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Language
Bryan Washington, author of “Palaver,” reflects on how moving to Japan and learning a new language shaped his writing.
When a word comes to mean everything, it means nothing.
The great books aren’t just classics — they’re cultural Schelling points that give our minds a place to meet up in the world of ideas.
3mins
Language is a huge part of human development, even the language we keep to ourselves. Three experts explain how words and beliefs can change our brains and our lives:
Unlikely Collaborators
Some books are remembered for their lyrical prose or engaging stories. Others are remembered for simply being weird.
Breaking barriers: seamless learning across languages and platforms.
English could settle into a state of "diglossia" where a gulf exists between the written form and its spoken varieties, but the two are bound into a single tongue.
The award-winning nature writer, Robert Macfarlane, talks with Big Think about how to reacquaint ourselves with the rivers in our lives.
In "Enough Is Enuf," Gabe Henry traces the history of simplified spelling movements and the lessons they teach us about language.
Would you be upset if I called you an eggplant?
The findings show that even small areas in the brain may have the potential to represent complex meanings.
In the brain's language-processing centers, some cells respond to one word, while others respond to strings of words together.
For most of human history, babies probably picked up language by overhearing.
The evidence is far less clear than popular media might lead you to believe.
When is a rabbit not a rabbit? When it's a thought experiment designed to reveal the tricky tango of language and concepts.
NuqneH! Saluton! A linguistic anthropologist (and creator of the Kryptonian language, among others) studies the people who invent new tongues.
People who have a regional accent might prefer robots who speak like them over generic voices.
Esperanto was intended to be an easy-to-learn second language that enabled you to speak with anyone on the planet.
Even before birth, our brains are taking note of the languages we hear.
Arieh Smith, a New York City-based polyglot who runs the YouTube channel Xiaomanyc, talks language-learning with Big Think.
You can learn an awful lot about people, culture, and politics by studying R.
6mins
It just takes one “yes.” Wharton professor Jonah Berger shares his three tips for getting what you want from others.
After my father died, my journey of rediscovery began with the Czech language.
Philosophy is often seen as little more than armchair speculation. This is a shame, as philosophy often has helped science reach new heights.
If you want to write and speak well, use common words, not grandiose ones. Unless you're Shakespeare, you're more likely to annoy people.
An insect? A vermin? An unwanted animal? What in the world is Franz Kafka talking about?
"In witness whereof, the parties hereunto have set their hands to these presents as a deed on the day month and year hereinbefore mentioned."
Germans are masters of building cars, cooking brats — and sitting while peeing.
Thinking about the problem of meaning is unsettling because it introduces us to a list of solutions that all feel a bit insane.
John Templeton Foundation
