The voices that stick in our minds

Are the most memorable voices just the ones we hear frequently? Or is there some other quality they have?

by Matt Huston

Small talk is an art, not a triviality. Here’s how you can master it

Video by the Harvard Business Review

The loving tongue

In Spanish, I wasn’t the clumsy son of the town amputee. Learning the language catalysed my reinvention

by Timothy Hampton

How to respond to offensive comments in a thoughtful way

When someone insults you or people you care about, this advice can help you figure out whether to speak up and what to say

by Alicia del Prado

Metaphors open up our minds – but can also shut them down

The best analogies in poetry and science really crackle, but when do they expand our thinking and when do they constrain it?

by Claire O’Callaghan

For this unsung philosopher, metaphors make life an adventure

Susanne K Langer understood the indispensable power of metaphors, which allow us to say new things with old words

by Sue Curry Jansen & Jeff Pooley

To have deeper conversations, try being more of an asshole

Conversation is a game with rules about politeness and norms. To move beyond small talk, you need to risk breaking them

by Idil Çakmur

Let me open a treasure chest to explain how metaphor works

Once maligned by philosophers, metaphors are a key communication tool for extending the power of literal speech

by Elek Lane

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

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

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

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

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

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