Like a lot of words used to describe women, ‘granny’ has taken on negative connotations - and it’s time to reclaim the word.

Laws may use complex syntax to indicate their special status, in much the same way magic spells use rhyme or archaic words.

For Australians, it’s a love story, so baby just say “yeah-nah”.

Could Chomsky have foreseen where his contributions would lead us?

The meanings we carry around in our heads seem so natural and inborn that we fail to realise other people can have quite different understandings.

The idea a language should grow simpler if people need to learn it as adults has an intuitive appeal. But an analysis of more than 1,200 languages shows this doesn’t quite stack up.