The Linguistics of Cooties (and Other Weird Things Kids Say)
The game of cooties lets children learn about the idea of contagion, but kid culture and wordplay aren't meant for adults.
When Language Goes Viral
How do innocuous words become insidious in the face of a public health emergency?
Black English Matters
People who criticize African American Vernacular English don't see that it shares grammatical structures with more "prestigious" languages.
The Linguistic Anatomy of a Political Firestorm
The prime minister of Australia has a background in marketing, but with the bush fire crisis, his manipulation of language is only getting him so far.
Cancel Culture Is Chaotic Good
Cancel culture may prove to be the most memorable linguistic trend of the past decade.
The Incredibly True Story of Fake Headlines
Are you still reading? Editors frequently use this space to include important contextual information about a news story.
What We Lose When We Lose Indigenous Knowledge
By mistaking a culture's history for fantasy, or by disrespecting the wealth of indigenous knowledge, we're keeping up a Columbian, colonial tradition.
The Life Changing Linguistics of… Nigerian Scam Emails
How do scammers use language to trick their victims?
How “Carpe Diem” Got Lost in Translation
"Carpe Diem" doesn't actually mean "seize the day." The fact that we understand it that way suggests we are more traditional than we like to admit.
How Language and Climate Connect
While we’re losing biological diversity, we’re also losing linguistic and cultural diversity at the same time. This is no coincidence.