language
Chinese State Media Want People to Stop Using Internet Slang
Beijing wants young Chinese to acquire its conventional linguistic taste.
This Poet Never Went to School, so She Invented Her Own Alphabet to Write Poetry
Zareefa Jan has created a “language of circles” to help her document her poems. Only she can decode them.
‘Fuck, Fuck, Fuck’: Chinese Olympian Endears Fans With Non-Stop Swearing
The Chinese equivalent of the F-word made a grand Olympic appearance.
This Australian Woman Developed an Irish Accent Overnight
She has never been to Ireland but her newfound Irish accent is well-documented on TikTok.
Did Xi Jinping Threaten to Bash Enemies’ Heads Or Was It Lost In Translation?
The Chinese president has delivered a seemingly ominous warning to foreign enemies, but scholars disagree over how to interpret it.
Here’s the Story Behind Snowden’s Mysterious Chinese Tweet
The former NSA contractor and whistleblower was following a long tradition of coded dissent.
Learning a New Language Can Help Us Escape Climate Catastrophe
Many Indigenous languages have been forcefully wiped out by white people. Turns out, they’re some of our main hopes for beating the climate crisis.
Why the “Sunday Scaries” Survived the Pandemic
A linguist explained why the cute term for existential dread won’t go away any time soon.
The Blog Keeping Track of the World's Inability to Properly Write Arabic
What 'Hitman 3' has to do with the racism and ignorance causing games, and the wider entertainment world, to keep screwing up.
Can Bunny the Talking Dog Really Talk?
Bunny is more than an internet celebrity, she is part of the latest attempt to research the limits of animal cognition.
Is It Ever Okay for Bisexual People to Use Homophobic Slurs?
We asked academics specialising in the reclamation of language to weigh in.