June 08, 2005

Ruff! Meow! Ssss! Choo choo!

Because it's fun in a language/culture/kids way.

February 03, 2005

A Blanguage Blog

Actually, it's called Language Log but if they can do alliteration, so can I. I have decided to list this under "Language" since "Blog" is in my title.

January 06, 2005

whistle click beep

A recent study has shown that a whistling language developed by shepherds in the Canary Islands is processed by the brain in the same way as ordinary speech. It implies that the brain can process other non-verbal communication as language, too.

If you've read David Brin's Startide Rising, this should ring a bell. (If you haven't, consider this a recommendation.) The book has neo-dolphins and humans communicating in a common language, developed to allow either species to make the appropriate sounds.

[Deana points out an earlier post about Silbo, the language in question. The new article is more about how the language is processed in the brain. ~c]

August 22, 2004

How About a Little Linguistic Anthropology?

I LOVE this kind of stuff. It fascinates me. No, we don't all share the same number system, nor even the ability to draw a straight line.

June 11, 2004

Punctuation is important.

A while back, I was talking to Steve about an example of how punctuation can make all the difference. Share and enjoy.

May 01, 2004

Python, the War, and Semantics

Our good friend Terry Jones provides a linguistic analysis of the war in Iraq.

November 17, 2003

You know how to whistle, don't you?

Just put your lips together and blow...

Back in the 1980s, I had a video about research into dolphin communication put together by Jacques Cousteau. In it, there was a section on Silbo, a whistling language used in the Canary Islands off Spain to communicate long distance (it was meant to show that you could communicate effectively through whistling. Well, bless the Canary Islands, because they're making sure that Silbo sticks around. Nice article, and it has an audio file of an interaction in Silbo, plus its translation.

[ updated the link to the same story on CNN. ~c ]

October 01, 2003

Are you a Bright?

I guess I am, although I'm not sure about that word. Here's Richard Dawkins' take on the matter from Wired.