These grants are available to linguists outside of the USA, too, and look like a great opportunity! 💰 🎤

hey, people!

Reminder that the LingComm Grants close at the end of this month!

If you are doing, or thinking of starting, a project about language that will (also) teach 'regular folks' about language, you should apply for this grant! Apart from some money, it will also give you publicity and a wider network.

thanks as always to @lingcomm.org and everyone who has supported them! i think the grant program is such a fun and cool way to support small independent projects where we share linguistics #scicomm with our communities!

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/

The LingComm Grants are back! These grants started in 2020, as "hey let's help get lingcomm projects going during lockdown" They've since run in 2022 and 2024, and thanks to generous folks we've always given out more than expected But they only work if people apply!!! Please share this!!

Working on a project bringing linguistics to broader audiences? The 2026 LingComm Grants are $300 USD grants to help you with your project! Please apply and/or share with any up and coming lingcommers you know! Details: lingcomm.org/grants #linguistics #langsky #lingcomm

Who participated in #WorldLinguisticsDay 2025? 🌏 127 "Happy World Linguistics Day" or similar greetings 🌍 from 70 cities 🌎 in 34 countries We've compiled these and more stats in a blog post: lingcomm.org/2025/12/15/s...

Post #3 in the LingComm IRL series is about how doctoral candidate Lee Murray got asked by a friend to do some talks for a skeptics conference in Australia and they ended up directly changing people's minds on prescriptivism! lingcomm.org/2025/09/30/l...

Post #2 in the LingComm IRL series is about how PhD student Mari-Liis Korkus got inspired by talking with people at the first @lingcomm.bsky.social conference to set up a linguistics club for high school students at home in Tartu, Estonia! lingcomm.org/2025/08/27/l...

Starting a new series of interviews on the @lingcomm.bsky.social blog with people who are doing neat community collaboration linguistics projects that don't otherwise have much of a web presence Starting with Linguistics + Girl Scouts! lingcomm.org/2025/07/09/l...

World Linguistics Day is coming up on November 26th! Have you made any plans yet to celebrate? lingcomm.org/2025/10/26/w...

That's a wrap for #LingComm25! And it was the biggest LingComm ever. We'll be back next time for more panels, talks, how-tos, posters, and great chats with all the linguistic communicators. Thanks to everyone who attended and made this conference such a success.

Plenary: @emilymbender.bsky.social on text extruders: "Why are we automating that? How does it fit into the context we're trying to use it…? Who gets hurt if it goes poorly, if it puts errors? Who gets hurt if it works as intended, and who's benefiting from that being automated? #LingComm25

What does it mean to talk like a person, and not like a journal? @mikemena.bsky.social: "It's more than switching vocabulary words. It's relating to a person on a different level." Try using YOU. Just addressing the reader gives it a whole different vibe. #LingComm25

Doing a Linguistics Day for high schoolers? Take a tip on terms from Frances Blanchette. Morphology? ❌ Wordmaxxing ✅ #LingComm25

@malvinanissim.bsky.social heads up an Ethics in AI course at the University of Groningen, where one final project is to give a presentation to high school students. The uni students report that having to explain concepts to younger people forces them to consider multiple perspectives. #LingComm25

"You take a complicated subject that everyone THINKS they understand and explain it in a way that people REALLY understand." @grantbarrett.com on a huge value of linguistics and lingcomm training #LingComm25

@Laura Wagner and Cecile McKee are showing how to share linguistics with respect. Right now they're role-playing teaching IPA with nametags, and linguistic concepts with dinosaurs! 🤯 #LingComm25

Final thoughts on book publishing: Evangelia Adamou: "I feel personally that there is a lot of pressure to build your own audience. What I liked about @MITPress was they built the audience for me." #LingComm25

Author Hedde Zeijlstra on publishing: "The hardest thing about writing was that there was a linguist sitting on my shoulder" playing the part of a critic. "You just have to beat up that person on your shoulder." #LingComm25

Tips on podcast audio from @becauselanguage.com How hard do you go on the edit? - UMs and UHs have a function, so try to leave them. - Honour the conversation you had. Don't overwork it. - Serve the show — if it's distracting, cut it. And always always always record more than one way. #LingComm25

Valerie Friedman has an important tip on publishing (on the English-speaking scene): Agents get paid when you do. "If an agent is asking you for money up front — run." #LingComm25

Evangelia Adamou: Writing a popsci book is a great way to consolidate yourself as an expert in the field. However, "popular books don't always count the same [as academic books], especially early in your career. You may want to wait to get tenure first, before writing a popular book." #LingComm25

Valerie Friedman on writing a popular book: "There's a point at which you have the confidence to say what *WE* do, rather than just what *I* do." #LingComm25

Valerie Friedman has studied "vowel movement". "I know I can say that in this crowd and not be mistaken for a gastroenterologist." #LingComm25

Laura Wagner, on measuring impact in lingcomm: “Not that any of us would ever have wrong ideas… but itš useful to have data to back up that we’re doing things the right way.” #LingComm25

An interesting insight from Ionica Smeets: In Netherlands, one goal is to increase public trust in science. Another is increasing the trust scientists have in the public. Mutual trust. #LingComm25

Ionica Smeets road-tested their youth-oriented maths book. They used this chart to gauge emotional response; this is a good predictor for retention of material. #LingComm25

Ionica Smeets points out that there's a lot that goes into communication! Where do you start? Answer: yes. #LingComm25

Watching the Day 2 opening keynote at #LingComm25 from famous Dutch science communicator @ionica.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy "You can always tell how much jargon you're allowed to use by how colourful and glossy the photos are in the publication"

Boy o BOY am I looking forward to today, day 2 of #LingComm25!!! Starting with a plenary from @ionica.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy :)

Wisdom from Ionica Smeets: "The more glossy the picture of the magazine you're writing for, the more you have to avoid jargon." #LingComm25

It's Day 2 of #LingComm25! What are you looking forward to? - Plenary with Ionica Smeets: Lessons Learned in Science Communication - Panel: Measuring LingComm impact with Ward Peeters, Laura Wagner, Eva Knopp - How-to: A complete beginner's guide to podcast audio with @becauselanguage.com

"Linguistics contributes to the preservation of democracy," says linguist and educator Joao Costa in the LingComm and Policy panel. "We have to be aware that democracy is at risk. Language rights are human rights." #LingComm25

Linguist and educator Joao Costa in the LingComm and Policy panel: "The more voices we engage, the better the results." #LingComm25

Adam Aleksic @etymologynerd.bsky.social explains that by using an app like TikTok, you are agreeing to the constraints it imposes. But all the same, "you should do what you like doing, and I really liked making those videos." #LingComm25

In the Lingcomm and Policy panel: Where will your work have the most impact? Onno Crasborn left a tenured job in academia to become a schoolteacher again because he could do more as a teacher than by working on policy. #LingComm25

Ross Perlin: Doing good LingComm means thinking about "the ratio of substance to sizzle". From the panel discussion on Taking LingComm on the Road #LingComm25

TikTok star Adam Aleksic @etymology.substack.com.web.brid.gy explains that, as creators, we need to be aware of the attention economy. Playing into trend-based content can help the algorithm decide to push our work to people. Can you balance attention getting with what you want to say? #LingComm25

Why are you doing the #lingcomm that you do? What are your goals, and what does a good goal look like? If your goal is to provide information, @charlottevaughn.bsky.social explains that simply providing information doesn't change minds. (But, eh, I still think it kind of does.) #LingComm25

Mad props to @adamcschembri.bsky.social in his Lightning Talk for taking us through what he learned in the "English Is Weird" incident of 2019. #LingComm25

At #LingComm25, @garicgymro.bsky.social gives us a Lightning Talk with some great advice in getting the message out there: Be seen Be accurate Don't be a jerk Discuss.

I cannot believe #LingComm25 has finally arrived! #LangSky 🐦🐦 First people have started to arrive at Gather, and it feels a LOT like an in-person conference 🥰

Happening soon at #LingComm25: ⚡️Lightning Talks⚡️ These people know stuff, and they'll tell you in five minutes! Sophia Smith Galer @sophiasgaler.bsky.social Eatymology: Viral Storytelling with Linguistics and Food Gareth Roberts @garicgymro.bsky.social My Experiences Making a Video for Wired

I'm looking forward to participating in the Lightning Talk session, and attending the rest of the presentations today. :-)

Coming soon to #LingComm25: @etymologynerd.bsky.social Adam Aleksic (author of Algospeak) will explain how to TikTok your lingcomm! How can you add short-form video to what you're already doing? and become massive? We can't wait to find out.

It's Day One of #LingComm25! What are you looking forward to? • Lightning Talks • Panels: Taking Lingcomm on the Road & Lingcomm and Policy • How-Tos: Set Goals and Objectives for Your Lingcomm & TikTok Your Lingcomm • Posters Check the schedule: lingcomm.org/lingcomm25/s...

I'm giving a virtual talk on Tuesday at 5 pm EDT for UMBC. If you want to join us, scan the QR code on the flyer here!