A study suggests some pattens in profanity are universal. Almost all languages feature foul words, and almost all of those words work in similar ways, functioning to show off our strongest feelings ...
Splish-splash, boing, bang, thud, sparkle, and pitter-patter are all fun words to say — they also happen to sound exactly like their definition. A study published recently in the Journal of ...
As different as the world’s languages may seem to the untrained ear, some concepts share the same sounds even in languages that are completely unrelated, a new study finds. In a study spotted by Atlas ...
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...
Pleasant-sounding words are easier to remember, according to a study. People perceive words with different sounds as differing in their beauty, say linguists. The new study suggests that the phonemic ...
It sounds exotic but "aizuchi" is the Japanese name for something very common, namely the polite noises in conversations which demonstrate attention and understanding: the "yeahs" and "uh huhs" we use ...
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...