Related tags:
english + (102)
linguistics + (102)
words + (72)
brokenlink + (46)
dictionary + (36)
culture + (33)
translation + (33)
history + (29)
slang + (29)
writing + (29)
vocabulary + (26)
grammar + (20)
music + (19)
french + (16)
politics + (16)
humor + (15)
education + (15)
learning + (15)
Japanese + (14)
science + (14)
speech + (14)
communication + (13)
german + (13)
etymology + (12)
art + (12)
languages + (12)
literature + (12)
usage + (12)
BBC + (11)
alphabet + (11)
poetry + (11)
swearing + (11)
dialect + (10)
pronunciation + (10)
american + (9)
chinese + (9)
dictionaries + (9)
spanish + (9)
USA + (9)
film + (8)
Google + (8)
internet + (8)
latin + (8)
OED + (8)
spelling + (8)
technology + (8)
video + (8)
dialects + (7)
humour + (7)
Evolution + (7)
fun + (7)
fuck + (7)
India + (7)
japan + (7)
philosophy + (7)
programming + (7)
psychology + (7)
games + (6)
france + (6)
fiction + (6)


Users that often use this tag:
anastasiav (16)
homunculus (10)
goodnewsfortheinsane (9)
Gyan (8)
Rhaomi (8)
MiguelCardoso (7)
nickyskye (7)
Effigy2000 (7)
Fizz (7)
languagehat (6)
nthdegx (6)
Kattullus (6)
dhruva (5)
Wolfdog (5)
nangar (5)
escabeche (4)
bardic (4)
zarq (4)
hama7 (4)
lagado (4)
y2karl (4)
joeclark (4)
mathowie (4)
amyms (4)
iamkimiam (4)
wendell (3)
netbros (3)
rschram (3)
holgate (3)
ed (3)
mcwetboy (3)
KevinSkomsvold (3)
Voyageman (3)
srboisvert (3)
mfoight (3)
gregb1007 (3)
alms (3)
mediareport (3)
madamjujujive (3)
blue_beetle (3)
Robot Johnny (3)
0bvious (3)
Artw (3)
gman (3)
shakespeherian (3)
persona non grata (3)
Iridic (3)
unliteral (3)
Lezzles (3)
filthy light thief (3)
Trurl (3)
shivohum (2)
Miko (2)
blahblahblah (2)
Rumple (2)
spock (2)
painquale (2)
kenko (2)
TheophileEscargot (2)
Mayor Curley (2)

The cockatoos are talking, and they're borrowing our words. Wild cockatoos, native to Australia, have been heard to utter English phrases. Escaped or freed pet birds pass phrases to others as they move up the hierarchy of their flock, as explained in an 8 minute news clip (MP3 linked in the page) featuring an interview with Martyn Robinson at the Australian Museum. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 15, 2011 - 83 comments

Nicaraguan Sign Language is a unique language, created by school children in the late 1970s and early 1980s, who previously had minimal success at being taught to lip-read and speak Spanish. This community has been studied as an example of the birth of a language from its beginning (PDF). A recent study has investigated the ability for those who speak Nicaraguan Sign Language to express exact, large numbers. Unlike the Pirahã people of the Amazon (previously) who may not have the need for specificity in large numbers, the deaf in Nicaragua are surrounded by a culture that interacts in specific numbers, yet it appears they lack accuracy with numbers higher than three or four. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Feb 10, 2011 - 21 comments

Telephoneme: Even if your Alphabet Conspiracy succeeds and you destroy the books, machines have no minds of their own. They are easily confused by different voices and different accents. It is the brain of man that tells them what to do. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Aug 20, 2010 - 10 comments