Language

Ngā tākaro – sports, tamaiti – child, tamariki – children, māhita – teacher, pouaka tina – lunchbox, wai ipu – water bottle, pene rākau – pencil, pukapuka – book. Audio

Tūru – chair, rorohiko – computer, pene – pen, papa pātuhi – keyboard, rātaka – daily planner, kōpae mārō – hard drive, waea – telephone, rama – lamp. Audio

When is a word really a word? When it's in the dictionary? How does it get there? Laurie Bauer, Professor of Linguistics at Victoria University, says dictionaries are out of date the moment they are… Audio

Words and phrases entering and leaving the language. Audio

The origins of hundreds of everyday words and phrases are in a new guide called 'The Etymologicon', which makes the interesting point that an influx of words into English often occurs at times of… Audio

Recent research has found that words spelled with more letters on the right of the keyboard are associated with more positive emotions than words spelt with more letters on the left. Audio

New research examining the frequency of words used in books for more than 200 years reveals the rise and demise of them through time, and how social, technological and political change influences… Audio

Dr. Dianna Bardsley, Director of the New Zealand Dictionary Centre at Victoria University of Wellington. Audio

Linguist Professor Miriam Meyerhoff of the Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland on young people and trends in how they use language. Audio

A poll on the Public Address website has declared "munted" the word of the year. Audio

World-renowned linguist who was keynote speaker at a recent symposium focusing on the survival of Maori and Pasifika languages. Audio

Dr Patterson is the President, Director of Research and co-founder of the Gorilla Foundation. Koko the gorilla can communicate with her human carers using sign language. Penny has worked with Koko for… Audio

Taboo words and coarse language on television. Audio

English writer Anthony Burgess once said, "Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture." Amelia Nurse talks to Jean Anderson, director of the NZ… Audio

Why do French words sound romantic and German words sound aggressive? Audio

Two official bibles of the world of Scrabble- updated and definitive lists of each and every word you can play- have just come out. There's nearly 3000 new words - from Facebook to wagyu - but still… Audio

New research suggests teaching children to read by the phonic method -- where words are sounded out bit by bit -- could leave the students worse off in the long term. Audio

A New Zealand biologist has caused a worldwide sensation with his claims that he has discovered the origin of human language. Dr Quentin Atkinson is a post doctoral researcher at Auckland University… Audio

Speech perception is the combination of responses a person has when listening to someone else speaking, and the processing of those sounds. How does it all work? Chris talked to Associate Professor… Audio