In any language, Sonja Elen Kisa was depressed. The world was overwhelming, and the thoughts that swirled through her mind in French, English, German or Esperanto echoed that. So Kisa, 28, a student ...

From the earliest cave paintings to modern-day novels, from poetry to speeches and impassioned letters to music lyrics, we have used words and symbols to express our inner thoughts, interpret our ...

For big fans of James Cameron’s Avatar, the 13-year wait between the original and this year’s sequel probably felt near interminable. But die-hard fans might have counted with a bit more agony and say ...

When words fail them, creative writers imagine entirely new ones. Author Patti Callahan Henry examines fictional language, from the words of Tolkien to her own. Our editors and experts handpick every ...