The specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication.
-4
votes
0answers
81 views
Are hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia and aibohphobia well-recognized words? [closed]
The long hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia means a fear of long words while the palindromic aibohphobia means the fear of palindromes.
While Wiktionary, sister project of Wikipedia has entries for ...
5
votes
1answer
461 views
Is the “i before e english” spelling rule not very useful?
This is a picture circulating right now, claiming that a huge majority of the words break the "i before e" rule, and that only a few actually follow it.
Is the rule as useless as the picture claim?
...
6
votes
1answer
265 views
Do people tend to have a particular language representational system (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic representational)?
One of the primary claims of neuro-linguistic programming is that people possess a particular language system (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic representational).
For example:
For example, a ...
8
votes
0answers
137 views
Is a large percentage of human communication non-verbal?
The claim that 60, or 80, or 90 or 93 percent of all communication is non-verbal is endlessly repeated, not only in pop culture but in the professional worlds of education, business, and in some less ...
15
votes
1answer
726 views
Can Chinese people read the literature of 2,500 years ago as easily as yesterday's newspapers
Bill Bryson in his book The Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way, on page 110, writes:
An equally useful advantage of written Chinese is that people can read the literature of 2,500 ...
1
vote
1answer
149 views
Can dolphins learn a symbol based language?
I recently stumbled across the following article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1240334/Dolphins-clever-humans--treat-like-people-say-scientists.html
which makes the claim that ...
11
votes
1answer
413 views
Did Reverend Mezzofanti fluently speak thirty-four languages?
In the John England's book titled "The Works of Reverend John England, Volume 6" (page 172) I read:
Reverend Joseph Mezzofanti, first keeper of the Vatican library, of whom Lord Byron had so high ...
8
votes
0answers
436 views
Did Japanese people misspell “We pray for MacArthur's election”?
The Internet is full of references to the same story:
It was probably in 1946, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur was temporarily put in charge of running Japan, which was in tough shape after ...
2
votes
2answers
342 views
Does knowing Latin help learning English?
I have read that one who knows Latin has a good command over English. Is this correct or just a myth? If it is correct, how does it work?
6
votes
0answers
365 views
Was there ever a universal human language or mother-tongue?
In "Is this how Eve spoke? Every human language evolved from 'single prehistoric African mother tongue'" from the UK Daily Mail:
Every language in the world - from English to Mandarin - evolved ...
6
votes
1answer
296 views
Are there banned words in New York standarized tests?
I just came across a random post on a random news blog saying that several words were banned from New York's standardized tests. This included common words, such as Christmas, dinosaurs, birthdays.
...
11
votes
1answer
490 views
Do number systems in native languages affect math performance?
This blog post said that Asians are good at math because Asian languages have less-confusing number systems:
So if it’s not the schools, what accounts for Asians succeeding in math across different ...
3
votes
0answers
115 views
How many languages have people created? [closed]
Currently there is supposed to be 3000-6000 actively spoken languages (wikipedia). How many languages have people created so far (including those dead, not spoken)?
0
votes
0answers
122 views
Does a person's voice contribute to their attractiveness? [closed]
If a person has a accent when they speak or just a soft voice tone, does that enhance their physical appeal? I have personally noticed that a average looking lady seems more appealing after I hear ...
17
votes
1answer
445 views
Are shorter lines easier to read?
People keep claiming that shorter lines are easier to read - especially when discussing user interfaces and fixed width layouts.
I recall a stack overflow question years ago where someone essentially ...
34
votes
4answers
6k views
Are there 20,000 English words in the average adult's vocabulary?
Is there any consensus as to how many words are in the average adult's vocabulary? Over the years, I've come across various factoids and blurbs online and in magazine articles that have made ...
2
votes
1answer
606 views
Can someone have a “gift for languages”?
In Australia, although it has changed significantly in the past 30 years due to migration, it is quite common for people of Anglo background to only speak one language.
I learned my second language ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
Is passive listening useless when learning a language?
In an article on the blog Fluent in Three Months is a claim that listening to hours of a foreign language without really concentrating on it is "barely better than nothing".
The shocking truth is ...
12
votes
3answers
4k views
Are there more English speaking people in China than in the USA?
I have heard there are more Chinese who speak English than there are Americans who speak English. Is this true?
9
votes
1answer
815 views
Is dyslexia unheard of in Spain?
I've been told that dyslexia is unheard of in Spain, and presumably other Spanish-speaking cultures, because Spanish is pronounced as it is spelt. Is this true?
Example:
Cases of dyslexia and ...
1
vote
1answer
594 views
Are people more likely to believe eloquent people?
Do a majority (e.g. >50%) of people form positive opinions about an individual's knowledge on the subject matter if the speaker/writer is more eloquent(well versed in grammar, clear and concise)?
An ...
7
votes
1answer
414 views
Is Lojban completely unambiguous?
The description from Wikipedia:
Lojban (pronounced [ˈloʒban]) is a constructed, syntactically unambiguous human language based on predicate logic, succeeding the project of Loglan.
I understand ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Does using big words make people sound more professional?
I have read in several places that people use big, fancy, complicated, and little known words (such as Brobdingnagian) to give the impression that they are knowledgeable, smart, and professional. Does ...
13
votes
2answers
1k views
Churchill's quote: “This is just the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put.”
Did Winston Churchill say, as some on the 'net claim, in response to being told he should not end a sentence with a preposition, something like "This is just the sort of nonsense up with which I will ...
38
votes
2answers
2k views
Do people think in a language?
I was discussing some things with a psychology major, and he insisted that people always use a language to think. This is quite opposed to my own experience.
I agree that I am capable of formulating ...
19
votes
1answer
1k views
Is it true that Shakespeare introduced over 1700 new words to the English language?
I was cruising the JREF forums, and while I am very familiar with many of the phrases he coined and popularized in the English language, a post makes the claim.
Shakespeare coined about two ...
