New paper in Language and Linguistics Compass! I argue that we can't claim that consonant lenition follows directly from low-information, because many such processes would be be counter-optimizing. But indirect lenition via duration reduction is still possible. I argue for the opposite in my PhD.

Linguists seem to believe that modeling an effect using random effects causes the estimation to be very different than using fixed effects, because random effects are assumed to be normally distributed. Usually, the estimates are (almost) identical, regardless of the actual distribution.

So sad to hear of Ian Maddieson's passing. He was an amazing linguist but also an inspiring instructor and a big part of why I went into phonetics. I've always been in awe of the depth and breadth of his knowledge of the most obscure languages and will miss his kindness and wit. RIP, Ian~ 🐦🐦

New #labphon publication out today. I was happy to help this one along. www.journal-labphon.org/article/id/1...

Her 8yo bilingualness: /hameil oʊnli χosemz et hakor/ 'the-coat only blocks+z ACC the-cold' That's a double decker code switch

You can now share our Linguist List post as well! Open area Visiting Assistant Professor at Brown, deadline February first linguistlist.org/issues/35-35...

Brown's Program in Linguistics (that us!) is searching for a Visiting Assistant Professor (open field). One year appointment, possibly renewable, 2:2 teaching load, February 1st deadline Please apply / retweet / forward Email me if you have any questions apply.interfolio.com/160337

The search for new (co-)editor of Language has started! Please circulate widely. And do reach out if you have questions and/or are interested in applying. I did this job for six years — it was hard work, but also very rewarding.

Goodness, you had to ruin this website too.

There's no symbol for uvular approximants in the IPA. How about /ᴙ/?

A student once had me prove to the entire class that schwa and ʌ are not the same.

Incredible and comprehensive introduction to stats and R for linguists by Jessamyn Schertz! 👩‍💻📈 R bookdown link here: individual.utoronto.ca/jschertz/tea...

Exciting {quarto-webr} double feature update! 🚀 Changes (v0.3.8/9): 🚀 Turbocharged with webR v0.2.2 👋 No more `webr-*worker.js` 📦 Autoload packages 🌈 Colored STDOUT/STDERR output 🎨 CSS Classes 🔮 Prelim RevealJS support 👉 github.com/coatless/qua... #quarto #rstats #webr 🌟

NSF is searching for a “rotator” Program Director for Linguistics. If you're interested in learning more about this opportunity to work with a fantastic team and serve language scientists across the country — reach out with questions! new.nsf.gov/careers/open...

Israel news item (related to politics, but isn't really). The situation in Gaza *increased* Israeli Palestinians' (that is, Arab Israeli citizens) identification with the state of Israel, by a huge margin. I just hope Israel doesn't squander that sentiment as it always does. The alt text translates.

DEADLINE EXTENSION! If you wanted to submit to the special issue of Journal of Memory and Langauge on Language Models and Psycholing but just missed, good news: we will be accepting Stage 1 (one pager!) until Nov 15. sciencedirect.com/journal/jour...

Cohen Priva & Gafter: the actuation of unstressed /a/-raising in Modern Hebrew Low vowels raise (centralize) when not stressed (/i/ and /u/ don't show a difference in F1-F2 by stress) #NWAV51

I should not have logged in to Bluesky today. I'd rather not know what some of you think.