From ancient Greek soapbox soliloquies to viral TikTok videos of poetry slams, spoken word has always charged language with kinetic immediacy. Encompassing a unique blend of honesty and an engaging ...

Language connects humans and its shapes how we connect, trade, and share ideas across borders. In 2025, over 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, yet just a handful dominate global communication.

A study on Indo-European languages, using direct linguistic data, reconciles the two dominant hypotheses of where and how ...

Most people around the world agree that the made-up word 'bouba' sounds round in shape, and the made-up word 'kiki' sounds pointy -- a discovery that may help to explain how spoken languages develop, ...

Mark Ellison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

ASL is a distinguished language from spoken languages. Below are some examples of how ASL is different from spoken languages. 1. The origin of American Sign Language (ASL) began with the introduction ...

Sign languages can help reveal hidden aspects of the logical structure of spoken language, but they also highlight its limitations because speech lacks the rich iconic resources that sign language ...

While working at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., the late cognitive neuroscientist Ursula Bellugi discovered that, much like spoken language, sign language was made up ...

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Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture. Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work ...