Words R Us

"The researchers first looked at hot spots-locations with an exceptionally high number of unique species that also has a loss of habitat of 70 percent or more. ... In these 35 hotspots-spread throughout the world's continents with the exception of Antarctica-the researchers found 3,202 languages-nearly half of all languages spoken on Earth. ... It's unclear why areas of endangered species concentration and endangered languages coexist. ... The study is a starting point to explore the relationship between biological and linguistic-cultural diversity."

With demand for Chinese literature growing in the English speaking world, translators have rarely been so in demand. One of the most acclaimed translators from Chinese to English is Julia Lovell, who has translated Chinese authors including Lu Xun, Han Shaogong and Zhu Wen for Western audiences.

An old article (2006), but explains how texting spread and which languages are more suited to texting than others

Our brains are set up to do two things at once, but not three, a French team reports in the journal Science. Their experiment examined an area of the brain involved in goals and rewards and tested people's abilities to accomplish up to three mental tasks at the same time. When volunteers were doing just one task, there was activity in goal-oriented areas of both frontal lobes, suggesting that the two sides of the brain were working together to get the job done. But when people took on a second task, the lobes divided their responsibilities. Since the brain has only two frontal lobes, researchers surmised there might be a limit to the number of goals and rewards it can handle. Indeed, when people started a third task, one of the original goals disappeared from their brains. Also people slowed down and made many more mistakes.

"Thoughtful questions often prompt thoughtful analysis and recently a series of questions from a reader regarding 'micro-expressions' had such an effect on me. His questions made me stop and think about how the public perceives 'micro expressions' and their significance in our overall understanding of body language, and more importantly, their relevance in detecting deception."

"No matter whether you're a new hire or a veteran professional, at some point you're going to have to initiate a 'difficult conversation' with a boss, co-worker or colleague. This conversation could be between you and one person, or it could be between you and an entire group of people."

By Leonardo VintiñiEpoch Times Staff Perhaps the most important job for a copy editor is to ensure that text is free of spelling mistakes. But is error-riddled text any less understandable? On repeated occasions researchers have found that people can still understand the meaning of sentences even if they are completely made up of jumbled words.

A new study finds that software designed to automatically read and grade essays can do as good a job as humans - maybe even better. The robo-readers are efficient, as well, and can grade 16,000 essays in 20 seconds. The caveats, however: computers don't do as well on comprehension, ascertaining facts vs. fiction, and assessing certain genres, like poetry.

This site is a link for the online edition of all languages that are in danger of becoming extinct or are extinct from 1950. It provides us with a rating of how much a language is endangered. Link to the online guide: http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas

The UN Atlas of Endangered Languages lists 18 languages with only one remaining speaker. With about one language disappearing every two weeks, some of these have probably already died off. The following 18 languages were last known to have one remaining speaker.

A really interesting study combining linguistics and behavioral economics. "To judge a risk more clearly, it may help to consider it in a foreign language: A series of experiments on more than 300 people from the U.S. and Korea found that thinking in a second language reduced deep-seated, misleading biases that unduly influence how risks and benefits are perceived."

Controlling angry people is challenging, but there are several effective anger management strategies you can use to avoid verbal confrontations and protect yourself or the people you love from angry people.