Dr Laura Smith-Khan
@lawandlanguage.org
Australian Senior Lecturer, language, law & society. #LLIRN. lawandlanguage.org
External CESSMIR UGent. @languageonthemove.bsky.social member.
Asylum, migration, disability, human rights, legal ed/prac, access to justice
ENG, FR, ES, IT, اردو, پښتو
External CESSMIR UGent. @languageonthemove.bsky.social member.
Asylum, migration, disability, human rights, legal ed/prac, access to justice
ENG, FR, ES, IT, اردو, پښتو
Pinned
Dr Laura Smith-Khan
@lawandlanguage.org
· Nov 13
I'm new, so thought I should introduce myself (for those who don't know me from the other place). I'm an interdisciplinary scholar, working mainly across linguistics and law. I co-run the Law& Linguistics Interdisciplinary Researchers Network. https://www.languageonthemove.com/linguistics-meets-law/
Hello 👋, below is a bit about me. If you're new, please include some information about yourself in your bio/ name, so I can understand who you are!
One for the office 😅
Gemma Correll, British cartoonist who currently lives and works in California #WomensArt #Backtowork
January 6, 2026 at 9:49 AM
One for the office 😅
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
Just spoke to my local library - they said they cannot offer extended hours for refuge from the heat as they do not have the funding 😭. Sucks that local councils have to fund this .. where is the Federal Environment minister? They're the ones approving new coal and gas mines.
January 6, 2026 at 5:44 AM
Just spoke to my local library - they said they cannot offer extended hours for refuge from the heat as they do not have the funding 😭. Sucks that local councils have to fund this .. where is the Federal Environment minister? They're the ones approving new coal and gas mines.
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
For many years I lived in an apartment without aircon. My list of places I could go to escape the heat in metro Melbourne
January 5, 2026 at 7:48 AM
For many years I lived in an apartment without aircon. My list of places I could go to escape the heat in metro Melbourne
New year, new handle!
I finally got around to adjusting my Bluesky handle to use the domain of the LLIRN's website.
One of the most recent additions to the site is my project page for my ongoing work on language, asylum and credibility 🤗 I love having one place to collate everything!
I finally got around to adjusting my Bluesky handle to use the domain of the LLIRN's website.
One of the most recent additions to the site is my project page for my ongoing work on language, asylum and credibility 🤗 I love having one place to collate everything!
Language, Asylum and Credibility
Since 2014, Laura Smith-Khan has been exploring the role of language in Australia’s asylum procedures. This began with a small Master’s research project, conducted under the supervision…
lawandlanguage.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:18 AM
New year, new handle!
I finally got around to adjusting my Bluesky handle to use the domain of the LLIRN's website.
One of the most recent additions to the site is my project page for my ongoing work on language, asylum and credibility 🤗 I love having one place to collate everything!
I finally got around to adjusting my Bluesky handle to use the domain of the LLIRN's website.
One of the most recent additions to the site is my project page for my ongoing work on language, asylum and credibility 🤗 I love having one place to collate everything!
Can't remember the post I was quoting, but here's a little thread of Australian women authors to read 🤗
Some great Aussie women authors:
Amal Awad. amalawad.com She writes fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, everything, and does it all so well.
Amal Awad. amalawad.com She writes fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, everything, and does it all so well.
January 3, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Can't remember the post I was quoting, but here's a little thread of Australian women authors to read 🤗
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
When I explain to people what is involved with writing a successful grant, they simply don’t believe me.
I explained it once to a famous person from Pixar, and he looked me square in the eye and said: You mean all the cancer and Alzheimer’s grants work that way? You’ve gotta be &$%#ing kidding me!
I explained it once to a famous person from Pixar, and he looked me square in the eye and said: You mean all the cancer and Alzheimer’s grants work that way? You’ve gotta be &$%#ing kidding me!
I don't think you non-science people realize what it takes to get a grant funded by NIH. Started experiments in Sept 2021 to generate 3 new mouse mutants to model human disease. Prelim dara shows they have relevant disease phenotypes worthy of study. Need a small grant first to characterize /1
January 3, 2026 at 1:14 AM
When I explain to people what is involved with writing a successful grant, they simply don’t believe me.
I explained it once to a famous person from Pixar, and he looked me square in the eye and said: You mean all the cancer and Alzheimer’s grants work that way? You’ve gotta be &$%#ing kidding me!
I explained it once to a famous person from Pixar, and he looked me square in the eye and said: You mean all the cancer and Alzheimer’s grants work that way? You’ve gotta be &$%#ing kidding me!
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
THIS ISN’T GETTING ENOUGH ATTENTION.
More than 100 immigration judges have been fired nationwide since Trump took office. 21 in San Francisco alone, many without explanation.
Why? Because these judges provided due process under US law.
The Trump admin doesn’t want hearings or fairness.
1/2
More than 100 immigration judges have been fired nationwide since Trump took office. 21 in San Francisco alone, many without explanation.
Why? Because these judges provided due process under US law.
The Trump admin doesn’t want hearings or fairness.
1/2
January 2, 2026 at 9:26 PM
THIS ISN’T GETTING ENOUGH ATTENTION.
More than 100 immigration judges have been fired nationwide since Trump took office. 21 in San Francisco alone, many without explanation.
Why? Because these judges provided due process under US law.
The Trump admin doesn’t want hearings or fairness.
1/2
More than 100 immigration judges have been fired nationwide since Trump took office. 21 in San Francisco alone, many without explanation.
Why? Because these judges provided due process under US law.
The Trump admin doesn’t want hearings or fairness.
1/2
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
The new hot methologies:
Reading old stuff, talking to people, and pondering it all.
Reading old stuff, talking to people, and pondering it all.
December 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The new hot methologies:
Reading old stuff, talking to people, and pondering it all.
Reading old stuff, talking to people, and pondering it all.
Here's my in from Cameron's list ☺️:
lawandlanguage.org
lawandlanguage.org
December 31, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Here's my in from Cameron's list ☺️:
lawandlanguage.org
lawandlanguage.org
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
Gràcies al suport del @Cultura_gencat, publiquem un manual per entendre i promoure el català com a dret, eina d’empoderament i llengua viva. Pensat per a professionals i voluntariat que treballen amb persones nouvingudes.
👉 empoderamentlinguistic.cat/blog/
#català #ússocial #empoderamentlingüístic
👉 empoderamentlinguistic.cat/blog/
#català #ússocial #empoderamentlingüístic
December 31, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Gràcies al suport del @Cultura_gencat, publiquem un manual per entendre i promoure el català com a dret, eina d’empoderament i llengua viva. Pensat per a professionals i voluntariat que treballen amb persones nouvingudes.
👉 empoderamentlinguistic.cat/blog/
#català #ússocial #empoderamentlingüístic
👉 empoderamentlinguistic.cat/blog/
#català #ússocial #empoderamentlingüístic
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
And might as well share this episode, which I contributed to, from 2024. Doing this was a great experience, and lots of fun!
Best wishes to the Language On The Move team for 2026!
www.languageonthemove.com/multilingual...
Best wishes to the Language On The Move team for 2026!
www.languageonthemove.com/multilingual...
Multilingual Commanding Urgency from Garbage to COVID-19
In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Michael Chesnut, Professor in the Department of English for International Conferences and Communication at Hankuk Un…
www.languageonthemove.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:48 AM
And might as well share this episode, which I contributed to, from 2024. Doing this was a great experience, and lots of fun!
Best wishes to the Language On The Move team for 2026!
www.languageonthemove.com/multilingual...
Best wishes to the Language On The Move team for 2026!
www.languageonthemove.com/multilingual...
Excited to share this wonderful news: the Language on the Move podcast won this year's Talkley award from the @auslingsoc.bsky.social 🤗
If you're looking for something new to listen to in the new year, try it out!
If you're looking for something new to listen to in the new year, try it out!
Little piece of good news to end the year on a high note: the Language-on-the-Move Podcast @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social has won the Australian Linguistic Society's 2025 Talkley Award in recognition of our contributions to public knowledge about language 🤩👏🫶
www.languageonthemove.com/language-on-...
www.languageonthemove.com/language-on-...
Language on the Move Podcast wins Talkley Award 2025
Final piece of good news for the year before we head into a publishing break over January: we’ve just heard that the Language-on-the-Move Podcast has won the 2025 Talkley Award 🙌🙌🏿🙌🏾🙌🏽🙌🏼🙌🏻 Th…
www.languageonthemove.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Excited to share this wonderful news: the Language on the Move podcast won this year's Talkley award from the @auslingsoc.bsky.social 🤗
If you're looking for something new to listen to in the new year, try it out!
If you're looking for something new to listen to in the new year, try it out!
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
“Algeria's parliament has unanimously passed a law declaring France's colonisation of the North African state a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations.”
Colonialism is not an artifact. It still takes shape through global politics today and restitution should be made to address its effects.
Colonialism is not an artifact. It still takes shape through global politics today and restitution should be made to address its effects.
Algeria's parliament approves law declaring France's colonisation a crime
Lawmakers unanimously approve a law, which demands an apology and reparations from the former colonial power.
www.bbc.com
December 26, 2025 at 7:50 PM
“Algeria's parliament has unanimously passed a law declaring France's colonisation of the North African state a crime, and demanding an apology and reparations.”
Colonialism is not an artifact. It still takes shape through global politics today and restitution should be made to address its effects.
Colonialism is not an artifact. It still takes shape through global politics today and restitution should be made to address its effects.
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
"Pressed on whether marketing an addictive AI chatbot to kids is ethical, Hardin shrugged: “I mean sure, but that’s not really our problem. That’s something parents or maybe lawmakers might want to look into.”
December 26, 2025 at 5:06 PM
"Pressed on whether marketing an addictive AI chatbot to kids is ethical, Hardin shrugged: “I mean sure, but that’s not really our problem. That’s something parents or maybe lawmakers might want to look into.”
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
I find it incredibly difficult to write about my Jewishness. I didn't want to write this, but I did.
We need to re-embrace complexity and nuance in thinking about and discussing the Jewish future.
We need to re-embrace complexity and nuance in thinking about and discussing the Jewish future.
Holding complexity amidst catastrophe
I didn't want to write this.
I don't want to write this.
I feel like I need to write something.
I am writing this.
I am not good at writing about my Jewish experience.
I am still writing this, ei...
in-between-days.ghost.io
December 23, 2025 at 7:08 AM
I find it incredibly difficult to write about my Jewishness. I didn't want to write this, but I did.
We need to re-embrace complexity and nuance in thinking about and discussing the Jewish future.
We need to re-embrace complexity and nuance in thinking about and discussing the Jewish future.
Happy to have published two out of this year's top ten most read posts on Language on the Move.
Listening to all the podcast episodes has also been a highlight of my year. Check them out!
Listening to all the podcast episodes has also been a highlight of my year. Check them out!
End-of-year greetings and good wishes from the Language-on-the-Move Team, along with our 2025 annual report 🤗
Check out most-read posts, most-downloaded podcasts, and other highlights 🤩
www.languageonthemove.com/language-on-...
Check out most-read posts, most-downloaded podcasts, and other highlights 🤩
www.languageonthemove.com/language-on-...
Language on the Move 2025
Unbelievably, another year has passed and it’s time to write another annual report. 2025 has been incredibly busy for us. Apart from everything we do in the real world, we’ve published 64 blog post…
www.languageonthemove.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Happy to have published two out of this year's top ten most read posts on Language on the Move.
Listening to all the podcast episodes has also been a highlight of my year. Check them out!
Listening to all the podcast episodes has also been a highlight of my year. Check them out!
Been seeing a lot of blacked out text recently?
Well here's a post that looks similar but shares something altogether different. A poem about language, identity and migration from the @languageonthemove.bsky.social
Well here's a post that looks similar but shares something altogether different. A poem about language, identity and migration from the @languageonthemove.bsky.social
Malay Sketches
Editor’s note: We are delighted to bring to our readers today another outstanding experience of bilingual creativity, the poem Malay Sketches by Sydney author Aisyah Shah Idil, a runner up of…
www.languageonthemove.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Been seeing a lot of blacked out text recently?
Well here's a post that looks similar but shares something altogether different. A poem about language, identity and migration from the @languageonthemove.bsky.social
Well here's a post that looks similar but shares something altogether different. A poem about language, identity and migration from the @languageonthemove.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
Christmas Still LIfe, 1908 by German Expressionist painter Gabrielle Münter #womensart
December 23, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Christmas Still LIfe, 1908 by German Expressionist painter Gabrielle Münter #womensart
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
There was no "get a smartphone or you'll be left behind" marketing, because smartphones are actually useful.
If your invention is good, you don't have to use that kind of pressure to market it.
If your invention is good, you don't have to use that kind of pressure to market it.
It's like all of these hucksters and charlatans aren't actually technologists.
You don't have to threaten people to adopt a technology. If you do, it's worthless. You don't have to say "OH NO. YOU'LL BE LEFT BEHIND!"
It's all a con. People looking to make a ton of money and get out fast.
You don't have to threaten people to adopt a technology. If you do, it's worthless. You don't have to say "OH NO. YOU'LL BE LEFT BEHIND!"
It's all a con. People looking to make a ton of money and get out fast.
December 21, 2025 at 11:18 PM
There was no "get a smartphone or you'll be left behind" marketing, because smartphones are actually useful.
If your invention is good, you don't have to use that kind of pressure to market it.
If your invention is good, you don't have to use that kind of pressure to market it.
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
Mais Roguet résume très bien la manière dont, en général, les voyages pseudo-exotiques, pseudo « à-la-découverte-d’une-autre-culture » deviennent eux aussi des produits faits sur mesure pour satisfaire le consommateur.
December 21, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Mais Roguet résume très bien la manière dont, en général, les voyages pseudo-exotiques, pseudo « à-la-découverte-d’une-autre-culture » deviennent eux aussi des produits faits sur mesure pour satisfaire le consommateur.
"A German study published last month in Nature Communications tested lottery-first approaches, in which a draw decides who may submit a full proposal. The results showed that these systems cut costs by roughly two-thirds compared with conventional competition."
*sigh*
*sigh*
"How can funders avoid crossing the Szilard point?"
The Szilard point is "the threshold at which the total cost of competing for a grant equals (or surpasses) the value of the available funding."
The Szilard point is "the threshold at which the total cost of competing for a grant equals (or surpasses) the value of the available funding."
December 19, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Dr Laura Smith-Khan
“But it’s also that this land, this beautiful Aboriginal land, was not made to hold such grief. It can, and it does, but it shouldn’t have this burden thrust upon itself.”
@jordanas.bsky.social on the logic of violence that permeates Australia.
@jordanas.bsky.social on the logic of violence that permeates Australia.
Yes, this is what Australia is - Overland literary journal
Imagine though the possibility of a response which was not horrid. Which did not demand more violence be piled up. Which led us to other ways of being together, other horizons of possible futures. Ima...
overland.org.au
December 17, 2025 at 12:24 AM
“But it’s also that this land, this beautiful Aboriginal land, was not made to hold such grief. It can, and it does, but it shouldn’t have this burden thrust upon itself.”
@jordanas.bsky.social on the logic of violence that permeates Australia.
@jordanas.bsky.social on the logic of violence that permeates Australia.
I did miss out on this (was supposed to present) and am experiencing FOMO! Looking forward to following the work of all the wonderful presenters 🤗
If you missed out on the Language-on-the-Move Symposium about "New Technologies in Intercultural Communication" at Macquarie University last week, Jemima Rillera Kempster has a wrap for you: tech must always be about centering people!
www.languageonthemove.com/centering-pe...
www.languageonthemove.com/centering-pe...
Centering people in technology-mediated communication
On a crack-of-dawn flight early Monday morning last week, I flew to Sydney for the day to attend “New Technologies in Intercultural Communication”, a symposium hosted by the Language on…
www.languageonthemove.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:29 AM
I did miss out on this (was supposed to present) and am experiencing FOMO! Looking forward to following the work of all the wonderful presenters 🤗