Two researchers investigated over 2,000 of the world’s languages to examine the relationship between morphological characteristics such as the number of declensions and verb endings and the number of speakers and size of the location where the language is spoken.

The study revealed that as languages grew in influence in terms of the number of speakers and geographical range, they tended to decrease in morphological complexity. In other words, “languages simplify as they spread.” Widely adopted languages such as Mandarin Chinese and English are relatively simple – from a morphological standpoint – in comparison to more isolated languages such as those of the indigenous peoples of South America.

Researchers hypothesized that certain languages grew more complex over time 1) to aid children in learning and understanding the language or 2) to improve efficiency and clarity of verbal expression.

Click here to read more about this story at The Economist.

With new jargon and buzzwords cropping up almost every day, it can be difficult to keep track of the latest and greatest in Internet slang. The site NetLingo helps you to demystify the technobabble by providing definitions for Internet slang, acronyms and text message shorthand.  Another site known as Twictionary defines itself as “a repository for the meanings and manglings of words and language on Twitter.” Users can contribute new words to the site as the Twitter vocabulary evolves.

These sites are quite useful, as traditional dictionary sources like Merriam Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary simply can’t keep up with the pace of change when it comes to techie buzzwords. For example, last year Merriam Webster added the term “vlog” to its Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition; however, this word has commonly been in use since 2005. Despite the fact that they’re a bit behind the times, the most authoritative dictionaries of the English language are making an effort to include social media and tech-inspired words like 2009’s Word of the Year “unfriend.”

As the language continues to include new slang terms influenced by the Internet, computers and cell phones, some parents and experts claim that slang is ruining the English language. Others view these new words as part of the natural evolution of English, embracing them for the richness that they bring to the language and viewing them as yet another form of self-expression.

Parents concerned about their children’s online activity are also wary of Internet shorthand because it’s a barrier to monitoring what their kids are up to on the net. l33tspeak (leetspeak), a form of text message or instant message shorthand that replaces letters with numbers, allows kids to send messages to each other while keeping their parents in the dark. Parents can educate themselves on the top naughty acronyms used by kids by clicking here.

Regardless of whether people are in favor of or against the use of tech jargon in our daily lives, the fact of the matter is that the Internet’s growing presence in our lives and its associated slang are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

While bilingual individuals enjoy the obvious advantages that come with being able to communicate in a language apart from their mother tongue, Welsh researchers at Bangor University hope to uncover other less apparent benefits of speaking a second language.

Preliminary research has shown that the complex processing entailed in speaking another language may shield the brain from the aging process, including age-related memory loss. According to one linguistics researcher “The very act of being able to speak, listen, and think in two languages and of using two languages on a daily basis appears to sharpen people’s abilities to pay close attention to aspects of tasks relevant to good performance.”

Researchers are looking to recruit 700 participants between the ages of 2 and 80 years old to take part in the study. The subjects will be asked to complete some basic language tests followed by puzzles and tasks displayed on a computer monitor.

Read more about the planned research study at BBC News

The human ability to utilize language is one of the most remarkable features of our species; however, new research suggests that the communication gap between humans and our primate cousins is narrower than previously supposed.

Earlier this month, scientists from the University of Rennes in France published findings that point to the use of basic syntax in the calls of Campbell’s monkeys. Prior to this study, scientists had never demonstrated the use of syntax – rules that dictate how elements of a language are combined – in animal communication. Researchers note that while the monkeys’ communication patterns may not be as obvious or familiar as those of humans, the animals do communicate using “meaningful units combined into other meaningful sequences, with rules imposed on how they’re combined.”

In light of the study’s findings, other scientists are now pondering the exciting possibility that evidence of syntax may be present among the chirps, groans and calls of other members of the animal kingdom.

Read more about this fascinating research at Wired Science: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/monkey-talk/