R. Allen Gardner, 91, Dies; Taught Sign Language to a Chimp Named Washoe

He and his wife and collaborator made headlines with their finding that they could communicate with a young ape using the language of the deaf.

A.C.L.U. Apologizes for Tweet That Altered Quote by Justice Ginsburg

The organization acknowledged that changing references from women to people was a mistake — albeit a well-intentioned one.

Opinion | Gender Pronouns Are Changing. It’s Exhilarating.

Embrace “they” for “he” or “she.” Pronoun history is fluid.

Opinion | How to Say What You Need to Say in Another Language

“My uncle is a lawyer, but my aunt has a spoon” is not useful language instruction.

Why Use a Dictionary in the Age of Internet Search?

Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity.

How Language Classes Are Moving Past the Gender Binary

Languages that contain only “he” and “she” pronouns pose problems for communicating about gender identity. Here’s how some language teachers are helping.

‘Reversing Gears’: China Increasingly Rejects English, and the World

A movement against Western influence threatens to close off a nation that succeeded in part by welcoming new ideas.

How a Question on Sign Language Led to a Deeper Look at Deaf Culture

To understand the process of name signing, a Times team turned to people who knew it best.

Opinion | The Softening of American Conversation

A coarsening in our language? No, I hear a flowering of deference.

Lila Gleitman, Who Showed How Children Learn Language, Dies at 91

Building on the work of Noam Chomsky, she designed elegant experiments to show that syntax is hard-wired into the human brain.

Barbara Kannapell, Activist Who Empowered Deaf People, Dies at 83

She gave them a sense of identity and culture and helped legitimize American Sign Language, which she considered her native language.

Don’t Call Them ‘Shark Attacks,’ Scientists Say

In recent years, researchers and wildlife officials in Australia and the United States have adopted terms like “bites,” “incidents” and “encounters.” They wish the public would, too.

Training the Next Generation of Indigenous Data Scientists

A new workshop explores the right of Indigenous people to govern the collection, ownership and use of their biological and cultural data.

F.A.A. Committee Recommends a Pivot to Gender-Neutral Terminology

The committee suggested that the aviation administration replace words and phrases including “cockpit” and “man-made” with terms like “flight deck” and “manufactured.”

India’s ‘Ugliest’ Language? Google Had an Answer (and Drew a Backlash).

A Google fact box singled out Kannada, a language spoken in the country’s south. The faux pas highlights the algorithm’s fallibility.

He Is Senegalese and French, With Nothing to Reconcile

David Diop, an International Booker Prize finalist for his novel “At Night All Blood Is Black,” is among the writers whose work is helping France face its history with Africa.

Alabama Lifts Its Ban on Yoga in Schools

For the first time in three decades, yoga can be taught, but the law will still bar teachers from using Sanskrit names for poses.