Janina Brutt-Griffler says she's always been interested in the interaction of different cultures and languages. "I grew up in a bicultural context," says Brutt-Griffler who joined the UB faculty in ...

For more than 150 years ago, the assumption that language is a singular event has hampered progress in explaining its evolution. Another obstacle was the failure to recognize that certain social ...

Example of recurrent change. Still images from video dictionary entries that illustrate the phonological pattern of thumb extension. Both signs are produced with four fingers extended, but the sign ...

I prefer to keep to what is actually understood about evolutionary biology and not indulge in what evolutionary biologists dismiss as 'just-so' stories... stories we invent... 'maybe it happened this ...

One of the most persistent mysteries about our own species' evolution is the development of complex language. How we managed to move from making simple grunts to advanced sentences in which we can now ...

RESEARCH on the evolution of language suggests that our communication is largely about cooperation. When we speak with each other, the idea goes, we do so to help coordinate our actions. Antelope ...

Many linguists have proposed that languages spoken by numerous non-native speakers tend to have simpler grammars. A new study challenges this claim. By analyzing a global sample of 1,314 languages, ...

The human body is the greatest form of expression. From the clothes one wears to the things one says and does, expression is a form of self art. Sign language is a form of expression — one that ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. It’s relatively easy to trace a written linguistic history—there ...