Richard Futrell

Human language is remarkably rich and intricate. Yet from the standpoint of information theory, the same ideas could theoretically be transmitted in a far more compressed format. That raises an intriguing question: why do people not communicate in a digital system of ones and zeros like computers do? Michael Hahn, a linguist based in Saarbrücken, set out to answer that question with Richard Futrell from the University of California, Irvine.

For the full story, please visit https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260219040811.htm.