Dennis Baron

@drgrammar.bsky.social

500 followers 140 following 530 posts

I write about language and … language and law (free speech and regulation); gender (pronouns!); tech (how tech affects readers and writers); language reform; and language policing. All from a historical perspective.

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Dennis Baron is a professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on the technologies of communication; language legislation and linguistic rights; language reform; gender issues in language; language standards and minority languages and dialects; English usage; and the history and present state of the English language. .. more

Communication & Media Studies 41%

Philosophy 14%

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Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 1d

Facebook really knows how to deliver an ad...

2 Facebook posts one after the other. First is about neonazis in Little Rock. Second is an ad for Chanukah jewelry.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 1d

The Red State Model of higher education: The faculty have "commandeered" campuses for decades. It's time for administrators to have a turn.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 4d

Posted without comment...

Fortune cookie fortune says Be outdoors this weekend

Thermometer says outdoor temperature is 4 F.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 6d

Clip from the Speaker Request Form that she received and posted on scribd. Utah's HB 261 guarantees free speech to invited speakers, but fearing legislative backlash, the school is imposing these bans on speakers. Thus HB 261 chills free speech without actually violating First Amendment protections!

A list of banned terms and concepts, including DEI, anti-racism, bias, CRT, implicit bias, oppression, intersectionality, prohibited discriminatory practices, racial privilege, promoting stereotypes

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 6d

The color of the year is white? Pantone going full MAGA.

Announcement that the Pantone color of the year is white.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 7d

It turns out that when copy editing is optional, you can forget about both accuracy and quality.

ad for Fat Daddio's reads. Accuracy isn't optional! Either is quality.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 8d

Of course there's an AI rebbe, but there's also a disclaimer.

Shall I am the AI Rabbi. Type Torah and Life Questions here"

Disclaimer: Rebbe.io is an AI-based educational tool. It does not replace consultation with a a qualified Halachic authority or Rabbi. For all Halachic decisions and life guidance, please consult a competent Rav.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 11d

Here, I fixed it for you: The near extinction of copy editors continues to have severe consequences.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 11d

"An Eurasian..."?

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 11d

Snow day means snow globe back yard.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 12d

To lose the crown jewels may be regarded as a misfortune. But to lose a year's worth of snails ...

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 18d

Revised and re-upping this post on "The second-oldest neopronoun, coined in 1849: ne, nis, and nim" bit.ly/475S3Cr

The second-oldest neopronoun, coined in 1849: ne, nis, and nim

bit.ly

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 21d

Celebrating the publication of Merriam-Webster's 12th Collegiate, I am reminded of this important First Amendment hypothetiical:

Can a baker refuse to bake a dictionary cake on religious grounds if they have a deeply-held belief that dictionaries are woke tools of the devil?

Dictionary cake celebrating Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 12th edition

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · 26d

So bankbooks are obsolete, 🐝?

New York Times Spelling Bee says bankbook is not a word

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 6

The question is moot.

Washington Post article headline "jury finds d. c. sandwich guy not guilty of assaulting officer.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 6

With the assault-by-sub-sandwich trial in progress here's a re-up of my post, "Is a sandwich a weapon? And if so, does it enjoy constitutional protection?" blogs.illinois.edu/view/25

Is a sandwich a weapon? And if so, does it enjoy constitutional protection?

blogs.illinois.edu

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 5

Plus I am anxious about the future.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 5

otoh

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 5

Cry the spilt milk. Le Figaro quiz testing the equivalence of English and French idioms, great but maybe first get the English right?

Que signifie l’expression «to cry the spilt milk» (Pleurer sur le lait renversé) ?
Être anxieux pour l’avenir
Mélanger deux choses incompatibles
Pleurer sur pas grand chose

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 4

Two views of the University of Chicago . . .

The moon nearing fullness beside the Theological Seminary Tower at the University of Chicago

A Lyft bike at the University of Chicago with the message "deport ice"

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Nov 2

It's the stuff concrete poems are made from.

New York times spelling bee says poetite is not in the word list

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Oct 23

Video capture of the Böcker Agilo descending with two thieves and the loot.

The lift descending with 2 of the thieves and their loot.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Oct 22

The Böcker Agilo is the perfect gift for the jewel thieves on your list.

Wry ad promoting the Böcker Agilo "when you have to go fast" it can move 400 kilos of treasure 40 metres per minute.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Oct 16

beats me why the 🐝 won't accept eocene.

Dennis Baron @drgrammar.bsky.social · Oct 14

Now that I've had time to check here's what I wrote back in 1990. BTW, in a conference talk I gave about this in the 1980s, session chair John Algeo, who was then editor of American Speech, changed my title from "A historic..." to "An historic." Which only goes to show how entrenched this was.