Gretchen McCulloch
@gretchenmcc.bsky.social
Internet linguist. Wrote Because Internet, NYT bestseller about internet language. Co-hosts @lingthusiasm.bsky.social, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics.
she/her 🌈
Montreal en/fr 🇨🇦
gretchenmcculloch.com
she/her 🌈
Montreal en/fr 🇨🇦
gretchenmcculloch.com
Pinned
Hello! I'm an internet linguist!
I wrote a book called Because Internet about how we use language online gretchenmcculloch.com/book
I make @lingthusiasm.bsky.social, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics
And I maintain a linguistics starter pack here: go.bsky.app/UUM7Gcx
I wrote a book called Because Internet about how we use language online gretchenmcculloch.com/book
I make @lingthusiasm.bsky.social, a podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics
And I maintain a linguistics starter pack here: go.bsky.app/UUM7Gcx
I find academics particularly awkward about telling audiences something some people might already know, even though I've found that when someone repeats some things I already know as background it enhances my perception of their credibility
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Speakers, don’t assume the knowledge level of your audience. If you have a new person there and you say “I assume everyone here is familiar with this” they don’t learn anything and they probably feel bad about themselves. Better to just explain the thing. The people who are familiar with it can deal
November 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I find academics particularly awkward about telling audiences something some people might already know, even though I've found that when someone repeats some things I already know as background it enhances my perception of their credibility
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
Don't fear the repetition, embrace it!
One of these pitch ideas might be of interest to linguists who are looking to write for a general audience!
November 8, 2025 at 5:07 PM
One of these pitch ideas might be of interest to linguists who are looking to write for a general audience!
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
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!
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!
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
Does the language you speak affect how you see the world?
This idea is called the *linguistic relativity hypothesis* or *Sapir-Whorf hypothesis*, and the @Lingthusiasm.bsky.social podcast put out a great episode treating this topic back in March.
This idea is called the *linguistic relativity hypothesis* or *Sapir-Whorf hypothesis*, and the @Lingthusiasm.bsky.social podcast put out a great episode treating this topic back in March.
Lingthusiasm - Lingthusiasm Episode 102: The science and fiction...
Lingthusiasm Episode 102: The science and fiction of Sapir-Whorf It’s a fun science fiction trope: learn a mysterious alien language and acquire superpowers, just like if you’d been zapped by a…
lingthusiasm.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Does the language you speak affect how you see the world?
This idea is called the *linguistic relativity hypothesis* or *Sapir-Whorf hypothesis*, and the @Lingthusiasm.bsky.social podcast put out a great episode treating this topic back in March.
This idea is called the *linguistic relativity hypothesis* or *Sapir-Whorf hypothesis*, and the @Lingthusiasm.bsky.social podcast put out a great episode treating this topic back in March.
Next in the LingComm IRL series:
Marisa Brook and Daniel Currie Hall doing demos and answering very enthusiastic high school students' questions at a Canadian university science summer program!
lingcomm.org/2025/11/05/l...
Marisa Brook and Daniel Currie Hall doing demos and answering very enthusiastic high school students' questions at a Canadian university science summer program!
lingcomm.org/2025/11/05/l...
November 6, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Next in the LingComm IRL series:
Marisa Brook and Daniel Currie Hall doing demos and answering very enthusiastic high school students' questions at a Canadian university science summer program!
lingcomm.org/2025/11/05/l...
Marisa Brook and Daniel Currie Hall doing demos and answering very enthusiastic high school students' questions at a Canadian university science summer program!
lingcomm.org/2025/11/05/l...
New favourite example of structural ambiguity
November 5, 2025 at 4:54 AM
New favourite example of structural ambiguity
Haven't seen any linguistics research on character limits, but perhaps someone who follows me might know of some!
Hey, @gretchenmcc.bsky.social, sorry to at you like this out of the blue, but couldn't think of anyone better to ask.
Are you aware of any research looking at how character limits influence word choice on social media?
Are you aware of any research looking at how character limits influence word choice on social media?
November 1, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Haven't seen any linguistics research on character limits, but perhaps someone who follows me might know of some!
One of these shapes is called boo-ba and one is kiki. Which is which?
November 1, 2025 at 2:07 AM
One of these shapes is called boo-ba and one is kiki. Which is which?
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
Happy Halloween from Count Noun! 🧛
October 31, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Happy Halloween from Count Noun! 🧛
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
The winner of the 2025 Linguapax Award has been announced, and it's an amazing group in Colombia doing important work on language maintenance and revitalization under very difficult circumstance. Read more below
www.linguapax.org/en/hilo-de-j...
www.linguapax.org/en/hilo-de-j...
Hilo de Ju’gthë’sx Pthuuse’jnxi’s project wins the 2025 International Linguapax Award | Linguapax InternationalHilo de Ju’gthë’sx Pthuuse’jnxi’s project wins the 2025 International Linguapax Award | L...
www.linguapax.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:41 AM
The winner of the 2025 Linguapax Award has been announced, and it's an amazing group in Colombia doing important work on language maintenance and revitalization under very difficult circumstance. Read more below
www.linguapax.org/en/hilo-de-j...
www.linguapax.org/en/hilo-de-j...
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Experimental evidence of the effects of large language models versus web search on depth of learning
Abstract. The effects of using large language models (LLMs) versus traditional web search on depth of learning are explored. A theory is proposed that when
academic.oup.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
When people learn with ChatGPT instead of following their own searches, they end up knowing less, caring less, and producing worse advice, even when the facts are the same.
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Friction is an essential ingredient for learning! Convenience makes us shallow.
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
sweater weather + the start of our unit on speech acoustics in my undergrad phonetics = time to bust out the speech waveform sweater
October 27, 2025 at 1:31 PM
sweater weather + the start of our unit on speech acoustics in my undergrad phonetics = time to bust out the speech waveform sweater
Train reading: Margalit Fox's Talking Hands, which I bought like a decade ago and never actually got around to cracking open till now, but it's neat!
October 26, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Train reading: Margalit Fox's Talking Hands, which I bought like a decade ago and never actually got around to cracking open till now, but it's neat!
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
This is one of my favourite Lingthusiasm episode genres: Find one topic that lets us traipse through a whole heap of different subfields of linguistics.
The nose takes us through etymology, phonetics, sign phonology, idioms and gesture. It's a very fun episode.
The nose takes us through etymology, phonetics, sign phonology, idioms and gesture. It's a very fun episode.
You can read the transcript for 'On the nose - How the nose shapes language' here:
Transcript Episode 109: On the nose - How the nose shapes language
This is a transcript for Lingthusiasm episode ‘On the nose - How the nose shapes language’. It’s been lightly edited for readability. Listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts. Link...
lingthusiasm.com
October 19, 2025 at 11:43 PM
This is one of my favourite Lingthusiasm episode genres: Find one topic that lets us traipse through a whole heap of different subfields of linguistics.
The nose takes us through etymology, phonetics, sign phonology, idioms and gesture. It's a very fun episode.
The nose takes us through etymology, phonetics, sign phonology, idioms and gesture. It's a very fun episode.
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
I'm not quite sure how it happened but this is possibly our funniest episode yet (our producer left us a note like MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE PEOPLE THIS EPISODE IS REALLY FUNNY)
There's just something about noses, I guess?
There's just something about noses, I guess?
Sounds come out of them, signs are located at them, and they're fodder for many picturesque metaphors
In this episode we get enthusiastic about the NOSE!
In this episode we get enthusiastic about the NOSE!
109: On the nose - How the nose shapes language
We often invoke the idea of language by showing the mouth or the hands. But the nose is important to both signed and spoken languages: it can be a resonating chamber that air can get shaped by, as wel
soundcloud.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
I'm not quite sure how it happened but this is possibly our funniest episode yet (our producer left us a note like MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE PEOPLE THIS EPISODE IS REALLY FUNNY)
There's just something about noses, I guess?
There's just something about noses, I guess?
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
Hellspark reminded me of @sueburke.bsky.social's Semiosis and @lateonsetgirl.bsky.social's upcoming What We Are Seeking
The "order of nerds" element also reminded me of @rosemarykirstein.bsky.social's Steerswoman books
If you liked any of these, strong rec for the others!
The "order of nerds" element also reminded me of @rosemarykirstein.bsky.social's Steerswoman books
If you liked any of these, strong rec for the others!
October 17, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Hellspark reminded me of @sueburke.bsky.social's Semiosis and @lateonsetgirl.bsky.social's upcoming What We Are Seeking
The "order of nerds" element also reminded me of @rosemarykirstein.bsky.social's Steerswoman books
If you liked any of these, strong rec for the others!
The "order of nerds" element also reminded me of @rosemarykirstein.bsky.social's Steerswoman books
If you liked any of these, strong rec for the others!
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
Having now read Hellspark I can confirm that it's exactly the sort of anthropological sci fi with plenty of language contact elements that I very much enjoy!
@lingthusiasm.bsky.social I wonder if you've ever read 'Hellspark' by Janet Kagan and what you think of it if you have. It's a sci-fi murder mystery that is all about linguistics
October 17, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Having now read Hellspark I can confirm that it's exactly the sort of anthropological sci fi with plenty of language contact elements that I very much enjoy!
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
“Well-meaning” people are using machine translation to write Wikipedia articles in languages that they don’t speak themselves, accelerating the degeneration in quality of the web corpus for several languages with relatively few native speakers.
www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral
Machine translators have made it easier than ever to create error-plagued Wikipedia articles in obscure languages. What happens when AI models get trained on junk pages?
www.technologyreview.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:14 AM
“Well-meaning” people are using machine translation to write Wikipedia articles in languages that they don’t speak themselves, accelerating the degeneration in quality of the web corpus for several languages with relatively few native speakers.
www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...
Having now read Hellspark I can confirm that it's exactly the sort of anthropological sci fi with plenty of language contact elements that I very much enjoy!
@lingthusiasm.bsky.social I wonder if you've ever read 'Hellspark' by Janet Kagan and what you think of it if you have. It's a sci-fi murder mystery that is all about linguistics
October 17, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Having now read Hellspark I can confirm that it's exactly the sort of anthropological sci fi with plenty of language contact elements that I very much enjoy!
I'm not quite sure how it happened but this is possibly our funniest episode yet (our producer left us a note like MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE PEOPLE THIS EPISODE IS REALLY FUNNY)
There's just something about noses, I guess?
There's just something about noses, I guess?
Sounds come out of them, signs are located at them, and they're fodder for many picturesque metaphors
In this episode we get enthusiastic about the NOSE!
In this episode we get enthusiastic about the NOSE!
109: On the nose - How the nose shapes language
We often invoke the idea of language by showing the mouth or the hands. But the nose is important to both signed and spoken languages: it can be a resonating chamber that air can get shaped by, as wel
soundcloud.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
I'm not quite sure how it happened but this is possibly our funniest episode yet (our producer left us a note like MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE PEOPLE THIS EPISODE IS REALLY FUNNY)
There's just something about noses, I guess?
There's just something about noses, I guess?
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors
“With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”
www.404media.co
October 17, 2025 at 1:15 AM
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
Don't forget @tyanna.bsky.social's linguistic anthropology starter pack! bsky.app/starter-pack...
October 16, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Don't forget @tyanna.bsky.social's linguistic anthropology starter pack! bsky.app/starter-pack...
Reposted by Gretchen McCulloch
if this is a Monstre Kiki, what would a Monstre Bouba look like
October 16, 2025 at 3:39 PM
if this is a Monstre Kiki, what would a Monstre Bouba look like