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linguistics

Mapping Linguistic Diversity: Benjamin Kinsella and Haralambos Symeonidis

How many languages do you speak? Benjamin Kinsella is fluent in English, speaks Spanish, and now also knows touch of Guaraní.

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Second Language Shows Benefits to Aging Brain

As people age, cognitive flexibility — the ability to adapt to unfamiliar or unexpected circumstances — and related "executive" functions decline. Recent studies suggest lifelong bilingualism may reduce this decline — a boost that may stem from the experience of constantly switching between languages. However, how brain activity differs between older bilinguals and monolinguals was previously unclear.

A Mistake on the Edge of Time: Rusty Barrett on the Mayan Calendar

Most of us heard that the world was going to possibly end on December 21st, 2012, and that it was predicted by the traditional Mayan calendar. In this podcast, Rusty Barrett, a linguist and scholar of Mayan culture and history, explains the superstitions and misunderstandings surrounding December 21st, and a little bit about how the Mayan calendar works.

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