Language

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Words, grammar and how people make meaning.

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Why a language gets grammar when nobody designs it: the iterated-learning experiment How does a language get grammar when nobody designs it? In a 2008 experiment, volunteers learned an alien language of 27 random words for pictures, saw only 14… Language4 min read Why Russians have two blues: how a colour word can speed up your eyes Russian has two basic words for blue, goluboy (light) and siniy (dark), and in a 2007 experiment Russian speakers were about 124 milliseconds faster at telling… Language4 min read Why 'The old man the boat' stops you cold: garden-path sentences and a brain that guesses Read "The old man the boat." and your brain probably crashes at the fifth word. It guessed "the old man" was one person and waited for a verb that never came… Language4 min read