A logical look at the subjectivity of speech

Suppose you see a Vermeer in a museum and wish to express your reaction to some companions. You could say, “That’s a beautiful painting.” Or you could tell them, “I think that painting looks good.” Surely either of those phrases expresses the same basic point. MIT philosopher Justin Khoo would beg to differ. Indeed, Khoo enjoys prying apart the difference between such statements until a yawning gap appears. For instance, if you say, “I think that painting looks good,” you could be expressing doubt about your own assessment, which is not present in the phrase, “That’s a beautiful painting.” Or, if you say, “That’s a beautiful painting,” your companions may disagree — but if you say, “I think that painting looks good,” they cannot disagree that you really do believe the painting looks good.

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Speaking 'baby talk' to infants isn’t just cute: It could help them learn to make words

A new study suggests that when parents baby talk to their infants, they might be helping them learn to produce speech. The way we instinctively speak to babies -- higher pitch, slower speed, exaggerated pronunciation -- not only appeals to them, but likely helps them learn to understand what we're saying. New research from the University of Florida suggests that baby talk can have another, previously unknown benefit: helping babies learn to produce their own speech. By mimicking the sound of a smaller vocal tract, the researchers think, we're cluing babies in to how the words should sound coming out of their own mouths.

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