Very pleased to find that Bluesky is now the place where I can reliably find good research ideas for the show, and the bad site is not any longer

Caitlin has a certificate and she will defend it. Just some of the zany hijinks we get up to when it's time for Related or Not. Check out our latest episode with @dannybate.com and @caitlinmoriah.bsky.social! becauselanguage.com/141-why-q-ne...

file under: scope ambiguity

explosive diarrhoea #WordOfTheWeek

Our spelling mistakes are *fixing* English. New episode with Danny Bate, author of "Why Q Needs U" Get it in all the podcast places. becauselanguage.com/141-why-q-ne... @dannybate.com @blinkbooks.bsky.social

Banning languages in voting information or forms is a common tactic to lower turnout and prevent representation

curtains for Zoosha #WordOfTheWeek (I know, it's old)

To DISCARD was originally to get rid of a card in a game. To DIVEST was to take off your vest (and your other vestments). Follow us for more obvious-in-retrospect word histories

ICYMI: New episode with Christopher Summerfield, author of "These Strange New Minds" AI agents are a little *too* affirming. Maybe that's not such a good idea. Watch us on YouTube, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. becauselanguage.com/140-these-st...

wario (again) #WordOfTheWeek

"Have some more parmesan," I tell daughter (9yo), sprinkling some on her mac 'n' cheese. "I'm the Good Parmesan Fairy." "Is the fairy good? Or just the parmesan?" she asks. 🥲 She is my child. #LinguisticParenting

How persuasive are large language models? Very. Oxford professor Christopher Summerfield @summerfieldlab.bsky.social reveals some concerns. He's the author of "These Strange New Minds". Full episode: becauselanguage.com/140-these-st... @vikingbooksuk.bsky.social

‘Father’ and ‘dad’ are synonyms. ‘Figure’ and ‘bod’ are synonyms. But, a ‘father figure’ and a ‘dad bod’ aren’t exactly the same thing…

15 June is Uyghur Language Day www.uyghurcongress.org/en/26131/ It's a good day to remember that governments are carrying out language oppression and a lot of brave people are working to maintain their language under unbelievable conditions.

I have been working on societal impacts of language technology since late 2016, and my nightmare example since pretty early on has been using automatic transcription in emergency services systems. And today I learn it's happening *in my own city* www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news... Short 🧵>>

aɪ laɪk tu ɔ̃t ɔ̃t ɔ̃t ɔ̃pəlz æn bənɔ̃nɔ̃z

And I don't like pompous dipshits, but we are both going to have to get used to disappointment, Lou.

(available in our shop) becauselanguage.com/shop/

Non-alcoholic beer is a kind of beer. Discuss.

What's your favourite bird? Ben's got his! We're talking about Australian magpies with Dr Stephanie Mason @stephaniellaura.bsky.social on this episode. Available on all the podcast things becauselanguage.com/139-magpie-s...

Dr Stephanie Mason @stephaniellaura.bsky.social has studied Australian magpies, and has found that these clever birds combine their calls. What do they sound like? And what does this mean for language? Find out in our new episode! becauselanguage.com/139-magpie-s...

I love linguistics more than I love any physical being

file under: air quotes

Happy birthday to book! I really enjoyed our talk about it. becauselanguage.com/123-consciou...

The best feeling in the world. Signing books for the third sold out night this week for How To Kill A Language

New Cambridge Element, Microlearning with GenAI, by Lucas Kohnke, out now! Read for free for the next 2 weeks at https://cup.org/3PUkEVh

wario More specific than “nemesis”, it’s an antagonist who’s a polar opposite in some important way #WordOfTheWeek

@laserhedvig.bsky.social JUST got through saying on our podcast: “Oh, you guys from the Caribbean, why don’t you come and settle over here and work in our factories?”…And then, they’re like, “Oh, no. The brown people from the perimeter came to the center? Argh.” becauselanguage.com/136-these-la...

A very happy Persian Language Day to all who celebrate! en.irancultura.it/national-day... thx Diego

Jim Crow 2.0 #WordOfTheWeek

New appearance of the -washing combining form just dropped! hot-washing #WordOfTheWeek

reverse centaur #WordOfTheWeek

Good news for #Gaeilge: people are using it for normal fun human stuff! It's not just a duty. Laura Pakenham breaks it down for us. Laura is the author of "Irish: History and Culture Through Language", available from Simon & Schuster. Listen to the full episode: becauselanguage.com/138-pop-up-g...

If you have to ask… it’s likely likelelline

Goodness, what a question. Obviously you wouldn’t put farmland on a parking lot. Structural ambiguity of the day. Also yay solar bridgemi.com/michigan-env...

What's going on in our minds when we make sentences? Are we constructing trees? Or words in a sequence? We're climbing down from the trees with @mh-christiansen.bsky.social and @yngwienielsen.bsky.social Video (recommended): www.patreon.com/posts/video-... Audio: www.patreon.com/posts/audio-...

Today is the National Day of British Sign Language in the UK, and here's an interesting talk with BSL interpretation :) #nationalbslday

What will happen to the languages of climate refugees? Dr Mary Walworth of @cnrs.fr explains that language is a cultural anchor. She's on our latest episode. becauselanguage.com/136-these-la... #PoleToPole

People on the island of Enusi weren't just glad to get a visit from Will Smith — they were also keen on meeting linguist Mary Walworth @coollinguist.bsky.social . We're glad to see her too, as a guest on this episode. becauselanguage.com/136-these-la... Find it on your pod listener. #PoleToPole

Coming very soon — a live episode with television presenter Laura Pakenham about Irish. All patrons free and paid are welcome. Details here, so click through and sign up! @simonandschuster.bsky.social www.patreon.com/posts/live-s...

Why does this ungrammatical sentence sound fine? When your grammar says one thing, but your feels say another, you may have found a ✨linguistic illusion✨. Dan Parker, author of "Agreement Attraction". Available now @universitypress.cambridge.org Listen/watch: becauselanguage.com/135-linguist...

Linguists – make a habit of posting about your latest work. Not only is it good for the public, but it helps us to find you. Maybe we’ll feature your work on the show! We are constantly on the lookout.

LLMs can make mistakes. Always verify the output.

we need more linguists because i don't want to have to explain to otherwise educated people that there's no such thing as a "biological pronoun"

We need more linguists because for too many people, thinking about language means: People say a thing and I hate it. We can flood the media with stories of fun, positivity, inclusion, and good science in language.

file under: ambiguity, "for"

Our most recent episode of @becauselanguage.com is a really nice chat about language trickery - what can these pranks tell us about how language works? becauselanguage.com/135-linguist...

How many of each kind of animal did Moses bring on the Ark? Dan Parker brings us a ✨linguistic illusion✨. From our latest episode, which you can watch or listen to in all the places. becauselanguage.com/135-linguist...

French overtakes Arabic for fourth place! 🤔 Maybe. What kind of French do you like? It's in our new episode with Dan Parker! becauselanguage.com