linguistics

Sowing The Seeds Of Language

Interdisciplinary research suggests the Transeurasian language family was started and spread by a group of early farmers in China around 9,000 years ago.

Different Languages Convey Information At Similar Rates

Researchers in Hong Kong have found that all languages convey information at similar rates, regardless of whether they are spoken faster or slower.

New Language Found In Southeast Asia (VIDEO)

Researchers have discovered a new language spoken by about 280 people in a small village in northern peninsula Malaysia.

Language Ability Equally Affected By Nature And Nurture

Genetic and environmental factors have an equally strong influence on a pattern of brain activity associated with language ability.

Easy As One, Two, Three? Kids Learn Quantifiers In Order, Despite Language

No matter what language they speak, children learn words of quantity such as ‘all’, ‘some’ or ‘none’ in the same order.

Bilingual Babies Learn Languages Faster (VIDEO)

Contrary to widely held beliefs, babies are not hindered by learning two languages—in fact, they learn both languages faster than monolingual babies.

Odors Are More Expressible In Malay Hunter-Gatherer Language

English speakers struggle to name odors whereas speakers of Jahai, a Malay hunter-gatherer language, have an elaborate vocabulary for smells, researchers say.

Sing-Song Cantonese Language Helps Musicality, Study

Non-musicians who speak tonal languages such as Cantonese may have a better ear for learning musical notes, says a new study.

Bilingual Babies Figure Out Grammar Differences At 7 Months, Study

Babies as young as seven months can distinguish between two languages with vastly different grammatical structures, says a new study.