Elaine Francis
@ejfranci2.bsky.social
Prof @ Purdue, ExLing Lab Director https://cla.purdue.edu/english/francislab/
Author of Gradient Acceptability and Linguistic Theory https://global.oup.com/academic/product/gradient-acceptability-and-linguistic-theory-9780192898951
Author of Gradient Acceptability and Linguistic Theory https://global.oup.com/academic/product/gradient-acceptability-and-linguistic-theory-9780192898951
Reposted by Elaine Francis
The Trump admin’s whole case regarding Haitians in Ohio is racism, xenophobia, and lies. There’s literally nothing else to it.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
“about 350,000 Haitians will lose their status on Tuesday — ending their right to live and work in the United States legally and putting them at risk of immediate detention and deportation”
"‘Reminds me of Anne Frank’: Jewish seniors are offering to hide their Haitian caregivers as Trump’s TPS end looms"
February 1, 2026 at 2:25 PM
The Trump admin’s whole case regarding Haitians in Ohio is racism, xenophobia, and lies. There’s literally nothing else to it.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
Legal status, proper papers. No criminal record. Employers, neighbors, local leaders say they’re a benefit to the community.
It’s showy, bigoted cruelty, nothing more.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Reminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days.
His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
January 27, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Reminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days.
His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
American Federation of Government Employees union president condemns the murder of AFGE Council 238 member Alex Pretti by ICE.
January 25, 2026 at 2:16 AM
American Federation of Government Employees union president condemns the murder of AFGE Council 238 member Alex Pretti by ICE.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Part 1: How do LLMs work?
YouTube video by Andrew Perfors
www.youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 12:45 AM
I just created a series of seven deep-dive videos about AI, which I've posted to youtube and now here. 😊
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Targeted to laypeople, they explore how LLMs work, what they can do, and what impacts they have on learning, well-being, disinformation, the workplace, the economy, and the environment.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
The newest video shows very clearly that they attacked him for coming to an aid of a woman that the agents pushed, and then executed him while he was immobilized. Everything the government has said, like with Good, has been a complete lie.
January 24, 2026 at 7:09 PM
The newest video shows very clearly that they attacked him for coming to an aid of a woman that the agents pushed, and then executed him while he was immobilized. Everything the government has said, like with Good, has been a complete lie.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
His name was Alex Pretti. He was an ICU nurse. "In total, at least 10 shots appear to have been fired within 5 seconds, according to the video. Footage shows the man was holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, when federal agents took him to the ground and shot him." #AlexPretti #Minneapolis
What We Know About a Second Fatal Shooting by Federal Agents in Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:20 PM
His name was Alex Pretti. He was an ICU nurse. "In total, at least 10 shots appear to have been fired within 5 seconds, according to the video. Footage shows the man was holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, when federal agents took him to the ground and shot him." #AlexPretti #Minneapolis
Reposted by Elaine Francis
I have watched the video of today’s murder several times and I am here to assure you that there were several agents restraining the victim when he was shot, and there is no way they were worried he was going to shoot one. Even if he had a gun, and I think that’s not true, he was not free to use it.
January 24, 2026 at 5:50 PM
I have watched the video of today’s murder several times and I am here to assure you that there were several agents restraining the victim when he was shot, and there is no way they were worried he was going to shoot one. Even if he had a gun, and I think that’s not true, he was not free to use it.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Woman tells Minnesota Public Radio that the man killed today was helping vehicle traffic get around the area where ICE agents and observers had started to gather and "next thing I knew, they shot him." www.mprnews.org/live-updates....
The latest on ICE in Minnesota
Live updates on ICE enforcement in Minnesota, with the latest developments and links to deeper reporting as events unfold.
www.mprnews.org
January 24, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Woman tells Minnesota Public Radio that the man killed today was helping vehicle traffic get around the area where ICE agents and observers had started to gather and "next thing I knew, they shot him." www.mprnews.org/live-updates....
Reposted by Elaine Francis
If you don't mind, if I could leave this here - it's a wonderful resource and the admins just added a page where people can leave a note of encouragement or support after making a donation and reading the testimonials. We need those today. www.standwithminnesota.com
Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.
www.standwithminnesota.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:21 PM
If you don't mind, if I could leave this here - it's a wonderful resource and the admins just added a page where people can leave a note of encouragement or support after making a donation and reading the testimonials. We need those today. www.standwithminnesota.com
Reposted by Elaine Francis
What Dario says! Send in those papers!
PSA: We're moving the deadline for submissions to the JML special issue on nonveridical language comprehension (www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...), co-guest-edited by @golfwriterkiel.bsky.social and me, back to end of February! We're looking forward to many interesting contributions!
January 21, 2026 at 12:19 PM
What Dario says! Send in those papers!
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Postdoc opportunity with any of my Oxford colleagues funded by the British Academy. Expressions of interest due next week! www.humanities.ox.ac.uk/british-acad...
January 21, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Postdoc opportunity with any of my Oxford colleagues funded by the British Academy. Expressions of interest due next week! www.humanities.ox.ac.uk/british-acad...
Reposted by Elaine Francis
The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year is SLOP!
“Slop isn’t a new word. It has moved from the pig sty, to the algorithm, and now forms newcompounds such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop,” Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright said. “This productivity has no end in sight.” 🧵
“Slop isn’t a new word. It has moved from the pig sty, to the algorithm, and now forms newcompounds such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop,” Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright said. “This productivity has no end in sight.” 🧵
January 11, 2026 at 5:11 AM
The American Dialect Society's Word of the Year is SLOP!
“Slop isn’t a new word. It has moved from the pig sty, to the algorithm, and now forms newcompounds such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop,” Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright said. “This productivity has no end in sight.” 🧵
“Slop isn’t a new word. It has moved from the pig sty, to the algorithm, and now forms newcompounds such as sloppunk, slopification, and friend slop,” Dr. Kelly Elizabeth Wright said. “This productivity has no end in sight.” 🧵
I had a great time in New Orleans at #LSA2026. So nice to catch up with old friends and meet new people! Linked here are some updates from the ExLing lab and Purdue Linguistics. cla.purdue.edu/english/fran...
Purdue Linguistics goes to New Orleans for LSA 2026 – ExLing
cla.purdue.edu
January 18, 2026 at 10:53 PM
I had a great time in New Orleans at #LSA2026. So nice to catch up with old friends and meet new people! Linked here are some updates from the ExLing lab and Purdue Linguistics. cla.purdue.edu/english/fran...
Reposted by Elaine Francis
If you are a Canadian francophone, there's a survey on French swearing researchers are running! Si vous êtes un Canadien francophone, des chercheurs mènent un sondage sur les jurons en français! https://run.pavlovia.org/pavlovia/survey-2024.2.0/?surveyId=97fb5ca8-1eee-41f7-9f7f-8eaa87645a49
January 17, 2026 at 8:19 PM
If you are a Canadian francophone, there's a survey on French swearing researchers are running! Si vous êtes un Canadien francophone, des chercheurs mènent un sondage sur les jurons en français! https://run.pavlovia.org/pavlovia/survey-2024.2.0/?surveyId=97fb5ca8-1eee-41f7-9f7f-8eaa87645a49
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Hannah Natanson is an exceptional reporter and should never have been subjected to this type of extraordinary intimidation tactic. We have few details now, but it’s hard to interpret this as anything other than an attempt to squash the freedom of the press.
January 14, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Hannah Natanson is an exceptional reporter and should never have been subjected to this type of extraordinary intimidation tactic. We have few details now, but it’s hard to interpret this as anything other than an attempt to squash the freedom of the press.
Reposted by Elaine Francis
The 2025 Word of the Year is "slop," both as a noun for low-quality AI-generated content and as a combining form for anything of little value. Read the full press release. #WOTY2025 #ADS2026 #LSA2026
americandialect.org/2025-word-of...
americandialect.org/2025-word-of...
2025 Word of the Year Is “Slop”
New Orleans Marriott–Jan. 9—The American Dialect Society, in its 36th annual words-of-the-year vote, selected slop as the Word of the Year for 2025. More than three hundred attendees took part in the…
americandialect.org
January 10, 2026 at 8:18 AM
The 2025 Word of the Year is "slop," both as a noun for low-quality AI-generated content and as a combining form for anything of little value. Read the full press release. #WOTY2025 #ADS2026 #LSA2026
americandialect.org/2025-word-of...
americandialect.org/2025-word-of...
Reposted by Elaine Francis
"More sick children ... More hospitalizations. More pressure on our already-stressed health care system. More medical expenses for families... Those will be the results of yesterday’s reckless move by the CDC ... to slash vaccine recommendations for children."
Via @momsrising.org. #MomSky
Via @momsrising.org. #MomSky
Reckless New Childhood Vaccine Recommendations Threaten to Exacerbate Nation’s Health Care Crisis
“More sick children – some of them desperately ill. More hospitalizations. More pressure on our already-stressed health care system. More medical expenses for families. More struggles for the tens of ...
www.momsrising.org
January 6, 2026 at 8:05 PM
"More sick children ... More hospitalizations. More pressure on our already-stressed health care system. More medical expenses for families... Those will be the results of yesterday’s reckless move by the CDC ... to slash vaccine recommendations for children."
Via @momsrising.org. #MomSky
Via @momsrising.org. #MomSky
Reposted by Elaine Francis
OMG 😭
Huntington's is an inherited disease that's like Alzheimers + Parkinson's all in one. NOW: "once the gene therapy has been delivered into the brain... [it] injects a piece of DNA to reprogram the neuron to become a factory for its own cure."
LIFE SAVING!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEx...
Huntington's is an inherited disease that's like Alzheimers + Parkinson's all in one. NOW: "once the gene therapy has been delivered into the brain... [it] injects a piece of DNA to reprogram the neuron to become a factory for its own cure."
LIFE SAVING!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEx...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
www.youtube.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:27 PM
OMG 😭
Huntington's is an inherited disease that's like Alzheimers + Parkinson's all in one. NOW: "once the gene therapy has been delivered into the brain... [it] injects a piece of DNA to reprogram the neuron to become a factory for its own cure."
LIFE SAVING!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEx...
Huntington's is an inherited disease that's like Alzheimers + Parkinson's all in one. NOW: "once the gene therapy has been delivered into the brain... [it] injects a piece of DNA to reprogram the neuron to become a factory for its own cure."
LIFE SAVING!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEx...
Reposted by Elaine Francis
New book! I have written a book, called Syntax: A cognitive approach, published by MIT Press.
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
tedlab.mit.edu
December 24, 2025 at 7:55 PM
New book! I have written a book, called Syntax: A cognitive approach, published by MIT Press.
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
This is open access; MIT Press will post a link soon, but until then, the book is available on my website:
tedlab.mit.edu/tedlab_websi...
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Ending a $5 million research study when it is 70% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million.
When a project loses federal funding before completion, finding alternative resources is challenging. Most philanthropies do not have comparable resources.
🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...
When a project loses federal funding before completion, finding alternative resources is challenging. Most philanthropies do not have comparable resources.
🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...
December 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Ending a $5 million research study when it is 70% complete does not save $1 million, it wastes $4 million.
When a project loses federal funding before completion, finding alternative resources is challenging. Most philanthropies do not have comparable resources.
🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...
When a project loses federal funding before completion, finding alternative resources is challenging. Most philanthropies do not have comparable resources.
🧪 www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Please consider submitting your manuscript to our special issue in Scientific Reports (deadline March 5th, 2026)
www.nature.com/collections/...
www.nature.com/collections/...
Individual differences in speech perception
This Collection welcomes original research articles on studies that investigate individual differences in speech perception.
www.nature.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Please consider submitting your manuscript to our special issue in Scientific Reports (deadline March 5th, 2026)
www.nature.com/collections/...
www.nature.com/collections/...
Happy HSP abstract week to all who celebrate!
December 10, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Happy HSP abstract week to all who celebrate!
Reposted by Elaine Francis
Spread the word: I'm looking to hire a postdoc to explore the concept of attention (as studied in psych/neuro, not the transformer mechanism) in large Vision-Language Models. More details here: lindsay-lab.github.io/2025/12/08/p...
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
Lindsay Lab - Postdoc Position
Artificial neural networks applied to psychology, neuroscience, and climate change
lindsay-lab.github.io
December 8, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Spread the word: I'm looking to hire a postdoc to explore the concept of attention (as studied in psych/neuro, not the transformer mechanism) in large Vision-Language Models. More details here: lindsay-lab.github.io/2025/12/08/p...
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
#MLSky #neurojobs #compneuro
Reposted by Elaine Francis
A couple years (!) in the making: we’re releasing a new corpus of embodied, collaborative problem solving dialogues. We paid 36 people to play Portal 2’s co-op mode and collected their speech + game recordings.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2512.03381
Website: berkeley-nlp.github.io/portal-dialo...
1/n
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2512.03381
Website: berkeley-nlp.github.io/portal-dialo...
1/n
December 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM
A couple years (!) in the making: we’re releasing a new corpus of embodied, collaborative problem solving dialogues. We paid 36 people to play Portal 2’s co-op mode and collected their speech + game recordings.
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2512.03381
Website: berkeley-nlp.github.io/portal-dialo...
1/n
Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2512.03381
Website: berkeley-nlp.github.io/portal-dialo...
1/n
Reposted by Elaine Francis
For a general student population it's irresponsible to focus on teaching a tool. This has been my soapbox forever: I'm not teaching how to use a particular kind of technology but how to learn how to learn, how to evaluate affordances/limitations, how to assess output. Real, reproducible life skills!
December 3, 2025 at 12:59 PM
For a general student population it's irresponsible to focus on teaching a tool. This has been my soapbox forever: I'm not teaching how to use a particular kind of technology but how to learn how to learn, how to evaluate affordances/limitations, how to assess output. Real, reproducible life skills!