The words people choose — and the signals that accompany them — reveal more than information alone. Here we look at vocabulary, body language, nonverbal cues, and the relationship between language, perception, and the way people think.
When the Kuuk Thaayorre people of Pormpuraaw, Australia, are asked to arrange picture cards showing a sequence of events — a man aging, a crocodile growing — they do not lay them left to right or right to left.
A manuscript crosses the desk in which a character "got hurt." Not was hit by a car, not fell, not was beaten—just got hurt, the agent dissolved out of the sentence entirely.
Read enough apology emails and you start to notice the tell. The sentences get shorter.
A great vocabulary is an essential tool in a writer’s toolbox. Using new words can transform dull, lifeless phrases into something much more engaging.
Navigating the English language can be a bit like trying to tame a wild bull. Just when you think you’ve wrangled it into submission, you’re thrown in the mud and treated to a kick in the head.
