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Tuesday, April 7, 2026
TopicLanguages

Topic: Languages

Why are humans able to speak & learn complex languages? The answer could be locked in a gene variant

ScientiFix, our weekly feature, offers you a summary of the top global science stories of the week, with links to their sources.

Hindi to English to Hungarian—why swear words sound obscene

The idea that the sounds in such words contribute to their offensiveness violates a linguistic principle—that the relationship between the sound and meaning of a word is arbitrary.

Korean is fastest growing language in India, thanks to Squid Game & K-pop, survey finds

English, Hindi, French and Spanish are the top four languages Indians are currently learning, according to survey by language learning app Duolingo.

Not just Sanskrit, Gujarati owes a lot to Arabic and Persian languages too

Words from ‘foreign’ languages like Arabic, Persian, and English used in spoken Gujarati were replaced with those derived from Sanskrit.

Iron tablets, polio-drug vials will soon come with labels in Hindi, other Indian languages

The proposal focuses on iron tablets and polio drops as they are the drugs most commonly administered to children at government centres.

Global Pulse: Bhutan’s balancing act, German party wants to defeat nativism with humour

While Doklam is diffused, it may well propel Bhutan out of its overreliance on India.

Nervous HRD ministry waves red flag as Niti Aayog panel stokes language row in Tamil Nadu

Panel appointed by Niti Aayog after a review of autonomous bodies by the Department of Education wants merger of Classical Tamil Institute with national body. ANUBHUTI VISHNOI

On Camera

Rahul Gandhi wants to jail Himanta Sarma but Congress has a Bihar-sized problem in Assam

The Congress has promised Rs 50,000 assistance to each woman but as we've seen in many recent elections, voters seem to be conscious of the proverb: 'A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.'

Stocks fall, oil prices climb as Trump issues fresh threat to Iran ahead of his deadline

Fears that an escalation of the conflict could heighten a fuel squeeze & endanger the economy unnerved traders, with NYT reporting Iran stopped negotiating a truce with the US.

UAE walks away from financing Rafale F5 due to restricted access to technology, reports French media

French newspaper La Tribune earlier last week indicated that UAE withdrew from deal to fund EUR 3.5 billion. India is looking to order 114 new Rafales, which could include the F5.

China insulated itself against energy shocks. India is ‘all talk, no walk’

China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.