, including "generative A.I.,” “GPT” and “chatbot.”

'Hallucinate' Is Dictionary.com's Word of the Year for 2023

In the context of artificial intelligence, the word means "to produce false information" and "present it as if true"

Fialka's reading group in Venice, California, in 2008

A Book Club Began 'Finnegans Wake' in 1995. After 28 Years, It Finally Reached the End

The group meets once a month to talk about one or two pages of the bewildering James Joyce novel

Rizz is unusual, in that it's an abbreviated version of the word "charisma" that comes from the middle of the word.

‘Rizz’ Is Oxford’s 2023 Word of the Year

The word means “style, charm or attractiveness” or “the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner"

Advances in technology are making altering or faking content increasingly easier.

Merriam-Webster's 2023 Word of the Year Is 'Authentic'

As technology's ability to manipulate reality improves, we're all searching for the truth

A Herculaneum scroll being scanned at Institut de France by Brent Seales and his team

This 21-Year-Old Used A.I. to Decipher Text From a Scroll That Hasn’t Been Read in 2,000 Years

The papyrus scroll is one of hundreds that were carbonized in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

Two types of white blood cells, a neutrophil (top) and a lymphocyte (bottom), in human blood.

Human Cells Display a Mathematical Pattern That Repeats in Nature and Language

New research suggests adult humans have between 28 trillion and 36 trillion cells, which follow a commonly seen distribution of size and mass

Some birds—including blue jays—are strong vocal learners that can mimic other birds and make lots of different sounds.

Songbirds That Learn to Make New Sounds Are the Best Problem-Solvers

Birds—and humans—are vocal learners, meaning they can imitate new vocalizations and use them to communicate

Pink Floyd performs c. 1972 in London, England. Researchers used a computer model to try recreate one of their songs using the brain signals of people listening to it. 

Scientists Recreated a Pink Floyd Song From Listeners' Brain Waves

Electrodes collected brain signals while people listened to "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1," then computers produced a garbled but recognizable track

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