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
🏳️🌈🇦🇺🇲🇹🇪🇺
Sociolinguists - who has written about possible relationships between the time depth of a spoken language variety and the amount of regional sociophonetic variation? British Englishes show a great deal of regional accent variation whereas Australian Englishes have relatively little.
February 11, 2026 at 8:44 AM
Sociolinguists - who has written about possible relationships between the time depth of a spoken language variety and the amount of regional sociophonetic variation? British Englishes show a great deal of regional accent variation whereas Australian Englishes have relatively little.
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Just published "Negation in the worlds languages" (3 vols) edited by Matti Miestamo & Ljuba Veselinova with Héloïse Calame. #rcg #openaccess langsci-press.org/catalog/book...
January 23, 2026 at 7:24 AM
Just published "Negation in the worlds languages" (3 vols) edited by Matti Miestamo & Ljuba Veselinova with Héloïse Calame. #rcg #openaccess langsci-press.org/catalog/book...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Almost as good as my rule of thumb: has anyone you know ever written anything in it you want to cite? If not, then it’s not the Journal for you.
🚨Scientists 🚨: Tired of come-ons from journals & conferences that may or may not be predatory? A new tool called Aletheia-Probe could help. 🧪 By @silverjacket.bsky.social @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Is this journal legitimate? This tool can help you decide
Aletheia-Probe provides a one-stop shop to help you assess whether journals and conferences are trustworthy or predatory.
www.nature.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Almost as good as my rule of thumb: has anyone you know ever written anything in it you want to cite? If not, then it’s not the Journal for you.
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
calling L1 speakers of British English, please help out my student Emilia on her dissertation study! 🐦🐦
it's a short (<20 min) and fun one on voice recognition, please share! lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
it's a short (<20 min) and fun one on voice recognition, please share! lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
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lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:37 PM
calling L1 speakers of British English, please help out my student Emilia on her dissertation study! 🐦🐦
it's a short (<20 min) and fun one on voice recognition, please share! lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
it's a short (<20 min) and fun one on voice recognition, please share! lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Our paper (w/ @bodowinter.bsky.social and @mperlman.bsky.social) is finally out, officially 🥳. In it, we set ourselves the lofty goal of defining iconicity, focusing on its subjectivity, context-dependence, and gradability. Let us know if you agree with our definition? 🤔
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
February 2, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Our paper (w/ @bodowinter.bsky.social and @mperlman.bsky.social) is finally out, officially 🥳. In it, we set ourselves the lofty goal of defining iconicity, focusing on its subjectivity, context-dependence, and gradability. Let us know if you agree with our definition? 🤔
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Four years(!) after the chapter was originally written, the official publication is now live (pre-print has been out for some time though):
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
How can plurality be expressed with iconic forms across different modalities of human languaging?
#linguistics
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
How can plurality be expressed with iconic forms across different modalities of human languaging?
#linguistics
February 2, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Four years(!) after the chapter was originally written, the official publication is now live (pre-print has been out for some time though):
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
How can plurality be expressed with iconic forms across different modalities of human languaging?
#linguistics
doi.org/10.1093/oxfo...
How can plurality be expressed with iconic forms across different modalities of human languaging?
#linguistics
'I have more impact outside of university'
Google Translate appears to do a reasonable job translating this article from Dutch into English, so, if you don't read Dutch, you can still check out this interview with my friend and former academic Onno:
www.nemokennislink.nl/publicaties/...
Google Translate appears to do a reasonable job translating this article from Dutch into English, so, if you don't read Dutch, you can still check out this interview with my friend and former academic Onno:
www.nemokennislink.nl/publicaties/...
‘Ik heb meer impact buiten de universiteit’
Een hoogleraar die vrijwillig zijn toga inlevert. Het komt zelden voor, maar Onno Crasborn deed het. “Ik heb nu meer impact dan als hoogleraar Nederlandse Gebarentaal.”
www.nemokennislink.nl
January 22, 2026 at 3:08 PM
'I have more impact outside of university'
Google Translate appears to do a reasonable job translating this article from Dutch into English, so, if you don't read Dutch, you can still check out this interview with my friend and former academic Onno:
www.nemokennislink.nl/publicaties/...
Google Translate appears to do a reasonable job translating this article from Dutch into English, so, if you don't read Dutch, you can still check out this interview with my friend and former academic Onno:
www.nemokennislink.nl/publicaties/...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
IGALA list: Deborah Cameron, one of the greatest feminist linguists ever, has passed away. Everybody interested in the relationship of #language and #gender, please go and read her witty and myth-busting blog: https://
debuk.wordpress.com/ .
#linguistics #GenderLinguistics
debuk.wordpress.com/ .
#linguistics #GenderLinguistics
January 22, 2026 at 7:20 AM
IGALA list: Deborah Cameron, one of the greatest feminist linguists ever, has passed away. Everybody interested in the relationship of #language and #gender, please go and read her witty and myth-busting blog: https://
debuk.wordpress.com/ .
#linguistics #GenderLinguistics
debuk.wordpress.com/ .
#linguistics #GenderLinguistics
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Day 1 of #BooksAreMyJam!
Blueberry Maple jam, with Linguaphile: A life of language love by Julie Sedivy.
A classic Canadian flavour duo + this book about @juliesedivy.bsky.social's relationship with language through her childhood in Montreal, later research as a linguist, and more
Blueberry Maple jam, with Linguaphile: A life of language love by Julie Sedivy.
A classic Canadian flavour duo + this book about @juliesedivy.bsky.social's relationship with language through her childhood in Montreal, later research as a linguist, and more
December 1, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Day 1 of #BooksAreMyJam!
Blueberry Maple jam, with Linguaphile: A life of language love by Julie Sedivy.
A classic Canadian flavour duo + this book about @juliesedivy.bsky.social's relationship with language through her childhood in Montreal, later research as a linguist, and more
Blueberry Maple jam, with Linguaphile: A life of language love by Julie Sedivy.
A classic Canadian flavour duo + this book about @juliesedivy.bsky.social's relationship with language through her childhood in Montreal, later research as a linguist, and more
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
This is awesome! I have been curating a list of #linguistics journals, with information on their publishing model (and also on whether they admit submissions created by LaTeX, a high-quality, professional Open Source way to produce scientific documents).
uni-duesseldorf.sciebo.de/s/BvRY0u3rDY...
uni-duesseldorf.sciebo.de/s/BvRY0u3rDY...
January 16, 2026 at 9:05 AM
This is awesome! I have been curating a list of #linguistics journals, with information on their publishing model (and also on whether they admit submissions created by LaTeX, a high-quality, professional Open Source way to produce scientific documents).
uni-duesseldorf.sciebo.de/s/BvRY0u3rDY...
uni-duesseldorf.sciebo.de/s/BvRY0u3rDY...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
In the past decade or two, predatory publishers have built a parallel universe of publication opportunities preying on the least privileged & most vulnerable of our colleagues
I got my hands on what passes for peer review at one such journal
ideophone.org/on-plagiaris...
I got my hands on what passes for peer review at one such journal
ideophone.org/on-plagiaris...
On plagiarism, predatory publishers and creating the future we want – The Ideophone
ideophone.org
January 16, 2026 at 7:51 AM
In the past decade or two, predatory publishers have built a parallel universe of publication opportunities preying on the least privileged & most vulnerable of our colleagues
I got my hands on what passes for peer review at one such journal
ideophone.org/on-plagiaris...
I got my hands on what passes for peer review at one such journal
ideophone.org/on-plagiaris...
Yes: interesting question. I’d love to see a study into how much this varies in LSF.
In our BSL Corpus data, we see 2 and 1 handed variants of signs 6-10, but there is very much a change from 2 to 1 handed variants in progress. I think this change is much more advanced in Auslan.
In our BSL Corpus data, we see 2 and 1 handed variants of signs 6-10, but there is very much a change from 2 to 1 handed variants in progress. I think this change is much more advanced in Auslan.
January 15, 2026 at 7:13 AM
Yes: interesting question. I’d love to see a study into how much this varies in LSF.
In our BSL Corpus data, we see 2 and 1 handed variants of signs 6-10, but there is very much a change from 2 to 1 handed variants in progress. I think this change is much more advanced in Auslan.
In our BSL Corpus data, we see 2 and 1 handed variants of signs 6-10, but there is very much a change from 2 to 1 handed variants in progress. I think this change is much more advanced in Auslan.
Are you on LinkedIn? Would love to share this infographic there.
January 14, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Are you on LinkedIn? Would love to share this infographic there.
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
I appreciate that some of
you are outraged about the White House absurdity of keeping ASL interpreters out of press briefings — but please don’t call us “hearing-impaired.” It’s a slur. Nothing wrong with using “deaf.” Saves you extra space too.
you are outraged about the White House absurdity of keeping ASL interpreters out of press briefings — but please don’t call us “hearing-impaired.” It’s a slur. Nothing wrong with using “deaf.” Saves you extra space too.
December 15, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I appreciate that some of
you are outraged about the White House absurdity of keeping ASL interpreters out of press briefings — but please don’t call us “hearing-impaired.” It’s a slur. Nothing wrong with using “deaf.” Saves you extra space too.
you are outraged about the White House absurdity of keeping ASL interpreters out of press briefings — but please don’t call us “hearing-impaired.” It’s a slur. Nothing wrong with using “deaf.” Saves you extra space too.
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
In their article "Signs of Deaf Ni-Vanuatu", Jacqueline Iseli and Rachel McKee describe the sociolinguistic context of deaf people in Vanuatu who have limited opportunities to socialise together, and document signs used by 19 deaf adults across the country nzlingsoc.org/journal_arti...
Signs of Deaf Ni-Vanuatu: A sociolinguistic study - Linguistic Society of New Zealand
nzlingsoc.org
December 11, 2025 at 3:40 AM
In their article "Signs of Deaf Ni-Vanuatu", Jacqueline Iseli and Rachel McKee describe the sociolinguistic context of deaf people in Vanuatu who have limited opportunities to socialise together, and document signs used by 19 deaf adults across the country nzlingsoc.org/journal_arti...
I've very much noticed this too so it's great to have some data-based infographics to back this up!
About 6 months ago, I got so tired of getting mostly AI(-adjacent) papers in my Google Scholar Alerts for "sign language", so I added a new filter excluding a few keywords to get more relevant #linguistics papers.
Now I checked the difference between the two alerts, and there's an obvious pattern.
Now I checked the difference between the two alerts, and there's an obvious pattern.
January 13, 2026 at 5:34 PM
I've very much noticed this too so it's great to have some data-based infographics to back this up!
First paper of 2026 with Rhys Sandow, @jwgrieve.bsky.social, and Rose Stamp!
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Lexical variation and change: Integrating lexis into variationist sociolinguistics | Language Variation and Change | Cambridge Core
Lexical variation and change: Integrating lexis into variationist sociolinguistics
www.cambridge.org
January 9, 2026 at 10:51 AM
First paper of 2026 with Rhys Sandow, @jwgrieve.bsky.social, and Rose Stamp!
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The University of Birmingham is hiring through its 125th Anniversary Fellowships and Chairs scheme!
www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/125th-a...
www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/125th-a...
125th Anniversary Fellows and Chairs - University of Birmingham
125th Anniversary Fellows and Chairs
www.birmingham.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 9:49 AM
The University of Birmingham is hiring through its 125th Anniversary Fellowships and Chairs scheme!
www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/125th-a...
www.birmingham.ac.uk/jobs/125th-a...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
The Linguistic Justice Foundation is looking for 60 people to make a $5 monthly donation to help support our work pursuing linguistic justice for everyone. Please donate if you can, shar eif you can't.
www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...
www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...
Donate to make a difference for people's right to use, maintain and transmit their languages
Your contribution is helping us drive systemic change for linguistic justice. It helps us to advance public awareness and mass education on language rights and linguistic justice, conduct research, an...
www.zeffy.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:01 PM
The Linguistic Justice Foundation is looking for 60 people to make a $5 monthly donation to help support our work pursuing linguistic justice for everyone. Please donate if you can, shar eif you can't.
www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...
www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Happy to share the first version of my textbook "Quantitative Data Analysis for Linguists in R".
stefanocoretta.github.io/qdal/
Comments and suggestions welcome! (on the GitHub repo: github.com/stefanocoret...)
The textbook takes you from 0 to basic stat modelling with Bayesian regression.
stefanocoretta.github.io/qdal/
Comments and suggestions welcome! (on the GitHub repo: github.com/stefanocoret...)
The textbook takes you from 0 to basic stat modelling with Bayesian regression.
Quantitative Data Analysis for Linguists in R
stefanocoretta.github.io
November 26, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Happy to share the first version of my textbook "Quantitative Data Analysis for Linguists in R".
stefanocoretta.github.io/qdal/
Comments and suggestions welcome! (on the GitHub repo: github.com/stefanocoret...)
The textbook takes you from 0 to basic stat modelling with Bayesian regression.
stefanocoretta.github.io/qdal/
Comments and suggestions welcome! (on the GitHub repo: github.com/stefanocoret...)
The textbook takes you from 0 to basic stat modelling with Bayesian regression.
There are possibly 8000 language varieties used around the world today, many of them with communities of speakers and signers that number less than 10,000.
Even if only a handful of people in those communities want to keep their languages alive, I’m happy to promote their right to do so.
Even if only a handful of people in those communities want to keep their languages alive, I’m happy to promote their right to do so.
November 28, 2025 at 3:54 PM
There are possibly 8000 language varieties used around the world today, many of them with communities of speakers and signers that number less than 10,000.
Even if only a handful of people in those communities want to keep their languages alive, I’m happy to promote their right to do so.
Even if only a handful of people in those communities want to keep their languages alive, I’m happy to promote their right to do so.
You're not interested in Cornish nor BSL. Your children aren't interested in Cornish either. Yet we are having got several posts about exactly how much you're not interested in any of this discussion about minority languages.
November 28, 2025 at 3:35 PM
You're not interested in Cornish nor BSL. Your children aren't interested in Cornish either. Yet we are having got several posts about exactly how much you're not interested in any of this discussion about minority languages.
That's quite a non-sequitur. Nobody here said anything about forcing anyone to do anything.
November 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
That's quite a non-sequitur. Nobody here said anything about forcing anyone to do anything.
Most people are not gay, but we have same sex marriage. What's your point? Minorities should have no rights?
November 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Most people are not gay, but we have same sex marriage. What's your point? Minorities should have no rights?
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Innovations in Linguistics Education is a new Diamond Open Access journal, is dedicated to the teaching of linguistics.
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations
I'm really excited to see a new journal in this space!
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations
I'm really excited to see a new journal in this space!
Innovations in Linguistics Education
journals.ed.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Innovations in Linguistics Education is a new Diamond Open Access journal, is dedicated to the teaching of linguistics.
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations
I'm really excited to see a new journal in this space!
journals.ed.ac.uk/innovations
I'm really excited to see a new journal in this space!