The Certification Officer has issued his decision in Blake & McGaughey v UCU. My initial response is here: vickyblakeucu.uk/2026/03/31/t... I urge members to read the full ruling rather than relying on the summary emailed to all members by HQ today. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69cbcb...

Workers don’t vote for 5 consecutive bouts of industrial action with a 75% turnout unless something is seriously wrong. Solidarity with all in Unite UCU ✊🔥

Two thirds of UCU staff walk out. I worked for UCU two decades ago. In fact I ran for General Secretary and just lost. There is no way two thirds of the staff would walk out if the story of victimisation isnt true. My sources say its been coming for years. feweek.co.uk/ucu-staff-to...

📣 Hands off Marie! Tell @drjogrady.bsky.social and @ucu.org.uk to stop victimising Unite UCU's safety rep. ✍️ [email protected] #HandsOffMarie #UniteTheUnion @unitetheunion.bsky.social

Solidarity with all @uniteucu.bsky.social workers standing up against trade union victimisation. This is appalling and has crossed a very serious line. @ucu.org.uk must put a stop to this immediately. It brings the whole TU movement into disrepute and makes our jobs as reps a whole lot harder.

New publication on @ipragmatics.bsky.social, out now and available open access: My work on the digital language ideologies of generative AI, in particular the "AI is here to stay" construction and its connections to presentism, techno-optimism, and tech bro culture

One for the linguists.

the DfE have responded enthusiastically to the curriculum and assessment review, stating that oracy is an 'important vehicle for social justice'. so more reproduction of this flawed theory of change which isolates 'better oracy' as a solution to injustice. doi.org/10.1080/0305...

After squandering millions on Castle Meadows purchase, University of Nottingham is now axing modern languages & music It also plans to cut its nursing programme Leaders of the bungleocracy continue to draw handsome salaries www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’m quoted in Laura Brown’s excellent article on youth language. I can’t post a link but here’s a screenshot…

Hmm... beyond the headline, this is a bit more complex than kids sounding more American. archive.ph/2025.11.02-2...

Language not only describes the world. It transforms us alongside the world We demand and we demand

the spelling bee is... 'a public ritual of linguistic discipline. It doesn't just reward memorisation; it performs a particular vision of language as precise, codified, and rule-bound, and positions that vision as natural, inevitable, and good' compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

On language structures under genocidal violence There are no new words but new combinations

Just in case anyone is listening, please note that UK universities cannot operate successfully on the basis of continuous reduction of academic staff and academic staff pay. No amount of staff wellness sessions will change this.

We've been away for a while but episode 75 is finally here. We talk about accent discrimination, attitudes to teachers' accents and about what accent prejudice tells us about wider social attitudes. #Linguistics open.spotify.com/episode/5wnC...

In my latest blog post I delve into the implication of Trump's Compact on the field of educational linguistics--and it is not pretty. Why Trump’s Compact Poses an Existential Threat to Educational Linguistics educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/w...

Join us for our next LIP talk We are delighted to welcome Teun A. van Dijk (Centre of Discourse Studies, Barcelona) for the third talk of the term. Title: Discourse and Ideologies of the Radical Right Date & Time: Tuesday 28th October, 1-2pm (UK time) Location: MS Teams Online link: lnkd.in/eyvGGc7G

Another example of cultural and linguistic imperialism? BBC News - Welsh-speaking inmates 'told to speak English' in prison www.bbc.com/news/article...

A sensible point in Guardian letters about the long tradition of using daft catchphrases like 6-7...

Interested in literacy in multilingual contexts? Consider joining this new international research network under the auspices of the World Education Research Association www.languageonthemove.com/literacy-in-...

Italian blasphemy and German ingenuity: how swear words differ around the world www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

🧵 The last month or so in UCU world has left me feeling very concerned. I’m not a member or fan of any faction, but the recent NEC elections have given the hard-right of the union a majority on our highest council. Meanwhile, our senior leadership appear to be half heartedly launching our (cont…)

The best piece I have read on the topic of AI use and writing pedagogy. Just brilliant!

Really interesting discussion of the Teacher Tapp findings - How teachers feel about their accent.

Today in the US is #IndigenousPeoplesDay. Held in opposition to the federal govt holiday Columbus Day and celebrates Native American culture and resistance to colonialism as opposed to the genocide, murder, slavery and torture brought by Columbus shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...

This looks really brilliant 👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿

#OtD 13 Oct 1909 radical educator, Francesc Ferrer, was executed in Barcelona. Sentenced to death by a military tribunal despite no solid evidence being brought against him, his murder caused protests across the world. This is a collection of his work: shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/ana...

in a syntactic death announced in a lexicon of what was #GazaGenocide

#OpenAccess from August 2025 - Media Platforming and the Normalisation of Extreme Right Views - cup.org/4mmVIAL "exposure to uncritical interviews increases agreement with extreme statements and perceptions of broader support in the population" - @dianebolet.bsky.social & @florianfoos.bsky.social

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand. "I'm correcting your grammar"

So interesting! I’ve always wanted to look into the visual aspect of accents. ‘Different accents look different' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I'm happy to say that the article that Karin Tusting and I wrote for Text and Talk is now available. In it, we look at how a number literacy practices were deployed in a university language centre to try to shape workers into reflective practitioners. www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Thank you @ducuuo.bsky.social comrades for returning this result. We will not give up. We care about our university, our students and our city. It has been a very long time since anyone at the top did. That’s got to change.

Have you found Palestine? Lean in #GazaGenocide #KeepTellingofGaza

Fifty branches, representing over 36% of UCU members, have now called for @drjogrady.bsky.social to enter unconditional negotiations & remove the threat of punitive deductions against staff. Unite's repeated requests for such talks have had no response. Will she now listen to @ucu.org.uk members?

💥Breaking: Italy’s two largest unions call national general strike after Israel’s flotilla attack The Italian unions CGIL and USB announced a nationwide general strike for Friday, October 3, covering all public and private sectors. The move follows Israel’s attack on the Gaza flotilla carrying...

Israel attacks the Global Sumud Flotilla, continues to starve Palestinians in Gaza. Escalate peaceful disruptive action now. #DisruptComplicity now!

I'm so happy to see the Canadian Linguistics Society issuing this statement - I want to see more linguists leveraging our expertise and scientific grounding to push back against linguistic oppression, and I think statements like this are a fantastic step! #linguistics 🧪

No criminal record, then volunteer, then learn the language and, ideally, bring an Oscar or an Olympic medal. Then we'll accept you - maybe you'll get citizenship...

Lean in Say No #GazaGenocide #KeepTellingofGaza

If you are a student or faculty member, join or start a campaign to pressure your university to cut ties with Microsoft. If you are involved in a civil society organization support the BDS movement’s policy related work on regulating AI and cloud tech as dual use by contacting [email protected].

#OtD 25 Sep 1952 influential Black author, activist, and feminist theorist, bell hooks was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She wrote over 30 books during her life, often critiquing what she termed the imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1259...

i hope this article gives hope to any teachers who are confronted with ideologies of the 'word gap' in their schools. despite the stubbornness of this deficit concept, there are always spaces for resistance 💕 ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Mustering a lexicon for the world from the heartbreak of Gaza #GazaGenocide‌

Italy was on strike in solidarity with Palestinians last Monday. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated blocking roads, ports & railway stations. In Rome, many drivers found themselves stuck in traffic — & were happy about it, saluting demonstrators & condemning Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

Let the words be your planner as work for justice happens #GazaGenocide #KeepTellingofGaza