Writers who use long words needlessly and choose complicated font styles are seen as less intelligent than those who stick with basic vocabulary and plain text, according to new research from the Princeton University in New Jersey, to be published in the next edition of Applied Cognitive Psychology.
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Among peals of laughter and a friendly banter Umberto Eco, professor of semiotics from the University of Bologna and author of the celebrated novel The Name of The Rose, came to a solemn conclusion: “There are no synonyms between languages.” To illustrate his sumation the semiotician said: “No English word really explains what the German word, Sehnsucht, means. Neither nostalgia, nor yearning, neither craving nor wistfulness really describes the full and exact meaning of the word.”
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The latest archaeological excavations in Haft Tepe have led to the discovery of 50 Akadi cuneiform clay inscriptions. These inscriptions are official documents of the ancient city existing there 3500 years ago, which were archived in the southern part of the city.
Pediatric researchers at Yale School of Medicine have identified a gene on human chromosome 6 called DCDC2, which is linked to dyslexia, a reading disability affecting millions of children and adults. The researchers also found that a genetic alteration in DCDC2 leads to a disruption in the formation of brain circuits that make it possible to read. This genetic alteration is transmitted within families.
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Mel Gibson, who turned a Latin script on the crucifixion of Christ into box office gold last year, is in Mexico to shoot his latest film: an action movie shot entirely in an ancient Mayan tongue.
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The brain is a “time machine,” assert Duke neuroscientists Catalin Buhusi and Warren Meck. And understanding how the brain tracks time is essential to understanding all its functions. The brain’s internal clocks coordinate a vast array of activities from communicating, to orchestrating movement, to getting food, they said.
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The Online edition of Forbes has published a series of articles dealing with communication. The offerings include interviews with and short articles by people like Carl Zimmer, Noam Chomsky, Jane Goodall, Steven Pinker, and many others.
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Researchers at the University of Toronto, Capital Health’s Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and their international collaborators have discovered a genetic abnormality that causes a type of language impairment in children - a discovery that could lead to isolating genes important for the development of expressive language.
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Noam Chomsky, the renegade linguistics professor who has become the lone voice of the left in the United States, has been voted the world’s No 1 living intellectual.
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He is in his 70s and first became known for his theory of transformational grammar - and now he is top of the thinkers’ hit parade. Noam Chomsky, the linguistics professor who has become one of the most outspoken critics of US foreign policy, has won a poll that names him as the world’s top public intellectual.
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When unwanted email first came along, people invented different words for it, such as unsolicited email and junk email. But eventually “spam” became the word of choice to describe the phenomenon. It’s a process that happens each time a new thing needs a name, but language researchers have struggled to model how it happens without a central decision maker. Now a computer model shows the process at work - and may give insights into how the first human languages emerged.
Read the full article at New Scientist
A synchronized response of brainstem neurons to sounds seems to play a critical role in the brain’s ability to “hear” speech, suggests a report in the September/October issue of Ear and Hearing, the Official journal of the American Auditory Society.
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Tweens communicate with others all around the globe. In fact, 15 percent are doing this on a weekly basis. Furthermore, 70 percent of all tweens in Europe text message - or SMS - each other every day. According to BRANDchild, the world’s largest study exploring kids and their relationship with brands, a unique language is emerging.
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Scientists are to study the brains of children born prematurely to see how they adapt after damage. In addition to more serious impairments, 20 to 30% of children born prematurely will have difficulties with behaviour or learning, including reading or understanding speech or grammar.
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A project aimed at compiling a glossary of computer words in Greenlandic, an Eskimo language, has been launched, reports said on Friday. Suggestions will be vetted by the Greenland Language Council, Oqaasileriffik, and the project is sponsored by software giant Microsoft, the online computer news site ComOn reported.
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