Sign languages can help reveal hidden aspects of the logical structure of spoken language, but they also highlight its limitations because speech lacks the rich iconic resources that sign language ...

Researchers have learned the efficiency by which people recognize spoken words depends as much on the mind as on hearing ability. In a new study, the researchers examined how well adults across the ...

Understanding the interplay between speech rate and perception is fundamental to unraveling how listeners decode continuous spoken language. Variations in speech tempo not only influence the ...

While working at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., the late cognitive neuroscientist Ursula Bellugi discovered that, much like spoken language, sign language was made up ...

Mark Ellison 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 their ...

American Sign Language (ASL), used by half a million Americans, is the fourth most studied foreign language at colleges and universities. Despite its critical role for those who can't use spoken ...

One of the ways America shows its diverse culture is in the sheer number of languages spoken by the country's people. The above map shows which languages other than English and Spanish are the most ...

As of 2025, the world is home to more than 7,000 spoken languages, reflecting the incredible diversity of human culture and communication. Yet despite this vast number, only a small fraction of these ...