Tony Thorne
@tonythorne007.bsky.social
Slang, new language, etymology, cultural history. Language Consultant at King's College London.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
It's the final day to vote in the Canadian Word of the Year!
2025 has been an eventful year for Canada's identity. To commemorate the year, The Society for Canadian English is choosing a 2025 word of the year (CWOTY), based on the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles.
Have your say: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Have your say: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
December 5, 2025 at 11:14 PM
It's the final day to vote in the Canadian Word of the Year!
Reposted by Tony Thorne
This is worth a look: Accents at work: share your story | University of Leeds share.google/hXEVtLkkjM0T...
Accents at work: share your story
UK workers are being asked to share their experiences of how their accents influence life at work in an anonymous survey as part of University of Leeds research.
share.google
December 5, 2025 at 6:22 PM
This is worth a look: Accents at work: share your story | University of Leeds share.google/hXEVtLkkjM0T...
A bit parky this morning…
December 5, 2025 at 9:44 AM
A bit parky this morning…
Reposted by Tony Thorne
As a writer, I think I can say that writers are some of the worst follows on social media. Please develop an online personality beyond "I write and promote what I wrote." Shitpost. Share recipes. Post photos of your cat. Or dog, I guess. Be political*. Please, ANYTHING. Be a person 1st, writer 2nd.
November 5, 2025 at 6:06 AM
As a writer, I think I can say that writers are some of the worst follows on social media. Please develop an online personality beyond "I write and promote what I wrote." Shitpost. Share recipes. Post photos of your cat. Or dog, I guess. Be political*. Please, ANYTHING. Be a person 1st, writer 2nd.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Interesting piece on why accents can change in adulthood, touching on geography, identity, prestige, intelligibility, professional status, and other social forces 🗣💬
second dialect acquisition in The Atlantic! I'm quoted in this piece (along w/@abbyjwalker.bsky.social & other linguists) #linguistics
Why Taylor Swift’s Accent Has Changed
And yours might too.
www.theatlantic.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Interesting piece on why accents can change in adulthood, touching on geography, identity, prestige, intelligibility, professional status, and other social forces 🗣💬
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Oooh…it looks like the snow is settling in our winter woodland! 🎄❄️
But who’s waiting behind door number 5?
#RSPBAdvent25
But who’s waiting behind door number 5?
#RSPBAdvent25
December 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Oooh…it looks like the snow is settling in our winter woodland! 🎄❄️
But who’s waiting behind door number 5?
#RSPBAdvent25
But who’s waiting behind door number 5?
#RSPBAdvent25
It’s f-f-f-f-frightfully frosty out there…
December 5, 2025 at 8:21 AM
It’s f-f-f-f-frightfully frosty out there…
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Don’t cry for millennials or Gen Z. Save your pity for those in their 50s
Why Gen X is the real loser generation
Don’t cry for millennials or Gen Z. Save your pity for those in their 50s
econ.st
December 5, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Don’t cry for millennials or Gen Z. Save your pity for those in their 50s
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Trump calls Somalis garbage. My 2020 book is about Trump's dehumanizing and demonizing language that creates a permission structure for followers to commit violence. 5 1/2 years after publication, it is again an Amazon Best Seller. It describes Trump's playbook.
www.amazon.com/Words-Fire-I...
www.amazon.com/Words-Fire-I...
December 4, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Trump calls Somalis garbage. My 2020 book is about Trump's dehumanizing and demonizing language that creates a permission structure for followers to commit violence. 5 1/2 years after publication, it is again an Amazon Best Seller. It describes Trump's playbook.
www.amazon.com/Words-Fire-I...
www.amazon.com/Words-Fire-I...
There it is again…
December 4, 2025 at 7:23 PM
There it is again…
Reposted by Tony Thorne
'Carspreading' is on the rise - and not everyone is happy about it
(Big SUVs and non-commercial pickups should either pay more to park or be banned from the centres of towns like Shrewsbury)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
(Big SUVs and non-commercial pickups should either pay more to park or be banned from the centres of towns like Shrewsbury)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'Carspreading’ is on the rise - not everyone is happy
In the UK and across Europe, cars are becoming longer, wider and heavier.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 4, 2025 at 8:41 AM
'Carspreading' is on the rise - and not everyone is happy about it
(Big SUVs and non-commercial pickups should either pay more to park or be banned from the centres of towns like Shrewsbury)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
(Big SUVs and non-commercial pickups should either pay more to park or be banned from the centres of towns like Shrewsbury)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I’ll be on BBC Radio4 The World Tonight, talking to Jane Hill about the most commonly mispronounced words
December 4, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I’ll be on BBC Radio4 The World Tonight, talking to Jane Hill about the most commonly mispronounced words
Reposted by Tony Thorne
📜 A #Letter from an Ottoman #Nanny in Serres (Greece) to a Little Girl in Istanbul, 1911
“My beloved Şahika Sultan, light of my two eyes! If only you knew how much I miss you, you would at once board the train and come to Serres. Yet as you are but a little girl... [𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁]
“My beloved Şahika Sultan, light of my two eyes! If only you knew how much I miss you, you would at once board the train and come to Serres. Yet as you are but a little girl... [𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁]
December 3, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Tony Thorne
And the Economist's #WotY2025 is:
slop
(Rather similar to Macquarie's 'AI slop')
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
slop
(Rather similar to Macquarie's 'AI slop')
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
And The Economist’s word of the year for 2025 is…
An unappetising symbol of a messy year
www.economist.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:58 PM
And the Economist's #WotY2025 is:
slop
(Rather similar to Macquarie's 'AI slop')
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
slop
(Rather similar to Macquarie's 'AI slop')
www.economist.com/culture/2025...
Reposted by Tony Thorne
A collaborative Christmas mural created c.1950s in the art therapy studio at Netherne hospital, Surrey, by several individuals who were compelled to live there, whose identities are currently unknown to us.
It was one of several such large scale temporary group works created cooperatively.
It was one of several such large scale temporary group works created cooperatively.
December 23, 2023 at 9:39 AM
A collaborative Christmas mural created c.1950s in the art therapy studio at Netherne hospital, Surrey, by several individuals who were compelled to live there, whose identities are currently unknown to us.
It was one of several such large scale temporary group works created cooperatively.
It was one of several such large scale temporary group works created cooperatively.
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Complacent vs Complaisant: Understanding the Difference
The distinction between "complacent" and "complaisant" is often blurred, leading to misuse. Complacent means smug or self-satisfied, while complaisant refers to a desire to please. Despite clear definitions, confusion persists, influenced by…
The distinction between "complacent" and "complaisant" is often blurred, leading to misuse. Complacent means smug or self-satisfied, while complaisant refers to a desire to please. Despite clear definitions, confusion persists, influenced by…
Complacent vs Complaisant: Understanding the Difference
The distinction between "complacent" and "complaisant" is often blurred, leading to misuse. Complacent means smug or self-satisfied, while complaisant refers to a desire to please. Despite clear definitions, confusion persists, influenced by historical usage and evolving language patterns, with complacent increasingly dominating in contemporary expressions.
jeremybutterfield.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Complacent vs Complaisant: Understanding the Difference
The distinction between "complacent" and "complaisant" is often blurred, leading to misuse. Complacent means smug or self-satisfied, while complaisant refers to a desire to please. Despite clear definitions, confusion persists, influenced by…
The distinction between "complacent" and "complaisant" is often blurred, leading to misuse. Complacent means smug or self-satisfied, while complaisant refers to a desire to please. Despite clear definitions, confusion persists, influenced by…
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Registration is now open! Join us at Lexicom 2026, a 5-day workshop in #lexicography, #corpuslinguistics, #dictionaries, and lexical computing. Be part of this well-established course with a 20-year tradition, held in Palermo 🇮🇹, 14–18 September.
🔗 lexicom.courses/lexicom-2026...
🔗 lexicom.courses/lexicom-2026...
October 23, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Registration is now open! Join us at Lexicom 2026, a 5-day workshop in #lexicography, #corpuslinguistics, #dictionaries, and lexical computing. Be part of this well-established course with a 20-year tradition, held in Palermo 🇮🇹, 14–18 September.
🔗 lexicom.courses/lexicom-2026...
🔗 lexicom.courses/lexicom-2026...
I’m hard at work….Quelle semaine, hein?
December 3, 2025 at 7:36 AM
I’m hard at work….Quelle semaine, hein?
Reposted by Tony Thorne
This was from a couple of days ago but shows how some companies have decided to surf the AI wave in their language as well as their (ahem) strategic vision...
Accenture dubs its 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ as it adapts to AI share.google/wPeF4EyRlZlG...
Accenture dubs its 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ as it adapts to AI share.google/wPeF4EyRlZlG...
Accenture dubs its 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ as it adapts to AI
Move follows in footsteps of Disney’s ‘imagineers’ and Amazon’s ‘ninja coders’
share.google
December 3, 2025 at 6:52 AM
This was from a couple of days ago but shows how some companies have decided to surf the AI wave in their language as well as their (ahem) strategic vision...
Accenture dubs its 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ as it adapts to AI share.google/wPeF4EyRlZlG...
Accenture dubs its 800,000 staff ‘reinventors’ as it adapts to AI share.google/wPeF4EyRlZlG...
Reposted by Tony Thorne
Do you know Zoom & other companies are encouraging discrimination against employees for things like "pausing too long" or not sounding sufficiently "charismatic"? Read all about our dystopian present in my new paper, out today in JASA!
(Seriously, read it. It's important)
doi.org/10.1121/10.0...
(Seriously, read it. It's important)
doi.org/10.1121/10.0...
Socially prescriptive speech technologies: Linguistic, technical, and ethical issues
Speech technology tools can be powerful and transformative for individuals, businesses, and governments. Socially prescriptive speech technology (SPST) systems
doi.org
December 3, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Do you know Zoom & other companies are encouraging discrimination against employees for things like "pausing too long" or not sounding sufficiently "charismatic"? Read all about our dystopian present in my new paper, out today in JASA!
(Seriously, read it. It's important)
doi.org/10.1121/10.0...
(Seriously, read it. It's important)
doi.org/10.1121/10.0...
‘Authoritarian peacemaking’
Study highlights rise of authoritarian peacemaking and its implications for Ukraine | Manchester University
Authoritarian peacemaking is replacing the traditional style
Study highlights rise of authoritarian peacemaking and its implications for Ukraine
northwestbylines.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 7:29 AM
‘Authoritarian peacemaking’
