An international team proposes replacing Hockett’s feature checklist with a model of language as a dynamic, multimodal, and socially evolving system.

Human language may seem messy and inefficient compared to the ultra-compact strings of ones and zeros used by computers—but our brains actually prefer it that way. New research reveals that while ...

Among the myriad abilities that humans possess, which ones are uniquely human? Language has been a top candidate at least since Aristotle, who wrote that humanity was “the animal that has language.” ...

There’s a common assumption that if someone starts learning a language when they are very young, they will quickly become fluent. Many people also assume that it will become much harder to learn a ...

The brain’s “little brain” may hold big promise for people with language trouble. Tucked into the base of the brain, the fist-sized cerebellum is most known for its role in movement, posture and ...

Is language core to thought, or a separate process? For 15 years, the neuroscientist Ev Fedorenko has gathered evidence of a language network in the human brain — and has found some similarities to ...

A new study suggests that everyday multilingual habits—from chatting with neighbors to revisiting a childhood language—may help preserve memory, attention, and brain flexibility as we age. An ...