Learning another language is one of the deepest and most human things one can possibly do, writes Douglas Hofstadter.

There are several reasons why you may want to embark on a journey to learn a new language. Maybe you have an international trip on the horizon. It could be because you have non-English speaking family ...

Humans are the only species known to use fully symbolic language: a system capable of expressing abstract ideas, imaginary worlds and endless combinations of meaning. But how did we get there? The ...

I was talking to a friend about plans for her pre-schooler. Their home language is English, but my friend’s father is French, and I wondered if she was enrolling her child in the local French ...

Language forms the backbone of communal existence. It doesn't take long to discover this if you've ever traveled to a place where you don't speak the language. "Where is the nearest bathroom?", "How ...

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story contained inaccurate or incomplete facts about the history of language. Language is an essential part of human communication, allowing ...

In 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of people studying Ukrainian on Duolingo, a language learning website and mobile app, increased by more than 500%. Most of those who have ...