Why is lingustic archeology so fascinating? What is special about your forthcoming Atlas project? How do polygons and network diagrams help us understand how language works? We talked to Gerd Carling, the editor of “The Mouton Atlas of Languages and Cultures” about her fascination with languages, both modern and ancient.

The year 2019 has been assigned by UNESCO as the Year of the Periodic Table of the Elements. This, and the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table, can finally be celebrated in the company of no less than 118 elements, all earlier vacancies in the system having been filled. Some reflections on the naming of elements are certainly in order.