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The Layman's Linguist

@laymanslinguist.bsky.social

2K followers 530 following 620 posts

Fun facts, exhaustive etymologies, & informative infographics for both linguists & laypeople

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jan 20

Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners #WordsMatter

CNN world

What we covered here
• Israel says it has released 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. The news comes after the first Israeli hostages released under the long-awaited agreement arrived back in Israel.

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Sep 9

*incorrect buzzer sound*

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 19

Toilets, it would seem. A very specific toilet.

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 19

I don't know if time has simply slowed to a crawl for me personally but there's no way <skibidi> is still being used by anyone besides Gen Xers trying to make fun of their own kids

Axios
'Skibidi": How to use the newest words added to the Cambridge Dictionary
Skibi
IONARY RSLANUNG
21 hours ago

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 10

Heavy on the learned behavior!

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 9

1: A chimp sprays water on zoo visitors
2: A swan wades out just far enough for dogs to stop chasing her but no farther
3: Ducks on a pond ignore dogs at the shore but take flight when humans appear farther away
4: A dog who's never seen a ball before wouldn't bring one to a human to throw

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 9

I'm reading a book on animal thought & emotion and it delves a lot into both inter- and intra-species communication. The current chapter is on the dreaded theory of mind and I would like to hear y'all's opinions on which, if any, of these would constitute evidence of ToM:

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 2

I did not know that about <meet> but it is specifically the verb I was thinking of so I guess nevermind maybe??

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 2

Rhymed with "get," as if it was a strong verb. I almost didn't even notice it at first actually, she said it very naturally!

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Aug 2

Love Island has once again proved a treasure trove of dialectal variants I'd never before encountered

Screenshot of a brunette white woman saying "cos I just think I didn't deserve"

(continued from previous screenshot) "to be tret the way I've been tret."

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Reposted by The Layman's Linguist

Nick Fleisher @nickfleisher.bsky.social · Jul 23

No AI could ever say something this stupid

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 23

Amazing things are happening on X: The Everything App

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 25

Discovered this on my regularly scheduled IMDb rabbit hole and didn't have anyone else to tell

Has a form ff ESP he calls "hearing tones". While working with David Byrne on his film "True Stories", he told Byrne about his gift, who was inspired to write the song "Radio Head" about him. The band Radiohead took its name from this song.
122 of 123 found this interesting
You found this interesting

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 25

The band Radiohead is technically named after this character actor

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Reposted by The Layman's Linguist

Ben Hayden @benhayden.bsky.social · Jul 23

Good assignment for Senior Linguistics majors: write a 5 page term paper explaining why this argument wrong!

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 23

Amazing things are happening on X: The Everything App

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 23

Amazing things are happening on X: The Everything App

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 9

Met another self-described "cunning linguist" on bumble but this one might be salvageable

Him: it's actually true though. I treat language like a blade: beautiful, dangerous, and best wielded with intent.
Me: okay that's actually kinda hot

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Reposted by The Layman's Linguist

The Linguist Formerly Known As Pinkkatydid @pinkatydid.bsky.social · Jul 4

As always, my favorite oft-abridged quote on patriotism:

"My country, right or wrong. If right, to be kept right—if wrong, to be set right."

-an immigrant to the US who volunteered to fight for the Union in our Civil War

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 4

"Intelligence is knowing tomatoes are a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put them in a fruit salad."

–just one of countless food-based life lessons I got from my weird great aunt Gertrude

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 4

Linguists Love Cool James

Kim Kelly @kimkelly.bsky.social · Jul 4

‪Today’s announcement from Jazmine Sullivan follows LL Cool J’s own cancellation last night, in which he emphasized his refusal to cross the striking workers’ picket line. Two icons doing iconic things! www.nbcphiladelphia.com/entertainmen...

Jazmine Sullivan drops out of Wawa Welcome America concert amid Philly workers’ strike

A day LL COOL J announced he would not perform at the Wawa Welcome America concert, Jazmine Sullivan announced she would also not perform.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/entertainment/the-scene/wawa-welcome-america/jazmine-sullivan-wawa-welcome-america-july-4th-philly-ll-cool-j-dc-33-strike/4226540/?amp=1‬

Reposted by The Layman's Linguist

Dr. Johnathan Flowers, Blade Wielding Bisexual (Lordean arc) @shengokai.blacksky.app · Jul 4

Every 4th of July, I take the time to read "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July." Let us begin:

"I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us."

(1852) Frederick Douglass, "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July"

Explore the speech "What, To The Slave, Is The Fourth Of July" delivered by Frederick Douglass in 1852, including full text and historical context.

www.blackpast.org

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jul 4

Vegetable (spiritually) 🤝 Fruit (technically)

"Welcome to the family, precious baby Tomato!"

Tweet by @exquisitewill
Many fruits can be great names… but the real challenge is naming a child after a vegetable…

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jun 30

Just discussing Jordan Peterson's linguistic skills with a hinge match, how's your weekend going?

Him: He's a good wordsmith though
Me: Yeah well so was Hitler

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jun 16

Love catching up with old college friends

Him: Esperanto will eventually prevail don't worry
Me: lol. Lmao, even.
Him: ROFL?
Me: Precisely

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The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jun 4

Thank you! Yeah it's definitely a space that could use some guidance or framework.

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jun 3

At this point I'd settle for the days when they were at least too scared of public backlash to so shamelessly flaunt how evil they'd become

The Layman's Linguist @laymanslinguist.bsky.social · Jun 3

That was before this AI Overview though. I assume most of that department lost their jobs by now anyway, cause there's pretty clearly no one vetting the accuracy at all anymore 🙃🙃🙃

But Google's penchant for coming up with new ways to promote misinformation is nothing new. Some greatest hits:

Screenshot of a tweet with the following text:

The Layman's Li... LaymansLinguist

I am once again BEGGING Google to care about the accuracy and quality of their featured search results

[Text of the screenshot]
Portuguese has a lot f slurred sounds, it is a very fluid language, as oppose to
Spanish, where words are more ALTiberate.

The Layman's L.....
We have a new entry in my ongoing series "Google Featuring Unvetted Results" and once again there is a lot to unpack:
"In English, there are no neutral terms for sex and excrement."
Then what kind of words are <sex> & <excrement>? Profane?? .....Oh. Ohh no.

[Text in the screenshot]
The phrase four-letter was first attested in print in 1923 and four-letter word in 1934. There are, in addition, some 'honorary' four- letter words, such as the five-letter but monosyllabic prick, screw. In English, there are no neutral terms for sex and excrement. Jun 8,2018
O https://www.encyclopedia.com>fou.
...
Four-letter Word | Encyclopedia.com

The Layman's ....16 Oct 21 g Sooo got mad at tthe Google questions again..
List
ANYWAY, English isn't inherently owerful & its users aren't bestowed with better economic nsights!
English-majority nations may have money & power NOW -they've been invading colonizing the rest of the world for quite a while!

[There are two screenshots under the tweet but most of the text is cropped from the sides]

The Layman's...16 Dec 22 G If you google "is it possible to speak English without an accent?" the top featured result erroneously states that it's not only possible but desirable! I especially like how they describe their strategy of just, the way pretty much all hearing babies learn their first language.

[Text from screenshot #1]
but as we get older it becomes more difficult. If you're an adult, and speaking English as a non- native speaker, accent free English can be very difficultto achieve. We need to teach our ears to hear the different speech patterns and then training our mouths to make the new sounds.

[Screenshot #2 is SpongeBob walking through his front door looking exhausted]