Ryan
@ryanlepic.bsky.social
phd. linguist. last name rhymes with “epic”.
www: sites.google.com/view/ryanlepic
www: sites.google.com/view/ryanlepic
Pinned
Ryan
@ryanlepic.bsky.social
· May 7
Idioms and other constructions in American Sign Language
Idioms are phrases like English [hit the sack], meaning ‘go to bed’. For linguists working with sign languages, a question arises: “What do idioms look like in a sign language?” This paper proposes a ...
doi.org
What started as a half-baked lecture in 2023 is now an actual article in 2025. I try to define "idiom", look for them in ASL, and identify other ASL constructions, to boot. (We all complain about "reviewer 2", but I got good and helpful revisions on this one!) doi.org/10.1515/cog-... #linguistics
I’m behind the trend on this one but I’m about halfway through Enshittification and enjoying it. Aside from the inherent dissatisfaction and frustration of the phenomenon, that is. Going to continue to be mindful about where I spend my money and attention in 2026 us.macmillan.com/books/978037...
Enshittification
Enshittification: it’s not just you—the internet sucks now. Here’s why, and here’s how we can disenshittify it.We’re living through the Enshittocen...
us.macmillan.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I’m behind the trend on this one but I’m about halfway through Enshittification and enjoying it. Aside from the inherent dissatisfaction and frustration of the phenomenon, that is. Going to continue to be mindful about where I spend my money and attention in 2026 us.macmillan.com/books/978037...
thank you to my non-linguist friends who texted me this photo because they remembered that i do not like him
House Democrats release more photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. It's the latest disclosure fueling public intrigue. https://cnn.it/45ilCPw
December 18, 2025 at 9:11 PM
thank you to my non-linguist friends who texted me this photo because they remembered that i do not like him
Reposted by Ryan
Now available! THE CRIP LINGUISTICS READER is a wide-ranging and groundbreaking collection that challenges normative ideas about what is considered “good language.” Visit our website for more information on this latest release from GU Press! gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/T/The-...
December 18, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Now available! THE CRIP LINGUISTICS READER is a wide-ranging and groundbreaking collection that challenges normative ideas about what is considered “good language.” Visit our website for more information on this latest release from GU Press! gupress.gallaudet.edu/Books/T/The-...
Reposted by Ryan
I don't know how many times this needs to be said, but apparently a lot: If you are not in a position to verify the accuracy of some synthetic text, the synthetic text is not useful/has a high potential to be misleading.
This is one of those cases.
This is one of those cases.
The rationale I was given for AI Summaries *alongside* ordinary abstracts:
* The AI-generated summaries are intended to be more accessible to non-experts.
(1/3)
* The AI-generated summaries are intended to be more accessible to non-experts.
(1/3)
December 18, 2025 at 3:39 AM
I don't know how many times this needs to be said, but apparently a lot: If you are not in a position to verify the accuracy of some synthetic text, the synthetic text is not useful/has a high potential to be misleading.
This is one of those cases.
This is one of those cases.
November 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Ryan
Breaking news: Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected as the next mayor of New York City, defeating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and becoming the first Muslim and first of Indian descent to hold the office. https://wapo.st/47rlrDf
November 5, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Breaking news: Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected as the next mayor of New York City, defeating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and becoming the first Muslim and first of Indian descent to hold the office. https://wapo.st/47rlrDf
Reposted by Ryan
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
www.ru.nl
November 1, 2025 at 10:26 PM
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
even with the -ai trick and scrolling down past the first several results, google still hides automatically generated misinformation on every page. it’s unusable. can’t wait for this bubble to burst
"I suppose you’ve come to say you’re sorry? I hope so, given your years of sneering and hand-wringing about how I was ruining knowledge. Meanwhile, you turned your information environment into a hypercapitalist post-truth digital snuff film."
Hi, It’s Me, Wikipedia, and I Am Ready for Your Apology
“Wikipedia, the constantly changing knowledge base created by a global free-for-all of anonymous users, now stands as the leading force for the dum...
buff.ly
October 28, 2025 at 12:28 PM
even with the -ai trick and scrolling down past the first several results, google still hides automatically generated misinformation on every page. it’s unusable. can’t wait for this bubble to burst
Reposted by Ryan
Every time I sit down to write a piece I feel certain that I would rather die than actually write it and yet somehow I would rather die ten times harder before I ever let the word machine write for me.
“I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested. I'm 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak. ... The other day, somebody wrote me an email, said, ‘What is your stance on AI?’ And my answer was very short. I said, ‘I'd rather die.’” 🫡
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro says 'I'd rather die' than use generative AI
Del Toro's new Frankenstein adaption reimagines Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel. Frankenstein was like a tech bro: "creating something without considering the consequences," he explains.
www.npr.org
October 24, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Every time I sit down to write a piece I feel certain that I would rather die than actually write it and yet somehow I would rather die ten times harder before I ever let the word machine write for me.
Reposted by Ryan
Important reading as you prepare for your semester
August 31, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Important reading as you prepare for your semester
Reposted by Ryan
“I watched Snow White when I was a kid but I ain’t give a bitch a poison apple yet” is just an objectively great line. 😂
August 31, 2025 at 3:49 PM
“I watched Snow White when I was a kid but I ain’t give a bitch a poison apple yet” is just an objectively great line. 😂
Reposted by Ryan
UPDATE: Abstract deadline: Nov 1, 25! Invited speakers: Corrine Occhino, Dagmar Divjak, Idan Blank, Randy Allen Harris, Gary Lupyan, Laura Michaelis, Kanishka Misra !
@dagmardivjak.bsky.social @randyallenharris.bsky.social @congramqueen.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social @kanishka.bsky.social
@dagmardivjak.bsky.social @randyallenharris.bsky.social @congramqueen.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social @kanishka.bsky.social
📌 👉 The 14th International Construction Grammar conference will be held at Princeton, June 4-7, 2026
Usage-based analyses and Empirical methods
Stay tuned for updates!
Usage-based analyses and Empirical methods
Stay tuned for updates!
August 24, 2025 at 2:45 PM
UPDATE: Abstract deadline: Nov 1, 25! Invited speakers: Corrine Occhino, Dagmar Divjak, Idan Blank, Randy Allen Harris, Gary Lupyan, Laura Michaelis, Kanishka Misra !
@dagmardivjak.bsky.social @randyallenharris.bsky.social @congramqueen.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social @kanishka.bsky.social
@dagmardivjak.bsky.social @randyallenharris.bsky.social @congramqueen.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social @kanishka.bsky.social
10 years ago this month, i defended my dissertation. i scrounged up two pictures from the day. linguistics is an odd, sometimes challenging field, but i’ve been incredibly privileged to learn and travel with great advisors, colleagues, and friends along the way 😌😌
August 19, 2025 at 12:16 PM
10 years ago this month, i defended my dissertation. i scrounged up two pictures from the day. linguistics is an odd, sometimes challenging field, but i’ve been incredibly privileged to learn and travel with great advisors, colleagues, and friends along the way 😌😌
Reposted by Ryan
“A legitimate PhD-level expert in anything,” they said.
“Show me a diagram of the US presidents since FDR, with their names and years in office under their photos,” I said.
“Show me a diagram of the US presidents since FDR, with their names and years in office under their photos,” I said.
August 8, 2025 at 6:54 PM
“A legitimate PhD-level expert in anything,” they said.
“Show me a diagram of the US presidents since FDR, with their names and years in office under their photos,” I said.
“Show me a diagram of the US presidents since FDR, with their names and years in office under their photos,” I said.
Reposted by Ryan
Sunk-cost fallacy and cheating students are the only things keeping AI in business at this point.
Just look at how usage of ChatGPT plummets as soon as the semester ends.
Just look at how usage of ChatGPT plummets as soon as the semester ends.
August 7, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Sunk-cost fallacy and cheating students are the only things keeping AI in business at this point.
Just look at how usage of ChatGPT plummets as soon as the semester ends.
Just look at how usage of ChatGPT plummets as soon as the semester ends.
Reposted by Ryan
So glad this is out! Still wish we had the data processed in time for @jmhenner.bsky.social to use but pleased to have his contribution in more ways than 1. See below for a brief commentary re Jon, deaf linguists & participating in SiL research and doing it in a way that disrupts or crips it all
July 31, 2025 at 7:44 PM
So glad this is out! Still wish we had the data processed in time for @jmhenner.bsky.social to use but pleased to have his contribution in more ways than 1. See below for a brief commentary re Jon, deaf linguists & participating in SiL research and doing it in a way that disrupts or crips it all
i love reading old ASL syntax papers. everything is so straightforward. a star for this, a checkmark for that, no need to know what the signs even are or what the context was… 🫠🫠🫠
July 31, 2025 at 7:14 PM
i love reading old ASL syntax papers. everything is so straightforward. a star for this, a checkmark for that, no need to know what the signs even are or what the context was… 🫠🫠🫠
Reposted by Ryan
Ten Percent Of U.S. High School Students Graduating Without Basic Object Permanence Skills
July 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Ten Percent Of U.S. High School Students Graduating Without Basic Object Permanence Skills
Reposted by Ryan
finally en route to what might just be the best Ling Institute ever, in Eugene OR!
Can't wait to see old friends and meet new ones! @lsa2025uo.bsky.social
center.uoregon.edu/LSA/2025/
Can't wait to see old friends and meet new ones! @lsa2025uo.bsky.social
center.uoregon.edu/LSA/2025/
July 6, 2025 at 10:45 AM
finally en route to what might just be the best Ling Institute ever, in Eugene OR!
Can't wait to see old friends and meet new ones! @lsa2025uo.bsky.social
center.uoregon.edu/LSA/2025/
Can't wait to see old friends and meet new ones! @lsa2025uo.bsky.social
center.uoregon.edu/LSA/2025/
Reposted by Ryan
Really infuriating stuff. There's no place for AI in the classroom. AFT needs to follow the lead of @aaup.org and understand that these technologies are part of the increasing move to corporatize the classroom.
SMH: news that the American Federation of Teachers is partnering with Open AI and Microsoft on an AI initiative is especially disappointing because teachers’ unions can and should fight back against Big Tech’s attempts to deprofessionalize and disempower educators.
July 5, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Really infuriating stuff. There's no place for AI in the classroom. AFT needs to follow the lead of @aaup.org and understand that these technologies are part of the increasing move to corporatize the classroom.
Reposted by Ryan
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman, declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary after Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
“Tonight we made history,” Mamdani said, addressing his supporters. wapo.st/44yMVoI
“Tonight we made history,” Mamdani said, addressing his supporters. wapo.st/44yMVoI
June 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman, declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary after Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.
“Tonight we made history,” Mamdani said, addressing his supporters. wapo.st/44yMVoI
“Tonight we made history,” Mamdani said, addressing his supporters. wapo.st/44yMVoI
Reposted by Ryan
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Ryan
if i can be y’all’s dad for a second:
one of the most important things I’ve learned is that acquiring a skill is literally uncomfortable
that awful moment where you feel confused and stupid and embarrassed? it means you’re about to learn something. and it’s *mandatory* if you want to get better
one of the most important things I’ve learned is that acquiring a skill is literally uncomfortable
that awful moment where you feel confused and stupid and embarrassed? it means you’re about to learn something. and it’s *mandatory* if you want to get better
I am surrounded by people who are outsourcing their own thinking to ChatGPT and they are quickly and obviously becoming dependent on it for even the most banal tasks. Once again, the "figuring it out" is the important part. Yes, you can use a crane to lift weights but you will not get stronger
June 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM
if i can be y’all’s dad for a second:
one of the most important things I’ve learned is that acquiring a skill is literally uncomfortable
that awful moment where you feel confused and stupid and embarrassed? it means you’re about to learn something. and it’s *mandatory* if you want to get better
one of the most important things I’ve learned is that acquiring a skill is literally uncomfortable
that awful moment where you feel confused and stupid and embarrassed? it means you’re about to learn something. and it’s *mandatory* if you want to get better