In the early 1990s, comedian Mike Myers regularly dressed up in a giant wig, gaudy fake nails and gigantic sunglasses to become Linda Richman -- a stereotypical New Yorker who had fits of feeling "verklempt" and thought that ...
Social Sciences
Jan 20, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Mats Rooth, a Cornell linguist, will use software to study distinctions of prosody (rhythm, stress and intonation) in language by hunting for word patterns on the Internet.
Computer Sciences
Jan 4, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- There are an estimated 6,500 languages in the world, with around fifty percent of them endangered and likely to cease to exist by 2100, but efforts are now being made to save them from extinction.
(PhysOrg.com) -- On the surface, English, Japanese, and Kinande, a member of the Bantu family of languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have little in common. It is not just that the vocabularies of these three ...
Social Sciences
Nov 20, 2009
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William Shakespeare, who knew a thing or two about words, advised that "An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told." But the exact meaning of plain language isn't always easy to find. Even simple words like "most" and ...
Social Sciences
Nov 19, 2009
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0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Caspar Hare would like you to try a thought experiment. Consider that 100,000 people around the world tomorrow will suffer epileptic seizures. "That probably doesn't trouble you tremendously," says Hare, ...
Social Sciences
Oct 26, 2009
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A new way to classify sounds in some human languages may solve a problem that has plagued linguists for nearly 100 years--how to accurately describe click sounds distinct to certain African languages.
Other
Jul 15, 2009
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1
It is often remarked that Spanish should be more widely spoken or understood in the scientific community given its number of speakers around the world, a figure the Instituto Cervantes places at almost 600 million.
Social Sciences
Mar 27, 2024
0
12
A group of Tallinn University researchers has published an innovative study that sheds light on the intricate dynamics of the global film festival circuit, revealing insights into diversity and public value creation within ...
Social Sciences
Mar 6, 2024
0
15
The English language is famous for the large number of words that express the idea of being drunk in a humorous way—so-called drunkonyms like "pissed," "hammered" or "wasted." British comedian Michael McIntyre even argues ...
Social Sciences
Feb 19, 2024
0
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