Mercedes Durham
@drswissmiss.bsky.social
Multilingual, multicultural, multilovely.
Professor of Sociolinguistics at Cardiff University 🇨🇭🏴🇺🇸
Currently studying varieties of Welsh English
She/her
Professor of Sociolinguistics at Cardiff University 🇨🇭🏴🇺🇸
Currently studying varieties of Welsh English
She/her
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
HESA put the academic staff numbers in 23-24 in Essex at 1560, and given voluntary severence schemes it's likely to be lower now, so this is at least 2/3rds of all academic staff in Essex receiving risk of redundancy letters.
Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252:
Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email.
Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk
Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email.
Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk
December 11, 2025 at 5:22 PM
HESA put the academic staff numbers in 23-24 in Essex at 1560, and given voluntary severence schemes it's likely to be lower now, so this is at least 2/3rds of all academic staff in Essex receiving risk of redundancy letters.
About a pair of trousers that came home from school all tangled after the Christmas show: I don't un-inside-out them because it would take too long
#LinguistBabyPhotos (7ish)
#LinguistBabyPhotos (7ish)
December 11, 2025 at 10:19 AM
About a pair of trousers that came home from school all tangled after the Christmas show: I don't un-inside-out them because it would take too long
#LinguistBabyPhotos (7ish)
#LinguistBabyPhotos (7ish)
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
This creater puts "reading levels" into perspective in a really helpful way, so sharing it here.
October 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
This creater puts "reading levels" into perspective in a really helpful way, so sharing it here.
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
December 7, 2025 at 8:31 AM
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
I'm not going to judge a book on its cover and blurbs, but I'm curious how grounded in sociolinguistic research this is given that it "Proposes a political agenda to resist the sticklerocracy and overthrow a world of word nerds" Anyone happen to know? www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/1...
Why It's OK to Have Bad Spelling and Grammar | Jessica Flanigan | Tayl
Grammatical errors and orthographic mishaps are often played for laughs, but this subtle sanctioning by the sticklerocracy can have real social consequences
www.taylorfrancis.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I'm not going to judge a book on its cover and blurbs, but I'm curious how grounded in sociolinguistic research this is given that it "Proposes a political agenda to resist the sticklerocracy and overthrow a world of word nerds" Anyone happen to know? www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/1...
And I did get to talk about the Rosetta Stone - yay!
Wish me luck as I try and explain Egyptian hieroglyphs in under five minutes for a kids science podcast.
Am I hoping I get to talk about the Rosetta Stone too? Absolutely!
Am I hoping I get to talk about the Rosetta Stone too? Absolutely!
December 4, 2025 at 2:59 PM
And I did get to talk about the Rosetta Stone - yay!
Wish me luck as I try and explain Egyptian hieroglyphs in under five minutes for a kids science podcast.
Am I hoping I get to talk about the Rosetta Stone too? Absolutely!
Am I hoping I get to talk about the Rosetta Stone too? Absolutely!
December 4, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Wish me luck as I try and explain Egyptian hieroglyphs in under five minutes for a kids science podcast.
Am I hoping I get to talk about the Rosetta Stone too? Absolutely!
Am I hoping I get to talk about the Rosetta Stone too? Absolutely!
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
#OTD 98 years ago, William Labov (1927-2024) was born 🥳 He was a pioneering sociolinguist studying language variation, dialectology, but also AAVE. In 1966, Labov published his landmark study "The Social Stratification of English in New York City".
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
December 4, 2025 at 9:07 AM
#OTD 98 years ago, William Labov (1927-2024) was born 🥳 He was a pioneering sociolinguist studying language variation, dialectology, but also AAVE. In 1966, Labov published his landmark study "The Social Stratification of English in New York City".
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
#LinguisticBirthdays #Histlx
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
A little something I wrote for @theconversation.com about Wicked and prescriptivism theconversation.com/wicked-for-g...
December 4, 2025 at 8:39 AM
A little something I wrote for @theconversation.com about Wicked and prescriptivism theconversation.com/wicked-for-g...
Alt text available here bsky.app/profile/neil...
December 2, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Alt text available here bsky.app/profile/neil...
Happy World Linguistics Day from Cardiff, Wales!
Happy World Linguistics Day from Montreal, Canada!
(I wonder how many different places we can get world linguistics day wishes from this year!)
(I wonder how many different places we can get world linguistics day wishes from this year!)
Happy World Linguistics Day from Melbourne, Australia!
November 26, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Happy World Linguistics Day from Cardiff, Wales!
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
It's also bleakly funny that even in 2022 I thought it was laying it on awful thick about tech bro douches, but if anything Norton's character is way too aware of other people as a concept and is at least attempting to fake an interesting inner life.
Pregaming for Wake Up Dead by watching Glass Onion, for some reason it especially pleases me that Rian Johnson has Blanc quote "My God, it's full of stars" and make note that the line is from 2010 not 2001.
November 25, 2025 at 5:23 AM
It's also bleakly funny that even in 2022 I thought it was laying it on awful thick about tech bro douches, but if anything Norton's character is way too aware of other people as a concept and is at least attempting to fake an interesting inner life.
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
Got a mini-op-ed published in the campus newspaper today, in case you're wondering how I feel about generative AI. (With the compulsory shout-out to @emilymbender.bsky.social, of course)
swarthmorephoenix.com/2025/11/20/o...
swarthmorephoenix.com/2025/11/20/o...
Office Hours: Faculty on the Implications of Generative AI for Higher Education - The Phoenix
Swarthmore professors share their thoughts on the growing prevalence of generative artificial intelligence and its implications for higher education and the liberal arts.
swarthmorephoenix.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Got a mini-op-ed published in the campus newspaper today, in case you're wondering how I feel about generative AI. (With the compulsory shout-out to @emilymbender.bsky.social, of course)
swarthmorephoenix.com/2025/11/20/o...
swarthmorephoenix.com/2025/11/20/o...
To everyone I follow who warns/complains/worries about genAI, thank you! You make me feel less alone each time I present an anti-AI view to mostly bemused colleagues. It's not just me who thinks it's a concern in many, many ways.
November 20, 2025 at 10:09 AM
To everyone I follow who warns/complains/worries about genAI, thank you! You make me feel less alone each time I present an anti-AI view to mostly bemused colleagues. It's not just me who thinks it's a concern in many, many ways.
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
I came to this country as a child refugee. No English, no certainty, no idea what my life could become. Britain gave me refuge.
Not on a timer, not with conditions attached, but with a chance to grow roots.
A thread 🧵 1/8
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Not on a timer, not with conditions attached, but with a chance to grow roots.
A thread 🧵 1/8
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK set to limit refugees to temporary stays
Shabana Mahmood is expected to say the era of permanent protection for refugees is over, in major changes to the UK's asylum and immigration system.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 10:29 AM
I came to this country as a child refugee. No English, no certainty, no idea what my life could become. Britain gave me refuge.
Not on a timer, not with conditions attached, but with a chance to grow roots.
A thread 🧵 1/8
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Not on a timer, not with conditions attached, but with a chance to grow roots.
A thread 🧵 1/8
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Still a better acronym than what’s being suggested for our new super school 😬
combining the humanities, social sciences, and climate science into our new School of AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
November 15, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Still a better acronym than what’s being suggested for our new super school 😬
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
MAJOR UPDATE: apnews.com/article/louv...
November 9, 2025 at 2:29 PM
MAJOR UPDATE: apnews.com/article/louv...
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
Modern Languages students at the University of Nottingham have started a petition to save languages degrees. Please sign and share www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
Sign the Petition
Stop the removal of Modern Languages courses at the University of Nottingham!
www.change.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Modern Languages students at the University of Nottingham have started a petition to save languages degrees. Please sign and share www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
Edinburgh University is closing the Institute for Academic Development. Download these student resources while you can. Making notes, reading strategies, time management, dissertations and so on.
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
November 7, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Edinburgh University is closing the Institute for Academic Development. Download these student resources while you can. Making notes, reading strategies, time management, dissertations and so on.
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
CC licenses. Pdf and text only versions. #HE 🗃️
institute-academic-development.ed.ac.uk/study-hub/le...
#linguistics of food
We’re still waiting for the judge to figure out the jury instructions. Definitions can take time! Thankfully, he need not rule on the distinction among hoagie, sub and grinder.
November 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
#linguistics of food
I'm not at #NWAV53 but the South Wales Speech project is. Check out our poster today and chat to Ianto (my co-author) about /t/ in Welsh English. We have glottals, we have taps, we have [ɹ], we have [h], we have zero (but not as t/d deletion) and more.
November 5, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I'm not at #NWAV53 but the South Wales Speech project is. Check out our poster today and chat to Ianto (my co-author) about /t/ in Welsh English. We have glottals, we have taps, we have [ɹ], we have [h], we have zero (but not as t/d deletion) and more.
If you’re going to wake up stupidly early and scroll your timeline instead of going back to sleep, today’s not such a terrible day to do it #HopeScrolling #NYC
November 5, 2025 at 6:04 AM
If you’re going to wake up stupidly early and scroll your timeline instead of going back to sleep, today’s not such a terrible day to do it #HopeScrolling #NYC
Glad to know it's not just me submitting last minute conference abstracts... between this morning and this evening over 40 abstracts have been submitted for ICLaVE13 (I submitted two)
November 1, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Glad to know it's not just me submitting last minute conference abstracts... between this morning and this evening over 40 abstracts have been submitted for ICLaVE13 (I submitted two)
Reposted by Mercedes Durham
We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.
November 1, 2025 at 12:31 AM
We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.