Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
@adamcschembri.bsky.social
https://sites.google.com/view/adamcschembri/home
Australian professor of linguistics at the University of Birmingham, UK
Hearing person interested in sign languages & signing communities
🏳️🌈🇦🇺🇲🇹🇪🇺
Australian professor of linguistics at the University of Birmingham, UK
Hearing person interested in sign languages & signing communities
🏳️🌈🇦🇺🇲🇹🇪🇺
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!🚨
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
November 25, 2025 at 7:49 PM
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!🚨
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
My L1 is Australian English. I have basic conversational French. I can sign comfortably in Auslan and British Sign Language (closely related varieties) on a range of topics. I have some conversational American Sign Language and I can give basic presentations on my research in International Sign.
How many languages do you actually speak?
I'll go first. Me: 4
#language #languages #languagelearning #linguistics #polyglot #writing #writingcommunity
I'll go first. Me: 4
#language #languages #languagelearning #linguistics #polyglot #writing #writingcommunity
November 25, 2025 at 8:52 AM
My L1 is Australian English. I have basic conversational French. I can sign comfortably in Auslan and British Sign Language (closely related varieties) on a range of topics. I have some conversational American Sign Language and I can give basic presentations on my research in International Sign.
$2400 a year to subscribe to Ethnologue. Scandalous.
November 20, 2025 at 3:05 PM
$2400 a year to subscribe to Ethnologue. Scandalous.
Accent perception is wild. In the same evening, I meet two new people, both native speakers of British English and from Birmingham (UK): one asks me if I was born and raised in the city, while the other asked which part of Australia I was from!
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Accent perception is wild. In the same evening, I meet two new people, both native speakers of British English and from Birmingham (UK): one asks me if I was born and raised in the city, while the other asked which part of Australia I was from!
I remember being at an HIV workshop years ago where there was discussion about replacing the term 'promiscuous' with 'popular and affectionate'.
Why didn't this make it into 'Word of the Year'?🤣
Why didn't this make it into 'Word of the Year'?🤣
November 20, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I remember being at an HIV workshop years ago where there was discussion about replacing the term 'promiscuous' with 'popular and affectionate'.
Why didn't this make it into 'Word of the Year'?🤣
Why didn't this make it into 'Word of the Year'?🤣
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Happy International Day of LGBTQIA+ People In STEM!
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
November 18, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Happy International Day of LGBTQIA+ People In STEM!
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
How are you celebrating it?
#LGBTQSTEMDay #PrideInSTEM
It’s National #Linguistics Day next week: what are you doing to celebrate it?
November 18, 2025 at 8:53 AM
It’s National #Linguistics Day next week: what are you doing to celebrate it?
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
I’m excited to see Ofqual officially set out the rules for the brand new GCSE in British Sign Language.
It’s inspiring to see a qualification that recognises the linguistic, cultural, & social importance of BSL finally taking shape.
🔗 tinyurl.com/5y33p6re
🧵👇
#langsky #linguistics #GCSE #BSL
It’s inspiring to see a qualification that recognises the linguistic, cultural, & social importance of BSL finally taking shape.
🔗 tinyurl.com/5y33p6re
🧵👇
#langsky #linguistics #GCSE #BSL
Ofqual announces rules for unique British Sign Language GCSE
New regulations following consultation mark a further step towards a qualification that could connect communities.
tinyurl.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I’m excited to see Ofqual officially set out the rules for the brand new GCSE in British Sign Language.
It’s inspiring to see a qualification that recognises the linguistic, cultural, & social importance of BSL finally taking shape.
🔗 tinyurl.com/5y33p6re
🧵👇
#langsky #linguistics #GCSE #BSL
It’s inspiring to see a qualification that recognises the linguistic, cultural, & social importance of BSL finally taking shape.
🔗 tinyurl.com/5y33p6re
🧵👇
#langsky #linguistics #GCSE #BSL
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
We're excited to re-launch the journal "Innovations in Linguistics Education", a forum for evidence-based research in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in linguistics! We open for submissions in January 2026.
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations/
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations/
Innovations in Linguistics Education
journals.ed.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 1:53 PM
We're excited to re-launch the journal "Innovations in Linguistics Education", a forum for evidence-based research in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in linguistics! We open for submissions in January 2026.
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations/
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations/
So looking forward to teaching an introductory course on sign language linguistics to MA and PhD students in linguistics at the LOT Summer School at the University of Groningen 15-19 June 2026!
Now to decide what to include, and what to exclude, in just 10 hours of classes. . .🤔
Now to decide what to include, and what to exclude, in just 10 hours of classes. . .🤔
November 13, 2025 at 3:21 PM
So looking forward to teaching an introductory course on sign language linguistics to MA and PhD students in linguistics at the LOT Summer School at the University of Groningen 15-19 June 2026!
Now to decide what to include, and what to exclude, in just 10 hours of classes. . .🤔
Now to decide what to include, and what to exclude, in just 10 hours of classes. . .🤔
AI sign language projects are definitely unintentional language planning projects.
🔔new paper alert🔔
I argue that language technologies are usefully understood as a type of language management (i.e., ways of changing how people use and think about language) -- especially in the workplace -- connecting critical work on AI with language policy
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I argue that language technologies are usefully understood as a type of language management (i.e., ways of changing how people use and think about language) -- especially in the workplace -- connecting critical work on AI with language policy
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Defining language and managing its use: Language technology as language management
Language technologies such as voice user interfaces, large language models and machine translation tools are embedded in an ever-growing range of digi…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:57 PM
AI sign language projects are definitely unintentional language planning projects.
I guess ADHD means completely forgetting that you got invited to teach on a summer school in 2026 and then getting a delightful surprise when you get an email reminding you of it. 😂
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I guess ADHD means completely forgetting that you got invited to teach on a summer school in 2026 and then getting a delightful surprise when you get an email reminding you of it. 😂
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
This 👇🏻 sometimes I talk to PhDs whose whole project needed as much data processing as I did for just one subsection
PhD students - please don't compare yourselves to other PhD students. Some topics really are more challenging than others! If, for example, you're working on an under-described and under-documented language, never compare your work with people working on English. It's almost not the same discipline!
November 13, 2025 at 11:44 AM
This 👇🏻 sometimes I talk to PhDs whose whole project needed as much data processing as I did for just one subsection
PhD students - please don't compare yourselves to other PhD students. Some topics really are more challenging than others! If, for example, you're working on an under-described and under-documented language, never compare your work with people working on English. It's almost not the same discipline!
November 13, 2025 at 11:21 AM
PhD students - please don't compare yourselves to other PhD students. Some topics really are more challenging than others! If, for example, you're working on an under-described and under-documented language, never compare your work with people working on English. It's almost not the same discipline!
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Let's talk about why "just spell it how it sounds" is actually not straightforward, especially for a large language like English. The big questions are: "How it sounds" when spoken*by whom*? And who gets to choose?
#linguistics
#linguistics
Incidentally, this is why I’m against strict spelling. Words should be spelled the way they sound & we spell words as if we’re speaking Middle English for ridiculous class reasons
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
In ME you’d pronounce the k in “knight” but some dumbass needed to prove he was cool & now we have a literacy problem
ever since I learned about three-cueing I've developed infinitely more patience for replies on social media. mfers literally do not know how to read. people are walking around conjuring random meanings into words they don't know, and they don't know a lot of words. it's crazy
November 12, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Let's talk about why "just spell it how it sounds" is actually not straightforward, especially for a large language like English. The big questions are: "How it sounds" when spoken*by whom*? And who gets to choose?
#linguistics
#linguistics
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Pleased to announce that I passed my PhD viva today!
November 12, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Pleased to announce that I passed my PhD viva today!
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
early career scholar and their first publication
November 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
early career scholar and their first publication
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
At this year's @lingcomm.bsky.social conference, we learned that the UK has been celebrating National Linguistics Day on November 26th, and everyone immediately went, hey, can't we make that World Linguistics Day?
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Are you doing anything for World Linguistics Day on Nov 26th?
In our latest bonus episode, we get enthusiastic about linguistics-related celebrations, from International Mother Tongue Day to Talk Like A Pirate Day
In our latest bonus episode, we get enthusiastic about linguistics-related celebrations, from International Mother Tongue Day to Talk Like A Pirate Day
Bonus 105: World Linguistics Day | Lingthusiasm
Get more from Lingthusiasm on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:38 AM
At this year's @lingcomm.bsky.social conference, we learned that the UK has been celebrating National Linguistics Day on November 26th, and everyone immediately went, hey, can't we make that World Linguistics Day?
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Abstracts with colleagues submitted for Evolang and ICLaVE 2026 conferences. Looking forward to both (haven't been to an ICLaVE for years!)
October 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Abstracts with colleagues submitted for Evolang and ICLaVE 2026 conferences. Looking forward to both (haven't been to an ICLaVE for years!)
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Ten more days to check out The Barbican's
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
October 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Ten more days to check out The Barbican's
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Congratulations to my @unibirmingham.bsky.social colleague @heidiproctor.bsky.social who passed her PhD viva at @dcal-ucl.bsky.social and is now Dr Heidi Proctor! Heidi's PhD is on noun phrases in British Sign Language.
October 21, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Congratulations to my @unibirmingham.bsky.social colleague @heidiproctor.bsky.social who passed her PhD viva at @dcal-ucl.bsky.social and is now Dr Heidi Proctor! Heidi's PhD is on noun phrases in British Sign Language.
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
France’s Sorbonne University about to leave Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings: "These rankings are...black boxes that operate in a closed system” sciencebusiness.net/news/univers...
Why Sorbonne pulled out of university ranking
France’s Sorbonne University plans to leave the Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings, adding its name to a growing number of universities rejecting lists that play one institution off against another...
sciencebusiness.net
October 21, 2025 at 6:24 AM
France’s Sorbonne University about to leave Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings: "These rankings are...black boxes that operate in a closed system” sciencebusiness.net/news/univers...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
New paper with @ryanlepic.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1515/ling....
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Non-signers favor two-handed gestures when expressing inherently plural meanings
Sign languages have been shown to favor two-handed forms to express plural meanings, and in this paper we investigate whether this pattern is similarly found in silent gestures improvised by hearing n...
doi.org
October 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
New paper with @ryanlepic.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1515/ling....
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Congratulations Nick Evans: the first Australian linguist to get this award, I believe. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/prizes-medal...
The British Academy Neil and Saras Smith Medal
The Neil and Saras Smith Medal is awarded annually for lifetime achievement in the scholarly study of linguistics.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Congratulations Nick Evans: the first Australian linguist to get this award, I believe. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/prizes-medal...