Language

Close up portrait of a mature male bonobo making a vocalization

AnimalsApril 3, 2025

Bonobos’ Complex Calls Share an Extraordinary Trait with Human Language

Bonobos’ grunts, peeps and whistles may share an advanced linguistic property with human language

Cody Cottier

Games illustration with a green background

LanguageMarch 18, 2025

Science Crossword: Blacked Out

Play this crossword inspired by the April 2025 issue of Scientific American

Aimee Lucido

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HMMM..speech bubble on green spiral background

LanguageFebruary 28, 2025

Interjections Are, Uh, More Important than We Thought

Utterances like um, wow and mm-hmm aren’t garbage—they keep conversations flowing

Bob Holmes, Knowable Magazine

Black and white line drawing of a boy with a pained expression on his face surrounded by lightning bolts, exclamation points, lines, and stars on a red background

OpinionFebruary 21, 2025

Why “Ow!” Needs Absolutely No Translation

The sounds we make during emotional moments or when experiencing pain may not be arbitrary

Katarzyna Pisanski, Aitana García Arasco, Maïa Ponsonnet

A mother chimpanzee, Beryl, sits in front of her infant, Lindsay, on the ground in a remote forest in Uganda

LanguageFebruary 20, 2025

Surprising Chimpanzee Signal Reveals Secrets of Ape Communication

A rare and deliberate signal between a mother chimpanzee and her daughter raises new questions about ape communication, culture and the meaning of sharing a language

Avery Schuyler Nunn

LanguageFebruary 18, 2025

Science Crossword: Creative Bursts

Play this crossword inspired by the March 2025 issue of Scientific American

Aimee Lucido

A mother humpback whale and her calf swimming just below the surface of the water

AnimalsFebruary 6, 2025

Whale Songs Obey Basic Rules of Human Languages

Humpback whales learn their haunting melodies in much the same way humans learn words

Cody Cottier

LanguageJanuary 21, 2025

Science Crossword: It’s All Coming Together

Play this crossword inspired by the February 2025 issue of Scientific American

Aimee Lucido

A small blue sphere orbits a larger green sphere against a purple background, with "Science Quickly" written underneath.

LanguageJanuary 17, 2025

The Ways We Express Pain Point to Universality in Language

Linguists think that the words that we use to express pain might tell us something about our shared biology and the commonality of language.

Rachel Feltman, Allison Parshall, Fonda Mwangi

Illustration of a red head with a dialogue box with the letter A

LanguageDecember 18, 2024

Eight, Ocho, Acht Most Fascinating Language Discoveries of 2024

This year scientists found universal language for pain, tracked why some words go extinct, developed mind-reading brain-to-speech technology, and more

Allison Parshall

LanguageDecember 17, 2024

Science Crossword: Out of Sight

Play this crossword inspired by the January 2025 issue of Scientific American

Aimee Lucido

Charli XCX shared her new remix album with a few hundred fans at a special event at Storm King Oct. 10.

LanguageDecember 13, 2024

From Polarization to Brain Rot to Brat, 2024’s Words of the Year Reflect Online Power and Peril

The 2024 word-of-the-year winners offer a window into the spirit of the times

Roger J. Kreuz, The Conversation US