Linguistics
![Preserving China’s minority languages thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0026/77363/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Preserving China’s minority languages
A language preservation project is working to record and preserve some of China’s minority languages to ensure they don’t die out
![Vocal fry: What is it and why does it still polarise listeners? thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0031/84775/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Vocal fry: What is it and why does it still polarise listeners?
Love, hate or ambivalence about this vocal style may depend on our age and gender. Linguists and voice experts explain vocal fry’s origins and its place in society
![Who is nature? thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0032/84875/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Who is nature?
A new film taps into virtual reality and First Nations wisdom to help people re-conceive of the nature around them, not as a thing but as a “who” in a relationship that needs give and take
![I don’t think that word means what you think it means thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0027/90738/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
I don’t think that word means what you think it means
Words change their meaning over time, but it can be hard to keep up, especially when some words evolve to mean the opposite of their original definition
![How do you crack the code to a lost ancient script? thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0024/91491/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
How do you crack the code to a lost ancient script?
The decipherment of Linear B, the earliest form of Greek, was a history changing achievement, but decoding the older Linear A would open a new window on the origins of European culture
![‘Like’ has totally evolved to become, like, a legit word thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0014/100364/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
‘Like’ has totally evolved to become, like, a legit word
The word ‘like’ is often frowned upon but, mainly because of young women, it’s here to stay and is far more sophisticated than we might think
![Words and war: The role of the linguist in conflict resolution thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0021/107292/varieties/375w.jpg)
Politics & Society
Podcast
Words and war: The role of the linguist in conflict resolution
Opportunities for open dialogue are the key to healing societies
![Preserving precious Indigenous languages thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0010/103321/varieties/375w.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Preserving precious Indigenous languages
Linguists are using new technology to return decades-old recordings of near-extinct languages to the communities where they were made
![How small talk can lead to big things thumbnail image](https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0031/105979/varieties/375w.jpg)
Politics & Society
How small talk can lead to big things
A casual conversation between friends is a valuable tool for a University of Melbourne linguist - it provides him with a rich opportunity to study how linguistic structures deliver social action