Most scientists think language emerged in stages, as our ancestors evolved the necessary adaptations for speech.Credit: Sergey Uryadnikov/shutterstock Humans have language and other animals don’t.

Our language is changing constantly. Researchers of the University of Vienna found that, over centuries, frequently occurring speech sound patterns get even more frequent. The reason for this ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. How swiftly language changes. Just a few months ago, “lockdown” was used mainly in prisons as a protocol for ...