Tony Thorne
@tonythorne007.bsky.social
📤 1890
📥 1378
📝 2594
Slang, new language, etymology, cultural history. Language Consultant at King's College London.
An interesting corrective to the fantastical tales of Countess Báthory is the newly published biography by Shelley Puhak
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about 3 hours ago
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www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
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The Blood Countess review – Isabelle Huppert reigns supreme in a surreal vampire fantasia
Vienna turns into a playground of camp, cruelty and aristocratic disdain in a blackly comic take on the Báthory legend – with Huppert gloriously suited to the title role
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/feb/16/blood-countess-film-review-isabelle-huppert
about 3 hours ago
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I think it’s
#thicktrunktuesday
…
about 4 hours ago
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Tony Thorne
BTO | British Trust for Ornithology
about 8 hours ago
New role! 📢 We're looking for a dynamic and experienced Science Manager to join us at BTO. Apply now ➡️
www.bto.org/jobs
#Ornithology
📆 Full time, Permanent. 📝 £46,344 per annum. 📍 Hybrid working. Deadline for applications: Monday 9 March.
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TheBossRoss 🧶
about 6 hours ago
True to his word, PM Pedro Sánchez' Spain will formally start investigating X, Meta, & TikTok for crimes related to child pornography. Watch their owners begin a crusade or personal attacks & deliberate misinformation about Sánchez & his country. Whatever you may read, fact-check it.
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Dr Celia Antoniou
about 5 hours ago
The University of Essex plans to close their Southend campus and cut up to 400 jobs — around one in five staff! But the staff and students are fighting back. Sign their petition to stop the cuts, save Southend, and protect education
www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/sa...
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Save Essex: Stop the Cuts, Save Southend, Protect Education
These proposed cuts mean people losing their livelihoods in a higher education sector already facing a jobs crisis, where alternative employment is scarce and careers built over many years can be dest...
https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/save-essex-stop-the-cuts-save-southend-protect-education?source=bluesky&utm_source=bluesky&share=4d796c44-a5b9-421c-8a11-3654503f6758
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Grace Tierney
1 day ago
This week on the blog - the history of the word fiat - from medieval decrees and kings, to currency and cars. Read all about it at
wordfoolery.wordpress.com/2026/02/16/t...
#etymology
#WordsRomansGaveUs
#Latin
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The Roman & Turin History of Fiat
Hello, I’ve been reading up on Latin words and phrases lately. I’ve two more books, at least, to publish in my Wordfoolery series before I reach “Words the Romans Gave Us”, …
https://wordfoolery.wordpress.com/2026/02/16/the-roman-turin-history-of-fiat/
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Christian Ilbury
1 day ago
Just over a month to go until the deadline!!! A reminder, we're inviting submissions for Lavender Languages 32 to be held at the University of Edinburgh, 2-4 September (
@schoolofppls.bsky.social
) Submit here:
lavlang32.ppls.ed.ac.uk
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Brynn Quick
1 day ago
Do I know any fabulous linguists here who would like to have a convo with me about the use of Spanish in Bad Bunny’s halftime show? Asking for a future podcast episode 😀
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Zeb Haradon
1 day ago
Luis Buñuel was a proto-Ai filmmaker. When he cast two different actresses for the same role in That Obscure Object of Desire, switching between them with no rhyme or reason, he was a pioneer in the use of character inconsistency.
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Helene von Bismarck
2 days ago
My book about Britain ends with a memory. Of the first time I ever worked at Broadcasting House as a guest commentator, what that meant to me, and what the BBC means for 🇬🇧’s place in the world. The idea that the World Service could end is awful, and frankly embarrassing for the British Government.
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May I wish you all a very good evening…
2 days ago
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UNITED24
2 days ago
Polish mother Ewa Buczek decided to tell her 9-year-old son, Janek, about what people in Ukraine are going through right now. After learning about shelling and cold homes left without electricity, the boy handed over 50 zlotys to help Ukrainians and said that if needed, he could give another 50💔
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'Maturation'
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2 days ago
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UCU Essex
3 days ago
Our incredible students have written a letter of support to the VC and are asking students to co-sign their petition - a few extracts from their Instagram post here, and links below! ✊
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Everything is back to normal…
2 days ago
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Brigitte Nerlich
3 days 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 about…
https://makingsciencepublic.com/2026/02/13/moltbook-snapshots-of-a-metaphorical-firework/
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It’s the fourteenth of February…
3 days ago
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Endangered Languages Project
4 days 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 – Endangered Languages
We are excited to open applications for a UK-based Translator in Residence working with/in Endangered Languages — and invite proposals from translators…
https://www.wasafiri.org/news-and-events/call-for-applications-wasafiri-translator-in-residence-endangered-languages/
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John Peters
4 days ago
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Christian Ilbury
4 days 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
4 days ago
Plan 2 student loan interest is unfair, says Lucy Powell Deputy Labour leader says her son is in ‘egregious’ 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 ‘egregious’ 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
4 days 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 about…
https://makingsciencepublic.com/2026/02/13/moltbook-snapshots-of-a-metaphorical-firework/
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Peter Stefanovic
4 days ago
This is shocking. Cost of living crisis laid bare as almost half of Britons ‘have under £25 left at end of week’ 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 ‘have £25 at end of week’
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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‘Passionate’
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5 days ago
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Update from suburbia…
5 days ago
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Kate McKean
6 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
6 days ago
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Tony Thorne
EngLangBlog
6 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
6 days ago
A reminder of one of the loveliest pairs of siblings in the dictionary: ‘muscle’ and ‘mouse’. To the Roman imagination, the flexed biceps of a (typically naked) athlete resembled a rodent scuttling under the skin. ‘Musculus’, in Latin, means ‘little mouse’.
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Veronika Koller
7 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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Dusk…
7 days ago
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Stan Carey
7 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
7 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
7 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 China’s 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
over 1 year ago
Did one! Not listed and should be? Let me know 🙂
go.bsky.app/AT6KX6X
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John Lubbock
7 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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Yoïn van Spijk
13 days ago
The verb ‘to worry’ has surprising family members. Within Germanic, it’s related to German ‘würgen’ and Dutch ‘wurgen’, which mean “to strangle”. A little further down the family line, they’re related to Latin ‘urgēre’ (to press), which gave English ‘urgent’. Click my new graphic to learn more:
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Tony Thorne
SCILT
7 days ago
📣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 Écosse forum too!
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Benoît Leclercq
7 days ago
🔐 My paper "Semantics and pragmatics in Construction Grammar” 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. 🔗 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
7 days ago
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Tony Thorne
Linguist List
7 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
8 days ago
Advanced notice 👇 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
8 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! 🧵 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 – a very different kind of politician
A new biography reveals Brown to be a man of exceptional vision and probity – what a contrast with today’s 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
8 days ago
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Rebecca Shapiro
9 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)
9 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
9 days ago
My WORD OF THE WEEK for the coming week is ‘weary’ (not bc I’m exhausted, haha 🤭 but bc it popped up in Richardson’s PAMELA which we’re reading with the second years & it made me think of its etymology in Old English, ‘werig’ and Grendel limping back to the mere ‘werigmod’, weary in spirit).
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Apart from everything else I think the word ‘loser’ 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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9 days ago
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Tony Thorne
Cliff Pervocracy
10 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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