Practiced since as long as Hawaiians can remember, hoʻoponopono is necessary on an island where space and resources are limited and the community is key to survival.

Despite centuries of efforts to make standardised French the language of all of France, Occitan, which is intrinsically tied to the local culture, could not be suppressed.

Procter and Gamble wants to trademark three-letter acronyms including 'LOL' and 'WTF' to use in an unlikely category: dishwashing detergents and soap. P&G, owner of brands such as Febreze, Tide and Mr Clean, has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to use 'LOL' (which stands for Laughing Out Loud), 'WTF' (What The F---), 'NBD' (No Big Deal) and 'FML' (F--- My Life).

Bahasa Indonesia was adopted to make communication easier across the vast Indonesian archipelago, but its simplicity has only created new barriers.

What if walkie-talkie people named everything? A stamp would be called a licky-sticky. A defibrillator would be a hearty-starty. A bumble bee is a fuzzy-buzzy, and a pregnancy test would be a baby, maybe. A bra is a breastie-nestie, and a fork is a stabby-grabby. A hippo is a floatie-bloatie, and a nightmare a screamy-dreamy.

Ganesh Devy and his team of 3,500 volunteers have made the largest ever count of Indian languages.

I was walking with a friend recently, and we were discussing the limitations of language, especially in trying to explain complex concepts like philosophy, a deep experience, or a new idea. In short, on the topic of language, what we were discussing was just how clumsy verbal or written communication is in spreading what exists in one head into another — that, instead of transmutation of a concept or idea, like how a cold might spread, communicating an idea or viewpoint through language is actually quite difficult and oftentimes impossible.

It was all but inevitable that pork would become thoroughly baked into the German psyche, its savoury juices trickling down into everyday speech.

YouTuber Austin McConnell, a man who knows words, humorously explained through animation the fascinating history of ten different letters that are no longe

A bench warrant was issued for the arrest of a University of Hawaii professor on Wednesday.

A group of Maine dairy delivery drivers will receive $5 million in a proposed settlement for unpaid overtime, according to court records filed on Thursday.

In the age of mobile phones, the remaining "speakers" of a dying whistling language try to preserve a vital means of communication over vast distances.

Until the Renaissance, the English language had no word for yellow-red.

Nomadic horse riders likely opened a “steppe bridge” between Europe and Asia, but recent genetic data raise more questions. By Roni Jacobson.

This piece of pseudo-profanity is what's known as a taboo deformation—a word we say when we don't want to say the word.

Lithuanian, the most conservative of all Indo-European languages, is riddled with references to bees.

Blissymbols was invented by Charles K. Bliss (1897–1985). He wanted to create an easy-to-learn international auxiliary language to allow communication between different linguistic communities. He was inspired by Chinese characters, to create a language that is purely written.

It is fascinating to wonder how these effects might play out in the real world, particularly in international politics. By Christian Jarrett

The English word "Earth", German "Erde", Swedish "jorden", and similar expressions in other Germanic languages come from Proto-Germanic *erþō, which meant, well, "earth". They are shown in brown

Reddit doesn't have the best reputation. Between the sexism, racism, and general harassment levied by and toward users daily, the internet's "front page" might also be its most toxic.

The Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan is changing its alphabet from Cyrillic script to the Latin-based style favoured by the West. What are the economics of such a change?

Around every second migrant in Germany fails the language test at the end of integration courses, a newspaper reports. It suggests a lack of adequate attendance could be one factor in the low success rate.

Obviously, there needs to be a standard. But do we really want to leave it to science?

Research shows that the more skills children bring with them to kindergarten – in basic math, reading, even friendship and cooperation – the more likely they will succeed in those same areas in school. Hence, “kindergarten readiness” is the goal of many preschool programs, and a motivator for many parents.

And while we’re at it, what is an official language, anyway?

Chinese Curse? Austen Chamberlain? Frederic R. Coudert? Joseph Chamberlain? Diplomatic Staff? Albert Camus? Arthur C. Clarke? Robert F. Kennedy? Hillary Rodham Clinton?

A partnership between Google and Australian linguistic researchers could see AI play a role in digitising and preserving dozens of threatened languages.

Researchers have discovered male bottlenose dolphins can retain individual vocal labels – or “names” – to help them recognise each other in their social network, much like humans.

All over the country all but 20 of the 250 Indigenous languages are highly endangered or, as some describe, in a deep sleep. But now they are waking up thanks to the word detectives, a dedicated group of linguists and teachers determined to make language revival a success. Desmond Crump is one of them.

After Brexit, the use of English is likely to be even more common.

The Cocteau Twins

Colin Marshall examines English speakers’ relationship to the French language, which is the subject of a growing number of books.

Taiwan will adopt a top-down approach to promoting bilingualism centered on Chinese and English as soon as next year in a bid to boost international competitiveness, said Premier William Lai. In an interview with UDN, Lai remarked that the government is heeding public calls to help improve English proficiency for the people of Taiwan, citing a proposition regarding the issue jointly submitted by some members of the Academia Sinica to President Tsai Ing-wen.

Seriously...the English language is insane.

In an essay published on Monday, New Republic Senior Editor Noam Scheiber—who grew up speaking both Hebrew and English—explains why he stopped speaking only Hebrew to his three-year-old daughter. “My Hebrew self turns out to be much colder, more earnest, and, let’s face it, less articulate," he writes. "In English, my natural sensibility is patient and understated. My style in Hebrew was hectoring and prosecutorial.”