Can we talk to the animals? ( David Shariatmadari, The Guardian)

Some, like dolphins or chimps, are sophisticated communicators. But do they have their own languages? It’s a question that misses the point.

Chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky, chosen to be the subject of a language experiment, rides with Prof Herbert Terrace of Columbia University in a scene from Project Nim. Photograph: Susan Kuklin/AP.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to become a real-life Doctor Dolittle,” says Lucy Cooke, introducing a new BBC series on animal communication. It’s a fantasy many of us share. Some believe they’ve already achieved it – a colleague is convinced that she is able to have a civilised conversation with her tabby, Coco.

‘Hobbitses’ and Frankenstein: how pop culture’s words become official ( Kory Stamper, The Guardian)

Though fantasy and sci-fi have invented hundreds of new words, only a few pass muster to make it into the dictionary.

JK Rowling invented ‘Quidditch’ in her Harry Potter books, but ‘muggle’ once meant ‘a tail resembling that of a fish’. Photograph: Jaap Buitendijk/AP.

Water cooler conversation at a dictionary company tends towards the odd. A while ago I was chatting with one of my colleagues about our respective defining batches. “I’m not sure,” he said, “what to do about the plural of ‘hobbit’. There are some citations for ‘hobbitses’, but I think they may be facetious uses. Have any thoughts?”