Michael Pleyer
@symbolicstorage.bsky.social
nerd. cognitive/evolutionary linguist. Assistant Prof at Center for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
(he/him)
www.michaelpleyer.com
@[email protected]
@symbolicstorage
(he/him)
www.michaelpleyer.com
@[email protected]
@symbolicstorage
Pinned
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!🚨
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
Happy World Linguistics Day from Toruń, Poland!
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 8:40 AM
Happy World Linguistics Day from Toruń, Poland!
Happy World #Linguistics Day everyone! If you're interested in #language and its evolution, these two threads are a good place to start!
bsky.app/profile/symb...
bsky.app/profile/symb...
Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...
www.science.org
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Happy World #Linguistics Day everyone! If you're interested in #language and its evolution, these two threads are a good place to start!
bsky.app/profile/symb...
bsky.app/profile/symb...
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
“Core aspects of language: it is inherently multimodal & semiotically diverse; it functions as a tool for semantic, pragmatic, & social inference; processes of interaction & transmission give rise to its central design features“ @symbolicstorage.bsky.social et al in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social:👇🧪
The ‘design features’ of language revisited
Language is often regarded as a defining trait of our species, but what are its core
properties? In 1960, Hockett published ‘The origin of speech’ enumerating 13 design
features presumed to be common ...
www.cell.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
“Core aspects of language: it is inherently multimodal & semiotically diverse; it functions as a tool for semantic, pragmatic, & social inference; processes of interaction & transmission give rise to its central design features“ @symbolicstorage.bsky.social et al in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social:👇🧪
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
Super proud of this fabulous team for challenging old comparative frameworks and rethinking what makes language language.
Read more in the thread below 👇 or here 📖😊: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Read more in the thread below 👇 or here 📖😊: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Super proud of this fabulous team for challenging old comparative frameworks and rethinking what makes language language.
Read more in the thread below 👇 or here 📖😊: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Read more in the thread below 👇 or here 📖😊: www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!🚨
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
November 25, 2025 at 7:49 PM
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!🚨
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
The 'Design Features' of Language Revisited (w/ @mperlman.bsky.social @glupyan.bsky.social Koen de Reus & @limorraviv.bsky.social)
Feature Review out now in #OpenAccess in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social! #language #linguistics
Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ti...
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
A couple of years ago, as part of a @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project, I interviewed some sci comm folk about storytelling strategies we know cause humans to pay attention to some stories more than others.
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 PM
A couple of years ago, as part of a @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project, I interviewed some sci comm folk about storytelling strategies we know cause humans to pay attention to some stories more than others.
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Illustration by @jordancollver.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
What enables human language? A biocultural framework. New paper by Inbal Arnon & al. with @limorraviv.bsky.social , @profsimonfisher.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/science.adq8303
doi.org/10.1126/science.adq8303
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...
doi.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:35 AM
What enables human language? A biocultural framework. New paper by Inbal Arnon & al. with @limorraviv.bsky.social , @profsimonfisher.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1126/science.adq8303
doi.org/10.1126/science.adq8303
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT🚨
"From extant to extinct: The role of experiments and interdisciplinary inferences in studying cognitive and #language evolution." (with Svetlana Kuleshova)
Out now in #OpenAccess in Journal of Archaeological Science
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"From extant to extinct: The role of experiments and interdisciplinary inferences in studying cognitive and #language evolution." (with Svetlana Kuleshova)
Out now in #OpenAccess in Journal of Archaeological Science
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
From extant to extinct: The role of experiments and interdisciplinary inferences in studying cognitive and language evolution
This article evaluates the role of experiments and interdisciplinary inferences in the field of language evolution and, more broadly, studies of cogni…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:14 PM
🚨NEW PUBLICATION ALERT🚨
"From extant to extinct: The role of experiments and interdisciplinary inferences in studying cognitive and #language evolution." (with Svetlana Kuleshova)
Out now in #OpenAccess in Journal of Archaeological Science
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"From extant to extinct: The role of experiments and interdisciplinary inferences in studying cognitive and #language evolution." (with Svetlana Kuleshova)
Out now in #OpenAccess in Journal of Archaeological Science
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
New paper alert!
In my newest paper, which has just appeared in Discourse, Context & Media, I analyse how people living with dementia use conceptual metaphor to construct self and their condition and as a tool for sense-making for dementia-induced changes
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
1/
In my newest paper, which has just appeared in Discourse, Context & Media, I analyse how people living with dementia use conceptual metaphor to construct self and their condition and as a tool for sense-making for dementia-induced changes
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
1/
November 7, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
Okay but it is very funny to make a LIVING EDITION of your academic zombie handbook
October 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Okay but it is very funny to make a LIVING EDITION of your academic zombie handbook
The deadline for Evolang 2026, the International Conference on the Evolution of Language, has been extended to November 3rd.
Do consider submitting, it's my favourite conference and will take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the age-old "city of the seven hills"! #language #linguistics
Do consider submitting, it's my favourite conference and will take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the age-old "city of the seven hills"! #language #linguistics
October 28, 2025 at 7:07 PM
The deadline for Evolang 2026, the International Conference on the Evolution of Language, has been extended to November 3rd.
Do consider submitting, it's my favourite conference and will take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the age-old "city of the seven hills"! #language #linguistics
Do consider submitting, it's my favourite conference and will take place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the age-old "city of the seven hills"! #language #linguistics
Very sad and tragic news! ("Words in the brain's language" is still an all-timer of a title).
I once attended one of his talks where he graciously agreed to be a plenary speaker for a student conference. He started his talk with: "I can give this talk in two languages: Swabian or Swabian English."
I once attended one of his talks where he graciously agreed to be a plenary speaker for a student conference. He started his talk with: "I can give this talk in two languages: Swabian or Swabian English."
I'm so sorry to share that Friedemann Pulvermüller, brilliant neuroscientist, has passed. He gave Embodiment ideas legs and worked tirelessly on treatments for stroke victims during his storied career. His kindness and wry humor made him sparkle.
October 21, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Very sad and tragic news! ("Words in the brain's language" is still an all-timer of a title).
I once attended one of his talks where he graciously agreed to be a plenary speaker for a student conference. He started his talk with: "I can give this talk in two languages: Swabian or Swabian English."
I once attended one of his talks where he graciously agreed to be a plenary speaker for a student conference. He started his talk with: "I can give this talk in two languages: Swabian or Swabian English."
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
Fellow language-evolutionists (other linguists welcome):
What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the field now?
#linguistics #language #LanguageEvolution
What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the field now?
#linguistics #language #LanguageEvolution
October 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Fellow language-evolutionists (other linguists welcome):
What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the field now?
#linguistics #language #LanguageEvolution
What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in the field now?
#linguistics #language #LanguageEvolution
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
New article from the lab, suggesting to me a way in which children's autobiographical memory may differ from their event memory more generally--
Autobiographical memory in children: relation to neural white matter www.tandfonline.com/eprint/B7FZ8...
Autobiographical memory in children: relation to neural white matter www.tandfonline.com/eprint/B7FZ8...
www.tandfonline.com
September 27, 2025 at 12:32 PM
New article from the lab, suggesting to me a way in which children's autobiographical memory may differ from their event memory more generally--
Autobiographical memory in children: relation to neural white matter www.tandfonline.com/eprint/B7FZ8...
Autobiographical memory in children: relation to neural white matter www.tandfonline.com/eprint/B7FZ8...
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
The first of the three corpora of German-English bilingual children's early speech that we've been working on for the last few years is finally publicly available! 🥳 🎉 talkbank.org/childes/acce...
CHILDES English-German MPI-EVA-Leipzig Corpus
talkbank.org
September 19, 2025 at 5:48 AM
The first of the three corpora of German-English bilingual children's early speech that we've been working on for the last few years is finally publicly available! 🥳 🎉 talkbank.org/childes/acce...
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
It's been a while since I've written a book review - here's our review of Herbst & Hoffmann (2024), my first but definitely not last collaboration with the brilliant @bbunzeck.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S136... ($)
Thomas Herbst and Thomas Hoffmann, A Construction Grammar of the English language: CASA – a constructionist approach to syntactic analysis (Cognitive Linguistics in Practice 5). Amsterdam and Philadel...
Thomas Herbst and Thomas Hoffmann, A Construction Grammar of the English language: CASA – a constructionist approach to syntactic analysis (Cognitive Linguistics in Practice 5). Amsterdam and Philadel...
doi.org
September 26, 2025 at 8:05 AM
It's been a while since I've written a book review - here's our review of Herbst & Hoffmann (2024), my first but definitely not last collaboration with the brilliant @bbunzeck.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S136... ($)
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
Vorankündigung:
Im Wintersemester 2025/2026 finden erstmalig die Heidelberg Gender Lectures statt. Mit Gastvorträgen von Sabine_ Hark (TU Berlin) und Carolin Müller-Spitzer (IDS Mannheim), sowie Beiträgen der Heidelberger Gender & Queer Studies.
Mark your calendars, das wird wundervoll!
Im Wintersemester 2025/2026 finden erstmalig die Heidelberg Gender Lectures statt. Mit Gastvorträgen von Sabine_ Hark (TU Berlin) und Carolin Müller-Spitzer (IDS Mannheim), sowie Beiträgen der Heidelberger Gender & Queer Studies.
Mark your calendars, das wird wundervoll!
September 25, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Vorankündigung:
Im Wintersemester 2025/2026 finden erstmalig die Heidelberg Gender Lectures statt. Mit Gastvorträgen von Sabine_ Hark (TU Berlin) und Carolin Müller-Spitzer (IDS Mannheim), sowie Beiträgen der Heidelberger Gender & Queer Studies.
Mark your calendars, das wird wundervoll!
Im Wintersemester 2025/2026 finden erstmalig die Heidelberg Gender Lectures statt. Mit Gastvorträgen von Sabine_ Hark (TU Berlin) und Carolin Müller-Spitzer (IDS Mannheim), sowie Beiträgen der Heidelberger Gender & Queer Studies.
Mark your calendars, das wird wundervoll!
Super cool workshop on "Artificial Languages in the Linguist's Toolbox" at FU Berlin. 2nd talk is by @kennysmithed.bsky.social on "the relationship between frequency and irregularity in language change: an experimental approach using iterated artificial language learning"
September 25, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Super cool workshop on "Artificial Languages in the Linguist's Toolbox" at FU Berlin. 2nd talk is by @kennysmithed.bsky.social on "the relationship between frequency and irregularity in language change: an experimental approach using iterated artificial language learning"
The Poznań #Linguistics Meeting 2025 Grand Debate: "Human #Language: is it unique?" feat. Wolfgang Dressler, Magdalena Wrembel, Raymond Hickey, Nikki Ritt, @thematzing.bsky.social and @neilcohn.bsky.social
September 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
The Poznań #Linguistics Meeting 2025 Grand Debate: "Human #Language: is it unique?" feat. Wolfgang Dressler, Magdalena Wrembel, Raymond Hickey, Nikki Ritt, @thematzing.bsky.social and @neilcohn.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Pleyer
Please boost! #linguistics student here at Swarthmore is running a survey for English speakers (who don't know Mandarin / any other tone languages) about how we learn tones. Take a few minutes to help out with this student research!
swarthmore.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
swarthmore.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Online Survey Software | Qualtrics Survey Solutions
Qualtrics sophisticated online survey software solutions make creating online surveys easy. Learn more about Research Suite and get a free account today.
swarthmore.az1.qualtrics.com
September 22, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Please boost! #linguistics student here at Swarthmore is running a survey for English speakers (who don't know Mandarin / any other tone languages) about how we learn tones. Take a few minutes to help out with this student research!
swarthmore.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
swarthmore.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Great plenary by @neilcohn.bsky.social at the 2025 Poznań #Linguistics Meeting: "Reimagining linguistic uniqueness in a multimodal paradigm"
September 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Great plenary by @neilcohn.bsky.social at the 2025 Poznań #Linguistics Meeting: "Reimagining linguistic uniqueness in a multimodal paradigm"
🚨 New Publication Alert! 🚨
Out now in #Language and #Linguistics Compass with
@stefanhartmann.bsky.social
& Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution" (this time with a working link)
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Out now in #Language and #Linguistics Compass with
@stefanhartmann.bsky.social
& Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution" (this time with a working link)
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Role of Play in Language Structure, Acquisition and Evolution
Similarly to language, play is an essential component of human behaviour and culture. However, the links between play and language have been underexamined and often neglected beyond the aesthetic use...
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:52 AM
🚨 New Publication Alert! 🚨
Out now in #Language and #Linguistics Compass with
@stefanhartmann.bsky.social
& Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution" (this time with a working link)
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Out now in #Language and #Linguistics Compass with
@stefanhartmann.bsky.social
& Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution" (this time with a working link)
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🚨 New Publication Alert! 🚨
Out now in Language and Linguistics Compass with @stefanhartmann.bsky.social & Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution"
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ln…
Out now in Language and Linguistics Compass with @stefanhartmann.bsky.social & Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution"
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ln…
September 11, 2025 at 10:09 AM
🚨 New Publication Alert! 🚨
Out now in Language and Linguistics Compass with @stefanhartmann.bsky.social & Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution"
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ln…
Out now in Language and Linguistics Compass with @stefanhartmann.bsky.social & Antonio Benítez-Burraco:
"The role of play in language structure, acquisition and evolution"
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ln…
Congratulations to Alexandra Bosshard for winning the #SLE2025 award for best presentation by a post-doctoral researcher with her excellent talk on processing perspectives in animal compositionality!
August 29, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Congratulations to Alexandra Bosshard for winning the #SLE2025 award for best presentation by a post-doctoral researcher with her excellent talk on processing perspectives in animal compositionality!
#SLE2025 plenary by @dagmardivjak.bsky.social & Petar Milin: Top-down wisdom versus bottom-up noise: can data (ever) replace linguistic expertise? Dagmar contrasts two ways of knowing language, in linguistics & machine learning. LLMs successfully generate & respond to text w/o linguistic insights
August 28, 2025 at 8:34 AM
#SLE2025 plenary by @dagmardivjak.bsky.social & Petar Milin: Top-down wisdom versus bottom-up noise: can data (ever) replace linguistic expertise? Dagmar contrasts two ways of knowing language, in linguistics & machine learning. LLMs successfully generate & respond to text w/o linguistic insights