Language

The Langogo Genesis is a hand-held pocket translator, smaller than a smartphone, that uses noise-cancelling microphones to translate between more than 100 languages, while offering you a 4G WiFi hotspot while you're travelling. We've been using one for the last few weeks.

​An academic from the University of Bristol in the UK has reportedly cracked the codex behind the so-called Voynich code. The language used in the 200-page manuscript has remained a mystery since it came to light more than a century ago.

A new study has demonstrated that six-month-old babies raised in a bilingual environment tend to display better attentional control than their monolingual exposed counterparts. The results suggest cognitive benefits from bilingual exposure can manifest before infants are even capable of speech.

More than 80 percent of people from the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden say they can hold a conversation in English. But that falls to below 60 percent in nearby Germany. What could account for the disparity? TV subtitles, apparently.

​Not long ago, if you told someone there was a device that allowed your spoken words to instantly be heard in another language, they might not believe you. Well, there are now several such gadgets available, and we recently tried out a unique new model – Misway Technology's Smark two-way translator.

The earlier the better has been the general consensus in regards to when a child can best learn a second language, but a new study of over half a million people has found children have the ability to grasp a new language at later ages than previously thought.

​Researchers have analyzed brain scans from both multilingual and monolingual people, all of whom were previously diagnosed with either Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Their conclusion: knowing a second language may help offset the effects of degenerative brain disorders.

Hospital workers often have their hands full, plus they also often have to communicate with patients who speak other languages. With this in mind, Fujitsu Laboratories has developed what it claims is "the world's first wearable, hands-free speech translation device."

In the Star Trek universe, Vulcans could form a mental bond with someone else, syncing up their brains to the point that the two basically shared one consciousness. Researchers in Spain have now shown that humans do something a bit similar – just by having a conversation.

​​It was last year that we first heard about ili, an electronic translator that doesn't require an internet connection in order to work. Now, its makers have taken a step forward by announcing pricing and availability.​

Many older buildings are ornamented with gargoyles, grotesques, famous figures, and the like – but emoji? That's a first as far as we know. Amsterdam's Attika Architekten has adorned a building with 22 of the grinning, laughing, and scowling images.

​A recent study has shown that babies begin learning and storing speech earlier than previously thought. The findings show that language learning in the first six months of life is subconsciously retained even when a child is raised to speak an entirely different language.