Though most people in this world never want to think about maths after school, let's talk about its symbols. Where and when did the symbols for addition and subtraction get invented? We don't even question them when we see them now. But what the heck did people use before that? Read More >>

Twitter has announced that they have added some new user interface languages that nobody gives a damn about. Their biggest achievement: including LOLCAT as an option. Yes, people, they have localised their entire user interface using the stupid wording from the lolcat memes. You are so clever, Twitter. Read More >>

The French, probably in the midst of a Malian air war adrenaline rush, have gone on another offensive: the hashtag is out. From now on, it's called a mot-dièse, which is sort of like a Twitter Royale with Cheese. Read More >>

A former editor of the Oxford English Dictionary staged a bizarre secret battle on foreign words over many years, deleting thousands of them from OED supplements -- and blaming his predecessors for the linguistic vandalism. Read More >>

The longest word in English has 189,819 letters and would take you three and a half hours to pronounce correctly. Seriously. It's the chemical name of Titin (or connectin), a giant protein "that functions as a molecular spring which is responsible for the passive elasticity of muscle." You can listen to a guy pronounce the whole damn word. Read More >>

I think I'm going to puke a Tumblr's worth of emotions because GIF has been named the Oxford American Dictionary's 2012 word of the year. ZOMG! Read More >>

It's unlikely that you speak Mandarin, but that doesn't mean you won't need to at some point. Now, Microsoft has created software that can analyse your speech, translate it and then spit out a new recording of your very own voice speaking in a different language. Read More >>

Dictionaries exist in between a rock and a hard place: jump on new words too late and they look like a dinosaur, add in words too early and they're made into a mockery. Words are hard, yes, but some words don't exactly need defining like some of these just added to the Oxford Dictionaries Online. Read More >>

"What are your favourite Sci Fi movies?" "I like Star Wars and The Matrix," comes the typed reply. I am trying to work out if I'm talking to a "hidden human" in the next room, or actually a machine located somewhere in cyberspace. Read More >>

Google wants to change the way the world writes software. In recent years, the search giant has unveiled two new programming languages that seek to improve on some of the most widely used languages on the planet. Read More >>

The Image Language, a new site that you're about to waste your morning on, strings together images instead of words to make visual sentences. Type whatever you want into the box, and each word is instantly replaced by the first result of a Google Images search. Totally pointless, totally fun. Read More >>

While there's no denying that your ability to get the partner of your dreams might require some smooth talking, it's always seemed somewhat of an imprecise science. Now, research suggests that the secret to success lies in the way you use your pronouns. Read More >>

If you find that you're forever making foolish decisions, there might be a solution. A team of researchers has found that thinking in a foreign language sees people make more rational decisions. Read More >>

There was a time when people used to go to night classes or buy DIY guides to learn foreign languages in their spare time. But the New York Times is to have us believe that French and Spanish are out of the window, to be replaced by Python and Java. Read More >>

It almost sounds too good to be true, but apparently Microsoft’s developed the holy grail for Brits abroad -- a piece of software that learns your voice and uses it to speak in a language you simply can’t. Read More >>