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How does the human brain process language?

Some of the pictorial signs used at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif.

Roman dog mosaic from the threshold of a house in Pompeii, “Cave canem” (“Beware of the dog”); National Archaeological Museum, Naples.

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Chinese pictograph, calligraphy tablet of Huang Tingjian, a famous calligrapher in Ancient Song Dynasty. The background of Chinese cultural elements.

The World’s 5 Most Commonly Used Writing Systems

A ginger cat sleeps in his soft cozy bed on a floor carpet, soft focus

Lay, Lie, Lied, Lain: When Do We Use Which?

Discover

Happy, smiling, flying pig

7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From

Internet http://www blue screen. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, media news television, crowd opinion protest, In the News 2009, breaking news

Who Invented the Internet?

Ethel Rosenberg arrested in August 1950. Photograph dated Aug. 8, 1950. American civilians executed for espionage. Spies, communists, Julius Rosenberg

Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game

Drinking water is poured into a glass.

Water Fluoridation: Just the Facts

US Marines firing at Fallujah, Iraq, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq War.

Timeline of the 2000s

Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.

9 Memorials and Monuments in the United States

Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.

7 Deadliest Weapons in History

writing: Related Content

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Photos and Videos

Some of the pictorial signs used at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif.

Roman dog mosaic from the threshold of a house in Pompeii, “Cave canem” (“Beware of the dog”); National Archaeological Museum, Naples.

papyrus loan contract

How does the human brain process language?

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Topics

technical writing orthography writing system handwriting civilization literature rhetoric literacy mass communication semiotics speech prosody grammar meaning dialect slang oral tradition profanity lingua franca Grimm’s law

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

language: Written language

Key People

Yevgeny Petrov

Soviet humorist

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt

Hungarian composer

Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn

German musician and composer

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier

Bahamanian American actor

Arthur Ransome

English author

Mari Evans

American author

Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver

American poet

Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith

American writer

Leon Edel

American critic and biographer

E.B. White

American writer

Quiz

Fiery heart or heart made of flames with a dark concrete wall background. (love, Valentine's Day)

Love It or Hate It Vocabulary Quiz

Misspelled words (sequel) thumbnail image (by EB) on original Getty image in background (crumpled piece of paper)

Commonly Misspelled Words Vol. 2 Quiz

Hand with pencil writing on page. (handwriting; write)

Word Nerd Quiz

List

Chinese pictograph, calligraphy tablet of Huang Tingjian, a famous calligrapher in Ancient Song Dynasty. The background of Chinese cultural elements.

The World’s 5 Most Commonly Used Writing Systems

Demystified

A ginger cat sleeps in his soft cozy bed on a floor carpet, soft focus

Lay, Lie, Lied, Lain: When Do We Use Which?