Learning a language can’t be that hard — every baby in the world manages to do it in a few years. Figuring out how the process works is another story. Linguists have devised elaborate theories to ...

Students learn academic content because they need it to solve the problem in front of them. Math becomes a language for ...

All languages strive to be efficient According to an influential theory in cognitive science, all human language is shaped by the need to be able to communicate effectively. At the same time, a ...

Can a computer learn a language the way a child does? A recent study sheds new light on this question. The researchers advocate for a fundamental revision of how artificial intelligence acquires and ...

Ph.D. candidate Yuchen Lian (LIACS) wants to understand why human languages look the way they do—and find inspiration to ...

In a study, researchers tested having AI agents play a communication game with each other to mimic how humans develop language. They had an AI agent communicate a colour via a symbol, and the ...

Lauren: Learning a new language seems like a big challenge in the beginning, and that’s because it is. Many of us started our language learning in the classroom, where we’re taught through ...

My weekly language classes have taught me humility more than anything else. Ayaka Ono, my current Japanese teacher, estimates ...

Karen Roehr-Brackin received funding from the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust (grant reference SRG23\230787) which supported the research project reported here. If you’ve always wanted to learn a new ...

If you stumble when you need to talk to someone in a language that isn't your native language, do you think: "I just don't have the knack for languages" or "Maybe I am not cut out to learn another ...

Language learning apps like Duolingo are useful, but they have their limits. They're ideal for getting started with a new language, beefing up vocabulary, practicing skills, and even having fun ...