“By buzzing and quivering, leaning and turning, bees communicate remarkably accurate information.”
language
What Lies Behind the Words: On Translating While Trans
“For me, the real litmus test of fluency has always been: Can I use this language to convince a native speaker that I exist?”
Every Language Everywhere All at Once
As our choices for films and television shows made around the world increase in the streaming era, so do the challenges of translation. Rafael Motamayor explores the art — and complicated process — of translating foreign content for international viewers. We are far removed from the days of flagrant cultural erasure through dubbing — Pokémon […]
DeafBlind Communities May Be Creating a New Language of Touch
Andrew Leland’s fascinating piece in The New Yorker explores Protactile, a system of tactile communication that has evolved into a national movement for autonomy among DeafBlind people across the U.S. Still, several linguists have come to believe that, among some of its frequent users, Protactile is developing into its own language, with words and grammatical […]
For the Love of Wordle: A Reading List on Puzzles and Games
Seven longreads on the communal pastime of puzzles, games, and crosswords.
On Writing: An Abecedarian
“To be inside the cathedral of a language is to be inside a particular view of the world.”
Death of Writing, Writing of Death: A Reading List on Artificial Intelligence and Language
Five longreads on artificial intelligence and a future filled with machine-written prose.
Typos, Tricks and Misprints
“Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology.”
The Strange Persistence of First Languages
“Spurred by my father’s death, I returned to the Czech Republic hoping to reconnect to him. In doing so, I also reconnected with my native tongue, and with parts of my identity that I had long ignored.”
Meet the Mystery Woman Who Mastered IBM’s 5,400-Character Chinese Typewriter
“Lois Lew operated the improbable, ill-fated machine with aplomb in presentations from Manhattan to Shanghai. 70-plus years later, she’s telling her story.”