Psycholinguistics

The Gestural Origins of Grammar

Have you ever wondered why so many languages follow a "Subject-Verb-Object" structure? A fascinating theory suggests that grammar wasn't born…

3 weeks ago

The Word on the Tip of Your Tongue

We all know the maddening feeling of a word stuck on the tip of our tongue. This universal frustration isn't…

3 weeks ago

The Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking Rationally

Research suggests that thinking in a second language can reduce our emotional biases and override flawed mental shortcuts. This "foreign-language…

3 weeks ago

When a Community Has No Language

Before established sign languages, how did deaf children in isolation communicate? This post explores "home sign," the remarkable gestural systems…

3 weeks ago

The Science of First Language Attrition

We celebrate learning new languages, but what about the one we learned first? First language attrition is the fascinating, and…

3 weeks ago

The Science of Phonaesthetics

Why does "cellar door" sound so beautiful to English speakers, regardless of its meaning? This is the central question of…

3 weeks ago

The Hidden Logic of Baby Babble

Is a baby's babbling just adorable, random noise? Far from it. Linguists have discovered that babbling is a highly structured…

3 weeks ago

The Linguistics of Lying

That moment a child tells their first lie—"Who ate the cookie?" "Not me!"—is more than just mischief. It's a monumental…

3 weeks ago

The Bilingual Inner Voice: Who Is Talking?

For bilinguals, the advice to "think in the language" opens a fascinating cognitive puzzle. The voice inside our heads is…

3 weeks ago

Language Ghosts: L2 to L3 Interference

Ever tried to speak your third language, only for a word from your second language to slip out? This phenomenon,…

3 weeks ago

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