Linguistics | University of Toronto Magazine - University of Toronto Magazine

Illustration of speech bubbles above several people, a few blank, a few with different colour gradients, and a few in the shape of landscapes, such as trees and water

The Hidden Power of Words

How verb tenses, word sounds – even abbreviations – shape perceptions, behaviour and trust in a digital world Read More

A collage of two toddlers playing with building blocks and figurines, and a rectangle filled with words in different languages behind them

The Science of Baby Talk

A U of T Mississauga lab finds that children pick up on a lot more than just words as they learn how to speak Read More

Xin Yi Lim, with bracelets, bangles and tattoos on her arms, is standing near an archway column at the University College Quad.

Eleven ‘Channels,’ One Mind

The extraordinary multilingual talents of Xin Yi Lim Read More

Digital illustration of a speech bubble with red maple leaves and question marks inside. Three people are looking at the speech bubble, with two thinking of answers and one appearing to have the answers.

From ‘Rink Rats’ to ‘Bunny Hugs’

How well do you know Canadian words? Read More

Banner filled with five rows of small different coloured squares. Inside each square is one of five alternating emoji: a girl with messy hair, a samosa, a smiley face with headphones, a steel pan drum and three smiley face emoji caught up in a tornado.

Are Emoji Becoming the World’s First Universal Language?

At U of T Mississauga, students are creating their own tiny icons for our phones. “Dizzy tornado face,” anyone? Read More

Professor Ai Taniguchi, sitting in an armchair. Behind her is a table full of books and a framed painting.

Drawing Connections

Professor Ai Taniguchi explores how art and language can bring us together Read More

Bruce Stonefish sitting in front of the entrance to a wooden lodge, with green tarp partially covering the entrance

A Lifeline for an Endangered Language

U of T linguists have partnered with an Indigenous community member to bring the Munsee dialect back from the brink of extinction Read More

Rows of school chairs with slang words written on the desk arms: Mans ting, nize it, ahlie, miskeen

Do You Know Toronto Slang?

Youth are drawing from several languages spoken by the city’s immigrants to create a novel form of English Read More

The Oxford English Dictionary in Robarts Library at the University of Toronto, June 19, 2019. Photo by Nick Iwanyshyn

The Great Canadian Word Hunt

Canadian meanings of “soaker” and “bush party” don’t exist in the Oxford English Dictionary. A U of T linguistics prof is aiming to change that Read More

I’ll Rassle You for a Dozen Up!

Small-town Ontario English preserves older terms that have fallen out of use in the province’s larger cities Read More

OMG I Luv IM

Teens use a lot of instant messaging terms, but not in spoken conversation, study finds Read More

You Say Tomato…

Retiring linguistics prof identified unique characteristics of Canadian speech Read More

Rad! I Went Endo on My Dual Boinger and Got John Boy’ed!

A not-so-definitive guide to mountain biking slang Read More

The Power of Television

A popular sitcom may be changing the way we speak Read More

In Search of Yiddish

A Toronto couple’s gift will help preserve a declining language Read More

The Gay Voice

Some men may subconsciously adopt certain female speech patterns Read More

U.S. of Eh?

Canadian English is not being Americanized to the extent once thought, and in fact the reverse is also happening Read More