Jane Setter explores how and why some people’s accents may change over time, and what that means for their identity.
language
Music aids language-learning in autistic children
For World Autism Awareness Day, Dr Fang Liu, Associate Professor in the School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences writes about how researchers at the University of Reading designed an…Read More >
One Brain, Two Tongues: Why Bilingualism Matters
Being able to speak more than one language is an advantage in its own right. The capability to communicate in another language can boost one’s career prospects, it makes it…Read More >
Trouble in Headlines
Our headlines are currently riddled with selective uses of the passive voice. Passive voice means that it isn’t clear who is doing the deeds mentioned. “Headlines are… riddled” rather than…Read More >
International Migrants’ Day 2020
To celebrate International Migrants’ Day 2020, on its website the United Nations claims that ‘throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of the individual’s will to overcome adversity…Read More >
Talk of war in COVID-19 coverage may be hiding testing failings
Everyday we are bombarded with metaphors of war from the media reporting on COVID-19. Dr Sylvia Jaworska from the Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, asks whether the differences…Read More >
People with depression use language differently – here’s how to spot it
The ‘language of depression’ can be spotted using computer analysis which looks for patterns of words used by those who are suffering from the disorder, explains PhD researcher Mohammed Al-Mosaiwi in…Read More >