Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
@adamcschembri.bsky.social
https://sites.google.com/view/adamcschembri/home
Australian professor of linguistics at the University of Birmingham, UK
Hearing person interested in sign languages & signing communities
🏳️🌈🇦🇺🇲🇹🇪🇺
Australian professor of linguistics at the University of Birmingham, UK
Hearing person interested in sign languages & signing communities
🏳️🌈🇦🇺🇲🇹🇪🇺
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
early career scholar and their first publication
November 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
early career scholar and their first publication
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
At this year's @lingcomm.bsky.social conference, we learned that the UK has been celebrating National Linguistics Day on November 26th, and everyone immediately went, hey, can't we make that World Linguistics Day?
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Are you doing anything for World Linguistics Day on Nov 26th?
In our latest bonus episode, we get enthusiastic about linguistics-related celebrations, from International Mother Tongue Day to Talk Like A Pirate Day
In our latest bonus episode, we get enthusiastic about linguistics-related celebrations, from International Mother Tongue Day to Talk Like A Pirate Day
Bonus 105: World Linguistics Day | Lingthusiasm
Get more from Lingthusiasm on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:38 AM
At this year's @lingcomm.bsky.social conference, we learned that the UK has been celebrating National Linguistics Day on November 26th, and everyone immediately went, hey, can't we make that World Linguistics Day?
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Well, now it's only 20 days away, so time to get your celebration plans in order!
Abstracts with colleagues submitted for Evolang and ICLaVE 2026 conferences. Looking forward to both (haven't been to an ICLaVE for years!)
October 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Abstracts with colleagues submitted for Evolang and ICLaVE 2026 conferences. Looking forward to both (haven't been to an ICLaVE for years!)
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Ten more days to check out The Barbican's
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
October 21, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Ten more days to check out The Barbican's
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Voiced: The Festival for #EndangeredLanguages
🗣💬 #langsky
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...
Congratulations to my @unibirmingham.bsky.social colleague @heidiproctor.bsky.social who passed her PhD viva at @dcal-ucl.bsky.social and is now Dr Heidi Proctor! Heidi's PhD is on noun phrases in British Sign Language.
October 21, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Congratulations to my @unibirmingham.bsky.social colleague @heidiproctor.bsky.social who passed her PhD viva at @dcal-ucl.bsky.social and is now Dr Heidi Proctor! Heidi's PhD is on noun phrases in British Sign Language.
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
France’s Sorbonne University about to leave Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings: "These rankings are...black boxes that operate in a closed system” sciencebusiness.net/news/univers...
Why Sorbonne pulled out of university ranking
France’s Sorbonne University plans to leave the Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings, adding its name to a growing number of universities rejecting lists that play one institution off against another...
sciencebusiness.net
October 21, 2025 at 6:24 AM
France’s Sorbonne University about to leave Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings: "These rankings are...black boxes that operate in a closed system” sciencebusiness.net/news/univers...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
New paper with @ryanlepic.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1515/ling....
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Non-signers favor two-handed gestures when expressing inherently plural meanings
Sign languages have been shown to favor two-handed forms to express plural meanings, and in this paper we investigate whether this pattern is similarly found in silent gestures improvised by hearing n...
doi.org
October 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
New paper with @ryanlepic.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1515/ling....
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Our previous research showed that ✨️inherently plural meanings✨️ favor two-handed signs across sign languages, now we see that hearing non-signers also produce more two-handed forms when asked to gesture plural meanings! 👐🏼
#linguistics
Congratulations Nick Evans: the first Australian linguist to get this award, I believe. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/prizes-medal...
The British Academy Neil and Saras Smith Medal
The Neil and Saras Smith Medal is awarded annually for lifetime achievement in the scholarly study of linguistics.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Congratulations Nick Evans: the first Australian linguist to get this award, I believe. www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/prizes-medal...
wow.
New paper led by Dara Etemady: Statistical reporting inconsistencies in experimental linguistics.
Almost half (49%) of all articles contained at least one inconsistent p-value. 12% contained an inconsistency that may have affected the statistical conclusion."
escholarship.org/uc/item/3736...
Almost half (49%) of all articles contained at least one inconsistent p-value. 12% contained an inconsistency that may have affected the statistical conclusion."
escholarship.org/uc/item/3736...
October 18, 2025 at 8:28 AM
wow.
Any reason to not think that L2M2 bimodal bilinguals also benefit to some extent?
Emmorey et al (2008) was wrong (underpowered)! New paper by Asanowicz et al. shows that bimodal bilinguals (Codas), like unimodal bilinguals, exhibit enhancements in specific aspects of executive control. Codas also showed unique effects of visuospatial attention.
psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
APA PsycNet
psycnet.apa.org
October 17, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Any reason to not think that L2M2 bimodal bilinguals also benefit to some extent?
Why is 'meh' not a word?
The rise of "meh" as a conventional spelling of a non-speech vocalization languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=71617 #linguistics
Language Log » Meh
languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu
October 17, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Why is 'meh' not a word?
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
HI. It's me.
WE'RE READY TO LAUNCH. 2-4 Sept 2026. LavLang23.
Keynote Speakers
• Dr. Nikki Lane (Duke University)
• Dr. Kevin Guyan (UoE, School of Business)
• Prof. Erez Levon (Universität Bern)
• Dr. Stamatina Katsiveli (American College of Greece)
• Eddie Ungless (UoE, School of Informatics)
WE'RE READY TO LAUNCH. 2-4 Sept 2026. LavLang23.
Keynote Speakers
• Dr. Nikki Lane (Duke University)
• Dr. Kevin Guyan (UoE, School of Business)
• Prof. Erez Levon (Universität Bern)
• Dr. Stamatina Katsiveli (American College of Greece)
• Eddie Ungless (UoE, School of Informatics)
October 8, 2025 at 3:39 PM
So lucky that I just noticed a typo in my feedback while grading a student's master dissertation on Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in Chinese learners of English. I was about to compliment them on identifying '...an important gap in the WTF literature'. 😂
October 1, 2025 at 12:01 AM
So lucky that I just noticed a typo in my feedback while grading a student's master dissertation on Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in Chinese learners of English. I was about to compliment them on identifying '...an important gap in the WTF literature'. 😂
It should not have to be said, but actually thanks @johnbasil.bsky.social for including signed languages in this article!
Social functions of language may drive faster change and faster diversification in some features.
Thanks to growing diversity in variationst sociolinguistics, I gathered studies of 63 languages from 28 families. Here I sketch some potential patterns
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Thanks to growing diversity in variationst sociolinguistics, I gathered studies of 63 languages from 28 families. Here I sketch some potential patterns
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Linguistic Diversification and Rates of Change: Insights From a Diverse Sample of Sociolinguistic Studies
Language diversification and change can be studied using phylogenetic modelling of families over thousands of years, or by close observation of changes unfolding over a few decades at the community l....
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 29, 2025 at 11:31 PM
It should not have to be said, but actually thanks @johnbasil.bsky.social for including signed languages in this article!
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
On a happier note, new paper alert! Recently revised a piece with collaborators @chirila.bsky.social, Sunny Ananthanarayan, and Sophie Pierson on the digital infrastructure for language documentation. Accepted pending revisions at Language. MS: blogs.ed.ac.uk/amaliaskilto...
blogs.ed.ac.uk
January 27, 2025 at 8:38 PM
On a happier note, new paper alert! Recently revised a piece with collaborators @chirila.bsky.social, Sunny Ananthanarayan, and Sophie Pierson on the digital infrastructure for language documentation. Accepted pending revisions at Language. MS: blogs.ed.ac.uk/amaliaskilto...
I spent the International Day of Sign Languages using Auslan (the majority sign language of Australia) at the inaugural Auslan Teachers Conference in Melbourne, Australia.
It's the #InternationalDayOfSignLanguages!
The GIF below shows a commonly used international sign for 'sign language'. But is there only a single, universal sign language? Of course not, there are many!
#Linguistics
The GIF below shows a commonly used international sign for 'sign language'. But is there only a single, universal sign language? Of course not, there are many!
#Linguistics
September 26, 2025 at 9:40 AM
I spent the International Day of Sign Languages using Auslan (the majority sign language of Australia) at the inaugural Auslan Teachers Conference in Melbourne, Australia.
Happy #EuropeanDayOfLanguages: I have English as my L1, and I also sign British Sign Language, speak conversational French, and wish to learn more Maltese (my father's first language).
Since today is the #EuropeanDayOfLanguages, let's not forget that you are not required to keep your languages separate, pure, intact or in any way feel inadequate about your way of using your own language/s.
And don't let anyone take away your co-ownership of the languages you have.
And don't let anyone take away your co-ownership of the languages you have.
September 26, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Happy #EuropeanDayOfLanguages: I have English as my L1, and I also sign British Sign Language, speak conversational French, and wish to learn more Maltese (my father's first language).
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Very excited to announce that yesterday I submitted my PhD thesis: The Linguistic Life of the Kufr Qassem Deaf Community: Language Emergence, Variation, Change, and Persistence.
I dedicate this thesis to my people: the resilient Palestinian people
I dedicate this thesis to my people: the resilient Palestinian people
September 26, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Very excited to announce that yesterday I submitted my PhD thesis: The Linguistic Life of the Kufr Qassem Deaf Community: Language Emergence, Variation, Change, and Persistence.
I dedicate this thesis to my people: the resilient Palestinian people
I dedicate this thesis to my people: the resilient Palestinian people
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
🚨 Open PhD position in sign language #linguistics 🚨
The focus should be on the structure of signed languages, or connect to other research profiles at the department (e.g. computational linguistics, acquisition, typology, multilingualism)
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Deadline: 15 October 2025
The focus should be on the structure of signed languages, or connect to other research profiles at the department (e.g. computational linguistics, acquisition, typology, multilingualism)
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Deadline: 15 October 2025
PhD student in Linguistics, sign language
The Department of Linguistics at Stockholm University conducts research and offers education in a number of areas such as child language development, computational linguistics, general linguistics, ph
su.varbi.com
September 17, 2025 at 8:47 AM
🚨 Open PhD position in sign language #linguistics 🚨
The focus should be on the structure of signed languages, or connect to other research profiles at the department (e.g. computational linguistics, acquisition, typology, multilingualism)
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Deadline: 15 October 2025
The focus should be on the structure of signed languages, or connect to other research profiles at the department (e.g. computational linguistics, acquisition, typology, multilingualism)
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Deadline: 15 October 2025
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Was fun working on this paper on negation in BSL led by Gab Hodge and w/ Kearsy Cormier and @adamcschembri.bsky.social!
Paper is open access and available here:
doi.org/10.1515/opli...
Paper is open access and available here:
doi.org/10.1515/opli...
September 15, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Was fun working on this paper on negation in BSL led by Gab Hodge and w/ Kearsy Cormier and @adamcschembri.bsky.social!
Paper is open access and available here:
doi.org/10.1515/opli...
Paper is open access and available here:
doi.org/10.1515/opli...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
September issue of @jslx.bsky.social is out with some very touching contributions @lhlew.bsky.social @betsysneller.bsky.social #linguistics
September 14, 2025 at 12:34 PM
September issue of @jslx.bsky.social is out with some very touching contributions @lhlew.bsky.social @betsysneller.bsky.social #linguistics
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
Want to know more about the Family ASL project? Check out our new paper “Language and Cognitive Development in Bimodal Bilingual Deaf Children in Hearing Families: Three Case Studies.” It’s part of a special issue on Lang & Cog Dev in Deaf Children www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15...
www.mdpi.com
August 19, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Want to know more about the Family ASL project? Check out our new paper “Language and Cognitive Development in Bimodal Bilingual Deaf Children in Hearing Families: Three Case Studies.” It’s part of a special issue on Lang & Cog Dev in Deaf Children www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15...
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
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
Reposted by Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)
September 12, 2025 at 6:41 AM