Linguistic Discovery

Hi! 👋 Linguistic Discovery teaches you all about the science and diversity of language—a field known as linguistics. I (Danny Hieber, Ph.D.) post daily about how language works, the latest news and research in linguistics, and the incredible diversity of language.

@GentleBenj It’s literally linguistic fieldwork! Like my entire subfield

@lingdiscovery Ehhh kind of

WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME PROJECT HAIL MARY HAS LINGUISTICS IN IT

If you want more of the latest news, research, and interesting reads in language and linguistics, check out my free weekly digest! linguisticdiscovery.com/current-lingui…

Read more here: cuteness.com/2042229/talkin…

One animal that comes up repeatedly in any discussion of animal communication and intelligence is the dolphin. Talking to them might not be as far away as you think.

If you want more of the latest news, research, and interesting reads in language and linguistics, check out my free weekly digest! linguisticdiscovery.com/current-lingui…

Grab a copy here: Amazon: amzn.to/4a8D5Nw Bookshop: bookshop.org/a/110785/97814…

A new language book for kids was published earlier this year! A beautifully illustrated overview of the history of languages around the world, filled with maps, sidebars, and unusual facts.

Have a listen at the links! Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6yI7IL… Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chi…

I don’t talk about it much on here, but my full-time job is working with a Native American tribe in Louisiana called the Chitimacha to help them revitalize their language. But this week I appeared on the podcast “A Language I Love Is…” to talk all about Chitimacha! Host Danny Bate @DannyBate4 and I also discuss language endangerment and revitalization, language isolates, and a bit of the history of linguistics.

If you want more of the latest news, research, and interesting reads in language and linguistics, check out my free weekly digest! linguisticdiscovery.com/current-lingui…

Cutting-edge research shows language is not the same as intelligence. The entire AI bubble is built on ignoring it. “LLMs are simply tools that emulate the communicative function of language.”

Want to learn more about the difference between writing and proto-writing, and the really cool things this study actually found? Check out this issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/stone-ag…

Like most media outlets reporting on this study, Popular Mechanics conflates writing (which represents language) with proto-writing (which only convey limited information)–and they miss the coolest part of the study besides! Basically they confuse writing with symbols. All writing is symbolic, but not all symbols are writing.

If you want more of the latest news, research, and interesting reads in language and linguistics, check out my free weekly digest! linguisticdiscovery.com/current-lingui…

These activities celebrating Nigeria’s diverse culture and languages have led to the creation of more than 450 new Wikipedia articles and the addition of over 600 culturally-relevant photos to Wikimedia Commons. diff.wikimedia.org/2025/10/11/how…

In Nigeria, Wiki for Minorities is helping contributors use Wikipedia and its sister projects to document, bring awareness, and digitally preserve languages considered minor or small in terms of speaker populations, documentation, and institutional support. Through training sessions, edit-a-thons, and digital literacy workshops, volunteers learn the skills needed to contribute to Wikimedia projects – and in turn, they share their stories, culture, and knowledge.

In this (free) issue of the Linguistic Discovery newsletter, we’ll look at claims that some languages lack baby talk entirely, and whether they hold up to scrutiny: linguisticdiscovery.com/posts/baby-tal… #parenting #linguistics #language #science

Do all cultures use baby talk? Or is it just some weird thing white Americans do? Do some languages lack baby talk entirely, as is sometimes claimed?