6 ways psychology can help you learn Irish Here are some psychological concepts which can be adopted to help you improve your cúpla focal Gaeilge • 05 Sep
Heard, curd, bird: should the spelling of some words change? The spelling system of English is the most unpredictable of all spelling systems and is rife with irregularities Language • 04 Sep
Why you never forget the languages you learn in school It turns out our knowledge of the languages we learn in school actually lasts a lifetime Linguistics • 28 Aug
Why do some of us pick up accents so quickly? A linguistics expert says speaking is acting and it's a performance every time we open our mouths Accents • 24 Aug
'He proposed on our first date': my experience of culture shock What we say and how we behave is influenced by cultural norms and can lead to critical (and sometimes funny) incidents Language • 31 Jul
Why Irish people love making connections when we meet strangers The Irish connection grid means we're always striving to find a link to make the world smaller Society • 09 Jun
14 baffling Danish expressions & how to use them If it's lashing rain, a Dane won't say 'it's raining cats and dogs', but that 'it's raining cobbler's apprentices' Language • 27 Jan
What does your choice of food say about you? The use of terms like 'natural' and 'organic' in food marketing can often act as linguistic detoxification Food • 11 Jan
Why is the Irish language so widely abused on public signs? Carelessness, ignorance and arrogance mean that badly translated and misspelled Irish language signs have become the norm. Gaeilge • 29 Aug
Ireland's language shift: when Irish speakers switched to English Tales of some of the last Irish speakers in areas where it's no longer the native language can be found in folklore archives Gaeilge • 03 Jan
Kyiv vs Kiev: why the right names matter in Ukraine The adoption of the name Kyiv is part of the linguistic battle to legitimise Ukraine as an independent nation Ukraine • 02 Mar 22
'Oozes location': why property ads are so oddly written The language used to sell property to potential buyers is linguistically rich, unique and usually downright odd Property • 17 Jan 22
How to fill the gaps in a language like Gaeilge The debate around the term duine de dhath shows how language constantly evolves and adapts to social change Gaeilge • 27 Sep 21
How to talk about sex like a Love Islander How young people talk about sex can be as important as their actual sexual activity Love Island • 09 Aug 21
12 great German words with no English equivalent The German language contains a range of beautifully strange words that aptly describe a certain situation or emotion Language • 27 Jul 21
Bent coppers & Lagan bubbles: the art of Tedisms in Line of Duty How Line of Duty has brought language, culture and linguistics to the mainstream Line of Duty • 24 May 21
Call the tone police: powerful women and linguistic prejudice Linguistic discrimination toward powerful women asking pertinent questions in a difficult time is an insidious facet of public life Linguistics • 18 May 20
The links between craft beer, language and the brain The brain enables us to think, breathe, feel, understand, communicate, laugh dance and, yes, enjoy the sensory experience of a craft beer Craft beer • 12 Mar 20
10 medieval Irish words we didn't know about before now From útluighe to bánbiad, the rediscovered words demonstrate the quirky and colourful language of medieval Irish. Gaeilge • 09 Mar 20
How to translate an Old English poem into Cork slang Here's how the epic poem Beowulf and its 3,182 alliterative lines is in the process of becoming Boyo-wulf Culture • 24 Feb 20
A game of two halves: politicians and sporting language Just why are politicians so addicted to "level playing fields", "green jerseys" and "winning teams"? Election 2020 • 28 Jan 20
Is it easier for boys or girls to learn a new language? There is no scientific evidence to back up the perception that one gender is better at learning languages than another Language • 15 Jan 20
A history of Ireland in 100 words From "hairy comets" and fliuch to uisce beatha and bó, these 100 words give a fascinating glimpse of life in Ireland in past centuries History • 11 Nov 19
The baffling and bewildering world of business jargon Business buzzwords play with the technical possibilities of English - and often offend against all its rules Business • 15 Oct 19
Is learning another language really like eating a meal sideways? The Japanese expression Yoko Meshi captures the stress of learning to speak another language - but also the attitude you need to succeed at it Language • 30 Sep 19
