Entries by Elio Esposito

Learning second language ‘slows brain ageing’

Learning a second language could improve reading and intelligence skills Learning a second language can have a positive effect on the brain, even if it is taken up in adulthood, a University of Edinburgh study suggests. Researchers found that reading, verbal fluency and intelligence were improved in a study of 262 people tested either aged […]

Mapping the Most Influential Languages on Earth

An MIT Media Lab project maps the links that spread information from people who speak Urdu to Italian to Swahili. The most influential language on the planet is English, as you could probably guess. But why? Chinese has the most native speakers worldwide. A new interactive graphic from researchers at MIT Media Lab visualizes the major linguistic link between […]

Google Translate Adds 10 More Languages, Including Burmese

Google’s translation tool is constantly adding new languages, but its latest update is notable because it includes Burmese, the official language of Myanmar, as well as Malayalam, one of India’s six classical languages with 38 million speakers. The latter is especially significant because it ties into Google’s efforts to get more Indian users onto its services. […]