I’ve just read this interesting article about children’s vocabulary development & reading habits, & I have slightly complicated feelings about it. 🔗 tinyurl.com/49nb26ps 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #languagedevelopment #childlanguage #languageacquisition

Following the tragic death of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee in Indiana, the piece explores the mechanics of online grooming & why it is so often missed. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3byvdm3s 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childsafeguarding #childprotection

I listened to this episode of the @lexispodcast.bsky.social this AM & it was fascinating. @charlotteent.bsky.social discusses how language analysis can be used within psychology, exploring the kinds of linguistic patterns linked to different personality traits. 🔗 tinyurl.com/bddtkaen #langsky

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a really thought-provoking talk by Jenny Kidd, @evanmcavoy.bsky.social & @memorieschild.bsky.social on their Synthetic Pasts project. 🧵👇 #tech #AI #responsibleAI #chatbots #deathbots

I’m a little late to this episode, but I listened to Today in Focus this morning & found it moving & thought-provoking. Listen here: tinyurl.com/4jetxpsf 🧵👇 #farright #race #racism #extremismstudies #counterterrorism

Jeff Narvil, a 57-year-old administrative law judge from Mississippi, travelled more than 4,000 miles to Cardiff to sit an A1 Welsh language exam after 14 months of largely self-taught study. 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #Cymraeg #Welsh #language #languagelearning

New transparency data from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner paints a stark picture of how online child sexual abuse is being handled by major tech platforms & where serious gaps remain. Read more from @joelscanlan.com: tinyurl.com/mwshv4ht #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #childsafeguarding

Today is Safer Internet Day & this year’s theme is “Smart tech, safe choices: exploring the safe & responsible use of AI”. Safer Internet Day matters because it sits at the core of what I want my work to achieve: helping to make the online world a safer, kinder place for people. #SaferInternetDay

Ever been asked what you think of a wine & suddenly discovered your vocabulary has evaporated? This article starts with that moment: a participant at a tasting struggling to say more than “it’s nice?” 🔗 tinyurl.com/p7d9czde 🧵👇 #langsky #fooddiscourse

This article from @ginavale.bsky.social is a stark reminder of how poorly our current frameworks cope with the realities of children’s lives online. 🔗 tinyurl.com/5abeufcj 🧵👇 #counterterrorism #extremismstudies #youthradicalisation

Smart tech means tools that can think, learn or respond like AI. It can be fun and helpful, but young people still need to make smart choices online 💡Checking what’s real, protecting personal info, being kind to others, and creating safe spaces! www.breckfoundation.org/post/safer-i...

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl half-time show is making headlines & not just because it’s expected to be performed entirely in Spanish. Bad Bunny’s decision has sparked interest in fans learning Spanish to understand his lyrics. 🔗 tinyurl.com/6yzyrmum 🧵🔗 #langsky #linguistics #BadBunny #Spanish

Although this article is written from a New Zealand political perspective, it raises issues that feel especially relevant closer to home as we move towards the next Senedd election. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3umpsm39 🧵👇 #SeneddElection #elections #polling #polls #politicalcommunication #polsky

I’m really pleased to share two bits of exciting news. First, I’ve been welcomed into @cirafcardiff.bsky.social (the Cardiff Interdisciplinary Research on Antifascism & the Far Right). 🔗 tinyurl.com/3pwhm7ym 🧵👇 #extremismstudies #counterterrorism #farright #Brexit

LLMs increasingly shape how people understand the world. But what if the “world” they present is systematically uneven? New research from the @oii.ox.ac.uk, alongside colleagues at @universityofky.bsky.social, offers an answer. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4bwkh4yj 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #bias #AI #LLMs

Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan has spoken out after his song "Yma o Hyd" was used by a right-wing, anti-immigration group to promote a protest. The song, written more than 40 years ago, is widely regarded as an anthem of Welsh survival, language & cultural resilience. 🧵👇 🔗 tinyurl.com/msn8epwx

I had the pleasure of attending Making Sense of the Senedd Election hosted by @ofcom.bsky.social yesterday. A thought-provoking day on children’s media literacy, online safety & broadcasting standards. Diolch yn fawr iawn i Ofcom am y digwyddiad! #Ofcom #onlinesafety #Seneddelection

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have asked AI to play Dungeons & Dragons, using the game as a testbed to explore how large language models (LLMs) cope with long-horizon tasks. 🔗 tinyurl.com/ydsn5v57 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #AI #DungeonsandDragons #DnD

I've had a very bizarre interaction on #LinkedIn over the past two days. I shared the below post on the site & got a lot of MAGA people really angry in the comments (one even told me to touch grass 😂). Is this normal now for #LinkedIn?

Only one week until Safer Internet Day! Safer Internet Day will take place on 10 February with the theme “Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI.” Register your support & check the educational resources at saferinternet.org.uk/safer-intern... @uksic.bsky.social

Using the everyday setting of a deaf-run café, this piece explores British Sign Language (BSL) as a full, natural language in its own right, with its own grammar, structure, regional variation & pragmatic nuance. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3xybndsy 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #signlanguage #BSL

Yesterday marked 10 years since C‑REX was founded. This thread highlight what the center has done — research, PhDs, datasets, events, policy engagement and international partnerships. THREAD 🧵 www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/english/

Using the killings by ICE in Minneapolis as its starting point, Dan Clayton from @englangblog.bsky.social examines how official statements & media reporting can obscure responsibility through linguistic framing. 🔗 tinyurl.com/mr3vu4w9 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #politicalcommunication

Peer power in action! 💬 Last week, our Breck Youth Ambassadors from Patcham High School visited Patcham Junior School to deliver an engaging presentation on online safety, helping younger pupils learn how to stay safe, confident, and kind online. 🌐💙

New polling offers a timely snapshot of what Welsh voters are really thinking as the Senedd election approaches & the picture is more uncertain & more nuanced than the headlines suggest. 🔗 tinyurl.com/55hmj8ts 🧵👇 #polsky #politics #Senedd #SeneddElection

This article highlights how narrow & often caricatured ideas about accent can shape assumptions about national identity. Welsh Instagram creator Mared Parry has spoken out after repeatedly being told she “doesn’t sound Welsh". 🔗 tinyurl.com/ybcerwty 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #accent

A new agreement between @ofcom.bsky.social & the @iwf.org.uk has been announced, strengthening how the two organisations work together to combat the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. 🧵👇 🔗 tinyurl.com/4nknzk4s #DRAGON #onlinesafetyact #onlinesafety #Ofcom #IWF

I first remember hearing about Deborah Cameron during my A-Levels. I went on to read her work with growing fascination. Her death at 67 is a huge loss to linguistics, feminism & public intellectual life. 🔗 tinyurl.com/4jkjkubn 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #languageandgender #language #feminism

I enjoyed listening to the second half of the latest @therestpolitics.bsky.social Question Time. In it, @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social speaks with the International Justice Mission about online child sexual abuse & the steps being taken globally to address it. 🧵👇 🎧 tinyurl.com/mrw95h9t #DRAGON

This was a fascinating episode to listen to. In it, Scott Ernest reflects on his journey into far-right extremism, unpacking the factors that drew him in: fear, wedge issues & the powerful influence of social media. 🧵👇 🔗 tinyurl.com/4cwv4u62 #farright #extremismstudies #counterterrorism

This article takes an interdisciplinary look at conspiracy theories, tracing them from ancient history to the digital age & unpacking the language that helps them take hold. 🔗 tinyurl.com/45jcvvhu 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #conspiracytheories #forensiclinguistics

In this article, the @childrenscomm.bsky.social argues that while concern about children’s online safety is clearly growing, effective solutions can’t be imposed on young people without being designed with them. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3zaseedy 🧵👇 #DRAGON #onlinesafety #onlineharms #socialmediaban

This article traces the rapid rise of Amelia, a purple-haired, AI-generated character who circulates widely on social media. In memes & videos, Amelia walks through London or the House of Commons, voicing nationalist & anti-Muslim rhetoric. 🔗 tinyurl.com/ys4nx2zj 🧵👇 #farright #extremismstudies

Storm Chandra isn’t just a weather event. It’s also a neat example of how language is used to manage risk. This article offers a reminder that naming storms is a deliberate linguistic strategy, not a cosmetic one. 🔗 www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti... 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #StormChandra

Sector leaders have criticised the 'limited breadth and diversity' of experts recruited to help write the new national curriculum https://schoolsweek.co.uk/concerns-over-make-up-of-curriculum-drafters-group/

New pods on the way soon on Black Twitter and language & personality disorders!

Can Wales make lying illegal without damaging democracy? That question sits at the heart of a new bill progressing through the Senedd, which aims to tackle deliberate dishonesty in election campaigns. 🔗 tinyurl.com/32w6hn72 🧵👇 #politicalcommunication #langsky #linguistics #Senedd #polsky

If there's one voice largely missing from a lot of the social media debate, it's that of the young people actually and directly impacted. Instead it's people in their 40s-70s discussing the importance of (their notions of) "real life" and having a "genuine childhood".

This article, written by Harry (14) & recently shared by the @breckfoundation.bsky.social, challenges the idea that banning social media is a straightforward solution to online harm. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3c3upann 🧵👇 #DRAGON #socialmediaban #BreckFoundation #onlinesafety #onlinesafetyact

Far-right extremism now poses the greatest threat to social cohesion in the UK. That was the warning delivered this week by Dame Sara Khan, former UK government counter-extremism adviser, in evidence to the Home Affairs Committee. 🔗 tinyurl.com/ywv634f7 🧵👇 #polsky #extremismstudies #farright

This piece by Aaron Butters reframes debates about Oxford slang by placing it in a linguistic context. Rather than treating it as a symbol of exclusion, he argues Oxford’s language is best understood as a sociolect. 🔗 tinyurl.com/43ujthrm 🧵🔗 #langsky #linguistics #slang #sociolect

With the new season of Question Time starting tonight, now's the perfect time to read the latest blog post from the Enhancing the Impartiality of News project...

We often reach for AI because it makes life easier. Faster emails. Politer messages. Perfectly phrased apologies. But new research suggests that when it comes to our relationships, that efficiency comes at a cost. 🔗 tinyurl.com/32mx97y4 🧵👇 #langsky #linguistics #language #AI #ChatGPT