Lingformant
The science of linguistics in the news

Language Structure Is Partly Determined by Social Structure, Says Penn Psychology Study

Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Memphis have released a new study on linguistic evolution that challenges the prominent hypothesis for why languages differ throughout the world. The study argues that human languages may adapt more like biological organisms than previously thought and that the more common and popular the language, the simpler its construction to facilitate its survival.

Full article: University of Pennsylvania

The Neural Advantage of Speaking 2 Languages

A new study published in Psychological Science reveals that knowledge of a second language—even one learned in adolescence—affects how people read in their native tongue.

Full article: Scientific American

Want to convince? Use abstract rather than concrete language

When consumers talk to each other about products, they generally respond more favorably to abstract language than concrete descriptions, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Full article: EurekAlert

Research Lays The Foundation For Improving Human Speech

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified neurons in the songbird brain that convey the auditory feedback needed to learn a song. Their research lays the foundation for improving human speech, for example, in people whose auditory nerves are damaged and who must learn to speak without the benefit of hearing their own voices.

Full article: Medical News Today

Why can’t chimps speak? Study links evolution of single gene to human capacity for language

Words, Gestures Are Translated by Same Brain Regions, Says New Research: Findings May Further Our Understanding of How Language Evolved

Your ability to make sense of Groucho’s words and Harpo’s pantomimes in an old Marx Brothers movie takes place in the same regions of your brain, says new research funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health.

Full article: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Study Sheds New Light On The Nature Of Broca’s Area In The Brain

A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports a significant breakthrough in explaining gaps in scientists’ understanding of human brain function. The study – which provides a picture of language processing in the brain with unprecedented clarity – is published in the October 16 issue of the journal Science.

Full article: Medical News Today

Brains benefit from multilingualism

For a considerable time already there has been discussion within scientific circles about whether knowing and using multiple languages could possibly have positive effects on the human brain and thinking. There have been a number of international studies on the subject, which indicate that the ability to use more than one language brings an individual a considerable advantage. The report of the research team appointed by the European Commission, ”The Contribution of Multilingualism to Creativity”, presents the first known macro analysis based on the available evidence, which has been conducted by searching through several studies and giving particular attention on recent research on the brain.

Full article: Alpha Galileo

Infants able to identify humans as source of speech, monkeys as source of monkey calls

Infants as young as five months old are able to correctly identify humans as the source of speech and monkeys as the source of monkey calls, psychology researchers have found. Their finding, which appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provides the first evidence that human infants are able to correctly match different kinds of vocalizations to different species.

Full article: EurekAlert

Infant sucking habits may affect how baby talks

Pacifier, baby bottle or finger sucking may hamper a child’s speech development if the habit goes on too long. In a study that took place in Patagonia, Chile, researchers associated the persistence of these sucking habits with an increased risk of speech disorders in preschool children. The children were more likely to have difficulty producing certain word sounds and to simplify their pronunciation.

Full article: EurekAlert

University of the Basque Country researcher develops new system called Saroi to detect and correct syntactic mistakes in Basque

Saroi is a general tool which, apart from dealing with errors, is used for making consultations about structure in the trees of analysis and for undertaking searches for linguistic structures in such trees.

Full article: Basque Research

The Handwriting of Liars

A new study claims the best way to find out if someone is a liar is to look at their handwriting, rather than analyzing their word choice, eye movements and body language.

Full article: Physorg

Rethinking the bee’s waggle dance

Bees that have found food tell their friends about it by dancing. Or so we thought – but it turns out their hive-mates aren’t paying attention

Full article: New Scientist

Figures of speech — understanding idioms requires both sides of the brain

Is it better to treat someone with kid gloves or to treat them carefully? Researchers in Italy have investigated how the brain recognises that the first phrase means the same as the second. Publishing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience, the researchers suggest that we use both hemispheres to understand idioms.

Full article: e! Science News

Women Are Sort of More Tentative Than Men, Aren’t They?

Women hedge, issue disclaimers and ask questions when they communicate, language features that can suggest uncertainty, lack of confidence and low status. But men do the same, according to new research from the University of California, Davis.

Full article: UC Davis News