Linguistic Discovery
@linguisticdiscovery.com
🗣️ Teaching you about the science and diversity of language
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Hi! 👋 Linguistic Discovery teaches you all about the science and diversity of language—a field known as linguistics.
I (Danny Hieber, Ph.D.) post daily about how language works, the latest news and research in linguistics, and the incredible diversity of language.
I (Danny Hieber, Ph.D.) post daily about how language works, the latest news and research in linguistics, and the incredible diversity of language.
Across history, linguists have insisted that language sets humans apart from other species. But a new study demonstrating AI’s startlingly complex “metalinguistic” skills threatens to throw mankind’s exclusivity out the window.
February 18, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Across history, linguists have insisted that language sets humans apart from other species. But a new study demonstrating AI’s startlingly complex “metalinguistic” skills threatens to throw mankind’s exclusivity out the window.
A libfix is a “liberated affix”—a part of a word that has escaped its parent word and become a new affix:
‑core → cottagecore, Barbiecore, hopecore
‑cation → staycation, girlcation, kidcation
crypto‑ → crypocurrency, cryptobro, cryptoverse
Libfixes can teach us a lot about how language works!
‑core → cottagecore, Barbiecore, hopecore
‑cation → staycation, girlcation, kidcation
crypto‑ → crypocurrency, cryptobro, cryptoverse
Libfixes can teach us a lot about how language works!
February 18, 2026 at 6:54 PM
A libfix is a “liberated affix”—a part of a word that has escaped its parent word and become a new affix:
‑core → cottagecore, Barbiecore, hopecore
‑cation → staycation, girlcation, kidcation
crypto‑ → crypocurrency, cryptobro, cryptoverse
Libfixes can teach us a lot about how language works!
‑core → cottagecore, Barbiecore, hopecore
‑cation → staycation, girlcation, kidcation
crypto‑ → crypocurrency, cryptobro, cryptoverse
Libfixes can teach us a lot about how language works!
💪🏼 Swearing could give you a physical edge
🎭 How the theory of the humors influenced English
🧠 16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellum’s crucial role in human language
🪨 Without a Rosetta Stone, can linguists decipher the Minoan script?
🎭 How the theory of the humors influenced English
🧠 16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellum’s crucial role in human language
🪨 Without a Rosetta Stone, can linguists decipher the Minoan script?
February 17, 2026 at 10:41 PM
💪🏼 Swearing could give you a physical edge
🎭 How the theory of the humors influenced English
🧠 16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellum’s crucial role in human language
🪨 Without a Rosetta Stone, can linguists decipher the Minoan script?
🎭 How the theory of the humors influenced English
🧠 16 years of brain scans reveal the cerebellum’s crucial role in human language
🪨 Without a Rosetta Stone, can linguists decipher the Minoan script?
A fresh take on the mysterious writing of the ruins of Teotihuacan in Mexico has reignited a debate among archaeologists as to whether the glyphs even represent writing at all, and if so, which language
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
February 17, 2026 at 8:35 PM
A fresh take on the mysterious writing of the ruins of Teotihuacan in Mexico has reignited a debate among archaeologists as to whether the glyphs even represent writing at all, and if so, which language
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/w...
Men speak with vocal fry just as much as women, according to a new study.
Linguists looked at the prevalence of vocal fry (a.k.a. creaky voice) in male and female teenagers in Australia 30 years apart.
Linguists looked at the prevalence of vocal fry (a.k.a. creaky voice) in male and female teenagers in Australia 30 years apart.
February 16, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Men speak with vocal fry just as much as women, according to a new study.
Linguists looked at the prevalence of vocal fry (a.k.a. creaky voice) in male and female teenagers in Australia 30 years apart.
Linguists looked at the prevalence of vocal fry (a.k.a. creaky voice) in male and female teenagers in Australia 30 years apart.
A new study looks at how the brain organizes and interprets information about speech as it unfolds in real time, showing that our brains process both multiple words and multiple types of information (phonetic, syntactic, semantic, etc.) in parallel.
February 15, 2026 at 8:35 PM
A new study looks at how the brain organizes and interprets information about speech as it unfolds in real time, showing that our brains process both multiple words and multiple types of information (phonetic, syntactic, semantic, etc.) in parallel.
Patrick Foote’s Immigrant Tongues is the ultimate language history book, blending stories of migration, culture, and evolution to uncover how languages have shaped our world.
February 14, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Patrick Foote’s Immigrant Tongues is the ultimate language history book, blending stories of migration, culture, and evolution to uncover how languages have shaped our world.
The linguistic history of “love” 💜
Read all the details in this (free) issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter:
Website: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/love/
Substack: open.substack.com/pub/linguist...
Read all the details in this (free) issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter:
Website: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/love/
Substack: open.substack.com/pub/linguist...
February 14, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The linguistic history of “love” 💜
Read all the details in this (free) issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter:
Website: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/love/
Substack: open.substack.com/pub/linguist...
Read all the details in this (free) issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter:
Website: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/love/
Substack: open.substack.com/pub/linguist...
Why is February spelled with two ⟨r⟩’s? Hint: It’s not because English originally pronounced it that way!
#February #etymology #history #months #Latin #AngloSaxons #English #French
#February #etymology #history #months #Latin #AngloSaxons #English #French
February 13, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Why is February spelled with two ⟨r⟩’s? Hint: It’s not because English originally pronounced it that way!
#February #etymology #history #months #Latin #AngloSaxons #English #French
#February #etymology #history #months #Latin #AngloSaxons #English #French
Did you know there’s a letter for the sound of a kiss? 💋
It’s ʘ, the symbol for the bilabial click in the International Phonetic Alphabet!
It’s ʘ, the symbol for the bilabial click in the International Phonetic Alphabet!
February 13, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Did you know there’s a letter for the sound of a kiss? 💋
It’s ʘ, the symbol for the bilabial click in the International Phonetic Alphabet!
It’s ʘ, the symbol for the bilabial click in the International Phonetic Alphabet!
David Crystal, author of many popular language books including “How language works” and “The stories of English” has just released a new book!
February 12, 2026 at 8:35 PM
David Crystal, author of many popular language books including “How language works” and “The stories of English” has just released a new book!
Biology struggles with the “species problem”, which refers to the fact that no single definition of species seems to work for all living things.
Linguists have a similar problem with the definition of language. Where does one language end and another begin?
Linguists have a similar problem with the definition of language. Where does one language end and another begin?
February 11, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Biology struggles with the “species problem”, which refers to the fact that no single definition of species seems to work for all living things.
Linguists have a similar problem with the definition of language. Where does one language end and another begin?
Linguists have a similar problem with the definition of language. Where does one language end and another begin?
The linguistics behind Ilya’s Russian in Heated Rivalry
How a Russian dialect coach helped Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie master challenging Russian sounds and build a believable accent
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
How a Russian dialect coach helped Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie master challenging Russian sounds and build a believable accent
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
February 11, 2026 at 4:26 PM
The linguistics behind Ilya’s Russian in Heated Rivalry
How a Russian dialect coach helped Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie master challenging Russian sounds and build a believable accent
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
How a Russian dialect coach helped Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie master challenging Russian sounds and build a believable accent
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/epis...
@Lingthusiasm recently aired a great episode interviewing @dannybate.bsky.social, linguist and author of “Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them”, about the Indo-European language family:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7rYy...
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7rYy...
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...
February 10, 2026 at 8:35 PM
@Lingthusiasm recently aired a great episode interviewing @dannybate.bsky.social, linguist and author of “Why Q needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them”, about the Indo-European language family:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7rYy...
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7rYy...
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...
↕️ Language may not be so hierarchical after all: A new study challenges 70 years of linguistic theory
🐶 Some dogs learn words like children
☠️ “How to kill a language”: A new book by Sophia Smith Galer
📜 The deep roots of writing: Was writing invented for accounting and trade, or religion?
🐶 Some dogs learn words like children
☠️ “How to kill a language”: A new book by Sophia Smith Galer
📜 The deep roots of writing: Was writing invented for accounting and trade, or religion?
February 10, 2026 at 7:04 PM
↕️ Language may not be so hierarchical after all: A new study challenges 70 years of linguistic theory
🐶 Some dogs learn words like children
☠️ “How to kill a language”: A new book by Sophia Smith Galer
📜 The deep roots of writing: Was writing invented for accounting and trade, or religion?
🐶 Some dogs learn words like children
☠️ “How to kill a language”: A new book by Sophia Smith Galer
📜 The deep roots of writing: Was writing invented for accounting and trade, or religion?
Morse code revolutionized global communication in the 1840s, but it posed a unique challenge for Chinese: how do you encode tens of thousands of characters using just dots and dashes designed for 26 letters? The ingenious solution was the Chinese telegraph code, developed in 1871.
February 9, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Morse code revolutionized global communication in the 1840s, but it posed a unique challenge for Chinese: how do you encode tens of thousands of characters using just dots and dashes designed for 26 letters? The ingenious solution was the Chinese telegraph code, developed in 1871.
The first grammatical description of Irish was published almost 900 years before the first grammar of Spanish!
February 9, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The first grammatical description of Irish was published almost 900 years before the first grammar of Spanish!
The etymology of “February”
February 8, 2026 at 9:14 PM
The etymology of “February”
Did childcare fuel language? A recent book on the evolution of language makes the case that rearing our unusually underdeveloped young may account for how language evolved
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
Did childcare fuel language? A new book makes the case
Rearing our unusually underdeveloped young may account for the evolution of language. Michael Marshall is intrigued, but wants more evidence from Madeleine Beekman's The Origin of Language
www.newscientist.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Did childcare fuel language? A recent book on the evolution of language makes the case that rearing our unusually underdeveloped young may account for how language evolved
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
*Rez Ball* is a basketball drama film about a high school team in the Navajo Nation. This behind-the-scenes video features the cast and crew discussing their commitment to authentic Navajo language representation in the film.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWV5...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWV5...
Bringing the Navajo Language to Rez Ball | Rez Ball | Netflix
The cast and crew of REZ BALL share the importance of authentically representing the Navajo language within the film.
From producer LeBron James and the co-creator of Reservation Dogs, comes the…
www.youtube.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:35 PM
*Rez Ball* is a basketball drama film about a high school team in the Navajo Nation. This behind-the-scenes video features the cast and crew discussing their commitment to authentic Navajo language representation in the film.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWV5...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWV5...
What is baby talk, and why do parents use it in the first place? Does it really have a role to play in a child’s language acquisition, or is it nothing but useless cutesy word play?
February 7, 2026 at 5:57 PM
What is baby talk, and why do parents use it in the first place? Does it really have a role to play in a child’s language acquisition, or is it nothing but useless cutesy word play?
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) recently launched a new Resource Hub, offering “easy access to essential materials, professional development tools, teaching resources, and more”. It’s a large database of recordings and documents related to linguistics careers, scholarship, and teaching.
February 3, 2026 at 10:15 PM
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) recently launched a new Resource Hub, offering “easy access to essential materials, professional development tools, teaching resources, and more”. It’s a large database of recordings and documents related to linguistics careers, scholarship, and teaching.
🍯 Honeyguide birds learn regional human dialects
🎭 People with personality disorders use language differently
📜 Decoding the lost scripts of the ancient world
👽 The linguistics of Na’vi, the language of James Cameron’s Avatar movies
📰 Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics!
🎭 People with personality disorders use language differently
📜 Decoding the lost scripts of the ancient world
👽 The linguistics of Na’vi, the language of James Cameron’s Avatar movies
📰 Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics!
February 3, 2026 at 9:44 PM
🍯 Honeyguide birds learn regional human dialects
🎭 People with personality disorders use language differently
📜 Decoding the lost scripts of the ancient world
👽 The linguistics of Na’vi, the language of James Cameron’s Avatar movies
📰 Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics!
🎭 People with personality disorders use language differently
📜 Decoding the lost scripts of the ancient world
👽 The linguistics of Na’vi, the language of James Cameron’s Avatar movies
📰 Here’s what happened this week in language and linguistics!
Do Inuit languages really have hundreds of words for snow? ❄️ If so, does it even matter?
A recent study uses data from 616 languages to claim that Inuit languages really do have disproportionately more words for snow than other languages.
A recent study uses data from 616 languages to claim that Inuit languages really do have disproportionately more words for snow than other languages.
February 2, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Do Inuit languages really have hundreds of words for snow? ❄️ If so, does it even matter?
A recent study uses data from 616 languages to claim that Inuit languages really do have disproportionately more words for snow than other languages.
A recent study uses data from 616 languages to claim that Inuit languages really do have disproportionately more words for snow than other languages.
Chants of Sennaar is *the* game for language lovers.
The player explores an ancient structure based on the fabled Tower of Babel. Within the area, there are several different cultures that speak incredibly disparate languages and players need to figure out how to translate and understand them.
The player explores an ancient structure based on the fabled Tower of Babel. Within the area, there are several different cultures that speak incredibly disparate languages and players need to figure out how to translate and understand them.
February 1, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Chants of Sennaar is *the* game for language lovers.
The player explores an ancient structure based on the fabled Tower of Babel. Within the area, there are several different cultures that speak incredibly disparate languages and players need to figure out how to translate and understand them.
The player explores an ancient structure based on the fabled Tower of Babel. Within the area, there are several different cultures that speak incredibly disparate languages and players need to figure out how to translate and understand them.