Maarten Kossmann
@maartenkossmann.bsky.social
Berber linguistics // linguistique amazighe // ⵜⵎⵓⵙⵏⵉ ⵏ ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ
Universiteit Leiden
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/maarten-kossmann
Profile picture: RIL 176
Universiteit Leiden
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/maarten-kossmann
Profile picture: RIL 176
Pinned
It’s Tuesday, oral exams period coming up, so a (temporary?) end to this Libyco-Berber tombstones series.
But first: some really puzzling stuff.
A series of inscriptions was found in 1938 in Mechta el Maza close to Bouchegouf (ex-Duvivier), Guelma region, eastern Algeria (RIL 1076-1091)
🧵
But first: some really puzzling stuff.
A series of inscriptions was found in 1938 in Mechta el Maza close to Bouchegouf (ex-Duvivier), Guelma region, eastern Algeria (RIL 1076-1091)
🧵
Thread of threads on Libyco-Berber inscriptions:
bsky.app/profile/maar...
bsky.app/profile/maar...
that feeling when you want to eat and someone put a baby blanket in your manger...
January 18, 2026 at 5:20 PM
that feeling when you want to eat and someone put a baby blanket in your manger...
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
C'est dimanche et vous vous ennuierez peut-être en fin de journée, or ça fait longtemps que je ne vous ai pas parlé de mes aventures héllénophones. Aujourd'hui je ne vous parlerai pas de faux amis rigolos (comme le Ministère des Hypothèses Ésotériques), mais d'écriture.
January 18, 2026 at 12:18 PM
C'est dimanche et vous vous ennuierez peut-être en fin de journée, or ça fait longtemps que je ne vous ai pas parlé de mes aventures héllénophones. Aujourd'hui je ne vous parlerai pas de faux amis rigolos (comme le Ministère des Hypothèses Ésotériques), mais d'écriture.
Academic life a short thread from Musée Cluny
1. Lecturing
1. Lecturing
January 17, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Academic life a short thread from Musée Cluny
1. Lecturing
1. Lecturing
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Salishan linguist Sarah Thomason has updated her site with online publications after twelve years (life as a tenured research academic is WEIRD) https://websites.umich.edu/~thomason/papers/papers.html #linguistics #philology #firstnations
January 17, 2026 at 4:55 AM
Salishan linguist Sarah Thomason has updated her site with online publications after twelve years (life as a tenured research academic is WEIRD) https://websites.umich.edu/~thomason/papers/papers.html #linguistics #philology #firstnations
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Abstracts are due today for the 57th Annual Conference on African Linguistics and the 3rd Bantoid workshop! To be hosted in Buffalo in May, with remote presentation options. sites.google.com/view/acal57/...
ACAL 57 & Bantoid 3
The University at Buffalo will host the 57th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL 57) on May 21-23, 2026. ACAL 57 is co-organized by members of the department of Linguistics at the Universit...
sites.google.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Abstracts are due today for the 57th Annual Conference on African Linguistics and the 3rd Bantoid workshop! To be hosted in Buffalo in May, with remote presentation options. sites.google.com/view/acal57/...
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
A review of: Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Locative predications in Chadic languages: Implications for semantic analysis, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2024
Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Locative predications in Chadic languages: Imp...
Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado, is a prolific author continually seeking to expand our scholarly understanding of language, in general, and Chadic languages, ...
journals.openedition.org
January 16, 2026 at 5:42 PM
A review of: Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Locative predications in Chadic languages: Implications for semantic analysis, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2024
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Peer Review is broken because a generation of Editors were trained that peer review is sacrosanct. Thus we have Editors who are clerks, sending and re-sending manuscripts to reviewers until they are happy. That's not the job. Be an Editor, not a clerk. Use your skill and judgement. Make decisions.
January 14, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Peer Review is broken because a generation of Editors were trained that peer review is sacrosanct. Thus we have Editors who are clerks, sending and re-sending manuscripts to reviewers until they are happy. That's not the job. Be an Editor, not a clerk. Use your skill and judgement. Make decisions.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
And, personally, I find it heart-warming that there are folk celebrations specifically rejoicing over a tyrant getting his comeuppance; that seems a more important lesson than even the biggest questions of identity.
January 15, 2026 at 2:27 PM
And, personally, I find it heart-warming that there are folk celebrations specifically rejoicing over a tyrant getting his comeuppance; that seems a more important lesson than even the biggest questions of identity.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Intéressante carte de BFMTV
January 14, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Intéressante carte de BFMTV
one more update for @nathanielbdemiller.bsky.social
Extra toezichthouders rond basisschool waar wolf is gezien - nos.nl/l/2598013
Extra toezichthouders rond basisschool waar wolf is gezien - nos.nl/l/2598013
Extra toezichthouders rond basisschool waar wolf is gezien
"Op basis van de beelden was goed te analyseren dat het qua formaat en houding om een wolf ging", zegt een gedeputeerde er tegen RTV Drenthe.
nos.nl
January 13, 2026 at 4:38 PM
one more update for @nathanielbdemiller.bsky.social
Extra toezichthouders rond basisschool waar wolf is gezien - nos.nl/l/2598013
Extra toezichthouders rond basisschool waar wolf is gezien - nos.nl/l/2598013
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Look at my baby! ☺️
I reedited Modole folk stories published 110 years ago
Old journals and archives are full of story collections in underdocumented languages, often difficult or impossible to access for both linguists and the speaker community. Using legacy material is valuable and sustainable 🙌🏻
I reedited Modole folk stories published 110 years ago
Old journals and archives are full of story collections in underdocumented languages, often difficult or impossible to access for both linguists and the speaker community. Using legacy material is valuable and sustainable 🙌🏻
January 13, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Look at my baby! ☺️
I reedited Modole folk stories published 110 years ago
Old journals and archives are full of story collections in underdocumented languages, often difficult or impossible to access for both linguists and the speaker community. Using legacy material is valuable and sustainable 🙌🏻
I reedited Modole folk stories published 110 years ago
Old journals and archives are full of story collections in underdocumented languages, often difficult or impossible to access for both linguists and the speaker community. Using legacy material is valuable and sustainable 🙌🏻
What would be my home river? Het Helperdiep (not a river)?
Let’s be wild and choose the mighty Drentsche Aa!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
Let’s be wild and choose the mighty Drentsche Aa!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
January 12, 2026 at 8:33 PM
What would be my home river? Het Helperdiep (not a river)?
Let’s be wild and choose the mighty Drentsche Aa!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
Let’s be wild and choose the mighty Drentsche Aa!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
🇩🇲 Would you like a thread on the multiple layers of multilingualism in Dominica? Of course you do.
Starting with the linguistic memory of the indigenous Kalinago, still present in many toponyms and other names. The spelling varies widely but the meaning is often quite well documented or remembered.
Starting with the linguistic memory of the indigenous Kalinago, still present in many toponyms and other names. The spelling varies widely but the meaning is often quite well documented or remembered.
January 11, 2026 at 10:21 PM
🇩🇲 Would you like a thread on the multiple layers of multilingualism in Dominica? Of course you do.
Starting with the linguistic memory of the indigenous Kalinago, still present in many toponyms and other names. The spelling varies widely but the meaning is often quite well documented or remembered.
Starting with the linguistic memory of the indigenous Kalinago, still present in many toponyms and other names. The spelling varies widely but the meaning is often quite well documented or remembered.
Van 'osso' tot 'fittie': straattaal blijkt een blijvertje in Nederland - nos.nl/l/2597936
Van 'osso' tot 'fittie': straattaal blijkt een blijvertje in Nederland
'Fittie', 'osso' en 'doekoe', straattaal is taaier dan gedacht. Woorden die eind jaren negentig veel voorkwamen in grote steden, worden nu gebruikt in het hele land.
nos.nl
January 12, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Van 'osso' tot 'fittie': straattaal blijkt een blijvertje in Nederland - nos.nl/l/2597936
Bon Nnayer to everyone!
(photo courtesy Hassane Benamara)
(photo courtesy Hassane Benamara)
January 12, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Bon Nnayer to everyone!
(photo courtesy Hassane Benamara)
(photo courtesy Hassane Benamara)
It’s dangerous up there in the Dutch Arctic.
One more for @nathanielbdemiller.bsky.social
nos.nl/l/2597894
One more for @nathanielbdemiller.bsky.social
nos.nl/l/2597894
Basisschool in Ruinen blijft vandaag dicht, mogelijk wolf dicht bij school
Nadat het dier werd gezien op een aangrenzend sportveld, besloot de school vandaag dicht te blijven.
nos.nl
January 12, 2026 at 4:45 PM
It’s dangerous up there in the Dutch Arctic.
One more for @nathanielbdemiller.bsky.social
nos.nl/l/2597894
One more for @nathanielbdemiller.bsky.social
nos.nl/l/2597894
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
One of the very few occasions where I prefer Leiden to my home town Groningen
January 11, 2026 at 7:42 AM
One of the very few occasions where I prefer Leiden to my home town Groningen
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Wrote about sweet Tsova-Tush children's book project, trying to revive a dying language, for @ocmedia.bsky.social
oc-media.org/the-tsova-tu...
oc-media.org/the-tsova-tu...
The Tsova-Tush children’s book aiming to save one of Georgia’s most endangered languages
A 2019 documentary failed to find anyone under the age of 30 who knew Tsova–Tush.
oc-media.org
December 27, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Wrote about sweet Tsova-Tush children's book project, trying to revive a dying language, for @ocmedia.bsky.social
oc-media.org/the-tsova-tu...
oc-media.org/the-tsova-tu...
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
It's the 3rd of January 1939, your name is professor James Smith and you are staring at a drawing of a fish. It's not a regular fish. It is a completely impossible fish.
January 6, 2026 at 10:27 PM
It's the 3rd of January 1939, your name is professor James Smith and you are staring at a drawing of a fish. It's not a regular fish. It is a completely impossible fish.
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
🌾Tasɣunt n yidles 🌾
Dans la #Kabylie des #Babors, on tresse le #diss en cordelettes selon des techniques à découvrir dans cette vidéo de Tamridjet
▶️ youtu.be/gmdSOFjMJIY?...
Vous aussi, transmettez-nous vos vidéos, nous les diffuserons sur la chaîne @AmazighLanguages !
ⵣ🌟 tinemmirin ☀️ⵣ
Dans la #Kabylie des #Babors, on tresse le #diss en cordelettes selon des techniques à découvrir dans cette vidéo de Tamridjet
▶️ youtu.be/gmdSOFjMJIY?...
Vous aussi, transmettez-nous vos vidéos, nous les diffuserons sur la chaîne @AmazighLanguages !
ⵣ🌟 tinemmirin ☀️ⵣ
November 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
🌾Tasɣunt n yidles 🌾
Dans la #Kabylie des #Babors, on tresse le #diss en cordelettes selon des techniques à découvrir dans cette vidéo de Tamridjet
▶️ youtu.be/gmdSOFjMJIY?...
Vous aussi, transmettez-nous vos vidéos, nous les diffuserons sur la chaîne @AmazighLanguages !
ⵣ🌟 tinemmirin ☀️ⵣ
Dans la #Kabylie des #Babors, on tresse le #diss en cordelettes selon des techniques à découvrir dans cette vidéo de Tamridjet
▶️ youtu.be/gmdSOFjMJIY?...
Vous aussi, transmettez-nous vos vidéos, nous les diffuserons sur la chaîne @AmazighLanguages !
ⵣ🌟 tinemmirin ☀️ⵣ
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
Aseggas Ameggaz ✨!
Que la grande famille amazighe continue de parler haut et fort, avec fierté, ses langues ancestrales, en 2026/2976 comme dans les siècles à venir !
Félicitations aux ouarglis pour vos paroles et vos poèmes en tagargrent dans la vidéo ci-dessous :
▶️ www.facebook.com/share/v/1CLm...
Que la grande famille amazighe continue de parler haut et fort, avec fierté, ses langues ancestrales, en 2026/2976 comme dans les siècles à venir !
Félicitations aux ouarglis pour vos paroles et vos poèmes en tagargrent dans la vidéo ci-dessous :
▶️ www.facebook.com/share/v/1CLm...
January 10, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Aseggas Ameggaz ✨!
Que la grande famille amazighe continue de parler haut et fort, avec fierté, ses langues ancestrales, en 2026/2976 comme dans les siècles à venir !
Félicitations aux ouarglis pour vos paroles et vos poèmes en tagargrent dans la vidéo ci-dessous :
▶️ www.facebook.com/share/v/1CLm...
Que la grande famille amazighe continue de parler haut et fort, avec fierté, ses langues ancestrales, en 2026/2976 comme dans les siècles à venir !
Félicitations aux ouarglis pour vos paroles et vos poèmes en tagargrent dans la vidéo ci-dessous :
▶️ www.facebook.com/share/v/1CLm...
Interessant gebruik van een expliciet clitische schrijving van “hem” als <‘m> (niet uniek, maar tegen de standaard in) in een nieuwsbericht.
Ik kan zo snel geen reden voor deze spellingskeuze bedenken - ook een spelling <hem> zou in deze zin denk ik altijd als clitisch [əm] worden gelezen 🤷
Ik kan zo snel geen reden voor deze spellingskeuze bedenken - ook een spelling <hem> zou in deze zin denk ik altijd als clitisch [əm] worden gelezen 🤷
January 10, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Interessant gebruik van een expliciet clitische schrijving van “hem” als <‘m> (niet uniek, maar tegen de standaard in) in een nieuwsbericht.
Ik kan zo snel geen reden voor deze spellingskeuze bedenken - ook een spelling <hem> zou in deze zin denk ik altijd als clitisch [əm] worden gelezen 🤷
Ik kan zo snel geen reden voor deze spellingskeuze bedenken - ook een spelling <hem> zou in deze zin denk ik altijd als clitisch [əm] worden gelezen 🤷
Reposted by Maarten Kossmann
An individual visit at the Kalinago culture centre in Salibya turned into a meta-ethnographic microstudy of the interaction between (mainly American) cruise ship tourists and commodified indigenousness when we were offered to join their guided tour. Not quite sure what to make of this all.
January 9, 2026 at 10:24 PM
An individual visit at the Kalinago culture centre in Salibya turned into a meta-ethnographic microstudy of the interaction between (mainly American) cruise ship tourists and commodified indigenousness when we were offered to join their guided tour. Not quite sure what to make of this all.