Neural evidence for referential understanding of object words in dogs
Posted inAnimals ERP Neuroscience Research

Neural evidence for referential understanding of object words in dogs

The study by Marianna Boros and team used EEG to probe dogs' understanding of object words, finding a human-like neural response to semantic mismatches. This suggests dogs form mental representations of object words, similar to humans. The results challenge the belief that only humans possess this ability. The study implies dogs' referential understanding of words referring to objects in their environment. The findings offer the first neural evidence for non-human animals' knowledge of object words.
Real-Time Language Translation Solution Set to Revolutionize Communication for Chinese Speaking People
Posted inChinese News Technology Translation

Real-Time Language Translation Solution Set to Revolutionize Communication for Chinese Speaking People

BEIJING, March 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 1Voice.Ai Telecommunications is about to launch a real-time language translation solution for Chinese speaking people everywhere. The subscription-based model eliminates language limitations, offering effortless communication in real-time across 60 languages (boasting an impressive 98% accuracy rate).
Language, Religion & Mythology
Posted inBlog English Etymology French Greek Italian Maltese Mythology Persian Religion Spanish

Language, Religion & Mythology

Lately I’ve been thinking about how so much of human language is based around religion. Even a casual farewell can invoke God! Check it out: Medieval Latin had this phrase “ad Deum,” which meant, “to God.” This gave us variations like: “adieu” in French; “adios” in Spanish, “addio” in Italian, and “addiju” in Maltese. In Persian, we bid each other farewell with a “khodahafez.” This translates to, “May God protect you.” It’s also often shortened to “khodafez.” English is religious too! “Goodbye” comes from “God be with ye.”
How to Actually Learn French
Posted inBlog French Language learning

How to Actually Learn French

I sat down with Rachel, my favorite French teacher, to get some real actionable tips and advice on learning French. No inspirational fluff, no “just practice!” or “just start speaking!!” We discuss what to do, as well as ~how~ to do it. The information in the article can be applied to most languages, not just French.
English is Crazy #4 [Silence of the B in ‘Lambs’]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology Spelling

English is Crazy #4 [Silence of the B in ‘Lambs’]

DUMB!! Also: Bomb, numb, lamb… and… doubt?? What’s up with the silent B???? And, like, we also add silent letters to the beginning of words, like the letter K?? Knife, knight, knot??? Why do we do this to ourselves??? Are we playing an elaborate prank on people learning English as a second language? Or maybe the words weren’t long enough, so we’re like, let’s just tack on some random letters?? Are we bored??
English is Crazy #3 [What does Mrs. mean?]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology Gender History Spelling

English is Crazy #3 [What does Mrs. mean?]

Hello, nice to meet you, Murrrrrrr Smith, may I take your coat, Murrrrrr Smith? Hmm?? MURRR?? That’s how we’d sound if we pronounced “Mr.” as its own word. Kinda crazy, right? But ever wonder why with women, we actually call them by the abbreviation instead of the whole word? Like, we actually read out “Mrs.” as “missiz” or “missus.” And what is the whole word anyway?? What is “Mrs.” short for?? I’ve heard people say it’s the possessive form of “Mister.” Like, “Mister’s.” (It’s not.) And then we also have “Ms.” And again we just read it out with “miz.” What’s the whole word?? What’s going on?? Do we even know what we’re saying??
English is Crazy #2 [History of Grammatical Gender]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Gender History

English is Crazy #2 [History of Grammatical Gender]

“They/them as singular??? ‘Salespeople’ instead of ‘salesmen’?? Why do we have to completely neuter the language? This generation is ruining English!!” Okay so if you know anything about the history of English, you’ll know how funny this is. Because English used to have an entire grammatical gender system with masculine, feminine, and neuter — where “woman” was neutral (wīf), or even masculine (wīfmann.) But the generations before us didn’t care for gender either, and they dropped it over 500 years ago. That’s right! We didn’t start the fire🔥 We’re just carrying the torch.
English is Crazy #1 [History of Spelling]
Posted inBlog English English is Crazy Etymology History Spelling

English is Crazy #1 [History of Spelling]

You have to write in English, but it’s not your native language. Or maybe it is your native language, but spelling just isn’t your thing. Like, why is there an “h” in “ghost”? Why is “kernel" written as “colonel”??? What’s going on?? So I’m happy to tell you that it’s not you, it’s English. English is a hot mess. Let’s talk about why and how, and I’ll tell you all about “ghost,” “colonel,” and more.