Otherwords

Body parts would probably have been one of the first things that ancient peoples gave names to, so not only do we find hundreds of cognates and permutations, but also widespread use in idioms, slang and other figures of speech. Since our bodies have been with us literally from the beginning, we can learn a lot about language by investigating their etymologies.

Researchers and casual users alike have documented that generative AI tools often struggle with negation: the language we use to express absences, untruths, and opposites. Gen AI models may be able to show you what you do want to see, but they're NOT as good at NOT giving you what you DON'T want. Read that last sentence back again and you can understand why. So, how do we understand it ourselves?

It's one of the most contentious debates in linguistics, and at the heart of what it means to be human!

Why do we use such unusual words for the people we love? From baby to bunny, two thirds of American adults refer to their romantic partners by a pet name. And we've been doing this for a long time—the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary traces terms of endearment over a thousand years. But where do all these pet names come from?

Since ancient times, humans have believed in the special power of words to change the world around them... and they might be right!

TikTok users are altering their speech to evade algorithmic filters--but will this harm language in the long run?

Sometimes misunderstandings and made-up origins get popular enough to stick around... we call these "folk etymologies"!

There was a time when written words were all scrunched together without any spaces or symbols to help the reader make sense of it. How did we get from that to this‽

Explains how linguists use sounds and patterns (phonetic symbolism) in names like Coca-Cola (CV-CV rhythm) or Febreze (soft sounds) to influence perception, revealing how marketing taps into deep-seated linguistic tricks to make brands memorable and convey qualities like luxury or lightness, drawing on ideas from ancient philosophers like Plato. 

The fact that we all have our own unique way of speaking is a beautiful thing. It's at the core of personal expression and contributes to the wonderful tapestry of language. But it also means that no form of expression can be 100% anonymous. Linguists use language everyday to solve crimes. As the famous Miranda warning goes: "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

We all love language but still sometimes we pronounce certain words wrong, and everyone does it. We're not talking about speaking too fast or jumbling letters. We're talking about good ol' fashioned mispronunciations–things you didn't know you were saying wrong. But how do they happen? And why are they not as wrong as people think?

When linguists in Georgia published a study showing that young Georgians have different accents than their parents, headlines sprung up all over declaring that the drawls and y'alls of the Southern American dialect are on their way out. But is it really possible for an accent to vanish? And what's causing younger southerners to change the way they speak?

Why do we use such unusual words for the people we love? From baby to bunny, two thirds of American adults refer to their romantic partners by a pet name. And we've been doing this for a long time—the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary traces terms of endearment over a thousand years. But where do all these pet names come from?

When you hear names like Gladys or Herbert or Doris, you probably automatically think of old people, but why is that? Linguists have been studying the science of first names for a long time, and though what's behind a particular parent's choice is deeply personal and often opaque, there are certain trends in baby naming that can reveal a lot about the values and direction of a society.

What do Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Hitler have in common? They were all obsessively studied by Jim Jones, the cult leader who convinced and coerced more than 900 members of his "People's Temple" to commit suicide in the Jonestown Massacre. All these figures are known as "charismatic leaders," people who inspire intense devotion or emotional attachment in their followers through their com

Verbal communication covers what we say, the words we're saying, whether spoken or signed. So, is body language a language? Short answer: no. Body language is not a standalone language in the linguistic sense, however it is an important and necessary form of communication that supplements and emphasizes the verbal communication it's paired with.

The English language is chock full of sailing jargon like even the term "chock full' but why is that?

When we read our eyes skim the print, we notice the length of the word and maybe the first letter, then our brains use context clues to deduce what the word should be.But is that really how reading works? Believe it or not, this question is at the heart of a decades-long battle in the English-speaking world–a battle that's been raging amongst educators, politicians, and scientists.

We already know that English borrows from everybody, but can it really be considered a Creole language?

In 2019, when the children's show Bluey hit American tv and streaming services, parents started noticing something strange. Their kids were suddenly looking for the "rubbish bin", asking what's for "brekky", and getting excited about going to the "ehport". But was this family of cartoon dogs really changing how children speak? Which leads us to ask the question: how much does TV play a role?

From the Brands Saying Bae in the 2010s, to the "wassup" ads of the 90s, advertisers are always trying to find ways to sound cool. But when brands on social media use a slang word in their marketing, that basically guarantees it's over. We understand that brands didn't come up with these words and that they're not part of the groups we think should be using them, but why? What makes a word slang,

There's a good argument that the letter R is, at least sometimes, not a consonant at all, but a vowel. Does that mean your 1st grade teacher was lying to you? Not exactly. R is an incredibly weird letter, with so many different sounds and functions, it's a wonder that we use one symbol to represent them all. And how people pronounce that one letter can speak volumes about their history and social

There are no shortage of wacky names for alcoholic beverages, from Fuzzy Navels, to Sex on the Beaches, to the NSFW AMF. Humans have been enjoying alcoholic beverages since the dawn of civilization so there's plenty of linguistic evidence in many languages to point to the origins of many of these alcoholic words. Let's take a deep dive into the etymology of alcohol.

English is the most widely spoken language on the planet. But, how did English become the most widely spoken language in the world? And why are there so many different kinds of Englishes?

Can you really invent a language? These people sure tried! But does anyone actually speak them?

Across the globe, queer communities have relied on secret lexicons known as "argots" to communicate safely, which have developed over the years into what some call "verbal jazz."

Whether you're shaping words with your mouth, signing them with your hands, or writing them on paper, the bulk of the work is going on up in your noggin. By determining what has been lost or impaired linguistically-speaking, neuroscientists have been able to not only better understand what language actually is but also how our brains process language and allow us to communicate.

Have you ever stressed out about sending an email, rereading it to see if it sounds okay, or wondering if you added too many exclamation points? Or maybe you feel confident when expressing yourself via text message, but you just can't seem to find the words when it's time to make a phone call. Why does it sometimes feel like switching modes of communication feels like you're trying to speak a completely different languages.

In some ways, colors are the ultimate example of language's power. The earliest humans didn't have words for colors. They had words for objects and actions, and it took tens of thousands of years for those words to evolve into the names of the colors we use today. In this episode, we'll answer that age-old question, which came first: orange the fruit or orange the color?

Where do place names come from? Well, toponymy reveals a lot about the culture and history of a place, including the people who lived there, the nature of the settlements, and the geographic landscape. So that's your short answer. For the long answer, including the longest place names in the world, join us as we dig into the exciting world of toponyms and find out how places got their names.

Does swearing get a bad rap? There's evidence that the shouting obscenities has an evolutionary purpose... and may be good for your psyche!

Adaptable clichés called "snowclones" are EVERYWHERE on the internet. We use them for memes, inside jokes, to show our membership of the group. But they weren't invented online. In fact, they're way older than you think!

The English spelling system is a MESS... arguably more than any other language. How did it get this way?

Pronouns may be little, but they say a lot, and they're always changing!

Gossip is an integral part of human social structure... and maybe the reason language evolved in the first place!

English has more words than most other languages, but there are still so many familiar things and experiences that we don't have a word for... but other languages do! Here are some of our faves!

There was a time when psychologists thought growing up bilingual was harmful to brain development, but recent studies into bilingual children have turned that idea on its head!

It shouldn't matter what a food is called as long as it tastes good, right? Well, maybe not.

Besides being annoying, what if the grammar police are actually... wrong?

Sign Languages are just as linguistically valid and vibrant as spoken languages, and beneficial to learn for Deaf and hearing people. So why for decades was it illegal to teach them in American schools?

Words don't pop up fully formed... they evolve over thousands of years. What can we learn about our relationship to monsters by tracking the word down into the distant past?

Before we decide from a long list of contenders, we'll have to figure out what the word "word" really means...

New advancements in technology are making it harder than ever to tell the difference between a computer and a human speaker... but what's going on under the hood? Is it really "language," or just a digital illusion? Check out GPT-3 in action at AI Dungeon: https://play.aidungeon.io/

It's one of the most studied — and most controversial — varieties of English. But many people still hold deep misconceptions about African-American English (AAE).

Authors often create words just for a one-time usage... but a special few will gain traction and become full-fledged parts of our shared lexicon!

No topic is as universally avoided--yet universally unavoidable--as DEATH. So, it's got a lot of euphemisms in virtually every language.