Nova Languages

A "universal pattern" has been discovered in human languages, revealing "four surprising laws" that govern their evolution. thedebrief.org/universal-patt…

Less than 0.1% of the genome may have about 200 times more impact on language ability than other regions—and those regulatory DNA sequences were already present in Neanderthals. @uiowa @ScienceAdvances doi.org/hbx8mc phys.org/news/2026-04-n…

Why Did the Transatlantic Accent Suddenly Vanish? Watch the FULL EPISODE NOW: trib.al/ORmAlEz

Can early intervention help non-speaking autistic children develop spoken language? New data says yes—for about 66% of kids. 🗣️ The surprise? Duration > Intensity. Long-term consistency mattered more than total hours per week. Full summary: neurosciencenews.com/early-interven… #Autism #SLP #SciComm #Neuroscience

Writing implements: stylus, wooden writing tablet, ink wells, Roman, 1st century

Cherokee is Dennis Sixkiller’s first spoken language, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that he learned to read and write it.  cherokeephoenix.org/culture/transl…

Feature: "The Best Translated Japanese Fiction Books of 2025" in Tokyo_Weekender tokyoweekender.com/art_and_cultur…

Dictionary of the Oldest Written Language--It Took 90 Years to Complete, and It's Now Free Online | Open Culture ift.tt/okMb6iz

Harlequin’s French division is reportedly transitioning to AI-generated translation, according to a letter published by The French Literary Translators Association and the collective En Chair et en Os (In Flesh and Bone: For Human Translation) 👇

Japan aims to stop manga piracy with AI translation training program s.nikkei.com/3NbfKkY

Here's my conversation with Irving Finkel, a scholar of ancient languages and Mesopotamian history. He specializes in deciphering cuneiform tablets from Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian contexts. He became widely known for studying a tablet with a Mesopotamian flood story that predates the biblical Noah narrative. We talk about ancient writing & language, controversial theories about ancient civilizations, Noah's Ark, flood myths, Göbekli Tepe, and much more. It's here on X in full and is up everywhere else (see comment). Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:58 - Origins of human language 7:04 - Cuneiform 14:17 - Controversial theory about Göbekli Tepe 25:29 - How to write and speak Cuneiform 30:48 - Primitive human language 32:31 - Development of writing systems 33:25 - Decipherment of Cuneiform 45:57 - Limits of language 50:56 - Art of translation 56:06 - Gods 1:01:31 - Ghosts 1:11:19 - Ancient flood stories 1:21:26 - Noah's Ark 1:32:49 - The Royal Game of Ur 1:45:48 - British Museum 1:53:13 - Evolution of human civilization

Speaking Multiple Languages May Slow Down Biological Aging An international study of more than 86,000 Europeans found that speaking multiple languages may slow biological aging and protect against age-related decline. Using AI models to estimate “biobehavioral age,” researchers discovered that multilingual individuals were twice as likely to show slower aging compared to monolinguals. The effect was cumulative — the more languages a person spoke, the greater the protective benefit for brain and body health.

A Dictionary of the English Language By Samuel Johnson This is the 5th edition from 1784 of what some would call THE Dictionary of the English Language... and it is an absolute unit.

Across history, linguists have insisted that language sets humans apart from other species. But a new study demonstrating AI’s startlingly complex “metalinguistic” skills threatens to throw mankind’s exclusivity out the window. quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-ai-…

A group of researchers studied which language is best understood by artificial intelligence, with Polish in the lead and English only ranking at sixth place. l.euronews.com/BsRb

The Minoan tablet we still can't solve youtube.com/watch?v=4PbkTh…

Mysterious signs on Teotihuacan murals may reveal an early form of Uto-Aztecan language phys.org/news/2025-10-m… via @physorg_com

New book examines language loss among multilingual speakers phys.org/news/2025-09-l… via @physorg_com

The Old English word for equinox is 'emniht', from 'efen' and 'niht', when night and day are evenly balanced. Today is the 'hærfestlice emniht', autumnal equinox; after this (says Byrhtferth of Ramsey) 'langað seo niht and wanað se dæg', 'the night lengthens and the day wanes'.