language

New research finds how power dynamics shape the speech of men and women.

Being precise about our ideas doesn’t just allow us to have better conversations, it’s also an incisive way to learn.

How do you say “spiel”? Whether you say “shpeel” or “speel” may have to do with how you vote.

Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker reminds us that innuendo and euphemism yield better quid pro quo results than an “or else” ultimatum.

In his book, Earth Emotions, Glenn Albrecht coins “psychoterratic.”

Politically incorrect speakers seem less calculated and more “real,” according to the authors of a new Berkeley study.

Girls tend to have more advanced language skills than boys, the researchers state.

Zizek is on the left and dislikes political correctness. How does that work out?

Warspeak has relentlessly crept into most aspects of American life and public discourse.

It’s a thin line, but it’s definitely there.

He goes on and on about ideology, but what does it mean?

Here’s what to say in an era where many people are too afraid to say anything.

It shows Europe divided into two bafflingly unfamiliar blocs – what do red and blue stand for?

The term socialism makes political discourse difficult. Should we do away with it altogether?

It’s hard not to conclude that if you act like a child, maybe you’ll learn as effectively as a child, too…

Barbara Tversky takes an outdated idea to task in Mind in Motion.

Former president of the ACLU Nadine Strossen discusses whether our society should always defend free speech rights, even for groups who would oppose such rights.

If the only advice you’ve heard on public speaking is to imagine the audience in their underwear, this article’s for you.

Being bilingual has cultural, social, and cognitive benefits — so why are schools dropping language courses?

What can and can’t you say? A brief glimpse of precedent-setting free speech cases in the United States.

Should all speech be free? How much intolerance should society tolerate?

A long-ridiculed theory about humankind’s early leap of consciousness is revived.

Delving into the psychology of an uncommon joy.

Love to drop F-bombs? Thank the shift to agriculture.

Are these two laws universal throughout nature?

The same 32 symbols show up in prehistoric European cave art.

Looking up big, fancy words won’t make your writing better. But a thesaurus can help – if you use it like this.

Sleep encoding turns out to be a real thing.

Legislators push to keep cursive in their schools’ curricula, but experts seem split as to whether it’s necessary.