Many separatists say their Catalan language is what makes them feel most different from the rest of Spain. The language was prohibited during years of dictatorship, but now it's ubiquitous in schools.
A recent study emphasizes what researchers have noted for years: As children, Spanish-speaking English learners take longer to become proficient than nearly any other group. Here are theories why.
Yes, President Trump's words tend to be simple and oft-repeated. The real question, says anthropologist Barbara J. King, may be what happens when we adopt them.
Movies are full of loquacious chimps, but could nonhuman apes really use language? NPR's Skunk Bear sorts through the disturbing history of research on ape language to sort fact from wishful thinking.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are studying how music and rhythm activities could help children who struggle with grammar and language development.
When anthropologist Renato Rosaldo went to live with a Philippine tribe that was known for beheading people, he couldn't grasp the emotion that fueled this violence. Then his wife suddenly died.
For a new word to enter the dictionary, it must meet three criteria: widespread use, sustained use and meaningful use. Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper explains the process in Word by Word.
Wielding his handy "apostrophiser," this "Banksy of punctuation" stalks the streets of Bristol at night, reclaiming the British city's street signs for good — one corrected apostrophe at a time.
An appeals court dispute between a Maine dairy company and its delivery drivers came down to a single punctuation mark — or rather, the lack of it. Count it a win for the controversial comma.
What are those dog ears doing on my heart? Ancient anatomists named body parts after things they resembled in real life. So you've got a rooster comb in your skull and a flute in your leg.
Despite skepticism of Trump — and losing the popular vote — his supporters say it's time to move on and trust the president-elect to figure things out. They're willing to give him a very long leash.
Donald Trump isn't the first politician to use coarse language, but linguist Geoff Nunberg says the 2005 Access Hollywood tape of him discussing women's genitalia wasn't like other live-mic incidents.
Being surrounded by noisy conversations, radio or TV can make it harder for toddlers to learn new words, researchers say. Quieter conversations didn't affect the learning process.
Brain maps constructed by MRI show that language meaning is distributed throughout the brain's outer layer. And it turns out that different people organize language in similar ways.
The premise of #NPRreads is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers from our newsroom share the pieces that have kept them reading and each weekend, we highlight some of the best stories.
Fans and foes want the news media to label the armed individuals who are occupying part of a national wildlife refuge. NPR is trying to describe, rather than characterize. Here's our thinking.
Your online habits leave a constant digital trail. What does it say about the real you? I gave the world's most famous computer keys to my online life to see what it could tell me, about me.
For years, it's been NPR's style to say that Myanmar is "also known as Burma" at the start of reports about that nation. We don't think that's necessary anymore.
People speak very differently depending on where they live, and the climate and environment might have something to do with that. Crisp English consonants don't carry well in the rain forest.
One-third of farmworkers in California speak indigenous languages from southern Mexico. Many don't speak Spanish or English, a situation that poses challenges for health care providers.
Does it grate on your ears if you're offered a "free gift?" Would you have a "sudden impulse" to correct that grammar? Pleonasms have unnecessary, superfluous words. Tell us about the ones you hear.
