Help keep Salon independent

Topic: linguistics

Mashed potatoes and gravy (Ryan Benyi Photography / Getty Images )

Why we call the good stuff "gravy"

Ashlie D. Stevens
Homemade Granola (Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

What does it mean to be "granola"?

Mary Elizabeth Williams
Avatar: The Way Of Water (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios)

He created a whole language for "Avatar"

Matthew Rozsa
Two Macaws (Getty Images/Digital Zoo)

Do accents disappear?

Chris C. Palmer, Michelle Devereaux
Advertisement:
A sign made by the group Democracy NC reads It's time to vote y'all, on November 5, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today marked the last day for early voting in the state before Election Day on November 8. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

"Y'all" has finally become mainstream

David B. Parker
Sad woman sitting in the crowd (Getty Images/studiostockart)

What causes slips of the tongue?

Cecile McKee - The Conversation
(Getty/Salon)

AI robots use patterns, not grammar

Morten H. Christiansen, Pablo Contreras Kallens
Speech Bubbles (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Don't tell me my accent doesn't exist

D. Watkins
Advertisement:
Female shop keeper wearing an apron (Getty Images/Betsie Van Der Meer)

What the heck is a "napron"?

Michael La Corte
Heavy metal fan dressed as Darth Vader crowd surfs at Bloodstock Festival 2021 at Catton Hall on August 13, 2021 in Burton Upon Trent, England. (Katja Ogrin/Redferns/Getty Images)

Name forefathers: "dada" to Darth Vader

Valerie M. Fridland - The Conversation
Three chimpanzees sitting in a group appear to have a meeting (Getty Images/curioustiger)

Wait, chimpanzees can talk?

Matthew Rozsa
Clams in Malaysia (Ritzzuan Salim / EyeEm/Getty stock photos)

11 misheard phrases that make sense

Ellen Gutoskey - Mental Floss
Advertisement:
Wordle seen on a smartphone (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The best Wordle first-word guesses

Derek Horstmeyer - The Conversation
Man talking to his dog (Getty Images/Westend61)

Your dog has potential to be bilingual

Nicole Karlis
DNA in a speech bubble (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Have we hit peak DNA?

Olga Mecking
A QAnon supporter holds a sign during a protest at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on May 2, 2020. (Getty Images)

The rhetoric of cults is all around us

Nicole Karlis
Advertisement:
While it makes for a colorful analogy, comparing the brain to a muscle is inaccurate and misleading.

The neurological reason you say "um"

Adriel John Orena - Massive Science
President Donald Trump walks on the south lawn of the White House on October 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump is headed to a rally in Pennsylvania, first lady Melania Trump was to join him, but does not feel well and is recovering from Covid-19, he last event was August's Republican National Convention speech at the White House. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Trump's language shift, explained

Roger J. Kreuz, Leah Cathryn Windsor - The Conversation
Bunny the talking Dog (Instagram/@what_about_bunny)

Can Bunny the talking dog really talk?

Nicole Karlis
A mother spending time with her newborn baby (Getty Images/Mikolette)

Karen: From baby name to insult

Robin Queen - The Conversation
Advertisement:
Loving bride and groom looking at each other and communicating while standing on a rain and protecting themselves with an umbrella. (Getty Images)

The irony of how we use the word "irony"

Roger Kreuz
They as singular (Salon/Ilana Lidagoster)

"They" was voted as "Word of the Decade"

Reed Blaylock - The Conversation
(<a href='https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Kostenko+Maxim'>Kostenko Maxim</a> via <a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/'>Shutterstock</a>)

3 internet language trends from 2019

Zachary Jaggers, Melissa Michaud Baese-Berk - The Conversation
(Getty Images/istockphoto)

Your political views and pronunciation

Zachary Jaggers - The Conversation
« Previous
Page: 1
Next »
Advertisement: