Pavel Iosad
@anghyflawn.net
Linguist | Cànanaiche @schoolofppls.bsky.social. Migrant | Neach-imrich: 🇷🇺➡️🇳🇴➡️NI➡️🏴. Tin whistle tragic | Droch-chluicheadair na fìdeige. 🇺🇦.
Pinned
Pavel Iosad
@anghyflawn.net
· Apr 14
Phonological Drift and Language Contact | Phonetics and phonology
www.cambridge.org
My soon-to-come book with @cambup-linguistics.bsky.social now has a page with a cover and everything! It’s been almost a decade working on it, and more than that in some form, but it’s finally almost here. 🧵 www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...
Except of course the self-interest for a lot of these voters would be in relaxing rules around family migration, adult dependent relatives and that kind of thing. Now to take a sip of coffee and check on how that’s been going.
I love the fact that pretty much the only group of Leavers who actually got the benefit they wanted out of Brexit are the one third of ethnic minorities who voted Leave because they wanted more Commonwealth migration.
December 27, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Except of course the self-interest for a lot of these voters would be in relaxing rules around family migration, adult dependent relatives and that kind of thing. Now to take a sip of coffee and check on how that’s been going.
This.
‘The problem is not solely the LLMs, but scholars not checking footnotes and authors not reading the material they are citing. These behaviours… are more about the current crisis in universities worldwide, spurred on by governments who do not wish for an educated population’
‘The problem is not solely the LLMs, but scholars not checking footnotes and authors not reading the material they are citing. These behaviours… are more about the current crisis in universities worldwide, spurred on by governments who do not wish for an educated population’
'reading avoidance is nothing new: “not reading,” writes Lisa Marie Rhody, “is the dirty open secret of all literary critics.”'
eve.gd/2025/12/22/o...
eve.gd/2025/12/22/o...
On citations, AI, and 'not reading'
There has been a major furore in recent days on social media about the rise in AI citations that have been hallucinated. These citations appear in manuscript...
eve.gd
December 23, 2025 at 9:04 AM
This.
‘The problem is not solely the LLMs, but scholars not checking footnotes and authors not reading the material they are citing. These behaviours… are more about the current crisis in universities worldwide, spurred on by governments who do not wish for an educated population’
‘The problem is not solely the LLMs, but scholars not checking footnotes and authors not reading the material they are citing. These behaviours… are more about the current crisis in universities worldwide, spurred on by governments who do not wish for an educated population’
This is it, isn’t it. This is the central problem. And no-one cares.
‘The present crisis is some evidence of an overstretched state that simply cannot or will not uphold both massification and quality’
‘The present crisis is some evidence of an overstretched state that simply cannot or will not uphold both massification and quality’
My article on the future of Britain's universities is now out in Political Quarterly! Regular readers will know that IMHO many simply don't have one, beyond regular radical downsizing and mergers. A vast and foreseeable waste of your money. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1467923x...
The Political Quarterly: Vol 96, No 4
Click on the title to browse this issue
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:32 AM
This is it, isn’t it. This is the central problem. And no-one cares.
‘The present crisis is some evidence of an overstretched state that simply cannot or will not uphold both massification and quality’
‘The present crisis is some evidence of an overstretched state that simply cannot or will not uphold both massification and quality’
oh no. oh no no no
December 20, 2025 at 11:57 AM
oh no. oh no no no
This is one of my favourite clips because he really does pronounce English words like they were the local Irish, listen to how his ‘lamb’ is exactly how someone from there would say an Irish _leam_ [l’aum]
Ah now that's the accent on easy mode anyway (and if I remember right, he has denied his Irishness on at least one disgraceful occasion). Try to master deep Kerry if you truly want to impress. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pit0...
IRISH FARMER'S STRONG ACCENT IN COUNTY KERRY IRELAND - MISSING SHEEP
YouTube video by The Worst LAG
www.youtube.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:59 PM
This is one of my favourite clips because he really does pronounce English words like they were the local Irish, listen to how his ‘lamb’ is exactly how someone from there would say an Irish _leam_ [l’aum]
Also a wonderful piece on how AI is laying bare the structural problems in science, not primarily fixing or causing them. Much the same applies in teaching, I think.
open.substack.com/pub/artifici...
open.substack.com/pub/artifici...
Context Widows
or, of GPUs, LPUs, and Goal Displacement
open.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Also a wonderful piece on how AI is laying bare the structural problems in science, not primarily fixing or causing them. Much the same applies in teaching, I think.
open.substack.com/pub/artifici...
open.substack.com/pub/artifici...
Fantastic post here. A great perspective on how and why we write the way we do and judge people by how they write.
‘The very things you identify as the fingerprints of the machine are, in fact, the fossil records of our education.’
‘The very things you identify as the fingerprints of the machine are, in fact, the fossil records of our education.’
This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Fantastic post here. A great perspective on how and why we write the way we do and judge people by how they write.
‘The very things you identify as the fingerprints of the machine are, in fact, the fossil records of our education.’
‘The very things you identify as the fingerprints of the machine are, in fact, the fossil records of our education.’
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
The holidays came early 🎉:*Bridging Child Language Research to Practice for #Indigenous #Language #Revitalization* is officially out!
Makes great reading for your spring semester courses 🐦🐦, especially because it’s free to read forever with LD&C/U Hawai’i Press.
Makes great reading for your spring semester courses 🐦🐦, especially because it’s free to read forever with LD&C/U Hawai’i Press.
SP30: Bridging Child Language Research to Practice for Indigenous Language Revitalization - LD&C
Amalia Skilton, Ryan E. Henke, Melvatha R. Chee
nflrc.hawaii.edu
December 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The holidays came early 🎉:*Bridging Child Language Research to Practice for #Indigenous #Language #Revitalization* is officially out!
Makes great reading for your spring semester courses 🐦🐦, especially because it’s free to read forever with LD&C/U Hawai’i Press.
Makes great reading for your spring semester courses 🐦🐦, especially because it’s free to read forever with LD&C/U Hawai’i Press.
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
But the good news is, by doing this, we defeated racism in the UK.
Government has now - belatedly -published the impact assessment for the changes to skilled worker and care worker visas announced in May.
Impact is estimated between -£2 billion and £-10 billion (central - £10 billion).
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6937e6...
Impact is estimated between -£2 billion and £-10 billion (central - £10 billion).
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6937e6...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
December 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
But the good news is, by doing this, we defeated racism in the UK.
Everyone is doing obvious dunks like ‘what about NI’, but — and I know I keep going on about this — the British state’s handling of Shamima Begum shows that citizenship has been a precarious status for some time now, for *certain kinds* of people.
The Conservative party’s policy also includes stripping people of their British citizenship when they are found guilty of a crime ⬇️
All criminals with dual nationality must be deported, say Tories
The Conservative party’s policy also includes stripping people of their British citizenship when they are found guilty of a crime
www.thetimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Everyone is doing obvious dunks like ‘what about NI’, but — and I know I keep going on about this — the British state’s handling of Shamima Begum shows that citizenship has been a precarious status for some time now, for *certain kinds* of people.
Και τώρα τι θα γένουμε χωρίς βαρβάρους.
Οι άνθρωποι αυτοί ήσαν μια κάποια λύσις
What in the world will we do without barbarians?
Those people would have been a solution, of sorts.
Οι άνθρωποι αυτοί ήσαν μια κάποια λύσις
What in the world will we do without barbarians?
Those people would have been a solution, of sorts.
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 7, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Και τώρα τι θα γένουμε χωρίς βαρβάρους.
Οι άνθρωποι αυτοί ήσαν μια κάποια λύσις
What in the world will we do without barbarians?
Those people would have been a solution, of sorts.
Οι άνθρωποι αυτοί ήσαν μια κάποια λύσις
What in the world will we do without barbarians?
Those people would have been a solution, of sorts.
Current status: stuffed with absolutely delicious food from Uzbek Corner in Queensway Market. Do yourself a favour and get down there if you’re in That London!
December 5, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Current status: stuffed with absolutely delicious food from Uzbek Corner in Queensway Market. Do yourself a favour and get down there if you’re in That London!
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
No matter how tough you say times are, there’s always enough money in the banana stand to pay an external consultant to scope ‘academic efficiency opportunities’ www.theferret.scot/consultancy-...
‘Nousferatu’: the notorious consultancy advising Edinburgh uni amid 'huge' cuts
Scotland’s largest university has turned to Nous Group at the same time as it is making savings that could lead to nearly 2,000 job losses. Staff say they were misled about the extent of its work.
www.theferret.scot
November 30, 2025 at 9:44 AM
No matter how tough you say times are, there’s always enough money in the banana stand to pay an external consultant to scope ‘academic efficiency opportunities’ www.theferret.scot/consultancy-...
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
The “protection, skills and study route” looks like a move to cherry-pick the refugees who look economically useful while driving the rest away. Rather like the post-war trawl of refugee camps for workers, while abandoning the most vulnerable.
November 17, 2025 at 7:33 PM
The “protection, skills and study route” looks like a move to cherry-pick the refugees who look economically useful while driving the rest away. Rather like the post-war trawl of refugee camps for workers, while abandoning the most vulnerable.
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
“Four years ago, we suffered an earlier redundancy programme that we were told would secure the future of the university. That clearly was not true."
#UKHE
www.leicester.news/university-o...
#UKHE
www.leicester.news/university-o...
University of Leicester moves forward with plans to cut 150 jobs
A 'large number of staff' across several schools could be impacted
www.leicester.news
November 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
“Four years ago, we suffered an earlier redundancy programme that we were told would secure the future of the university. That clearly was not true."
#UKHE
www.leicester.news/university-o...
#UKHE
www.leicester.news/university-o...
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
Naomi is I think bang on here. I have said many times to many people that AI is like any other technology shift: it changes jobs and how we work. Naomi builds on that (and expresses it much better), and lands on "learn the skill of discernment". Do read this.
I wrote this yesterday about what to tell young people who are worried about what work will be in the age of AI:
naomialderman.substack.com/p/preparing-...
naomialderman.substack.com/p/preparing-...
preparing for the working world in the age of AI
or: seven things to tell your kids when they ask what they should study now, or what the point of studying is
naomialderman.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Naomi is I think bang on here. I have said many times to many people that AI is like any other technology shift: it changes jobs and how we work. Naomi builds on that (and expresses it much better), and lands on "learn the skill of discernment". Do read this.
Why Edinburgh needs proper cycle infrastructure and can’t rely on railway paths.
Cycling from Meadowbank to Polwarth on a dark, windy, wet evening. I’m a confident, experienced cyclist but I didn’t fancy either the wind on exposed Regent Rd or the goodwill of drivers in Princes St and Lothian Rd.
Cycling from Meadowbank to Polwarth on a dark, windy, wet evening. I’m a confident, experienced cyclist but I didn’t fancy either the wind on exposed Regent Rd or the goodwill of drivers in Princes St and Lothian Rd.
November 3, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Why Edinburgh needs proper cycle infrastructure and can’t rely on railway paths.
Cycling from Meadowbank to Polwarth on a dark, windy, wet evening. I’m a confident, experienced cyclist but I didn’t fancy either the wind on exposed Regent Rd or the goodwill of drivers in Princes St and Lothian Rd.
Cycling from Meadowbank to Polwarth on a dark, windy, wet evening. I’m a confident, experienced cyclist but I didn’t fancy either the wind on exposed Regent Rd or the goodwill of drivers in Princes St and Lothian Rd.
There is a certain type of person proudly belonging to what they called the ‘scientific-technological intelligentsia’ in the Soviet Union, which can read very positively (as in the Strugatskys’ Monday Starts on Saturday) but can also be negatively polarised into… well, this
Nothing can prepare you for the factual basis behind this 'wokeness gone too far' anecdote.
October 29, 2025 at 10:35 AM
There is a certain type of person proudly belonging to what they called the ‘scientific-technological intelligentsia’ in the Soviet Union, which can read very positively (as in the Strugatskys’ Monday Starts on Saturday) but can also be negatively polarised into… well, this
Reposted by Pavel Iosad
Damn, if only 'hard men of Gondor' with their hollowed out, atrophying state, obsessed with the glories of the past and which was only saved from defeat by the actions of those it claimed to protect, could teach us anything...
October 29, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Damn, if only 'hard men of Gondor' with their hollowed out, atrophying state, obsessed with the glories of the past and which was only saved from defeat by the actions of those it claimed to protect, could teach us anything...
Very good and normal!
Literally one of the greatest soft power brands on planet earth driven into the ground by successive British governments that embrace failure, decline and irrelevance.
on.ft.com/3Wq1XIT
on.ft.com/3Wq1XIT
British Council ‘selling everything it can’ to survive
Cultural body plans more job cuts, sale of assets and closure in 35 countries to stave off ‘financial peril’
on.ft.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Very good and normal!
Big school is exactly right, and is ultimately the source of the rot. Academics think they’re there to produce new knowledge and transmit it, *along with how to generate it*, to perpetuate the cycle; everyone else thinks they’re there to teach bigger school.
'Proposals to reform assessment and the way teaching quality is measured risk standardising university curricula and treating institutions like big schools, critics have warned.'
'Big schools' does rather appear to sum up DfS's conception of universities, sadly. 1/3
'Big schools' does rather appear to sum up DfS's conception of universities, sadly. 1/3
Risk of ‘standardisation’ as ministers mull progression measures
Universities would look to ‘game’ new metric for testing learning gain, critics warn, with external examination defended as ‘best we’ve got’
www.timeshighereducation.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Big school is exactly right, and is ultimately the source of the rot. Academics think they’re there to produce new knowledge and transmit it, *along with how to generate it*, to perpetuate the cycle; everyone else thinks they’re there to teach bigger school.
Completely insane but an inevitable consequence of ‘benefit fraud crackdown means act first, mop up later, ideally not at all’ and the usual ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and oh wasn’t there something else? it’ll come to me I’m sure’
NI parents caught in UK crackdown lose child benefit after travelling via Dublin
NI parents caught in UK crackdown lose child benefit after travelling via Dublin
Exclusive: new anti-fraud system fails to account for fact many return to country via airport in Irish capital
Parents in Northern Ireland have had their child support payments stopped as part of the UK government’s crackdown on alleged benefit fraud simply because they returned from a holiday via Dublin airport.
So far 346 families have had their benefits frozen, an investigation by NI online newspaper, the Detail, shared with the Guardian, has discovered. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Completely insane but an inevitable consequence of ‘benefit fraud crackdown means act first, mop up later, ideally not at all’ and the usual ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and oh wasn’t there something else? it’ll come to me I’m sure’
Timeline cleanse.
October 21, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Timeline cleanse.
Child benefit, which is available to people earning well above her ‘contribute more than you cost’ boundary, is also sponging off the state apparently! Jesus Christ.
Here Lam explicitly sets out her proposal - which is official Conservative Party policy - to deport long-standing legal permanent residents who have *ever* claimed any benefit, including the state pension or child benefit (even if the child is British), or who earn less than £39K.
October 21, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Child benefit, which is available to people earning well above her ‘contribute more than you cost’ boundary, is also sponging off the state apparently! Jesus Christ.
Did the thing, with the aid of nurse Vlad from Homiel. Maybe that’s enough contribution to not get kicked out?
October 21, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Did the thing, with the aid of nurse Vlad from Homiel. Maybe that’s enough contribution to not get kicked out?