LINGUISTICS

How Do You Say the Plural Form of 'Octopus'?

Is it octopuses, octopi, or octopodes?

Tongue twisters have had people tripping over words for centuries.

The History Behind 8 Famous Tongue Twisters

Whether it's selling seashells by the seashore or buying Betty Botter's bitter butter, some of these difficult phrases go way back to when elocution was practiced as routinely as multiplication tables.

Supper vs. Dinner: Is There a Difference?

They're not completely interchangeable.

15 Podcasts That Will Make You Feel Smarter

Your education shouldn't end when you graduate.

25 Endangered Languages You Should Hear Before They Disappear

Half of the world’s spoken languages are expected to go extinct by the end of the century.

Linguists Say We Might Be Able to Communicate With Aliens If We Ever Encounter Them

Their theories are based on the idea that a "universal grammar" might hold true for both aliens and humans.

Here's the Right Way to Pronounce 'Pulitzer'

Do you say "pew-litzer" or "pull-itzer"?

Researchers Claim to Crack the Voynich Manuscript Using AI, But Experts Are Skeptical

The mysterious text has stumped codebreakers for decades.

Linguistic Analysis Finds that Two Famous Jack the Ripper Letters Were Fake

What experts have long suspected has been confirmed.

10 Pun-derful Facts About Puns

Puns can be divisive: Some find them irresistible, some find them groan-worthy. But for others, punning is a way of life. Here's what you should know about this ancient art.

Why Do We Say 'Mom' and 'Dad' Instead of Our Parents' Names?

'Ma,' 'ba,' and 'pa' are among the first sounds that children around the world learn how to make, regardless of the language they later speak.

How Do You Pronounce GIF? It Probably Depends on Where You're From

It is a question that divides families and workplaces.

How Color Vocabularies Evolved Around the World

The order in which color words emerge in different languages follows a pattern.

Computer Scientists Are Using Reddit to Teach Machines Sarcasm

A new dataset makes use of the fact that on Reddit, users tag their own comments as sarcastic.

A Linguistics Museum Is Coming to Washington D.C.

Planet Word will be open to visitors of all ages and language backgrounds.

More People Are Using the Word Jedi in Everyday Life

The word has evolved beyond the context of 'Star Wars.'

English-Yiddish Dictionary Breathes New Life Into a Historic Language

The "Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary" is the first work of its kind to be published in nearly 50 years.

Most Languages Use the Same Sounds for Certain Words, Study Finds

Concepts like "nose" and "tongue" share some of the same sounds no matter what language you're listening to.

The Way You React to Typos Could Be Linked to Your Personality, Study Finds

Are you a member of the grammar police, or willing to let a few typos slide? It turns out your reaction to written errors may say something about your personality.

IIIerlok_Xolms (emoji), JakeOlimb (speech bubbles)/iStock via Getty Images Plus

7 Puns That Make Sense in More Than One Language

Bilingual jokes and puns that work in two languages, or contain multiple languages as a part of the joke, are the crown jewels of any (jo)kingdom.

17 Secret Slang Terms Your Doctor Might Be Using

You probably know a handful of medical terms—but what about Code Brown? Or incarceritis?

Bird Chirps Have a Syntax

Some birds communicate different meanings based on the order of the notes they sing.

15 Words You Use Without Realizing They're From Foreign Languages

The English language loves a good loan word.

Super-Nice People May Be More Likely to Betray You

A study of online strategy game-players revealed an unsettling trend.

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