Communication and language

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The curious paradox in how we address each other today

While honouring people’s preferred pronouns, we’ve begun to neglect forms of formal address. Perhaps we need a rethink

by David Benatar

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Insularity can be a good thing, for creatures and cultures alike

The plight of threatened species can help us understand – and respond to – the endangerment of local ideas and practices

by Antone Martinho-Truswell

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Why every utterance you make begins with a leap of faith

Time pressure and the limitations of memory compel you and your listener to engage in a fascinating linguistic trade-off

by Julie Sedivy

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I am an article about the speaking objects of ancient Greece

Talkative drinking cups and threatening oil flasks tell us how the written word asserted its authority in an oral society

by Teddy Fassberg

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Speaking a different language can change how you act and feel

For many multilinguals, switching between tongues can lead to shifts in personality, revealing the malleability of the self

by Antonella Gismundi

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The tentacles of language are always on the move

An evolutionary biologist explains how human language can shift as slowly or rapidly as organisms adapting to life on Earth

by Klaus M Stiefel