X CLOSE
TherapeiaEudaimoniaPoiesis
AboutContact
Search
Menu
Psyche
DonateNewsletter
SIGN IN
Ideas

Communication and language

Disorders and difficultiesTherapies and practical advicePerspectives and controversies
Self-knowledge and personal growthRelationships, work and leisureValues and ethical living
Creativity and the artsSpirituality and transcendence
AnimalsCaregivingCommunication and languageCommunityConflict and conflict resolutionCooperation and collaborationFood and drinkForgivenessFriendshipHomeLoveMoney and economicsParenting and familiesPlacePleasures and pastimesSports and gamesTechnology and mediaTravelWork and vocation
LatestPopular
An ancient Greek clay jug with red stripes and inscriptions against a dark background.

Communication and language

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

idea

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

Close-up of a tattooed hand with the numbers “1488” across the fingers and other tattoos on the back of the hand and wrist, wearing blue jeans.

Communication and language

idea

Beyond dogwhistles – racists have a new rhetorical trick

How are so many politicians today able to get away with overtly racist utterances? By using rhetorical ‘figleaves’

by Jennifer Saul

Students in a library, studying at their own private desk in cubicles or at a communal table

Virtues and vices

idea

Why so many plagiarists are in denial about what they did wrong

So often people claim ‘I didn’t mean to’, yet they fail to realise that plagiarism is more like speeding than theft

by Philip Reed