ChatGPT is a hot topic at my university, where faculty members are deeply concerned about academic integrity, while administrators urge us to “embrace the benefits” of this “new frontier.” It’s a classic example of what my colleague Punya Mishra calls the “doom-hype cycle” around new technologies. Likewise, media coverage of human-AI interaction – whether paranoid or starry-eyed – tends […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: Linguistics
Are you part robot? A linguistic anthropologist explains how humans are like ChatGPT – both recycle language
Do you really have to learn the syntactic rules?
In these times in which, who more and who less, everyone allows himself to talk about science and its advances, the criticism that is directed towards certain professional sectors connected in a very direct way with science, such as the doctors and teachers, when they incorporate scientific advances. There are some very clear examples that […] … learn more→
Don’t be afraid to pass your first language, and accent, to your kids. It could be their superpower
Australia is a multicultural society. There are different traditions, cultures, accents and languages all over the country. The latest Census data show almost 30% of Australians speak a language other than English, or English and another language, at home. In our latest survey, we have had responses from 281 multilingual families across Australia, who speak a variety […] … learn more→
Stays abroad: the best way to learn a language?
“Immerse yourself in the language,” “impregnate”, “immerse yourself in a language bath”, all expressions that may suggest that a stay abroad is the miracle solution to learn a second language. Here, we want to quote the author of the blog “The world of languages” : “the problem with this myth is that it leads you to believe […] … learn more→
Linguists found the weirdest languages – and English is one of them
Is English “weird”? Many of us might feel this is true when we’re trying to explain the complex spelling rules of the language, or the meanings of idioms such as “it’s raining cats and dogs” to someone who is learning English. Teaching or learning any language is, however, never an easy task. But what is a “weird” […] … learn more→