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From the rise of leetspeak and words such as “unalive” to the trend of adding “-core” to different influencer aesthetics, the internet has ushered in an unprecedented linguistic upheaval. We’re entering an entirely new era of etymology, heralded by the invisible forces driving social media algorithms. And with over 7 billion internet users uploading over 2.5 quintillion bytes of media every day, the sheer volume of potential new words is astounding.

Could the first words spoken by Homo sapiens have been ‘hey, hold the baby!’? Madeleine Beekman, a visionary evolutionary biologist walks readers along a path through deep time that our forebears trod toward creating human language, populating the planet, and understanding the universe. Human accomplishments, all rooted in language, didn't come from supposedly male dominated activities like hunting or making war, their origin lies in a culture of caring, of looking after the weakest among us, our relatively helpless children.

The English alphabet is a tool that we've inherited down the centuries from ancient creators around the world. The alphabet hasn't always had its present form, but rather has undergone all sorts of changes and evolutions to suit the needs of the time. Did you know that five English letters come from a single graphic grandparent? Or that we may know the specific person who invented the letter G? Do you know why Z is the sixth letter for the Greeks, yet the last for us? Or why Q needs to be followed by U?

Bitch is a bitch of a word. It used to be a straightforward insult, but today—after so many variations and efforts to reject or reclaim the word—it's not always entirely clear what it means. Bitch is a chameleon. There are good bitches and bad bitches; sexy bitches and psycho bitches; boss bitches and even perfect bitches. This eye-opening deep-dive account takes us on a journey spanning a millennium, from its humble beginnings as a word for a female dog through to its myriad meanings today, proving that sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks.

A comprehensive and thought-provoking investigation into one of the most polarizing words in the English language. Few words in the English language are as misunderstood as “like.” Indeed, excessive use of this word is a surefire way to make those who pride themselves on propriety, both grammatical and otherwise, feel compelled to issue correctives.

The groundbreaking science of how and why we talk, and how this ability impacts every area of our lives.