Why is the Covid-19 pandemic being compared to war? Western literature from the 1800s has answers

But unlike our times, war was a metaphor for the problem, not the solution.

Julia M Wright, The Conversation

· May 18, 2020 · 05:30 pm

Rajasthani: How a mother language can be lost, and how ‘folk’ histories can reclaim it

On February 21, International Mother Language Day, a study in losing and finding a tongue.

Vishes Kothari

· Feb 21, 2020 · 05:30 pm

You know that warm, fuzzy feeling evoked by cat videos? There is a Sanskrit word to describe it

Researchers believe that a sudden burst of love, a sense of kinship, and faith in worship are all grounded in a single emotion.

Alan Fiske, Aeon

· Dec 28, 2019 · 01:30 pm

Why are language and grammar the way they are? Because of the limitations of the human mind

Studies show that humans are better able to follow grammatical rules that involve changing vowels around consonants and not the other way around.

David Adger, The Conversation

· Sep 10, 2019 · 07:30 pm

How Telugu has become America’s fastest growing foreign language

Between 2010 and 2017, the number of native Telugu speakers in the US surged 86% – the largest uptick in a foreign language-speaking group, a study found.

Ananya Bhattacharya, qz.com

· Sep 27, 2018 · 01:30 pm

No matter what the language of a book (or a person), why do we like some words more than others?

It has to do with sounds, and the lack of baggage.

Carmen Álvarez-Mayo, The Conversation

· Sep 12, 2018 · 05:30 pm

Why West Africa’s widely spoken pidgin tongues should be recognised as official languages

In Nigeria alone, three and five million people use pidgin as their first language while another 75 million have it as their second language.

Edosa James Edionhon, The Conversation

· Aug 27, 2018 · 11:30 pm

The idea of ‘untranslatable’ words says more about English speakers than other cultures

Be sceptical when it's claimed that a language has 'no word for X' or '50 words for Y'.

Laura Bailey, The Conversation

· Aug 13, 2018 · 05:30 pm

Talking in many tongues: London and Mumbai are multilingual – but in different ways

The British capital has over 300 languages, of which English is the main. But in Mumbai, no language takes that top spot.

Jonathan Galton

· Feb 05, 2018 · 12:30 pm

Hindi is now the fourth-most widely spoken language in New Zealand, says country’s envoy

The number of Indians visiting New Zealand is also on the rise, the country’s envoy to India Joanna Kempkers said.

Scroll Staff

· Dec 08, 2017 · 05:01 pm

Watch: Why the Thanksgiving bird turkey is called 'Hindi' in Turkey and 'Indian chicken' in France

The answer lies in colonisation and confusion.

Scroll Staff

· Nov 25, 2016 · 09:00 am

Watch: How 'flavour' and 'centre' became 'flavor' and 'center', thanks to a man named Noah Webster

An animated glimpse into why American and British spellings are different.

Scroll Staff

· Oct 11, 2016 · 06:00 pm