Nicole Holliday
@mixedlinguist.bsky.social
Assoc. Prof of Linguistics at Berkeley. Language, identity & prosody, esp. in politics & human-computer interaction. Trivia person, marathoner, coach. LA & the Bay! No one is illegal on stolen land. Views are my own.
https://nicolerholliday.wordpress.com
https://nicolerholliday.wordpress.com
Accent discrimination is discrimination and it doesn’t matter who it’s aimed at. I’m always saddened at how people who would never say “I hate people from X country” are very happy to say “those people don’t speak good English”. It’s part of the same picture, but wow, no one wants to hear it.
November 13, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Accent discrimination is discrimination and it doesn’t matter who it’s aimed at. I’m always saddened at how people who would never say “I hate people from X country” are very happy to say “those people don’t speak good English”. It’s part of the same picture, but wow, no one wants to hear it.
I am filled with viceral rage at the fact that if you're a rich & powerful white guy, an abundance of email evidence that you're an actual pedophile won't cost you a damn thing. But if you're anyone else, sharing a damn risotto recipe without two factor authentication will ruin your career.
Meanwhile, here's an example of the horrendous things found in Hillary Clinton's emails—the only story worth covering for any serious news outlet in 2016, apparently.
This email is also regarding a child who suffered abuse from a grown man.
This email is also regarding a child who suffered abuse from a grown man.
November 13, 2025 at 2:31 PM
I am filled with viceral rage at the fact that if you're a rich & powerful white guy, an abundance of email evidence that you're an actual pedophile won't cost you a damn thing. But if you're anyone else, sharing a damn risotto recipe without two factor authentication will ruin your career.
Literally every day, and it’s exhausting.
every day it's like:
- crimes legal
- being brown is illegal
- a judge writes a sternly-worded letter
- John Fetterman betrays his constituents
- we kill another two dozen fishermen
- crimes legal
- being brown is illegal
- a judge writes a sternly-worded letter
- John Fetterman betrays his constituents
- we kill another two dozen fishermen
November 12, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Literally every day, and it’s exhausting.
Hi, at my university, I encounter these students once in a while and all the math cannot save them from the inability to interact with other humans, or to view themselves as members of a society. Don’t do this to your kids. They need to have strong quant skills and strong social skills.
I think the belief by the powerful that "people will put up with many things if you are excellent at math" is incredibly revealing in terms of understanding How We Got Here
November 12, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Hi, at my university, I encounter these students once in a while and all the math cannot save them from the inability to interact with other humans, or to view themselves as members of a society. Don’t do this to your kids. They need to have strong quant skills and strong social skills.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the party of "States' Rights".
NEW: The Trump admin told states it must immediately "undo" the work to provide full food stamp benefits, or face penalties. The feds sent this in a late-night memo, only adding to the chaos and confusion around SNAP. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/b...
Trump Administration Demands States ‘Undo’ Work to Send Full Food Stamps
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the party of "States' Rights".
And now we have the Grey’s Anatomy doctors dealing with maternal mortality and a Latina diabetic patient with no insurance who loses her toe because she refuses to go to the hospital as she knows too many people kidnapped by ICE. The normie shows are commenting!
Catching up on my SVU, and you know it’s bad when ICE is arresting CAPTAIN OLIVIA BENSON!?
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
November 9, 2025 at 2:45 AM
And now we have the Grey’s Anatomy doctors dealing with maternal mortality and a Latina diabetic patient with no insurance who loses her toe because she refuses to go to the hospital as she knows too many people kidnapped by ICE. The normie shows are commenting!
Doesn’t matter if hand-juicing is quicker, cheaper, higher-quality and less likely to kill people, the Juicero must be promoted at all costs.
November 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Doesn’t matter if hand-juicing is quicker, cheaper, higher-quality and less likely to kill people, the Juicero must be promoted at all costs.
Obviously, insurance companies often behave in cruel & unethical ways. But I have Kaiser Permanente, and having breast cancer cost me a cumulative $300. There is no universe in which paying for chemo, surgery, radiation myself wouldn’t have bankrupted my entire family. Stupid, heartless, ridiculous.
November 8, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Obviously, insurance companies often behave in cruel & unethical ways. But I have Kaiser Permanente, and having breast cancer cost me a cumulative $300. There is no universe in which paying for chemo, surgery, radiation myself wouldn’t have bankrupted my entire family. Stupid, heartless, ridiculous.
In her #NWAV53 plenary, King discusses an example of a juror being dismissed from the pool due to forestressing in the word police (so PO-lice), because the prosecutor claimed that the pronunciation showed animus towards law enforcement. And this is exactly why I study prosody!
November 6, 2025 at 4:27 PM
In her #NWAV53 plenary, King discusses an example of a juror being dismissed from the pool due to forestressing in the word police (so PO-lice), because the prosecutor claimed that the pronunciation showed animus towards law enforcement. And this is exactly why I study prosody!
The memes are going to be excellent for years, and I hope he can get some real positive change for the city! Congratulations, Mr. Mayor!
November 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
The memes are going to be excellent for years, and I hope he can get some real positive change for the city! Congratulations, Mr. Mayor!
These people were doing nothing but standing in line, and the police weren’t even giving them orders. They just charged them on horses and started beating them. What justification could they possibly have for this abuse?
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
LAPD on horses charge at and beat guests standing in line to the Short Stop in Echo Park. @shoton35mm.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 1:41 PM
These people were doing nothing but standing in line, and the police weren’t even giving them orders. They just charged them on horses and started beating them. What justification could they possibly have for this abuse?
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
This is why our tax dollars keep going to settle their lawsuits. Disgusting.
The best thing about east Los is fireworks for everything. The worst thing about east Los is also fireworks for everything.
November 2, 2025 at 4:24 AM
The best thing about east Los is fireworks for everything. The worst thing about east Los is also fireworks for everything.
Will Smith (not that one, only) is also probably having a nice night!
November 2, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Will Smith (not that one, only) is also probably having a nice night!
I love this little Dodger dive, and shame on the LAPD for inciting all this drama so that they can arrest people for literally nothing.
Los Angeles, CA -
LAPD has commanded The Douglas, the nearest bar to Dodger Stadium to turn off the televisions. They are now calling unlawful assembly, though as far as I can tell the only signs of anything are people on the sidewalk. It is the 9th inning.
LAPD has commanded The Douglas, the nearest bar to Dodger Stadium to turn off the televisions. They are now calling unlawful assembly, though as far as I can tell the only signs of anything are people on the sidewalk. It is the 9th inning.
November 2, 2025 at 3:28 AM
I love this little Dodger dive, and shame on the LAPD for inciting all this drama so that they can arrest people for literally nothing.
Reposted by Nicole Holliday
if the Dodgers pull this off, g-d is rewarding them for kicking 🧊 out of their parking lot, if the Jays pull this off g-d is punishing America for threatening to invade Canada
November 2, 2025 at 3:15 AM
if the Dodgers pull this off, g-d is rewarding them for kicking 🧊 out of their parking lot, if the Jays pull this off g-d is punishing America for threatening to invade Canada
"Holliday...was running a marathon recently, some kids were holding a sign at 6.7-miles...she yelled “six, seven” to their delight. “For a brief moment” she says, “in our lonely, isolated, algorithm-driven world, I connected with those kids on something we shared" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Slang terms like ‘six-seven’ have no definition. But they’re loaded with meaning | Matthew Cantor
Older generations are demanding explanations of the viral phrase – but slang doesn’t have to make logical sense
www.theguardian.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
"Holliday...was running a marathon recently, some kids were holding a sign at 6.7-miles...she yelled “six, seven” to their delight. “For a brief moment” she says, “in our lonely, isolated, algorithm-driven world, I connected with those kids on something we shared" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Today in class, I got to explain the Central Park Five, Rodney King, the OJ Simpson trial, the Kardashians, Trayvon Martin, and 90 Day Fiancé. Linguistics is everything!
October 30, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Today in class, I got to explain the Central Park Five, Rodney King, the OJ Simpson trial, the Kardashians, Trayvon Martin, and 90 Day Fiancé. Linguistics is everything!
That’s too much baseball for one night! Even those of us on the west coast are too tired!
October 28, 2025 at 6:17 AM
That’s too much baseball for one night! Even those of us on the west coast are too tired!
Catching up on my SVU, and you know it’s bad when ICE is arresting CAPTAIN OLIVIA BENSON!?
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
October 28, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Catching up on my SVU, and you know it’s bad when ICE is arresting CAPTAIN OLIVIA BENSON!?
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
That’s glib, but having copaganda on the side against government atrocities is actually important for public opinion.
WHOSE JOB, MOTHERFUCKERS?
October 27, 2025 at 12:37 AM
WHOSE JOB, MOTHERFUCKERS?
I'm teaching an article I've taught 10 times before, so I tried comparing my discussion questions with ChatGPT's.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
October 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I'm teaching an article I've taught 10 times before, so I tried comparing my discussion questions with ChatGPT's.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
Some of them were just irrelevant, but mostly they were surface level ones you'd ask if you'd never read the paper. I'm so sad that some colleagues think this is acceptable pedagogy.
Breathtakingly callous and dangerous.
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know, they’re going to be, like, dead.”
apple.news/ABtGVND-iRZS...
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know, they’re going to be, like, dead.”
apple.news/ABtGVND-iRZS...
The U.S. Is Preparing for War in Venezuela — The Atlantic
More U.S. military firepower is headed to the Caribbean as Trump escalates his anti-Maduro rhetoric.
apple.news
October 25, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Breathtakingly callous and dangerous.
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know, they’re going to be, like, dead.”
apple.news/ABtGVND-iRZS...
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know, they’re going to be, like, dead.”
apple.news/ABtGVND-iRZS...
There’s a lot of people who don’t give a damn about due process or fishermen in the Caribbean, but they do care about the hole in the White House. That’s disgusting, but we do have to engage people around the issues they care about if we want an effective opposition.
Anyway, overall, the distraction angle is silly because it’s just better to give people more reasons to hate Trump. You should make sure they’re aware of everything from the biggest issues to the smallest ways that he’s repulsive. He’s kidnapping people on the streets and he also has bad taste.
October 24, 2025 at 1:48 PM
There’s a lot of people who don’t give a damn about due process or fishermen in the Caribbean, but they do care about the hole in the White House. That’s disgusting, but we do have to engage people around the issues they care about if we want an effective opposition.
All day, Berkeley has been sending emails about what we should do if we or our students are unsafe. But apparently Zuckerberg waves a wand and we’re all supposed to breathe a sigh of relief. A disgusting display of corruption, and irrefutable proof that none of this is about “crime”.
October 23, 2025 at 6:56 PM
All day, Berkeley has been sending emails about what we should do if we or our students are unsafe. But apparently Zuckerberg waves a wand and we’re all supposed to breathe a sigh of relief. A disgusting display of corruption, and irrefutable proof that none of this is about “crime”.
Reposted by Nicole Holliday
“Are you telling me we can spend $40B on Argentina, $1B on Trump’s Qatar jet, $250M on Trump’s ballroom, $150M on Trump’s golf, $520M on Trump's National Guard deployments & $172M on Kristi Noem’s jets - but we can’t spend a penny on lowering our healthcare
#BlueSky #MedSky #NewsSky #NurseSky #EMSky
#BlueSky #MedSky #NewsSky #NurseSky #EMSky
October 20, 2025 at 8:23 PM