an expert in “sound symbolism,” in which words have sounds that suit their meanings. Think words like “glass” or “glisten,” whose sounds suggest something shiny and smooth, with the ...

“Proto-World” proposals remain controversial at best. What about mama? It does not sound like a mother, but it does piggyback on another feature of language: the fact that some sounds are more ...

The sounds you make when you read Spanish out loud can sometimes be different to the ones you would make in English. Perfume. Perfume. It’s spelled the same as in English. In Spanish you say all ...

They’re less likely than other words to include the consonant sounds L, R, W or Y. And more family-friendly versions of curses often have these sounds added, just like the R in “shirt” or ...