Natural languages comprise elaborate systems of rules that enable one speaker to communicate with another 7. These rules serve to simplify the production of language and enable an infinite array of ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Irregular verbs are the bane of any effort to learn English, but new research looking at how language evolves suggests frequent use keeps pesky irregular verbs like "take" from ...

This article is reposted from the old WordPress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science. The blog is on holiday until the start of October, when I’ll return with fresh material. For decades, ...

Explore the evolutionary dynamics of language through verb changes seen from Old English to modern times. Discover the future of irregular verbs. This article is reposted from the old Wordpress ...

English, like most Germanic languages, has many regular ("weak") verbs, like work, worked, worked (in standard dictionary format, listing present, past, and past participle), and a bewildering ...

Verbs evolve and homogenize at a rate inversely proportional to their prevalence in the English language, according to a formula developed by Harvard University mathematicians who've invoked ...

Tracing the evolution of English verbs over 1,200 years -- from the Old English of “Beowulf” to the modern English of “The Princess Diaries” -- researchers have found that the majority of irregular ...