Hacker News with Generative AI: Language

Dialogue-only subtitles are finally making their way to Netflix (neowin.net)
If you use subtitles on Netflix, which Netflix says makes you part of the nearly half of all viewing hours on Netflix in the US that happen with subtitles or captions on, you now have the option to turn on original language subtitles that show only the spoken dialogue.
Netflix, Subtitles, Accessibility, Streaming, Language
13 points by bundie 1 day ago | 2 comments
Kakistocracy: Rule by the Worst (econlib.org)
Every year in December, The Economist finds a “word of the year” that summarizes a major event or trend and has gained popularity in its wake.
Politics, Language, Trends, Economics
16 points by KnuthIsGod 2 days ago | 5 comments
The Ghosts of Gaelic (historytoday.com)
April 2025 is the 20th anniversary of the Gaelic Language Act (Scotland) of 2005, passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament with the aim of ‘securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language’. It has provided the main policy framework for Gaelic since then.
Language, Scotland, History, Politics
61 points by apollinaire 3 days ago | 52 comments
A weird phrase is plaguing scientific papers (theconversation.com)
Earlier this year, scientists discovered a peculiar term appearing in published papers: “vegetative electron microscopy”.
Science, Language, Research, Academic Publishing
81 points by greyadept 4 days ago | 37 comments
"Upgrade" has become the most frightening word in the English language (2016) (nytimes.com)
I was disappointed when the website of Oxford Dictionaries called off its search for the worst word in the English language before I got a chance to have my say.
Language, Culture, Opinion, Technology
31 points by lvnfg 5 days ago | 25 comments
Europe's Language Revolution (brusselstimes.com)
Europe, Language, Culture, Politics
6 points by yusufaytas 6 days ago | 0 comments
What Is Death? (preservinghope.substack.com)
In the past few decades, medical science has rendered obsolete centuries of experience, tradition, and language about our mortality and created a new difficulty for mankind: how to die.
Death, Medicine, Language
6 points by paulpauper 9 days ago | 0 comments
Federal Government's Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship (pen.org)
A growing list of words and materials are being scrubbed from government websites and documents in an attempt by the Trump administration to remove all references not only to diversity, equity and inclusion, but also to climate change, vaccines, and a host of other topics.
Censorship, Government, Politics, Language
24 points by nialse 10 days ago | 10 comments
Japanese Typography Essentials: Japanese Type Between Japanese and Latin (researchgate.net)
Typography, Japanese Language, Design, Language
13 points by bryanrasmussen 11 days ago | 2 comments
QWERTY for Western European Languages (altgr-weur.eu)
A standard United States QWERTY keyboard is practical, even in Europe.
Keyboard Layouts, Europe, Language
3 points by anewhnaccount2 12 days ago | 1 comments
National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers (apnews.com)
Trump is trying to reshape the global economy. It seems in open rebellion against his tariffs
Weather, Language, Politics, International Relations
64 points by geox 16 days ago | 75 comments
Parrots and humans share a brain mechanism for speech (sciencenews.org)
When it comes to speech, parrots have the gift of gab. And the way the brains of small parrots known as budgerigars bestow this gift is remarkably similar to human speech, researchers report March 19 in Nature.
Neuroscience, Animal Behavior, Language, Birds
6 points by gmays 23 days ago | 0 comments
Spanish speakers in Philadelphia break traditional rules of speech in signs (phys.org)
I've discovered something fascinating about how Spanish speakers in Philadelphia address each other and communicate through public signs.
Linguistics, Urban Planning, Philadelphia, Culture, Language
3 points by PaulHoule 23 days ago | 2 comments
At Chrysler I Kept a Glossary of Ridiculous Corporate Terms Engineers Overused (theautopian.com)
When I became a full-time engineer at Chrysler at age 21, there were certain elements of the corporate environment that I found flat-out odd.
Automotive, Engineering, Corporate Culture, Language
14 points by rmason 26 days ago | 7 comments
Greek Language Question (wikipedia.org)
The Greek language question (Greek: το γλωσσικό ζήτημα, to glossikó zítima) was a dispute about whether the vernacular of the Greek people (Demotic Greek) or a cultivated literary language based on Ancient Greek (Katharevousa) should be the prevailing language of the people and government of Greece.
Language, History, Greece, Politics
26 points by brendanashworth 26 days ago | 1 comments
‘Watch the Skies,’ First Feature Film Dubbed Entirely With AI (variety.com)
A foreign language sci-fi movie is headed to U.S. movie theaters this spring, but audiences won’t have to groan about subtitles. For the first time, an international feature film will look and sound as if it was made in English thanks to artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence, Film, Technology, Language
7 points by geox 28 days ago | 1 comments
Welcome to the Semantic Apocalypse (theintrinsicperspective.com)
An awful personal prophecy is coming true. Way back in 2019, when AI was still a relatively niche topic, and only the primitive GPT-2 had been released, I predicted the technology would usher in a “semantic apocalypse” wherein art and language were drained of meaning. In fact, it was the first essay ever posted here on The Intrinsic Perspective.
Artificial Intelligence, Language, Art, Prophecy
9 points by greg_V 29 days ago | 2 comments
Bonobo genius Kanzi, who could understand English and play Minecraft, dies at 44 (livescience.com)
Animal Intelligence, Language, Video Games, Science
15 points by amichail 35 days ago | 2 comments
Can Parrot Brains Teach Us About Human Speech? (smithsonianmag.com)
Parrots have long fascinated humans with their ability to mimic speech, but new research reveals their brains do more than just imitate—they use complex neural systems that parallel the way humans produce speech.
Parrots, Neuroscience, Language, Animal Intelligence, Speech
36 points by ulrischa 36 days ago | 3 comments
How the language of job postings can attract rule-bending narcissists (arstechnica.com)
Looking to hire someone? Check your wording very carefully.
Hiring, Psychology, Language, Narcissism, Job Search
7 points by NotInOurNames 36 days ago | 0 comments
The Race to Decipher Cuneiform in the 19th Century (smithsonianmag.com)
On a late-summer day in 1856, a letter carrier stepped from a mail coach in front of a three-story townhouse in Mayfair, in central London. Crossing the threshold, the courier handed a wax-sealed envelope to a clerk. The missive was addressed to Edwin Norris, the secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, one of Europe’s leading research institutions.
History, Archaeology, Language, Ancient Civilizations
38 points by Petiver 37 days ago | 2 comments
Most of the World Can't Code (ycombinator.com)
Programming is only accessible to those who understand English and the Latin alphabet.
Programming, Accessibility, Language, Globalization
10 points by jayathra 40 days ago | 41 comments
Genomic study: our capacity for language emerged at least 135k years ago (phys.org)
It is a deep question, from deep in our history: when did human language as we know it emerge? A new survey of genomic evidence suggests our unique language capacity was present at least 135,000 years ago. Subsequently, language might have entered social use 100,000 years ago.
Genomics, Language, Evolution, History, Science
113 points by wglb 40 days ago | 90 comments
Latin and the Big Questions (thecatholicthing.org)
William Sitwell, praising the decision of the British Department of Education to cease funding the Latin Excellence Programme (LEP), recently wrote in London’s The Telegraph that “the loss of Latin from schools is a triumph, not a tragedy,” explaining that “the ancient language has little relevance in today’s society.”
Education, Language, Culture
16 points by michaelsbradley 42 days ago | 0 comments
These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration (nytimes.com)
As President Trump seeks to purge the federal government of “woke” initiatives, agencies have flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid, according to a compilation of government documents.
Politics, Language, Government, Trump Administration, Social Justice
12 points by adrian_mrd 49 days ago | 0 comments
Designating English as the Official Language of the United States (whitehouse.gov)
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Politics, United States, Language
9 points by booleandilemma 52 days ago | 2 comments
AI models makes precise copies of cuneiform characters (news.cornell.edu)
Deciphering some people’s writing can be a major challenge – especially when that writing is cuneiform characters imprinted into 3,000-year-old tablets.
Artificial Intelligence, Archaeology, History, Language, Technology
69 points by geox 53 days ago | 20 comments
Apple's Dictation System Transcribes the Word 'Racist' as 'Trump' (nytimes.com)
While using Apple’s automatic dictation feature to send messages on Tuesday, some iPhone users reported seeing a peculiar bug: the word “racist” temporarily appearing as “Trump,” before quickly correcting itself.
Apple, Bugs, Artificial Intelligence, Software, Language
30 points by cwmartin 59 days ago | 23 comments
Cursing appears to improve exercise performance (nlm.nih.gov)
Swearing, or using taboo language with the potential to offend, has been shown to improve physical performance during short and intense tasks requiring strength and power development.
Health, Exercise, Language
6 points by leohonexus 61 days ago | 2 comments
The Wrongs of Thomas More (nealstephenson.substack.com)
In my previous post I talked about spelunking through the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of “wrong” to see how the usage of that word had developed down through the ages.
History, Language, Literature
128 points by robinhouston 61 days ago | 92 comments