Metaphors shape the way we think
Metaphors are all around you, and they might be the key to how humans manage to learn so quickly. They’re also exploited by advertisers, who can seed ideas because humans think associatively.
Indian English: Preponing the tiffin
India has a lot of languages—according to a 2001 census, there were 29 different languages in India that had at least a million native speakers each. The official language is Hindi—but English in India is a rich variant in its own right.
Australian English—where the bloody hell did it come from?
How do we explain the general homogeneity of the Australian accent (almost no variation in a country 30 times the size of Britain)? What is Australian English, anyway? (Is it more than just the accent?) This post explores these questions, and influences on Australian English—from colonial times to present day.
Phonological processes—First language development
Talking is tricky. If you've ever fallen over your tongue trying to pronounce a new term, or just tried to speak too quickly, you'll know this. Because the act of speaking happens in near real time, and is so deeply ingrained in our muscle memory, we tend to forget that there are physical things to [...]