Language

Portrait of Dante Alighieri, Florence and the allegory of the Divine Comedy, 1465, detail.

Follow Dante's Footsteps Through Italy

For the 700th anniversary of the poet’s death, visit his birthplace, churches and tomb

Christina Koch (left) poses for a portrait with Jessica Meir while preparing for their first spacewalk together.

Gender-Inclusive Language Puts an End to the Era of 'Manned' Spaceflight

It is time to honor six decades of women's contributions to spaceflight, says the Air and Space Museum, with unbiased verbs like 'crewed' or 'piloted'

Sophia Kianni is the founder of Climate Cardinals, a member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, and hosts her own podcast.

Meet Sophia Kianni, the Young Climate Change Changemaker

The founder of Climate Cardinals assembled a team of global volunteers to breakdown language barriers by translating climate science and research

The dictionary documents the “core” vocabulary of science fiction that turns up again and again, both in stories and in the real world.

A Dictionary of Science Fiction Runs From Afrofuturism to Zero-G

The long-running project found a new online home, one that showcases the literary genre’s outsized impact on popular culture

A new study finds most conversations don't end when we want them to.

Most People Don't Know When to Stop Talking, According to Science

A new study finds folks are pretty bad at guessing whether to wrap up a chat or keep talking

Hieroglyphs line the walls in a shrine to the goddess Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim.

Who Invented the Alphabet?

New scholarship points to a paradox of historic scope: Our writing system was devised by people who couldn’t read

Father Reginald Foster celebrating his birthday in 2019

Father Reginald Foster Used Latin to Bring History Into the Present

Who speaks Latin these days? A surprisingly large number of people, thanks to the late friar, who died on Christmas Day at 81

Our favorite books this year are ones with messages that help kids understand the world around them.

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2020

These top titles deliver history lessons, wordplay and a musical romp through the animal kingdom

Waimea Bay takes its name from the Hawaiian word for "reddish-brown waters."

What the Survival of the Hawaiian Language Means to Those Who Speak It

A Smithsonian curator recalls his own experience learning the native tongue

Nāoli Weller, a nursery school teacher at Nāwahī, leads her class in traditional songs. In the room hang signs that help pupils master the Hawaiian language.

The Inspiring Quest to Revive the Hawaiian Language

A determined couple and their children are sparking the renewal of a long-suppressed part of their ancestors' culture

Detail of a medical treatise from the Tebtunis temple library with headings marked in red ink

Why Did Ancient Egyptian Scribes Use Lead-Based Ink?

A new study uncovers the science behind ancient writing traditions

A Tyrannosaurus rex posed with a Triceratops at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Hypersensitive Profanity Filter Censors 'Bone' at Paleontology Conference

Moved online due to the pandemic, an automated content filter banned terms including "sexual," "pubic" and "stream"

A rare edition of Shakespeare's First Folio sold at auction for $10 million.

Shakespeare's First Folio Is the Most Expensive Work of Literature Ever Auctioned

A rare edition of the 1623 volume of plays sold at Christie's for nearly $10 million

Kanzi, 39, has used lexigrams to communicate with researchers since age 2.

What Can Bonobos Teach Us About the Nature of Language?

A famed researcher's daring investigation into ape communication—and the backlash it has caused

Some maintain that two spaces between sentences make paragraphs easier to read; others vehemently disagree.

Why Microsoft Word Now Considers Two Spaces After a Period an Error

Traditionalist "two-spacers" can still disable the function

A policeman stands over a graffiti drawn to bring awareness to social distancing as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in Chennai, India, on April 9, 2020

How 'Social Distancing' Can Get Lost in Translation

Governments around the world grapple with how to deliver important guidelines on minimizing the spread of COVID-19

Muhammad Ali speaks during a press conference held before his fight against Argentina's Oscar Bonavena.

This Exhibit Asks You to Caption Photos of People Caught in Mid-Sentence

National Portrait Gallery exhibit features snapshots of Muhammad Ali, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Two winners split the Plougastel-Daoulas contest's grand prize of €2,000.

Has This Boulder's Mysterious, Centuries-Old Inscription Finally Been Deciphered?

Two newly publicized translations suggest the message is a memorial to a man who died in the 1700s

A half-submerged stone inscribed with Luwian hieroglyphs detailing the fall of Phrygia

Ancient Inscription Unveils the King Who May Have Toppled Midas

A newly discovered stone hints that a lost civilization defeated the ancient Turkish kingdom of Phrygia around the eighth century B.C.

A rendering of the upcoming Planet Word museum's Great Hall, which will feature an LED globe showcasing dozens of languages from around the world

Upcoming Planet Word Museum Celebrates Language—and Is Slated to Be Talk of the Town

The Washington, D.C.-based museum will open its doors on May 31

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