Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Aug 14

Resorting to LinkedIn to find participants, times are tough #linguistics

Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Nicole Holliday @mixedlinguist.bsky.social · Aug 3

Anyone here going to Interspeech and wants to do a student a big favor? He was accepted & paid, but ultimately cannot leave the U.S. due to ongoing fascism (he’s on a visa). They will pull his paper if he can’t find anyone to present it for him. DM if you’re attending & may be able to help!

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · May 27

Our findings show a way of using a simple ratio to gather language specific information. It shows that creaky tokens and pitch jumps can be useful and not errors, at least if you're measuring glottal pulses. Come speak to me in Rotterdam to learn more! 😊
/End

Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · May 27

...This was especially fun because the two datasets are really different, with one being conversational and the other structured. We didn't do much filtering or adjustment of the data, so with even more controlled datasets we expect even better results.

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · May 27

...F0 Ratio was shown to be useful in language specific situations, with non-stød being identified from stød tokens successfully due to a rising intonation contour. Korean showed that female speakers consistently shift from creaky to modal voice, captured well by the ratio...

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · May 27

Together with @rpuggaardrode.bsky.social , Paul Boersma and Silke Haman, we looked at two languages with interesting creaky voice qualities...

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · May 27

Our paper "Robustness of F0 Ratio as a Diagnostic: Comparing Creaky Voice in Danish and Seoul Korean" has been accepted into Interspeech 2025 #langsky #linguistics

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · May 2

I always forget how crazy Amsterdam is during tourist season 😭 the small suitcase army

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Apr 23

The interactive kid's dancepad in Utrecht Centraal is playing lacrimosa, and you bet the kids are going wild dancing to it

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Ingrid Robeyns @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social · Mar 9

Dutch universities go on strike - for the first time since anyone can remember. We protest the treatment and budget cuts of our extreme-right government. The strikers take turns - and Leiden university kicks off tomorrow. ✊🏼

WOinActie.bsky.social @woinactie.bsky.social · Mar 9

Here is tomorrow’s program. We’re meeting at 11 a.m. at the Garenmarktplein in Leiden. The program starts at 11.30. The teach outs are throughout the day in The Hague and Leiden: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

10 maart: Universiteit Leiden start estafettestaking tegen bezuinigingen

Medewerkers van de Universiteit Leiden trappen maandag 10 maart de estafettestaking af van de Nederlandse universiteiten tegen de kabinetsbezuinigingen.

www.universiteitleiden.nl

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Nicole Holliday @mixedlinguist.bsky.social · Mar 7

“If we lose all of our funding, our academic support staff — who are disproportionately women and people of color — lose their jobs,” said Nicole Holliday, a UC Berkeley linguistics professor who will speak at the rally. “So do our janitors.” #StandUpforScience2025

sfstandard.com/2025/03/07/b...

Local scientists are pushing back against Trump's federal funding cuts

Stand Up for Science rallies will sweep major cities all across the country today, including in San Francisco's Civic Center.

sfstandard.com

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Mar 7

Ugh I'd love to go but it's sooo expensive and our travel grants don't even cover half 😭

LSA 2025 summer institute @lsa2025uo.bsky.social · Feb 15

Heading to the LSA Summer Institute? Get ready to experience the best of Eugene with our Eugene Explorer Series! Our first feature, Spencer Butte Park.

Learn more at www.eugene-or.gov/facilities/f...

#LSA #LSA2025 #Linguistics #spencerbuttepark #eugeneoregon

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Jan 10

If you even feel like Python is difficult I encourage you to spend a day just doing Praat scripting, Python will be a dream afterwards... #linguistics

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Philipp Krämer @phkraemer.bsky.social · Dec 13

Universities all over Europe are cutting language programs and closing the doors to the world. We want to get a more complete picture: where, when, why?
If you know of any such cases, please tell us (and share the link with your language and linguistics contacts)!
elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/13...

Door of a subway seen from the inside closing automatically with a flashing red light

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Nov 23

Almost 20 showed up, a miracle haha

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Nov 22

9am phonology class on a Friday, with snow and ice everywhere. I think out of a class of 30 I'll get...12. 🫠 and that's optimistic

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Claes de Vreese @claesdevreese.bsky.social · Nov 14

🛑 the cutbacks on research and higher education. Powerful full page ad in national papers and online, signed by 511 members 🙋 of the (young) Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences.

“Government, don’t ruin what makes our country successful”

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Ingrid Robeyns @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social · Nov 13

This afternoon, I learnt that our demonstration, planned for tomorrow, was cancelled. We had expected at least 5000 students, teachers and scholars to protest against the budget cuts. It's an absolute clusterfuck, and I have many questions.

Here's what I shared with our local group::

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Marianne de Heer Kloots @mdhk.net · Oct 29

The Dutch government has planned severely destructive budget cuts to higher education and research funding.

Please protest with us!

Consider signing this petition to show support from abroad: www.change.org/p/stop-cuts-...

Marc van Oostendorp @fonolog.bsky.social · Oct 29

The radical right is in power. And it does not care for research.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Far-right governments seek to cut billions of euros from research in Europe

Anti-immigration parties are pushing policies that are hostile or indifferent towards science.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Marc van Oostendorp @fonolog.bsky.social · Oct 26

Dear colleagues around the world,

As you may know, the Netherlands has, since this summer, been governed by a radical right-wing administration with an agenda reminiscent of Orbán's Hungary.

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Oct 25

Ja is echt niet te geloven 🤦‍♀️

Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Oct 24

Even more budget cuts... NWO is especially targeted here 🫠 the future of #linguistics departments here is in serious trouble. #langsky

Ministerie bezuinigt op subsidies voor cultuur, onderzoek en gymnastiekles

Minister Bruins en staatssecretaris Paul noemen sommige ingrepen "pijnlijk".

nos.nl

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Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Oct 23

The UK doesn't have the money to fund their own elections, let alone someone else's 👀

Trump files extraordinary complaint claiming election meddling by UK Labour party

Allegation references LinkedIn post saying 100 party staffers were headed to US to campaign for Harris

www.theguardian.com

Michaela Watkins @michaelaw.bsky.social · Oct 19

So sad about what is happening at Leiden University, a whole heap of unique programs just gone... Not to mention this is before the cuts even really kick in 👀 #langsky #linguistics

Dr. Rachel Schine @rachelschine.bsky.social · Oct 19

"Our Arabic program is half a millennium old but couldn't withstand the corporatization of the contemporary university because it isn't nuclear engineering"

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Reposted by Michaela Watkins

Dr. Rachel Schine @rachelschine.bsky.social · Oct 19

"Our Arabic program is half a millennium old but couldn't withstand the corporatization of the contemporary university because it isn't nuclear engineering"

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