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Communication and language

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A kakapo, a flightless parrot, perched on a mossy branch in a forest setting.

Cultural diversity

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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

A group of people engaged in a heated discussion outdoors with diverse expressions and gestures.

Communication and language

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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

An ancient Greek clay jug with red stripes and inscriptions against a dark background.

Communication and language

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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

A plane docked at Bologna Airport at sunset with the terminal and control tower in the background.

Communication and language

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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

Photo of a busy night street market with people and colourful tricycles in the Philippines, lit by street lights and signage.

Communication and language

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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

A photo of three people in a lively discussion in a bar. They are gesturing with their hands while talking animatedly.

Thinking and intelligence

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Expert tips on using gestures to think and talk more effectively

The gesticulations that accompany your speech are so much more than mere hand-waving – they contain and convey meaning

by Susan Goldin-Meadow

Two people sit on a wooden park bench, one with an arm around the other, with fallen leaves scattered on the ground in front of them.

Communication and language

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Why that hard conversation will probably go better than you think

If you’ve delayed raising a touchy issue, fearing it will backfire, new research could give you the confidence you need

by Matt Huston

Two people look at a scientifically based recreation of a Neanderthal man’s head, adorned with feathers and fur, enclosed in a glass case at a museum. The setting is under strong indoor lighting with a blue wall background.

Communication and language

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This is what a Neanderthal conversation would have sounded like

Neanderthals had language, but it differed from ours in an important way that could help explain our superior art and tech

by Steven Mithen

Three humpback whales viewed underwater

Music

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I learned to hear the music of Earth’s underwater musicians

If we consider the sounds of whales and other organisms with an open mind, we find a strange beauty – and can even join in

by David Rothenberg

Graffiti in French reading “L’ART C’EST DE LA MERDE” is painted on a concrete wall. The words are written in black, casual handwriting, with a smaller, less legible text scribbled underneath. A piece of paper is fixed to the top right side of the wall.

Communication and language

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Censoring offensive language threatens our freedom to think

The modern obsession with textual purity stems from a misapplication of the philosophies of Wittgenstein and Derrida

by Paul Ham

Ancient stone statue with three interconnected faces sharing one head, displaying neutral expressions, on a plain background.

Knowledge and reason

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Ancient Greek antilogic is the craft of suspending judgment

Sophists like Protagoras used the rhetoric of antilogic to escape from the illusion of truth and make room for uncertainty

by Robin Reames

Illustration of a person listening with a hand cupped to their ear, surrounded by soft pastel colours.

Communication and language

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Why listening well can make disagreements less damaging

Offering undivided attention and curiosity not only lowers the temperature of a conversation but can change its outcome

by Guy Itzchakov