Tony Thorne
@tonythorne007.bsky.social
š¤ 1887
š„ 1376
š 2582
Slang, new language, etymology, cultural history. Language Consultant at King's College London.
reposted by
Tony Thorne
Brigitte Nerlich
about 16 hours ago
I have been charting the linguistic and cultural framing of emerging tech from Dolly the Sheep onwards. This week's post is about Moltbook, a social networking platform for AI agents which was a bit of a viral sensation
makingsciencepublic.com/2026/02/13/m...
#AI
#metaphor
#AIMetaphorObservatory
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Moltbook: Snapshots of a metaphorical firework
In late January 2026, a social network appeared where only AIs could post and within days, the internet had responded with an explosion of parodies, panic, and metaphors that revealed as much aboutā¦
https://makingsciencepublic.com/2026/02/13/moltbook-snapshots-of-a-metaphorical-firework/
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Itās the fourteenth of Februaryā¦
about 16 hours ago
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Endangered Languages Project
1 day ago
Job alert for translators!
@wasafirimag.bsky.social
is seeking a UK-based Translator in Residence working with/in Endangered Languages. Applications are due February 15 - learn more at:
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Call for Applications: Wasafiri Translator in Residence ā Endangered Languages
We are excited to open applications for a UK-based Translator in Residence working with/in Endangered Languages ā and invite proposals from translatorsā¦
https://www.wasafiri.org/news-and-events/call-for-applications-wasafiri-translator-in-residence-endangered-languages/
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John Peters
1 day ago
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Christian Ilbury
1 day ago
Literally crazy. If the Linguistics department at
@essexuni.bsky.social
is at risk, then our entire field is at risk. This is incredibly short-sighted given that linguistics (with anti-immigration discourses, AI, and linguistic discrimination on the rise) is arguably needed more than ever.
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Peter Stefanovic
1 day ago
Plan 2 student loan interest is unfair, says Lucy Powell Deputy Labour leader says her son is in āegregiousā scheme under which many graduates face repayments that allow the debt to grow
www.thetimes.com/money/family...
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Plan 2 student loan interest is unfair, says Lucy Powell
Deputy Labour leader says her son is in āegregiousā scheme under which many graduates face repayments that allow the debt to grow
https://www.thetimes.com/money/family-finances/article/plan-2-student-loan-interest-unfair-lucy-powell-mpgf9hcvj
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Brigitte Nerlich
1 day ago
In this week's post I finally catch up with
#Moltbook
in my quest to hunt for
#AI
#metaphors
and cultural framing
makingsciencepublic.com/2026/02/13/m...
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Moltbook: Snapshots of a metaphorical firework
In late January 2026, a social network appeared where only AIs could post and within days, the internet had responded with an explosion of parodies, panic, and metaphors that revealed as much aboutā¦
https://makingsciencepublic.com/2026/02/13/moltbook-snapshots-of-a-metaphorical-firework/
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Peter Stefanovic
1 day ago
This is shocking. Cost of living crisis laid bare as almost half of Britons āhave under Ā£25 left at end of weekā Majority of UK adults forced to make difficult choices, with almost two-thirds found to be cutting back on essentials like food and heating
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
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Cost of living crisis laid bare as almost half of Britons āhave Ā£25 at end of weekā
Exclusive: Majority of UK adults forced to make difficult choices, with almost two-thirds found to be cutting back on essentials like food and heating
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cost-of-living-crisis-labour-keir-starmer-b2918064.html
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āPassionateā
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2 days ago
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Update from suburbiaā¦
2 days ago
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Tony Thorne
Kate McKean
3 days ago
Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick
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www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
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The Trump effect and 90s nostalgia: What's behind the rise in 'Chinamaxxing'?
A Chinamaxxing trend has emerged on social media with creators posting about being in a "very Chinese time of my life".
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/chinamaxxing-trend-and-why-everyone-want-to-be-chinese-now/n2607p6zg
3 days ago
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EngLangBlog
4 days ago
Our latest update to the very well-received
@engmediacentre.bsky.social
New Directions pack is now available! Written by Amanda Cole of University of Cambridge & me, it features 5 new summaries and Q&As, along with an updated glossary. Download it here:
www.englishandmedia.co.uk/publications...
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Even New(er) Directions: Language Diversity research and resource pack (Download, EMC_Free)
<p>An EMC collaboration with University of Essex, this is the second free download for teachers and students of A Level English Language bringing some of the most up to date research on linguistic var...
https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/publications-magazines/21049/even-newer-directions-language-diversity-research-and-resource-pack-download-emc/
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Susie Dent
4 days ago
A reminder of one of the loveliest pairs of siblings in the dictionary: āmuscleā and āmouseā. To the Roman imagination, the flexed biceps of a (typically naked) athlete resembled a rodent scuttling under the skin. āMusculusā, in Latin, means ālittle mouseā.
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Veronika Koller
4 days ago
Includes a chapter by the
@mantrap.bsky.social
team on using
#corpus
linguistics to address the effects of manosphere language
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Duskā¦
4 days ago
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Stan Carey
4 days ago
The post on "platty joobs" slang cites (and may be of interest to)
@darach.bsky.social
,
@maddysherratt.bsky.social
,
@tonythorne007.bsky.social
,
@christianilbury.bsky.social
,
@anghyflawn.net
,
@mscaitlinmoran.bsky.social
,
@gretchenmcculloch.com
,
@drwhen.bsky.social
, and others.
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Lane Greene
4 days ago
Been saying the EU target should be "2 languages (English plus)" forever. Spaniards sometimes say they can't make room to teach Catalan or Galician or Basque to Castilian-speakers because their English is so poor. Wrong! Good language learning culture benefits all.
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Sam Bright
4 days ago
This of course could have been resolved ages ago if Starmer had bothered to appoint a Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
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BBC World Service faces funding cliff edge in seven weeks, says Tim Davie
As trust in Russia and Chinaās state broadcasters grows, director general warns of the dangers of cutting back the service
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/10/bbc-world-service-funding-tim-davie
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Mark McGlashan
about 1 year ago
Did one! Not listed and should be? Let me know š
go.bsky.app/AT6KX6X
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John Lubbock
4 days ago
Fake and AI generated 'experts' are being quoted in articles in the UK press. "Out of a sample of 250 expert-quoting articles published in The Sun, Daily Express, Mirror, Daily Mail and Daily Star in 2025 and late 2024, 28 experts do not exist".
pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...
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Faces of fakery: More fake and AI generated experts con their way into media
New research from Press Gazette has uncovered a fresh tranche of likely fake and AI-generated experts making their way into UK publications.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-of-fakery-more-fake-and-ai-generated-experts-con-their-way-into-media/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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YoĆÆn van Spijk
10 days ago
The verb āto worryā has surprising family members. Within Germanic, itās related to German āwürgenā and Dutch āwurgenā, which mean āto strangleā. A little further down the family line, theyāre related to Latin āurgÄreā (to press), which gave English āurgentā. Click my new graphic to learn more:
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SCILT
5 days ago
š£Calling teachers of #French in all education sectors in Scotland! Sign up for the online launch of our Teachers of French in Scotland association, aka TOFIS on 23 Feb at 4.15:
https://loom.ly/q3sz-VA
#French
PS - you'll want to save the date for our next Future of French en Ćcosse forum too!
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BenoƮt Leclercq
5 days ago
š My paper "Semantics and pragmatics in Construction Grammarā is now Open Access! It challenges the blurred lines between semantics and pragmatics in CxG, advocating for clearer distinctions to enhance our understanding of linguistic constructions. š Read it here:
doi.org/10.1075/bjl....
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Semantics and pragmatics in Construction Grammar
Abstract This squib provides a theoretical discussion on the use of the terms semantics and pragmatics in Construction Grammar. In the literature, the difference between semantics and pragmatics is of...
https://doi.org/10.1075/bjl.00048.lec
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Word of the Day (it was used of Farage's latest promotion of weaponised nostalgia yesterday): 'boomerslop'...https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-vibes-app-videos-trump-slop-boomer-2025-11
5 days ago
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Linguist List
5 days ago
Jobs: General Linguistics, Phonetics: Lecturer in Linguistics (Teaching & Scholarship), Queen Mary University of London
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Jobs: General Linguistics, Phonetics: Lecturer in Linguistics (Teaching & Scholarship), Queen Mary University of London
Other Specialties: History of English Description: The Department of Linguistics, within the School of the Arts, is looking to appoint a Lecturer in Linguistics (Teaching and Scholarship) to cover a staff member on externally funded research leave. Duties will include convening, teaching and marking on the following modules: (i) LIN5224 Speech, Hearing, and Phonetic Sciences, (ii) LIN212 History of English, (iii) LIN7010 Sociophonetics, and (iv) LIN7078 Analysing Language Datasets. T
http://dlvr.it/TQsjHH
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Isabel Picornell
6 days ago
Advanced notice š The 18th Biennial Conference of the International Association for Forensic and Legal Linguistics (IAFLL 2027) will be held in Porto, Portugal, 12-16 July 2027 hosted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto.
#ForensicLinguistics
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Barbara Bleiman
6 days ago
Feb emagazine is now online and the print issue will be in schools in the next couple of weeks. It's chocabloc with great pieces. In this thread I'll give a taster of some of them. If you've not yet subscribed or re-subscribed, it's not too late! š§µ 1/
englishandmedia.co.uk/emc-magazines/
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Much maligned - and wrongly so...https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/09/gordon-brown-by-james-macintyre-review-a-very-different-kind-of-politician?CMP=share_btn_url
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Gordon Brown by James Macintyre review ā a very different kind of politician
A new biography reveals Brown to be a man of exceptional vision and probity ā what a contrast with todayās politics
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/09/gordon-brown-by-james-macintyre-review-a-very-different-kind-of-politician?CMP=share_btn_url
6 days ago
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Rebecca Shapiro
6 days ago
Here's the abstract for my talk in two weeks at Columbia U's linguistics department on profanity and what it's good for. It will be, as always, very fun.
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Licia Corbolante (@terminologia)
6 days ago
Chi ha scritto questo titolo non conosce il significato della parola BANDO in italiano. Presumo sia una traduzione dell'inglese BAN, ma sono
#falsiamici
. Dettagli:
www.terminologiaetc.it/2017/06/27/f...
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Tony Thorne
Dr Laura Varnam
6 days ago
My WORD OF THE WEEK for the coming week is āwearyā (not bc Iām exhausted, haha š¤ but bc it popped up in Richardsonās PAMELA which weāre reading with the second years & it made me think of its etymology in Old English, āwerigā and Grendel limping back to the mere āwerigmodā, weary in spirit).
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Apart from everything else I think the word āloserā is only ever used by the very worst people in the English-speaking world (it is borrowed by French and German speakers too, sometimes ironically, sometimes not)
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6 days ago
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Cliff Pervocracy
8 days ago
the miniature therapy horses that do hospital visits have little sneakers that they wear inside so they don't scuff up the floors
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History Cafe ā Ottoman Heritage
6 days ago
š From Old Books, 19th Century "Your image never fades from my heart, Even if valleys lie between us. For you, I have sown the seed of love in my heart; Harvest it each year until my death."
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Citizen.Coping
6 days ago
And so much of this is culturally determined. How Sweden survives without small talk.
youtu.be/_JrfZH3VZSI?...
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How Sweden survives without small talk - BBC REEL
YouTube video by BBC Global
https://youtu.be/_JrfZH3VZSI?feature=shared
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Tony Thorne
Language on the Move
6 days ago
Are you an early career researcher interested in communicating linguistics to broader audiences? Consider applying for a
@lingcomm.org
grant! Deadline April 30, via
@lingthusiasm.com
lingcomm.org/grants/
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Grants
2026 LingComm Grants ā Small Grants for Communicating Linguistics to Wider Audiences We want to see more linguistics in the world!Ā The 2026 LingComm Grants are $300 (USD) to support linā¦
https://lingcomm.org/grants/
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Jane Zacharzewski
7 days ago
A particularly fun one. Thank you YoĆÆn!
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Licia Corbolante (@terminologia)
7 days ago
VENUE, un anglicismo* sotto osservazione:
www.terminologiaetc.it/2026/02/07/s...
*superfluo!
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Le āvenuesā di Milano Cortina 2026
Con i giochi olimpici ĆØ arrivato il nuovo ālocationā?
https://www.terminologiaetc.it/2026/02/07/significato-anglicismo-venue/
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Matt Gabriele
7 days ago
Please stop using substack
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Timothy Snyder
9 days ago
The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna, Austria, invites applicants for the position of Rector. This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a renowned institution dedicated to the humanities and social sciences.
www.iwm.at/news/the-iwm...
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The IWM Invites Applications for the Position of Rector
About the IWMWe are an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, the Institute for Human Sciences has promoted intellectual exchange...
https://www.iwm.at/news/the-iwm-invites-applications-for-the-position-of-rector
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Scott Patrick, PhD
8 days ago
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
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UCFL - University Council For Languages
8 days ago
YOU SIGNATURE MATTERS! Help us save Modern Languages at Leicester. Sign the petition:
www.change.org/p/save-moder...
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honey i am a guy & i shrunk the kids
about 1 month ago
this is just good manners, we went to it last time
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In other newsā¦ā¦.its still February
8 days ago
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Molly Jong-Fast
8 days ago
Why are the menās names redacted and the victims names exposed?
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UMassLinguistics
9 days ago
Why Some Messages Are More Convincing Than Others; UC San Diego research shows how marketers can choose specific words to boost confidence in a brandās claim
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Why Some Messages Are More Convincing Than Others
What kinds of marketing messages are effective ā and what makes people believe certain political slogans more than others? New research from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management explains.
https://today.ucsd.edu/story/why-some-messages-are-more-convincing-than-others
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As a slight distraction here are some young deer and egrets braving the incessant rainā¦
9 days ago
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Ian Dunt
9 days ago
Yes, quite. It's the biggest scandal of this administration, so far, probably. It's an average Tuesday under Johnson.
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āBriefcasesā
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10 days ago
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