Language is perhaps our most powerful tool. It has been improved, imposed and modified widely over time. From James Baldwin, to the first settlers in the Plymouth Colony, to beat poets, to hip-hop ...

My son is a wizard. He walks into the kitchen, looks at me and utters the magic words: “Can I have a cheese and tomato sandwich, please?” A few minutes later, just such a snack appears in front of him ...

When speakers of different languages meet, their words, sounds and even grammatical structures mingle in surprising ways. Ketchup, for example, may be an American staple today, but its name entered ...

Steven Mithen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...