language

Looking for a faster way to learn a language? Try historical linguistics

A new study conducted by UBC English professor Dr. James Stratton finds that one of the best ways of fast-tracking your language acquisition may be to learn a bit of language history – at least when it comes to learning a historically related language.

Dec 20, 2022

There is something intuitive about how the unevenness of a rough surface is reflected in the repetitive and noisy sound of a trilled ‘r’.

R links sound and touch across languages

Turns out, some words are more tactile than you might expect. That’s according to a new global study noting a clear linguistic connection between sound and touch.

Jan 31, 2022

The findings show that at an early age, infants are attending to and learning from their environment. Credit: Sav Nijeboer/Infant Studies Centre

Babies can learn link between language and ethnicity, study suggests

Eleven-month-old infants can learn to associate the language they hear with ethnicity, recent research from the University of British Columbia suggests.

Jun 25, 2019

UBC experts available to comment on new census data

UBC experts available to comment on new census data

UBC experts are available to comment on new 2016 census data expected to be released by Statistics Canada Aug. 2 on families, households, marital status and language.

Aug 1, 2017

Ga-ga, goo-goo, why a baby likes you

Ga-ga, goo-goo, why a baby likes you

By the age of one, infants already prefer speakers of their native tongue, but do not necessarily view speakers of an unfamiliar language negatively, according to new UBC research.

Jul 13, 2017

Infants raised in bilingual environments can distinguish unfamiliar languages: UBC research

Infants raised in households where Spanish and Catalan are spoken can discriminate between English and French just by watching people speak, even though they have never been exposed to these new languages before, according to UBC psychologist Janet Werker.

Feb 18, 2011